The Live Music Thread

[Voltron]

Kronos Quartet is playing the next two nights at Yoshi's doing works by: - John Zorn - Maria Schneider - Charles Mingus - Hamza El Din - Philip Glass. Damn I want to go see that. I may try to convince Claire to go tomorrow night because she is busy tonight and I will be watching kids. Grahame, Ric, or anybody else around here interested in the 8pm show Wednesday?

[Audiofiler]

My wife and I took in Cowboy Junkies at the Compound in Phoenix, AZ. I reserved a table months ago and it payed off. We were in the very front with the best seats in the house, just 4-5' from the band. The Compound Grille is an intimate setting and it was a perfect venue for their music. The sound quality was superb and the band was in great form.

I was able to meet and chat with the band after the performance and have my MFSL LP 'Whites Off Earth Now' signed by each of the members.

Also enjoyed talking music and scotch with Allen for a long while (bass player), it was his birthday that night.

[Voltron]

I was thinking about this Nicolas Payton concert and found these images just to bring back the horror.

Payton playing one-handed trumpet while plinking notes on the Fender Rhodes:

And "Pat" on the bass:

Worst. Performance. Ever.

[Dusty Chalk]

Steve Hackett with special guest Renaissance -- very nice. I forgot how much I liked Renaissance, and Annie's voice was in top form despite having a migraine. Steve Hackett was amazing as always, but the showstealer was the drummer -- he sang "Firth of Fifth" while playing drums (as well as another song that I'm not remembering now), did a kick-ass drum solo during "Clocks -- the Angel of Mons", and basically just rocked the whole time. Even when he was doing slow and plodding and atmospheric ("Hammer in the Sand"), he still managed to do exactly what was called for. No "Tigermoths", though. They did play "Flower on the Moon", which is probably my favorite song from the new album, so for that I was happy. Oh, and it was only $20, despite the advertised price being $36, so that was a pleasant surprise. Which I promptly blew on dinner.

[shellylh]

Damn, I just noticed that the Pixies are going to be playing in Houston in September but I will be out of the country.

[Voltron]

You laugh at then suffering of others.

[The Monkey]

Al's reviews of shitty concerts are the best.

[postjack]

going to see Phish this week!

July 1 - Raleigh

July 2 - Charlotte

July 3 and 4 - Alpharetta, GA (Atlanta)

super pumped.

[grawk]

going to see Phish this week!

July 1 - Raleigh

July 2 - Charlotte

July 3 and 4 - Alpharetta, GA (Atlanta)

super pumped.

Eww. Say hi to the tapers that look old for me.

[Spychedelic Whale]

going to see Phish this week!

July 1 - Raleigh

July 2 - Charlotte

July 3 and 4 - Alpharetta, GA (Atlanta)

super pumped.

Lucky man.. I love Phish, maybe one day..

[dallan]

going to see Phish this week!

July 1 - Raleigh

July 2 - Charlotte

July 3 and 4 - Alpharetta, GA (Atlanta)

super pumped.

Awesome, like i posted that was my last concert last summer, they are in rare form, I think Trey is sober. Absolutely amazing, I have already downloaded six 24/48 "High Definition" shows from livephish.com this month/June 2010 shows. I will probably download one of the shows your at. Please post which one is the best!

Edited July 1, 2010 by dallan
clarify

[GPH]

Iron Maiden in Montreal yesterday.

Awesome show as always, I think there's no such thing as a bad Maiden performance anyway, for me it's the musical equivalent of comfort food. I really liked that they played mostly songs from their last three albums, the selections from Brave New World were especially awesome live (Wickerman, Ghost of Navigator, Blood Brothers, Brave New World). A few classics to put the crowd on fire too, and Bruce spoke in French for most of the show! Great night definitely.

[faust3d]

Iron Maiden & Dream Theater yesterday, totally out of the blue because one of my friends could not make it. Not bad, but I hate MSG every concert there has this boomy sound with annoying muddy reverberations. Overall it was nice Iron Maiden played mostly new songs and Dream Theater were in good shape, but I know why I stopped going to large concerts. Sound SQ is not good, stage is far and the vibe is way to commercial for me. Still got an overpriced T-shirt, just for the heck of it.

[GPH]

Yeah, the Maiden shirts were very nice, but at 40$ I decided my money was better invested elsewhere. Sound quality sucked in Montreal too as expected, I wish I could go back in time to the early 80s and see Maiden perform in a small English pub.

I forgot to mention it in my previous post, but I wasn't thrilled at all with DT setlist. I used to be a pretty big fan, but they've lost me with the more commercial "heavy" sound they have on their last 3 albums. The crowd didn't seem to be into it very much except for the first 2-3 rows, it was like DT were trying to impress people with super long technical solos, but Maiden fans didn't buy it. I had a big smile on my face when they played 'Pull me under' at the end of their set though.

[laxx]

311 and The Offspring this past Friday. I'm surprised at how little interest people had in Offspring. I used to love them when I was younger.

[Aura]

Going to see Andy Mckee tonight in Chicago. Can't wait.

[skullguise]

Saw Judy Collins and guest Sonya Kitchell at the Pavilion at Salisbury Beach, MA, last night.

The goods:

- Sonya Kitchell is a nice performer, her music is pretty passionate. Only did maybe 6 songs, but I liked them all. She set up at the table where they were selling her CD's, and signed and chatted a bit

- Judy Collins still has a stunningly lovely voice, with plenty of pitch and strength. She is also stunning in her presence as well, with lovely long platinum/white hair and a looking quite regal in a nice black dress

- Judy is a great storyteller, some nice stories about the "old days" of the folk scene in the 60's

- Song selection was pretty good, though my favorite were some Tim Buckley and Leonard Cohen songs

The bads:

- Sonya had a bit of sound trouble on her first song; interrupted the flow, but she did OK despite this

- Judy DID slip a tiny bit a few times, forgetting lines but catching up almost immediately

- I hate to say it, but I feel Judy kind of "jumped the shark" at this performance....explanation:

Despite the small venue and some loving vociferous fans, she never seemed to really "connect." I saw her back in 1996/7, just at a local college gymnasium, and felt she was more personal and bonding better with the crowd, despite a sterile, cheaper location. She "performed" for the crowd quite well last night, with what seemed an almost pre-arranged spontaneity, and then she left REAL fast; my wife and I were one of the first out the door, and Judy and her piano accompanist were already rushing to the car which was driving them away, having ran out the back door. She didn't even respond to my "Thank you, Judy" (and I'm sure she heard me, she was perhaps 10 feet away). I swear, I wasn't running after her with a crazed look in my eye

Still, a very nice show, she still has the voice and presence in spades. The perceived attitude could be any thing, even just a bad day. But I compared it to the last time I saw her, and the emotion was different.

[Nebby]

Saw the Yoshida Brothers perform today. Very cool listening to them live.

[audiosceptic]

Saw Neil Young at the Riverside in Milwaukee last night. He played solo on acoustic and electric guitar. The acoustic stuff was all great. I'm not sure I really liked the electric solo stuff. Cortez seemed lacking without Crazy Horse backing.

[Wmcmanus]

Went to see Jackson Browne (with David Lindley) last night in Bozeman, MT.

Todd opted not to come along, thinking we would get crappy seats at the last minute, and since it's a basketball arena it would sound like crap (his experience recently from the rafters at a CSN concert). But dang! I was lucky. Got a seat just 4 rows behind the sound engineering tables and exactly dead center (right at the half court line). I don't think I could have hand selected a better seat.

Lindley was a surprise, but I guess mostly because I didn't know about his artistry in advance. He plays all sorts of string instruments and with considerable skill. A bit of an odd duck, but it was nice to see him perform. He and Jackson did 4 or 5 songs together to start, and then Lindley did a couple of solo pieces before the (rather early) break. Jackson returned with his band and played most of his standard stuff, and eventually invited Lindley back on. The post-break part of the show lasted much longer and offered a lot more variety.

One thing about Jackson is that the man can still sing (unlike many of his old foggie peers these days). He's not the most energetic and exciting performer in the world, but he seems at peace with himself and puts his audience at ease with the singer/songwriter stuff that they come for, while saving a few not-so-surprising rock surprises for the end of the show. I'd give it a solid 8/10, and probably a 9/10 were it in a venue offering better acoustics.

[jpelg]

The wife and I saw Shelby Lynne on Saturday at the Fairfield Theater Company. It's a tiny, black-box theatre that seats only 180, and is more typically used for small plays. They've recently begun to use it for suitable concerts. Like Wayne, we only got tickets at nearly the last minute. As luckily, that was not an issue, as every seat in the house is literally but a few steps from the stage. Very intimate, and just the kind of venue that I prefer these days.

Shelby sang to perfection, musically stripped-down with only a guitar over her shoulder and accompanied by one very skilled guitar player that reminded me more than a little of Clapton. Needless to say it was a perfect night.

[jpelg]

Mary Chapin Carpenter last night at the Summerwind Performing Arts Center in Windsor. Perfect night for being at this nice outdoor venue.

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Howard Jones, at an outdoor concert. It all sounded way better than I had expected.

[laxx]

Greenday outdoors. They are great entertainers. Pretty damn cool they let a kid go up on stage and sing. They also gave away a guitar to a lady who signed the entire song on stage.

[Voltron]

Greenday outdoors. They are great entertainers. Pretty damn cool they let a kid go up on stage and sing. They also gave away a guitar to a lady who signed the entire song on stage.

After they let the kid sing, did Billie Joe tell him to get the fuck off his stage or something to that effect? Did the same thing in SJ many months ago. Probably every show.