Last night, I went down to Richmond and saw Live at a small amphitheater (est 1000-2000 fans). I am a casual fan and really only knew their hits, but I had fun nonetheless.
Opening act was a local band, Copper Sails. They were OK, but they grew on me. I would describe them as the lovechild of Ben Folds and Queensryche.
The big event is coming in a little over two weeks - Rush concert on 6/23/07 ...
A friend is trying to talk me into making the 3.5 hour drive to Calgary to see Rush. If it wasn't a Tuesday (or Wednesday) night I'd seriously consider it. From what I can remember, they were pretty tight and high energy when I saw them in Guelph 29 or 30 years ago (during my hazy undergraduate days).
Buddy Guy last night under the starts. Phenomenal show. I'd seen him once before as part of a blues show headlined by BB King, and he was good then. But as the headliner, he absolutely blew us away.
He had the audience in his palm from the very first song. He was even able to whisper the lyrics to one song, and you could hear every word -- it was so quiet you could hear the crickets.
If he comes to your town, make a point of going. Two big thumbs up.
Last night was Chris Botti and Band at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival. Fantastic show as usual. Waited after the show for the meet and greet/autographs etc. Spoke with Chris and band. Very nice people! Actually spent around 10 minutes chatting with drummer Billy Kilson.
Well, I actually had a dream come true on saturday night..
I drove from Calgary to Saskatoon to see Herbie Hancock, Vinnie Colaiuta, Nathan East, and Lionel Loueke.
It was THE most amazing show I have ever seen. Vinnie was playing at his best (I really only came to see Vinnie play).
He is the most amazing drummer I have ever seen. I am very thankfull that I made the 6 hour trip there, and 6 hours back after the concert was over. Words cannot express how amazing the concert was, if you are into fusion, I would HIGHLY recommend Herbie Hancock's quartet, they are on tour now.
Quote: Well, it wasn't last night, but last week we saw Césaria Évora. She was wonderful!
What a coincidence,I saw her this past weekend at the WolfTrap VA. It was indeed wonderful. It’s funny how I discover her, about 3 or 4 years ago I was at the ‘new released ’ DVD music area at Borders and saw Cesaria’s DVD. I had no idea who she was, by her looks I thought she was a Jazz/blues singer so I put it in my basket. When my wife and I first watched the concert I was at first taken aback by the music, didn’t really like it, especially the alto sax, not really my fav instrument. I did find interesting and odd how the music sounded very similar to folk music from Puerto Rico (I’m from PR), two colonies that never shared cultures, at least, not directly. Anyway, we listened to the whole concert and my wife loved it. I thought it was ok but I was not crazy about it. My wife kept requesting the concert every time we had a wine&cheese nights so eventually I learned to like it. Her vocals are excellent; it’s just the music, maybe the performers, that is just ok.
OK, better late than never, here is the official medic8r review of the Rush show in Bristow, VA on Saturday, 6-23-07. Spoilers abound, so buyer beware.
After getting a late start (D’Oh!), I met up with pmbuko at Five Guys, introducing him to the best burgers around. We caught up on world politics and the finer points of posting on the boards. We speculated on the disappearance of Speakergrrl and the Bot Squad, and marveled at finally seeing a picture of Randy and kin.
We got to the concert in plenty of time to claim prime lawn seats, stage center. After much anticipation, they took the stage a little before 8 pm. The opening video was really funny, and the makeup job was so good that it took me a while to realize that Geddy himself is playing the role of Harry Satchel. All of the video bits were well done. Brilliant!
I was wondering how this concert would stack up performance-wise to the 6 tours I had seen before (starting with Power Windows in the spring of 1986, but that’s another tale). Let me tell you, Rush has not lost a thing! They can play as well or better than ever before. Geddy did skip a few high notes on the opener, Limelight, but he hit them on the other songs. Guess his voice did warm up after all…
Neil’s drum kit is a beautiful red, with a gold snake ring and arrow accent. You can check out a picture here. Of course, he had another kickin’ solo. The whole night, nobody flubbed anything. It was flawless precision, just what you’d expect from Rush.
A suggestion – take some binoculars so you can check out the details on stage, like the rotisserie chicken roasters, Alex’s groupies (a bunch of Barbie dolls at his feet holding up signs like “My grampa says you’re cool”), and so you can see the videos on the screen better.
The South Park animation that opened Tom Sawyer was classic. Cartman is playing the part of Geddy Lee and starts wailing, “Tom Sawyer, he built a raft, he floated down the river with a black man,” before the others cut him off. Much arguing ensues, with Cartman convinced he’s right – “I read the book!” – before Kyle tells him that it was Huckleberry Finn, not Tom Sawyer, who did all those things. “Play it right this time!” And so Cartman relents and counts off into the real song. Awesome. There’s videos on YouTube, if you’re interested in more spoiler action.
So if there are any fence-sitters out there, get thee to a ticket booth and see this show! You will love it, or else Harry Satchel will come and shove his boot so far up your arse that -- well, you’ll get the reference after you see the concert…
Thanks for the review J.P. You have summed up what I have been reading on other sites about the concerts to date. I am looking forward to seeing them this summer. What else would you expect from RUSH but perfection?
Awsome.. can't wait to see them in September in Ottawa. I have seen them about 7 times and they always deliver the goods. My only issue with the last 2 concerts was the sound, from where I was it did not sound good at all.. I had a hard time identifying which song was playing at times, and I know all of their songs really well. I'm hoping for a better sound experience this time around.
Well, I'm going out to Scranton, Pa. to see the boys on Friday night. This will be my first RUSH show. I've been listening to them for a long time with some interest, but frankly I was more into YES, ELP, GENESIS, etc. However, my interest really got "peeked" after reading Neil Peart's book "Roadshow" a couple of months ago. As great a drummer as he is, he may even be a better writer, and an incredibly interesting person. I really like people that reach great heights of fame but don't let it go to their heads (and a fellow two wheeler as well). I thoroughly enjoyed the book. "Snakes & Arrows" looks (I mean sounds) like a winner too. Haven't been to a show in quite some time so I'm really looking forward to it.
Quote: As great a drummer as he is, he may even be a better writer, and an incredibly interesting person.
He certainly is. He's apparently rebounded OK from the deaths of his wife and daughter a few years ago. I think he is remarried, as he dedicates his work to a lady whose name escapes me.
I was wondering how he would look/appear at the concert. As usual, he was pretty stoic. Sometimes in the past, though, he'd smile and joke back behind the kit, but I didn't see a single smile this year. Then, after the encore was over, he got up, waved for 1-2 seconds, then quickly jogged off stage. "Exit Stage Left" indeed! He was out of there before Alex or Geddy had moved. Maybe I read too much into things. Maybe he's got a hot new wife backstage.
I forgot to post how impressed I was with the amount of original video there was at this show. In addition to the usual backgrounds playing through the songs, there was a lot of new animated content, and two nice short films introducing each set. Funny stuff. And in addition to the South Park kids, some famous hosers from back in the day introduced "The Larger Bowl". Rush certainly pulled out all of the stops for this one.
I saw Roger Waters last September, I think, at the same pavilion that I just saw Rush at. My lawn tix were about $40 so it ended up being only $20/hour. What's the ol' phrase, YMMV?
He likes to get away from a venue immediately so they can get on the road with the bus and on to the spot where they'll rest for the night. He has trouble sleeping on the bus while it's moving. By 8 O'clock the next morning he's on his motorcycle and heading towards the next concert site.
As far as his serious approach, I think he's a real perfectionist, especially about his drumming. He rehearses to get ready for rehearsals (that's pretty serious). I guess that's what makes him one of the world's greatest drummers. Plus I think he'd be the first to admit that he doesn't like touring very much. He enjoys performing, but the road wears him out. He does get a lot of great motorcycling in however.
Touring must be a real grind especially when Rush is playing 3 hour shows. I couldn't imagine having to play all those songs every second night. I read somewhere about Neil Peart explaining the conditioning process leading up to the tour. They start rehearsing a few songs and slowly work up to the full set. So, in reality they are actually playing the full show at rehearsal to build up their stamina!
Quote: Well, I'm going out to Scranton, Pa. to see the boys on Friday night. This will be my first RUSH show. I've been listening to them for a long time with some interest, but frankly I was more into YES, ELP, GENESIS, etc. However, my interest really got "peeked" after reading Neil Peart's book "Roadshow" a couple of months ago. As great a drummer as he is, he may even be a better writer, and an incredibly interesting person. I really like people that reach great heights of fame but don't let it go to their heads (and a fellow two wheeler as well). I thoroughly enjoyed the book. "Snakes & Arrows" looks (I mean sounds) like a winner too. Haven't been to a show in quite some time so I'm really looking forward to it.
I believe he writes many of the lyrics to Rush songs as well...
There was a favorable review of Feist's show in the LA Times (we get it at work). Sounds like you'll be in for a treat. Haven't picked up her latest release yet.
I saw RUSH on Friday night in Scranton, Pa. They are the ultimate professionals; excellent show as expected with some nice special effects as well. With all of the talk surrounding Neil Peart's drumming skills (and he is simply amazing, great drum solo in the second half of the show) I never fully appreciated how good Geddy Lee's bass playing is. He was awesome, and contrary to a couple of comments regarding his voice not reaching some of the high stuff in the Virginia show, his vocals were outstanding Friday night. Maybe he just had an off night in Virginia. I don't want to get too detailed about the show so as not to spoil it for those of you still looking forward to seeing them during this tour. Suffice to say you will not be disappointed.
My only gripe was with the venue. The infrastructure getting into the site is not meant for moving that many cars. Once you get off of the highway (which took awhile because of the back up) you have to travel over several local streets which were completely grid locked. It took us so long to get in that we missed the first couple of songs, and of course the video intro. Anyone going to a show at Montage Mountain in Scranton should make sure they get there really early. Oh well, at least it was a beautiful evening and a great show once we got settled.
Quote: I am envious! Please post a review on the concert.
Jones Beach Theater on Long Island, NY is a great place to see a show. It was a crisp, breezy evening which set the stage for a great evening. They went on at 8:00 promptly, as we were entering the outdoor arena and looking at tour shirts we heard the sound of "Limelight" being played. Someone said, oh it's not them - probably the sound board. I thought to myself, since when do they play music over the PA from the band that is performing in a few minutes!!! We scampered over to our seats in the front left section, about 5-6 rows from the corner of the stage.
While the performance of this legendary trio was stellar, I was somewhat disappointed from the setlist. Many obscure songs that my friend and I did not know, and 8 songs off the new album. Some of the new songs were very good, but due to the delay in the MVI version of Snakes and Arrows I only had about 2 days to digest the new stuff, I would have enjoyed it had I more time to become more acquainted with the new material.
One Little Victory was one of the highlights during the encore. I understand some songs have become stale and they wanted to freshen things up, but no Red Barchetta, 2112, Finding My Way?
Feist was great. Certainly the highlight of the evening.
The venue was a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that Parliament Hill is a beautiful sight. Neo-gothic architecture all around and the weather held up as well. The curse was that the sets are really short - usually about 6 songs or so and you are surrounded by really drunk Canadians - or are one of them. I won't say which one I was.
4 more days till Aerosmith! I'm not a huge fan but I am betting they put on a good show. Between Aerosmith and Cheap Trick as an opener, I'm exited but feeling kinda old so I bought Billy Talent tickets for September to keep that mid-life crisis thrill going!
To really keep the ears guessing, we have tickets to the PEI Symphony and it will soon be time for the obligatory Lennie Gallant hometown concert. A wonderfully diverse summer of music. PEI is like an island of music festivals in the summertime so lots more smaller shows will fill in there as well.
Wanna hear something funny? The only person that I'm intimidated to photograph this year is Clay Aikon.
Seriously.
My mom is a fan of his, and she wants me to take some "nice pictures" of him for her. She doesn't know who anyone else on the site is, except Willie Nelon and Kenny Rogers. To her, Clay Aiken is THE big name I'm shooting this year.
Lighting? Agents and Managers? Two-minute time restrictions?
WOW! Mark you really do nice work. It was great to see a recent photo of Pat Simmons of The Doobies. I met the Doobies back in my disc jockey days. Pat was surprisingly cultured and gentlemanly - a very nice guy. He had really good chops too.
Jack (or shall we call you 'Alex'?), I'd have thought it more likely that you met Louis Armstrong or maybe Glenn Miller. How many decades were you a DJ, anyway?
Beautiful artwork, Mark. It was kind of you to share it with us.
I was a DJ for about 4 or 5 years. WNCR FM, Cleveland (1st pic); WHCN, Hartford (2nd pic). And, for you youngsters, that's a vinyl, 33 1/3 rpm record I'm cuing up.
Aerosmith Saturday night !!! Who ever said they would Kick A__ all night was right on! Cheap Trick was having some trouble working the crowd when I arrived but once Aerosmith came on, it was like somebody flipped a switch and energized the place.
I hope I have thier energy when I get to thier age.
My wife and I spent a week there and caught them at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, holds 70,000 fans. We were about 15 bodies deep from the front of the stage. The energy in the stadium between band and crowd was unlike anything I have ever seen. The band was in top form and played many of their classic songs. Met many friendly people there.
One interesting note from the show was the military presence at the show - standing within the floor level inside the stadium, and throughout the entrances and exits to the arena. Certainly an experience!
I also ran into an impromptu live vocal performance while I was visiting one of the cathedrals. A five person vocal performance in a brick walled cavern off in one of the buildings. The voices started with a hum and broke into a beautiful piece - the lead vocalist had a magnificent bass that was deep and filled the room without electronics. I immediately wanted to capture this sound. Turns out they had CD's for sale. I bought one to hear on the Axioms - hopefully I can recreate that sound I heard. I believe the name of the group was Dvoros (or something like that).
Did James Hetfield have his potty mouth working (ie: f-bombs)? You are very brave to be 15 bodies deep from the front of the stage with that sized crowd. Must have been a fun time. Metallica usually attracts a high energy crowd.
For all the performances I've been privileged to see, I'm psyched to pay for one in October (different venue!).
I just received this notice:
Experience Hendrix! - October 18th It is with great pleasure that we welcome the legendary rhythm section of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Mitch Mitchell & Billy Cox celebrating the music and legacy of Jimi Hendrix. The show will feature Buddy Guy, Robert Randolph and Kenny Wayne Shepherd along with special performances by Robbie Krieger (legendary Doors Guitarist), Mick Taylor (legendary Rolling Stones Guitarist), Hubert Sumlin (Howlin Wolf's legendary Guitarist) and Indigenous.
Yay, I just got approval at work for time off in October and December. I actually requested two days off in the first week of December, which has been our inventory week every year, and no one's supposed to be able to take it off. I think our new boss forgot that fact, but oh, well. If she remembers as it gets closer, I'll just shrug and tell her that I wish I could help her, but I've already made arrangements.
I'm going to see Metric in Portland in October, and I'm going to see Tegan and Sara w/ Northern State in Seattle in December. I saw Tegan and Sara w/ Northern State in Portland before. I'm always alternating who I make go to concerts with me. My best friend lives in the Portland area (I always forget the city), and my sister lives in the Seattle area (Bothell).
I'm excited. I would have liked to see Rodrigo y Gabriela in October, too, but I think that would be pushing it. It would be better if I didn't have to travel multiple hours to see all of these acts.
I still need to see Cake, Feist, CSS, Cerys Matthews, Fiona Apple, and Flight of the Conchords. I think those are the only ones remaining on my must-see list after this year.
I saw Genesis in Ottawa. Overall, a very good concert. A few gripes, first it was not loud enough, I could carry one a conversation with my buddy next to me while they were playing...
They played Montreal the night before and they looked tired. Phil always gives it is all and last night was not exception, but Tony ? Mike ? flat dead.. Tony looked like he was falling asleep on his keyboard..!..
Chester was awsome as always, and they had an extra guy for guitars / bass.
Set list was pretty good, there were about 3 songs that I did not know.. back 30 years ago !!!.. I was 10 !! My favorties where, Mama, House by the Sea, No son of mine, I can't dance, Domino and more..
Good show, but could have been better.. louder for sure, and more energy..
Glad I got to see them for the first time, in my home town.
Riker, That's funny the comment you made about a lack of energy at the Genesis concert. I was reading a review of the Montreal show and the reporter made the same comment. He said that Rush basically kicked Genesis rear ends when it came to energy. Rush was playing in Montreal on Saturday night. That's too bad as I have always been a Genesis fan.
Booked tickets to see Bright Eyes in concert for the 2nd time, coming up Nov 2 in Winnipeg. Very exciting! Great thing about him is it's never the same concert twice. Besides a constantly changing set list he is great for changing up the sound considerably.
Forgot to mention, Billy Talent the weekend before last. And no! I wasn't the oldest guy there, but I was in the running. Good show. Non-stop energy from start to finish.
Last night was ZZ Top; the final concert of the season (for shooting anyway, as I still have the Hendrix tribute to attend).
On another note, I found out last night that Hughie Tomasson, founder and guitarist for the Outlaws (as well as a long-term guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd) died last week. I took this about six weeks ago (Tomasson on left). RIP....
Awesome work, as usual, Mark. Abso-freakin-lutely awesome!
My practice partner and I may try to commission you to take our portraits - we are thinking about putting life-size cardboard cutouts of ourselves in the lobby, to greet patients.
Don't believe this guy. The cardboard cutout is to stick in his office with an attached tape recorder playing a loop of "Mmm hmmm. Tell me more" so he can spend more time on the forums.
Yeah! Instead of a cardboard cutout, you should have a bust of yourself made, maybe mounted on a series of zees. That way you could be head and shoulders above the rest.
Just thought I would give you my take on the RUSH concert in Ottawa last Friday night.. one word..AWSOME !
For once, the sound was good.. This was my 9th time seeing Rush in concert..so ya, I'm a fan..and the last 3 concerts, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec city, I had seen the sound was really not good..in fact the last one in Montreal was the R30 tour and I was sitting quite high for that one.. the sound was so bad that I could not even make out which song they were playing..and trust me when I say, I KNOW Rush songs, every single one of them..
This past concert was very good, excellent set list, songs that I never heard live before like Natural Science, Witchhunt, Digital Man, Circumstances,Entre Nous ..and more.. there were a few songs from the new album, 5 to be exact..and of course some of the favourites, Freewill, Tom Sawyer, Subdivisions, Spirit of the Radio etc.. no closer to the heart and I'm glad..I've heard it to many times.
Excellent concert.. they rocked the place..I have an awsome time..
I saw The Arcade Fire last night, with LCD Soundsystem as the opener. The Arcade Fire played an awesome set. LCD Soundsystem was great as well, though I unfortunately missed the first half of their set.
Upcoming - The Ponys, Alice In Chains (acoustic), The Australian Pink Floyd Show
I'm not posting much because I'm in Portland visiting a friend, and tomorrow we're going to see Metric at Wonder Ballroom. I'm excited. I know, this post doesn't really qualify for this thread yet, but shut up.
Okay, so I have an extra ticket for the Metric show tonight. The person who had a claim to it is sick. Anyone in the area want a free ticket? PM me, I suppose, and maybe we can work out a way for you to get it.
Portland's pretty great, but I wouldn't want to live there, or any big city. It's too wet for me, but the occasional visit is perfect.
Oh, yay, it's actually posting. I wasn't able to post last night or this morning until now. I reset my cable modem, router, switch, flushed my internet cache (including cookies), restarted my computer, and made axiomaudio.com a trusted site. One of those things solved my problem.
Okay, so I've been having more trouble. This is another test message.
But yeah, Metric was good live. The only problem is that the levels were mixed poorly, making the vocals hard to make out. I still enjoyed it, but it would have been nice to hear the lyrics to all of the new songs.
Dicky Betts & Great Southern outdoors last night at a local on-the-water restaurant, bar & outdoor resort about a 10 minute drive from our home, the old fella can still get it done convincingly and his son ain't half bad either ... we really had a great time.
I'm certainly not a Mark Johnson by any means but here's a pic...
I caught my first concert in quite some time late last week and was lucky enough to see Hey Rosetta!, The Mohawk Lodge and Octoberman at a small coffee shop in Winnipeg. Listeners to CBC3 will probably recognize a song or two from each of these bands and they didn't disappoint in concert. It was tough not to feel sorry for the Mohawk Lodge and Octoberman however, their van had broken down in BC so they'd played the last 3 shows (including Winnipeg) with only 1/2 the usual contingent since that was all they could fit in the "good" van. Nice bunch of folks though and enjoyed chatting with them after the show. Here's hoping they had some better luck as they headed east!
a place called Mondragon...while i don't agree with a lot of their politics or appetites (they are a vegan/organic coffeshop/cafe) it would appear they get an interesting band through every once in a while.
My wife and I, along with a couple of friends saw Robert Cray at the Sunrise Theatre in Ft. Pierce, Fl this evening. As usual Robert put on a great show but this evening was especially nice because of the rather small venue and it seemed as though he and the band were absolutely enjoying themselves, his playing was dead on...unlike my fishing trip earlier in the day whenever we only caught one 30# smoker kingfish.
Sunday I went to Roger Lord (pianist) and Christina Buoey (violin) as guests of the PEI Symphony Orchestra.
Going to be one of my most interesting falls ever music wise. Billy Talent 1st week of October, then the PEI Symphony, then a 'Classic Albums Live' rendition of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" coming up in a couple of weeks time.
I went to the Jimi Hendrix tribute the other night. It featured:
Mitch Mitchell (Original Hendrix drummer) Billy Cox (Hendrix Bassist) Buddy Guy Tommy Shannon (SRV Bassist) Chris Layton (SRV Drummer) Kenny Wayne Shepherd Noah Hunt (KWS' vocalist) Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf guitarist) Robby Kreiger (Doors guitarist) Mick Taylor (John Mayall and Rolling Stones guitarist) Cory Glover (Living Color vocalist) Kenny Olson (session and Kid Rock guitarist) Andy Aledort (Hendrix Transcriptionist and guitarist) Robert Randolph Doyle Bramhall III Mato Nanji (Indigenous guitarist) Eric Gales
It was a small venue and there was lots of jamming and riff exchanges. The only performer I didn't enjoy as much was Buddy Guy. Legend or not, I think he likes to hear himself and the closest thing he did to a Hendrix cover was Hootchie Kootchie Man… which Hendrix also covered.
Highlights were a truly burning take on Voodoo Chile (with Mitch Mitchell and Chris Layton on dual drums, Tommy Shannon, and KWS, Hubert Sumlin, Robert Randolph and Doyle Bramhall on guitars, and vocals shared by both Noah Hunt and Cory Glover) and Voodoo Chile (slight Return) with KWS and Double Trouble.
I was impressed with the fact that it was not just the most popular songs, but some unusual ones as well such as Catfish Blues and Bleeding Heart. Awesome covers of Red House and Hear My Train a Comin'. Certainly the "Purple Hazes" and "I Don't Live Today's" and the "Crosstown Traffic's" were all covered, but the night had a strong blues lean.
It was 4 ½ hours of music, and the only thing left that I could have wanted to hear was "Machine Gun"; only because it's a personal favorite as played live on the Band of Gypsies album.
Went to see "Classic Albums Live" do Pink Floyd's - The Wall on Friday night.
These guys don't recreate the light shows or jump around or anything, they just concentrate on the music and MAN do they do a good job. Note for note, it would be hard to tell from the real thing.
Best part of the night was they had about 20 local kids come out to sing the children's parts in Another Brink in the Wall (part two). You could tell they were psyched. I imagine they will remember it forever.
I have been lucky enough to get into Winnipeg twice in the past week to see a couple of great shows....two Saturdays ago was Elliot Brood with the Acorn and the Sunparlour Players. Elliot Brood was again quite enjoyable - this was my 4th time seeing them, despite the lead singer's illness and resulting vocal complications. This past Friday i went to see Bright Eyes, which happens to be my 2nd time seeing him live and it was a great show. The venue was small so my girlfriend and i were able to watch from about 8 rows back (standing room only on the floor) but could easily see everything. The sound was phenomenal and the set list was wonderful, taking at least a couple of songs from each of the past 4 albums. I think he played for about an hour and a half so we got our money's worth too.
Looks like one more trip into the 'peg is warranted later this week, Cuff the Duke is playing the WECC. I'd actually characterize their music as something akin to Connor Oberst, maybe a bit more "poppy" but with ???"better"??? vocals. Not quite the depth of songwriting either, but pretty impressive nonetheless.
Tonight I attended a 'casual concert' and saw cellist Elinor Frey play. It was really interesting - a small venue, an amazing pianist accompanying her, and all pieces I had never heard before. Two favourites were Bunraku cello Solo by Toshiro Mayuzumi and Siete Canciones Populares duet for cello and piano by Españolas Manuel de Falla. Both took amazing skill to perform and she was technically very gifted. Glad I went!
It was my first exposure to him (that I know of) and I really enjoyed it. I'm waiting for JohnK to tell me what release will sound as good as live at home!
Went to see "Classic Albums Live" do Pink Floyd's - The Wall on Friday night.
Wow! That might've been something! I am hoping Pink Floyd would come together atleast once for a full-blown concert, for me to do whatever it takes to be there!
BTW, the band America is playing in a city near mine this December and I was wondering if anyone has been to their concert recently and if it was worth it. Normally I would attend every possible concert even if I like the band or not, but this time around I am thinking I might have to leave one out. Since Scorpions is playing the weekend right after them, I am wondering if they would really be worth it. I could stretch and attend them both but just thought I'll ask....
Back (way on back) in the day I saw America, ZZ Top, Allman Brothers and the Doobie Brothers in one weekend at two different cities ... I don't remember a lot , but I do remember being very impressed with America. Don't know how they would be today, very good I'm willing to bet.
This past Tuesday the little missus and myself saw Bonnie Raitt perform an outstanding show up the road in Melbourne, Fl. She just turned 58, was something like only her third or fourth show this year and she was 'in the mood'. It was really cool whenever the audience sang Happy Birthday to her towards the end of the show, she seemed to really appreciate that.
My wife and I went to an America concert about three years ago. We both enjoy their older material. The concert was o.k. The sound was way too loud for their style of music. The sound mix improved about half way through the show. The harmonies were great however when Gerry Beckley was singing solo, he sounded like daffy duck! The opening act, which I really went to hear basically blew America off the stage. YMMV. Cheers, Shaun
I saw The Autralian Pink Floyd Show in Houston last Tuesday and in San Antonio on Saturday. If your a Floyd fan this is a must see. Played Dark Side of the Moon from begiining to end to open the show. Then played various songs from Wish You Were Here, The Wall, Animals, Meddle, etc. Great show, they sound so close to Floyd you will be amazed. The acoustics in Houston were much better than San Antonio though.
Saw Iron & Wine at the Paramount in Oakland last night, and I'm still in awe of how good it was. Probably the most gorgeous set of music I've ever heard live. Gorgeous songs, gorgeous arrangements (especially of the earlier more acoustic stuff), and a mesmerizing vocal performance. The intimacy and care put into the music was breathtaking.
So, if you couldn't tell, I'd highly recommend anyone with a passing interest in their music to see 'em live - you won't be disappointed!
Last night I was seeing Tegan and Sara w/ Northern State at The Showbox in Seattle. It was a lot of fun. Northern State were touring with Tegan and Sara the last time I saw them, too. They're very fun to see live, and my brother-in-law, who wanted to hate three white girl rappers, was actually nodding along with their music and applauding after each song. He was completely bored during Tegan and Sara, though.
Tegan and Sara did get off to a rocky start. They weren't really hitting their mark, but after a few they started to get better. Sara was sick, but she said she felt better while performing. My sister liked Northern State's performance more, too, and I can understand why. Their music is generally catchier, and in most cases, Tegan and Sara's music is something I'd rather listen to at home, when I'm in the right mood for it. Plus, they were guilty of having it blasted way too loud. I think their live show would benefit from backing off of the volume. I really should have remembered earplugs.
I'm glad they talked more than the time I saw them in Portland. The Portland audience was too unruly, and Tegan and Sara gave up trying to tell their stories. I remember Sara saying in an interview on Amazon.com that they love playing Seattle, maybe the most, and they certainly seemed to be in a better mood than when they were in Portland. Some bands shouldn't try to talk between songs, but I really enjoy the stories they tell.
Northern State's banter was pretty funny, too. I get their newsletter, and they've mentioned on numerous occasions about being huge fans of Grey's Anatomy. You can imagine their excitement both times they got to announce a song of theirs being featured on the show. I don't think I'd be a fan of the show (only saw part of one episode), but it's fun to see others take that much pleasure in something.
It was enjoyable. I think I'm good now, having seen them both twice. I mainly went to this concert to get my sister to go, since she also likes both bands, and she doesn't end up going to concerts unless I make her. Anyway, fun stuff!
The only thing is that I should have bought more of the Tegan and Sara scarves. I bought one for my sister and one for Cari, but I could have made some money by selling extras on eBay.
I saw Rob Zombie and Ozzy Osbourne at our new Sprint Center here in Kansas City last night. A friend of mine's company has a sweet and it was a free ticket, so I couldn't pass that up.
I had a great time and all (who wouldn't in a suite with free alcohol) but I was again disappointed in the sound quality. Almost without exception hard rock/metal shows are so loud that you can't really hear the music it all becomes a blended, over reverbed wall of messy sound.
I don't know why that is, but it's that way at pretty much every concert I've ever been to. It's a shame because I love metal, but I don't get too excited about going to see the bands I like because I know they won't sound that great.
The only metal concert I've ever been to that had crystal clear quality sound with very fast decay so you weren't still hearing the sound from 20 notes ago during the current note was at an Iced Earth concert - damn they were tight sounding. If all concerts sounded like that, I'd never miss another show.
Metallica and Dream Theater have both been very good as well, but not at the same level as Iced Earth.
I may be done with metal concerts, it's just not worth the damage to my ears to hear a jumbled mess of music. Do the sound tech guys at concerts (or whatever you call them) really think it sounds good? I don't get it.
I'm no sound tech but I have been in a couple of suits during sound concerts and I think they are, by thier nature, the worst place to listen to a concert. During Guns and Roses in the Halifax Metro Center, I was invited by a friend whom I ran into, to go up to a suite. After 2 songs, err maybe it was two drinks, I went down to my seat because the sound was simply awful in a box wayy up there to the side. My view was worse in this one as well.
I have also been to some bad sounding concerts but I remember Our Lady Peace a few years ago in Halifax was exceptionally good sounding and Billy Talent in Saint John New Brunswick was also surprisingly good. He wouldn't have a quarter of the budget for sound gear that the real big names do.
To me, the common denominator in the concerts that sounded good was that it was obvious that they were not shooting for ear bleeding sound levels.
Ozzy is close by in Halifax in early January. I wish it wasn't so close to Christmas. The Christmas budget is officially shot and then some.
Yeah, suites probably aren't the best but this is the first time I've been in one for a concert and the sound was very much the same as what I'm used to going to concerts over the years.
It wasn't like they were off tune or anything, Ozzy actually sounded great as far as hitting the notes and Zack was amazing on the guitar. It's just too much reverb or something. It's like all the instruments are competing with each other for max volume and their all losing.
So, this is cheating, as I really didn't see them live in concert in person. But I did really enjoy the new "Queen Rock Montreal" Blu Ray last night.
The picture is great, especially considering the era (1981). Has a clean, filmlike look. Not as crisp as these new digitally filmed discs, but that's OK. I was not left wanting any more clarity, especially with all the close-ups of Freddie Mercury. I mean, he's a great, great singer, and he's the epitome of rock star flamboyance, but I don't need to count his whiskers or see all his pores, OK?
The sound was good to great, with special attention paid to the drums, I think. There were some theatrical elements that showed off my EP 500 nicely.
My favorite part, however, was the ability to see the commentary (by Brian May and Roger Taylor) in subtitles, with no audio commentary distracting from the songs. I lucked onto this by accident, as I was playing with the PS3 controller/remote. What I did was hit the square button, which gives the pop-up menu. The disc keeps playing. I selected subtitles, expecting lyrics, but got the commentary instead. Cool!
As a bonus to the Montreal concert, there is the entire Queen Live Aid set (in SD, and noticeably so, with some tape shimmer effects, sadly) from 1985. Good stuff, and a highly recommended disc.
Just saw the Foo Fighters in concert at the Mid America Center last night. The Foo were great, and got to see some of the new band members. There was a pretty cool "mini stage" that dropped from the ceiling in the center of the arena where they preformed their acoustic numbers. First time I heard the acoustic version of My Hero and really enjoyed it. There was even a triangle solo. First time I've really been to a good rock concert and it was fun to watch the crowd surfers get yanked by their ankles off the surf of many hands by the big boys in yellow.
The opening gig by Serj (Lead singer from System of a Down) was mediocre. Not a huge fan of his overly hard style. During Serj's entire performance they had 2 giant spot lights pointed to the crowd that were to the left and right of the stage. And of course, I was one of the lucky few to have not only suffered severe hearing damage, but also tremendous trauma to the eyes.
I love Robin Trower. I saw him about a half-dozen times in club venues years ago. Who's singing now? How was the show?
Show was quite good. DO not recall the singer's name. Thought he was new as I swore he was reading the lyrics, bu then in looking at Robin's website, he has been singing with him for a while.
I haven’t followed this thread as I usually don’t call to concerts, well unless they’re really good like this one .
Master of Ceremony Eugene Levy
Guest Performances Wyclef Jean Norah Jones Shakira Burton Cummings Robin Williams Sir Elton John
Commitment Presenters John Travolta Tom Cruise
Let me first say, it was truly generous of the person to invite me and provide me with the ticket. There would be no other way that I would be able to afford to go to something like this.
A quick rundown on the night since I lost my initial write up.
Always, always make sure to read everything in a package you receive. No matter how excited you are or how much you rush, make sure to slow down and read. I say this as we got to the event in plenty of time but apparently missed out on the meet and greet before the festivities started. When I found this out I was pretty upset, but I was able to get up right beside former President Clinton as he was 2 tables away. One of the persons I attended the dinner with was able to meet Bill while I was up there, but I did not try very hard myself as his security was really straining under the amount of people. Also, pretty much everyone else there had shelled out big bucks to be there and were also making large donations to the initiative.
Norah Jones was sitting a table away and looked excellent. She seemed to be there with 3-4 people, one of which must have been her boyfriend/husband due to the way she looked at him…lucky guy. I was able to “have” a drink with her at an after party. I was having my drink and she walked up beside me where I simple turned and smiled. I didn’t want to say any of the standard complimentary things so I left her be with her friends and stole the odd glance. Eugene Levy was also there and I was beside him at the bar where he was talking so someone intently and also seemed to have his brother there. I say this as the guy looked very similar to him.
Apparently Robin Williams was at the after party as well, but I unfortunately did not see him. I did however have him walk right past my table during the evening while he was being rushed to his table after his set. A quick wave and Hi to people as he went by. He is a quality entertainer and rocked the house as expected. One of the best parts of the night was the delay in setting up Elton John for the final performance. Bill Clinton was on stage with Eugene Levy and they covered some material and then went to improv. Bill had a good couple quips and such but Eugene ran out of stuff quick. Out comes Robin to save the day.. Eugene sees this and says “Robin, where have you been for the last 10 minutes?” and Robin replies “Watching you die…”
All the performers were amazing but my favorites were definitely Burton Cummings and Elton John. Elton was up on stage just with his piano and the guy is just incredible. I don’t know his music that well, but he made each song original by changing or extending some parts, very moving the guy just has it.
I finally got home at around 3:45am utterly exhausted and gave my wife a rundown of the evening. I was able to get about an hour’s sleep before having to bring my in-laws to the airport. When I got back another 4 hours sleep before getting up to go to another fundraiser, a luncheon for MS. Another great event and something more my speed and at my level, I easily paid for these tickets at $30 a pop unlike the night before which were $30,000 a pop at my table!
Other than Travolta and Cruise, that was some night! ;-} One you'll remember forever. I covered Ms. Clinton at an event in Boston years ago. She was really great, but I'd wished Bill was there too. Nonetheless, I'll always remember that.
Just got in from seeing Elton John right here in Kitchener Ontario! Just shy of 3 hours - no breaks. Just him and a piano in a small hockey arena. Just excellent.
Last night I saw Sarah Slean at Joe's Pub in Manhattan. It was a magical night. Haven't seen her live in five years. Made me homesick even more. But her new material is just wonderful.
The wife went to the 5th BonJovi Show at the ACC in Toronto Thurday night.
She's seen the other 4 shows sitting front row for 2 of them, a VIP on the 3rd ( sit on stage for a couple songs) and she even scored a hug from the guy!
The only chick he huged all night!Not sure what he did or who after the show?But it wasnt her!
I should have went with her but i was never a big Bonjovi fan.
I gave my ticket to one of her sisters that is in love with him so i think she needed to go more then me.
To be honest i kind of regret not going after hearing how good of a show it was. I only had 5 times to check it out!
Well, I'm lucky enough to live in Austin, and I've had 24 hours to recover from SXSW. Here's who I saw from 3/12-3/16 (with a few comments/notes):
Steve Poltz Rocco DeLuca Gustavo Alberto Circo Salvador Santana Joe Ely Back Door Slam (These kids are amazing --awesome blues/rock) Jesca Hoop Howlin Rain Ceci Bastida A Weather Dead Confederate (Opening for REM -- LOUD and rocking) Girl in a Coma Rupa and the April Fishes (Eclectic but engaging) Murs (Great hip-hop, funny, and great intelligence) Willie Nelson (A legend. Not my usual cup of tea, but still great) Tift Merritt Christian Scott Old 97s Maya Azucena (Wow, this woman can sing) Upground (Every SXSW I have a "find", and this is it this year! Amazing blend of reggae, ska & cumbia. Think Sublime & 311, but run through a latino filter. Nice young kids who are incredibly tight.) Vampire Weekend (the next big thing, and they really were good) Jim Bianco (quirky voice and great songs: think Tom Waits) Cary Brothers
How do you even make sense of so many different artists? I don't know! It was amazing.
And this is me ignoring the fact that Tom still hasn't come to Austin to enjoy the bounty that is here! Next major music event: Austin City Limits Music Festival 9/26-9/28. But plenty of other music before then, too!
And all this fun has put a major dent in new home theater construction. But that's for another thread...
Wife and saw George Thorogood and the Destroyers last night at the King Center in Melbourne, Fl., these guys were on fire and put on an awesome show ... it's hard to believe George is 57 years old, he put on a performance like he was in his twenties.
Rented Standing in the Shadows of Motown last night. What a great documentary. This is a must see for anyone who likes Motown music. And the sound quality is EXCELLENT to boot.
Quote:
In 1959, Berry Gordy gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on "My Girl," "Bernadette," I Was Made to Love Her," and every other hit from Motown's Detroit era.
By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers.
Forty-one years after they played their first note an a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story in STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN.
With the tumultuous sixties as a backdrop, Motown's unsung heroes take the viewer on a compelling journey in time as they trace the evolution of The Motown Sound" from its origins in Detroit to its demise in Los Angeles during the seventies. Through the eyes of the riveting characters who ruled Hitsville's studio by day and the club scene of Detroit by night, we enter a world of unparalleled soul and emotion as the Funk Brothers revisit the sites of their musical roots, triumphs, and eventual heartbreak.
For more than four decades, from the dance floors of the world, to the Detroit riots of 1967, to the war in Vietnam, the music the Funk Brothers created has played a major role in the cultural fabric of all of our lives. STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN finally puts some faces on that music and introduces these heroic musical figures to the world.
Great call on the "Standing in the shadows....", awesome documentary about these unsung heroes of Motown. Whenever I first watched it I couldn't believe just how many Motown hits the Funk Brothers played without ever hearing of the 'Funk Brothers'.
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On another note, wife and I got tickets to see Eric Clapton and Robert Randolph in Tampa, Florida on the 3rd of May, kicking off his 11 north American city tour prior to heading off to Europe ... and then on Monday the 5th of May we're seeing B.B. King in Melbourne, Florida. Needless to say, we're STOKED!
Symphony of Distraction. My Wife and I went to the PEI Symphony Orchestra with special guests Matia Gotman and returning hometown hero, Julia MacLaine. It was the Orchestra's 40th birthday so all kinds of goodies afterwards.
A very enjoyable show except for the lady who brought her infant baby. She had to leave by the second piece after he started to sing along. She waited long enough to gather some very nasty looks before admitting defeat.
All was wonderful until the final piece. The pre-teen boy behind me decided he could reproduce the string section by rubbing his hand on his pants. While he actually followed along quiet well, it sounded like speaker fuzz. took me a while to figure out what was going on.
Just saw my favorite band, Kraftwerk, in Minneapolis (actually Maplewood, MN) on Saturday. Drove 6 hours just to see them, plus paid a pretty penny for VIP seats and service. Crazy, I know, but it was worth it for a band that I'll probably never see again. I took some pictures and uploaded a few of the good ones to share with people. Forgive me as they suck compared to Mark's concert photos! I got carried away taking pictures of Ralf since I was on his side of the stage, not to mention he's also my favorite member of the band.
The little missus and myself, along with another couple saw Eric Clapton and Robert Randolph in Tampa, FL., last night. It was an extremely awesome show and an added bonus to see that Doyle Bramhall II was EC's sideman for the event. Man did they sound great.
We're seeing B.B. King tomorrow night in Melbourne, can't wait!
I just got back from my daughters year end concert at her highschool. It started off with a brass quartet and a flute trio and finished off with a full (mini) symphony orchestra playing Symphony no. 5 from Dvorak's New World Symphony.
I was absolutely blown away by what a bunch of inspired teenagers can do!! The school is supposed to have the best or one of the best music programs in the country. After tonight I believe it.
Well it wasn't last night however my wife and I went to see Rush last Thursday in Vancouver. All I can say is Rush were in overdrive for this concert! I hate to admit it but this show was much better than the concert I attended last year in Washington state. The sound was spectacular and the boy's were in fine form. Great seats too as we were ten rows up on Geddy's side and about six rows back from the stage. Had an unobstructed view of Mr. Peart :-) The revised set list was a nice addition. Too bad there isn't a DVD of this show.
Saw The Cure last night here in Austin. Sure brought back some memories for both my wife and me. The show was even better than I would have thought. And they actually played for 3 full hours, which surprised me most of all. You don't see too many acts that will put on that kind of show these days.
I am kicking myself for not going to see The Cure when they were in Vancouver recently. There are too many acts coming through town and not enough entertainment dollars Rush is the only other band I can think of that does a three hour concert. By the end of the show everyone is exhausted
A friend at work who used to work security for different events said that when Smashing Pumpkins played once they came out for four encores. If I was in the audience, I probably would have left after the second one. I just don't think I could stay excited after two encores. Ha ha.
OK This wasn't last night but if you are interested in vacationing on the beaches this summer and going three nights of a really great concert lineup....
Check out this link, Festival of Lights for a full list of Festival Activities leading up to the Canada Day Fireworks but I'll tap out the concert lineup below since that is what were talking about here.
Saturday, June 28th ...State of Shock ...The Trews ...Billy Talent
Sunday ...Hinder ...Our Lady Peace with an opening performance by our own, Matt Mays and El Torpedo
Monday ...Collective Soul ...The Tragically Hip
they are not SUPERHUGE bands like U2 or the Stones but you have to consider that my little Island of a province tops out at just under 140,000 residents so this is a pretty big deal to us. Of course it attracts people from all over but still a big event to have these guys here.
I should also mention that the Eagles will be just across the water in New Brunswick on August 2nd. I love their music but I'm not all that exited about seeing them live so still undecided.
So I'm at the Apple World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco this week. Tonight was the huge party where they have plenty of great food (rolled-to-order sushi, dim sum, pizza, pasta, burgers, hot dogs) and decent beer. They also had a band which they didn't announce until they were about to take the stage.
It was the Barenaked Ladies. I'm familiar with their music but I wouldn't call myself more than a casual fan. They're a bunch of nerds so they connected well with the crowd, and they put on a good show.
Cool. I learned yesterday through Pandora that Barenaked Ladies has followed in the footsteps of TMBG and put out a children's CD.
Quoting from the band's official web site, they "have collaborated with Emmy-nominated animator Nancy Lennert (Blues Clues, Little Bill) to create a hilarious western-themed video for the track “7 8 9” off of their forthcoming original children’s album, SNACKTIME, out May 6. The western-themed video features the numbers 1 through 10 hanging out at “5 Ladies Saloon,” but 6 is afraid of 7."
Apparently it was the same food as last year. The asian food stations (one with noodles and ribs, the other with sushi) were by far the highlights. Oh, and the ice cream stations were nice, too.
Yuck! That food must be mold covered and green by now. Not like Apple to be so cheap, but I guess they have to recoup the smaller margin from the now $199 iPhone somehow.
Looks like you are nearly to 10K Peter. My early congrats. Seems like yesterday you were just at 7,500.
HA! Another succesful Canadian invasion! I like their music when I don't have to watch them hop around like, well... nerds. It's not my favorite kind of music but they definitely are talented musicians.
You will all enjoy this then. She was supposed to play in Halifax this summer in neighboring Nova Scotia, as part of the annual big outdoor concert. (actually, was it last summer? OMG can't remember..) Anyways, A local reporter wrote a story about how Celine Dion was nice but he was disappointed because Halifax was more of a rock and role town.
Within a week, she had canceled her stop in Halifax with her manager (husband I believe) blabbering on about how she didn't feel wanted there.
I say we give the reporter the key to the city or some other award of honor and we give Celine the award for the biggest inflated ego of all time.
I saw Melissa Etheridge last night for the first time.... one of my favorite shows from the last couple of years.
So far I've had Foghat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Brooks and Dunn, Charlie Daniels, Levon Helm and Phil Lesh this year.
There's 20 or so more coming this season, but I'm most looking forward to Jethro Tull, Peter Frampton, CSN&Y, Styx, Boston, John Fogerty, Live and Blues Traveler.
I saw Melissa Etheridge last night for the first time.... one of my favorite shows from the last couple of years.
So far I've had Foghat, Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Brooks and Dunn, Charlie Daniels, Levon Helm and Phil Lesh this year.
There's 20 or so more coming this season, but I'm most looking forward to Jethro Tull, Peter Frampton, CSN&Y, Styx, Boston, John Fogerty, Live and Blues Traveler.
Oohh - is it really CSN& Y that you will be seeing or just CSN? I would love to see CSN, but would kill to see CSN&Y.
This is now 2 weeks old due to vacation but I started it all off with 3 nights of concerts. Night 1 - State of Shock - The Trews - Billy Talent
Night 2 - Matt Mays and El'Torpedo - Our Lady Peace
Night 3 - Collective Soul - Tragically Hip
Billy Talent had the crowd bouncing like crazy but a lot of older folks 'didn't get it'. I never did quiet grow up yet so I had a blast.
Our Lady Peace had exceptional sound quality. I have seen them 3 times now and this outdoor event sounded like I was listening at home. Well, maybe louder.
I especially enjoyed Collective Soul. They are just such diverse musicians. Even their softer ballads, with hints of classical influence even, seem to provide as much energy as their rockin tunes.
The Hip did what they always do. Play what they play really well until young and old alike are heavy into it. They had almost 100% of the crowd, front to back, with hands raised. That's rare too see at these festivals that have very diverse audiences of all ages.
When I was in college, I taped the King Biscuit Flower Hour off the radio onto a cassette. One of my favorite concerts was Jethro Tull, especially the rendition of "Farm on the Freeway". That was a song that, to me, never got its due.
Maybe people had gotten enough about the farmer from John Cougar Mellencamp's Scarecrow album a couple of years earlier. It also remains one of my faves.
Ooh, rub it in. Ouch. Farm on the Freeway from the 6th row.
I think of the other concerts I could have seen in 1987-1988 and get a little sad: U2/Joshua Tree, Pink Floyd/Momentary Lapse of Reason, Def Leppard/Hysteria. If I knew then ...
At least I saw Rush a few times, Paul Simon's Graceland tour, R.E.M's Green tour, a few others. Not too bad.
I think of the other concerts I could have seen in 1987-1988 and get a little sad: U2/Joshua Tree, Pink Floyd/Momentary Lapse of Reason, Def Leppard/Hysteria. If I knew then ...
I remember the reaction from one of my friends when I played him "Gotta Boogie" for the first time. After what seemed like endless verses of "Gotta boooooogie (gotta boogie!) ...", my friend asked, "Does the lyric ever change or is it 3 minutes of these 2 words?!"
Then Al whipped out the zinger and my friend put his head into his hands.
I actually would like to see Weird Al in concert one day.
I hear that he does songs in concert that he never got approval to do on albums, like Prince songs. And then there's the Wings take off, "Chicken Pot Pie".
Saw Boston last night at Casino Rama. Great venue to watch a show and a great show it was. There are now two lead singers for the band, and the newest frontman they found sounds exactly like the late Brad Delp. I appreciate bands whose stage sound closely mimics their studio recording and Boston was exactly as I remember their recording from way back in 1976 Well worth the price of admission.
I have a Styx/Boston concert this Saturday night, and, quite frankly, I was looking forward to Sunday's Frampton/Jethro Tull a whole lot more because I was thinking Boston would suck without Delp.
I've seen Styx twice in the last handful of years - decent show. I've avoided the Boston tours because I made the same assumption re Delp. I saw Tull (well, Ian and Martin) in 2004 and wasn't much impressed. Frampton's show in 2005 was great, though, despite the surprise opener of Hansen.
Hope you enjoy the show as much as I did. It's a very interesting story how they found the new singer, well worth the time to look it up, but in a nutshell, he was an accountant or something for Home Depot and his daughter sent a Karaoke tape of her dad to the band after Delp died and low and behold he's now the singer for the band. His stage presence is a bit weak (but I'm sure will improve with time)and they probably have him sing only about 60% of the time which is a shame because honestly I thought he sounded fantastic!
Can she really not hear anything or is she just not listening to you?
Jealous though. I didn't think I liked NiN until I saw a live performance. The live music is so clean compared to the albums and the energy is like I have never experienced before or since.
Meddy - I saw the new front man for Boston telling his story on TV - wasn't that something? And the other band members actually thought it was Delp singing - he's that convincing apparently. Glad to hear it was a good show!
Can she really not hear anything or is she just not listening to you?
Jealous though. I didn't think I liked NiN until I saw a live performance. The live music is so clean compared to the albums and the energy is like I have never experienced before or since.
She was apparently quite unnerved with the size of Trent Reznor's abnormally sized arms. Kinda like the latest Carrot Top steroid look.
What a day! Hit the Kitchener Blues festival today. Started off with a set by some local talent, headed over to the main stage and caught the Downchild Blues band, then Maureen Brown & Big Hand.
It rained on and off all afternoon, so we headed back to my place for a little while to dry off and warm up.
The evening started off with a group from Oz, Mason Rack Band. These guys were amazing. The guitarist plays some increadible slide guitar and did a percussion duet with the drummer. He also wandered in the audience playing chairs and tent poles (we were under a bigtop) at one point.
The evening finished off with Big Jack Johnson and the Oilers. Man, can this guy play!! Because of the weather there were no moer than 40 or 50 people at the last set. We were front row center.
It was a great weekend. I took my son down on Sunday for supper and to catch the closing act, Mel Brown & The Homewreckers. Mell looked to be somewhere in his 70s, had an oxygen tube under his nose, but he still mannaged to bang out rockin tunes for two hours.
Just recovering from the Edmonton Folk Music Festival - the one chance to cram a year's worth of live music into one weekend. The highlights (and there were many):
- The Sadies jamming with Luke Doucet and Ron Sexsmith. Possibly the finest version of "Burnin' Love" I will ever hear; - Michael Franti and Spearhead getting untold thousands of people up dancing at 1:00AM, just after a thunderstorm dropped the temperature from 32 to about 12 degrees; - Serena Ryder cranking out Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" - jaw-dropping; - Jonny Lang jamming with 6 other guitarists/bluesmen (including Don Ross and Andy McKee) on BB King's "Gambler's Blues" - that dude has some serious talent; - Broken Social Scene jamming with Luke Doucet and John Bottomley
I also managed to see shows by Brett Dennen, Colin Hay, Chris Isaak, Joan Osbourne, Hawksley Workman, Buckwheat Zydeco, Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck, and probably a bunch more that I'm forgetting. What a weekend!
I encourage anyone who lives within a 1000-mile radius of Edmonton to come and check this festival out if you can. It is amazingly well-run, and the talent speaks for itself...great stuff. Now I have to go spend a bunch of money on new music.
I saw Def Leppard last night in Ottawa. Opening act was Billy Idol. I was sitting WAY up in the nose bleeds, so the sound was not that great.. WAY to much bass.. drowned some of the vocals and rythm guitars, Joe's vocals were a bit dissapointing, could not hit those higher notes and pulled back from the mike a lot on them.. the songs lacked the power that is present on the CDs.. Not that bad of a show..but sound could have been way better..but when you sit that high up it's going to happen. Billy was good.. had better sound than Def.
The first 2 songs were kind of rough.. but once he warmed up his vocals were very good. He did go down to floor level and sing to the little ladies.. got them all exited you know.. he dropped his mike on the stage twice.. does that count ? He was pretty active, running, fist pumping with crooked face look ..
highs for me were white wedding, rebel yell, flesh for fantasy, and a few more... lows were money money.. I've never like that song..
Overall I really enjoyed his show.. and despite sitting 2000 feet up (felt like that anyways) in the arena, his sound was actually not bad..Def on the other hand.. holy smokes, BAAADDDD.. which is to BAAADDD because I do like everything from hysteria and older..
Billy Idol was the first 2 concerts I had ever been to...the Rebel Yell (1984) and Whiplash Smile (1986) tours. Ever since those concerts, I've avoided standing in crowds at all costs because I almost passed out near the front of the stage from heat exhaustion during the Whiplash Smile concert. It's not a good place to be at only 5'2" tall! Funny enough, I've also seen Def Leppard back in the days. I SAT for that concert!
Saw Dave Matthews Band at the Bricktown Ballpark in OKlahoma City last night.
Overall a pretty good show. It was outdoor at a baseball stadium (As you can tell by the venue name) and the stage was in center field.
Our seats were inbetween 1st base and right field, a few rows up from ground level. Sound was pretty good, but the vocals were a little hard to hear at times. Tim Reynolds was there as well, and really jammed out on the guitar a couple of times. The concert lasted a little over 4 hours, and a little over 2.5 hours of that was song after song from DMB.
They had 3 extra speaker stacks hanging from lifts in the infield, pointing for anyone who was sitting around home plate or in the upper decks. now those were LOUD. For the last song we were standing over there (close to the exit) and I had to pop in some ear plugs.
they let several thouasand people onto the outfield itself, so the outfield was nothing but a sea of sweat and madness.
First time seeing DMB and I will def. go to another. Also, the stage setup/visuals were amazing.
Last night we braved the rain to see Cheap Trick, Heart and Journey. I was able to make it all the way through to listen to a few songs from Journey, they head lined, before I had enough of being soak and wet. The new guy has a hell of a voice.
IMO Heart stoled the show. I tell ya they really rocked the house. When they were done, they played after Cheap Trick, I turned to my son and told him if we left now I'd be happy. They were just that good.
Styx and Boston played this year, with Styx opening. I was looking forward to Boston (even though they were sans Delp) but it was Styx that blew me (and everyone else) away. They were amazingly fun, energetic, right-on with their sound, had incredible lighting, etc... It was a blast.
Two nights ago I had Earth, Wind and Fire and could say all the same things. Amazing talent in that group. It seemed as though all members were great vocalists as well as multi-instrumentalists.
I only have one more this year.. Sugarland. I'm not into Country but they have the #1 album right now, the facility is sold out, and, because they've always had an excellent relationship with the facility's management and owners, they've arranged for me to shoot on stage... a first and essentially unheard of in the industry, unless the photographer is literally working with / touring with the band.
Actually, they (Heart) used to rent a house in my neighborhood. My music teacher had a store in my home town and Heart used to hang out in the store all the time. The band were living down the street from my parents house. They were really cool with people who came into the store. I should have paid more attention.
pmbuko and I are planning to see Jenny Lewis in D.C. tomorrow. We'll meet up at RFD, the brew pub where I met him, Ken, and Tom in October, 2006. Photographic evidence of this meeting was posted recently in the "show your face" thread.
Has it really been two years? "Time keeps on slippin' ... slippin' ... "
Gents, we'll toast in honor of those who are unable to join us. Or, we may say a lot of "Neener"s in your general direction. Depends on the moment, I think, and the kind of work day that I have tomorrow.
Follow-up to come.
Oh, and CV, I got the new Jenny Lewis CD, "Acid Tongue", and I like it a lot. It's definitely more accessible than her first album. A nice variety of tunes and styles, with country, gospel (choir-like vocals), and Motown influences. Wouldn't be surprised if Quentin Tarantino uses some tunes in a movie one day. I have only listened to it once, but I expect it to grow even more on me. It's not that often that I like a CD this much on the first listen.
JP and I seriously enjoyed Jenny Lewis last night. The venue was a historic synagogue in downtown DC. The downstairs was already pretty full when we got there, but the balcony section offered us a fantastic view of the stage.
There were two opening bands. The first was Michael Runion, who did not impress me much, but that was likely due to the poor sound quality and the fact that they suffer from over-drum-itis.
The second opener actually used a few members from Jenny's band. The singer was this great big bear-ish guy with long strawberry-blondish, hippie-like hair and a full beard. He was pretty drunk, and drinking, through his entire set, but I quite enjoyed it. Benji Hughes was his name. During their first song, I told JP that they sounded like Pink Floyd crossed with Leonard Cohen. The guitar player was top notch.
Then came Jenny. I knew she was going to be great, but the show surpassed my expectations. She and her band walked in from the rear of the venue singing an a capella chant and the rest of the set was a mixture of genres, from rock-your-face-off tunes to beautiful acoustic duets. If you have a chance to catch this tour, don't miss it!
I chose trumpet, too! Then I moved to baritone horn. And then to nothing. And then to guitar in college. Because chicks dig a guy who plays guitar. Now I'm married to the girl whose guitar I commandeered in the dorms.
Sat 4th row for The Who @ Mohegan Sun the other night - great show as usual for these 60-somethings, they never disappoint. Even played a few tracks off Who Are You, including Sister Disco. They did not play much from Endless Wire this time around.
Of interesting note was the opening band Inward Eye from Canada - a 3 piece band which sounded like a bit of Clash meets The Who. Their energy was great. Probably the best performance from an unknown opening band that I have seen. Has anyone heard of them?
If this is the same band, and I'm sure it is, Inward Eye
I'm pretty sure I heard them in a bar we wandered into during a conference in Vancouver last year. I wouldn't have remembered the name except when you mentioned "trio" and "Clash" it triggered the memory. I really enjoyed them but the stuffier people in my group found them too loud. I wouldn't have expected those people to like anything in the rock genre anyways. I thought they had a old but actually refreshing sound from the radio norm and tons of stage energy.
Got guested into Finger Eleven last night. Really good rock show, even the opening act "The Dudes" from Calgary, but boy did I ever feel like the dirty old man (I must've gone to a really lame high school). I felt even older when, after standing for two hours I had to click every joint back into place and had no interest in joining the bands at a club on the other side of (a very small) town.
Oh, about a month ago I saw Buckethead in concert. He was opened by "That One Guy". That One Guy has a VERY interesting...instrument. http://www.that1guy.com/
Hey, I saw That 1 Guy perform a while back. I liked his instrument. The CD I bought pretty much sucked. The sound quality struck me as especially bad, but it was before I had a nice sound system. I should pop it in again.
Hey, I saw That 1 Guy perform a while back. I liked his instrument. The CD I bought pretty much sucked. The sound quality struck me as especially bad, but it was before I had a nice sound system. I should pop it in again.
I have the "Moon is Disgusting" album. My friend and I enjoy it for what it is, funny lyrics with cool sounds.
I think the sound quality is actually really good. With my new Beyer DT-770 headphones I've been rediscovering some of my techno music, that 1 guy sounds pretty awesome on them. Might actually give it another listen right now...
Tuesday night (12/9/08) I caught the Black Crowes at the Hub in Fargo, ND. It was a great show in a small venue-less than 800 people. Great show-Luther Dickinson played some amazing guitar. The Robinson Brothers didn't play any of the Crowes big hits, but for me it didn't matter. Living in far western Minnesota doesn't afford a lot of opportunity for me to see big acts and it was a real treat to see a high caliber show in a small club. Dickinson was so good I've been listening to nothing but the North Mississippi All-Stars for the last few days. Now we are hunkering down for what should be the first real blizzard of the year. My wood stove is blazing and the snow blower is hooked up to the tractor and ready to go.
Sounds like a great show and a very good time Jorge, was Luther Dickinson playing with the Black Crowes or was it a Black Crows + NMAS venue? I know Chris Robinson and NMAS has worked together in the past and yes, Luther can really play. I really like the Mississippi hill country blues music, great stuff.
Wasn't last night, but on Friday night, me and my wife, my brother and his wife, saw Ron White in concert. He puts on a fantastic show. His opening act was very good as well. Highly recommended if you like his brand of humor.
I watched Jeff Beck live on Palladia channel last weekend. Great concert, good musicians. Jeff is touring with what I thought was a 13 years old girl playing the bass. My wife and I had a bet of who could guess the bassist age the closest; My wife won, the bassist was 20 years old at the time the concert was recorded ('07). I swear, she looked 13 at most 15 ... Tal Wilkenfield (the bassist) bio mentions that she started playing the bass at 16, so in measly 4 years after learning the instrument she's touring with a legend and one of the greatest drummer alive, pretty amazing. Anyway... great concert. This Wednesday my wife and I are going to see Diane Krall live, I have mix emotions about it, her latest album is mostly a snoozer, so I hope she keep her new stuff to a minimum, we'll see...
Tragically Hip! Jun 17 Moore Theater Seattle, WA. Seen every tour since Great Canadian Party in '90 at UBC in Vancouver. The Hip's lesser success in the States is our advantage. Smaller venues. Sat 3rd row and have to say it was one of the better shows I can recall seeing. As always Gordie and the boys entertained. Especially liked the semi acoustic action at the beginning of the second set. I can thank you Canadians for some great music and speakers.
BTW: The only other band that I've seen more performances of is also of maple leaf blood, Rush. Havn't missed a tour since Signals. ^ Hence my username.
How is the Moore Theatre for a concert? I am going to see Porcupine Tree at the Moore in September and was wondering what kind of a venue it is as I have never seen a concert there.
Getting rested for our annual Canada Day music and fireworks festival. The Lineup doesn't have as much big name talent as last year but I like that they are giving a bit of spotlight to premier local bands that are quickly gaining a name for themselves.
Aspiring locals. Meaghan Blanchard CV, you might like this one. Rather Regina like in looks and song. Many awards for only 19 years of age. Vishten World renowned Arcadian group. Two Hours Traffic (Local but their songs can be heard in the background of many big network TV show like The OC and Grey's Anatomy.) Paper Lions and many more.
Bigger names include.... Simple Plan Theory of a Deadman and Daughtry
How is the Moore Theatre for a concert? I am going to see Porcupine Tree at the Moore in September and was wondering what kind of a venue it is as I have never seen a concert there.
Great! Old theater. If you were into Pearl Jam you may remember the Evenflow video where Eddie jumped off the balcony... that was the Moore. Full bar downstairs if you partake. Two balcony levels, top, super steep. All-in-all you can't go wrong. Sips
The Hip's lesser success in the States is our advantage.
Reminds me of a guy I used to work with several years ago...he was on a service call over in Jolly Ole England to set up a machine we had built. He used to hang out at one of their local night clubs in the evenings while he was there and handed the DJ a Tragically Hip CD to play, wasn't long before everyone was asking him who are these guys? they're awesome why haven't we heard of them before? I mean, they said..." 'ay mate, oo's the band, a bit of alright, eh wott?"
Luckily I was living in Halifax when The Hip was doing the club scene and we always made a point to hit a bar that they were playing in. It was funny, when they finally hit the radio, I went around telling my doubtful friends, "I told ya so!."
Sloan was another group that we enjoyed live in the small bar music scene that was a starter bed for a ton of now big Canadian bands at the time.. Ironically though, I never liked thier studio sound as much as thier live sound.
Halifax was the place you Had to go if you were a young band then but now it seems you can be anywhere, which I think is great for everyone, band and fan alike.
Caught Derek Trucks at the Fargo Theater on Monday night. 3rd row seats-purchased 1 week before the show. I couldn't believe how good they were. Great venue-old style theater with good acoustics. Derek put on a great show. No one else makes it look so easy. The band was tight and the jams were long. More great blues on the prairie-it gets no better than that.
This doesn't really qualify as a "concert", but we saw Dane Cook's summer comedy tour the other day at the BOKCenter in Tulsa.
Pretty funny stuff for sure...
Also, my parents, me, my wife, my sister and her boyfriend will be going back to the BOK center in october to watch the dave matthews concert with special guest willie nelson. Should be tight!
Judas Priest would have been awesome I bet. Whitesnake without Coverdale's distinctive vocals in full form might be a let down. Still a fun day I bet though.
12 hours and counting down to Gov't Mule at the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater. Big city here I come.
The Mule show was fantastic. The MN Zoo has a great outdoor amphitheater overlooking a pond with ducks, geese, and swans swimming in and out of view. Mule kicked off with "Soulshine" and never looked back. Highlights included Princes's "When Doves Cry" leading into "Beautifully Broken". A great cover of Led Zep's "Trampled Underfoot" and the last encore Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic". Warren Haynes was phenomenal on guitar-the guy plays everything with so much soul. The crowd was an interesting mix of aging hippies and young jam rockers. If any of you get a chance take in a Mule show you won't regret it.
[quote=ToddE]Saw the Aerosmith/ZZ Top tour in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. Going to see Paul McCartney August 1st at FedEx Field in D.C.
How was the show? I have tickets for the same show next month. Wid, Well, If they all show up it will be great. ZZ played their usual set. They started right at 7:30 and played about an hour. What peaved me more than anything was the wait time between the two shows. Aerosmith didn't come on until after 9:00. They only play for about an hour and 40 minutes. They did all of Toys except "You See Me Crying" and they really nailed it. Tyler's vocal for "Dream On" were spot on. I didn't pay top price for tickets or I would have been upset at the length. Otherwise, if you are a rock fan I can't imagine you won't enjoy it
I would expect Aerosmith to play for at least two hours. I saw the set list from the tour and thought there should be a few extras thrown in (Back in the Saddle etc.). I might be giving this one a miss when they hit town in August.
Luckily for me the $140 tickets were free, as after an hour and a half of not recognizing a song played nor a word that was sung I told the group I was with to pick me up at the bar on there way out. It was interesting to see their entrance, but it was just way,way to loud for me..my ears are still ringing this morning. It seemed to me that these guys, dressed as they were, and with Gene Simmons tongue flailing around drooling on everyone, was about 20 years past done! The funny thing is that before the show we were talking about the band and I mentioned that during my days in university in the 70's it seemed we never listened to Kiss and I really didn't know why. Two songs in and I knew why.
Saw the Decemberists last night at the Vogue Theatre here in Vancouver - incredible. They played 2 full sets, unusual for a rock show, with the first set being basically a front-to-back performance of their new album...no pauses, no breaks, no between-song banter, just full-on huge. For those who aren't familiar with the band, they take a pretty strong concept approach to their albums, weaving common elements through the whole thing. The live show that they create to go along with this is a sight (and sound) to behold.
Agreed - it took me a while to really understand what they were all about, and to really get into them. But I think that's what also gives music like this staying power.
A side note...a few years back I happened to catch a show of theirs on TV, that was recorded at the Austin City Limits festival while they were touring for The Crane Wife. I've looked everywhere for a copy to buy, with no luck - anyone have any thoughts? I've seen a few other ACL shows on DVD, just not that one.
A side note...a few years back I happened to catch a show of theirs on TV, that was recorded at the Austin City Limits festival while they were touring for The Crane Wife. I've looked everywhere for a copy to buy, with no luck - anyone have any thoughts? I've seen a few other ACL shows on DVD, just not that one.
Cheers, Eric
Are you referring to the 2005 ACL Festival? The Decemberist are on it but just for one song due to the DVD having so many various artist playing.
I went to see Sir Paul McCartney at Fed-Ex Field in Maryland last Saturday night. He played for almost 2 and a half hours. Heck, I found it hard standing that long and I'm 48. He ripped through a great set which can be found on the internet. The sound was excellent for a arena show. It it almost a surreal feeling when you go see a man of this magnitude. I enjoyed it and recommend it immensely to anyone who might have a chance to see him.
Recently had the pleasure of visiting the Cambridge Folk Arts Festival, and saw a two piece called Sheesham and Lotus....very cool
The great part is that this is a small, multiple stage (less than 100 people per venue) and while waiting to see them, I happened to be walking by a park located behind one of the bar venues. I heard music and ventured into the park, and there they were sitting there playing for the enjoyment!!! I wandered up, sat down and chatted with them while they played
Cool! I didn't know there was a Folk Arts festival in Cambridge.
It was a Blues weekend for me. I started off with a tasty half rack of ribs and the Shawn Kellerman Band on Friday night. Pretty good.
Listened to a few local acts on Saturday afternoon including a 13 year old who played a pretty mean guitar!! Caught Rockin Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks: another old guy (late 70s) who still sounds pretty damn good.
The next set was the Derek Miller band. These guys started out really good and then the keyboardist went down. I went home for a while because of rain and when it didn't let up, I gave up for the night.
Sunday was great! Started of with Deborah Colman. The best set of the weekend was Ronnie Baker Brooks. This guy just played with so much energy. On a couple of songs he kept changing pace from soft and slow to strait ahead hard. On the last song he wandered out into the audience. The guy was playing riffs with his left hand while shaking hands and giving high fives.
Next up was David Clayton Thomas with his distinctive voice. He did some old classics, some blues covers and some new stuff. Had a 5 piece brass section backing him, which was nice.
The last set was a tribute to Mel Brown. Mel has a special place in the festival because he lived in the area and is the only act to have played every single year. He closed out the last two and last year he played with an oxygen tank in tow. The last set stretched out from 1.5 to almost 2.5 hours. The guys on stage didn't want to stop and the audience didn't want to go.
First day back on the PC since AC/DC last Thursday. What a show. I think it goes down as my best concert ever as far as showmanship and pure addictive energy goes!!
From the first few seconds when the giant fiery locomotive crashed through the back of the stage and watching Brian Johnson smile as he took his first gaze out on this tour's record breaking crowd of 80,000 pumped fans and never stopped smiling for the rest of the concert....to Angus Young's antics and what had to be a 20 minute guitar solo of epic proportions.... to the final cannon blasts of "For Those About to Rock, We Salute You".... to the parting fireworks display.....
I have to say, this was the show of a lifetime for me. Love the music or not, it was Pure Energy.
Yes, I called it incorrectly, it is the Mill Race. One of the venues is an amphitheatre backing onto the Grand RIver, and was constructed in part of an old mill.
Last Monday (BC Day), we caught RZA from the Wu Tang Clan in Whistler.
I was not aware of the free 'smoking' attitude in Canada. I had a good time probably from the contact high alone. You surely wouldn't see that happen in the SF Bay Area.
OK. Exhausted. Just finished attending a concert almost every night of the two week long Arts and Cultural Festival I helped organize for the Canada Games.
The post is a bit long but the final night deserves some web press. Continue only if your interested.
I've seen too many acts to list but I was able to enjoy some of our best PEI performers in almost every genre including traditional fiddle & step dancing, Acadian, folk, bluegrass, jazz, classical, Rock & pop.
I have to say that for me the highlight was actually a surprise. On the last night we ended up with two venues. I had put together a rock show with some of our best young bands and also a Multicultural show at the Local arts guild. I ended up at the Multicultural show as Producer/stagehand as our hired folks were busy at the rock concert. I knew I liked the rock bands for the night but I was very glad I chose the Guild show to work.
It started with Aboriginal Drumming group "Mi'Kmaq Thunder". I have heard Aboriginal Drumming before and it can become tiring to the uninitiated but these guys played ever so slightly modernized songs written by members that actually sounded surprisingly good.
We then had Chinese Dancers do their first dance of the evening in very colorful costumes. My first live experience of this nature.
Then we had "Ra on Je Na" a traditional Korean percussion troupe. Also my first experience of this type outside of TV or movies. Such simple instruments but able to make very complex music. Amazing.
They were followed by a group of young TiQuanDo artists doing a demonstration set to music. Imagine my surprise when the music turned out to be Micheal Jackson's, Beat It.
I then helped carry to the stage a Yanquin. A low seated table with piano liked strings that are struck with bamboo reeds with soft mallets on the end. Again, I recognized the sound from TV but had never seen the instrument played. WHAT a MESMERIZING SOUND. This is truly a beautiful instrument heard live and amazing to watch the artist. I would best describe it as sounding a bit like a Harpsichord but played thrash guitar style with amazingly fast coordinated wrist movements with the bamboo wands.
After the break, we had the final Chinese Dance called, in English, Walking the Road to Tibet. Very colorful with extended sleeve costumes and large flowing movements. Very cool.
We then had African percussionist "Israel" playing drums and other instruments. He is actually fairly accomplished musician and his two CDs can be found Here.
Finally we finished with an up and coming but very popular band called "Count & Cuban Cocktail". Extremely FUN music is how I best describe it, but it's better described as Cuban dance rhythms, sometimes infused with an American beat. I hope they succeed as it's great stuff.
That was Friday night, Saturday, I crashed after a very tiring but entertaining two weeks.
My wife and I attended the Porcupine Tree concert at The Moore Theatre in Seattle Tuesday evening. It was the start of the north american tour promoting the new cd "The Incident". The first part of the concert was the 55 minute song cycle from cd #1 of The Incident. The second half of the show was made up of various songs from their catalog (no spoilers here). If you get a chance to see them in concert it is definitely worth it.
My girlfriend and I saw Heart the other night (well actually on Saturday). Those Wilson girls can still sing. I enjoyed the concert immensely, I just wish it was a little longer than what it was. I had fun though!
Going to see Kiss tonight at the John Labbat center here in London. $25 per person for level 300, that's about as far away as you can get, however, no real bad seats in that place.
Chances are you will still feel the heat from their huge pyro effects. After seeing them in Montreal 7 or 8 years ago, I blame them for Global Warming.
LOL, I made a compilation disk for my wife of all of Kiss's best songs. She only knew a couple and didn't really care for any of their music. I told her it's not about the music, it is about the show, including pyro, breathing fire, and yes, the blood. These guys aren't great musicians or song writers. Just very effective showmen. Anyways, she likes the show Family Jewels, so I convinced her to go with me tonight.
Dave was awesome as usual! I didn't care too much for Willie Nelson by himself during the opening act, but Dave called him up on stage and they sang Dave's Gravedigger song together.. it was pretty neat sounding and basically kicked ass. All of Dave's songs from the new Big Whiskey Album are AWESOME live... plenty of opportunities for instrumental jam sessions that Dave is famous for when playing live. They had like a 5 minute violin solo which was cool.
My seats were originally up in the nose bleed section. Here is the pic of my first seat:
I decided that my seat sucked so I went downstairs and hopped the wall when security was looking the other way. The plan worked perfect and I made it up to the 4th row! Here is a pic from where I ended up at:
Bridge Concert last night. First time for me, not my normal taste in music but it helps when work comps it and you go VIP style. Hard to go back to slumming it when I have to pay on my own...
I looked forward to Monsters of Folk. I got the album and really liked the Dear God song. Bummed they didn't sing it. I normally hate Coldplay but Chris Martin was very entertaining. Sheryl Crow was pretty good. I really liked No Doubt, mostly cause Gwen is HAWT. She was also the only performer to turn around and sing directly at the Bridge School kids seated on stage. You could see those kids light up, getting the attention they wanted. Very cool and a cool nod to the purpose of the concert, she should get an extra ticket to heaven for that.
Took my kids to see Blue Man Group last night. It was an excellent show. I don't know how to classify these guys other than eclectic.
P.S. When They did Teenage Wasteland my daughter exclaimed "I love this song" She is a great fan of Floyd, The Beatles, The Who... I think I brung her up right!
Saw the Wood Brothers on Saturday night - incredible talent. Their first album "Ways Not To Lose" is my go-to subwoofer setup disc...lots of dynamic upright bass. Also happens to be a pretty fine album!
I have an opportunity to attend the concert this evening in Vancouver however the seats are up in the nose bleeds (roof level)so I think I will pass on this one.
I went to see the Wake Forest University Symphony Orchestra Midnight Halloween concert. It was quite clever with a somewhat rowdy crowd. Most enjoyable.
Has anyone here seen Metallica yet ? the current Death Magnetic tour that is.. I'm going tomorrow night Nov 3rd. Just wondering what their previous shows on this tour have been like.
I'd be tempted to see them again if there was a chance that the opener would be any good. Given the current state of metal music, the chances are awfully slim.
I've seen Metallica several times on this tour and the performances have been excellent. The new album translates very well live. They have been mixing up the setlists as well so you never know what you'll get on any given night. The opener is Lamb of God, they were pretty impressive considering I've never heard them before. I think there is also a Danish band Volbeat as the first opener, don't know much about them.
The good: The set list was really good, they played 6 songs off the new album and a lot of good old stuff from Ride, Master, Justice, Black album and none of the crap from load, reload, st-anger.
The bad: From where I was sitting the sound was terrible. The double kick drums and the bass overpowered everything and the vocals were practicaly non existent. Not sure if it sounded better elswhere in the arena..but not from my seat.. although I have a very good seat in terms of position relative to the stage, the sound was atrocious.
Conclusion: Glad I went, highly unlikely I'd go back.
If you haven't heard of The Swell Season, but have heard of or seen the movie/musical Once, then you'll know there's some great talent here. They were backed by Glen Hansard's former band The Frames.
Toward the end, we had a surprise guest -- actor Jason Segel -- who played piano and sang us a song he wrote. Someone put it up on YoutTube. Watch it here
Just caught Collective Soul with about 1000 of my new best friends at a little casino near Hankinson, North Dakota. Ed Roland and the boys amazingly brought their "A" game to packed house in the middle of a North Dakota prairie on a cold winter night. "December" and "Shine" never have sounded better and the new material sounded great. It was a great night to have the mid-winter blahs blasted to smithereens by a serious dose of Georgia rock n' roll.
John Mayer put on one hell of a show. One of the best parts was the cover of "Signs" by the five mand electircal band where he winged the lyrics based on the text on all of the signs the crazy people where holding up... good stuff! killer drum and then guitar solo to end the show.
Concert started at 8 and lasted till 11:30, 2 hours of which was john mayer jamming out. Franki and Spearhead (the openers) put on a helluva show!
here is a pic from my iphone from our seats.
We have a lot of decent pics and video clips from our camera too, may post some of those when I have time. I highly recommended anyone who is a john mayer fan to see him in concert!
We saw Jesse Cook at The Centre in The Square in Kitchener (not a large venue about 2000 people) 2 nights ago. It was a good concert. He played for about an hour and three quarters. He is a very good guitar player. His band is very talented as well. Great to hear the live music in a good venue.
Here is a video I recorded at the John Mayer concert last night... The clip starts off with a killer guitar solo. after about 5-10 seconds it comes into focus better. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVyjWxrsyVI
The original CD with the alligator eye has some great concert footage on the DVD that comes with it. Quiet amusing actually to see all the headbanging and devil signs going up like it was Iron Maiden playing when it is actually two acoustic guitar players. They certainly have an enthusiastic fan base.
I've seen Rodrigo y Gabriela live. They were fantastic. It was at a music festival, and I had planned on watching half of R&G's set and then going to watch the band playing on the other stage, but I couldn't bear to leave the R&G performance. (BTW, I really enjoy the DVD that came with their first disk. One of their subsequent disks also has a DVD, but I haven't watched it yet.)
I saw Muse a few weeks ago and thought they were great. Second time I've seen them, and really enjoyed them both times.
I'm jealous. I really want to see Rodrigo y Gabriela. I'd settle for a nice Blu-ray release, though. I can't wait for more bands to start releasing concerts on Blu-ray.
I had the great pleasure of seeing the first show on Mark Knopfler's Get Lucky world tour at the Moore Theatre in Seattle.
Since I never saw Dire Straits live, I was very happy to have this opportunity.
The Moore is a 100-year-old theatre that seats about 2,000. Even though I started clicking when tickets went on sale (over six months ago), we still ended up in row J of the balcony. The sightlines and acoustics are very good, and I still felt very good about this vantage point. The show sold out very quickly, and there were MANY people looking for tickets outside the show.
As there were still many people filing in to the venue, the band came onstage about a half hour late. They opened with Border Riever - the rollicking opening cut from the new album. The entire show featured very lush arrangements and instrumentation. There were 7 players on the stage in addition to Mark - bass, drums, keyboards, guitar, flute/whistle, piano/accordion, and guitar/violin. People played various other odd stringed instruments throughout the show, and basically everyone on the stage except Mark was a multi-instrumentalist. The flute and violin components were prominent, and provided simultaneously a rustic and world music feel.
Mark played MANY different guitars throughout the night, changing instruments after virtually every song. I think that this practice had a number of reasons - he likes guitars, he wanted some different sounds for different tracks, and he plays so HARD that he probably can't stay in tune very long. That guy's fingers must be extraordinarily strong; he doesn't collaborate at all with his guitar - he bends it to his will effortlessly and emphatically. Mostly Fender electrics, but some Les Pauls, National Steel and a couple other acoustics. Most of the acoustic parts were done by the other guitar player.
They only played a few Dire Straits songs (Sultans of Swing, Romeo and Juliet, Telegraph Road, Brothers in Arms). The rest of the show was comprised of selections from his solo albums. They played What It Is and Sailing to Philadelphia early on, with the violin player doing a credible job with the intimidating James Taylor vocal part on the latter. Overall, the selections were of the exquisitely tasty and mellow variety rather than up-tempo.
It was a very good show, and the band was clearly enjoying the freshness of playing these songs in front of an audience. There were several occasions where they seemed to regroup on the set list between songs. There was virtually no banter on stage; they were there to play the music.
A big part of my enjoyment came from the opportunity to share this experience with my dear friend Mike, an old college roommate of mine who I see too rarely. It always makes me feel happy to spend time with him, and I am not sure how to feel about the fact that we have been in each other's lives for 30 years.
The show brought out detail and nuance in the music I had previously not fully appreciated, and reinforced for me that Mark Knopfler is a very talented composer and a true Musician.
My wife and I are going to the first weekend of JazzFest in New Orleans in a few weeks. I'm very excited. Simon and Garfunkle are the main attraction.
I was thinking of going to Lollapalooza in Chicago later this summer, but the hotels for JazzFest are costing me so much it may break the concert budget for the summer. I actually would prefer to go to Lollapalooza, but such is life.
Thanks for the review. Knopfler and Dire Straits have a way of getting into the my again and again. How do you like the new album? I have yet to hear any of it.
Tom, Glad you enjoyed the concert. My wife and I were lucky to see Mark Knopfler on the Sailing to Philadelphia tour years ago. My wife scored 2nd row, center stage seats at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver. That concert still rates up in the top ten shows I have ever seen. The Moore Theatre is a great venue. I saw Porcupine Tree there last September. We were sitting under the balcony towards the rear of the theatre which is kind of eerie. Cheers, Shaun
Rush will be touring this summer...the "Time Machine Tour"...apparently they will be playing Moving Pictures in it's entirety for the first time ever, according to their website.
Yes, I have been following the rumor mill over at the "rushisaband" website. Looks like a mini tour (40+dates) this year and a full blown world tour in 2011. I think I'll wait for the 2011 tour. Can't make the Seattle, WA date in August as I will be on vacation.
Friday night was the CD launch I had been waiting to go to for "Plain Dirty Blues Band", local but growing. I was AMAZED at the skill my buddy has gained on the guitar these last few years. He was doing some pretty complex, high energy stuff that SRV would have been proud of. Some of it of his own writing too. Really goes to show where dedication will take you.
By the way, his wife likes to Google the band's name now and then and she actually found my original Axiom post when I said I was exited to be going to this soon.
So just in case your still out there Sue, "You're two songs were HOT!!!!! Signed, your Work Husband."
Friday night was the CD launch I had been waiting to go to for "Plain Dirty Blues Band", local but growing. I was AMAZED at the skill my buddy has gained on the guitar these last few years. He was doing some pretty complex, high energy stuff that SRV would have been proud of. Some of it of his own writing too. Really goes to show where dedication will take you.
By the way, his wife likes to Google the band's name now and then and she actually found my original Axiom post when I said I was exited to be going to this soon.
So just in case your still out there Sue, "You're two songs were HOT!!!!! Signed, your Work Husband."
Last time you posted about this band, I bought the CD, haven't listened to it alot yet (it's spring! warm and I've been on the run/busy).
Ha ha. I wondered if anyone would catch that. We have worked together a long time and I used to work with her husband too. In the good ol' days, our work place was fun and we all hung out together. Now, most people are gone and the jokes and kidding around we used to do would now just get us fired or grieved. I once heard someone say, "As a company grows, the fun slows." Very true.
Jeff, if they ever do get big, I dare say that you were there first international sale. heh heh.
Not last night, but last Saturday night. Holly Cole! She has been a fave for years and this last concert makes it my 6th or 7th in the past 20 years! If any of you have not heard of her and are fans of Tom Waits, jazz standards with a twist, and a great voice, check her out. Oh ya, almost all of her albums are of reference quality, with Don't Smoke in Bed and Temptation being at the top of the heap. Bass anyone?
I didn't see a post regarding Holly Cole, but maybe I missed it! Indeed, it was at Deerhurst. After moving up here in Janauary to start working at Axiom, I held out little hope of good local concerts, but after Harry Manx in March and Holly in April, I have high hopes for the rest of the year!
Ah...now I have found it! It was a great concert and the sound was surprisingly good for a hotel ballroom, albeit a large one. There ARE some great courses up here! Unfortunately all of my "stuff" (clubs, stereo system, HT system, my record collection, etc.) is still in storage and will be for a couple more months while we do some renos on the home we just purchased.
I saw Pearl Jam last Thursday night. They always put on a fantastic show. Though there is a lot of complaining about this particular show on the Pearl Jam board, I thought it was really good. They are fun because they change up their set list, so you never know what you are going to get. We got a lot of stuff that is not in their "Greatest Hits" list. Not so great for casual fans, but for us diehards we like the deeper cuts.
I am lucky in that regard. They seem to consistently come to the Washington, D.C. area when they tour. I've seen them four or five times now, and saw Eddie Vedder solo three times. I'm a big fan.
This past weekend I went to the DC 101 Chili Cook-Off. It was fun. Stone Temple Pilots headlined. Before them Alice in Chains played. Four other bands before that, only one of which I liked enough to mention--Cage the Elephant.
AIC was fantastic. Weird watching them without Layne Staley, but the new lead singer is really good. They are coming back to DC later this summer, and I think I'll go see them again.
STP was good, though they were, as usual, late to the stage. Also, my glasses were broken halfway through their set when I tried to help someone who was not having a lot of luck with her crowd-surfing attempts. I could only see with one eye after that. Fortunately, I've seen them a few times before, and I really needed new glasses anyway, so it wasn't the end of the world.
I finally made it to a concert this past week. I saw the Eagles at the Pacific Coliseum. This was my first Eagles concert.
Tremendous and fantastic beyond mere words.
Started up at about 7:45. Stopped at about 8:45 for 15 minutes or so, then played through to 10:50. Most every hit, about six songs from the most recent album, and a bunch of solo stuff from Henley and Walsh, including an old James Gang song.
Consummate musicians and perfect, beautiful harmonies. Four original members plus another guitarist (who was SO good), two keyboard players, a percussionist, and four guys in the horn section, one of who played violin too. Terrific sound. Really great. I sat very close with a great full view of the stage and the three high-def screens. Close enough to see the fingers moving on the frets, but not close enough to see what notes. ;-)
Henley is starting look a bit older, like your old uncle that you remember from when you were a kid (OK, maybe that’s just me ). But Joe looked to be in fantastic shape, and looks to be in his late forties, but that just can’t be. And wow, what a player.
Worth every penny of the $200 ticket, the priciest concert that I’ve ever attended. But I just couldn’t pass as I might never get the chance again, and I’ve loved their songs since I was a little kid. Seriously.
About 10 to 12 thousand in attendance. Very cool and intimate considering that I understand that they’ll now be continuing on in big stadiums with opening acts as the tour continues, with far more people in attendance.
I always wanted to see Johnny Winter before he died. Too bad I missed my opportunity! He really stunk up the place, and Joyce and I left after four songs.
Luckily, Joe Louis Walker was very good and Ronnie Earl was awesome!
They started off with some technical issues that you don't expect from a band that's of "legendary" caliber. His mic wasn't up for two songs and he and his other guitarist weren't "together" on anything. The mix was horrible (loud and muddy) and even when he got his mic level turned up, he wasn't singing as much as "talking" the lyrics as a shout.
People were leaving all around us, and we decided to keep giving him one more song, and then another song.... but when he started the fifth song an it was just as bad, we left too.
It was pitiful in my opinion. I know he broke his hip a few years ago, but the band played a full song without him to start (yes, still muddy...his guitarist was doing a solo through the whole thing and you couldn't hear him in the mix) and then Johnny slowly walked out on the stage, looking horrible, and someone put a mic in front of his chair...which fell off the mic stand half way through that first song and laid there for a minute and a half till some girl ran up on the stage and propped it on the stand in front of him again.
Maybe it was this single show, but choosing to go to McDonald's over seeing him in a little theater, all paid for, while I was already comfortable in my seat is pretty telling.
I was a fan, too.... but if this is what his show is like now.... well, I've honestly seen high school bands that were better...... Really.
I really should emphasize, though, that Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters' set was the best display of blues guitar I've seen since KWS 6 or 7 years ago, and SRV before that.
Really, really good, and I've added a bunch of discs to my Amazon basket. He's flown under my radar for too long.
I was wishing you and RickF would have been there to see that set....
Just found out that John Mayer is coming to Tulsa in september! Tickets on sale next week! This will be the second time to see John Mayer this year, that guy can put on a helluva a show! Ive already go tickets to see Dave matthews in august in Wichita, and pretty close to getting tix to see him again in Dallas on 9/11. Tom petty and zz top coming to Tulsa soon too but don't think I can make it to that one...
Paul McCartney will be in Kansas City next month, same town I live in, but the tickets will go on sale tomorrow and there's no way I'm going to get one right now. So, oh well.
There's a lot of performers out there, well past their prime. But, some are good for what they can still do at that age. Youthful vigor? No. But still able to please an audience. Yes.
I really should emphasize, though, that Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters' set was the best display of blues guitar I've seen since KWS 6 or 7 years ago, and SRV before that.
Really, really good, and I've added a bunch of discs to my Amazon basket. He's flown under my radar for too long.
I was wishing you and RickF would have been there to see that set....
Thanks for the heads up regarding Ronnie Earl Mark, I've heard of him but have never listened to him. Too bad about the Johnny Winter experience, although I do like a little of his stuff I've never been much of a fan.
Bought my ticket to go see Neil Young solo at the Jube this afternoon. Should be an interesting event.
I saw him in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. Dynamite show! Crappy seats though, due to being by the doors and rude audience going in and out. And talking during opening act, which was one of my very favorite guitarists, Bert Jansch. I went as much to see Bert as Neil and I was p_ssed at those noisy people.
Neil was great! amazing solo, but not all acoustic! have fun!
also, last week I saw Carole King and James Taylor. Amazing, too!
Next thing I see will probably be local talent. And then in Sept, I hope to see Tom Petty.
A few months ago I went out to see a local group, "Classic Albums Live", perform Dark Side Of The Moon. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. I think there were 10 or 11 musicians onstage - most of the albums they cover only need 5 or 6.
The group recruited a local folk singer for the vocals on Great Gig in the Sky, and all I can say is that she was incredible. Great Gig in the Sky has always been a weak point for bands performing DSOTM, even Pink Floyd themselves, but the vocals this time were as good as or even better than Claire Torry's on the original album. I never thought I would say that.
The standing ovation at the end of the song went on for so long the band seemed unsure whether to start playing again or let the applause keep going.
If that is, as I suspect, the same group of performers as the "Classic Albums Live" folk that run through here every now and then, they are INCREDIBLE. Their goal of simply mimicking an album 'note for note' is always so perfectly achieved it just amazes me. No fancy light show or gimmicks, just musicianship at it's finest.
Sir Paul McCartney in Salt Lake City, Utah 7/13/2010
It was his first ever visit to Utah and he put on one fantastic show. He told stories of Ringo, George, and John, as well as Hendrix and Clapton. He ended a song with an instrumental 'Foxy Lady' jam. For a guy that is 68 he looked, acted, and sounded excellent. I'd say he acted 20 years or more younger while running and jumping around the stage. It certainly was a very high energy performance. I was very surprised when they broke into playing 'Helter Skelter'.
He played and sang with boundless energy for over 2 and 1/2 hours. Just look at the 37+ songs in the setlist (bottom of post). There were no breaks for the main set. He played right through. And the only break he took between encores was no longer than 1 minute each! He just kept on going.
It was a fantastic show, and well worth the price of admission. Go to any of his shows if you have the chance, even if it is the cheap seats.
The setlist: 1. Venus and Mars / Rock Show (excerpt) 2. Jet 3. All My loving 4. Letting Go 5. Drive My Car 6. Highway 7. Let Me Roll It / Foxy Lady (instrumental excerpt) 8. Long And Winding Road 9. Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five 10. Let 'em In 11. My Love 12. I've Just Seen A Face 13. And I Love Her 14. Blackbird 15. Here Today 16. Dance Tonight 17. Mrs. Vandebilt 18. Eleanor Rigby 19. Ram On 20. Something 21. Letting Go 22. Sing The Changes 23. Band On The Run 24. Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da 25. Back In The USSR 26. I've Got A Feeling 27. Paperback Writer 28. A Day In the Life / Give Peace A Chance 29. Let It Be 30. Live & Let Die (pyrotechnics) 31. Hey Jude
Encore: 32. Day Tripper 33. Lady Madonna 34. Get Back
Encore 2: 35. Yesterday 36. Helter Skelter 37. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) / The End
Went and saw Neil Young solo last night at the NAJA. Great show and he played a mixture of new and old tunes. He played for "only" an hour and a half but I would have liked to have listened to him for another hour more The guy still has "it"
I wish the group of guys behind me would have stopped singing along with him. I did pay money to listen to him not hear them!
Haven't seen Neil for many years. Last time I saw him, he played for well over 3 hours so he's definately cut back a lot. Always great to see him play the "old" stuff.
I saw Interpol last night. Tiny little venue. Really good show, and very cool to be incredibly close to the stage. Two of their three albums are just great.
Next week I head to Chicago for Lollapalooza. Should be a really good three days. Soundgarden, Green Day, the Strokes, Spoon, Wolfmother, and Gogol Bordello (among others).
I think I mentioned my upcoming DMB shows but am getting excited so mentioning it again...
Got these via FedEx recently:
Heading out Saturday to see DMB in Wichita (orange tickets). I have GA floor tickets and plan on getting to the venue as close to noon as possible so I can get up near the front of the mob. (opening act starts at 7:00)
Then it's to Dallas on sept. 11 (blue tickets) while you guys are partying it up at the axiom plant.
John Mayer is between the two on 9/3. Going to be a good next few weeks!
I Had a great time at the Wichita DMB show overall. Wife and I were in front and second rows respectively. Only my 3rd DMB show and definitely the best set list of the 3 (other two were OKC in 08 and Tulsa in 09). Also by far the closest I have been in the 3 concerts. I was in GA line a little before 1:00. Dave started at 8:30 and played a solid 2.5 hours. 6 hours total with no restroom break, but it was well worth it.
A few complaints: I got a little frustrated with the two skanky chicks (who showed up a good 2.5 hours in line after us) proceeded to walk right in front of my wife and me and "hold" some drunk guys spot against the rail for him while he grabbed beer and pissed after only being in the venue for 15 minutes. Conveniently they did not move when he returned and the drunk guy plus the two chicks stayed in front of us. Eventually they scooted to the left and my wife got the spot on the rail so in the end it worked out (she is only 5'2" so was worried about her seeing clearly). Also, some WH'er (WH'er=warehouser=fanclub member) who claimed to have been to 250 shows tried to bring his buddy who was at the bar all day up to the front and I got a little frustrated there as well and told him to get the hell out of my way. I don't care how good you think you look or how many shows you have been to I was waiting since 1:00 and I'll be damned if someone who showed up just before entry was going to get in front of me.
Lastly, Someone nearby me was drinking a helluva a lot of beer and was really annoying. They sang every lyric out of tune as loud as they could and absolutely ruined Dave's Some Devil Encore.
Despite these issues my wife and I really had a great time. Dave tossed me a pick and my wife scored a stick from carter. I shot a video of the opening song "minarets": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTXjRwuAwsU It is in portrait mode but if you watch in full screen HD it looks pretty good.
That is some serious dedication, but it sounds like you got a great spot and had a lot of fun. The problem of annoying people at these shows is, I think, universal.
I was at Lollapalooza last week. Had a great time. Ended up with just fantastic locations for both Wolfmother and Soundgarden. Probably about 30 feet from the stage. Because it was a festival, except for true die hards, people were walking around to the different stages, and I grabbed a great spot just an hour before Wolfmother started, and then hung around between them and Soundgarden to keep my spot. Also, using the same approach, ended up with a great spot for Gogol Bordello, though against my better judgement I was a little too in the middle of the "action" and had to move back a bit. Wearing glasses and carrying a backpack is not a good combination to be where people really are going crazy.
Overall Lolla was a great three days. On Saturday, I went from seeing Gogol Bordello to Spoon then to Green Day (who was quite good, contrary to the other time I saw them). After the fact, I was just like, "wow, that was friggin' amazing." And, it was pretty non-stop because they were on different stages. Also, got to see some bands I never heard of before that were really good (and some I'd heard a lot of hype about, but frankly in seeing them wasn't impressed).
Last night I went with my wife to see David Gray and some other dude who's name I forget. David Gray was o.k., but I frankly was largely bored the whole time. My wife is the fan there, and I don't really know his music. I think I even fell asleep at one point.
Saw John Mayer last night and the show was pretty amazing.
We had a group of 5 and all of us had a great time. All seats were in the first two floor section. My wife and I had 6th row seats toward the inside aisle, others in the group had 6th row on outside aisle and a single second row in the middle. I thought John Mayer sounded great, both in his singing and obviously in his guitar playing. I was a little concerned with his vocals after hearing him struggle a bit through the streaming redrocks show but after a few songs I could tell his voice was in top shape. The intro to Heartbreak Warfare was a little off, but then again it seemed like John was just giving it a different flavor compared to the mirror image album version that he played during the winter tour.
The only complaint I think I could come up with is not against John directly but perhaps the venue or maybe even the mixing crew. Things were so incredibly loud and the bass/low frequencies were a little "heavy" or "hot" compared to the rest of the sound spectrum. I was very glad I had my earplugs!
My wife got to shake John Mayer's hand and I got my ticket signed after the show. Photos below. Search for terzaghi83 on youtube for videos from the show (being uploaded now.)
Saw Dave Matthews Band again last night (in Dallas).
The set list was awesome. We met in the parking lot for tail gating with a couple we met at the Wichita show last month. They supplied tons of chicken strips and when I ran out of beer they shared some of their own.
The show was sold out and the superpages.com center was a pretty nice amphitheater for the show. Tons of parking lot tailgating action and an overall great atmosphere.
We had reserved seats this time so didn't do the wait all day with no beer for front row thing. Some guy in the parking was selling some hand made DMB 2010 tour coasters for 5 bucks a piece... couldn't resist and bought 2.
The wife and I ended up sharing a cab with 4 random strangers who were going to a totally different side of town than us somehow... not sure what happened there. so yeah, it was a good night!
9/11 commemoration at Pacific Symphony. Beethoven's 9th. Gould: American Salute; Barber: Adagio for Strings; Ward: America the Beautiful. Accoustics were terrible, Adagio for Strings was a bit listless, Gould's American Salute was beautiful. I could have gone with the Reader's Digest version of the 9th, the chorus was 200 voices short and the orchestra could have used an extra 100 pieces as well.
The sound system was one of the best I've ever heard at a live venue. smile
I'll agree with that. Ian said he was feeding up to 700 w per speaker and figured they were drawing close to that on peaks. Not bad for a speaker who's max power rating is 400 w.
There was an area set up away from the dock, 50-60' away. You had to raise your voice quite a bit to talk even there. That's pretty darned impressive for a home audio speaker.
I think the last one I saw was Pink Floyd Pigs .... something or the other. I just remember there was a large inflatable pig that floated above the crowd on wires.
I took my wife to see these folks Tuesday night. 7th row, center, ear level. The youngest instrument they play is 250+ years old. One of the violins is over 300 years old!
Ooh, I may be able to see Marina & and the Diamonds in Portland, Oregon at the end of January. My coworker said we'd have to go see Marina the next time she came around, so now I have to call her on it. It's a Saturday, even, so that's as good as it's going to get. Cross your fingers for me!
My sister will be seeing Marina for the second time in Seattle the day before the Portland concert. It would be cool if we could head up to Seattle and see Marina with my sister, but it might be hard for both of us to get the time off. So... Saturday in Portland, most likely. Who else will be there? Ha ha.
Last night was deadmau5. The guy is in a mouse-head getup, with neon lights.
Have to say, it might not be everyone's crowd, but good techno DJ's tend to have a good sound crew and thunderously awesome sound equipment following them. Nothing like feeling pant-shaking bass complimented by the sounds of undistorted, clean, electronic wizardry.
The ear-numbing sound was actually a lot less fatiguing than you would think. I've been at rock concerts that were louder, but with poor speakers and poorer amplification, so your ears are constantly assaulted by distortion. Then when you leave the concert hall, it sounds like you're underwater. Not so here.
In any case, so goes my saying (for music listening in any situtaion): "Great music, when played loud enough, can cauterize the ears. On good days, also the mind."
The light show was certainly a trip in itself, here's some pictures:
Well, second concert in Chicago this week, already. LCD Soundsystem is a favorite band of mine, and I heard they put on an excellent show. I decided to see them.
They played back-to-back shows here in Chi-town, and I opted for the Tuesday Oct 26 show at the Riviera Theatre. I like smaller venues, a good venue can make or break the show, and this was good.
It was just me for this concert. Everyone I knew was busy or concert'ed-out, so I holed up in a bar I found called the "Wild Pug" before the show. I took advantage of Dogfish Head 90 Minute and Goose Island Matilda on tap. :-)
A mediocre crowd was jamming to the opening act, "Hot Chip", an indie, steel-drum driven, synth-rock band. But everyone was there for LCD Soundsystem.
LCD Soundsystem, if you haven't followed them, has garnered critical acclaim for releasing huge electro/rock dance hits such as "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", "All My Friends", and "Movement."
At times the music is a little too awkwardly hipster and synthesized for me, but the live performance was incredible.
Frontman James Murphy steps onto the stage with a huge presence, energizing the crowd with emotion. Hips were moving and hands were in the air. A few brave souls stood like statues.
The band gave it their all for LCD's last tour. It showed.
The set was illuminated in blinking solid patterns of red, green, yellow and blue, giving "LCD" themed effects. Lights strobed to the keyboards, drums, and songs like a visual equalizer -- very cool. In the middle of the song "Yeah" a 4-foot disco ball dropped.
Only had time to snap a couple pictures. Here they are:
Definitely check these guys out if you're in the mood for some off-beat electro rock. I recommend "Sound of Silver", which made Rolling Stone's top 100 albums of the decade.
OK, Peter made me feel bad for not yet writing up the Juliana Hatfield/Evan Dando show I saw on Saturday, 1-22-11 at Iota Club and Cafe in Arlington, VA.
Juliana has been one of my favorites ever since I discovered her 1993 album, "Become What You Are," via her biggest single to date, "My Sister". She is to me almost as much as Regina Spektor is to CV.
That said, it was, all in all, a satisfying evening, though I wish I'd seen her back in the day with her full band. This was an "Unplugged" type show, just her and Evan Dando (lead singer of the Lemonheads) playing acoustic guitar and singing duets.
The place was incredibly small. It was without a doubt the smallest venue I've ever seen a major act in. Standing room type club that held only a few hundred people. Best guess, 250-300 people. I was able to work my way up to about third row, stage left, about 10-15 feet away from her.
Best part, though, was the soundcheck: just a few of us had gotten there, and we had the place to ourselves.
Here's a video link. This guy uploaded virtually the whole concert.
P.S. Beer choice: Starr Hill, a porter or chocolate stout of some sort.
I saw Juliana around '93 for the tour supporting that album. One of my younger brothers was a huge fan. It was at Interpol in Pittsburg. Juliana was sitting outside the stage entrance so we walked up and talked to her for a while.
I had seen Hole there a few months before, and commented on how cool it was that she'd talk to fans, where Courtney Love was abusive to everyone even during the show. She made some cute comment about not being like Courtney. Then we asked if she had any recommendations on where to eat, and followed them to grab a bite before the show.
As one of my rewards for pledging to help fund Stone Darling's first EP, I get three guest list passes to one of their shows. I have no idea when they'll be doing an extensive tour, so of course most of their shows have been near their hometown of Los Angeles. Right now they only have three shows scheduled, two being at SXSW next month and another LA show in April. My friend who lives near LA said she wouldn't be able to go, so I'm looking at who else might want to attend one of their shows. As in, you'd get all three passes, since I probably won't travel that far to see them. Is anyone interested? I can't quite commit to giving them away yet since I don't know yet if they'll let me give the passes to someone else. But if you'll be near one of the venues and think they'd be okay to see, I'll keep you in mind if they say it's cool.
I was very pleasantly surprised last Monday when I went to see Melissa Etheridge. I always liked her music but she was mostly just a consistent voice on the radio for me over the years. I actually might not have gone to see her show except a buddy bought me a ticket. I was pretty glad I did after experiencing her in person.
Her obvious stage experience really shined and she had the audience really involved, which can be a trick at this venue as it's a more formal, concert hall type venue. Seats only, so it's a lot tougher to get the crowd up and active.
Her voice was wayyyy more powerful in person than I ever gave her credit for and she plays a mean guitar.
Just thought I'd mention it as Melissa made a fan out of me. Too bad it took 30 years before it happened.
Mrs. Tuttle and I saw her perform many years ago at Seattle's Paramount Theater. We kind of felt like the only heteros in the building, but it was an absolutely awesome show.
Tom, until you said that, I forgot that I saw her/photographed her. It wasn't until I read "We kind of felt like the only heteros in the building" that I remembered because I remember feeling the same way!
I guess this was why it made sense to stop shooting concerts....(when I can't even remember who I shot/attended!)
Kings of Leon turned out to be a bust. We were in floor GA, 40 feet from stage, dead center. Plenty of breathing room at first but then there were way too many crowd pushers. Ended up with twice the amount of people crammed into the same space by the end of the show, yet people were STILL trying to squeeze in front of you to get a little closer. There was literally no way you could get out either, even if you wanted to.
Kings of Leon sound great live. In fact, every song sounded exactly like the album version... No covers, no instrumental deviation from the album versions. They didn't even play an hour and a half, which actually turned out to be a good thing because I was ready to leave after an hour.
I suggest just sitting at home and listening to the albums. Much cheaper, same exact sound, and no crowd pushers.
It seems like the thing Pop bands (and manufactured "artists") would do, not the sort of thing that "musicians" would WANT to do.
I am extremely pissed off that I will not be able to attend any of the dates on the Tedeschi Trucks Band tour. Presale tickets going on sale in the next couple of days. I hope somebody will go, have a great time, and report back.
I am extremely pissed off that I will not be able to attend any of the dates on the Tedeschi Trucks Band tour. Presale tickets going on sale in the next couple of days. I hope somebody will go, have a great time, and report back.
Dude, come visit me and we'll go together-June 16th here in NH!
Mrs. Tuttle and I saw her perform many years ago at Seattle's Paramount Theater. We kind of felt like the only heteros in the building, but it was an absolutely awesome show.
I have seen her in concert with my wife a couple of times and I agree that she puts on a great show!
Saw Bluesberry Jam followed by Monkey Bones last night.
These are both bands that my step dad plays in. They have a semi-annual party at his buddies warehouse that has a wood floor company. Lots of free food, booze and good times!
Yup, that's the one. Athough Bono didn't say why a guy like him was hitchhiking. You'd think he would have a few bucks for a cab! Maybe he was looking for some creative inspiration.
What a show though. It'll be a long time before that night gets topped in my book!
Murph, I want you to go see The Hip in PEI so that I can enjoy it vicariously. It appears the only US date they're playing is in Buffalo. Traveling in and out of Canada is a little awkward for me since the Dwight Episode.
After you. No! After me No, I insist! Please, after me.
I'll likely be there. I wish I could persuade you into coming with the rest of the lineup that weekend but I don't think Meatloaf or Eddy Money is going to do it.
Ever since they announced the festival was going to target more 'adult' crowds to appease the poor old folks who don't like a couple of hours of noise downtown once a year, it has gone downhill. No offense to Meatloaf or Eddie Money but they used to book the latest and semi-greatest.
If you change your mind, consider your room with us reserved.
Heading to see Keith Urban in concert tonight. Friends of ours have 2 extra tickets so we get to go for free which is great! Hopefully it's a good show. I'm not a huge country fan but he is a pretty good guitar player.
Keith urban show was awesome. That guy can put on one heck of show! Drank a little too much and spent the first half of the day at work with a raging headache... oops.
Not "last night" but had a good summer concert wise. Lots of local bands that I won't list as you may never of heard of them plus these more prominent names. A good variety if nothing else. In order of appearance...
The Trews The Tragically Hip Matt Anderson Laila Biali Jazz Trio
Lucas Porter (the youngest pianists ever to complete the requirements for the Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto at age 14)
Tom, the first list were on PEI. Metallica with Seether (and others) were in Halifax and U2 with Arcade Fire (and others) were Moncton. Both outdoor concerts. Rained a bit both days but absolutely no one cared.
If you haven't heard of the other's don't fret. "The Hip" actually do pretty well in the US and around the world so I'm a bit surprised about that one, but the rest are a bit more "Canadian" or just a bit newer.
That being said, if you like live rock with energy, you are missing out with "The Trews." While they are best known for their foot stompin, rock tunes, I'll link this one because it just might tug at your heart strings like it did mine. Highway of Heros
Since many of you won't know, the term "Highway of Heroes" refers to a stretch of Highway 401 running from CFB Trenton into Toronto where the remains of almost every slain Canadian solder makes it's way down when they are flown back to Canada. The highway often becomes lines with both veterans and civilians paying their respects to the fallen.
. And since I know there are a lot of blues fans on this forum, check out http://www.stubbyfingers.ca/music. The self assigned nickname in his link is a complete oxymoron to his great guitar skills and as reviewer once said humerously, "and a voice that has no business coming out of a white guy."
To acknowledge my 40th anniversary as the de facto designated driver, I drove 7 alcoholic friends to see Imleda May Thursday night.
I thought we were getting there early to stake out a good spot close to the stage. We were actually getting there early so they could stake out a good spot close to the bar. They were already f'fried before we left the pre-concert cocktail pahhhty, so they were concerned about their ambulatory skills, apparently.
I was dead center (alone), < 10' from the stage (her).
She was everything you hear on record, but here! now! A great front and MC; an amazing vocalist. She was beautiful in the flesh. Amazing skin and, in general, hot. The audience was sooo into them. Couples were jive dancin' in all the room's corners.
The place was packed like a Tokyo subway car, though it did not smell Japanese. There were more brogues in one place than I'd ever encountered, aside from a Southie bar @ 3:30 in the afternoon. And everybody came straight from their summer roofing jobs. Where's my nosegay when I need it?
The crowd was very dinosaur-friendly. Everyone under 30 was female and dressed in 1940's "Black Dahlia" regalia. The bulk of the crowd was over 40 w/ quite a # of peeps > 60! Cool!
I was completely killed by the drummer, bassist and trumpet/2nd guitar player. All over 50, they had that journeyman effortlessness to their playing that is always so impressive. But they were having a good time and they were boppin' and smilin' and making all sorts of happy jazz faces. Trumpet and bass players did all backing vocals with that kind of Will Lee-aplomb.
Not bad for $30. Well, free for me--- for being willing to risk my new van becoming a vomit comet.
The 22 year old and the 30 year old arrived to the show buzzed, but coherent, and left the same way. The 5 others are all over 50. Upon departure, the power side doors to the new van were "great." Boarding for the trip home, they became "magical" and were the cause of great excitement and parking meter bruises.
Male, female, straight, gay, no matter. They all tried to sloppy kiss me when I let them out at their front doors. Ew!
I admit I had to go to the web page to check her out. I like it. Her voice reminds me a bit of Gwen Steffani with a hint of Pink but much more refined in a good way. Music is catchy too. I will be seeking a CD.
Kudos for taking the Boys out too. Sounds like a fun night.
Went to see Terri Clark last night in Huntsville Ontario. The Algonquin Theater was a very intimate venue - I think I was only three meters away from her - and her band was very good. I didn't know much about her (got tickets for a super-fan as a gift) but is she ever an excellent performer! She seems to be on a big Canadian tour so if there are any country fans in the crowd, you may want to check it out.
I liked the way she handled all her big hits from years past - she created a medley, so everyone could sing their favorite part and move on. Fun idea!
Last night my son and I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to drummer Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, King Crimson). Gavin was in Vancouver for a Sonor Drums sponsored drum clinic. His level of enthusiasm, insight & knowledge made for a great 3 hours. He is very witty, funnny and gracious with his time (including photos & autographs). It is not often you get a chance to see world class musicians in a small hall and sit in the front row (10 feet from the drum kit).
Not last night but over the summer I saw The Dukes of September (Donald Fagen. Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald) At Red Rocks near Denver. Truly GREAT concert. Also saw Big Head Todd and The Monsters there as well good show but not as good as the warm up band "Guster". They reminded me of a modern day Beach Boys. Their harmony anyway.
I recently won tickets to see the Mariinsky Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev most probably the premier orchestra in Russia today with the most prominent conductor from that country. The program was all Russian containing works of Stravinsky (The Firebird)Prokofiev Piano Concerto #3 & ending with Shostakovich Symphony #1. This was a rare opportunity to see a world class orchestra and conductor 20 minutes from where I live. As a former professional musician I listened with a critical ear and eye. The orchestra was far superior to the hall in which I was seated. The acoustics were to confining for this fine ensemble. The performances were flawless, exciting and the sound of this Russian orchestra was not as I would have expected. This orchestra is the direct descendant of the Leningrad Philharmonic. But is dramatically different than in the Philharmonic's heyday. Mariinsky is now very European sounding rather the raw Soviet of old. No wobbly horn sound or extreme vibrato in the other brass instruments. Very fine winds and percussion (my instrument) was totally on target with superb balance. In the Shostakovich there is a solo snare drum roll from very soft to very loud that was smooth as silk. The only distraction I noticed was the percussionist who played the cymbals...his sound was very fine but when he lifted them during the "crashes" he also faced the cymbals outward and held them there for a few seconds. Lighting from the hall reflected off the cymbals and proved to be distracting. There is no improvement in sound doing this kind of action and was purely for show. Other than that, it was an exhilarating experience and I wished to be on stage playing with them at the time. If I could speak Russian I would have surely gone back stage to praise them personally...unforgettable!
just try to get some near-front center seat; you will not regret it; it easily can be overwhelming when one is used to listening at home only, without the live experience.
i just bought tickets to the visiting NAC, National Arts Center, Orchestra. While not as rare an oppurtunity as the Mariinsky Orchestra, I am exitied as the NAC will be led by Julian Kuerti who is certainly the most renowned conductor to visit our little PEI pit in a long time.
Might be too soon for me to get excited (don't know yet whether I'm approved for the time off from work), but Emily Wells is playing Portland, OR on January 12th, so I'll be doing everything I can to attend. She's tied with Marina at the top of my must-see artists list. My friend in Beaverton already said I could stay with them, so that makes it easier. Fingers crossed!
While I have not seen him yet, I just bought 4 tickets to see Roger Waters on May 1st at the Toyota Center. My wife's birthday is May 2nd and she is going to love this present!
Last night was the National Arts Council Orchestra. An interesting night. The ferry from Newfoundland to Prince Edward Island broke down as they were boarding. The orchestra had to scramble to charter a plane and choose between clothing or instruments for luggage. They chose instruments. Bigger items like cellos were strapped into passenger seats and some of the really big items like timpani and double bass had to be left behind.
The PEI Symphony was able to lend them any missing instruments so they managed to put on a wonderful performance even with borrowed instruments and with many of them onstage enjoying the comfort of their jeans and sneakers.
Keep an eye out for the guest pianist who is traveling with them, 16 year old Jan Lisiecki. He is currently travelling the world and for good reason. His playing was uncanny for any age group. The crowd demanded and received an encore after his solo.
Before starting his encore, he apologized for the 3rd movement and jokingly blamed his suit (jeans and an NAC sweater). I haven't talked to anyone who spotted his error but to redeem himself he played Chopin Etude Op. 25 No. 11 and 12. Which, if you are looking to redeem yourself, is certainly one way to go.
I was checking him for youtube videos when I got home and actually found one where he performs both together as per last night. Except that according to the upload date, he would only be 14.
Like so many other successful marques, they were built in Canada. Only the ones imported to the US had that little, in-glove-box cocaine compartment. I think they also came with a box of Brillo, for polishing, and a second lien to cover devaluation.
I missed out on going to see Big Sugar on the weekend. It's been a surreal week. I've seen them before but Gordie Johnson is such a great live guitar player that I was disappointed.
My wife and I went to the Prince concert last night in Vancouver. If you get a chance to go to a concert on this tour, don't miss it. He played for over 2.5 hours although some nights it stretches the 3+ hour mark. Simply amazing that the set list changes every night. According to the review, the band get their cue before the start of each song. Basically they are playing whatever Prince decides will be the next song.
I got to see Emily Wells last night. She's one of my go-to artists that I can seemingly never tire of. She's incredible live, fun to see her layer different tracks together on the spot. I got to say hey to her after the show and get my picture with her, so I'll post it after I get home, even though I don't think it flattered either of us. She was so sweet, and I gushed, informing her that I'd bought so many copies of her albums for friends. Sam, the coworker who took me, said that he was one of the ones I gave a CD to, and that was why he was there. She was appropriately complimented and creeped out simultaneously.
I'm using my Kindle Fire to type this up, and I have to say I really miss my desktop computer and keyboard.
Like I said, not terribly flattering to either of us, but her smile was actually a knockout in person. Just more proof of how great Bruce Campbell is at posing for the camera.
A friend of mine invited me to go with her to the Sasquatch music festival at the end of May. I'd be a fool not to go. Among others, I'd love to see Coeur de Pirate, Dum Dum Girls, Feist, and Explosions in the Sky. It would also be great to see Tenacious D and Metric again. I'm still not that familiar with his music, but I remember liking a live performance of Bon Iver I saw at one point, so I'll probably try to catch him, too. While I wasn't enthralled with the song of his I saw, it's cool that Donald Glover is going to be doing his thing as Childish Gambino (a name he got from a Wu-Tang Clan name generator). He's hilarious on Community, so I have to support the guy. Also, Nick Kroll is going to be there. Who doesn't need to see more of who my sister refers to as "the cup the balls guy" based on his role in Childrens Hospital. I'm excited.
The Ting Tings were really great in concert. Lots of fun, cool lighting effects. The music lends itself to live performance, or they're just really good at tailoring it for a crowd. Impressed.
It looks like I won't be going to Sasquatch in May, but on the bright side, I have my tickets for Marina and the Diamonds in Seattle on July 14th. I'm excited. I hear she sweats a lot.
Last night my wife and I went to see Declan Patrick MacManus (Elvis Costello) and The Imposters perform the Spectacular Spinning Songbook concert. Over 2-1/2 hours of pure entertainment. If you get a chance to see this tour it is definitely worth it. And Diana Krall was there
Well, I was just joking about photographing Rush. I was gonna let it go a day or two, but I'm getting PMs with pre-pubescent squeals of delight. And promises of "I'll wear a schoolgirl uniform".
Awesome deceit, Mark! I'm gonna have to add a new category to my a-hole species list. I didn't think it could exist---lovable a-hole. Boy, that sounds kinda creepy, huh? Cool!
Just confirmed with some friends yesterday. We are going to see Rush when they hit Montreal. Too bad that I did not notice they were playing next door to Mark. It would have been a great opportunity to go and kill him for his access pass, visit. However, since the backstage pass was a lie, I will leave the violence to Bob and get revenge for the evil lie, see you another time.
I've now got tickets to see Jimmy Buffett at our local closest amphitheatre on Sept 1. Lawn seats. The wife and I are looking forward to getting acquainted with Parrot Head culture.
Interestingly, one of the many license plate designs that Virginia has is this Parrot Head one.
I saw Roger Waters on Tuesday night. If any of you have the chance to see his show and are on the fence about going, it was worth every penny. His voice is still fantastic, the supporting band did not miss a note, and the special effects were amazing! I took my wife and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law to celebrate my wife's 40th birthday.
Jealous!!!! I've had to make an 'on the fence' choice between a bit of a trip to see Rush or the Roger Waters show. I picked RUSH because some friends are going and so far, I was the only taker for The Wall. Tough choice, but at least I can't go wrong.
No, his lead guitarist sang the Gilmour parts and sounded a lot like him. If Gilmour ever comes back to Houston I will make sure to see him as well. I didn't realize that Roger Waters performed the Wall in Houston in 2010 but I suppose that 2010 was a blur for me.
I also saw Roger Waters - The Wall last night. All I can say is WOW! The sound and visuals were amazing. I highly recommend seeing this show if you get the chance.
Rodger Waters is playing in Winnipeg this weekend . Two weeks ago I managed to sneak a couple seats for Van Halen . Van Halen played very loud mind you I was sitting beside the right channels . Eddy didnt miss a string and David Lee Roth continues to kick above his head .
A friend of mine has seen VH a few times on this tour and said that the band is super tight however Roth can't sing anymore (hence the tour postponment).
I was in Toronto on Friday for meetings and only found out on my return cab ride to the airport that Dave Matthews was playing there the next night. DAMN IT!!!
Will I ever learn to check concert listings before booking flights?
I was in Toronto on Friday for meetings and only found out on my return cab ride to the airport that Dave Matthews was playing there the next night. DAMN IT!!!
Will I ever learn to check concert listings before booking flights?
I don't understand, Andrew. DMB plays lots of nights when you can't be there. Wasn't that just another one?
The difference was, I could have been there. My flights were paid for so it would have been a lot easier to justify just an extra hotel night and meals.
The Red Island Blues Festival is taking place almost right across the road from me this weekend. Should be a great weekend! Lots of friends coming to visit or stay with us for the event.
I was in Toronto on Friday for meetings and only found out on my return cab ride to the airport that Dave Matthews was playing there the next night. DAMN IT!!!
Will I ever learn to check concert listings before booking flights?
I'm an 1 1/2 from Toronto, bud .
I unfortunately missed it too because of my sores.
I was in Toronto on Friday for meetings and only found out on my return cab ride to the airport that Dave Matthews was playing there the next night. DAMN IT!!!
Will I ever learn to check concert listings before booking flights?
I'm an 1 1/2 from Toronto, bud .
I unfortunately missed it too because of my sores.
Well next time they come back, make sure you have no sores and make sure I know about it and we will both go! Fred isn't all that far away either and I owe him a golf game so he can come too. I'll fling golf balls at him during the concert so it will feel like he's golfing with me again.
I was looking through the local newpapers online for some last minute date night options for this weekend, and I came across the Death Cab for Cutie concert in Charlottesville this Saturday the 14th. Just completed the purchase of a couple of GA tix for the amphitheater setting.
Told the wife I'd made plans for us, but haven't told her the details yet. Not sure if I'll spill the beans beforehand or let her find out when we arrive.
Dave Matthews put on a good show as usual. Wife and I scored Pit tickets through the fan club and ended up about 15 feet from the stage. The worst part of the night was trying to find a cab after the show in a crowd of drunk people waiving down cabs... After about 45 minutes we finally got one though! They cut the set short by 3 songs due to venue curfew which was a bummer (saw the complete set list from one of the VIP guys who runs www.dmbalmanac.com after the show.) However, they still played a solid 2 hours and 10 minutes so I wasn't really too worried about it. Only bad things was one of the songs cut was a new one from their upcoming album that I really wanted to hear.
The opening artist was Brandi Carlile who had an amazing voice and was smokin' hot.
Funny that you should post about a Dave Matthews concert after my post about a Charlottesville, VA concert. Maybe I'll pass through Dave's neighborhood on the way to my show!
I finally got to see Marina and the Diamonds last night.
She was cute and funny, and she has been working out. Nice muscle tone going on, and I think she's proud of it. My sister, who saw her on her last tour, said there was a distinct difference.
She had a cool neon "Electra Heart" sign behind the stage that made it more of a light show than last time, according to my sister. It was definitely no Ting Tings light show, but at least she seemed to have more money this time around.
She seemed genuinely surprised and grateful for the Seattle audience's enthusiasm. She kept mentioning it, and how she didn't know she had any fans in Seattle.
She also did some weird inclusion of stuffed animals. She brought out a pink dog that is apparently one of her favorites. She called the dog a bitch at one point (with a couple of harsher adjectives before it, though I can't remember what they were), but she immediately said something along the lines of, "Oh, I know it's only a stuffed animal, but I feel really bad about saying that." She actually did seem to feel bad about insulting her stuffed animal. Ha ha. Anyway, you could tell she had a lot of ideas about stuff to do to make the performance a little more memorable, but she hasn't quite arrived at the required confidence level to pull it off. Which is endearing in its own way, of course. I like that she's up there doing it even if she hasn't quite worked it out.
Her singing was a little hit and miss, but overall, I was satisfied with the performance. I preferred the couple of songs she performed by herself, without the backing musicians. I think part of that is because the sound was pretty bad. Too loud for the sound system to handle cleanly, so that bugged. It's almost always a problem at the concerts I go to, but it seemed especially bad at this one.
I was also pretty tired, which affected my level of excitement, too. Throw in an annoying chick who kept pushing in on my space until I was separated from my sister, and I was fairly irritable by the end of the concert. I had really been looking forward to trying to meet Marina after the show, but at the end, I just wasn't feeling like I would be giving her my best side, so we skipped that part, walking right by where the small gathering had formed outside her tour bus.
I'm sure I'll regret it when the opportunity fails to present itself again.
The Metallica Full Arsenal Tour last Friday night in Vancouver, BC. They were filming both friday and saturday nights shows as well as a post production show tonight for a 3D concert movie. I have seen a lot of concerts over the years but this show was over the top for sights and sound. It was the biggest production ever staged in Rogers Arena. The stage alone was 50' x 140' with built in video and lights in the floor. Should be interesting to see the finished product.
I got to see Emily Wells again last night, this time as the final act of three in a benefit performance at the Bing Crosby Theater in Spokane, WA. Major thanks to my friend, Rachel, who brought me out.
The first act was Old Bear Mountain. Not something I'd normally listen to, but they did well, and wow on the keyboard player/occasional vocalist. Way too gorgeous. We were front and center, so I ended up staring too much with her catching me.
Then it was Hey Marseilles, who Rachel was excited to see after seeing them at Sasquatch. We actually caught their sound check, too. The venue was pretty casual and unconcerned about everything. We probably could have walked right in without paying. They were good, but again, not something I'd normally listen to. I did buy their CD, though, so I'll see if they grow on me more.
Emily rocked her set. Even though it's a theater where everyone should be sitting, people were up and dancing at the front through the whole evening. Emily, being the final act, brought even more people forward. A little surprising since neither Hey Marseilles nor Emily Wells have the most dance-friendly music. I think the fact that it was a benefit and so many of the people knew each other loosened everyone up. Not like any other concert I'd been to.
Anyway, even being right at the front, the acoustics were great, sounded better than her show at the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland.
I got to say hi and get my picture with her again after the show. She asked if I was from Portland after I said I'd seen her at Doug Fir. She lives in Portland, apparently. I told her no, that so far I'd had to travel to see her, and she was touched. Ha ha. I told her I was from the Tri-Cities, and if she ever played there, I would totally street team for her. She said that was good to know. Oh, and she even asked my name at one point. So sweet. I still ended our chat a little awkwardly, since I didn't know how to end it, so at least the world righted itself.
You can see the girl in the background in the top pic was working the merch table in the second pic. She was really nice, and I heard her confirm to someone else that it IS a young Emily on the cover of her most recent album, Mama. I was guessing it was, but now I know.
I wish I had taken pictures of the gorgeous girl from Old Bear Mountain. We even saw her again today. She was performing by the fountain at the park where Pig Out in the Park was happening. I tried to take a couple of pictures, but there was stuff on the lens, and I didn't get close enough, anyway, since I didn't want to creep her out. My friend, Rachel, admitted that she'd been staring at the girl during the concert, too, and I think she recognized us both at the park. We're scary stalkers.
I still ended our chat a little awkwardly, since I didn't know how to end it,
Most women do react strangely to Chloroform.
Sounds like a fun time though. I never think to try and meet musicians at shows. I think, I'd rather just know their illusionary stage presence in case they are evil in real life.
Here's a first. I'm posting from the Rush concert. Intermission. The first half, except for Far Cry and an instrumental with drum solo ("Leave That Thing Alone, I think?") was entirely from their 1982-1990 work, with four songs from Power Windows alone, including the little-played Middletown Dreams and Grand Designs. Very topical lyrical content for the politicoeconomic times ni think that was their plan.
Happy to oblige, Mark! Spoilers follow (nothing TOO major, IMHO).
It was a great night. I caught up with my best friend from high school, the guy who introduced me to Rush’s music in 1985. The first Rush show I saw was in the spring of 1986, supporting the Power Windows album. As per my quick note above, the first half of this concert felt like old times. I loved the deep cuts from Power Windows, which is an album I still listen to often. It gets mixed reviews from the Rush faithful because of the heavy use of synthesizers, but I love it.
It sounds like they are playing two from two set lists, which the fantastic site Rush Is a Band calls (A) and (B), which differ in five songs. Last night being the second show of the tour, we got the “B” setlist. Having such a huge catalog of songs, it goes without saying that some classics (Limelight, Free Will, The Spirit of Radio) would be left off. This was also driven by the fact that the new album’s songs are so long, and they played so many of them, that it took up half the show. I'm not complaining, because the new stuff was great, but it was a little surprising to have several contiguous albums not be represented, as if Rush didn’t do anything interesting from 1977-1980 or 1992-2006.
The set design and the video graphics were very steampunk, so I imagine that, somewhere, pmbuko’s eyes were burning. Behind Geddy, there were four set pieces: a large gramophone type horn, a brain in a clear container, a set of Monty Pythonesque curly horns, and a functioning popcorn popper. Underneath were the words BASSY, BRAINY, HORNY, and CORNY. The appropriate word would light up depending on what song was being played. You can see it in this fan-uploaded pic, which also shows off Geddy's steampunk synthesizers.
Geddy announced the intermission with the explanation that at their advanced age, they were going off for blood transfusions. The second set was announced with another cool video segment in which the band were gnomes who annoyed and tormented a government worker who was there to talk to the Watchmaker. Yeah, it made that much sense to me also.
The second set featured an 8-piece string section that played on all songs, not just the many that they played from the new album, Clockwork Angels. Geddy noted that it was the first time in their nearly 40 years of touring that they’ve ever been joined onstage by other musicians.
Another twist was that instead of one long solo, Neil did three shorter drum solos. The whole band was flawless. They play as well as ever.
I skipped the $35 tshirts and got a $20 program. As usual, it’s full of fun.
All in all, a great night with a nice blend of the familiar and the fresh! Highly recommended.
JP, thanks for the review. I have been following the Rush Is A Band site for years. I kind of chuckled after the first nights concert review as people were bitching about the set list. By the sounds of it, the Clockwork Angels music comes across really well in concert. I think it is probably Rush's strongest effort in years. I read somewhere that Neil Peart was going to mix up his drum solos this tour. I would prefer three mini solos scattered throughout the show instead of one 8-10 minute solo. Looking forward to seeing them roll through town next year. We should be thankful these guy's still tour and entertain the fans with 3 hour shows and no opening acts!
Well, I looked for tickets but they are either stupid expensive or in the rafters. I know it's a laughably low number for many of you, but I've seen them 6 times already. Plus - with our lovely home theaters - I really do enjoy watching video of live performance. So, you know, money.
I did compile a playlist of the setlist(s), though. And I've been listening to it today. I remember really liking "Middletown Dreams" when they toured that album (although the real live revelation was "Mystic Rhythms"). I'm surprised they are playing "Bravado" and also that they are playing all the Clockwork Angels songs contiguously.
They seem to have really enjoyed making the last couple albums, and they clearly love to tour.
I still have the "Live in Cleveland" show on my DVR from about a year ago. I might watch it again later today.
Saw Pink Martini (again!) at the Greek Theater. It's become something of a tradition to see them for my birthday as they seem to come to town every year around the same time. Great show as always. They performed a couple of new unreleased tunes (one was beautiful if rather sad).
As they often do, they brought out some legendary figures to do some songs with them.
First out was 94 year old Norman Leyden. He performed on their single Hang on Little Tomato, and returned later for several more tunes. Pure awesome.
Next up...81 year old Mamie Van Doren. She "sang" The Girl from Ipanema (changing it to the boy from Ipanema). It was nice to see these legends out there still performing, but I have to say, Mamie was a little scary. (see that photo on wikipedia? She still looks like that!)
The show ended with them inviting pretty much anyone who wanted to come up on stage while they performed Brazil. (Another P.M. tradition).
Got back late from Montreal last night. What a show. We spent the next three days touring the city to make it an equally awesome mini-vacation but it was hard to concentrate on being a tourist as my mind kept drifting back to the three hours of total Rush awesomeness.
I really enjoyed the set selection. It was made for Rush fans, not radio fans. Hats off for that! The visual show around the Clockwork Angels story was really well done. Adding in a string section for this portion of the concert really added additional depth and ambiance to the experience they were going for. Also it was really fun to watch the string performers enjoy themselves so much too. If I had known that modern rock culture would change enough that I could someday tour along with a band like Rush, I might not have scoffed at the idea of violin lessons as a child.
I don't even need to comment about the musicianship from the band. Everyone here knows how that went. They are truly masters at what they do together.
As an added bonus, the comedic short at intermission and at the very end of the concert had an accountant demanding to do an audit who was harassed and constantly misled by three elves who looked suspiciously like the band. One of my buddies at the concert is a partner in an accounting firm and this provided for a long string of running gags for the rest of the trip. Thank You Rush!
I had very high expectations for this concert and it surpassed them all.
Last Tuesday I saw Switchfoot in Salt Lake City, they put on a great show! First time at The Depot and it sounded really good! I will be going to see NEEDTOBREATHE this Friday at the same venue. If you haven't seen NEEDTOBREATHE, they will put on one of the best concerts you will ever see! There style would be considered, high energy Southern Rock and Roll!
My wife and I attended Barbra Streisand's "Back to Brooklyn" concert last night in Vancouver. Classic showbiz at it's finest complete with Chris Botti, Il Volo and 60 piece orchestra. A spellbinding evening indeed.
I got to see Emily Wells for the third time last night, which means I've seen her as many times as I've seen Regina Spektor. She played at the Crocodile in Seattle, which I saw the Proclaimers at before, and my sister and brother-in-law saw Marina and the Diamonds there, too. It's a smaller venue, and I don't feel as hip/scuzzy as the normal audience member.
Eternal Fair, a Seattle band, opened. They were fun enough, and their musicianship was fine, but they weren't necessarily something I'd see myself listening to. Still, the lead singer/guitarist seemed to be pretty happy to be performing, which is always easier to get into than the pretentious, brooding kind of artist. Not that all brooding is pretentious, but you can't let everyone get away with their attempt at it, that's all.
Emily Wells gave a strong performance. I was satisfied, and she played a little new material. Her mom was in the audience, too. My sister, who hadn't really tried to listen to any of her stuff, wasn't digging her, unfortunately. My brother-in-law kind of liked her, though, and I gave him the download code for her Symphonies album that came with the vinyl version I bought. After her set, she went back to her merch table to help sell and sign, and her mother was there, too. I asked Emily how much her postcards were, since I already owned everything else on the table (I bought the vinyl before the show started to be sure they didn't run out). She said they were free, and to take as many as I wanted. I told her she played an awesome set, and I had seen her at Gleason Gras in Spokane. She was all, "Gleason Gras!" and raised her arms to show her excitement. I said, "That was an interesting show," since that's about as profound as I get when my brain is tripping over itself. "It was," she agreed, since that's about all you can say to someone who's overwhelmed. Then I fled, snagging a single postcard. No picture this time, no autograph.
Dark Dark Dark, the co-headliners, started playing, and we waited through a couple of songs, but it wasn't doing a whole lot for any of us, so we decided to take off. We passed by Emily, and she was hugging the holy heck out of someone. That could have been me!
Went to the Muse concert last night in Vancouver. A lot of flash but not much substance in the music. Was sitting close to the stage to witness some real lip syncing which was rather disappointing for a band of that profile.
Yeah, I'd say. I don't own any of their stuff but like what I have heard on the web. I wouldn't have thought they'd be the kind of act that would do a thing like that.
Well I was surprised as well. Attended the show with a friend from the music industry who has worked for Live Nation in concert production for years. He was the one who pointed it out to me. We were chatting with a friend of his before the show who is producing the Muse tour and this fellow commented on how the show runs for 1 hour and 33 minutes. Set your watch and count down. Pretty disappointing to say the least however thats the state of the music biz these day's. FYI, all the performances at the Super Bowl are live recordings lip synced by the artists. Can't afford any screw-ups when 30 second commercial spots are worth millions. Thankfully Rush doesn't do this
Actually, I believe that lip syncing in huge venues such as stadiums and inaugurations are more often due to the incredibly long delay before you hear yourself back through the house system.
It's disconcerting to sing and "hear yourself sing along" a couple of seconds later!
Actually, I believe that lip syncing in huge venues such as stadiums and inaugurations are more often due to the incredibly long delay before you hear yourself back through the house system.
It's disconcerting to sing and "hear yourself sing along" a couple of seconds later!
Within the next few months, I have tickets for Yes at the Moore Theatre, Robben Ford at the Triple Door and Ann and Nancy Wilson at Benaroya Hall. And good-to-great seats in disproportionately small and luxurious venues.
Does watching a concert on BR with the wife and a glass of wine in hand count? If so the tragically hip in bobcaygeon was almost as good as being there. I love having power to spare...
Hey Mark & Tom speaking of sucky roads and Tacoma...
I gave up on trying to get my VPN going and drove into work mid morning. Main roads were snow covered but the oft ignore secondary road that I live on was a real adventure. Just enough time between drifts to gain momentum to punch through the next drift.
Then I started hitting pools of slush were the road had flooded from the weekend's thaw and freezing rain. Often I couldn't see a thing from the heavy slush hitting the windshield but I was not daring to slow down as I could feel it bogging down my speed way worse than the snow, I had to keep looking in my rear view mirror to keep sight of something to stay pointed in a straight line.
Actually, on second thought, it was a lot of fun. Not sucky at all.
But Sharon and I finally scored decent tickets to see Green Day in Quebec City on April 12th!
So exited!!! I think this actually completes my list of bands from my youth that I must see before I die. This one is perhaps the perfect big finish as they are actually still hugely relevant.
When I watched one of their concert DVD's a couple years ago, they didn't seem to give Jason White the respect or visibility I thought he deserved, but my perception may have been a result of video editing choices.
Can't believe Mark hasn't chimed in with Hell Yeah or something like that, yet.
... they didn't seem to give Jason White the respect or visibility I thought he deserved, ...
Ya, he is the underdog and deserves more spotlight. I suppose it's always tough to be a guitar player in a band when where the lead singer is so well respected for his strings as well.
... they didn't seem to give Jason White the respect or visibility I thought he deserved ...
I've thought about that, too, Tom - I imagine the mindset was they were perceived as a trio and/or conceived of themselves as a trio, so he's like that "other guy" who just happens to play on all their songs but never make it into the publicity photos.
A quick Googling confirmed that he's played with the band off and on for most of their history, and pretty much regularly since American Idiot. Finally, with this single release last year, he got an official listing as a band member.
Sharon wanted an armpic of us. I hate those. They never turn out but I obliged. We both look terrible and it's blurry because I can't lift my right arm without pain right now so I was about to delete a bit later when the kid behind me said something along the lines of "Hey Dude, don't delete it! Were you trying to do a a Tres Cool impression?" I laughed and thought to myself, 'Well, maybe... if he develops the famous Murphy double chin.'
To prove I can make fun of myself as well as making fun of you folk, I present to you Mr. Tres Cool and Notso Tres Cool
... they didn't seem to give Jason White the respect or visibility I thought he deserved ...
I've thought about that, too, Tom - I imagine the mindset was they were perceived as a trio and/or conceived of themselves as a trio, so he's like that "other guy" who just happens to play on all their songs but never make it into the publicity photos.
A quick Googling confirmed that he's played with the band off and on for most of their history, and pretty much regularly since American Idiot. Finally, with this single release last year, he got an official listing as a band member.
Well, I think it's fine to think of yourselves as a trio, but it's disingenuous to play live without acknowledging all the musicians. Rush is a trio; they play credible versions of their music live without help. Genesis always brought Daryl Steurmer and Chester Thompson out with them on tour and treated them with dignity on stage. The vibe I got from Green Day is that they kind of wanted you to perceive that Billie Joe plays all the guitar parts on stage.
I agree. I wasn't endorsing their actions but just speculating as to their mindset. I appreciate when a band introduces all the musicians on stage.
Rush is amazing, but Geddy has admitted that the challenge of reproducing their music live has led them to rely on off stage personnel for live help, such as programming synths and such. They refer to those people collectively as "Jack Secret."
I think 99.9% of the crowd were on thier feet in the first 5 seconds and stayed that way right to the end.
Aw man. It's a good thing I wasn't there. If I paid for a specific seat and was forced NOT to use it just to see the stage, I'd be pretty pissed.
Perhaps you need to rethink it as having paid for a specific place. I expect to stand for a least a portion of a rock concert, depending on who it is. Probably not for a folk or blues session but for a punk rock band famous for creating a frenzy, I arrived prepared to be on my feet.
I hear ya though. Last year at Rush, the crowd began to stand part way through the second set. I had an older gentleman behind me who wasn't going to be on his feet. I remained seated so he would not have to fight for a view. I was in a row with a rail and slight drop in front of me, so I was lucky that I could still see most of the stage seated.
There's nothing better than having sore and stiff post-concert legs that are stuck motionless in a car for one hour just getting out of the venue's parking lot, and then for an additional hour or two on the drive home.
Alright, I got two tickets in the front row at the Eagles concert in Vancouver. I don't think there could be a better way to celebrate my 50th birthday.
wow...quite possibly the best concert I've ever seen. I've seen Prince five times now, and every time is a great performance. Last night though, with his new band he seemed to be playing for himself and having a blast - the fact that there was an audience didn't seem to matter. It was incredible. If you get a chance to see any of these new shows with 3rd Eye Girl don't pass it up. It's NOT the Prince you hear on the radio. Not by a long shot.
In dallas for our annual dave matthews fix! Show is tonight. I bought my parents tickets too. They have tried to see dave twice now but ended up sick one year and out of town the other. My mom almost wasn't going to make it this trip either cuz her rheumatoid arthritis was acting up. She got her treatment early and is feeling much better.
Yes, for some reason or another they haven't played Vancouver for years. The company that designs Carter Beauford's snare drums are located in Ladner, British Columbia. I am not interested in making a trip to the Gorge to see Dave Mathews Band. Friends of mine went last year and it was a gong show.
Not only is the ferry a PITA & costly, the expense of going to see a big act in Vancouver is so prohibitive now from VR Island, that I think that I'm done with it. I've seen Santana & Clapton (twice) over there in the past decade & it turns out being a $500 to $1000 adventure.
Since my daughter lives in Victoria with a complimentary B&B, I wish more acts would show up there, but unfortunately their venue is just too small to make a buck.
Concerts on DVD/BD on a good Axiom HT system is the way to go for us now...
well Our Lady Peace was great, as always. Metric, not so much. they refused to play in the rain, despite a mostly sheltered stage and the fact that three other bands toughed it out ahead of them in worse conditions then they would have had.
Also, they let fans wait patiently, most of them standing in the rain or drizzle, for two whole hours before deciding that they would not go on even though the rain had become little more than a mist by then.
To top it all off, I spoke with an organizer I knew on the way out and he told me that OLP even offered to lend the band their wireless guitar gear so they could move the keyboards to the sheltered back of the stage but still have a few of them wander out front and and not risk getting fried. Emily Haines refused the offer.
Extremely unimpressed and lets just say, I am no longer a fan.
Extremely unimpressed and lets just say, I am no longer a fan.
Yeah, that's pretty lame. I like their music a lot, but they should get over themselves if that's the whole story. I'm just hoping someone was feeling ill in addition to the rain.
Sharon and I spent a wonderful afternoon yesterday listening to the crazy blues guitar pickins of Matt Anderson. It was double awesome because he was playing in the Saint Mary's Church finishing off their Indian River Music Festival.
This famous building has been described as acoustically perfect and it has been said that it is one of the top ten places in the world to perform. Every time I go there, it blows my mind. There is no echo, no big hall reverb, not even any of that that distinctly 'churchy' sound. You just hear the instruments and the voices absolutely perfectly.
The famous (in Atlantic Canada) architect , William Harris, actually built the church in 1902 as a way to accomplish his dream of building a perfect concert hall. One story goes that no one would finance his desire to build a concert hall in that period history but there was, however, lots of money to be found to build beautiful churches for the expanding population.
Hey Axiom... marketing idea... You should do a video about coming to this location to test speakers. I know it's technically a very different thing but but add in a fun comparison of the cold view inside your anechoic chamber, vs. the beautiful, century old building and it's world renowned acoustics. Disguise some tech talk in there during a few clips of artists playing in the church and the speakers being tested and it would make a very cool promo video, for both you and the music festival.
Just a crazy thought I had during intermission.
Now, back to the blues. NOT in the church and not the best sounding recording and doesn't show off his powerful voice as much but it does show off 'Stubbyfinger's' wicked guitat playing.
Saw Matt Anderson at Ottawa Bluefest a few years ago. Talented man. He's on The Vinyl Cafe as the supporting act once and a while. I believe he recently won some prestigious Blues award too.
Matt Anderson is wicked. I don't know if i could do a whole sitting as his extended stumming can get a little long, but the man has pipes and wicked talent no doubt! No screech required!
Hey, when is the next Axiom anniversary in PEI anyway?
REO Speedwagon at the PNE in Vancouver. Had never managed to see these guy's over the years. They played a flawless 90 minute set. Lots of memories from those songs.
LOL I keep telling you guys, Screech is a Newfoundland thing. You can't even buy it here.
As for a PEI Axiom party, I've been inviting you guys for years and would be happy to turn it into formal plans next summer if it ever became serious. I'll even get a bottle of NF Screech shipped over so you can taste test it against PEI shine so we can finally settle this thing.
Went to the History of The Eagles concert friday night in Vancouver. Took my Dad for his birthday. It was a fabulous 3 hour show. Joe Walsh is worth the price of admission.
The Eagles- They are performing here in Detroit later this month. Didn't know until it was too late to buy tickets at the Arena. Only ones I found were re-sale, the cheapest were behind the Stage for over $180 a ticket. For better seats over $300 a ticket. As much as I enjoy their music, thats more than I'm willing to shell out. My loss! /Jeff
I was at The Eagles concert too, front row right beside the stage. My wife was wearing a Joe Walsh shirt from the Bob Seger concert and Joe Walsh's hired hand came up before the concert and gave us two guitar picks with "Eagles 2013" on the front and "JW" on the back. He said that they were very limited.
Attended Ottawa Folkfest from Wednesday to Sunday. Sadly got really sick sitting out in the cold all that time but I'll live. Here's what I saw:
Patti Smith City and Colour Little Stella The Pack a.d. Colin Meloy Vampire Weekend Amanda Rheaume Beth Orton Matt Andersen (only a few minutes) Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowel Trent Severn Mac deMarco The Belle Game Tift Merritt (only a song) Sondre Lerche Hey Ocean! The Sheepdogs The Avet Brothers The Record Company Kat Edmonson World Party Lynn Miles Carolina Chocolate Drips Gordon Lightfoot (only a few songs... sickness got the best of me... had to go)
Joyce and I had a fantastic time last night. Drove all the way to Bethlehem, NH (about an hour and a half North) for Lake Street Dive in a small theater.
All of Main St. lost power, so the band moved off the stage and down to the floor, asked everyone to sit around them campfire-style, and played acoustic. After ~45 mins or so a volunteer set up a generator in the back of the building so they went electric again. Even then though, there were no lights in the theater, so it made for a very intimate performance!
Joyce and I were in the center of the second row, the band played all the favorites and some great new stuff, and I got my CDs signed afterwards (I had a somewhat powerful flashlight in the van, so I became their "lighting man" in the room for the signings.
One of those memories that I'll have till I'm old! Really, really, looking forward to their new release in early 2014!
Saw They Might Be Giants at the 9:30 Club in DC on Saturday. Great show! It was my first time seeing them after years of being a fan. Got an autographed copy of their latest CD for $15 at the merch table afterwards. It's got several good singles that stand right up there with their best stuff. My favorite one at the moment is "You're on Fire". Here's a fan-shot video of it at an earlier leg of the tour. Captures the concert essence in crappy phone audio. The official music video is pretty good as well. I mean, it has bacon in it, so at least Tom will be happy.
I've only seen them once, but it was a lot of fun. Also, my friend had us staying at the same hotel he'd heard they'd be at, so we waited for them at the entrance to the hotel after the show. They seemed a little uncomfortable with us waiting for them there, even said they were done working, but they were good sports and signed my friend's plastic skull.
I can't remember the timeline anymore, but sometime after that we were catching the elevator up to our room, and we ended up in the elevator with them. Or at least one of them. My memory is so fuzzy now. It was awkward, and I can't even remember what was said. Just small-talk, but we felt like assholes being in their elevator, even though it wasn't our intention to ambush them a second time.
What I've learned here is that bacon cures awkward.
Mrs. Tuttle and I went to the Austin City Limits Festival!
Probably the best part (for me) was getting to hang out with Mr. and Mrs. Samandnoah. There really is no end to the love and friendship that this forum has brought into my life.
We saw enough of the following to matter over the course of three days (the first weekend).
Asleep at the Wheel Desert Noises Court Yard Hounds Jimmy Eat World Fun. The Black Angels Vampire Weekend Queens of the Stone Age Depeche Mode Lissie Portugal. The Man. Vintage Trouble Passion Pit Kings of Leon The Stapletones The McCrary Sisters Franz Ferdinand White Denim Shinyribs Phoenix Atoms for Peace
I was going to write mini-reviews, but I just don't have it in me today. Overall, I was not very familiar in advance with very much of the music we saw/heard, and it had been a really long time since I had "festival experience" and never of this scope. I'll admit to some crowd fatigue at times, but the opportunity to experience this much, diverse, live, performance art in such a short time was tremendously satisfying.
A lot of the newer music that my kids like (Portugal, Passion Pit, Vampire Weekend, Phoenix, Franz Ferdinand) just wasn't really my cup of tea. It didn't come across as engaging or original, nor did I connect with the performances on a human level. Perhaps I would have a deeper appreciation with extended listening to the studio versions, but I seriously doubt I'll give myself the chance.
Some of the artists (QOTSA, White Denim, Atoms for Peace, Black Angels) were a little too heavy and/or psychedelic for me given my lack of familiarity.
Some of the smaller acts and smaller stages were really great experiences. We really enjoyed Desert Noises, Shinyribs, Stapletones and Vintage Trouble. Fun music, enthusiastic performances and definite connections with the audience.
Of the big acts, I was really pleasantly surprised by Depeche Mode (of whom I was not really a "fan"), Fun (which I feared was overplayed to death) and Kings of Leon. KOL aren't great "performers", but the music really restored my faith in rock and roll. Fun puts on a very good show.
MANY great moments connecting with people and art. Absolutely one of the best musical experiences of my life.
I would have been looking forward to the Jimmy Eat World, Phoenix, and Passion Pit shows the most. My favorite Phoenix video is this one. I like the lighting effects. It paradoxically cured my epilepsy.
Caught Zappa Plays Zappa doing they're 40th anniversary tour of "Roxy & Elsewhere".
Thoroughly enjoyed it. Amazing band. Six players. Female player that did sax, flute, harmonica, keys, and sang. Other main singer played trumpet, trombone and the odd bit with a guitar. Drummer, bass, Dweezil on guitar, and another guy playing keys and various other analog sound generators. They did a great job covering all the parts that a typical Zappa show would have done with more bodies.
Played the entire Roxy & Elsewhere album ("just like a penguin in bondage boing") in their first set and some other selections in the second including The Black Page (both just drums and the embellished version), Muffin Man, Cosmic Debris, Duke of Prunes, I Come From Nowhere (and amazingly the singer managed to sing it the same way) + more that elude me at the moment.
Missed them last time they came through. Will definitely catch them next time as well.
Went to NIN (Nine Inch Nails) in Vancouver last Thursday night. I have never seen NIN before. It was an amazing 2 plus hours of blinding light/special effects and sound. They played a lot of the new cd and the older favourites. Looking forward to the Blu-ray issue of this tour.
Went to NIN (Nine Inch Nails) in Vancouver last Thursday night. I have never seen NIN before. It was an amazing 2 plus hours of blinding light/special effects and sound. They played a lot of the new cd and the older favourites. Looking forward to the Blu-ray issue of this tour.
Although I had a great time at my friends CD launch party Saturday night for the "Plain Dirty Blues Band." A packed house and I got to see lots of familiar faces I hadn't seen in years.
On Saturday, I saw They Might Be Giants at the 3rd USA Science & Engineering Festival, the largest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education event of its kind in the United States. They played on a sound stage in the Convention Center in Washington, D.C.
They did two set lists, the first billed as the "family show", but the second actually being very family friendly as well. The first one did lean more heavily on their awesome album, Here Comes Science.
It was really fun for many reasons. First and foremost, it was my 8 year old son's first rock concert. A couple months back, he'd gone on a school field trip to the Kennedy Center for a kids-oriented classical show (hat tip to JohnK, whose ears certainly perked up just now), but this was his first rock show. We enjoyed the song selection greatly - my favorite was "Meet the Elements", and Nolan's was "I Am a Paleontologist". I'm not sure what Gail's was - maybe "Older." (HA ha!)
As is the norm, the Johns did a lot of witty bantering about the venue, e.g. having to compete with 3M, Lockheed, and the Air Force for attention.
It was a fun day overall - we only saw a fraction of the 750 exhibits, but what we got to see was cool, especially robotics and nanotechnology. Hopefully much enrichment of little brains happened that day.
Driving down to houston Friday for dave matthews band, then to Dallas Saturday for night 2 of dave matthews band. Also, round 3 of dave matthews band in Tulsa on Wednesday. I'm pumped! Each concert is multiple sets, acoustic and electric, I think with no opener so they can fit all of their planned songs in.
Ya, he hasn't played Vancouver in years. Too many people from the lower mainland make the trek every year to The Gorge in Washington to catch his concerts.
Went to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers this past Thursday evening. Amazing show all around. Get there early as Steve Winwood is supporting Tom on this tour.
Spirt of the West (who opened for) and Blue Rodeo at the Assiniboine Park outdoor theatre last Friday. Only $25 for tickets!! Beautiful 3/4 moon clear sky night too!!
First time there's been a ticketed event at this venue. They really need to work on the amount, location and people flow for the beer tickets and tent. I may have a video which i'll link once i upload it.
Go back to Maine you move-to-PEI-at-birth-pretending Canadian wannabe!
[jus kiddin]
I'm not a die hard fan, must see these bands type of person, but i don't know many people who shy away from the popular sounds of Blue Rodeo. Truly Canadiana!
Sorry pal. Could just be Jim Cuddy's voice, or the slide guitar sound that is not a slide guitar but an organ played like a slide guitar, but it's just too country for me.
Sorry to be an individual.
There, I said "sorry" twice. Is that Canadian enough for ya?
Sorry pal. Could just be Jim Cuddy's voice, or the slide guitar sound that is not a slide guitar but an organ played like a slide guitar, but it's just too country for me.
Sorry to be an individual.
There, I said "sorry" twice. Is that Canadian enough for ya?
LOL I think one more sorry will let you back into the country. It's funny, i heard not once but twice someone screaming from the crowd, at two different locations, "Jim Cuddy i want your babies".
Should have used your inside voice, maybe. snicker.
I couldn't resist but yes, you are right, i did actually scream that once myself so technically there were 3 occasions that night which Jim Cuddy heard people wanting his babies.
Last night saw the new incarnation of the mighty King Crimson, at Best Buy Theater in NYC. Complete with three front line drummers, Mel Collins, Tony Levin, Jakko Jakszyk and Mr Fripp. Lots of material from the early-mid 70's, songs which haven't been played in 40 years. Much different from their recent 2008 tour, which focused on 80's double-trio configuration
Amazing performance, the synchonzation of the percussion group in "surround sound" with the L-C-R beat patterns, dizzying array of sound textures at first seeming paradoxic, but belying an overall groove.
Make every effort to catch this show, although its in limited cities as of now.
Friday night a group of us went out for a light Supper at The Old Dublin Pub and then it was off to the PEI Shellfish Festival where we enjoyed samples of shellfish in all sorts of manner. What we went for primarily though was Celtic rock band "The Stanfields" who played later that night.
The Stanfields are like an exploding, human, party bomb from the very first song. The best part, perhaps even better than witnessing a Mandolin and a Bouzouki player right along side an electric guitarist and bassist, is how fun it is to see the older folks up by the stage and dancing right along the younger crowd.
You don't get much more of a Maritime night out than this. Total fun!
So, based on your recommendation, I've been enjoying The Stanfields via YouTube all morning. Great stuff. I really appreciate bands that can integrate some humor (Dirtiest Drunk in the History of Liquor seems like a classic). The arrangements and instrumentation are right up my alley, too. But they may not have staying power in my rotation because the lead singer's voice just doesn't make me feel good. It's a personal thing. Perhaps he will grow on me.
Ya, he's a bit gruff sounding. It's better live where the gruffness adds to the whole drunken fishing village experience thing they go for instead of grating on you.
I'm not entirely sure, but I'll bet that's an oxymoron. If anyone says U2 or Delamitri, I will come to your house and empty all of your cereal boxes out onto your shag carpet. No! In between your sheets!
I'm not entirely sure, but I'll bet that's an oxymoron. If anyone says U2 or Delamitri, I will come to your house and empty all of your cereal boxes out onto your shag carpet. No! In between your sheets!
The sound was loud for me but thanks to the ear plugs I brought, I could enjoy the show. It was held in a small theatre at the U of A campus. I should add that my seat was 4 rows from the speaker bank.
My son and I went to the Rush concert in Vancouver last Friday. As usual they raised the bar to the next level with the production. Going to miss those guy's when they officially retire.
After arriving back home from my Dwight trip I had enough time to freshen up and hit the road again to see AC/DC at Commonwealth Stadium. Great concert in the rain and temps hovering around 8C. Probably the last time to see them perform in this area.
I believe you are correct. they are apparently retiring after this tour. Your very lucky to get a chance to see them live. Its the end of a great era , very sad indeed.
Vanilla Fudge tore the roof off! Pushing 70 and they're playing and harmonies are as good as ever. Most of the people there were older than I am! There were 40/50-something women there. Definitely second wives being dragged along. And a pair of Goth kids with their parents. Cutting time for them, I'm sure.
Carmine Appice is the biggest drummer I've ever seen; snare drum hits like gunfire, and double bass drums to rumble your thorax.
Oh, and there was so much bad black hair color on that stage, that there should have been rivulets of gray liquid dripping onto the floor by night's end.
Mark Stein's hair and full beard (and his face) looked like he was 43. Figures. The Jewish guy is smart enough to go to a pro. The two Italians hair is "suicide" black (dyed by their own hands.) I guess life on Lon Gisland is still comfortably familiar.
Grace Potter at the Showbox Seattle, WA February 13, 2016
At least she took her shoes off. That made me feel a little better.
Despite my longtime passion for Grace Potter’s music, I seem to have reached a point where her artistic expression diverges from my interest. Oh, she’s still a dynamic, sexy performer with a tremendous voice. She may be the most gifted rock vocalist of this era, and her live shows always reveal something more about her artistic expression than is apparent from the studio recordings.
And that’s the problem. Up until now, that enhanced expression included mostly increased intensity (a revelatory heavy metal version of “Look What We’ve Become”), opportunities to display ample virtuosity by her and the band (a beautiful duet with Benny Yurco on “Low Road”), and surprising new arrangements of old favorites (a driving, guitar-goddess and drums version of “Nothing but the Water”).
Saturday’s show at Seattle’s Showbox revealed a new and baffling performance strategy – extended psychedelic jams with interpretive dance. During both “Loneliest Soul” and “Turntable”, Grace and the band digressed into interminably long, dissonant, freak outs including Plant-esque quasi-orgasmic vocals. The break during the latter song was especially awkward, as it brought the show to a complete halt during the period when fans have come to rightfully expect a sustained, high-energy dance party. This time, Grace was the only one dancing and everyone else just seemed mystified.
Grace has always been very upfront about being an Artist (with a capital A) who follows her muse. But her decision to over-indulge in the early-1970’s, light-show enhanced mystical dance number just wasn’t good performance art. First off, it’s already been done – you can’t out-Zeppelin Zeppelin, and revival of a 45 year old, then-progressive mechanism should probably be reserved for special occasions with special performers. Second, it detracts from the outrageous fun of the rest of the show, which naturally features her fine songwriting along with happy, energetic interpretations of cover songs. Until now, within both songs and setlists, she has always shown a keen sensibility for dramatic ebb and flow. The fundamental flaw, however, is that it just wasn’t interesting. Grace’s artistic vision and vocation includes enjoying performing, singing and dancing. Most people are willing to be challenged by art, and its quality is inherently subjective. The indictment of Grace’s Saturday dance jams is that they were neither challenging nor fun; when art is boring, it ceases to be either art or entertainment.
In addition to the previously mentioned gems, the two-and-a-half hour show had some other great moments. For perhaps the first time, the band performed a new song called “You Love Another” – a typically fun, hip-hop laced tune that still preserves the melodic rock sensibility Grace is known for. And you haven’t really lived until you’ve seen Grace Potter perform an extended version of “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy”. Likewise, the Bowie medley during the encore was heartfelt and energetic. Since the Seattle show closed this leg of the tour, there seemed to be genuine joy among the performers as they used the “Paris” finale as a heavy metal jam to acknowledge support crew members.
Eliza Hardy Jones opened the show with a set of quirky pop-rock tunes. Her manner and voice is reminiscent of a Voice contestant with a big glasses and clear vocals but little ability to elicit passion among the audience. She has a fine, reedy voice that is very well suited to her position as a backup singer/keyboardist in Grace’s Magical Midnight Roadshow. And many of the songs were very nicely crafted but seemed ill suited to her delivery. Her performance was somewhat of a disappointment, given the high caliber and very rocking nature of the other opening acts who have supported Grace at other shows I’ve seen.
The overall tenor of the show seemed to be palpably about “Grace Potter The Performance Artist” rather than a Grace Potter and the Nocturnals Rock and Roll Show. I’m not among her fans that inherently resist artistic evolution or who dislike “Midnight”. I just prefer Rock Star Grace to Artist Grace.
Last Sat night - my favourite blues guy David Gogo played electric blues at the Highwayman Saloon in Union Bay, BC. He is up for a Juno Award (Canada's Grammys) for his album 'Vicksburg Call'.
'Anela' from Comox, BC opened for David. He is a native Hawaiian who immigrated here & lives down the street from me. Great guitarist in his own right.
Superb performance as ever & much beer was consumed by yours truly. Thankfully shuttle buses were provided, ha! Some FB stuff here of the concert - scroll down for pics & a short video of his beer bottle slide playing:
I got to see Emmy the Great perform on Wednesday at Barboza in Seattle. I've been listening to her since around... 2008. I've been wanting to see her live for a while, so I'm glad I finally made it happen.
Except for the venue. More often than not, I'm underwhelmed by the sound quality at live shows, and this concert was one of the best examples of poor sound. The equipment simply could not handle the volume, so it was tons of distortion the whole time, which is pretty bad when her sound is so light to begin with. I'm to the point where I wouldn't be opposed to certifications for music venues, so there's a baseline for sound quality. I did get to try out the DUBS Acoustic Filters I bought. I probably wasn't wearing them right, as the bass made it feel like they were going to be shaken out, but they did their job of attenuating the sound. I gave my sister a different brand, Hearos. She seemed happy with how they fit, and was definitely thankful I had the foresight to bring them along.
But beyond the issue with the sound, I was happy I got my chance to see her. I was disappointed with the size of the crowd, though. I didn't know anything about the venue, but it's actually in the basement of Neumos, which itself isn't a big venue. This really was just a bar with maybe half a dozen booths, a couple of higher tables in the middle, a bit of an area for people to stand, and the stage. And it was not close to full. I felt bad for Emmy, especially since she said it was her first Seattle show. I hope she comes back in the future.
She was doing almost everything herself. I thought I saw her walk in while my sister and I waited in a booth, carrying a couple of bags. She disappeared back where the restrooms were, and I suppose the green room must have been back there somewhere, too. She came out later, her hands full, and she was talking to the people sitting at the booth outside the restrooms. Then she started setting stuff down on the table. After a few minutes, the people got up and relocated. When she retreated to the green room again, I leaned over to my sister. "I'm going to go see what's there. I think she just made that her merch table." Yeah, Emmy the Great merchandise, so I no longer had any doubt that it was her.
She was in and out several more times while the opener performed. Gracie and Rachel. My sister and I didn't really get into them at all. I imagine part of it was the abominable sound, but the songs all had the same feel to them, the same pacing. I kept waiting for something to jump out at me.
After they took their setup off-stage, Emmy and her two accompanying musicians started to bring their stuff out. At first it was just Emmy bringing it out. Before starting the performance, she did some weird lip-quivering thing, which I assume was some pre-show exercise thing for nimbleness? It was fun to watch, at least. Ha ha. She was cute and funny, telling us she had another set she'd do after the main one, which would be older material that we didn't have to stick around for. She had a guy from the crowd come up and help her with a song he'd requested on Twitter (I think). She couldn't remember all of the lyrics, so she'd had to look them up online with spotty internet access. They were two screenshots on her phone, so his job was to keep her phone from going black, and then switching from one image to the next when the time came. He doubted his ability to do it, but she told him she believed in him. "We're doing this together," she commanded.
I had fun.
After the show, she didn't take long to come out and meet people at her merch table. She talked for quite a while to the guy who had made the song request. Then another person or two, and then she was given a signal by someone from the venue staff, and she said, "Okay, I have ten minutes, so who else wants to buy something?" And then right after some guy decided to talk her ear off. I don't know what he was saying, but she ended up apologizing about something, and gave him a hug. Like I said, I don't know what he was saying, but her apology made it sound like it wasn't anything she had any control over, maybe not even directly related to her, but she let him go on and on about whatever it was. Then someone from the staff said, "Five minutes, and we have to close up." I think there were a couple of people in front of me, and maybe only one or two people behind me. I was getting antsy. The people ahead of me got their autographs and photos, and then I was up. I bought one of the S EP vinyls, as well as the new album on CD, which isn't actually out until the 11th. So I can cancel my preorder on Amazon now.
"I first saw your name in the liner notes on Lightspeed Champion's first album," I told her. She had done guest vocals. I bought it after seeing them perform on Conan. "Aww," she said. "You do know how great he is, don't you?" I told her I hadn't kept up with him since he'd changed to Blood Orange, but that I would have to look him up again. She was moving on to the next person, so I think I kind of barked when I asked if I could get my photo with her. But she smiled and put her arm around me. My sister's phone's camera app hadn't been working right, so I had given her mine. The flash was on automatic, but for whatever reason, it didn't go off when she took the picture, even though I'd tested it just before going to the merch table. I wasn't about to ask her to wait for another attempt with the couple of other people waiting for their turn. It's too bad it got so rushed because of the long conversations two of the people had with her. I would have liked my vinyl autographed, since I actually already owned a copy. I figured I'd keep my autographed copy and give my friend the other one. Next time, if she plays anywhere close again. In any case, someone did some tweaking of the image:
Here is a questionnaire she handed out after the show:
Just got back from seeing the Spoons along with Mike Score (flock of seagulls). All in a benefit concert for Ronald McDonnald house in Toronto. It was an amazing experience. Having grown up in the 80's to get to listen to those favorite songs live. A night to remember for me
Lake Street Dive at the Buckhead Theater. Fantastic show! The Lone Bellow opened for them - they were worthy of the ticket price by themselves! Ricky McKinnie of The Blind Boys of Alabama joined them for a song as well. In all, 3+ hours of non-stop music, not counting the set change, of course.
Went to the Peter Gabriel and Sting concert on Sunday night at Rexall Place. I was a great concert. Unfortunately I don't care that much for Sting and would have preferred Peter going solo. It was the last show of their tour if that makes any difference. I took a bad video of "In your eyes".
Wow, Tommy gets inspired by disappointment! You go, Tom! Nice piece.
"Extended psychedelic jams and interpretive dance" would instantly make me homicidal. The jams I would kill for; the dance, more likely, suicide.
Wow, how did I miss this post? Homicidal Bob. I'm trying to picture what that would look like. You're definitely not a guns or knives kind of guy. Death by sarcasm?
Wow, Tommy gets inspired by disappointment! You go, Tom! Nice piece.
"Extended psychedelic jams and interpretive dance" would instantly make me homicidal. The jams I would kill for; the dance, more likely, suicide.
Wow, how did I miss this post? Homicidal Bob. I'm trying to picture what that would look like. You're definitely not a guns or knives kind of guy. Death by sarcasm?
Come for a visit, Fred! Drive me to a mall, and we'll just see what happens. It'll either be "Bang-bang, slice and dice, or "You, THOT, stop smiling! Your teeth look like old toenails!"
Yeah, you're right! The pain doesn't last long enough with the first two choices.
I finally got to see Rasputina in concert on October 30th in Portland, OR. While she has plenty of recent material, this tour was a celebration of her first album, Thanks for the Ether, which is now 20 years old. So the main set consisted of reworkings of all of the songs from that album. I only really like a couple of songs from that album, though, so most of my enjoyment came from the thankfully lengthy encore, which had more of the rock element present.
I figured my chances of meeting her afterward were high since she's not the biggest name out there, but when I talked to the girl at the merch table, it seemed like meeting the band was only an option if you bought the package which includes a t-shirt, the live DVD, and a poster. I already had an autographed copy of the live DVD from the website, but I didn't have the t-shirt or the poster, so I went ahead and did it.
She was really nice, asked right up front if I wanted a picture, and then when my friend was having trouble using my phone to take it, she didn't mind letting us sort it out and then let us try again. So that picture is Melora Creager, the only constant in the band (other members come and go), me, and Polly Panic, who played the other cello on this go-around. There was also a guy who played keyboards and beatboxed as a stand-in for percussion, but I didn't care enough about him to wait for him to be in the picture. Ha ha. After I got my picture and Melora was talking to the other, bigger fan (who told me while we were waiting that she'd been a fan for 20 years, so for her entire career), I didn't really know what else I would say, so we took off.
I got to see Cake in concert last night at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. FINALLY. They were amazing. And John McCrea is highly entertaining between songs.
Last month I got to see Garbage. I was glad to finally see them, too. The only disappointing thing is that even though they were "co-headlining" with Blondie, they performed first, so there was no encore. And people were still up and around getting food and talking pretty much the entire performance.
I went to see the Roger Waters "Us & Them" concert Sunday evening. Probably the best concert production (audio & video) along with Pink Floyd shows
I saw both shows in Edmonton on the 24th and 25th. I agree that it was a great show. I took four videos during the concert but I don't know if it would be allowed to post them here. Also Roger is somewhat political and some of our friends on here might not appreciate some of the videos.
There are a quite a few videos on YouTube including a full concert which is not bad quality. I don't pay too much attention to Roger's political rants. I get tired of all the actors/artists in the media that use success as a platform to voice their opinions. Otherwise, the sound at Rogers Arena (Vancouver) was probably the best concert production experience ever. I am sure it was the same in Edmonton.
Saw the mighty King Crimson in concert at The Paramount and The Beacon Theatre...the three drummer setup up front, and the band in the back on risers...the fabulous Gavin Harrison played a fantastic solo in the middle of 21st Century Schizoid Man. The riff in that song totally kicked ass, heavy and loud! Great to see them in top form once again. Mel Collins, Jakko Jaczyk, Tony Levin also highlighted the superb band. Great setlists both nights with things moved around a bit for variety.
at the same pavilion that I just saw Rush at. My lawn tix were about $40 so it ended up being only $20/hour. What's the ol' phrase, YMMV? 
You are very brave to be 15 bodies deep from the front of the stage with that sized crowd. Must have been a fun time. Metallica usually attracts a high energy crowd. 
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, but I do remember being very impressed with America. Don't know how they would be today, very good I'm willing to bet.
I got carried away taking pictures of Ralf since I was on his side of the stage, not to mention he's also my favorite member of the band.
Well worth the price of admission.
It was the start of the north american tour promoting the new cd "The Incident". The first part of the concert was the 55 minute song cycle from cd #1 of The Incident. The second half of the show was made up of various songs from their catalog (no spoilers here). If you get a chance to see them in concert it is definitely worth it.
