Rolling "How Was the Show" Thread

1246720

Comments

  • Friends of mine went to the REM tour. I opted not to. Stupid me...
  • No way you could have known it was the last go around.

    It was definitely worth it even if it hadn't been, though.

    Craig
  • thom, is the National touring soon, or was that just wishful musing? Definitely wouldn't miss a National performance.
  • Currently just wishful musing. With a new album due in a couple months they will hopefully be on the road.
  • I looked, there are a few North American dates with Dirty Projectors in May/June. Pretty cool combo.
  • Gah. The National announced more tour dates, including a Twin Cities show, which is at the same terrible venue as The Postal Service.

    Dangit.

    Craig
  • I'm debating about the show in Philly. It's the week before Byrne/St. Vincent and Postal Service which would make it rather hectic. But Dirty Projectors aren't playing with them in NYC (which is a show in Brooklyn anyway).
  • Bruce was brilliant. Queued all day to get right on the stage centre-ish. My calves are really feeling all that jumping up and down today but back to do it all again tomorrow and hopefully Friday. Got some good pics on the phone
    spirit2.JPG
  • Awesome picture, Nank. You must have been sitting (well, jumping up and down) in the front row!
  • bromberg_and_toussaint_banner_1.jpg

    David Bromberg Quintet & Allen Toussaint - ! Coming up Sunday night. Could not believe my eyes when I saw this in the paper today...this is like a dream double-bill for me.

    Show is at the City Winery, which is a relatively new venue in town. Reportedly a great place to see a show, esp acoustics wise.
  • Just announced: Rock the Garden 2013.

    The bill: Metric, Bob Mould Band, Silversun Pickups, Low, Dan Deacon.

    You bet your ass I'm going to go!

    Craig
  • Rutledge.jpg

    I can't go, but if there's any emusers who are Americana fans and live near Nashville, I would think this would be a great show, indeed!
  • edited May 2013
    Just saw the Fab Faux at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. If you don't know the Fab Faux, check out their website here.

    Then check out this video.

    Five of the best musicians in the world, playing nothing but the Beatles, hits and (relative) obscurities alike. My mind is completely blown, I knew it would be fun but that was easily one of the best shows I've ever seen. If you think "cover band" and turn up your nose, you're missing out. As they said a couple of times during the show, "this is our classical music." So think of it like an amazing symphony orchestra. All five guys sang and played multiple instruments, the harmonies were incredible. Will Lee is from another planet. Partial setlist from memory:

    And Your Bird Can Sing
    Paperback Writer
    I Feel Fine
    Old Brown Shoe
    Things We Said Today
    Lucy in the Sky
    Rain
    While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    I Am The Walrus
    I Feel Fine
    Hard Day's Night
    Money
    Rocky Raccoon
    I Will
    One After 909
    For You Blue
    Most of the second side of Abbey Road (up to Golden Slumbers)
    She Loves You
    Hey Jude

    Jimmy Vivino even broke out the sitar for a George song, whose title escapes me at the moment, and nailed it.
  • I saw the Marcus Roberts Trio with Bela Fleck last week, an unusual combination of instruments and styles but it came off beautifully. Great to hear music played like this in a small venue.
  • Forgot to mention that I saw The Flaming Lips last week. Real blast - they put on a great show. Really wish I had made it to one of those festivals that they've been performing at for years now. Also makes me wish that I had gone to one of Wayne Coyne's parking lot gigs back in the day.

    Juliana Barwick opened, and she was pretty awesome - despite some technical difficulties. Not the best venue for her, but I dug it.
  • Saw the National last night at Merriweather Post Pavilion (DC area). Great show, still on my mind, have that "post-concert glow" going. I like using setlist.fm (where geeky fans upload show setlists very quickly) to create a playlist to recreate a studio-version of the show, which makes it easy to relive it (or "hear" a show you missed). Ah, technology!

    The Dirty Projectors opened, but unfortunately I only got to hear a bit of them, due to commuting delays and a mismanaged ticket pickup from a craigslist contact. Oh well!

    Really enjoying their latest release Trouble Will Find Me. One early favorite is "Sea of Love".
  • Argh, really wanted to go to that show in Philly, but just couldn't swing it. Glad you had a good time.
  • Rock the Garden in Minneapolis yesterday. Its put on by MPR's The Current and The Walker Art Center which is the local experimental art museum. The concert takes place next to The Walker and its Sculpture Garden, which if you've ever watched an NFL game broadcast from Minneapolis, I guarantee you've seen its centerpiece:

    20090115215855_032868.jpg

    Anyway, we got there just after doors and it very quickly became a thunderstorm. We planned ahead, though, and put on our ponchos to keep dry. We sat in the rain on our blanket and listened to the occasional updates that it was indeed raining, but they thought they'd start on time. They also kept mentioning that the underground garage near just off the concert grounds was the emergency shelter and anyone who wanted to stay dry could go hang out there. Eventually my wife decided to take shelter, while I stayed with the now very wet blanket. Then just when Dan Deacon was supposed to start the show at 3:45 they announced he would be doing so IN the underground parking garage. So I hightailed it into the garage, found my wife, and we made our way to Deacon's set up. We then enjoyed dance music in a parking garage. It was actually seriously awesome, even the sound was obviously terrible, and Dan kept the show on track, so he gets a B.

    We then left the garage and the rain stopped moments later. We found our soaking blanket, took off our ponchos, laid them over the blanket, and sat down. Low was next, and I was seriously curious how they would perform at a large outdoor show. Driving to the show, The Current DJs were talking to Alan Sparhawk and asked what the plan was. His response was that they were "going to gamble", and they sure as heck did. Low played only one song, "Do You Know How to Waltz" and they turned it into a 20 minute drone with practically no vocals. The first few minutes, I was NOT feeling it, but their dedication to what they were doing paid off and they totally won me over. Sadly, I was one of the few, and most of the crowd was absolutely pissed. After they finished Sparhawk hit the mic and said simply "Drone. Not drones" and they were done. I already loved Low, but this (as Silversun Pickups' lead singer later termed it) insane performance takes them to one of my favorite bands. The sun even came out in the middle of their drone, so they must have blasted the clouds away. They get a B+ simply because they left a ton of time on the table. I wanted more!

    Bob Mould is a national treasure and a golden god. He just played hit after hit with his usual ridiculous energy and volume. Nothing much more to say, other than that his being constricted to about an hour dinged his grade a bit. He didn't even get to "See a Little Light"! So he gets an A-.

    After wearing the ponchos earlier, we actually had to put on sunscreen during Bob Mould.

    Silversun Pickups are a good rock band. That said, other than the extended versions of "Panic Switch" and "Lazy Eye" that featured a bunch of solos, the show was just average. So they get a B-.

    Metric wrapped up the night, and kargatron is right for preaching the gospel of seeing Metric live. Emily Haines is an absolute dynamo. She bounced around the stage with reckless abandon while a fantastic light display went off around her and the band absolutely wailed. Her energy and actions actually gave me flashbacks a couple times to the video for Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" video (in a good way). Metric is absolutely awesome live, and you should see them. They get an A.

    Next up for me is ?uestlove and D'Angelo's Brother's in Arms next Sunday.

    Craig
  • Oh, and thom. I require a report on Yo La Tengo and what happened thereafter.

    Craig
  • edited June 2013
    Alright, first up was The Postal Service at Barclays in Brooklyn (which is a great venue). Mates of State opened, and they were pretty awesome for a band that really shouldn't be playing in a big arena. It obviously lacked the intimacy of 10+ years ago at Maxwell's when Kori was playing an old organ she got at a yard sale and Jason played on a drum set too small for his frame, but they still sounded great. As for the Postal Service...

    HOLY F'ING HELL!!! This is a band that I wasn't totally convinced would be able to pull off their sound live - they just have too much electronic studio work going on to mesh well with live instruments. But damn, they were fantastic. They played the entire album, b-sides and even threw in a killer Beat Happening cover. And everything sounded awesome. Ben Gibbard was incredibly animated and just seemed to love the hell out of every moment. And Jenny Lewis... DAMN!

    So then we get to Saturday. I'm sure you've all seen me whining about the impending closure of Maxwell's. And anyone who knows the club knows that there are a few acts closely associated with it, chief among them Yo La Tengo. I had picked up a ticket to catch the Condo Fucks (a YLT side project) open for The Pastels on Saturday, but the Pastels ended up not being able to get their visa and the announced closure led to it being one of the hottest tickets. Fortunately I was able to pick up an extra one for my older sister who had insisted that I go to Maxwell's and listen to YLT when I first headed to Hoboken back in the mid-90s.

    After dinner we slip into the back room and Gaylord Fields (WFMU DJ) introduced the band with a fun lead up to the line "...opening for the Condo Fucks, Yo La Tengo" - and they went right into a gorgeous, slow version of "Big Day Coming". The entire set was a mellow affair touching on all of their catalog from New Wave Hot Dog (Ira commented that it was the first time James had ever played one of the songs live) to the opening "Ohm" from their latest release, Fade. Lamenting that the Pastels couldn't make it, they offered up "Speeding Motorcyle" as the closest song in their repertoire. It was a wonderful set, and a fitting send off for their last performance.

    The 3 Hoboken legends stepped off the stage for a few minutes before re-entering as their alter egos (no costume changes) and Gaylord gave them a befittingly fictitious intro. What followed was an epic garage rock performance of covers from a band that loves to play cover. James McNew dropped his more usual falsetto and belted out tunes with such ferocity. It was a rip-roaring, aural assault from a trio that turned punk in their 50s. We had a blast and it was awesome to actually see a live version of the Condo Fucks.

    To wrap it all up, YLT returned to stage for an encore with the unbelievably appropriate Kinks cover "This Is Where I Belong" - from the Condo Fucks' album but done in the style of YLT:

    I can't think of a place I'd rather be.
    The whole wide world doesn't mean so much to me,
    For this is where I belong,
    This is where I belong.

    Now as for after the show... My sister has a few more "connections" then me. As we left the back room we ran into Tim and Tara from Antietam (another band from that scene). I met them years ago at a YLT show, but my sister has been friends with them for years. We all start chatting. They introduce us to 2 women... the original bartenders from when Maxwell's opened. Oh, that guy over there? That's Steve Fallon, the guy who started it as a music club. Everybody walking by or standing around played an important part in the music scene 20-30 years ago. Ira comes over and my sister is telling him about the first time she saw them opening for The Feelies and he laughs because he knows it was an awful show. And Tim suggests we come over to the table their setting up for dinner and join them.

    I won't blow this out of proportion. I didn't end up eating dinner with Paul McCartney or trading stories with Prince. These are local indie legends who have always been accessible to people after shows. But on their final night performing at one of the all time greatest rock clubs, just wanting to enjoy one last burger, my sister and I ended up sitting down with Maxwell's "royalty". I'm chatting with members of Antietam, complementing James on his vocals, joking with Georgia about whose dinner is about to become mine, being introduced to the owner of Other Music and the original staff and owners of Maxwell's as "this guy lived in Hoboken for years"... I didn't want to impose, but it was like I accidentally found myself in the middle of an historic moment for an historic club. I've got a couple more nights there, but if that had been the end of the road for me it would have been perfect.

    Oh, I also went to the late show that night of We Were Promised Jetpacks. They were awesome, the crowd was a bunch of douchey frat boys.
  • Awesome, thom. Just awesome.

    If I were you, I almost wouldn't want to go back after such a perfect ending! (I would, though.)

    Craig
  • Wow Thom, that is really really cool!
  • The Current has put up Low's performance in a blog piece asking what a band owes ticket buyers (this has been a HUGE story up here):

    Link.

    Craig
  • I think their set sounds like it was awesome and it was totally in line with them and the venue. If they were a headliner, expected to play 10-12 songs and fill up an hour to an hour and a half set and all they did was play a 25 minute drone... yeah, I'd be annoyed. But I saw Cornershop do something similar back in the 90s - 25 minute set that was maybe 2 or 3 songs with the last one taking up 15 minutes with no vocals. Hell, should I have been pissed when I saw them years ago and they screwed up the opening to one of my favorite songs and instead of starting over said never mind and moved on? Good for Low, I wish I had been there.

    The shame of it is that people are whining about the performance of an indie rock band instead of responding to their powerful message.
  • Listening now...
  • I'm so happy to have been there for both them and Dan Deacon. The whole reason I go to concerts is to see something interesting and different, and these certainly fit the bill. (Although having dinner with YLT would rank a little higher. Seriously, I know you aren't trying to make it more than it was, but what it is is ridiculously awesome.)

    Honestly, I didn't get the message behind what he said at first. I thought he meant that they only played one 'drone' not multiple 'drones', so it's distinctly possible that people still aren't clicking with the message.

    Craig
  • I really liked it; I didn't think Low had it in them at this point. Anything they added; playing longer or more songs would have weakened the idea overall.

    I think I would have liked it if I'd been there too; the whole thing, with Dan Deacon in the garage and all sounds like a lot of fun.

    I'm currently slowly working my way through a Thelonious Monk biography. It seems like with real artists, going to a show is a gamble; might be great might be terrible. But I'd rather see a unique event than a replay of popular hits. But then I hardly ever go to shows anyway.
  • Frankly, I gotta think the controversy must seem a little bizarre to everyone reading here. I just started listening to it, and, given the comments already, fully presumed it was a full drone from the get-go. But heck, they even start in with a song after a bit! Yeesh, the only thing notable about the "controversy" is that a large set of people you might presume are "hip" as attendees of the festival are anything but. :-P
  • Last night was ?uestlove & D'Angelo: Brothers in Arms. They are only playing three shows: NYC, Philly, and the Twin Cities. I'm reading Questo's book right now, and it's clear the reason they had a show here is that he is incredibly influenced by the Minneapolis Sound.

    The show only started an hour late (with D'Angelo I was expecting at least that length of time), and during that time a member of The Roots (I didn't catch who) was DJing, so everyone was having a good time regardless. When they took the stage the crowd was primed and ?<3 (let's see how many variations of his name I can get in here) explained that basically they were going to be jamming like they do in the studio and playing songs they love, the only difference was that this time there would be an audience. Then they went right into "Brown Sugar" and thereafter played for 2 hours (a mixture of D'Angelo's originals and covers, including Prince (obviously), the Ohio Players, Sly, Terrance Trent Darby, J Dilla). The entire 2 hours was nonstop soul, funk, and R&B jams played solely on drums and organ until the last 20 minutes or so when they were joined by Prince's old bassist and sax player as well as the lead singer of Mint Condition for a seriously James Brownesque showstopper.

    Questlove is an even more ridiculously great drummer than I realized, D'Angelo is a great organ player and singer, but he wasn't quite on the ball vocally throughout. There were times, though, when he showed why he is probably the best contemporary soul/funk singer.

    All in all, the show was amazing, and I'm just guessing there were a few babies made last night around the Twin Cities.

    Craig
  • @craig - That sounds so fantastic I might just have to try to make it to Philly next week.

    There was just one way I could sort of top my YLT at Maxwell's story. Way back in 2000 or 2001 I started going to an Open Mic (eventually dubbed Artkore) in Hoboken. The first act I saw there was a band of locals called Eugene. Fronted by a brother and sister who were born and raised in the town and started working and playing at the likes of Maxwell's when they were teenagers. I would make a lot of friends there over the next few years, most importantly that of a lovely singer/songwriter whom I would eventually ask to be my wife (she said yes).

    Last night that band (now called The Fave) played one last free show for their friends and family at Maxwell's. My wife and I headed in and even brought our little girl. She was overjoyed to meet everybody and couldn't wait to see a rock show like Daddy always goes to. A folky singer/songwriter opened, and The Kay (my daughter) danced like crazy to everything he played. When he was done the younger sister of the Fave siblings took the stage for her first and only chance to rock out at Maxwell's. The Kay was totally mesmerized and afterward told her she was "really great at fast music". Lastly The Fave took stage and opened with a short acoustic set that included some of our favorite oldies from over a decade ago. Dom (the brother) was clearly getting emotional and he pointed out that Lisa (my wife) and I were in the audience and we had brought the first Artkore baby. Kayleigh fist pumped and threw up some metal horns all night long. Hopefully she wasn't traumatized by the f-bombs!

    And to tie it all in over here, back in February of 2005 I joined eMusic to pick up this album and started an obsession for the next half decade...
Sign In or Register to comment.