The Live Music Thread

[Dusty Chalk]

Porcupine Tree -- was wonderful. They didn't play The Incident straight, they played it broken up over the course of the night. Except for "The Yellow Windows Of The Evening Train", and that whole "Circle of Manias" section (yeah, I know, the best parts). But they started with "I Drive the Hearse" and went into ...uh, one of the songs with the video that had the same characters as the one in "The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train", so I thought they were going to play it "backwards" (by section, more or less), but alas...no.

They started with a stripped down set, and played -- amongst other things -- "Futile" (which was weird [deliberately -- he introduced as "the least appropriate song to be played in this fashion"]). That was cool. Then they took a break and did the main set. Amongst other things, parts of my fantasy set list -- The Sky Moves Sideways Phase 1 (more or less) being the highlight for me. At about 10:40, he said, "we only have time for one more song, but it's a fucking long one", and then played the full version of "Arriving Somewhere But Not Here". Lots of space rocky period stuff, but lots of metal period stuff (they did play the middle section of "Anesthetize", at least, but not the full version, and no "Russia On Ice" intro, alas). And they played the full 15 minute version of "Even Less" from Recordings, which was pretty cream-worthy.

So, all-in-all, a very special night, indeed, but not at all what one was led to expect. Which was fine by me -- I was one happy boy. I did not realistically expect my fantasy setlist, so by getting as much of it as I did, I was pleasantly surprised. And having heard The Incident 3 times live already, I was perfectly happy with the choices they made in that regard as well.

Oh, and they fucked with the videos, too. Changed the colors and stuff, and added a whole bunch of psychedelic sections. I bet they burned the tapes for those, after that, so it was a one time thing.

[GPH]

Cool review Dusty, Porcpuine Tree always put on a very good show in my experience. The Sky Moves Sideways live, must have been awesome.

I couldn't catch them on this tour unfortunately, I would have loved to hear how The Incident sounds live because I'm too fond of the album.

[Uncle Erik]

I went to see Willie Nelson at the Greek on Friday night.

He was a little rusty in the first couple of songs, but straightened up and played for nearly two hours. Incredible chops, considering the guy is pushing 80. He sounded great and showed a bit of humor. At the end, he spent about 15 minutes shaking hands and signing things with people at the front. Class act and I'm planning to see him again.

[breastman]

SLEEP-reunion show

[Dusty Chalk]

i didn't even know Porcupine Tree had a new album out.

Um...it's actually not so new anymore, not by Steven "Mr. Prolific puts out 5 albums in a bad year" Wilson standards.

Here's the setlist:

Opening Set: Semi- Acoustic

Stranger By The Minute (Stupid Dream)

Small Fish (Up the Downstair)

Pure Narcotic (Stupid Dream)

Black Dahlia (The Incident)

Futile (Non Album Track- In Absentia Sessions)

Part II :

Even Less (Extended Version -Stupid Dream Sessions / Recordings)

Open Car (Deadwing)

Lazarus (Deadwing)

Tinto Brass (Stupid Dream)

The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase 1) (The Sky Moves Sideways)

I Drive The Hearse (The Incident)

Bonnie The Cat (The Incident)

Part III:

Occam's Razor/The Blind House (The Incident)

Great Expectations/Kneel & Disconnect/Drawing The Line (The Incident)

Dislocated Day (The Sky Moves Sideways)

Time Flies (The Incident)

The Pills I'm Taking (Anesthetize middle section -Fear Of A Blank Planet)

Up The Downstair (Up The Downstair)

Sleep Together (Fear Of A Blank Planet)

Encore:

Arriving Somewhere...But Not Here (Deadwing)

[audiosceptic]

Went to Farm Aid Saturday. I really liked Band of Horses. They only played 4 songs but they were great. I'm not a big Dave Matthews fan but I really liked his acoustic set with partner Tim Reynolds. John Mellencamp looked old and tired but played his hits. Neil Young played solo electric and acoustic with the same songs he played a month earlier in Milwaukee. Not a big Jason Mraz fan. Norah Jones was great. The surprise for me was Lukas Nelson (Wilie's son). That kid could play guitar. I didn't stay to hear Willie Nelson but read Steven Tyler came out and sang a couple of songs with Willie.

[Voltron]

Currently at Broken Bells at the Fox Theater in Oakland. I think I would prefer listening to them on my stereo. At least there I wouldn't be subjected to the ridiculous quantity of recorded bass.

[Dusty Chalk]

Wisteria - pleasant surprise -- well executed black metal, very tight band, I'd say the drummer was better than Katatonia's. Little bit of a jazzy and freakout vibe coming from them, which is a pleasant adulteration from a genre that -- as much as I love it -- tends to begin to sound samey.

Swallow the Sun - I've seen these guys before, but I didn't remember until I actually saw the guys and recognized them. It's the kind of music that really needs to be heard loud. But they need to headline so that I can hear Plague of Butterflies. Or at least play one of the parts from it. LOL @ "In the old days, vampires used to suck blood; now, they just suck." (beat) "...cock...and it was with that thought that inspired me to write this next song: New Moon". Jonas did guest co-vocals on one song (I forget which one). That was nice.

Orphaned Land -- I'm actually familiar with these guys, they're Israeli (but I don't think they hold to any religious standing, as they let a lot of middle-eastern influences into their music, and at one point the lead singer [who is dressed in a baptism robe/shroud] says, "Yes, I am Jesus Christ, and they got it all wrong -- I fucking love fucking black metal. Mayhem fucking rules."] Although they did play Hava Nagila.). Lot of cheesy props (snake charmer, llama, etc....made out of tin foil and garbage bags). I kind of got the feeling that they upped the silliness quotient since this was (I am quoting now) THE LAST NIGHT OF THE FUCKING TOUR.

Katatonia -- okay, that fucking ruled. They were better (or I was in a better mood, perhaps...or a little of both) than the last time I saw them (on the Great Cold Distance tour), despite Jonas not being able to sing this time (terribly off key), and the drummer...well, he was a little stiff. Especially after the excellent drummers that Wisteria, Swallow The Sun, and Orphaned Land all had. But still, they were in a good mood, and sharing it with the crowd, and of course at this point the silliness quotient went exponential (especially on the last song, for which I presciently went to the back of the venue -- anyone in the pit got dowsed with silly string). Highlight was the Swallow the Sun contingent coming out and taking over for Teargas -- the singer and drummer both took over their respective duties, so the drummer controlled the wah-wah pedal while the guitarist (I don't know which is which, but...the skinny one -- he's got muscles, but he's just ...skinny looking -- I'm thinking Jonas needs to quit stealing his food, because he gained weight since the last time I saw him...and that'll fuck with your hormones and your voice) played his solo. The singer from Swallow the Sun is really great, I learned from that song. There was more silliness, but I think what I enjoyed so much was the set -- they pretty much played all my favorites (except maybe In The White and Ashen).

\m/

[NightWoundsTime]

Finally some good shows coming up in Tallahassee. Built to Spill is on the 16th of this month, been a fan for years but I've never seen them. But much bigger than that is Joanna Newsom on the 15th of November. Not a fan of the new album but Ys could easily be a desert island selection, so hopefully she'll give me at least a couple ditties from that.

[Audiofiler]

Been uber busy for awhile lately moving, good to be back. Still busy moving/getting settled, however, wanted to share some info about the concerts recently attended.

I saw Menomena with Suckers recently, both bands were great. They played at Clubhouse in Tempe, AZ. This is a small venue and we we were able to get very close and have good sound. My wife and I hung out with the band for a nice time afterwards. They each signed my 'Friend or Foe' LP.

Last weekend we went to Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix for the Jack Johnson show with G-Love & Special Sauce. Had an awesome time. We were just a few feet from the stage and the sound was keen. He covered 'The Joker' by Steve Miller Band. He also provided helpings of the Jackson 5's 'I Want You Back' and the Beatles' 'Don't Let Me Down' during the encore. It was just great. Jack and the band were laid back but in great form. He was personal as usual between and even during some singing.

I will add some anecdotes about the show in a bit, but here are some shots of action.

Enjoy!

With G-Love

With fellow label mate Zee Avi

[Absorbine_Sr]

i'm not sure if it quite counts, but i saw the Met in HD Das Rheingold, tonight. really great.

Very cool.

[Absorbine_Sr]

the only shitty thing is the video cut out for a couple minutes halfway through. they did give us all free future show tickets, though, which will save me $20 for Die Walkure.

I need to look this up locally because Debbie needs to experience some Wagner.

[jvlgato]

Mike, I nave a friend who always talks about seeing The Met in Imax in Navy Pier. She likes it so much that she cancelled her season tix for The Lyric. I can ask her how she gets those. Nothing comes up when I Google it, for some reason.

[Absorbine_Sr]

Mike, I nave a friend who always talks about seeing The Met in Imax in Navy Pier. She likes it so much that she cancelled her season tix for The Lyric. I can ask her how she gets those. Nothing comes up when I Google it, for some reason.

Walkure isn't until May, so I have some time to research. But if you get some info let me know.

[Audiofiler]

Saw Gorillaz at Comerica Theatre. The stage setup included a seven piece string section, the eight person Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, the National Orchestra for Arabic Music, four back up vocalists, two drummers, some keyboards, and one half of The Clash in guitarist Mick Jones and bassist Paul Simonon. Additional artists included in the show were De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Bootie Brown, and Little Dragon. N.E.R.D. opened.

Mesmerizing show that proved to be very entertaining. They played pretty much everything people would have wanted to hear in a 27 song setlist spanning almost 2.5 hours. The show had epic stage production and energy with frequent artist changes and corresponding video content. Everyone was smiling and excited while exiting, it is fun to experience that at shows.

The Syrian instrumental passage was just amazing to me and it was nice to see them play a piece of their own, and representing the music culture. The Middle-Eastern orchestra populated the seats to the right of the stage under the Gorillaz marquee and participated in the song 'White Flag'.

We had a blast and our seats were superb. Sat in the front row balcony, dead center, just above the sound booth. We have been to many shows there and really like the seats in the balcony there. Distance from the stage is about 30-40 yards, brilliant seats.

Here are some pictures, though taken from my cell phone. (poor quality)

The last two pictures are borrowed from reviews online, as these provide better detail of the stage setup.

[Dusty Chalk]

Did they do the 3D video thing?

[Audiofiler]

Nope, saw no people wearing 3D glasses and no mention of it during, before or after the show. I looked around a good bit now and again and did see some interesting outfits, that was about it.

The video screen seemed near HD clarity. A quick look on YouTube will show the quality of the video production and animation. It was awesome. There were songs containing mixed-media that were well done. The song "Stylo" featured a movie-like scene featuring Bruce Willis as the villain.

Hoping they release a DVD of the tour. There was a lot going on visually with the show and I would not mind having another look and listen.

They sounded better live than in the studio, the Gorillaz.

[Dusty Chalk]

No, it's a different kind of 3D, doesn't need glasses. They project the characters on this screen, and it makes it appear that they are set in space -- very 3D like.

Edited October 28, 2010 by Dusty Chalk

[Audiofiler]

Ahh, that kind of makes sense now. I wonder if it was indeed 3D. I kept mentioning to my wife how realistic and three-dimensional everything looked. There were some scenes that were nothing short of rediculous. I even said that it was practically worth it to just watch the movie with music playing. Have never seen such effort put into the video content of a live stage show, uber cool - that.

All in all it was an epic show with great musical performances, production & creativity. Muse had an elaborate stage show as well as AC/DC, among others.

[uberburger101]

Going to watch Sarah Blasko this Monday.

[postjack]

Voodoo Fest last weekend, still typing up impressions.

saw Galactic tonight, with Cyril Neville and Corey Henry from Rebirth Brass Band. part of the horn section from Levon Helm's band sat in (Levon Helm is playing in town tomorrow). it was a good show, it's probably been a decade since I've seen Galactic, they still hold it down and kick out the tight party jams.

[postjack]

Been trying to type up my impressions of last weekend for a while, but school and work have kept me busy. Quick summary is it was an amazing weekend that way exceeded my expectations.

We got stuck in crazy traffic before the Lake, and ended up looping around to the Northshore and taking the toll bridge across Pontchartrain into Metairie. A long way around, but I think it saved us time, and driving across the Lake was absolutely beautiful.

We got checked into the hotel (Marriott on Canal) and the place was already buzzing with freaks, whether there for Voodoo, Panic, the Saints game, or just Halloween, New Orleans was packed out with partiers of varying persuasions. Because of the traffic we missed the first act I wanted to catch, Rusko, so we just relaxed for a bit and then caught the streetcar at Harrahs to the park. A long drive but a fun one, every stop brought more Voodoo folk on board. Hit the park, walked a ways to the entrance, line wasn’t so bad, not much of a bag search, and we were in the park!

Day One

Jonsi – we caught bits of other bands, but Jonsi was the first full set. I’d never heard post-rock live, and wasn’t sure how it would work out. It worked out beautifully, Jonsi delivering a wonderful set of very chill yet still quite epic music. Jonsi has a great band, especially the drummer. You could tell they all were having a blast playing these odd and very challenging songs. I’ll definitely be picking up his solo record.

Metric – I’m a passing fan of Metric. I was impressed with their set, very high energy, and I didn’t realize how hot the lead singer is. Great songs played well with a great energy.

Weezer – Hash pipe opener, then we started to walk off but they played Undone, so we walked back, then we started to walk off again but they played Surf Wax America, so we walked back. Finally they played a new song so we got out of there. If they had played In The Garage I probably wouldn’t have been able to leave. Like most Weezer fans I absolutely adore Blue and Pinkerton but beyond that they don’t do much for me. Having said that Rivers and the rest of the band were in high energy mode and were rocking hard. Rivers made a comment about the lasers, saying Muse was trying to defeat their alternative rock with their technology. Then he said he was just kidding and Muse were nice guys. Anyway we left Weezer to head to Le Plur (dance stage) to check out

Hot Chip – fuck yes. New Order is one of my favorite bands of all time, but I’ve never really been exposed to Hot Chip. Seeing them live I realize how much the two bands have in common, the difference being that Hot Chip is really, really good live (my understanding is New Order is not, I haven’t personally seen them). A fucking great dance show played to perfection, with some incredibly smooth segues. Had the dance tent boppin’. I definitely want to see Hot Chip again at a stand alone show, and will be exploring their catalog more deeply.

Muse – headliner time. Another band I’m not really familiar with, though I enjoy the new record, most notably for its heavy Queen influence. These guys play stadiums in Europe but they haven’t quite caught on that big in the U.S. Luckily because of their hugeness in Europe they have an amazing over the top stage/light show, complete with screens, lasers, and crazy glittery outfits. They looked every bit the rock stars, like Noel Gallagher without the whole “I drink like Rod Stewart but not in a fun way” vibe. Fucking great rock and roll show. Offbeat later reported there was some lip syncing going on from Muse. I can’t confirm or deny this, all I know is I enjoyed the show thoroughly and rocked my ass off. I would go see this band again.

Leaving the festival that night was a confusing mess. After a bit of walking around in the dark and chaos scratching our heads, we realized there were three lines: the taxi line, the streetcar line, and the bus line. They all line up out in front of the park. The Voodoo shuttle buses are able to drive up closer to the festival gates, but I still think at $50 a pop for a weekend shuttle pass they are a very poor value. The taxi line was very long and very slow moving, the streetcar line was slow moving, but the bus line was pretty short, and they kept the buses coming and were excellent at loading fans on to them. The bus was $1.25 and took us straight down canal into the quarter. If you are staying in the quarter or nearby in the CBD or other downtown area, this is the only way to go.

Late night snacks included a calzone from the tiny pizza place next to the Marriott. Greasy and delicious.

My GF and I woke up the next morning at 8-9am. We let the other couple sleep and snuck out the door to get in line at Mothers. This was my first time eating at this institution, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go to New Orleans without eating there again. The process to order and eat is a bit confusing, but after you go through it once you will see how easy it is. Line up outside, folks pass menus around the line so you can get prepared to order. An employee will tell you when to come inside and get into the other line. You order and pay at the register, then take your receipt to any table. A server will come by and pickup your receipt and go get your food. Since Mother’s boasts the world’s best baked ham, I had Mae’s omelet, which comes with, IIRC, ham, onions, green peppers, maybe something else. Included with the meal are some amazing grits, coffee, a biscuit, slab of butter, and raspberry preserves. I love biscuits, and this is the best biscuit I ever had. I put the butter and raspberry preserves on there, and when I took my first bite I had a totally unexpected visceral emotional reaction to this biscuit. I’m not going to say I cried, but I did almost tear up. That is a hell of a biscuit. I’m not much of a preserves guy, but the raspberry preserves must be eaten. Of course the omelet was delicious, and the ham made me want to eat more ham.

Later we got up with our friends back at the hotel and met up with some other friends in town for Panic at Du Monde. Beignets and coffee, then back to the hotel to lay down for a minute and deal with all the sugar and carbs. We caught a cab to the fest this time because we didn’t want to be late for the afternoon acts.

Day Two

Boyz Noize – good DJ set, very old school techno-y and analog synthy sounding.

Basin Street Records Revue – revue of a new label/store that Kermit Ruffins is running. We caught Jeremy Davenport and Dr. Michael White. I especially enjoyed Dr. White, who told stories about the classic New Orleans jazz tunes he was playing. A really pleasant respite from some of the douchey madness at the Le Plur stage, we just relaxed and enjoy some excellent music played well. We did bail before Kermit came out to go see:

Die Antwoord – if you haven’t heard of these guys you owe it to yourself to at least watch the viral youtube video “Enter the Ninja”. The first time I saw it I thought it was the worst thing I ever saw. Then I played it for my GF to show her how awful it was, and we both watched it and remarked that actually it was kind of neat, definitely fresh and original, and its hard to deny the vocalist’s ability. They are from South African, with beats that sound like a rave from the 1980s and vocals about, shit, I don’t know. Ninjas, putting dicks in champagne glasses, your mother’s pussy is in a fish paste jar. Fucking weird is all, but fiercely original. I’ll leave it up to the listener to decide if it’s a total joke or actually something new and relevant in hip-hop. I’ll definitely take it over 99% of the hip-hop bullshit on the radio today. The set started with some serious audio issues, which I hate to report was common at the Le Plur stage for about the first half of the fest. Pretty amateur stuff considering how long Voodoo has been around. This totally sucked the energy out of the opener, and the dude in Die Antwoord said he was leaving the stage and they better have the sound fixed in 3 fucking minutes. They did fix the sound for us, but it took a few more songs of throwing in free style lyrics relating to “turn up my fucking monitor” to get the sound right for the performers. Beyond that, the hip hop show was well executed: the female half of the group was particularly impressive. They told stories explaining a lot of their indecipherable South African lingo, and at one point the male singer took off his pants to reveal Dark Side of the Moon boxers. Weird. Then he put on pokemon onesie pajamas. All in all I thought it was a crazy fun set, and I would venture to see Die Antwoord again at a solo show.

Crystal Method DJ Set – pretty awesome electronic show to bring in the inevitable weirdness of the evening in City Park. I wasn’t blown away but still had a good time.

Ozzy Osbourne – the surprise set of the weekend. My plan was to catch a song or two of Ozzy, then head over to Paul Van Dyk to close out the night. But Ozzy came out full steam, dog cussing the crowd and sounding really spectacular. “Bark at the Moon” opener had me rocking, which he followed with a track from the new album which wasn’t so bad, and then “Mr. Crowley”, which is what really hooked me. When he announced he was going to play an old Sabbath tune, he surprised me with “Fairies Wear Boots”, one of my favorite Sabbath tracks. “Suicide Solution”, “War Pigs”, then some awesome 80s Ozzy with “Shot in the Dark”. Brought back great memories of rocking Live and Loud and my boombox in grade school. “Rat Salad” brought extensive guitar and drum solos so Ozzy could walk off stage, probably for his reanimation shot, then “Killer of Giants”, “I Don’t Want to Change the World”, and the inevitable “Crazy Train”. Encore was more awesome 80s Ozzy with the ballad “Mama I’m Coming Home”, but he left us head banging, closing with “Paranoid”. I knew when I saw Ozzy I’d probably get a few good minutes out of that “ohmygoditsozzyosbourne” thing (what I like to call the “Dylan Effect”), but I didn’t expect to be so thoroughly impressed and entertained throughout the whole set. I’m really glad I got to see the Prince of Darkness in such good form.

The next day we ate at Mother’s again, this time a little later for lunch. Our friends who missed out yesterday had to have some after we raved about it. I went for the roast beef, ham, debris, and gravy po boy this time, plus a biscuit. Fucking right, this po boy was the shit. Recognize.

Day Three

Headed to the fest earlier today because we checked out of the hotel. We heard Toyota was offering free shuttles from Marconi Meadows, so we went and parked there and hopped in a Toyota to the park. Turns out you could actually cut through the park, so we knew the walk back wouldn’t be bad.

We were excited to catch Jannelle Monae, but she was 45 minutes late for her set. I heard later it was worth the wait, but ROMS is ROMS.

Ferry Corsten – a great DJ, young standard bearer of that old school trance sound. A fun set on a beautiful day at Le Plur right on the water.

Back over to what voodoo was calling “Frenchmen Street” (Bingo Stage, WWOZ Stage, Preservation Hall Stage) to hear the:

Preservation Hall Band – a favorite for the GF and I. A great show with a great crowd was made greater with a guest appearance by Jim James, who sang a few songs with the band, saying “Preservation Hall Jazz Band… what a blessing!” A really special moment on a special day. After the show we stepped next door to the WWOZ stage for:

Voice of the Wetlands Allstars – I didn’t know who all would be playing with the band today, so I was floored and delighted to see, amongst a host of other NOLA musicians whose names I don’t know, Big Sam, Tab Benoit, Cyril Neville, Anders Osborne, and Dr. John! They played a bunch of great NOLA music with some crazy extended jamming, which sometimes worked, and sometimes didn’t, but it was always fun. A great time for the musicians, and a really great time for the fans, who were getting down and having a great time. Afterwards we caught one song from MGMT (not nearly as bad as I thought they would be based on live show reviews. They were dressed as Scooby doo and smiling and having a great time), we stepped over to Le Plur for the moment the whole weekend was building up to, for me anyway:

Deadmau5 – I’ve been pretty enraptured with this guy since I first saw him in NOLA at the CAC last jazzfest. To me, his music is dancetronica with all the cheese ripped right out of it (no pun intended). Excellent build ups, slamming midbass beats, and perhaps best of all, long periods of introspective and beautiful chord layered ambience, which is inevitably followed by the aforementioned excellent build ups and slamming midbass beats. Well my-oh-my, has Deadmau5 improved his stage show since the last time I saw him. Apparently the same people who built Daft Punk’s stage built his, and it shows. I saw a lot of great electronic music Voodoo weekend, but Deadmau5 absolutely slayed every other performer on Le Plur. I mean an absolutely incredible visual/auditory/dance experience. He played as the sun went down and on into the night, and the vibe was just outstanding. His new stage setup has to be seen to be fully appreciated, but basically his rig is on this large V shaped screen wrapped object, with a light henge type setup behind him. But the coolest part about the setup, IMO, is the new electronic version of Deadmau5’s signature mouse ears helmet, with a full screen on it, so his helmet can also show all the same crazy visuals going on around him. Musically it was just an outstanding set, though I was definitely scraping the bottom of my energy reserves to run around in circles and dance and jump and scream. I’m really looking forward to his new album, because the new material shows a maturity and patience only hinted at in his earlier work.

Then we walked back to the car and headed home. A pitstop in Wendy’s put us home in time to go to bed a little after midnight. Not bad. Probably the best way of highlighting what a good time I had is that I bought tickets for next year already. About $90 apiece after fees and whatnot. I can’t think of any other way I’d rather spend Halloween(ish) weekend in 2011!

[Dusty Chalk]

New Order was inconsistent -- sometimes they sucked, sometimes they were great.

[postjack]

New Order was inconsistent -- sometimes they sucked, sometimes they were great.

word. regardless they need to come play in the U.S. i'll take a great show or a sucky show, I just want to dance!

[NightWoundsTime]

Ok so a while back I posted about Built to Spill coming and then I forgot about it. WTF. Not missing Joanna Newsom, just bought my ticket online. Then I realized that Iron & Wine is coming the same week to the same venue. Tallahassee does not suck.