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Viva City from Newcastle, UK. No new shows announced as of yet - look for them to come back to the states in the New Year! They are currently playing in Texas - bringing dance-y electro rock with a hard edge guaranteed to get your ass on the dance floor. If they cant do it - you just might be dead!
2. Travis music is really really awesome! I sometimes forget how much I really like their music. I’ll dismiss it for a little while but whenever i come back it fits like an old glove and makes me happy.
C. 12 Memories of Urban Bohemia might be the best album title ever (thanks Dandy Warhols – 13 Tales from Urban Bohemia is my favorite album ever, sorry Travis).
4. Andy is awesome! When I met him he immediately said “We’ve met before”. And he was convinced we had met, Im pretty sure we hadnt. Like he said, maybe in a past life and then he said something about a snail. Must be a Scottish thing – Im still perplexed.
d. Fran is really charming. Did I just say charming – I need to add REALLY CHARMING. He gave me a big hug upon leaving and then a huge kiss on the cheek. I think I floated out the door.
E. Fran telling me about the drunken assholes in the very front. It was just random conversation which led to him telling me how obnoxious they were. I had already wanted to throw my beer at them, but Im sad to hear they fucked up his set by singing so loudly and just being pure obnoxious.
2 dudes (if you ever read this) its fucking Fran and Andy’s show, not yours. Youre at Joe’s Pub not some huge club where he cant hear you. He can hear every single f’ing thing now be polite or get the hell out!
(sorry for my rant)
7. Me telling Fran I drank his glass of wine. yes its true- he had a glass of wine on the stage for him. And he left without ever taking a sip. Upon asking their roadie/tech guy for his setlist he also asked if I’d like Fran’s wine. Of course I said yes. And the wine was delicious; and more importantly Fran told me he was glad I drank it.
X. Fran warning Sally and I he might spit into our food. Our table was so close (thats an understatement) to him it was a bit unreal. Maybe he should have spit into my cake, it was way too dry and could have used something to make it more moist 😉
9. Andy disappearing between songs and Fran panicking about what happened to him. This is just so not the stuff that happens at shows. Andy was in the loo and yes he was ok 🙂
Y. Sally (my new friend thanks to Craigslist) is awesome. Aside for buying my dinner as a thank you and for scoring the best table ever, is also super cool. She showed me her picture of her and Ovie and I nearly died. Wait! A hockey fan and Travis fan. For real. She was also at the Manics – Sally scored major bonus points!
Z. Walking home at 2am in Hells Kitchen was surreal The streets were beyond empty and it was eerie and I started wondering if I was in a Zombie movie. I was picturing something like 28 Days later and picturing how they were all going to appear and they werent slow zombies they were fast. Needless to say I was f-ed and got the hell home fast 😛
and finally #12. The best memory ever was that this was easily my favorite show of this year and probably would rank easily in my top 10.
The slideshow, the pictures, the maps and the picture of his adorable boy really made them human. They were real people at that moment and not these huge rockstars. And it told the story of the music of Travis and how so much of it came about. And I just love the stories of him going to the cinema as a kid with his granddad and seeing Bad Lieutenant. Some things Ill just never forget.
And Im so making a sign next time they come here saying ‘S(w)ing’. It’d be awesome. And a few people would totally understand where it came from.
The first night of CMJ was almost a failure. Thankfully some friends of mine who get off of work earlier managed to get a great place in line. Unfortunately, so many people werent able to get in. The great thing about this was once you were inside, it wasnt painfully crowded. There was so much alcohol (thank you 42below!) flowing. Better yet, they created their own drink concoctions which were beyond potent. The vodka was insanely delicious but the redbull combination was enough to do anyone in. Oh and free food all night long! All in all – easily the best CMJ showcase I attended (and it didn’t hurt that it was free). 🙂
Now – lets get to why we’re all really reading this. The music. New Zealand never disappoints when it comes to bringing in bands. Think: Cut Off Your Hands. And this year, there were a lot of great bands from there.
First up at the ridiculously early hour of 6:30pm was Surf City. They were beyond insanely hyped and were playing everywhere at CMJ. I have to say it was unreal how many shows they had. Unfortunately for the band, their first night they had a lot of sound issues. Vocals were non-existent and everything was so insanely loud and muddy. It just sounded like 30 mins worth of noise and it was not pleasant. (not to fret – I saw them Wed night too and they killed it!).
Motocade was up next and they were the band that I was really looking forward to. Very catchy hooks and that oh-so familiar britpop sound had me really excited. And they were good and catchy and the lead singer was charming. They were fun. I would definitely see them again.
At this point, with plenty of drinking going on, it was a great time to have Bang Bang Eche come on. Hard to believe that the band is comprised of what seems to be teenagers. I cant imagine they’re more than 17 years. But didnt matter. They played their hearts out and were jumping around all over the place, into the crowd and really had the energy. A sort of synthy-electro sound with lots and lots of keyboards and guitars. Nice to see the guys of Die Die Die in the crowd supporting them.
Ive decided that Kingston is my new Electric Touch. Indie-power-pop music at its finest. A lead singer that is very charismatic and has the personality and looks to engage everyone. All the women wanted to be near him and touching him. Their music is very catchy and will have everyone dancing along in no time. The lead singer managed to climb up on top of nearly everything from the bar to the speakers and even did some crowd surfing. Very cool and not something you see all the time. With songs like “You Want It”, youll definitely be singing along in no time…. You want it, You got it! Kinda sums them up. Theyre playing at Pianos in a week or so, so dont miss them. Will be a fun show if anything.
Last up for the night was Die! Die! Die! They definitely continued on where Kingston left off, in a total different direction. Their music is definitely not nearly as pop-sounding as Kingston’s. But their brand of electro-experimental-punk definitely had people moving and jumping. Soon enough a pseudo-mosh pit broke out featuring a lot of Bang Bang Eche. Lots of keyboards, heavy guitars and nearly shouting for vocals was a great way to end the night. Everyone was involved and walked out a sweaty mess.
I then ventured onwards to The Suffolk and had regrets about my last vodka/redbull. I was beyond wired and jittery and it was an awful combination. I was so irate with The Suffolk people who pretty much knew nothing when they told me The Lovemakers was not going to be free. So I ended up taking me and my buzz home for the night.
By far the New Zealand showcase killed it! Overall it was the best group of bands that actually remotely sounded like they should be on one bill. Most other shows were so many random bands it was easy to walk out after just a few.
The Long Count – a multimedia piece by Aaron & Bryce Dessner (of The National) and artist Matthew Ritchie at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
Oddly enough – a preview for the movie 2012 came up on my television. Ironic in the sense that its based on this premise that the Mayan calendar ends at 2012 and theres a lot of speculation what will happen at the end of the world.
And this is part of the idea behind The Long Count. The Long Count is based on a narrative poem titled the Popol Vuh about the hero twins and how the Long Count began. Its hard to explain, and I remember learning about this when studying Latin American Studies in college. It was long ago but this still makes sense in its own way.
This combines the World Series of baseball (1975/1976 – the year the Dessners were born) when the Reds vs Yankees were playing in the playoffs. Interestingly, the Yankees are playing again right now. The Mayan ball game was also a huge part of life although the losing team played a far higher price (beheadings were all too common). The beheading is also how the twins were born.
All of this leads to the idea of time and space and the way they believed in time and the power of the Sun/Moon and the earth and the way cycles work. And the idea of twins play heavily into this – they were very revered.
In this case, one set of twins, the Dessners, inspired another more famous set of twins (the Deals) to all come together and to work on this performance piece. What transpires has to be the most innovative show Ive seen in a long time. Easily my favorite show of this year. The art is massive and dark and invokes feelings of blood and earth and cycles. Things come, go, and move onward. Then you add the lovely Shara Worden whose voice was made for this and she invokes the goddess Venus as she sings about the sun and the moon. Her voice is powerful and strong and in the headdress youre moved into another world.
The Deal sisters add a whole nother pow to the show. Kim Deal’s voice is incredible and raw and add the violin pounding of Kelley and kabam! Its intense and the screeching of it hits you hard.
The real treat is the orchestra. Each person is beyond talented and if you read the bios have played with artists like the Arcade Fire. The violins are powerful, the saxophone is intense and the guy in front of me hitting the keys hard of the piano helps take you to this other world.
The music and lyrics are mostly written by the Dessners and its hard not to argue that they might be the most talented guys out there. I was fortunate to get to see them talking with Matthew Ritchie of the making of this art performance. It was interesting the way they came up with the idea and where it was going to go. They are talented guys who have transcended far beyond The National.
All I can really add – if this ever does a worldwide tour, it’d behoove you not to see it. The National are great to see (and Matt does perform one song – and his low voice might have been one of the best voices of the night) but this takes everything to a far greater place. Besides who wouldnt want to see the Deal sisters along with the Dessners together. It was insanely awesome!
10/7/09 – The Manic Street Preachers/Bear Hands – Webster Hall
Its only been 10 years since the lovely Welsh boys were last here. I was lucky enough to have been able to see I did see them 10 years ago at Bimbo’s in San Francisco. But sadly, I couldnt remember much of the show – aside from remembering that they never play encores.
I got there early as I knew I had to be on the far right side of the stage. Thats where one Nicky Wire would be. And Nicky Wire is awesome to watch. Unfortunately, due to many people pushing and shoving there was no way in hell Id be anywhere close to him, so I went to the left side of the stage. And with their set up as it was, it felt like I was a mile away from the band.
Thankfully James Dean Bradfield likes to work the stage and was all over the place. Hes like a kid with bundled up energy, jumping all over the place and just really getting into the show. Nicky Wire has impressive scissor kicks and can jump insanely high. The lovely glittering eyeshadow that he was wearing was so fitting.
Their new album was from lyrics written by Richey Edwards. Their new songs sound quite great and Edwards always could come up with the most beautiful lyrics. Id love to believe that hes off in his own world living the perfect beautiful life. I figure one day Ill see him in South America.
They had a great choice in songs and opened with Motorcycle Emptiness. Perfect song to get things going to. Their set had music from all of their albums and the 3some looked as great always (including 2 other people who were on tour with them – a guitarist from Boy Kill Boy?? or Big Country? Im so not sure). It would have been awesome if they had a female vocalist on Little Baby Nothing and Your Love Alone is Not Enough. I so hoped that Nina Persson just might show up. (sadly, she did not).
They promised they’d be back in 2 years and I hope thats not the case. Biggest weakness was the vocals seemed too low. And Id have loved to have had Nicky Wire come close at least a few times.
U2/Muse – FedEx Field – Washington, DC (actually Maryland)
Hard to believe, but I had never seen U2 before. I dont know what was with my hang-up about not seeing them, but I just never did. But my days of being a U2 virgin are long gone and I couldnt be happier about that.
Basically, U2 BLEW MY MIND AWAY! Im pretty sure that not many concerts (in my lifetime) will live up to this. Its hard to see something this magnaminous as most bands couldnt even afford a set costing this much. A couple hundreds of millions of dollars??!! The set itself is just sick. It looks nearly like a spaceship and has all these bridges that come down on different parts of the stage. Dubbed the 360 tour its literally in 360 and theres not a bad spot in the house. Well there probably is, but considering we were in the more front area and Bono and The Edge were coming down a lot by us, it was surreal.
The set was amazing! Consisting of pretty much songs from all their different albums and plenty from the new, it was hard to leave disappointed. Sure they didnt play “Pride” and sure theres a ton of stuff that Id have loved to have heard, but from what I did hear — I LOVED IT! Sunday Bloody Sunday – Impressive!, Uno Dos Tres Catorce – the opening lines to Vertigo was just awesome. Beautiful Day – oh yeah! Basically, it was hard to go wrong with their set.
Bono was as chatty as ever and more political than probably at most shows. But it was WDC and it was to be expected. He had foreign dignitaries there as well as some of the Hill people, but it was fine with me. He’s done a lot for Africa and wants to make the world a better place. Its hard for me to find fault with what he does – granted Im one of those bleeding heart liberals.
The real highlight was Bono within fingertips from me. I could have never imagined I’d be so close to him. The Edge is just brilliant live and cant forget Larry either – him walking down a walk way playing the bongos – yeah brilliance again! And of course Adam Clayton. All in all – the band is just brilliant and hopefully will continue to play on through the years.
And if you havent yet seen “It Might Get Loud” seriously – go out and see it now! I have to say from seeing Edge on the big screen to seeing him live a few hours later was really surreal.
The Muse opened. And yes, I know thats not t heir name, but as Bono now calls them that, it seems fitting. They played their big indie prog rock songs that just seemed to go on and on. Each song seeming bigger and more grandiose than the prior song. It was pretty much a best of set list and so I knew most of the songs. Matt Bellamy is beyond talented and theres no denying that they could be huge, but Ill take my U2 any day!
the space ship set –
oh yeah – Bono this close to me – so made the show something else
U2
Main Set
Breathe
Magnificent
Get On Your Boots
Mysterious Ways
I Still Havent Found What I’m Looking For/Stand By Me (snippet)
Elevation
Your Blue Room
Beautiful Day/Blackbird (snippet)
New Years Day
Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of (Acoustic)
The Unforgettable Fire/Mofo (snippet)
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo/Let’s Dance (snippet)
Ill Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight/Dont Stop Till You Get Enough (snippet)
So, I was lucky enough to get into the show since it was sold out. But I volunteered for Summerstage, so I had an easy in. Of course, it really meant that I was working at the show. So I got there early and got to hear Passion Pit doing their soundcheck. They were already sounding great. A quick text to Andrew (one of the guys who works for them, and is also a friend of mine) to let him know how it sounded.
I was assigned to the ‘mobility -impaired’ section as its now called which is right in the front of the stage area on the right hand side. Great spot with a great view and also right next to the VIP section.
Passion Pit played a good set. I cant say I had the same feeling after seeing them in Chicago, but they were enjoyable. But Im a big believer in the fact that they need to just play their faster/upbeat stuff in concert, as their slower stuff doesnt translate as well. And honestly, I can only take so much falsetto. But their catchy songs do work live and the crowd was really living it up.
Phoenix would come on next. And me, being totally forgetful, couldnt understand why my friends were getting all excited. And behind me was Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Sophia Coppola (wife of Thomas Mars – lead singer of Phoenix). How on earth I didnt think for 2 secs she might show up, I dont know. But sure enough they were all there leaning up against the same fence I was. They seemed friendly enough, but you could tell they did not want to be bothered. And Simon nearly had to jump in and help me do security and get some guys out of the area.
Anyway, after all my celebrity gawking, Phoenix finally hit the stage. And the boys from France never disappoint. Their new stuff sounds great live and starting off with Lisztomania is a great choice getting the crowd really involved in their show. They played stuff from each of their albums, and it was really great to be hearing ‘Funky Squaredance’, although for all I know they play it at all of their shows. But its always a great song – Im just amazed how many people dont know it. Their encore had some of their other hits with Everything is Everything and If I Ever Feel Better. Thomas even did some songs by himself which was a nice change. Overall, they sounded great and what an awesome way to end the summer. Out in the park with gorgeous weather and the boys of Phoenix.
So its been a pretty busy week. Im not sure how Id be coping if Maximo Park hadn’t cancelled their tour, but actually Im really beyond bummed. Which reminds me — concertmaps SUCKS! I just want my $75 refund, and they still havent given it to me. Must make some calls. evidentally, either my credit card company or the actual company made my money come back to me! YES! All is right with this world again.
So with Maximo Park cancelled, my Monday ended up freed up. Which was really just a good excuse to stay home and watch BAD tv. Then Tuesday rolled around like a whirlwind.
9/22
And on Tuesday I made it into the wilds of Brooklyn. As a friend so nicely called it. Actually, The Bell House isnt that remotely located but Gowanus isnt that populated either.
Fanfarlo would be there that night. I had missed them on Monday night, so was glad to finally see them again. Last time I saw them at a hole in the wall club in the LES, at least this time they had a big enough stage for the band. I just love their style of indie-quirky-folky-pop music. They have the harmonies down perfect and everyone in the band sings quite well. They all eject random quips during the show and better yet, they dont dress like the hipsters. Definitely have their own thing going on.
It seems each band member must be required to play no less than 3 instruments as they all rotate throughout most of them. They have a trumpet, a sax, a violin, a maudlin, and Im sure Im forgetting most the others in addition to their guitars and drums. The addition of a saw used with a violin bow was awesome. Its amazing how they produce sound. The crowd was super into them and it worked well with the band.
Finishing off their whirlwind week tour of shows, this would be their final show (for now). They were a bit tired and the lead singer was slowly losing his voice. But they pulled off an awesome set and then amidst the cheering that wouldnt die down threw in a cover from Netural Milk Hotel. Definitely an influence of theirs.
Main Set
Drowning Men
Im A Pilot
Finish Line
Harold T. Wilkins, Or How to Wait for a Very Long Time
Atlas
The Walls Are Coming Down
Waiting in the Wings (new song)
Comets
Luna
Encore 1
Ghosts
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Neutral Milk Hotel cover)
Wildbirds and Peacedrums from Sweden made for a different opener. The 2 people in the band definitely are into sounds and noises and it turns out to be more of an artistic performance. A lot of hand clapping and foot stomping and mic-less singing of just ‘oohhs and aah’ and filled in with a drum. It somehow worked for the band.
So by now, you’d think Id have seen it all. I go to enough concerts to make up for most of us, and I love my set lists. Perhaps next job is to scan them all or take pics of them all. One thing at a time.
So anyway, last night I ventured on down to the Mercury Lounge to catch the Rifles. I have to say that the crowd was pretty cool and I ended up knowing more than a few people there. And for those I didnt know, I somehow met most the people in the front area.
Met this cool couple from Brussels (the place to go, btw, not Amsterdam) who told me about seeing bands in Brussels and how I must visit. They also told me they had seen The Rifles a ton of times, and this would be awesome. Then met some other huge Rifles fans and other people I knew showed up. It was like a small little party.
The Rifles put on a great show. They have a lot of energy and the crowd definitely feeds off of it. Everyone was jumping around, pumping their fists in the air and singing along. The lead singer just loved it, and I think half the crowd either came from England or were from there to see them. And I really appreciated the football chants too. We dont get enough of that here in the states.
The only main problem seemed their vocals were set too low so the lead singer was hard to hear. Then again with the loud powering guitars Im not sure it mattered that much. I just love “The Great Escape’ and it sounded amazing live. Its still hard to listen to them and not have your foot tapping along or your head bobbing along. It really is music that you just wanna scream out and sing along.
So — rules for setlists? I know youve been waiting to hear my newest gripe 😉 So I was talking to their roadie and asked for the drummer setlist and this woman next to me starts going off on me. I was so perplexed thinking wtf did I do. Rule #1 – if you come from England to see a band you ARE ENTITLED TO THE F’ING SETLIST! I mean what about the folks from Brussels. Hell they traveled farther than her. I had never heard of such lunacy. But oh it gets better. So I asked to take a picture of the setlist – a pretty mundane request. Instead of a simple yes, she says she would scan the setlist and email it to me. Seriously! all this for a setlist I asked for!
Well there is no way I was going to let this get to me, and so I met up with friends at the bar. Good times, but all these people wanted to hang onto the guys in The Rifles. That is so not my scene. So I ended up meeting up with a friend at Arlene’s Grocery.
So, I didnt know anything about the next band save for a few facts. First, the band Apefight has members from other bands – Radio 4 and Elefant. Secondly, he told me remember this is kind of a joke band and its total ‘cock-rock’. Honestly, I wasnt sure what to think, but thought this should be either a train wreck (that I HAD to see), or it would be the awesomest thing Id ever seen.
Lets just say FIGHT THE FIGHT! Im so on board with Apefight its not even funny. So the music is hysterical. Its so sexual in a way a 13-year old would write it, and their songs are ridiculous. I think one song is about bongs and beer, another one about drink enough beer youll get laid, or something to that effect.
The cool part is its clear the guys are loving it. They have too much fun and its hard not to laugh at it (even when youre one of 3 women in the place). They come out in white robes (ala The Polyphonic Spree) and masks. The lead singer yells at the crowd about clapping (or rather not clapping), saying stuff like “Are we not cool enough to be Art Brut?” – hahaha – and he just yells about everything. When the video screen went down, he yelled at the guys for not helping the chick manning the projector to put it back up.
And then to top it off, a friend described it as reverse karaoke. Basically we’re seeing the lyrics to the songs and the pictures that go with it, as the band sings it. Trust me DONT sing along. This is their show and its all for them. We’re just observing it, being idiots?? Im not entirely sure. Regardless it was awesome!
That sounds like a good title for a Decemberists song, right? Well dont worry – this is about the Decemberists 🙂
Ive decided that Im going to get back on the game (or is that the horse) and start to update this on a regular basis. Theres so many great concerts out there – and so many Ive seen.
According to The Decemberists website this is what we would get – Decemberists will perform a set that will be entirely left to the hands of fate — we will draw songs from a lottery and dutifully play them, regardless of their quality or presence in our memory. Decemberists songs, naturally, but you do never know what bizarre cover songs or strange commands may end up in the pile.
And yes – this was a set left entirely in the hands of fate – along with also the hands of John Wesley Harding. As emcee of the show, he did quite a good job. He was a little too talkative for my taste, as Id have preferred to have heard more songs. And I definitely was not a fan of him throwing out songs at the end. What no “Engine Driver”, which happens to be one of my favorite songs. But he was entertaining and had to throw about some other ridiculous requests. Not sure how many other crowd surfing requests there actually were.
Decemberists did their best to keep things in order. The only thing actually not in order was they did play Crane Wife 3 and then went straight into The Island. And that worked out quite well. It was great to see Laura Veirs on Yankee Bayonet as the last time this was supposed to happen their show was cancelled. The songs were pretty all over the place and Id have loved to have heard even more of their popular songs, but – as left to the hands of fate you never know what youll get.
The Tain was definitely interesting and lasting 20 mins. Im quite sure this will be the first and last time I ever get to hear it played. Colin did write a song about The Hudson River, NYC and Sully and considering it was on the fly, it was pretty damn awesome. Marcel did some crowd surfing which was pretty funny and yes, even Nate and John made out, although Im almost sure there was no tongue. I was right in front of Jenny and she was looking like she was having a great time as always.
The final song was just awesome. Im a big fan of ELO, hahaha, and this was an awesome cover. I got some great video of it and Colin hopping around.
The good: hearing songs Id never have heard otherwise and in general an awesome idea. it was the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect, the perfect crime!
The bad: not enough music. 15 songs in 2 hours really. Not much of Colin Meloy talking 😦 and way too much John Wesley Harding talking.
Laura Veirs was a good opener. She plays a folky-indie style of music and has a great voice. Her backing band is also quite good. Plus, without her we’d not have her wonderful addition on “Yankee Bayonet”.
Yes – Im almost positive these 2 things go together. If only because I am suffering from a sunburn and I just finished watching a hockey game.
First things first. After day 1 of running/walking, I thought I better keep it going. I figured day 2 would be a much shorter version and less strenuous. Ill admit my legs were a bit sore and oh the hamstrings. Lets not talk about them. So I started out running down 2 avenues and over to 54th. And then on and off till about 68th. Ill admit it was turning into more walking, but I figure best to start slow. So it was a gorgeous day, well mostly a windy day. And the sun was barely out. Obviously it was out more than I thought since little did I realize I got sunburned 😦 Nothing that aloe cant fix. Anyway, the walk through Riverside Park (or Im guessing thats what it is) was just gorgeous. Roads that wind up and down as the river path is currently under construction. Its just gorgeous along the river and there were so many people out. I did notice as I got towards the 80’s/90’s there werent as many people as around the 60’s. And so I kept walking and walking and next thing I knew – I was staring at a sign to say 106th street.
Yowzers! So naturally, I had to make my way back down. At this point I had one goal in mind. Dont stop for anything. Just get home ASAP. 7 miles later, a bit red and I did it! Who knows what will come of this exercise/walking/running thing but Im kinda hoping that maybe it will go somewhere.
I honestly wanted to walk home tonight, but it was so cold outside and I just couldnt. Today was probably a bit less than a mile, but at least I am still doing it and havent given up.
And lets talk some hockey! BLACKHAWKS BABY! CHICAGO! This is just awesome. My boys of Toews, Kane, Sharp, Khabibulin, Versteeg, etc. came through! Conference finals. Not since 1995 have they been there. Ive missed them here, since Ive lost faith in my Kings!
Ramblings of a Redhead Music Snob 