The Live Music Thread

[The Monkey]

Michael Franti & Spearhead at the Nokia Theater.

Did you guys have a good time?

[jp11801]

Saw McCoy Tyner and Marc Ribot at Yoshi's in Oakland. All I can say is if you get the chance see him on this tour. McCoy is as vibrant as ever and played with amazing skill and passion his interplay with Ribot was special. The rhythm section as utterly bland particularly after hearing Jack DeJohnette and Ron Carter on the CD but as long as they weren't soloing they were fine.

Many thanks to Al , Claire and Ric for a great birthday dinner and concert, you guys salvaged a completely shitty week for me.

[Genetic]

I made a promise so here it is :

The Premiata Forneria Marconi new show Stati Di Immaginazione was in town last night. How was it? It depends on what you were looking for. If we are very enthousiastic at the idea of paying big bucks for old icons ( yep 600 bucks for 2 tickets for last summer Leonard Cohen ) or for elderly jazz players/singers, we are usually a lot more anxious about doing the same for what I can call gerontorock….

Let me get this out of the way. The evening went OK but the playlist was a bit off the marks. I dont usually go see a group with the firm intention of listening to the old CDs I already have and probably know better than the artist himself. But if you are a living reference in the progrock music you must face a sad reality : they are there to ear live, hopefully and foolishly I may add, all the littles notes there’s on your greatest albums. On that front last night PFM obviously did not shared this objective with the audience.

Franco Mussada is still a more than excellent guitar player, Patrick Djivas is still a solid bass player and Franz Di Cioccio is still anoying the Hell out of me with his bad habit of trying to dance as if he was Ian Anderson missing italian medieval twin brother…

The show was using a lot of background films/videos/graphic art that were evidence that you can try to get your inspiration from multimedia artist all you want but the end result is that the fans will probably loose focus on the music. Apparently there’s only one Pink Floyd.

On a weird humorous sidenote : there is something so funny to watch Di Cioccio stopping and running back to the frontstage trying to keep it’s cool and grabbing his lenses before hammering his drums.

Is PFM 2008 concert still a must see event? It depends on what you’re looking for. You want to relive the old classic stuff like a PBS rock nostalgia special? In that case the show is not for you unless Chocolate Kings is your oldest CD.

Dont get me wrong I dont blame them, I would do the same after so many decades and would also take some distances with the golden age of my catalogue. But when I write distance I dont mean leaving all the good stuff on the ocean other side.

Amicalement

[Dusty Chalk]

Somehow I missed that you posted this -- thanks.

[bperboy]

Not exactly a concert, but I just got back from a great performance of the Shakespeare comedy, "As You Like It". My school got a traveling drama company to perform it, and I enjoyed it very much!

[Voltron]

Arena Rock From A Luxury Box. It's an odd concept, and on balance I cannot really recommend it. I was invited by a legal services vendor to see the Oasis / Ryan Adams / Matt Costa show at the Oakland Arena last night. I went with JP#s after stopping into the Trappist, a Belgian-ale-heavy little pub in Oaktown. That was the best beer of the night, by far, but the rest was free so it had that going for it. In fact, there were a couple of odd canned beers, including Coronas and Heineken Light, both of which looked like sodas or energy drinks. Weird vibe sitting up in the boonies eating shrimp with chipotle dip instead of standing down on the floor where I like to watch a concert like this one, and unless I was sitting or standing near the open front of the box the sound was dreadful. I might be older than your average rock concert-goer, but I don't need a walker yet and I missed the connection you get from being up close and personal.

Anyway, the show had started when we arrived, and Matt Costa looked like a little minnow in a big fish bowl from our vantage point in the top level of luxury boxes in the right rear corner of the arena. There seemed to be another guy playing guitar up there on the stage, maybe with a slide, but he was blending into the scenery, the stage was dark and the sound was not good enough to be precise. Costa played some sappy and earnest pop songs while looking lost on the giant stage. The sparse crowd wasn't paying a lot of attention to him and I wasn't either, so I don't have much to say about his set other than it was pleasantly short.

After the quickest set change ever, it was time for the middle act. Ryan Adams and the Cardinals were at least as much of a draw for me, and to be honest I didn’t know Oasis was on the bill when I agreed to attend. Two signature roses in neon were hanging on the curtain that dissected the stage left to right and covered up the Oasis rig, and they seemed to provide just about all the light on stage. For some reason, it was quite dark once again and there was not a single spotlight on Ryan or anyone else in the band all night. From t was actually hard from where I was perched to tell who was singing or playing leads. The energy level wasn't exactly off the charts, and this only emphasized the feeling that this was "just the opener" rather than a viable group of its own. I am still puzzling over the only other item of interest on the stage – the giant Fender "amplifier" that seemed to be just a prop behind Ryan. Maybe I just didn't get the joke, but it had jumbo knobs and a big red “on” light as if it were real. Here are some pics from some other guy's blog on the show:

Anyway, Ryan & Co. came out without saying anything and launched into a 45-minute break-neck set. In fact, Ryan said almost nothing the entire set because he was too busy jamming as many songs as possible into the time the Gallagher Bros. must have allotted him. My law partner, who was also in the luxury box, who is a Ryan Adams fan and a singer/songwriter/guitarist in his own right, said that they were playing every song about 1/3 faster than usual and we agreed that it sucked some of the life out of the set. With no banter, the audience wasn’t engaged as much as a typical Ryan Adams gig, and his sometimes bad-boy personality was absent.

Ryan's singing and guitar playing were both excellent really, however, and my guitarist buddy commented that he hasn't heard Ryan play live that well in past shows. Neal Casal was also great on guitar, but I have to admit I was feeling the effects of being in a little room half a block away from the dimly lit stage so I cannot comment on the details of all the players. They were solid and tight, that is for sure. Half of the set was from the new album Cardinology, and the songs rocked a bit harder than on the album. The other songs were a mix of hits from albums Heartbreaker, Gold, and Easy Tiger. My favorite song of the set, and one that really caught my attention even up in the bubble was Come Pick Me Up. Just as it started another friend in the box said how much he liked that song because it is so angry. Lack of spotlight or no, Ryan connected with the crowd on this song and that anger came flying right up into the luxury box. Sadly, the short set did not allow for an encore, so they just left the stage without much ado, and never came back.

Now, I cannot imagine Ryan Adams really clicking in that big cavernous setting, but it was too bad that I and the others in attendance didn't get much of a feel for the kind of live show that I know these guys can deliver. Apparently this was their first night opening for Oasis, so maybe they will ease into the role and loosen up, and maybe even slow down the tempo a bit to let their heart and soul shine through.

Here's the Ryan Adams and the Cardinals setlist (even thought I think they go by just The Cardinals these days, that’s not what the venue billing said):

Cobwebs

Crossed Out Name

Everybody Knows

When The Stars Go Blue

Fix It

Let It Ride

Go Easy

Sink Ships

Come Pick Me Up

I Taught Myself How To Grow Old

Two

Magick

There was a much longer set change and break before Oasis came out. Quite a few lights arranged in a grid behind the stage, four separate vertical video screens, and a whole lot more PA were all in effect when the headliner made its way out. The video screens projected either random artsy stuff or close-up cropped shots of Liam or Noel, apparently from midget cameras on their gear (very similar to the video techniques and screens used at the Sigur Ros show I saw this Fall).

Oasis had zero stage presence as far as I am concerned. Zero. For five rockers who pump out a big sound, they were mostly lifeless. Liam at least displayed a little emotion while doing singing, and even shook a tambourine every once in awhile, but he doesn’t do anything much to fire your imagination like some other lead singers. I like Noel’s voice maybe more than Liam’s but he doesn’t really do the front man bit at all. His guitar playing is the stuff of big arenas, but not particularly inspiring to me. The new drummer Chris Sharrock is boring to watch – thump thump, twirl stick, thump thump – and even more boring in terms of his yeoman-like playing style. Of course you mostly couldn’t see him because he was wearing dark clothes and stood back in the shadows, but the bass player literally seemed to be velcro’d to his amp stack. The keyboard player was no different, playing in a little cubicle of keyboards behind a goofy looking screen of patterned fabric that Liam mocked as the Shroud of Turin. They were flat and lifeless and just played their songs. Well, most of them soldiered on but Liam was off-stage about one-third of the show doing whatever he does off stage during his shows. It certainly wasn’t coke because he never moved faster than the Queen Mother.

The sound was not great, and the bass and drums were jacked up so much such that the glass wall of the luxury box was thrumming (did you read this far, Reks? ) along with the beat. The guitars were not particularly well mixed but the wall of sound was pretty well constructed between two guitars and multiple keyboards. As for the music itself, I guess it was about as expected but with less life than I might have hoped. I liked Oasis back in the 90s, and I have listened to their latest paean to the Beatles, Dig Out Your Soul, a couple of times but haven’t gotten into it. As my partner musician buddy said, their songs are well put together and catchy but their lyrics are mostly insipid. They played a few of the new tracks in their 21-song set, and played their hits toward the end and in the encore. The lackluster crowd wasn’t helping them much except during their biggest hits like Morning Glory and Wonderwall, both of which were flat and one-dimensional, although Wonderwall was the much better of the two.

Numbers was dying to hear Don’t Look Back In Anger for some sentimental reason, and we made a deal that if they didn’t open the encore with it we were gone. He got his wish and the band, sans Liam once again, played a nice version of that ballad and even got a small percentage of the crowd swaying along to the music and singing. Like true luxury box muckity mucks we proceeded to bolt after that song to beat the crowd. Unfortunately, that meant we missed Champagne Supernova and a trippy rendition of I Am The Walrus, but we were on the freeway before the lights went up.

Good to add another big group I once liked to my long life-list of concerts, but I cannot say I would recommend Oasis to anyone who is not an actual fan. The songs are pretty compelling but their performance is anything but. Go check out Ryan Adams and The Cardinals in a smaller venue instead, because there’s sure to be some soul in more than just an album title.

Oasis Setlist for the completists:

Fuckin' In The Bushes

Rock 'n' Roll Star

Lyla

The Shock Of The Lightning

Cigarettes & Alcohol

The Meaning Of Soul

To Be Where There's Life

Waiting For The Rapture

The Masterplan

Songbird

Slide Away

Morning Glory

Ain't Got Nothin'

The Importance Of Being Idle

I'm Outta Time

Wonderwall

Supersonic

Encore:

Don't Look Back In Anger

Falling Down

Champagne Supernova

I Am The Walrus

[postjack]

Great write up! Sounds like The Cards are doing some kind of combination of blue cave/red cave from the tours a few years back, with the darkness of blue cave and the anger of red cave. "Come Pick Me Up" is of course a favorite, some of the best relationship lyrics I've ever heard.

and "i taught myself how to grow old" is one of my all time super duper absolute favorites. beautiful, brilliant song.

I can't wait for Ryan to come around again. I love this channeling Garcia thing he's been doing for the past few years. I'm sure all the hanging around with Phil Lesh helps that. The last album was originally billed as just The Cardinals, but I don't think the record company would let them take Ryan Adams off. I honestly think Ryan is trying to keep his ego in check, as he's allowed himself to destroy shows in the past. By thinking of himself as more a part of the group, he's seeking to curb those arrogant tendencies.

[Voltron]

Thanks Jack. It was really for Snark, and has been posted up this morning without the HC references. I really want to see Ryan in a different setting because I am sure I would enjoy him/them as headliners at the Fillmore or some such.

[postjack]

Yes w/o Jon Anderson, at the Beau Rivage Casino in Biloxi, MS.

Fun show, some good playing, excellent setlist. 1,500 person theatre, not a bad seat in the house, very good sound for a rock show, and some great lights as well. The band was tight, and their stand in for Jon sounds exactly like him, its uncanny. Of course some of the playing lacked passion, definitely some "going through the motions" happening. When Steve Howe said something like "thank you Biloxi", I could almost picture him stealing a glance at the back of his guitar like Spinal Tap on that Simpsons episode.

Having said that, when this type of music is played well and all the technical complex parts are hit right, its impossible for it not to be exciting. I was most suprised by how enthusiastic the crowd was. I honestly thought all those wasted well dressed middle-aged people were there to hear "Owner of a Lonely Heart", but the crowd was going ape shit during the mammoth prog numbers. And then for the lonely heart encore, everyone just sat down, until the inevitable "Roundabout" brought everyone to their feet.

Afterwards the GF and I hit up the Buffet, which was pretty bad except for the desserts. Some kind of cookie cake wrapped around cheesecake, it was fucking awesome.

[Luminette]

Infected Mushroom back in August of 07.. Finally dragging myself out for live music again to go see Kill The Noise and Treasure Fingers in early January

[Fungi]

Blue Note Recordings, Patti Smith/Philip Glass, Chick Korea/John McLaughlin/Vinnie Colaiuta/etc, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Sonny Rollins. That's my tentative schedule for Jan-Apr next year.

(George, Ken, want to see any of them? )

[derwood]

the last show i saw was carrie underwood. the last show i paid to see was nightwish. i would travel a 1000 miles to see then. no wait i did

[postjack]

the only upcoming shows I have planned are Umphrey's McGee in New Orleans, late night jazzfest show at the House of Blues. Doors at 1am, show at 2am. I've never made it to one of these late night shows, but me and Red Bull are bound and determined to make it happen!

[tyrion]

JJ Grey & Mofro in two weeks. Dirty Dozen Brass Band coming up as well.

[hungrych]

Pharoah Sanders at the Iridium. I thought his sax was going to explode at one point! So intense. He even played Giant Steps, which was really unexpected but pretty cool.

When he introduced his band my friend yelled out "he has the voice of god!" which is pretty much true. The best word I could think of to describe anything he does is "godly".

[Voltron]

Saw Pharoah solo in a cathedral last year. Godly was even more appropriate there!

[Genetic]

Karkwa!!!!!

Since I wrote what could be interpreted as a pretty negative review of my last concert (the PFM show) I'm happy to report that last saterday night was quite a different story.

(OK I was a bit hard on the Italian guys but I was, from the start, a bit annoyed by the fact that their bassman ( a member of PFM since 1974 )could speak an excellent French and we ( a French crowd ) had to endure, again and again, their drummer all night long with his mediocre English. End of my linguistic editorial... )

The place was full packed and the group was closing a fantastic year with this last 2008 show. For those who dont know Karkwa they are by far the rock group of the hour up here in Qu

[Voltron]

I am going to see Amanda Palmer and the Danger Ensemble plus Butchers and Builders. Zoe Keating was on the bill when I bought my ticket and frankly was half the reason for going, but the listing no longer contains her on the lineup. That will piss me off, but I guess I will go anyway for AP.

[JBLoudG20]

I am going to see Amanda Palmer and the Danger Ensemble plus Butchers and Builders. Zoe Keating was on the bill when I bought my ticket and frankly was half the reason for going, but the listing no longer contains her on the lineup. That will piss me off, but I guess I will go anyway for AP.

Snark that shit.

[Voltron]

Yes sir!

[thrice]

I am going to see Amanda Palmer and the Danger Ensemble plus Butchers and Builders. Zoe Keating was on the bill when I bought my ticket and frankly was half the reason for going, but the listing no longer contains her on the lineup. That will piss me off, but I guess I will go anyway for AP.

Yeah, Megan and I went to that concert in Raleigh. I was disappointed at the loss of Keating, but the Builders and the Butchers are fun and Amanda Palmer rocked the llama. It's a good show, you'll like it.

[Voltron]

I'm sure it will be llama rocking, I just really liked the combo idea.

[atothex]

Damn, I haven't gone to a concert in so long. The gf invited me to see Disturbed and various other nu-metal w/ her in Utah, but fuuuuuck that.

I believe the last concert I went to was when Megadeth's Gigantour came to Oakland. Good show, that. I don't know the name of Megadeth's new lead guitarist, but he was probably the best guitarist there, and it's not like Laiho or Mustaine are bums.

[Voltron]

Yeah, Megan and I went to that concert in Raleigh. I was disappointed at the loss of Keating, but the Builders and the Butchers are fun and Amanda Palmer rocked the llama. It's a good show, you'll like it.

It was a good show even though I ended up going solo because my wife was sick. There was a bit too much shtick at the beginning of the show, and the Douchebag Ensemble was really not my bag, baby, but it was a good time. Wondering if there was as much drag and vinyl clothing at your Raleigh show as in SF...?

[laxx]

I went to the Jay Chou concert this past Sunday. It was pretty good.