Tonight I went to see Butch Walker! I have not been into Butch for all that long. He is one of those people I kept seeing mentioned all over the place so I gave him a try probably about six months ago or so. At first, I didn't think I liked him all that much aside from a few songs but I kept finding myself listening to him anyway and slowly realized that I liked him a lot. So when I saw he was playing Webster Hall, and Locksley was opening, I figured why not!
Locksley was a lot of fun, as I expected from having seen them open for Tinted Windows last year. I only have the album before their most recent so I didn't know a whole lot of songs they played but they are so full of energy. They also have so many bro moments. They're always sharing microphones really close to each others faces, putting their arms around each to play each other's guitars, kissing each other when amplifiers don't work, the like. I like them a lot. And they closed the show with my two favorites songs from the album I do have, "She Does" and "Don't Make Me Wait". Yay!
Butch started his set alone at the keyboards and the first song he sang was "Cigarette Lighter Love Song", which made me super happy because I adore that song. I think it goes back to his pre-solo days but I have the version from his live album and it was pretty much exactly the same. I didn't realize just how incredible his voice was until I heard this song live. He has so much range and his falsetto is amazing! After that, he sang "I Passed Your Place, I Saw Your Car, I Thought of You" on the Wurlitzer, also very cool. I'm not going to lie, I was a little intimidated of him at first, in his leather jacket with his arm sleeves peeking out and his mustache. He just seemed kind of serious and closed off. But that soon changed once the band came out!
Butch's band, The Black Widows, were kind of a show onto themselves. They were such a hodge podge of individuals! His lead guitarist looked like he woke up in 1973. His name was even Fran. His bassist looked like he woke up as Tom Petty. His keyboardist looked like he woke up as a pot-smoking 15-year-old. His rhythm guitarist looked like he woke up as a punk-rock Rastifarian. And his drummer looked like he literally just woke up after passing out in his Lazy-Boy recliner after drinking too many 7and7s while watching Magnum P.I. reruns. They were all incredible musicians though!
Once the band was on stage, the show was pretty much hopping for the rest of the night. I don't know everything he sang since I don't have all of his albums but it didn't matter because it was all that good. He has an incredible stage presence and is so funny between songs! He kept telling stories and writing songs on the fly and playing various instruments like a banjolin and swigging from a bottle of Jameson. Among the song he definitely did play were "Pretty Melody", which I was impressed that got the super pretty instrumental intro perfectly recreated, "Trash Day", "She Likes Hair Bands" introed with a song he wrote while he was singing it as a disco ball turned overhead, "Ponce de Leon Ave." and "The 3 Kids in Brooklyn" which was so super fun and felt like a pub song as he seriously rocked out on mandolin. He also did a cover of "Laid", like Matt Nathanson does, AND a cover of "Rich Girl" and y'all know how I feel about Hall and Oates covers! The last song they played before the encore, I'm not sure exactly what it was, but every single band member sang lead for a verse and then Butch kind of lost his shit for a good five minutes. By the end of it, the jacket was off and he was all tattooed and wifebeatered, he was covered in sweat, his acoustic guitar was down to three strings as he flung it and himself around and then he perched himself at the edge of the stage with the microphone cord around his neck. It felt so intense and raw and intimate, my mouth was hanging open!
Webster Hall is also a dance club and the entire show, Butch was convinced they didn't have much time until they had to stop because the dance music would penetrate the floor below us and take over. For the last song, he was like "they would come up here, cross their arms and be like 'lame'! So, we're gonna be as lame as can be!" And he came off the stage literally right to two people from where I was standing and proceeded to start a rock out dance party. Everyone around me kept trying to get closer to him and touch him and stuff and he was just rocking the hell out, arms in the air and then he got all of us down on the ground and it was very much like that part of Fuerzabruta and we were yelling shit and flung back to our feet and jumped around some more and then he found his way back to the stage and the show as done!
So. Yeah. Butch Walker is kind of awesome. I'd go see him again in second. I love rock music. I love live music. I love rocking out to live music.
Showing posts with label concerts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concerts. Show all posts
Friday, May 21, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
"I'd have left that shit in Jersey and played for y'all acoustic"
Saw Needtobreathe again last night, this time here in NYC! It was at Bowery Ballroom, which I somehow had never been to before. I liked it! The acoustics weren't the best but that might have been a little to do with where I was standing. It's really not big at all, which made the fact that it was Needtobreathe's "biggest" NYC show to date a little weird seeing as they had just sold out the Chicago House of Blues and that was at least double the size and possibly closer to triple. But it's good they are getting a bigger following around these parts!
First up was Matt Hires, someone I had heard of but not really listened to. I did not really like him much. He kept singing about being rock 'n' roll and he really wasn't, he just played slow songs on an acoustic guitar. But he was cute at least!
Next up was Will Hoge, another person I have heard of and who is friends with lots of other people I am a fan of (SK6ers, Sister Hazel, Broussard, etc.). I've tried to get into his music and realized it just wasn't my thing aside from a few songs, but damn, was he good live! He had a band of three, including a guy on steel guitar and he just rocked it. Even his slower songs had more fire than the studio versions I've heard. I really enjoyed his set a lot. He had a great stage presence and just looked like kinda rugged Southern rock. He was funny when he was telling us how Needtobreathe brings out all the bells and whistles for their tour, even though it would be way easier not to. He's like "I'd have just left that shit in Jersey and played for y'all acoustic! Nah, I'm kidding, I'd have rented shit when I got here." Another awesome thing about Will is that he almost died in a motorcycle accident a little over a year ago and basically everything that could break, broke, yet he's back on a stage, hopping around in a military jacket and playing mean guitar. How can you not be on board with that?
Needtobreathe was essentially as kickass as I've come to expect. I had a nice spot right in front of Bo, which was a happy place to be because he's so smiley and always doing a little dance. The set was pretty much the same as Chicago, minus a song or two. The crowd was pretty into it, though not quite as much as there. During "Lay 'Em Down", Bear waited for the crowd to sing the last verse and it kind of didn't work and instead of coming in and singing it himself, he just let everyone flounder while he laughed. It really does feel like their set starts out rock, gets a little calmer in the middle and then goes kind of tent revival at the end. All the big singalongs are later in the set and I kind of like that progression, it builds up the energy in a good way. "Let Us Love" is definitely still my favorite live song of theirs, it's so much fun! "Washed by the Water" was a little different this time around. Since the venue was smaller than in Chicago, the band left the stage and went up to the balcony to perform it. Still unplugged and I could hear Bear's voice as clear as when he sang it right in front of me, which is pretty amazing. He had warned everyone not to sing along before he started, telling us his Mom had called him and heard he was "scolding" people for singing over him too early in the song, so everyone was pretty quiet and then when he did say to sing, no one actually did, so he stopped the song anyway and got everybody going. Something tells me Bear has a very specific idea of how he wants this song to go! It's very awesome though, even though the Chicago version is the one that's going to stick in my mind when I hear the song. This show was great and energetic and awesome, but something about that show made me like it just a little bit more. Love seeing them though and hope to again soon!
First up was Matt Hires, someone I had heard of but not really listened to. I did not really like him much. He kept singing about being rock 'n' roll and he really wasn't, he just played slow songs on an acoustic guitar. But he was cute at least!
Next up was Will Hoge, another person I have heard of and who is friends with lots of other people I am a fan of (SK6ers, Sister Hazel, Broussard, etc.). I've tried to get into his music and realized it just wasn't my thing aside from a few songs, but damn, was he good live! He had a band of three, including a guy on steel guitar and he just rocked it. Even his slower songs had more fire than the studio versions I've heard. I really enjoyed his set a lot. He had a great stage presence and just looked like kinda rugged Southern rock. He was funny when he was telling us how Needtobreathe brings out all the bells and whistles for their tour, even though it would be way easier not to. He's like "I'd have just left that shit in Jersey and played for y'all acoustic! Nah, I'm kidding, I'd have rented shit when I got here." Another awesome thing about Will is that he almost died in a motorcycle accident a little over a year ago and basically everything that could break, broke, yet he's back on a stage, hopping around in a military jacket and playing mean guitar. How can you not be on board with that?
Needtobreathe was essentially as kickass as I've come to expect. I had a nice spot right in front of Bo, which was a happy place to be because he's so smiley and always doing a little dance. The set was pretty much the same as Chicago, minus a song or two. The crowd was pretty into it, though not quite as much as there. During "Lay 'Em Down", Bear waited for the crowd to sing the last verse and it kind of didn't work and instead of coming in and singing it himself, he just let everyone flounder while he laughed. It really does feel like their set starts out rock, gets a little calmer in the middle and then goes kind of tent revival at the end. All the big singalongs are later in the set and I kind of like that progression, it builds up the energy in a good way. "Let Us Love" is definitely still my favorite live song of theirs, it's so much fun! "Washed by the Water" was a little different this time around. Since the venue was smaller than in Chicago, the band left the stage and went up to the balcony to perform it. Still unplugged and I could hear Bear's voice as clear as when he sang it right in front of me, which is pretty amazing. He had warned everyone not to sing along before he started, telling us his Mom had called him and heard he was "scolding" people for singing over him too early in the song, so everyone was pretty quiet and then when he did say to sing, no one actually did, so he stopped the song anyway and got everybody going. Something tells me Bear has a very specific idea of how he wants this song to go! It's very awesome though, even though the Chicago version is the one that's going to stick in my mind when I hear the song. This show was great and energetic and awesome, but something about that show made me like it just a little bit more. Love seeing them though and hope to again soon!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
SK6ers and Needtobreathe in Chi-town
It just so happened that my friend and I wanted to see SK6ers soon and also see Chicago. It also so happened that SK6ers were opening for Needtobreathe in Chicago. Thus, we went!
When it comes to the SK6ers, I really can't imagine anyone seeing their live show and not liking them. They have one of the most fun live shows I have ever seen and that is one of the main reasons why I became a fan of theirs to begin with. They are everything an opening band should be. Energetic, entertaining, playing a mix of their own music, getting the crowd involved and tossing in some familiar tunes. Love them SO much. There was a lot of Glassjaw Boxer love, with "Fourth of July", "Milwaukee" and "Big Easy", which of course was the crowd participation number with the hand motions. They played "The Bear", which entertained me extra because I had been singing it all day and there was TUBA on it! "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts" had a choreographed dance, which was various levels of entertaining depending which member of the band you happened to be looking at. They all had ties on and some had vests, some had hats, they're so adorable and that song is just so catchy that to see them in those outfits, singing that song while bouncing on one foot, it's just too much. They closed the show with a Stephen song mixed with a medley of covers and when I say medley, I mean medley. There were at least 20 songs in there, chronologically by decade. It was awesome. Shana and I were dorks and cheered extra loud for "Aquarius" in memory of Kyle Riabko, who is currently starring in Hair former SK6er status. So much fun, those guys are. I wish they made it easier to see them in my own town!
Needtobreathe was incredible. It kind of amazes me that I had no idea who they were at this time last year but they're that kind of band that sometimes, it just clicks and it has totally clicked for me. Something about them just resonates with me, I love their music so much and seeing them live is an awesome experience. It was especially fun seeing them in the Midwest, where they have a considerably larger following. I saw them at Highline Ballroom here in the city in September and it wasn't even sold out. That's about a third of the size of the Chicago House of Blues and that was sold out. They were able to play quite a longer set, with obviously, a lot of love for The Outsiders, I think they played all but three songs from that album, plus a mix of songs from The Heat and even "Don't Wait for Daylight". They even let Bo sing lead on "Won't Turn Back", aww! He sings so pretty and so different from Bear. All of the rockier songs seemed to be in a row and it kind of felt like all the more rootsy stuff was toward the end. "More Time" and "Something Beautiful" and "Stones Under Rushing Water", it's almost like a different band when those songs come out after "Prisoner" and "Girl Named Tennessee" (I could not stand still for that song, oops). They closed with "Through Smoke", which I thought was a bit of an odd choice for a closer and also, they still hadn't played a few songs that I was surprised they'd go without, but really didn't think they'd encore for long. But, they did! First song of the encore was "Hurricane", then into "Let Us Love" which is one of the most fun of their live songs, with the built in singalong and ridiculous energy. When I saw them in New York, they had ended the show with an unplugged version of "Something Beautiful". When they played that earlier in the set here, I figured that they wouldn't be doing anything like that for this show because the venue was so much bigger and it just probably wouldn't work. So when Bear walked to the absolute tip of the stage and said they were going to sing something totally unplugged, I was pretty intrigued on how that was going to work. He asked everyone to be as quiet as possible, because his unamplified voice wouldn't be able to sing over people talking or singing along, and you could seriously hear a pin drop. He started singing "Washed by the Water" and it completely filled the room up. He has an absolutely incredible voice and hearing it just as it is, in this big room, full of silent people, singing that song about his dad and his faith, was insanely amazing. After the bridge, he asked to crowd to join in and I think he was a little blown away by the immediate response that came. He had said earlier that it was their biggest headlining show to date and I love that I got to be there for such a huge show for them. It was so, so awesome.
I think I'll be thinking of this performance every time I hear the song from now on. Even in the video, when the crowd comes in, it's a little chilling and being there was even more awesome. And when Bear starts singing "Can't Always Get What You Want" at the end, you can sort of hear the crowd trying to be patient and let him sing, but everyone loses their resolve at the exact same moment and screams "you get what you need!" Really, one of the best live concert moments I've ever been a part of! I love them so much. Can't wait to see them again here in a few weeks.
When it comes to the SK6ers, I really can't imagine anyone seeing their live show and not liking them. They have one of the most fun live shows I have ever seen and that is one of the main reasons why I became a fan of theirs to begin with. They are everything an opening band should be. Energetic, entertaining, playing a mix of their own music, getting the crowd involved and tossing in some familiar tunes. Love them SO much. There was a lot of Glassjaw Boxer love, with "Fourth of July", "Milwaukee" and "Big Easy", which of course was the crowd participation number with the hand motions. They played "The Bear", which entertained me extra because I had been singing it all day and there was TUBA on it! "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts" had a choreographed dance, which was various levels of entertaining depending which member of the band you happened to be looking at. They all had ties on and some had vests, some had hats, they're so adorable and that song is just so catchy that to see them in those outfits, singing that song while bouncing on one foot, it's just too much. They closed the show with a Stephen song mixed with a medley of covers and when I say medley, I mean medley. There were at least 20 songs in there, chronologically by decade. It was awesome. Shana and I were dorks and cheered extra loud for "Aquarius" in memory of Kyle Riabko, who is currently starring in Hair former SK6er status. So much fun, those guys are. I wish they made it easier to see them in my own town!
Needtobreathe was incredible. It kind of amazes me that I had no idea who they were at this time last year but they're that kind of band that sometimes, it just clicks and it has totally clicked for me. Something about them just resonates with me, I love their music so much and seeing them live is an awesome experience. It was especially fun seeing them in the Midwest, where they have a considerably larger following. I saw them at Highline Ballroom here in the city in September and it wasn't even sold out. That's about a third of the size of the Chicago House of Blues and that was sold out. They were able to play quite a longer set, with obviously, a lot of love for The Outsiders, I think they played all but three songs from that album, plus a mix of songs from The Heat and even "Don't Wait for Daylight". They even let Bo sing lead on "Won't Turn Back", aww! He sings so pretty and so different from Bear. All of the rockier songs seemed to be in a row and it kind of felt like all the more rootsy stuff was toward the end. "More Time" and "Something Beautiful" and "Stones Under Rushing Water", it's almost like a different band when those songs come out after "Prisoner" and "Girl Named Tennessee" (I could not stand still for that song, oops). They closed with "Through Smoke", which I thought was a bit of an odd choice for a closer and also, they still hadn't played a few songs that I was surprised they'd go without, but really didn't think they'd encore for long. But, they did! First song of the encore was "Hurricane", then into "Let Us Love" which is one of the most fun of their live songs, with the built in singalong and ridiculous energy. When I saw them in New York, they had ended the show with an unplugged version of "Something Beautiful". When they played that earlier in the set here, I figured that they wouldn't be doing anything like that for this show because the venue was so much bigger and it just probably wouldn't work. So when Bear walked to the absolute tip of the stage and said they were going to sing something totally unplugged, I was pretty intrigued on how that was going to work. He asked everyone to be as quiet as possible, because his unamplified voice wouldn't be able to sing over people talking or singing along, and you could seriously hear a pin drop. He started singing "Washed by the Water" and it completely filled the room up. He has an absolutely incredible voice and hearing it just as it is, in this big room, full of silent people, singing that song about his dad and his faith, was insanely amazing. After the bridge, he asked to crowd to join in and I think he was a little blown away by the immediate response that came. He had said earlier that it was their biggest headlining show to date and I love that I got to be there for such a huge show for them. It was so, so awesome.
I think I'll be thinking of this performance every time I hear the song from now on. Even in the video, when the crowd comes in, it's a little chilling and being there was even more awesome. And when Bear starts singing "Can't Always Get What You Want" at the end, you can sort of hear the crowd trying to be patient and let him sing, but everyone loses their resolve at the exact same moment and screams "you get what you need!" Really, one of the best live concert moments I've ever been a part of! I love them so much. Can't wait to see them again here in a few weeks.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
it's the way, it's the way, it's the way that i want it
I still remember the first time I heard "No Such Thing" on the radio. It was 2001 and I was sitting at my desk in my dorm room and my roommate was sitting at hers and it came on the little Woodstock station we liked to listen to. We turned to each other and wondered who it was and from then on, any time it came on, we would sing along to it, especially loving the falsetto part. A few weeks later, I received a mixed CD from my friend of John Mayer's first EP and quickly got myself his new album, Room for Squares. I fell for it. Hard. He was a huge part of my soundtrack for my sophomore year of college. I still remember listening to him the whole way down to the city, "City Love" and "3x5" and "Why Georgia" and "Comfortable" still bring to mind those all too frequent rides. I saw him in 2002. A new band called Maroon 5 opened for him and he came out and played guitar on their single, "This Love" prior to his own set. I saw him again in 2003 when I was working for the radio station, at the Meadows in Hartford. Tonight was my first time seeing him live since then. While I've continued keeping up with him and getting his new albums, for some reason I just hadn't seen him live again. And seeing him just confirmed what I already knew. I love this guy. I love John Mayer.
Highlights:
- I was taken by how amazing his voice sounded from the first song and it continued to be amazing the entire show. He was so present the whole time, so into it and really on and giving it.
- "Vultures"! That's one of the first songs I learned how to play drums to!
- "Perfectly Lonely"! This is my favorite song off of Battle Studies and do I love it! Even if I do kid about it not being entirely true.
- Cover of "Free Fallin'"!
- "Comfortable". I flipped when he started this song. I hadn't even thought to hope it would make an appearance and it was such a treat. "I loved you, gray sweatpants, no makeup, so perfect." This song is perfect.
- Ok, John Mayer has a Rick Turner Model 1 and this means nothing to the majority of people in the world, but to me, it is awesome because that is the guitar Lindsey Buckingham plays and basically no one else plays one. It has such a distinct sound and I love how it compliments "Half of My Heart", the tune Mayer plays it on. I also love that while he has it out, he plays a little bit of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" because how could I not?
- Steve Jordan on drums, holy crap. Ridiculous, man.
- "Why Georgia" into "No Such Thing". God, it's been NINE years and I still love those two songs like I just heard them for the first time yesterday. I never tired of "No Such Thing" when it was on the radio all over the place and I don't think I will tire of it ever. And I love the live lyrics of "I am invincible, you are invincible, we are invincible, as long as we're alive"! The crowd was awesome the whole show, but for those two songs, it was something else.
- He had a bit of a Preacher John moment, where he was being all deep and inspirational about love and lovelessness. I loved it. It also made me think of Nick Jonas and "Did I LET it GET me DOWN?!" <3
- Acoustic "Who Says" that basically was a crowd sing-along. I don't care how douchey that song may be, I freaking love it.
- Epic "Gravity". He was literally on the floor with the guitar. I didn't want it to end because I knew when it did, the concert was over and I never wanted the concert to be over.
Such a great show and I'm so glad I finally saw him live again. It will not be so long till I see him again. I love the dude and I will shout it loud and clear. He makes it a little hard sometimes, with the stuff he says and does but you know what? He knows that shit went down. He knows his place in all this drama that has swirled around and because of him. To me, he's a musician. He's a guy from Connecticut who got very famous, very fast and is still trying to figure out how to handle that. Does he say shit he shouldn't say? Yeah, sometimes. Does he cross lines and push buttons where he doesn't need to? Yeah, sometimes. But way more than that, he is a ridiculously talented guy who writes amazing songs and can wail on guitar. I think he's finally starting to truly realize how that can be enough. That it doesn't have to be more than that and that people will love him just for that. That people love him despite all of that other shit. There was a moment tonight where he thanked everyone for their support and it really felt like a moment of "all these people are here, even though I can be a real dumbass" and it felt GOOD. It felt good to be a part of this mass of people who don't care because we love the music. We love the part of that guy who makes the music we love and we can separate him from that other part that can be a real douchebag, and just take him for what it's really worth. His music has been a huge part of my life for a very long time. That is what means the most to me and that is what I love him for.
Highlights:
- I was taken by how amazing his voice sounded from the first song and it continued to be amazing the entire show. He was so present the whole time, so into it and really on and giving it.
- "Vultures"! That's one of the first songs I learned how to play drums to!
- "Perfectly Lonely"! This is my favorite song off of Battle Studies and do I love it! Even if I do kid about it not being entirely true.
- Cover of "Free Fallin'"!
- "Comfortable". I flipped when he started this song. I hadn't even thought to hope it would make an appearance and it was such a treat. "I loved you, gray sweatpants, no makeup, so perfect." This song is perfect.
- Ok, John Mayer has a Rick Turner Model 1 and this means nothing to the majority of people in the world, but to me, it is awesome because that is the guitar Lindsey Buckingham plays and basically no one else plays one. It has such a distinct sound and I love how it compliments "Half of My Heart", the tune Mayer plays it on. I also love that while he has it out, he plays a little bit of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" because how could I not?
- Steve Jordan on drums, holy crap. Ridiculous, man.
- "Why Georgia" into "No Such Thing". God, it's been NINE years and I still love those two songs like I just heard them for the first time yesterday. I never tired of "No Such Thing" when it was on the radio all over the place and I don't think I will tire of it ever. And I love the live lyrics of "I am invincible, you are invincible, we are invincible, as long as we're alive"! The crowd was awesome the whole show, but for those two songs, it was something else.
- He had a bit of a Preacher John moment, where he was being all deep and inspirational about love and lovelessness. I loved it. It also made me think of Nick Jonas and "Did I LET it GET me DOWN?!" <3
- Acoustic "Who Says" that basically was a crowd sing-along. I don't care how douchey that song may be, I freaking love it.
- Epic "Gravity". He was literally on the floor with the guitar. I didn't want it to end because I knew when it did, the concert was over and I never wanted the concert to be over.
Such a great show and I'm so glad I finally saw him live again. It will not be so long till I see him again. I love the dude and I will shout it loud and clear. He makes it a little hard sometimes, with the stuff he says and does but you know what? He knows that shit went down. He knows his place in all this drama that has swirled around and because of him. To me, he's a musician. He's a guy from Connecticut who got very famous, very fast and is still trying to figure out how to handle that. Does he say shit he shouldn't say? Yeah, sometimes. Does he cross lines and push buttons where he doesn't need to? Yeah, sometimes. But way more than that, he is a ridiculously talented guy who writes amazing songs and can wail on guitar. I think he's finally starting to truly realize how that can be enough. That it doesn't have to be more than that and that people will love him just for that. That people love him despite all of that other shit. There was a moment tonight where he thanked everyone for their support and it really felt like a moment of "all these people are here, even though I can be a real dumbass" and it felt GOOD. It felt good to be a part of this mass of people who don't care because we love the music. We love the part of that guy who makes the music we love and we can separate him from that other part that can be a real douchebag, and just take him for what it's really worth. His music has been a huge part of my life for a very long time. That is what means the most to me and that is what I love him for.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
"We know we look 18. Don't hold it against us."
Tonight I saw Sleeperstar and Green River Ordinance at Mercury Lounge!
I had never heard any of Sleeperstar's music prior tonight, nor had I ever seen them. When they first came out, I was amused by a number of things, ranging from how young they looked (I really thought the lead singer might still be in his mid-teens), how varied they looked (the drummer and bass player looked like they were in a different band than the other three) and how the lead singer was wearing a leather jacket with a sweatshirt hood sticking out despite the fact that it was already really hot in the room. They proceeded to sell me. Hardcore. They were so tight and energetic and their music was really easy to get into, so much so that I didn't want it to end. Chris, the lead singer, was ridiculously cute and charming, played guitar and keyboard and had a great voice and stage presence. He even confirmed during his charismatic banter that they were not as young as they looked (see subject line). Shaun the drummer almost looked like he was dancing on the kit, his movements were so fluid and entertaining to watch, even though he was also managing to bang the shit out of the things. At the end of the last song, Brandon the bassist ended up on the ground, lying the bass down and just plucking at it while falling over it. I was actually concerned for him a bit because he was just like, passing out onto it! But he got up when it was over and starting putting his stuff away, so I figured it was all just for the sake of a dramatic ending. They seemed super excited to have such a great reception and I was happy for them and eager to get their CD after the show.
GRO came out next! I've been listening to GRO for over a year and I still get confused by their names because everyone but Denton the drummer has a name with a "juh" sound. There's Josh the lead singer, Josh the guitar/mandolin player, Geoff the bassist and his brother Jamey the other guitarist. It may be weird, but I like knowing the individual's names, it just feels weird to refer to them by instrument! I think I am good now, though. We were almost in the front, right in front of Geoff, which was a good place to be! Josh looked a little nervous when he first came out but quickly warmed up and they were clearly excited to have such a full house and participating crowd. In just the second song, "Sleep It Off", Josh's mike fell apart and didn't work for almost an entire verse, which the audience carried as he fixed it. They played a bunch of faves, including that song, "Goodbye LA", "Getting Older", "Outside", "Come On" and their new song "Rise Up" which was written specifically for the Olympics and is being used in the coverage. It's so perfectly Olympian too! They're such a fun band, I love their sound so much. At the end of their set, they brought Sleeperstar back on stage to sing "With a Little Help From My Friends" and I love those chaotic all-band enders. There were ten guys on stage, everyone sharing mikes and playing random instruments and it's just super fun! GRO ended their set with an acoustic unplugged version of "On Your Own", one of my favorites of their songs. I love intimate shows like this because these kinds of songs always end up being a band/crowd sing-along and this was no exception. All five guys stood in a row at the edge of the stage and sang with just Josh's acoustic guitar, other Josh's mandolin ("what's Josh playing!" "That's a mandolin!" "It's cute!" "It's cute or I'm cute?") and some shakers. The crowd was a little timid to join in at first but when the chorus came around, everyone was full on singing with the band and it was so obvious that they were so psyched by it. They're doing fairly well these days but it still must be pretty awesome having a full room sing one of your songs with you, especially in New York! It's one of the reasons I love going to shows here!
I had never heard any of Sleeperstar's music prior tonight, nor had I ever seen them. When they first came out, I was amused by a number of things, ranging from how young they looked (I really thought the lead singer might still be in his mid-teens), how varied they looked (the drummer and bass player looked like they were in a different band than the other three) and how the lead singer was wearing a leather jacket with a sweatshirt hood sticking out despite the fact that it was already really hot in the room. They proceeded to sell me. Hardcore. They were so tight and energetic and their music was really easy to get into, so much so that I didn't want it to end. Chris, the lead singer, was ridiculously cute and charming, played guitar and keyboard and had a great voice and stage presence. He even confirmed during his charismatic banter that they were not as young as they looked (see subject line). Shaun the drummer almost looked like he was dancing on the kit, his movements were so fluid and entertaining to watch, even though he was also managing to bang the shit out of the things. At the end of the last song, Brandon the bassist ended up on the ground, lying the bass down and just plucking at it while falling over it. I was actually concerned for him a bit because he was just like, passing out onto it! But he got up when it was over and starting putting his stuff away, so I figured it was all just for the sake of a dramatic ending. They seemed super excited to have such a great reception and I was happy for them and eager to get their CD after the show.
GRO came out next! I've been listening to GRO for over a year and I still get confused by their names because everyone but Denton the drummer has a name with a "juh" sound. There's Josh the lead singer, Josh the guitar/mandolin player, Geoff the bassist and his brother Jamey the other guitarist. It may be weird, but I like knowing the individual's names, it just feels weird to refer to them by instrument! I think I am good now, though. We were almost in the front, right in front of Geoff, which was a good place to be! Josh looked a little nervous when he first came out but quickly warmed up and they were clearly excited to have such a full house and participating crowd. In just the second song, "Sleep It Off", Josh's mike fell apart and didn't work for almost an entire verse, which the audience carried as he fixed it. They played a bunch of faves, including that song, "Goodbye LA", "Getting Older", "Outside", "Come On" and their new song "Rise Up" which was written specifically for the Olympics and is being used in the coverage. It's so perfectly Olympian too! They're such a fun band, I love their sound so much. At the end of their set, they brought Sleeperstar back on stage to sing "With a Little Help From My Friends" and I love those chaotic all-band enders. There were ten guys on stage, everyone sharing mikes and playing random instruments and it's just super fun! GRO ended their set with an acoustic unplugged version of "On Your Own", one of my favorites of their songs. I love intimate shows like this because these kinds of songs always end up being a band/crowd sing-along and this was no exception. All five guys stood in a row at the edge of the stage and sang with just Josh's acoustic guitar, other Josh's mandolin ("what's Josh playing!" "That's a mandolin!" "It's cute!" "It's cute or I'm cute?") and some shakers. The crowd was a little timid to join in at first but when the chorus came around, everyone was full on singing with the band and it was so obvious that they were so psyched by it. They're doing fairly well these days but it still must be pretty awesome having a full room sing one of your songs with you, especially in New York! It's one of the reasons I love going to shows here!
Sunday, January 3, 2010
cuz i know that my steel train, we're gonna ride on till the end
I have found that experiences with opening bands usually go one of three ways. One is that you spend their whole set wishing them off the stage and counting how many songs are left till you get to see the band you actually want to see. Another is that they're enjoyable enough that you don't really mind that you aren't yet seeing the band you actually want to see. More rare, but most pleasantly surprising, is when they put on such a great set that you leave that show a fan of theirs as well. As hard as the first option is to deal with and as relieving as the second one is in not being the first, the third always excites me. I mean, isn't that the purpose of an opening band in a lot of ways? They don't just fill that time before the headliners out of the goodness of their hearts, they're there to hopefully gain a few new ears, people who may not have been that into seeing them when they walked in but are happy to have when they walk out.
Such was my first experience with Steel Train. I had no idea who they were when I saw them open for Hanson in October. Usually I at least listen to a few tunes to get an idea and I didn't really even do that. I saw them that first night and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked them. The songs were catchy and the band members had a fun and endearing vibe about them. I left excited to see them again the next night. I enjoyed their set the second time around even more and purchased their most recent album, Trampoline, soon after. It's been one of my most listened to albums of the past few months, full of catchy and quirky songs, rooted in that area of music that I sometimes have a hard time putting into words but my ears recognize almost immediately. It's kind of crazy to me that they're yet another band that sort of found their way to me in the sense that I would not have thought to even know who they were had they not opened for a band I already loved, but since they did cross my path in that way, they are another band on my list of favorites. It's one of my favorite ways to find new bands to love and it excites me that it's been happening more and more lately.
I went to Hoboken on Wednesday night for night two of their two show stay at Maxwell's (which is an awesome venue! Can't wait to go to another show there). Night one had been mostly songs from Trampoline while night two was set to be an all-request show, the set decided upon based on a poll sent out by the band. Each person attending was asked to choose twelve original Steel Train songs they'd like to hear as well as twelve songs from a list of covers the band provided and the top six of each would be performed that night. I decided to go with that show and after seeing the list of covers, was even more happy with that decision. They opened the show with "I Feel Weird", and after that, it was cover/original for the rest of the night. Lots of my faves from Trampoline got play, including "Firecracker" (cameo from Jack's dad on acoustic!), "Alone on the Sea" and "Kill Monsters in the Rain", plus a few from earlier albums including "Better Love" and of course, "Road Song"! Which is the song that stuck out so much to me the first time I saw them and that I still love lots and lots! They closed the show with it and it was basically a band/crowd sing-along, so fun.
The covers that night were also pretty amazing. Among them were Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark", Bowie/Queen "Under Pressure" (Jack sang the Bowie parts, Nate from The Format was around to do the Freddie ones), pretty much all of the best parts of Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" inserted into the middle of their own song "A Magazine" and my favorite, The Band's "The Weight", in which all five members switched instruments and sang a verse on their own. Jack went from guitar to drums, Evan from bass to guitar, Jon from drums to bass, Daniel from guitar to keys and Justin from keys to guitar. I love when bands do that kind of thing! That is such a great song too! A band that has great taste in covers gets extra points from me (it especially helps that they cover Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk"!).
I had so much fun at the Hoboken show that I decided to go to their show in Brooklyn last night too! They put on such a fun and energetic show and I was happy to hear a lot of the same favorites in the set and still get a few others ("School is for Losers", woo!) plus hear the new songs they had played in Hoboken again too! One of the new ones is super super catchy and fun and has a five part percussion break, which please. Part of why I love their live shows so much is that they really recreate the pretty musically layered sound on their albums. There's glockenspiel and timpani and Wurlitzer and all these things that just make it all sound so good! I love them. I'm glad they found their way to my ears.
Such was my first experience with Steel Train. I had no idea who they were when I saw them open for Hanson in October. Usually I at least listen to a few tunes to get an idea and I didn't really even do that. I saw them that first night and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked them. The songs were catchy and the band members had a fun and endearing vibe about them. I left excited to see them again the next night. I enjoyed their set the second time around even more and purchased their most recent album, Trampoline, soon after. It's been one of my most listened to albums of the past few months, full of catchy and quirky songs, rooted in that area of music that I sometimes have a hard time putting into words but my ears recognize almost immediately. It's kind of crazy to me that they're yet another band that sort of found their way to me in the sense that I would not have thought to even know who they were had they not opened for a band I already loved, but since they did cross my path in that way, they are another band on my list of favorites. It's one of my favorite ways to find new bands to love and it excites me that it's been happening more and more lately.
I went to Hoboken on Wednesday night for night two of their two show stay at Maxwell's (which is an awesome venue! Can't wait to go to another show there). Night one had been mostly songs from Trampoline while night two was set to be an all-request show, the set decided upon based on a poll sent out by the band. Each person attending was asked to choose twelve original Steel Train songs they'd like to hear as well as twelve songs from a list of covers the band provided and the top six of each would be performed that night. I decided to go with that show and after seeing the list of covers, was even more happy with that decision. They opened the show with "I Feel Weird", and after that, it was cover/original for the rest of the night. Lots of my faves from Trampoline got play, including "Firecracker" (cameo from Jack's dad on acoustic!), "Alone on the Sea" and "Kill Monsters in the Rain", plus a few from earlier albums including "Better Love" and of course, "Road Song"! Which is the song that stuck out so much to me the first time I saw them and that I still love lots and lots! They closed the show with it and it was basically a band/crowd sing-along, so fun.
The covers that night were also pretty amazing. Among them were Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark", Bowie/Queen "Under Pressure" (Jack sang the Bowie parts, Nate from The Format was around to do the Freddie ones), pretty much all of the best parts of Billy Joel's "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" inserted into the middle of their own song "A Magazine" and my favorite, The Band's "The Weight", in which all five members switched instruments and sang a verse on their own. Jack went from guitar to drums, Evan from bass to guitar, Jon from drums to bass, Daniel from guitar to keys and Justin from keys to guitar. I love when bands do that kind of thing! That is such a great song too! A band that has great taste in covers gets extra points from me (it especially helps that they cover Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk"!).
I had so much fun at the Hoboken show that I decided to go to their show in Brooklyn last night too! They put on such a fun and energetic show and I was happy to hear a lot of the same favorites in the set and still get a few others ("School is for Losers", woo!) plus hear the new songs they had played in Hoboken again too! One of the new ones is super super catchy and fun and has a five part percussion break, which please. Part of why I love their live shows so much is that they really recreate the pretty musically layered sound on their albums. There's glockenspiel and timpani and Wurlitzer and all these things that just make it all sound so good! I love them. I'm glad they found their way to my ears.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Concerts of 2009!
I'm rather pleased with this list! Hoping 2010 holds as many or more!
1/29 - Kings of Leon at MSG - I only knew Only by the Night at the time, my seat was essentially behind the stage so all I could see was their backs and I was by myself, but I still had a great time. I think seeing them at this point is what really got me loving them so much.
3/19 - Fleetwood Mac at MSG - Pretty much twelve years in the making, as it was my first time seeing Fleetwood Mac, even though I had seen Stevie and Lindsey solo. Very cool to finally do that!
4/20 - Tinted Windows at Mercury Lounge - Things went from "What, Taylor's in another band?" to being in the fourth row for said band's CD release very quickly! Lots of fun, loved seeing James Iha and watching Bun E. Carlos drum is a total joy. Good times.
4/26 - Matt Nathanson and Jack's Mannequin at Marist - Maybe the last Marist concert? I say that every year. Always fun to going up there for a show, always fun seeing Matt, enjoyed Jack's as well.
5/15 - Sister Hazel at Tulsa Mayfest - They played eight kickass and amazing songs and then an Oklahoma thunderstorm came and showed us all who's boss.
5/16 - Hanson at Tulsa Little Theatre - Member's only event, debuting eight songs from the upcoming new album and recording them live to become what we now know as the Stand Up Stand Up EP. Really awesome and intimate show, with four bonus songs from fan club membership kits.
5/24 - David Cook at Toad's Place in New Haven - David played close to home so I had to go! Loved Ryan Star's opening set, lots of fun seeing David again. He played "A Daily AntheM" too!
5/31 - Matt Caplan at a bar - Matt had a gig! He played "Sideways" and "Tempted" and laughed at us when we were excited. Such is.
6/11 - Fleetwood Mac at MSG - I bought a ticket in the front section and managed to snag a spot right at the stage, directly in front of Lindsey. Basically, my life was made and he sweat on me.
6/16 - Matt Nathanson at Summer Stage - My friends and I went and sat in the wood chips outside of the venue and listened to Matt's set, then went and ate barbecue.
6/17 - Locksley/Tinted Windows at Highline Ballroom - Locksley was awesome and it was fun seeing Tinted Windows again so soon. Taylor the front man and that Bun E., man.
7/19 - Jonas Brothers at Nassau Coliseum - And Honor Society and Jordin Sparks. I still love that this happened. They put on such a fun show!
8/15 - Matt Nathanson and O.A.R. at MSG - Matt in an arena! And my love of O.A.R. returns ten times stronger than ever.
8/20 - Marc Broussard at The Gap - Short acoustic set but still great to see him, especially since he played "Home"!
9/12 - Kings of Leon at Izod Center - This time, I knew every single song they played and it was that much more awesome. Love these guys.
9/21 - Green River Ordinance/Serena Ryder/NeedToBreathe at Highline Ballroom - Finally saw GRO, whom I love, and my love of NeedToBreathe was completely solidified by an absolutely awesome show.
10/15 - Steel Train/Hellogoodbye/Hanson at Nokia Theatre - First experience with Steel Train, realizing I might like them. Realized I really do love Hellogoodbye even though they can be a little obnox. Hanson put on a pretty great set, there was an Isaac solo and Taylor was kickass despite having the flu.
10/16 - Sherwood/Steel Train/Hellogoodbye/Hanson at Northern Lights in Clifton Park - Love of Steel Train and Hellogoodbye was officially confirmed. Hanson shows in general make me very happy and the amount of upbeat songs made me even more so.
10/18 - Hanson at Madison Hotel in DC - Member's only event. Some fun and random songs made an appearance. Most of all, Zac played "Devil's Nachos".
10/24 - Pat McGee/Sister Hazel at Irving Plaza - Yay, a full Sister Hazel show! Played all my faves, love seeing these guys. Still a little weirded out that Drew was missing though.
11/10 - Joe Perry at Irving Plaza - Won tickets, definitely cool to see him. We won't talk about what happened after I left a little bit before it was over.
12/30 - Steel Train at Maxwell's in Hoboken - These guys are so fun. Awesome mix of originals and covers, super energetic. Enough so that they will be my first show of 2010!
1/29 - Kings of Leon at MSG - I only knew Only by the Night at the time, my seat was essentially behind the stage so all I could see was their backs and I was by myself, but I still had a great time. I think seeing them at this point is what really got me loving them so much.
3/19 - Fleetwood Mac at MSG - Pretty much twelve years in the making, as it was my first time seeing Fleetwood Mac, even though I had seen Stevie and Lindsey solo. Very cool to finally do that!
4/20 - Tinted Windows at Mercury Lounge - Things went from "What, Taylor's in another band?" to being in the fourth row for said band's CD release very quickly! Lots of fun, loved seeing James Iha and watching Bun E. Carlos drum is a total joy. Good times.
4/26 - Matt Nathanson and Jack's Mannequin at Marist - Maybe the last Marist concert? I say that every year. Always fun to going up there for a show, always fun seeing Matt, enjoyed Jack's as well.
5/15 - Sister Hazel at Tulsa Mayfest - They played eight kickass and amazing songs and then an Oklahoma thunderstorm came and showed us all who's boss.
5/16 - Hanson at Tulsa Little Theatre - Member's only event, debuting eight songs from the upcoming new album and recording them live to become what we now know as the Stand Up Stand Up EP. Really awesome and intimate show, with four bonus songs from fan club membership kits.
5/24 - David Cook at Toad's Place in New Haven - David played close to home so I had to go! Loved Ryan Star's opening set, lots of fun seeing David again. He played "A Daily AntheM" too!
5/31 - Matt Caplan at a bar - Matt had a gig! He played "Sideways" and "Tempted" and laughed at us when we were excited. Such is.
6/11 - Fleetwood Mac at MSG - I bought a ticket in the front section and managed to snag a spot right at the stage, directly in front of Lindsey. Basically, my life was made and he sweat on me.
6/16 - Matt Nathanson at Summer Stage - My friends and I went and sat in the wood chips outside of the venue and listened to Matt's set, then went and ate barbecue.
6/17 - Locksley/Tinted Windows at Highline Ballroom - Locksley was awesome and it was fun seeing Tinted Windows again so soon. Taylor the front man and that Bun E., man.
7/19 - Jonas Brothers at Nassau Coliseum - And Honor Society and Jordin Sparks. I still love that this happened. They put on such a fun show!
8/15 - Matt Nathanson and O.A.R. at MSG - Matt in an arena! And my love of O.A.R. returns ten times stronger than ever.
8/20 - Marc Broussard at The Gap - Short acoustic set but still great to see him, especially since he played "Home"!
9/12 - Kings of Leon at Izod Center - This time, I knew every single song they played and it was that much more awesome. Love these guys.
9/21 - Green River Ordinance/Serena Ryder/NeedToBreathe at Highline Ballroom - Finally saw GRO, whom I love, and my love of NeedToBreathe was completely solidified by an absolutely awesome show.
10/15 - Steel Train/Hellogoodbye/Hanson at Nokia Theatre - First experience with Steel Train, realizing I might like them. Realized I really do love Hellogoodbye even though they can be a little obnox. Hanson put on a pretty great set, there was an Isaac solo and Taylor was kickass despite having the flu.
10/16 - Sherwood/Steel Train/Hellogoodbye/Hanson at Northern Lights in Clifton Park - Love of Steel Train and Hellogoodbye was officially confirmed. Hanson shows in general make me very happy and the amount of upbeat songs made me even more so.
10/18 - Hanson at Madison Hotel in DC - Member's only event. Some fun and random songs made an appearance. Most of all, Zac played "Devil's Nachos".
10/24 - Pat McGee/Sister Hazel at Irving Plaza - Yay, a full Sister Hazel show! Played all my faves, love seeing these guys. Still a little weirded out that Drew was missing though.
11/10 - Joe Perry at Irving Plaza - Won tickets, definitely cool to see him. We won't talk about what happened after I left a little bit before it was over.
12/30 - Steel Train at Maxwell's in Hoboken - These guys are so fun. Awesome mix of originals and covers, super energetic. Enough so that they will be my first show of 2010!
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Hansoning 2009
I love concerts. I am pretty obvious about that. When it's one of my two favorite bands that I just saw? I have much to say.
The Hansons were around this week and thus, Hansoning commenced! I like turning Hanson into a verb. I also really like going to see Hanson. Because I love Hanson.
The first show was on Thursday. It was rainy and nasty that day, but I still ducked out of work to do the walk in my own city since I failed at it last year. After picking up my friend at work, we ate and then headed over, hoping to have skipped at least two openers but only succeeding in skipping one, since they started late. It was all good though because I really liked Steel Train! Way more than I was expecting to! The songs were catchy and the guys in the band were endearing, so yay for that, their set went by nice and fast thanks to how enjoyable they were.
Hellogoodbye were the co-headliners on the tour so they played for about an hour or so. I like Hellogoodbye's music, and I'm surprised I do because it's not really the kind of music I usually like, but since I do, I pretty much enjoyed their set. They talk too much. But when they finally do play their songs, they sound pretty good, so I enjoyed them. They at least played all my faves of theirs, including "Call and Return", "Bonnie Taylor Shakedown", "All Time Lows" and "Oh, Is It Love".
Then it was Hanson time, yay! Ok, so the first thing that needs to be said is that Taylor Hanson is one dedicated showman. The dude had the FLU and still went out there and did his thing. I had a cold this weekend and didn't even feel like walking to the subway so the fact that Taylor did an hour and a half long set, three nights in a row, just blows my mind. He's a trooper, that one. And what's more amazing is while it was clear he was under the weather when he spoke, it really wasn't obvious that he was so sick. He still sounded good when he sang, still had some energy, all of that. So much love for him trucking through when he had to have felt like utter shit and giving us such a great show. He amazes.
This was the set list:
1. World’s on Fire
2. Great Divide
3. Where’s the Love
4. Minute Without You
5. Running Man
6. Get Up and Go
7. Been There Before
ACOUSTIC
8. Carry You There
9. I Will Come to You
10. Use Me Up (Zac solo)
11. Hand in Hand (Isaac solo)
BACK TO ELECTRIC
12. This Time Around
13. Crazy Beautiful
14. Penny & Me
15. MMMBop
16. Something Going Round
17. Gimme Some Lovin’
Encore - Great Divide a capella
Highlight of the set was definitely Isaac's solo "Hand in Hand". I love Isaac but I'm always reminded most of my Ike love at tour time. I love that the guys occasionally do solos during the acoustic set because it's fun to see that individual really shine, away from his brothers. I've seen quite a few Zac solos (he does one almost every show), I've seen three Taylor solos but I had never seen an Ike solo and I was so excited when he came out alone with the guitar. He owned it! That song is so badass and builds in such a way that by the end, he's up there screaming "Say goodbye, say goodbye now!" and I was stomping along with him. So intense!
I was SO excited that they played "Get Up and Go"! That is one of my favorites of theirs and one of my only faves I hadn't heard live yet and it was so much fun to bounce along to. I always love some "Running Man" just because I do not understand how drummers can sing and drum like crazy at the same time. Love singing the "na na na" part of "Been There Before" so much. They've played that song every time I've seen them and it doesn't get old! It was a great set. Nokia has a curfew so, like last year, they had to cut it short, but it was still an awesome show and much fun was had!
Yesterday, they were in Albany! It was quite a nice drive, right up 87. It was supposed to be snowy and wet and cold all day but once I got halfway there, the sun came out and it was totally gorgeous, especially with the changing trees. Yay for that! I got there around 12:45, checked into my hotel and then headed to the venue for the walk. Zac and Isaac were in charge since Taylor was still sitting it out to rest up for the show. It was a little weird walking without Tay since he's very much the leader when he's there but Zac gave the mid-walk speech and did a great job with it. He also made sure we all walked back the way we came and not over the grass like Ike wanted because "there are no shortcuts on the walk!" Ha.
After the walk, I went to get some lunch and explore Clifton Park, which is the suburb of Albany we were in. It looked like a suburb, haha. But it was nice and they had an amazing selection of eateries that made me jealous. The venue itself was in a strip mall and while it was cold, it wasn't freezing so I ended up waiting a bit for doors to try and get a good spot. Northern Lights is basically a bar. A bar in a strip mall. So it's not very deep and the ceilings are pretty low. The stage was tiny and short and in the corner on a diagonal. I ended up around sixth row on Isaac's side but we all kind of merged around as the openers went on and off and a few people left after Hellogoodbye. I had a pretty great view by the time the acoustic set was over.
The first opener, Sherwood, was pretty good though I don't regret not seeing them on Thursday. I still liked Steel Train a lot, even though it took them 15 minutes to get started once they were on stage due to some sound issues. They have one song that they sing in five part harmony that is totally cute and wonderful. I was really into Hellogoodbye too, partially because it's easier to be than not when you are confined to only the amount of space your body takes up, just so you aren't focusing on that lack of space, but also because I really do like them. I think I'd go see them again on their own, even! But it did help that after their set was Hanson time again!
Set!
1. Worlds on Fire
2. Great Divide
3. Where's the Love
4. Runaway Run
5. Got a Hold on Me
6. Get Up and Go
7. Been There Before
8. This Time Around
ACOUSTIC
9. These Walls
10. Cecilia
11. A Song to Sing
12. Use Me Up (Zac solo)
BACK TO ELECTRIC
13. Carry You There
14. Minute Without You
15. Waiting For This
16. Crazy Beautiful
17. Penny and Me
18. If Only
19. Mmmbop
20. Something going round
Encore - Lost Without Each Other
I love the first four songs ("Runaway Run"!) but the real excitement of the show started to hit me around "Get Up and Go". I had been focusing on Taylor, who just seemed really happy to be there and by then Isaac was all warmed up and I was just totally in it. The acoustic set was pretty fabulous. I will say, "A Song to Sing" followed by "Use Me Up" was pretty brutal, even though I love both songs. Zac's voice on "Use Me Up" cuts right in and those words just hit me really hard. I think it'd be hard to find someone who doesn't relate to that song in some way. Amazing song.
They kicked back into electric with "Carry You There", which they hadn't done electric until last night! I loved what the full drum kit and electric guitars did to the song, brought it to another level. After that, it was a total rock-out till the end of the show. By this point, I could see all of Zac and his kit and loved getting to watch him go at it. SO happy they did "Waiting for This", as it's currently my favorite Hanson song. It's perfect for a live show, with the built in crowd participation and it's exactly the kind of Hanson song I always tend to love the most. Watching Ike and Tay bounce around during "If Only" is one of my favorite things, so glad we got "Something Going Round" again and "Lost Without Each Other" is the perfect song to end a show with. Awesome show and totally worth going up for!
I do love Hanson time. It's going to be sad if they aren't on tour next October because now that it's been two years in a row, it feels like the October thing to do! Unless, of course, they're on tour BEFORE October. Yes, please!
The Hansons were around this week and thus, Hansoning commenced! I like turning Hanson into a verb. I also really like going to see Hanson. Because I love Hanson.
The first show was on Thursday. It was rainy and nasty that day, but I still ducked out of work to do the walk in my own city since I failed at it last year. After picking up my friend at work, we ate and then headed over, hoping to have skipped at least two openers but only succeeding in skipping one, since they started late. It was all good though because I really liked Steel Train! Way more than I was expecting to! The songs were catchy and the guys in the band were endearing, so yay for that, their set went by nice and fast thanks to how enjoyable they were.
Hellogoodbye were the co-headliners on the tour so they played for about an hour or so. I like Hellogoodbye's music, and I'm surprised I do because it's not really the kind of music I usually like, but since I do, I pretty much enjoyed their set. They talk too much. But when they finally do play their songs, they sound pretty good, so I enjoyed them. They at least played all my faves of theirs, including "Call and Return", "Bonnie Taylor Shakedown", "All Time Lows" and "Oh, Is It Love".
Then it was Hanson time, yay! Ok, so the first thing that needs to be said is that Taylor Hanson is one dedicated showman. The dude had the FLU and still went out there and did his thing. I had a cold this weekend and didn't even feel like walking to the subway so the fact that Taylor did an hour and a half long set, three nights in a row, just blows my mind. He's a trooper, that one. And what's more amazing is while it was clear he was under the weather when he spoke, it really wasn't obvious that he was so sick. He still sounded good when he sang, still had some energy, all of that. So much love for him trucking through when he had to have felt like utter shit and giving us such a great show. He amazes.
This was the set list:
1. World’s on Fire
2. Great Divide
3. Where’s the Love
4. Minute Without You
5. Running Man
6. Get Up and Go
7. Been There Before
ACOUSTIC
8. Carry You There
9. I Will Come to You
10. Use Me Up (Zac solo)
11. Hand in Hand (Isaac solo)
BACK TO ELECTRIC
12. This Time Around
13. Crazy Beautiful
14. Penny & Me
15. MMMBop
16. Something Going Round
17. Gimme Some Lovin’
Encore - Great Divide a capella
Highlight of the set was definitely Isaac's solo "Hand in Hand". I love Isaac but I'm always reminded most of my Ike love at tour time. I love that the guys occasionally do solos during the acoustic set because it's fun to see that individual really shine, away from his brothers. I've seen quite a few Zac solos (he does one almost every show), I've seen three Taylor solos but I had never seen an Ike solo and I was so excited when he came out alone with the guitar. He owned it! That song is so badass and builds in such a way that by the end, he's up there screaming "Say goodbye, say goodbye now!" and I was stomping along with him. So intense!
I was SO excited that they played "Get Up and Go"! That is one of my favorites of theirs and one of my only faves I hadn't heard live yet and it was so much fun to bounce along to. I always love some "Running Man" just because I do not understand how drummers can sing and drum like crazy at the same time. Love singing the "na na na" part of "Been There Before" so much. They've played that song every time I've seen them and it doesn't get old! It was a great set. Nokia has a curfew so, like last year, they had to cut it short, but it was still an awesome show and much fun was had!
Yesterday, they were in Albany! It was quite a nice drive, right up 87. It was supposed to be snowy and wet and cold all day but once I got halfway there, the sun came out and it was totally gorgeous, especially with the changing trees. Yay for that! I got there around 12:45, checked into my hotel and then headed to the venue for the walk. Zac and Isaac were in charge since Taylor was still sitting it out to rest up for the show. It was a little weird walking without Tay since he's very much the leader when he's there but Zac gave the mid-walk speech and did a great job with it. He also made sure we all walked back the way we came and not over the grass like Ike wanted because "there are no shortcuts on the walk!" Ha.
After the walk, I went to get some lunch and explore Clifton Park, which is the suburb of Albany we were in. It looked like a suburb, haha. But it was nice and they had an amazing selection of eateries that made me jealous. The venue itself was in a strip mall and while it was cold, it wasn't freezing so I ended up waiting a bit for doors to try and get a good spot. Northern Lights is basically a bar. A bar in a strip mall. So it's not very deep and the ceilings are pretty low. The stage was tiny and short and in the corner on a diagonal. I ended up around sixth row on Isaac's side but we all kind of merged around as the openers went on and off and a few people left after Hellogoodbye. I had a pretty great view by the time the acoustic set was over.
The first opener, Sherwood, was pretty good though I don't regret not seeing them on Thursday. I still liked Steel Train a lot, even though it took them 15 minutes to get started once they were on stage due to some sound issues. They have one song that they sing in five part harmony that is totally cute and wonderful. I was really into Hellogoodbye too, partially because it's easier to be than not when you are confined to only the amount of space your body takes up, just so you aren't focusing on that lack of space, but also because I really do like them. I think I'd go see them again on their own, even! But it did help that after their set was Hanson time again!
Set!
1. Worlds on Fire
2. Great Divide
3. Where's the Love
4. Runaway Run
5. Got a Hold on Me
6. Get Up and Go
7. Been There Before
8. This Time Around
ACOUSTIC
9. These Walls
10. Cecilia
11. A Song to Sing
12. Use Me Up (Zac solo)
BACK TO ELECTRIC
13. Carry You There
14. Minute Without You
15. Waiting For This
16. Crazy Beautiful
17. Penny and Me
18. If Only
19. Mmmbop
20. Something going round
Encore - Lost Without Each Other
I love the first four songs ("Runaway Run"!) but the real excitement of the show started to hit me around "Get Up and Go". I had been focusing on Taylor, who just seemed really happy to be there and by then Isaac was all warmed up and I was just totally in it. The acoustic set was pretty fabulous. I will say, "A Song to Sing" followed by "Use Me Up" was pretty brutal, even though I love both songs. Zac's voice on "Use Me Up" cuts right in and those words just hit me really hard. I think it'd be hard to find someone who doesn't relate to that song in some way. Amazing song.
They kicked back into electric with "Carry You There", which they hadn't done electric until last night! I loved what the full drum kit and electric guitars did to the song, brought it to another level. After that, it was a total rock-out till the end of the show. By this point, I could see all of Zac and his kit and loved getting to watch him go at it. SO happy they did "Waiting for This", as it's currently my favorite Hanson song. It's perfect for a live show, with the built in crowd participation and it's exactly the kind of Hanson song I always tend to love the most. Watching Ike and Tay bounce around during "If Only" is one of my favorite things, so glad we got "Something Going Round" again and "Lost Without Each Other" is the perfect song to end a show with. Awesome show and totally worth going up for!
I do love Hanson time. It's going to be sad if they aren't on tour next October because now that it's been two years in a row, it feels like the October thing to do! Unless, of course, they're on tour BEFORE October. Yes, please!
Monday, September 21, 2009
through everything we've learned, we've finally come to terms. we are the outsiders.
Tonight I went to go see Green River Ordinance and NeedToBreathe! GRO was exciting because I've been listening to them for awhile now, like them a lot but still had never seen them. They even opened for David Cook, but I missed the NY show because it was while I was on vacation! So I was happy to see them. They only played five songs but one of them was "On Your Own" and another was "Come On", so I was happy. They sounded great and they are pretty tight. Hopefully they'll get some longer sets in the near future, now that they've been featured on So You Think You Can Dance and all!
NeedToBreathe was exciting because they are awesome. End of story. I'm kind of on a roll lately with finding some new things to listen to and having them click right away. Giving this band a try, mostly because I was seeing their name coming up amongst fans of other bands I like, came at the right time. They just released their third album The Outsiders and the whole album is incredible. I love the flat out rock of their harder songs, the reflectiveness of their ballads and am finding the handful that are more rooted in their faith to be hitting me harder than I expected they would. Bear has that southern rocker boy grit to his voice that I'm getting addicted to (he sounds kind of like a peppier Caleb Followill, which, can't go wrong there.) When he and Bo harmonize, the sound of their voices mixing is absolutely incredible. A few songs also have their bassist Seth on harmony too and that full sound completely compliments Bear's style of singing. It's amazing.
The show tonight was one of the most fun shows I've been to in awhile. It was mostly stuff from The Outsiders with a few songs from The Heat. Opened with the title track, into "Streets of Gold", then into "More Time", which really summed up the vibe of the show and how awesome they are. It's the only song I took the camera out for and I barely got two full minutes because I just wanted stay in the music, but I'm glad this is the one it was out for because awesome Bo moment!
It's so fun watching Bo bounce around! The other opener, Serena Ryder came out to sing "Stones Under Rushing Water" which was pretty. I forget how much I like that song until I hear it. The set really started to build after that with the hard rocker, "Prisoner", then "Hurricane", then freaking "Girl Named Tennessee" which is ridiculously awesome and fun and one of my favorites. "Lay 'Em Down" mellowed it out a bit and sounded so awesome. That soulful sound is so addicting and it was perfect going right into "Washed by the Water". I feel like those songs touch me so much because they remind me of how much more there is to believing than the aspects I've fallen away from. It's a feeling I've missed having and I found myself completely transported during those two songs. Last was "Let Us Love", which is perfect for closing a show with the built in sing-a-long and extended ending and Bo and Bear going head to head with the guitars and stomping around. So fun and amazing. The encore was my favorite song of theirs, "Something Beautiful", done acoustic and completely unplugged. Bear just stood at the edge of the stage, his feet even with my waist and sang with no mic, accompanied by Bo on guitar and harmony, Seth on tambourine and Joe the drummer playing a guitar case. SO simple and beautiful and being so close and hearing it so perfectly was amazing.
I love when a live show makes you love a band even more than you thought you did. I love when live music makes me feel the way I did tonight. It's one of my favorite things to experience and I know part of that is why I'm getting into more bands and going to more shows. I really, really love it. These guys are flat out awesome and I'm so glad to add them to my list of favorites!
NeedToBreathe was exciting because they are awesome. End of story. I'm kind of on a roll lately with finding some new things to listen to and having them click right away. Giving this band a try, mostly because I was seeing their name coming up amongst fans of other bands I like, came at the right time. They just released their third album The Outsiders and the whole album is incredible. I love the flat out rock of their harder songs, the reflectiveness of their ballads and am finding the handful that are more rooted in their faith to be hitting me harder than I expected they would. Bear has that southern rocker boy grit to his voice that I'm getting addicted to (he sounds kind of like a peppier Caleb Followill, which, can't go wrong there.) When he and Bo harmonize, the sound of their voices mixing is absolutely incredible. A few songs also have their bassist Seth on harmony too and that full sound completely compliments Bear's style of singing. It's amazing.
The show tonight was one of the most fun shows I've been to in awhile. It was mostly stuff from The Outsiders with a few songs from The Heat. Opened with the title track, into "Streets of Gold", then into "More Time", which really summed up the vibe of the show and how awesome they are. It's the only song I took the camera out for and I barely got two full minutes because I just wanted stay in the music, but I'm glad this is the one it was out for because awesome Bo moment!
It's so fun watching Bo bounce around! The other opener, Serena Ryder came out to sing "Stones Under Rushing Water" which was pretty. I forget how much I like that song until I hear it. The set really started to build after that with the hard rocker, "Prisoner", then "Hurricane", then freaking "Girl Named Tennessee" which is ridiculously awesome and fun and one of my favorites. "Lay 'Em Down" mellowed it out a bit and sounded so awesome. That soulful sound is so addicting and it was perfect going right into "Washed by the Water". I feel like those songs touch me so much because they remind me of how much more there is to believing than the aspects I've fallen away from. It's a feeling I've missed having and I found myself completely transported during those two songs. Last was "Let Us Love", which is perfect for closing a show with the built in sing-a-long and extended ending and Bo and Bear going head to head with the guitars and stomping around. So fun and amazing. The encore was my favorite song of theirs, "Something Beautiful", done acoustic and completely unplugged. Bear just stood at the edge of the stage, his feet even with my waist and sang with no mic, accompanied by Bo on guitar and harmony, Seth on tambourine and Joe the drummer playing a guitar case. SO simple and beautiful and being so close and hearing it so perfectly was amazing.
I love when a live show makes you love a band even more than you thought you did. I love when live music makes me feel the way I did tonight. It's one of my favorite things to experience and I know part of that is why I'm getting into more bands and going to more shows. I really, really love it. These guys are flat out awesome and I'm so glad to add them to my list of favorites!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
make me feel like I'm the one who's movin' you
Saw Kings of Leon tonight! Twas amazing and they are awesome. And I wasn't behind the stage this time, which was a plus.
A few brief and late-night highlights:
- Opened with "Closer" and "Crawl", which makes it go from creepy to kickass immediately.
- Is "Charmer" so early in the set to ensure that Caleb can shriek as banshee like as possible?
- Gaaaah, "Fans"! Favorite. Love love love.
- Current obsession with Aha Shake Heartbreak made "The Bucket" and "Slow Night, So Long" particularly awesome.
- I need to take this moment to be a total geek. I know and love these songs, I listen to this band so much, but tonight I realized even more than I already knew just HOW distinct and incredible each component of their music is. I sometimes find myself patting out Nathan's beats or singing along to Jared's bass line or wiggling my fingers to Matthew's guitar and I just LOVE that. I love that the whole is so huge, yet the sum of the parts completely lives up to it. Just the fact that there are songs where I can sing the bass line better than the words because it's that clear is unreal. Love it.
- Singing along to "Knocked Up", oh oh oh oh oh ohhhh! Then having Caleb tell us he hadn't heard it quite so good in a long time.
- "Be Somebody"! "I Want You"! Pretty much ALL of Only by the Night except "17"!
- Ok, "Trani" is not a song I listen to a lot, probably one of the few I usually skip but holy crap. I think I need to spend more time with it because that was ridiculous. Starts slow into total rock out, with Caleb and Matthew facing off and Nathan somewhat resembling an octopus he was so all over the kit. Plus, the screaming made "Charmer" look tame.
- I love "Sex on Fire", it's an awesome song and without it, I'm not sure I would have ever given this band the attention I have since hearing it. That said, tonight reminded me that there are at least ten songs I love more than "Sex on Fire".
- Related, I love "Use Somebody", it's an awesome song and without it, I'm not sure I would have ever given this band the attention I have since hearing it. I continue to adore it, over a year later, and I'm convinced I will never tire of it. Hearing it live tonight was amazing.
- Closed with "Black Thumbnail", which gave them all one last chance to rock out and shine. Kick ass!
Before the concert was over, Caleb thanked us again, then said happily. "It seems like some of you have more than just the latest record!" Huge cheers. "It's about fucking time!" There's only so much I can say, being a newer fan myself. I only got into them because of Only by the Night. The other three albums were quick to follow, though, and I can see where their frustration lies with people only knowing the two hit songs and even just the most recent album. Caleb isn't shy about letting on that he wishes people knew more of the music and I'm glad that the older songs are starting to go over so well with the bigger audiences. They're awesome songs!
After the show, we waited for the bus back to the train and laughed at the drunk guys behind us in line and re-wrote "Use Somebody" to our needs and then waited too long at the train because the train schedule does not coincide at all with when the concert gets out/buses drop off. But all told, it was a great experience, I really liked the Izod Center and will go back there for a concert in a heartbeat and of course, it was great to see those Followill boys. Can't wait for what's next from them.
A few brief and late-night highlights:
- Opened with "Closer" and "Crawl", which makes it go from creepy to kickass immediately.
- Is "Charmer" so early in the set to ensure that Caleb can shriek as banshee like as possible?
- Gaaaah, "Fans"! Favorite. Love love love.
- Current obsession with Aha Shake Heartbreak made "The Bucket" and "Slow Night, So Long" particularly awesome.
- I need to take this moment to be a total geek. I know and love these songs, I listen to this band so much, but tonight I realized even more than I already knew just HOW distinct and incredible each component of their music is. I sometimes find myself patting out Nathan's beats or singing along to Jared's bass line or wiggling my fingers to Matthew's guitar and I just LOVE that. I love that the whole is so huge, yet the sum of the parts completely lives up to it. Just the fact that there are songs where I can sing the bass line better than the words because it's that clear is unreal. Love it.
- Singing along to "Knocked Up", oh oh oh oh oh ohhhh! Then having Caleb tell us he hadn't heard it quite so good in a long time.
- "Be Somebody"! "I Want You"! Pretty much ALL of Only by the Night except "17"!
- Ok, "Trani" is not a song I listen to a lot, probably one of the few I usually skip but holy crap. I think I need to spend more time with it because that was ridiculous. Starts slow into total rock out, with Caleb and Matthew facing off and Nathan somewhat resembling an octopus he was so all over the kit. Plus, the screaming made "Charmer" look tame.
- I love "Sex on Fire", it's an awesome song and without it, I'm not sure I would have ever given this band the attention I have since hearing it. That said, tonight reminded me that there are at least ten songs I love more than "Sex on Fire".
- Related, I love "Use Somebody", it's an awesome song and without it, I'm not sure I would have ever given this band the attention I have since hearing it. I continue to adore it, over a year later, and I'm convinced I will never tire of it. Hearing it live tonight was amazing.
- Closed with "Black Thumbnail", which gave them all one last chance to rock out and shine. Kick ass!
Before the concert was over, Caleb thanked us again, then said happily. "It seems like some of you have more than just the latest record!" Huge cheers. "It's about fucking time!" There's only so much I can say, being a newer fan myself. I only got into them because of Only by the Night. The other three albums were quick to follow, though, and I can see where their frustration lies with people only knowing the two hit songs and even just the most recent album. Caleb isn't shy about letting on that he wishes people knew more of the music and I'm glad that the older songs are starting to go over so well with the bigger audiences. They're awesome songs!
After the show, we waited for the bus back to the train and laughed at the drunk guys behind us in line and re-wrote "Use Somebody" to our needs and then waited too long at the train because the train schedule does not coincide at all with when the concert gets out/buses drop off. But all told, it was a great experience, I really liked the Izod Center and will go back there for a concert in a heartbeat and of course, it was great to see those Followill boys. Can't wait for what's next from them.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
when we get there, you better be ready to rocksteady
One thing I freely admit about myself when it comes to finding new music to listen to is that I'm lazy. I'm not the type to just try whatever in hopes that I might like it, I don't really like weeding things out. I love the things I love and every now and then, something else gets added to that list, but I'm impatient and usually want to try things that I think I'll at least have a shot in liking. Sometimes, it's a suggestion from a friend who knows my tastes and thinks I would like a particular band. A lot of the music I try, though, is in some way related to what I already listen to. Whether it be solo/side projects of band members, opening acts from concerts I've been to or bands/musicians who run in the same circles and are recommended by mutual fans and the bands themselves. I know it's not the most adventurous way to find new things to try, and I realize there's probably a lot that I could be missing out on because of this mindset, but for the most part it works for me. I'd have a nice looking web if I were ever to sit down and figure out the actual pattern of liking what I do and I think that's pretty cool. Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, Everybody Else, Sister Hazel, Green River Ordinance and Trevor Jackson are all recent examples of bands I probably wouldn't have paid as much attention to if they hadn't somehow been related to other stuff I was into and I can barely remember a time when I didn't love any of them.
Not too long ago, I listened to Marc Broussard for the first time. His name had been coming up a lot in a few different circles and I figured he'd be a good one to give a shot. I downloaded a song I'd heard buzzed about quiet a bit, "The Wanderer". I was immediately sold. Like, immediately. I got my hands on his first album, Carencro, and I couldn't stop listening to it. He's the kind of rock that's really rooted in soul and blues and has that kind of feel to it that is completely irresistible. It's catchy and it's sexy and it's raw and it's so damn good. One of my favorite songs quickly became "Home", which sums up a lot of what I love about him. That voice, that style, the way the song builds into total awesomeness. Not all of his songs have the southern feel this one does, but it's one of the reasons why I love it so much. I just love that kind of grit sometimes.
I was pretty surprised and excited when I looked up Marc's tour schedule a few weeks ago and saw that he was doing a short set in NYC tonight as part of The Gap's 40th Anniversary celebration. It was just Marc and a guitar, which was a cool way to hear him, since a lot of his songs have solid percussion and a few even have horns (which, please. I love brass instruments! Instant points). He only played a few songs but I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. He played "Saturday" with a sample of "A Lovely Day", which was cool, and he did "Real Good Thing" from his most recent album. His last two songs were the best, though. I'm a total sucker for songs that musicians write about missing their young children while they're on the road. Stephen Kellogg's "Father's Day" absolutely kills me, I can't listen to Peter Cetera's "Daddy's Girl" without crying and Marc has one song for his older son, "Gavin's Song", about staying strong for his mama while he's gone, a peppy and adorable one about his younger son "Gibby's Song" and one for his youngest child, "Evangeline Rose", about missing his baby girl, who's growing so fast and looking beautiful in her ribbons and bows. It's so gorgeous and so sweet and it was really nice to hear him play. After he finished the song, he told a goofy story about how since they've started calling her Evie, she refuses to be called Evangeline and he tells her "But that's your whole name! That's why I wrote a song called 'Evangeline Rose!'" Gah, I don't know why these kind of songs hit me so hard, but they do! And then he closed it out with "Home", which was really kick ass. Everyone there was clapping along and rocking out and helping with the harmony. It was really cool to get to see him, especially since I can't make his show later this year. I have a feeling I'll be sticking with this one though. He's a good one.
Not too long ago, I listened to Marc Broussard for the first time. His name had been coming up a lot in a few different circles and I figured he'd be a good one to give a shot. I downloaded a song I'd heard buzzed about quiet a bit, "The Wanderer". I was immediately sold. Like, immediately. I got my hands on his first album, Carencro, and I couldn't stop listening to it. He's the kind of rock that's really rooted in soul and blues and has that kind of feel to it that is completely irresistible. It's catchy and it's sexy and it's raw and it's so damn good. One of my favorite songs quickly became "Home", which sums up a lot of what I love about him. That voice, that style, the way the song builds into total awesomeness. Not all of his songs have the southern feel this one does, but it's one of the reasons why I love it so much. I just love that kind of grit sometimes.
I was pretty surprised and excited when I looked up Marc's tour schedule a few weeks ago and saw that he was doing a short set in NYC tonight as part of The Gap's 40th Anniversary celebration. It was just Marc and a guitar, which was a cool way to hear him, since a lot of his songs have solid percussion and a few even have horns (which, please. I love brass instruments! Instant points). He only played a few songs but I couldn't stop smiling the whole time. He played "Saturday" with a sample of "A Lovely Day", which was cool, and he did "Real Good Thing" from his most recent album. His last two songs were the best, though. I'm a total sucker for songs that musicians write about missing their young children while they're on the road. Stephen Kellogg's "Father's Day" absolutely kills me, I can't listen to Peter Cetera's "Daddy's Girl" without crying and Marc has one song for his older son, "Gavin's Song", about staying strong for his mama while he's gone, a peppy and adorable one about his younger son "Gibby's Song" and one for his youngest child, "Evangeline Rose", about missing his baby girl, who's growing so fast and looking beautiful in her ribbons and bows. It's so gorgeous and so sweet and it was really nice to hear him play. After he finished the song, he told a goofy story about how since they've started calling her Evie, she refuses to be called Evangeline and he tells her "But that's your whole name! That's why I wrote a song called 'Evangeline Rose!'" Gah, I don't know why these kind of songs hit me so hard, but they do! And then he closed it out with "Home", which was really kick ass. Everyone there was clapping along and rocking out and helping with the harmony. It was really cool to get to see him, especially since I can't make his show later this year. I have a feeling I'll be sticking with this one though. He's a good one.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
I say of, you say a, I say revolution and you say jah
The first time I heard Matt Nathanson's "Come On, Get Higher", I was standing on a stool at The Cutting Room. I remember my knees getting a little weak as he did his little hip wiggle thing and if the opportunity to make out with someone, anyone, had come up at that moment, I would have full on taken it. That's the kind of song it is.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, the size of the stage alone was probably about as big as the Cutting Room. If not that, at least the size of The Living Room, where I also saw Matt perform the song. This time, MSG was pretty much full to the rafters with people, the majority of whom were singing along. Now, I love intimate concerts. I love being close to the stage or in a small room full of people who really know the music. However, it is beyond fucking cool to be in an ARENA and see someone you've only seen in fairly small venues rock that joint and have SO many people be into it. The best thing about it is that he's still Matt. Sure, the set is shorter and a little more geared to an audience who may not know him as well. But he's still that hilarious guy that starts out PG-13 (ICE CREAM!) and quickly turns R ("I want to be there while you're having sex tonight. Even if you're having sex with yourself. I want to be there.") who also has amazing songs. He started with "To the Beat of Our Noises Hearts", played "Princess" complete with full-on "Jessie's Girl" sing-a-long, "Still", "Wedding Dress", "Car Crash" with a little bit of Prince thrown in and of course, the hit single. The reaction, it was amazing. He had them all. He's like the king of openers, he's everything that I personally love in an opening act, so it's no surprise that he's opened for a gazillion different people (five this year alone). Now, sir, it's time to headline your own damn tour again. He's amazing.
And O.A.R. The first time I ever heard "Crazy Game of Poker", I was 18 and had just moved into college. My roommate and I lived next to two girls on the swim team and they would blast the song daily. We loved it every time they did. We'd always sing along. It wasn't for awhile before I found out who sang it and started to become a fan. I saw them live for the first time in 2006 and had a great time and really started getting into them around then. They're just SO fun, especially live. It's weird, I don't always have a whole lot of patience for long songs and it surprises even me how into their jam songs I am, but I just love them. They go and on and build and are just so kickass! And there's saxophone! They have such great grooves and hooks and sort of manage to be relaxing and energizing at the same time. It was awesome being toward the side of the stage last night and being able to see everyone rocking out. Marc was a bit overwhelmed by the size/excitement of the crowd and I always think it's cool when the band is kind of like "holy shit, we have THIS many fans?" Awesome.
Setlist:
1. About Mr. Brown
2. About An Hour Ago
3. Untitled
4. Conquering Fools
5. Something Coming Over
6. I Feel Home
7. Love And Memories
8. What Is Mine
9. On My Way
10. Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
11. Black Rock
12. City On Down
13. Lay Down
14. War Song
15. Whose Chariot?
Encore:
16. Fool In The Rain
17. This Town
18. That Was A Crazy Game Of Poker
19. With A Little Help From My Friends
I was super excited about "About an Hour Ago", "Conquering Fools" and "City on Down". I'm more a fan of their older stuff, though I'm getting into the new stuff too, and those songs are particularly awesome and faves of mine. Loved "Something Coming Over", "I Feel Home" was really cool because it was just Marc solo and yet he managed to have the attention of the whole audience, "Love and Memories" is a great song and one of their first more mainstream tunes, I've come to accept "Shattered" way more than I had at first (it's just SO different from their old sound), "Lay Down" is awesome and there was a kickass drum contest in the middle that I couldn't tear my eyes away from, "War Song" was intense with a really strong bass sax line and "Whose Chariot?" was a great closer, especially since Jerry the sax player relocated to the back of the arena, which caused pretty much everyone to flip out. And the encore! Robert Randolph came out to join the guys on a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" and is there a song with a deeper groove? Don't think so. "Poker" was epic, as it always should be, I think it clocked in around 12 minutes. That's the song that essentially everyone knows and it was just so awesome to hear everyone just screaming along as confetti guns sprayed playing cards and spade and clubs shaped confetti (not even kidding). And then holy crap. Ok, so the Woodstock reunion is now, essentially, and to celebrate, Marc called out Robert Randolph again, the DJ who mixed on "This Town" and Matt. The first second of organ, I knew what it was because Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends", especially the version from Woodstock is one of my favorite things ever in the world. And this was absolutely KICK. ASS. Marc took the first verse, Matt took the second and actually did the Cocker wail while falling to his knees, I seriously almost lost it. SO awesome.
I love Matt Nathanson and I love O.A.R. Period. I have seen Matt in eight venues now and I will continue to see him any chance I get. O.A.R. is also now on this list. They put on an amazing show, I didn't stop moving the entire time and I love their sound. And both know and appreciate where they came from, how they built up to be where they are now and that is one of my favorite things about them. Awesome guys, awesome music, awesome shows. Holy crap, I love concerts.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, the size of the stage alone was probably about as big as the Cutting Room. If not that, at least the size of The Living Room, where I also saw Matt perform the song. This time, MSG was pretty much full to the rafters with people, the majority of whom were singing along. Now, I love intimate concerts. I love being close to the stage or in a small room full of people who really know the music. However, it is beyond fucking cool to be in an ARENA and see someone you've only seen in fairly small venues rock that joint and have SO many people be into it. The best thing about it is that he's still Matt. Sure, the set is shorter and a little more geared to an audience who may not know him as well. But he's still that hilarious guy that starts out PG-13 (ICE CREAM!) and quickly turns R ("I want to be there while you're having sex tonight. Even if you're having sex with yourself. I want to be there.") who also has amazing songs. He started with "To the Beat of Our Noises Hearts", played "Princess" complete with full-on "Jessie's Girl" sing-a-long, "Still", "Wedding Dress", "Car Crash" with a little bit of Prince thrown in and of course, the hit single. The reaction, it was amazing. He had them all. He's like the king of openers, he's everything that I personally love in an opening act, so it's no surprise that he's opened for a gazillion different people (five this year alone). Now, sir, it's time to headline your own damn tour again. He's amazing.
And O.A.R. The first time I ever heard "Crazy Game of Poker", I was 18 and had just moved into college. My roommate and I lived next to two girls on the swim team and they would blast the song daily. We loved it every time they did. We'd always sing along. It wasn't for awhile before I found out who sang it and started to become a fan. I saw them live for the first time in 2006 and had a great time and really started getting into them around then. They're just SO fun, especially live. It's weird, I don't always have a whole lot of patience for long songs and it surprises even me how into their jam songs I am, but I just love them. They go and on and build and are just so kickass! And there's saxophone! They have such great grooves and hooks and sort of manage to be relaxing and energizing at the same time. It was awesome being toward the side of the stage last night and being able to see everyone rocking out. Marc was a bit overwhelmed by the size/excitement of the crowd and I always think it's cool when the band is kind of like "holy shit, we have THIS many fans?" Awesome.
Setlist:
1. About Mr. Brown
2. About An Hour Ago
3. Untitled
4. Conquering Fools
5. Something Coming Over
6. I Feel Home
7. Love And Memories
8. What Is Mine
9. On My Way
10. Shattered (Turn The Car Around)
11. Black Rock
12. City On Down
13. Lay Down
14. War Song
15. Whose Chariot?
Encore:
16. Fool In The Rain
17. This Town
18. That Was A Crazy Game Of Poker
19. With A Little Help From My Friends
I was super excited about "About an Hour Ago", "Conquering Fools" and "City on Down". I'm more a fan of their older stuff, though I'm getting into the new stuff too, and those songs are particularly awesome and faves of mine. Loved "Something Coming Over", "I Feel Home" was really cool because it was just Marc solo and yet he managed to have the attention of the whole audience, "Love and Memories" is a great song and one of their first more mainstream tunes, I've come to accept "Shattered" way more than I had at first (it's just SO different from their old sound), "Lay Down" is awesome and there was a kickass drum contest in the middle that I couldn't tear my eyes away from, "War Song" was intense with a really strong bass sax line and "Whose Chariot?" was a great closer, especially since Jerry the sax player relocated to the back of the arena, which caused pretty much everyone to flip out. And the encore! Robert Randolph came out to join the guys on a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain" and is there a song with a deeper groove? Don't think so. "Poker" was epic, as it always should be, I think it clocked in around 12 minutes. That's the song that essentially everyone knows and it was just so awesome to hear everyone just screaming along as confetti guns sprayed playing cards and spade and clubs shaped confetti (not even kidding). And then holy crap. Ok, so the Woodstock reunion is now, essentially, and to celebrate, Marc called out Robert Randolph again, the DJ who mixed on "This Town" and Matt. The first second of organ, I knew what it was because Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends", especially the version from Woodstock is one of my favorite things ever in the world. And this was absolutely KICK. ASS. Marc took the first verse, Matt took the second and actually did the Cocker wail while falling to his knees, I seriously almost lost it. SO awesome.
I love Matt Nathanson and I love O.A.R. Period. I have seen Matt in eight venues now and I will continue to see him any chance I get. O.A.R. is also now on this list. They put on an amazing show, I didn't stop moving the entire time and I love their sound. And both know and appreciate where they came from, how they built up to be where they are now and that is one of my favorite things about them. Awesome guys, awesome music, awesome shows. Holy crap, I love concerts.
Monday, July 20, 2009
music's in my soul, I can feel it every day, every night, it's the one thing on my mind
I am not going to pretend that my first impression of the Jonas Brothers wasn’t less than stellar. I distinctly recall saying something like “Is this them? I am not impressed.” This was a little more than a year ago. Since then, I have obtained all of their albums. I own Camp Rock, starring Joe Jonas and featuring Nick and Kevin. I saw The Jonas Brothers 3D Experience in the theater. Twice. I willingly admit my apprehension to liking them was because I thought that I shouldn’t. Clearly, once I let myself, I realized that I kind of loved them. I masked it as a bit of a joke at first. Then I just embraced it. I love them. A lot.
So last night, we ventured out to Nassau Coliseum to see them in concert! We got there pretty early and hung around outside amidst many homemade Jonas t-shirts, shorts, socks and every other type of attire. I love seeing this kind of dedication, not even joking. Not to the point of participating to that level (though, ok, I did put on the shirt I purchased) but just the effort and how much fun everyone must have planning their outfits and making everything so that everyone knows how much they love the Jonas Brothers. I don’t know if it’s because there’s a little part of me that’s like that without the clothing or if it’s because I never really acted that way when I was that age or if just because I have that kind of appreciation for fan communities, even when they’re crazy, but I love it. I find it fascinating and fabulous! While waiting to get in, the guys of one of the opening acts, Honor Society, wandered by. People were not caring nearly as much as I thought they should, so I enthusiastically said “Hi!” as they passed and got an equally enthusiastic smile and greeting in return from one of them! Awww.
The opening acts were all pretty fun. Honor Society had a few catchy tunes, this weird girl group came out and sang a song that had about three words and then Jordin Sparks! Who kicks ass and takes names! Really loved getting to see her, all sassy and strutting around in heels and a glittering outfit. That girl can sing!
Then the lights went down and the glowsticks started waving and the screaming persisted for a very long time as "We Will Rock You" played and then there they were! Highlights:
- I love when Kevin spins and spins and spins like a top!
- Joe was on our edge of the catwalk, started sprinting up the ramp, over the stairs and leapt onto the piano. Amazing.
- Since Joe doesn't play any instruments, he spends a lot of time dancing with the other band members. Pretty hilariously, too. Sometimes, they act out skits.
- A bit into the set, Nick was left alone at a white grand piano. He started playing “Black Keys” for a bit, then went into “A Little Bit Longer”. After a verse or so, he stops playing and starts talking about how a few years ago, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, ending with something that I found dramatic, amusing, inspirational and amazing all at the same time. He started listing all of his accomplishments since being diagnosed. He then just started screaming, “Did I let it slow me down?” The crowd cheers and he screams “Did I LET it SLOW me DOWN?!” It was so amazing and I may or may not have reenacted various versions of it along the ride home. While Nick’s preacher voice makes me laugh, I truly think it’s wonderful that kids with diabetes have someone like Nick to look up to. It can’t be easy having to adjust your life around a disease like that at such a young age and knowing that Nick went through it and is still dealing with it but is living the crazy and exciting life he leads must really be a great thig for these kids to see. He is the new Stacey McGill, only far cooler. And an actual person.
- Kevin played piano! Such pure genuine joy this brought me!
- They sang the song from Camp Rock while rising into the air on a pedestal that eventually stopped about 30 feet in the air? I was afraid they'd fall off, especially since they had some extra band members up there! "I gotta fiiiind you!"
- They sang "Sweet Caroline" so that the parents could show they are into it too. Unfortunately, there were children that were young enough to be my kids, so I took that as a sign to go to town with this one as well. Even if it's the Red Sox song.
- We were dancing around in our seats and occasionally the 8 year old next to us with her own sidekick would stare like we had two heads. Old people like Jonas too, okay?!
- Live to party, bust your move!
- Kevin and Joe hosed down the entire right side of the audience with a massive fire hose. While Nick nonchalantly sat on stage playing drums.
- During "Love Bug", it started "raining" on our side of the stage. Eventually, I noticed that there were somehow shapes in the rain. Little hearts, the words "love bug", and then the silouettes of the Jonas Brothers! How? I do not know. Magic.
- Jordin came back out at the end of their set and sang her new hit single "Battlefield" with Joe, Kevin and Nick and it was ridiculously awesome. "Better go get your armor! GET YOUR ARMOR! Get your armor!" Also, she lovingly caressed Joe's face.
- I won't lie, I got a little sad at the end when they were bowing to the instrumental from "When You Look Me in the Eyes".
It really was a great set! I was kind of surprised at how mixed it was, I was expecting primarily stuff from the new album with just a few others thrown in, but they got a lot of the faves from the past two albums in there too! There was "Paranoid" and "Poison Ivy" and "Much Better" and "World War III", but there was also "BB Good" and "Tonight" and "S.O.S." and "Burnin' Up" and "Hold On" and "That's Just the Way We Roll". They are so energetic and put on such a great show. I got tired just watching them! And while it might be a little odd to love a group who's primary audience is young girls, they really do have some legit good music and they're super fun and what the hell, I'm a teenybopper at heart. I'm so glad we went!
So last night, we ventured out to Nassau Coliseum to see them in concert! We got there pretty early and hung around outside amidst many homemade Jonas t-shirts, shorts, socks and every other type of attire. I love seeing this kind of dedication, not even joking. Not to the point of participating to that level (though, ok, I did put on the shirt I purchased) but just the effort and how much fun everyone must have planning their outfits and making everything so that everyone knows how much they love the Jonas Brothers. I don’t know if it’s because there’s a little part of me that’s like that without the clothing or if it’s because I never really acted that way when I was that age or if just because I have that kind of appreciation for fan communities, even when they’re crazy, but I love it. I find it fascinating and fabulous! While waiting to get in, the guys of one of the opening acts, Honor Society, wandered by. People were not caring nearly as much as I thought they should, so I enthusiastically said “Hi!” as they passed and got an equally enthusiastic smile and greeting in return from one of them! Awww.
The opening acts were all pretty fun. Honor Society had a few catchy tunes, this weird girl group came out and sang a song that had about three words and then Jordin Sparks! Who kicks ass and takes names! Really loved getting to see her, all sassy and strutting around in heels and a glittering outfit. That girl can sing!
Then the lights went down and the glowsticks started waving and the screaming persisted for a very long time as "We Will Rock You" played and then there they were! Highlights:
- I love when Kevin spins and spins and spins like a top!
- Joe was on our edge of the catwalk, started sprinting up the ramp, over the stairs and leapt onto the piano. Amazing.
- Since Joe doesn't play any instruments, he spends a lot of time dancing with the other band members. Pretty hilariously, too. Sometimes, they act out skits.
- A bit into the set, Nick was left alone at a white grand piano. He started playing “Black Keys” for a bit, then went into “A Little Bit Longer”. After a verse or so, he stops playing and starts talking about how a few years ago, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, ending with something that I found dramatic, amusing, inspirational and amazing all at the same time. He started listing all of his accomplishments since being diagnosed. He then just started screaming, “Did I let it slow me down?” The crowd cheers and he screams “Did I LET it SLOW me DOWN?!” It was so amazing and I may or may not have reenacted various versions of it along the ride home. While Nick’s preacher voice makes me laugh, I truly think it’s wonderful that kids with diabetes have someone like Nick to look up to. It can’t be easy having to adjust your life around a disease like that at such a young age and knowing that Nick went through it and is still dealing with it but is living the crazy and exciting life he leads must really be a great thig for these kids to see. He is the new Stacey McGill, only far cooler. And an actual person.
- Kevin played piano! Such pure genuine joy this brought me!
- They sang the song from Camp Rock while rising into the air on a pedestal that eventually stopped about 30 feet in the air? I was afraid they'd fall off, especially since they had some extra band members up there! "I gotta fiiiind you!"
- They sang "Sweet Caroline" so that the parents could show they are into it too. Unfortunately, there were children that were young enough to be my kids, so I took that as a sign to go to town with this one as well. Even if it's the Red Sox song.
- We were dancing around in our seats and occasionally the 8 year old next to us with her own sidekick would stare like we had two heads. Old people like Jonas too, okay?!
- Live to party, bust your move!
- Kevin and Joe hosed down the entire right side of the audience with a massive fire hose. While Nick nonchalantly sat on stage playing drums.
- During "Love Bug", it started "raining" on our side of the stage. Eventually, I noticed that there were somehow shapes in the rain. Little hearts, the words "love bug", and then the silouettes of the Jonas Brothers! How? I do not know. Magic.
- Jordin came back out at the end of their set and sang her new hit single "Battlefield" with Joe, Kevin and Nick and it was ridiculously awesome. "Better go get your armor! GET YOUR ARMOR! Get your armor!" Also, she lovingly caressed Joe's face.
- I won't lie, I got a little sad at the end when they were bowing to the instrumental from "When You Look Me in the Eyes".
It really was a great set! I was kind of surprised at how mixed it was, I was expecting primarily stuff from the new album with just a few others thrown in, but they got a lot of the faves from the past two albums in there too! There was "Paranoid" and "Poison Ivy" and "Much Better" and "World War III", but there was also "BB Good" and "Tonight" and "S.O.S." and "Burnin' Up" and "Hold On" and "That's Just the Way We Roll". They are so energetic and put on such a great show. I got tired just watching them! And while it might be a little odd to love a group who's primary audience is young girls, they really do have some legit good music and they're super fun and what the hell, I'm a teenybopper at heart. I'm so glad we went!
Friday, June 12, 2009
lightning strikes. maybe once, maybe twice. and it lights up the night.
About three songs into last night, I'm staring up at the person towering over me. I notice after a few seconds that he's looking directly at me and I keep my gaze on him as he keeps playing, ever slightly moving forward. Then I realize my fingers have found their way onto the stage, only a few inches from his boots. I let out an exaggerated "oops!" and a second later, the booted foot is pounding the carpet where my fingers were just innocently resting.
In a lot of ways, that sums up the evening. I've gone on about what it's like to see a favorite band quite a few times in here. I'm starting to think that that feeling is always going to be there. There are certain things that just don't lose their awesomeness and being within an arms reach of Lindsey Buckingham might be the top of that list for me.
When I got to MSG, I went to the seat I purchased on the floor. Within minutes, I realized that there were people mingling around the front of the stage. I did not want to push my luck, but figured if they were standing around up there, I could at least go check it out. I went up there, casually parked myself just to the right of Lindsey's microphone, in between his monitor and the speaker. I assumed eventually someone would come and tell me I couldn't stay there, but no one ever did. So there I stayed. For the majority of the evening, he was right there, just to the left. From time to time, when he didn't need to sing for awhile, he'd swoop into that spot between the monitor and the speaker, fingers flying over guitar strings. The spot right in front of my face. I'm not sure it can get much better than that.
Due to the monitor, I could barely see Stevie, but I was okay with that. I adore her but not to the level I do him and I was able to stretch back and make sure to catch my favorite moments. She looked gorgeous and sounded absolutely fabulous, especially on "Gypsy" and "Gold Dust Woman", which was so intense. Lindsey is kind of a ham during her songs too, which was a bit too entertaining (I really should be trying to watch HER during her songs, no?) During "Stand Back" he was just dancing around, mouthing the words, interacting with us like he was just another Stevie Nicks fan, only he happened to be on stage and playing guitar. Watching him zone out and just play on the less complicated songs, seeing what second nature it is for him, was pretty cool. And of course, having the moments of amazingness where it was just him and the guitar were totally awesome. "Big Love", "Never Going Back Again", "Oh Well", I could watch him play those for days. An extra perk to the spot was that Mick was directly in my line of vision, so I had a few chances to just focus on him going at it and there's nothing like watching an amazing, kickass drummer let loose. His crazy faces never fail to amuse/terrify me!
The last song of the show was "Silver Springs" and as it wound down, Stevie sounding fabulous, both of them in that state the history of the song and their relationship puts them in, I found myself totally transported. There's nothing like being in the moment with your favorite people, creating right in front of you. It's amazing, it's awesome, it's thrilling and I don't think it can ever get old.
In a lot of ways, that sums up the evening. I've gone on about what it's like to see a favorite band quite a few times in here. I'm starting to think that that feeling is always going to be there. There are certain things that just don't lose their awesomeness and being within an arms reach of Lindsey Buckingham might be the top of that list for me.
When I got to MSG, I went to the seat I purchased on the floor. Within minutes, I realized that there were people mingling around the front of the stage. I did not want to push my luck, but figured if they were standing around up there, I could at least go check it out. I went up there, casually parked myself just to the right of Lindsey's microphone, in between his monitor and the speaker. I assumed eventually someone would come and tell me I couldn't stay there, but no one ever did. So there I stayed. For the majority of the evening, he was right there, just to the left. From time to time, when he didn't need to sing for awhile, he'd swoop into that spot between the monitor and the speaker, fingers flying over guitar strings. The spot right in front of my face. I'm not sure it can get much better than that.
Due to the monitor, I could barely see Stevie, but I was okay with that. I adore her but not to the level I do him and I was able to stretch back and make sure to catch my favorite moments. She looked gorgeous and sounded absolutely fabulous, especially on "Gypsy" and "Gold Dust Woman", which was so intense. Lindsey is kind of a ham during her songs too, which was a bit too entertaining (I really should be trying to watch HER during her songs, no?) During "Stand Back" he was just dancing around, mouthing the words, interacting with us like he was just another Stevie Nicks fan, only he happened to be on stage and playing guitar. Watching him zone out and just play on the less complicated songs, seeing what second nature it is for him, was pretty cool. And of course, having the moments of amazingness where it was just him and the guitar were totally awesome. "Big Love", "Never Going Back Again", "Oh Well", I could watch him play those for days. An extra perk to the spot was that Mick was directly in my line of vision, so I had a few chances to just focus on him going at it and there's nothing like watching an amazing, kickass drummer let loose. His crazy faces never fail to amuse/terrify me!
The last song of the show was "Silver Springs" and as it wound down, Stevie sounding fabulous, both of them in that state the history of the song and their relationship puts them in, I found myself totally transported. There's nothing like being in the moment with your favorite people, creating right in front of you. It's amazing, it's awesome, it's thrilling and I don't think it can ever get old.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
NKOTB
Last week, my friend and I decided we wanted to go see New Kids on the Block. They were heading back to Mohegan Sun this weekend, so I got some tickets and we went! And it was pretty awesome!
We were about five rows from the back but it's the kind of concert where just being in there makes it super fun.
Highlights!
- "Stay the Same"! Oh man, I love this song and it was so awesome in such a huge crowd of swaying people. I know it is wrong to have my favorite moment of the concert be a solo song, but I can't help it!
- "My Favorite Girl" cuz Jordan sounded awesome. Falsetto!
- The B on Donnie's hat getting bigger and more full of bling with each costume change.
- How absolutely fantastic Jordan sounded during "I'll Be Loving You Forever". Perfection! And they were all dressed in white!
- They came to this rotating stage thing at the back of the floor for a few songs, which was pretty much right beneath our seats! They did "Tonight" from there! Joey was wearing his happy face jacket!
- Some "Dirty Dancing":
- Donnie solo "Cover Girl"! Oh man, Donnie is a trip, isn't he. Thanks for showing us your underpants.
- Joey literally falling to his knees during "Please Don't Go Girl".
- That moment where Jordan stands on that part of the stage by himself, his white shirt blowing behind him, his shirtlessness being zoomed in by the camera and thus taking over the entire room.
- Breaking the crowd into two to do the winkie chant in "Games" and the other half yell "Game games games games!" That song is ridiculous!
- Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan!
- Pose off, complete with Danny bowing down to us and Joey smelling his pit.
- Every single person in the room waving their arms in the air like they just don't care during "Hangin' Tough". Plus Celtics jerseys!
- Pyro!
I'm so glad we went! It was such a fun time and I was very impressed with their showmanship and just how energetic and awesome they were. Good times!
We were about five rows from the back but it's the kind of concert where just being in there makes it super fun.
Highlights!
- "Stay the Same"! Oh man, I love this song and it was so awesome in such a huge crowd of swaying people. I know it is wrong to have my favorite moment of the concert be a solo song, but I can't help it!
- "My Favorite Girl" cuz Jordan sounded awesome. Falsetto!
- The B on Donnie's hat getting bigger and more full of bling with each costume change.
- How absolutely fantastic Jordan sounded during "I'll Be Loving You Forever". Perfection! And they were all dressed in white!
- They came to this rotating stage thing at the back of the floor for a few songs, which was pretty much right beneath our seats! They did "Tonight" from there! Joey was wearing his happy face jacket!
- Some "Dirty Dancing":
- Donnie solo "Cover Girl"! Oh man, Donnie is a trip, isn't he. Thanks for showing us your underpants.
- Joey literally falling to his knees during "Please Don't Go Girl".
- That moment where Jordan stands on that part of the stage by himself, his white shirt blowing behind him, his shirtlessness being zoomed in by the camera and thus taking over the entire room.
- Breaking the crowd into two to do the winkie chant in "Games" and the other half yell "Game games games games!" That song is ridiculous!
- Jonathan! Jonathan! Jonathan!
- Pose off, complete with Danny bowing down to us and Joey smelling his pit.
- Every single person in the room waving their arms in the air like they just don't care during "Hangin' Tough". Plus Celtics jerseys!
- Pyro!
I'm so glad we went! It was such a fun time and I was very impressed with their showmanship and just how energetic and awesome they were. Good times!
Monday, November 3, 2008
and then there's everybody else
I think one of the best things that can happen when you go to a concert of a band you're really excited to see is to have an opening act that doesn't suck.
I really don't like opening bands. Usually, if I'm going to concert, I'm really excited to see the band I'm going to see. In some cases, the opening act simply doesn't interest me, such as when I saw Modest Mouse open for R.E.M. this summer (it seemed some Modest Mouse fans felt similarly about R.E.M., give how many left after MM's set). Sometimes the opening act is boring or not talented or just doesn't put on a good show. Sometimes they simply aren't enough to get keep your attention on the music as you count how many songs have been played and estimate how much longer they will be on stage. I feel that a perfect opening act should be a band/performer that is good, that compliments the band they are opening for and that puts on an entertaining, engaging and energetic show without overshadowing the act they are opening for. I find this blend hard to find.
So imagine my surprise when, for the second time this year, I saw a band open for Hanson that fit this description. The first, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, were on the spring leg of The Walk tour and may be my favorite opening act ever. I've come to love them in their own right and continue to brag about them when opening act discussions come up. They were fun, they were energetic, their music was catchy, they did a few kickass covers and they walked that fine line of not being too much like the headliner and not so different that their inclusion made no sense. They were essentially awesome.
Then, this leg, came Everybody Else. Now, due to my lack of moderation in concert-going where certain bands are concerned, I saw Everybody Else three times in a very short span of time. Each time, I was definitely more excited to be seeing the headliner, and yet every time I saw Everybody Else, I liked them more. To the point where when I went to my last show of my "mini-tour" and was considering adding one more on, my enjoyment of Everybody Else and excitement to see them one more time was a factor in my decision to just do it. Their songs are catchy and fun, they have a great vibe and now that I'm done seeing them live, I still can't stop listening to their music.
So here's to good opening acts. Let's hope my luck continues to be so good. Or my favorite bands continue to pick such quality entertainment.
I really don't like opening bands. Usually, if I'm going to concert, I'm really excited to see the band I'm going to see. In some cases, the opening act simply doesn't interest me, such as when I saw Modest Mouse open for R.E.M. this summer (it seemed some Modest Mouse fans felt similarly about R.E.M., give how many left after MM's set). Sometimes the opening act is boring or not talented or just doesn't put on a good show. Sometimes they simply aren't enough to get keep your attention on the music as you count how many songs have been played and estimate how much longer they will be on stage. I feel that a perfect opening act should be a band/performer that is good, that compliments the band they are opening for and that puts on an entertaining, engaging and energetic show without overshadowing the act they are opening for. I find this blend hard to find.
So imagine my surprise when, for the second time this year, I saw a band open for Hanson that fit this description. The first, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, were on the spring leg of The Walk tour and may be my favorite opening act ever. I've come to love them in their own right and continue to brag about them when opening act discussions come up. They were fun, they were energetic, their music was catchy, they did a few kickass covers and they walked that fine line of not being too much like the headliner and not so different that their inclusion made no sense. They were essentially awesome.
Then, this leg, came Everybody Else. Now, due to my lack of moderation in concert-going where certain bands are concerned, I saw Everybody Else three times in a very short span of time. Each time, I was definitely more excited to be seeing the headliner, and yet every time I saw Everybody Else, I liked them more. To the point where when I went to my last show of my "mini-tour" and was considering adding one more on, my enjoyment of Everybody Else and excitement to see them one more time was a factor in my decision to just do it. Their songs are catchy and fun, they have a great vibe and now that I'm done seeing them live, I still can't stop listening to their music.
So here's to good opening acts. Let's hope my luck continues to be so good. Or my favorite bands continue to pick such quality entertainment.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Hanson week!
When the Hanson fall tour was announced, I had planned to go to two shows when the tour dates first came out, remembering how I felt after the show in May and knowing that it may be awhile before they're on tour again. About three weeks ago, I added in a third, right between the two I had planned. It felt a little excessive, but I knew it would be fun and moderation isn't really a necessity when it comes to their shows. Add in their tendency to change up setlists pretty much every show, the opportunity to do the walk in one of my favorite places and the fact that I was going to lose my leftover time off at work and off I went.
It's a little odd how the experiences of the shows kind of grew as the week went on. The NYC show was great, but is kind of a blur to me already. Plus, it started really late and there's a curfew in NYC (what!) so they had to play a shortened set. Still, this set had a few of my favorite moments of my mini-tour, including acapella "Change in My Life".
1. Something Going Round
2. Higher
3. Been There Before
4. Where's The Love
5. Penny And Me
6. Follow Your Lead
7. Great Divide
Acoustic
8. Strong Enough to Break
9. Go
10. Lay You Down
11. This Time Around
Back to Electric
12. Hole In My Life
13. Blue Sky
14. Minute Without You
15. Can't Stop
16. If Only
17. Mmmbop
18. Hey
19. Change in My Life
Atlantic City was the show I added on last minute. They were playing in the House of Blues at Showboat and the walk was set to start at 3. At about 2, I went to the lobby area to see if everyone was starting to gather and about five minutes later, Zac appears, followed by Taylor and the megaphone. Tay megaphones (inside, of course) to head outside to the Boardwalk. By this point, shoes were already off, which lead to a good 75 people standing around on the Boardwalk, half without shoes. A little old lady came up to me and asked why none of the nice young women were wearing shoes and then warned us not to get splinters. It was such a beautiful day and one of my favorite places, so it was really a great place to walk. We mid-walk speeched right past the arcade pier, the ocean crashing in the background, the sky a bright blue. So awesome. Then we headed back toward HOB, ironically had to make sure our shoes were back on as we went inside, then filed in through slot machines and up the huge escalator, up to the Music Hall. It was so exhilirating, everyone hanging around in this hallway, registering their miles for their chosen causes, the (still shoeless) guys among us keeping order. The whole idea of the walk is really amazing and inspiring. I love it.
The setlist for this show was pretty awesome, with a lot more random stuff than the NYC show:
1. Something Going Round
2. Higher
3. Been There Before
4. Thinking of You
5. Follow Your Lead
6. Great Divide
Acoustic
7. Strong Enough to Break
8. Lay Me Down
9. Go
10. The Walk (Zac Solo)
11. Believe (Taylor Solo)
Back to Electric
12. Fire On The Mountain (Taylor on drums)
13. Blue Sky
14. Where's The Love
15. Running Man
16. Soul Shine
17. Crazy Beautiful
18. MmmBop
19. Minute Without You
20. Hey
21. Watch Over Me
Encore
22. This Time Around
Highlight of this set was definitely "Fire on the Mountain", my favorite song and one I was really hoping for. What was most awesome was that they played it electric. Usually, it's just Zac on guitar, but when Taylor finished "Believe", Zac came out and put on the guitar and Taylor went behind the drums. SO awesome. I was barely able to take it in, it went by so fast! And with Tay on drums, I felt like I was watching something with subtitles and didn't know where to look! I was also really excited by this set because I love Zac lead songs and he only did one at the NYC show. We got four at this one, including "Running Man", so fun! It was also Will the bassist's birthday. Hanson tradition is singing Happy Birthday and then shoving cake in the birthday person's face. Will was not spared!
Saturday, I took the train to the old stomping grounds. It was kind of rainy out but there were already a good 150 people waiting for the walk, and the guys came out on time to get it started. We pre-walk speeched in a muncipal parking lot and everyone looked like drowned rats. After the walk, there was much hanging around in damp weather. Luckily, the stage door was open and we heard the entire soundcheck, which included a huge "Been There Before" jam session, a really hot version of "Great Divide", and "Your Illusion" and "Got a Hold On Me", both of which hadn't been played on this leg yet.
I really loved Everybody Else, one of the openers, in AC, so I was excited to see them again, they put on a great show. I am currently obsessed with their song "In Memoriam". Dave Barnes, it was the third time I had seen him and I was kind of done with him by this point!
Hanson was on just after 10 and proceeded to play an incredible set list:
1. Something Going 'Round
2. Higher
3. Been There Before
4. If Only
5. Follow Your Lead
6. Great Divide
Acoustic
7 Never Been To Spain
8. One More
9. Lay Me Down
10. On The Rocks (Zac piano solo)
11. Love Me (Taylor solo)
Back to Electric
12. Fire On The Mountain (Taylor on drums.)
13. Dancin' In The Wind (Taylor on electric guitar.)
14. Blue Sky
15. Where's The Love?
16. You Never Know
17. Penny 'N' Me
18. Your Illusion
19. Crazy Beautiful
20. Oh Darling
21. MMMBop
22. Can't Stop
23. Hey
24. Watch Over Me
Encore
25. Coming Back For More
Holy shit this show. I thought the AC show was pretty great, but this show was like ten times better. The energy of the crowd, the energy of the guys, it was amazing. Plus, the SET! They played TEN songs that they didn't play in AC, and there had been more than four in that set that weren't in NYC! "Never Been to Spain", oh my God. I LOVE this song and the way they did it, with Ike coming out first alone and doing a verse, than Zac doing the same, then Taylor. So amazing. There was some "On the Rocks"! Random and I love piano Zac! And then Taylor did Elvis' "Love Me" and it was ridiculously amazing! Then, as if it is not already proven that the Hansons can play any and all instruments, Taylor then puts on an electric guitar! And they play "Dancin' in the Wind"! Which I don't even like that much usually, but it was awesome! As if that wasn't random enough "You Never Know"? And then freaking "Oh Darling"? The fact that Zac can drum like a madman and sing lead at the same time and sound that amazing is incredible. It was the most exhilarating song of the set, I think I might have hit the ceiling and come back down as it ended. So happy he did this one! "Hey" is such a fun song and then "Watch Over Me", I love it. Isaac does this thing at the end where he gets the whole crowd swaying by going back and forth with the guitar and you can tell he totally loves it. After Zac finished beating the hell out of the end of "Coming Back for More", he stood backwards on the bass drum and jumped off and landed in a heap on the floor, which caused Taylor to fall over and lie there with him and Isaac stand there laughing at them both.
It was such a great set and awesome concert. I love these guys so much. They are such great musicians and showmen and hopefully they hit the road again soon!
It's a little odd how the experiences of the shows kind of grew as the week went on. The NYC show was great, but is kind of a blur to me already. Plus, it started really late and there's a curfew in NYC (what!) so they had to play a shortened set. Still, this set had a few of my favorite moments of my mini-tour, including acapella "Change in My Life".
1. Something Going Round
2. Higher
3. Been There Before
4. Where's The Love
5. Penny And Me
6. Follow Your Lead
7. Great Divide
Acoustic
8. Strong Enough to Break
9. Go
10. Lay You Down
11. This Time Around
Back to Electric
12. Hole In My Life
13. Blue Sky
14. Minute Without You
15. Can't Stop
16. If Only
17. Mmmbop
18. Hey
19. Change in My Life
Atlantic City was the show I added on last minute. They were playing in the House of Blues at Showboat and the walk was set to start at 3. At about 2, I went to the lobby area to see if everyone was starting to gather and about five minutes later, Zac appears, followed by Taylor and the megaphone. Tay megaphones (inside, of course) to head outside to the Boardwalk. By this point, shoes were already off, which lead to a good 75 people standing around on the Boardwalk, half without shoes. A little old lady came up to me and asked why none of the nice young women were wearing shoes and then warned us not to get splinters. It was such a beautiful day and one of my favorite places, so it was really a great place to walk. We mid-walk speeched right past the arcade pier, the ocean crashing in the background, the sky a bright blue. So awesome. Then we headed back toward HOB, ironically had to make sure our shoes were back on as we went inside, then filed in through slot machines and up the huge escalator, up to the Music Hall. It was so exhilirating, everyone hanging around in this hallway, registering their miles for their chosen causes, the (still shoeless) guys among us keeping order. The whole idea of the walk is really amazing and inspiring. I love it.
The setlist for this show was pretty awesome, with a lot more random stuff than the NYC show:
1. Something Going Round
2. Higher
3. Been There Before
4. Thinking of You
5. Follow Your Lead
6. Great Divide
Acoustic
7. Strong Enough to Break
8. Lay Me Down
9. Go
10. The Walk (Zac Solo)
11. Believe (Taylor Solo)
Back to Electric
12. Fire On The Mountain (Taylor on drums)
13. Blue Sky
14. Where's The Love
15. Running Man
16. Soul Shine
17. Crazy Beautiful
18. MmmBop
19. Minute Without You
20. Hey
21. Watch Over Me
Encore
22. This Time Around
Highlight of this set was definitely "Fire on the Mountain", my favorite song and one I was really hoping for. What was most awesome was that they played it electric. Usually, it's just Zac on guitar, but when Taylor finished "Believe", Zac came out and put on the guitar and Taylor went behind the drums. SO awesome. I was barely able to take it in, it went by so fast! And with Tay on drums, I felt like I was watching something with subtitles and didn't know where to look! I was also really excited by this set because I love Zac lead songs and he only did one at the NYC show. We got four at this one, including "Running Man", so fun! It was also Will the bassist's birthday. Hanson tradition is singing Happy Birthday and then shoving cake in the birthday person's face. Will was not spared!
Saturday, I took the train to the old stomping grounds. It was kind of rainy out but there were already a good 150 people waiting for the walk, and the guys came out on time to get it started. We pre-walk speeched in a muncipal parking lot and everyone looked like drowned rats. After the walk, there was much hanging around in damp weather. Luckily, the stage door was open and we heard the entire soundcheck, which included a huge "Been There Before" jam session, a really hot version of "Great Divide", and "Your Illusion" and "Got a Hold On Me", both of which hadn't been played on this leg yet.
I really loved Everybody Else, one of the openers, in AC, so I was excited to see them again, they put on a great show. I am currently obsessed with their song "In Memoriam". Dave Barnes, it was the third time I had seen him and I was kind of done with him by this point!
Hanson was on just after 10 and proceeded to play an incredible set list:
1. Something Going 'Round
2. Higher
3. Been There Before
4. If Only
5. Follow Your Lead
6. Great Divide
Acoustic
7 Never Been To Spain
8. One More
9. Lay Me Down
10. On The Rocks (Zac piano solo)
11. Love Me (Taylor solo)
Back to Electric
12. Fire On The Mountain (Taylor on drums.)
13. Dancin' In The Wind (Taylor on electric guitar.)
14. Blue Sky
15. Where's The Love?
16. You Never Know
17. Penny 'N' Me
18. Your Illusion
19. Crazy Beautiful
20. Oh Darling
21. MMMBop
22. Can't Stop
23. Hey
24. Watch Over Me
Encore
25. Coming Back For More
Holy shit this show. I thought the AC show was pretty great, but this show was like ten times better. The energy of the crowd, the energy of the guys, it was amazing. Plus, the SET! They played TEN songs that they didn't play in AC, and there had been more than four in that set that weren't in NYC! "Never Been to Spain", oh my God. I LOVE this song and the way they did it, with Ike coming out first alone and doing a verse, than Zac doing the same, then Taylor. So amazing. There was some "On the Rocks"! Random and I love piano Zac! And then Taylor did Elvis' "Love Me" and it was ridiculously amazing! Then, as if it is not already proven that the Hansons can play any and all instruments, Taylor then puts on an electric guitar! And they play "Dancin' in the Wind"! Which I don't even like that much usually, but it was awesome! As if that wasn't random enough "You Never Know"? And then freaking "Oh Darling"? The fact that Zac can drum like a madman and sing lead at the same time and sound that amazing is incredible. It was the most exhilarating song of the set, I think I might have hit the ceiling and come back down as it ended. So happy he did this one! "Hey" is such a fun song and then "Watch Over Me", I love it. Isaac does this thing at the end where he gets the whole crowd swaying by going back and forth with the guitar and you can tell he totally loves it. After Zac finished beating the hell out of the end of "Coming Back for More", he stood backwards on the bass drum and jumped off and landed in a heap on the floor, which caused Taylor to fall over and lie there with him and Isaac stand there laughing at them both.
It was such a great set and awesome concert. I love these guys so much. They are such great musicians and showmen and hopefully they hit the road again soon!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Time, precious time.
Oh, this man.
The simple fact is, I have been fascinated by him for eleven years. When I think about the scope of his creation and his success and his fame, and then think about the fact that I'm in the same room as him, it gets a little too unreal. I did spend a lot of time tonight in the actual moment, which is amazing in itself to be able to say. When he was playing "Big Love", I was totally transfixed. The way the light behind him made him literally glow during "Never Going Back Again" was one of the most beautiful images I had ever seen. I totally rocked out to "World Turning". The final solo in "I'm So Afraid" was absolute bliss and a moment that felt truly unbelievable. But tonight I didn't even have to close my eyes and he was standing there, in a shiny blue kimono, his huge mess of curls bopping side to side. He'd lean down to solo, eyebrows raised and I could swear the jeans and black leather jacket were momentarily replaced by a slick gray suit and short haircut. As he lost himself momentarily in the yelping laughter of "Gift of Screws", the cowboy hat and vest flashed through my mind. And as he played "Big Love", solo, sounding as amazing as he's sounded since The Dance, I saw him in the black slacks and jacket of the Lindsey I first knew, the one that made me pay attention and realize he wasn't just some guy with a guitar.
My friend that I went with always says that he never looks the same. It's true, pick a year and you'll get a Lindsey to go along with it, each with unique qualities that have not come before or since. While I'd give anything to travel back in time to visit years that pre-date my own existence and experience what it was like to see him then, the Lindsey of 2008, the Lindsey of right now and hopefully the Lindsey to stay, is one I am so happy and grateful to have been able to see. It's like he transcends time. He can take us back to those great moments simply by being on stage and then he'll finish a song and pump the air and jump around a little and the pure excitement, the adrenaline, the love of being on stage and playing guitar, hangs in the air and overtakes the room. It's like he himself can't believe he's still doing this and having so much fun with it. He's not doing this because he has to, he's not surrounded by people who drag him down or don't get him, he's doing this because he wants to be. To have been able to see him at a time where he so clearly loves it as much as he does is amazing.
The second row tonight gave way to the edge of the stage for "Go Your Own Way" and the encores. I kept rhythm by beating my hand on the stage, and occasionally I'd look up and Brett would be smiling at me, which was a little added bonus to the whole thing. By the end of the song, Lindsey was soloing and climbing over the amps to get closer to us. I was literally looking directly up at him as he played his most famous song and I could seriously barely take it. I think I looked at Amanda and just started laughing numerous times. The encores were equally amazing and while I would have died to hear "Bleed to Love Her" as the last song, "Time Precious Time" did feel like the appropriate choice. "Take all the time that you want. Take all the time that you need. Slow and easy. You might succeed. Time, precious time, precious time, precious time. Remember." As I watched him, I thought of it all again. My 15 year old self seeing The Dance for the first time, the collecting of albums and videos, immersing myself in a world that wasn't mine, the revisiting that took place over the years which ultimately lead to this sticking the way it has for the past year. And as I saw him get more and more emotional as the song came closer to ending on this last night of the tour, I thought of that all again too. When he was my age, he was recording Rumours and now he's 59 years old, has a wife and three children and has finally found a peace that he has been looking for in his own career, balancing it with the mega-machine that is Fleetwood Mac and bringing it to the people who truly appreciate it. Slow and easy, indeed. The rewards, I would imagine, are now worth the wait.
I wasn't expecting to feel sad that the night was over. I think the combination of the song itself and his own reaction to the tour ending kind of left me wanting to know that this won't be the last time I'll ever see him play. I still can't get over that I was able to see him at all, especially this way. I'm especially glad I got to see him with a friend who also loves him tonight, someone who I could giggle over little things like how hot he looked in those jeans or "Big Love for Dummies" with, someone who knew pretty much every song just like I did and understands what it's like to love this man. Likely the next time we get to experience Lindsey will be with Fleetwood Mac, and while that's exciting in its own right, it won't be the same. This was more than I ever could have hoped for. I never expected to have an experience like this, not with him. I can't believe that I have and am so glad I had the chance.
The simple fact is, I have been fascinated by him for eleven years. When I think about the scope of his creation and his success and his fame, and then think about the fact that I'm in the same room as him, it gets a little too unreal. I did spend a lot of time tonight in the actual moment, which is amazing in itself to be able to say. When he was playing "Big Love", I was totally transfixed. The way the light behind him made him literally glow during "Never Going Back Again" was one of the most beautiful images I had ever seen. I totally rocked out to "World Turning". The final solo in "I'm So Afraid" was absolute bliss and a moment that felt truly unbelievable. But tonight I didn't even have to close my eyes and he was standing there, in a shiny blue kimono, his huge mess of curls bopping side to side. He'd lean down to solo, eyebrows raised and I could swear the jeans and black leather jacket were momentarily replaced by a slick gray suit and short haircut. As he lost himself momentarily in the yelping laughter of "Gift of Screws", the cowboy hat and vest flashed through my mind. And as he played "Big Love", solo, sounding as amazing as he's sounded since The Dance, I saw him in the black slacks and jacket of the Lindsey I first knew, the one that made me pay attention and realize he wasn't just some guy with a guitar.
My friend that I went with always says that he never looks the same. It's true, pick a year and you'll get a Lindsey to go along with it, each with unique qualities that have not come before or since. While I'd give anything to travel back in time to visit years that pre-date my own existence and experience what it was like to see him then, the Lindsey of 2008, the Lindsey of right now and hopefully the Lindsey to stay, is one I am so happy and grateful to have been able to see. It's like he transcends time. He can take us back to those great moments simply by being on stage and then he'll finish a song and pump the air and jump around a little and the pure excitement, the adrenaline, the love of being on stage and playing guitar, hangs in the air and overtakes the room. It's like he himself can't believe he's still doing this and having so much fun with it. He's not doing this because he has to, he's not surrounded by people who drag him down or don't get him, he's doing this because he wants to be. To have been able to see him at a time where he so clearly loves it as much as he does is amazing.
The second row tonight gave way to the edge of the stage for "Go Your Own Way" and the encores. I kept rhythm by beating my hand on the stage, and occasionally I'd look up and Brett would be smiling at me, which was a little added bonus to the whole thing. By the end of the song, Lindsey was soloing and climbing over the amps to get closer to us. I was literally looking directly up at him as he played his most famous song and I could seriously barely take it. I think I looked at Amanda and just started laughing numerous times. The encores were equally amazing and while I would have died to hear "Bleed to Love Her" as the last song, "Time Precious Time" did feel like the appropriate choice. "Take all the time that you want. Take all the time that you need. Slow and easy. You might succeed. Time, precious time, precious time, precious time. Remember." As I watched him, I thought of it all again. My 15 year old self seeing The Dance for the first time, the collecting of albums and videos, immersing myself in a world that wasn't mine, the revisiting that took place over the years which ultimately lead to this sticking the way it has for the past year. And as I saw him get more and more emotional as the song came closer to ending on this last night of the tour, I thought of that all again too. When he was my age, he was recording Rumours and now he's 59 years old, has a wife and three children and has finally found a peace that he has been looking for in his own career, balancing it with the mega-machine that is Fleetwood Mac and bringing it to the people who truly appreciate it. Slow and easy, indeed. The rewards, I would imagine, are now worth the wait.
I wasn't expecting to feel sad that the night was over. I think the combination of the song itself and his own reaction to the tour ending kind of left me wanting to know that this won't be the last time I'll ever see him play. I still can't get over that I was able to see him at all, especially this way. I'm especially glad I got to see him with a friend who also loves him tonight, someone who I could giggle over little things like how hot he looked in those jeans or "Big Love for Dummies" with, someone who knew pretty much every song just like I did and understands what it's like to love this man. Likely the next time we get to experience Lindsey will be with Fleetwood Mac, and while that's exciting in its own right, it won't be the same. This was more than I ever could have hoped for. I never expected to have an experience like this, not with him. I can't believe that I have and am so glad I had the chance.
Monday, October 13, 2008
So, Lindsey Buckingham, your new album is called Gift of Screws?
I saw Lindsey Buckingham last night!
The whole idea of this is still kind of crazy to me. Of course, there are the personal reasons. I have loved this man and his music for over eleven years. I'd even say that he and Fleetwood Mac were the first thing that I put so much effort and interest into following. It's because of Lindsey that my mind was opened to music in a way that I had not yet really known. All of a sudden, I was the girl who loved guitar solos and appreciated more than just the simple pop songs. I was drawn to Lindsey's skill, his craftmanship and technique and dedication to creating what he most wanted to create, even when the result wasn't going to be the most popular. In the playlist of my mind, it is probably songs written by Lindsey Buckingham that have been listened to the most. So the simple fact of being in the same room with this man pretty much blew my mind. He was no longer just a voice that I listened to, or an image that I watched on video, the actual MAN was standing no more than a hundred feet away from me.
Then there's the history of it. In the peak of their career, Fleetwood Mac played to crowds of over 30,000. Their most successful album, Rumours is one of the Top 10 albums of all time and has sold over 25 million copies since it was released. Songs like "Go Your Own Way" and "Rhiannon" and "You Make Loving Fun" have become classic songs that pretty much everyone knows. To be in a room of about 1,000 people watching this man who was so much a part of this history, who wrote some of those songs, who produced those albums, I really still can't believe it. It's hard to describe just how well I know this band and how strange it can be to love a band that was most successful before you were even born. So often during the show, I kept mentally flashing to moments from documentaries I'd seen or bootleg versions of songs I've heard and then look at him and just start laughing. One of my favorite things about seeing my favorite musicians live is being able to experience their music as it happens. For bigger concerts, the simple act of being there is what is so fun, but with the more intimate concerts, it's being able to actually be in the moment with them and being able to do that with Lindsey after all this time was really one of the most amazing things.
The venue itself was a little weird. It was just an exhibition room in the Taj Mahal, not an actual theater, so the chairs were just set up on the floor. At first, the audience seemed like they were not going to be that into it, but as soon as the show started, I was proved otherwise and by the end, even Lindsey kept remarking on what an awesome crowd it was. He's not one who banters much, but by the end of the set and into the encores, he was chatting with the audience closest to the stage, laughing and just seemed to be in a great mood. Love it!
Lindsey is not one who changes up his setlist much and it was obvious a few people in the audience had already seen a few shows because as the house lights went down, people just started screaming "It's gonna be a GREAT DAY!" Which is the song he started with! Love the song and it was a great song to open the show with. Next was my favorite song from the new album, "Love Runs Deeper". I almost wish he had played it a little later because I LOVE the song and especially the guitar solo at the end and I wish I had been a little more warmed up before it came along, but it sounded HOT.
My favorite song of the night, without a doubt, was "Big Love". I don't think I MOVED. When I wasn't grinning like an idiot, my mouth was hanging open. I can listen to this song all I want, nothing compares to seeing it live. It was exhilirating and mesmerzing and I kind of wanted to jump ten feet into the air when it ended. I also really loved "Never Going Back Again", it's been a favorite of mine for basically as long as I've known it existed and it was so amazing to hear in person. I also just love that he still gives the songs from Rumours than much love!
At one point, I think before "Shut Us Down", Lindsey started talking about the difference between being in a group like Fleetwood Mac and the successes that come along with that, and then having a solo career that is received in such a different way. I think he's struggled with those differences for a long time, his solo work has never been as commercially successful as I'm sure he'd like it to be, even though he always receives critical praise. Hearing him talk about it, and mention how having the kind of solo career he has now has him playing smaller venues for audiences that really do know his solo work, was really nice. He seems to have finally found a balance between the two, and as he often mentions, I'm sure the stability of his family life has helped that along. He seems so happy and satisfied and it's really nice to see him that way, knowing that it hasn't always been the case.
By the time we got a little more than halfway through the set, I had managed to move up a few rows and over to the other side of the aisle, where I had a better view. Even so, I had the idea in mind that if anyone started going toward the front of the stage, I would do the same and as "I'm So Afraid" heated up and Lindsey started soloing, the migration began and I jumped on it. I ended up standing in the aisle, equal with the second row. I was surrounded by people who looked about as excited as I felt, which was about ready to burst and trying really hard not to scream "Holy shit, this is SO AWESOME!" Seriously, the amount of giddiness and glee surrounding me made the whole thing even more exciting, especially with Lindsey SO close.
It was the perfect time to be up front because the next song was "Go Your Own Way"! So freaking awesome! I have more versions of this song on my ipod than any other song, it's Lindsey's best known song and the whole thing just kicked ass. He came along the lip of the stage, letting people reach out and strum his guitar, really getting in our faces and gaaah, it was crazy. So much fun!
That was the last song, but of course, they came back out for encores. First off was "Second Hand News", then "Don't Look Down", which yay for the Out of the Cradle love! He introduced the the band, Brett (love!) introduced him, they all bowed, then they did "Treason", which is a song I don't really love off of the new album, but found myself appreciating quite a bit last night. After that, Lindsey closed it out by himself, doing "Time Precious Time", which I love and was amazing to watch live. Just being able to watch his fingers on the guitar, so awesome.
I'm really happy I have the opportunity to see him again next weekend. I feel like leading up to this, it seemed so unreal that this was about to happen that I didn't get as excited about it as I could have. The dude is awesome. That is the bottom line. I'm so impressed with him, so happy that seeing him in person is all I ever thought it would be, and so happy for him that he is still doing this. And of course, I'm beyond glad I had the chance to see finally see him!
The whole idea of this is still kind of crazy to me. Of course, there are the personal reasons. I have loved this man and his music for over eleven years. I'd even say that he and Fleetwood Mac were the first thing that I put so much effort and interest into following. It's because of Lindsey that my mind was opened to music in a way that I had not yet really known. All of a sudden, I was the girl who loved guitar solos and appreciated more than just the simple pop songs. I was drawn to Lindsey's skill, his craftmanship and technique and dedication to creating what he most wanted to create, even when the result wasn't going to be the most popular. In the playlist of my mind, it is probably songs written by Lindsey Buckingham that have been listened to the most. So the simple fact of being in the same room with this man pretty much blew my mind. He was no longer just a voice that I listened to, or an image that I watched on video, the actual MAN was standing no more than a hundred feet away from me.
Then there's the history of it. In the peak of their career, Fleetwood Mac played to crowds of over 30,000. Their most successful album, Rumours is one of the Top 10 albums of all time and has sold over 25 million copies since it was released. Songs like "Go Your Own Way" and "Rhiannon" and "You Make Loving Fun" have become classic songs that pretty much everyone knows. To be in a room of about 1,000 people watching this man who was so much a part of this history, who wrote some of those songs, who produced those albums, I really still can't believe it. It's hard to describe just how well I know this band and how strange it can be to love a band that was most successful before you were even born. So often during the show, I kept mentally flashing to moments from documentaries I'd seen or bootleg versions of songs I've heard and then look at him and just start laughing. One of my favorite things about seeing my favorite musicians live is being able to experience their music as it happens. For bigger concerts, the simple act of being there is what is so fun, but with the more intimate concerts, it's being able to actually be in the moment with them and being able to do that with Lindsey after all this time was really one of the most amazing things.
The venue itself was a little weird. It was just an exhibition room in the Taj Mahal, not an actual theater, so the chairs were just set up on the floor. At first, the audience seemed like they were not going to be that into it, but as soon as the show started, I was proved otherwise and by the end, even Lindsey kept remarking on what an awesome crowd it was. He's not one who banters much, but by the end of the set and into the encores, he was chatting with the audience closest to the stage, laughing and just seemed to be in a great mood. Love it!
Lindsey is not one who changes up his setlist much and it was obvious a few people in the audience had already seen a few shows because as the house lights went down, people just started screaming "It's gonna be a GREAT DAY!" Which is the song he started with! Love the song and it was a great song to open the show with. Next was my favorite song from the new album, "Love Runs Deeper". I almost wish he had played it a little later because I LOVE the song and especially the guitar solo at the end and I wish I had been a little more warmed up before it came along, but it sounded HOT.
My favorite song of the night, without a doubt, was "Big Love". I don't think I MOVED. When I wasn't grinning like an idiot, my mouth was hanging open. I can listen to this song all I want, nothing compares to seeing it live. It was exhilirating and mesmerzing and I kind of wanted to jump ten feet into the air when it ended. I also really loved "Never Going Back Again", it's been a favorite of mine for basically as long as I've known it existed and it was so amazing to hear in person. I also just love that he still gives the songs from Rumours than much love!
At one point, I think before "Shut Us Down", Lindsey started talking about the difference between being in a group like Fleetwood Mac and the successes that come along with that, and then having a solo career that is received in such a different way. I think he's struggled with those differences for a long time, his solo work has never been as commercially successful as I'm sure he'd like it to be, even though he always receives critical praise. Hearing him talk about it, and mention how having the kind of solo career he has now has him playing smaller venues for audiences that really do know his solo work, was really nice. He seems to have finally found a balance between the two, and as he often mentions, I'm sure the stability of his family life has helped that along. He seems so happy and satisfied and it's really nice to see him that way, knowing that it hasn't always been the case.
By the time we got a little more than halfway through the set, I had managed to move up a few rows and over to the other side of the aisle, where I had a better view. Even so, I had the idea in mind that if anyone started going toward the front of the stage, I would do the same and as "I'm So Afraid" heated up and Lindsey started soloing, the migration began and I jumped on it. I ended up standing in the aisle, equal with the second row. I was surrounded by people who looked about as excited as I felt, which was about ready to burst and trying really hard not to scream "Holy shit, this is SO AWESOME!" Seriously, the amount of giddiness and glee surrounding me made the whole thing even more exciting, especially with Lindsey SO close.
It was the perfect time to be up front because the next song was "Go Your Own Way"! So freaking awesome! I have more versions of this song on my ipod than any other song, it's Lindsey's best known song and the whole thing just kicked ass. He came along the lip of the stage, letting people reach out and strum his guitar, really getting in our faces and gaaah, it was crazy. So much fun!
That was the last song, but of course, they came back out for encores. First off was "Second Hand News", then "Don't Look Down", which yay for the Out of the Cradle love! He introduced the the band, Brett (love!) introduced him, they all bowed, then they did "Treason", which is a song I don't really love off of the new album, but found myself appreciating quite a bit last night. After that, Lindsey closed it out by himself, doing "Time Precious Time", which I love and was amazing to watch live. Just being able to watch his fingers on the guitar, so awesome.
I'm really happy I have the opportunity to see him again next weekend. I feel like leading up to this, it seemed so unreal that this was about to happen that I didn't get as excited about it as I could have. The dude is awesome. That is the bottom line. I'm so impressed with him, so happy that seeing him in person is all I ever thought it would be, and so happy for him that he is still doing this. And of course, I'm beyond glad I had the chance to see finally see him!
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