Saturday, January 24, 2026

Coming Up

Upcoming shows:

None. I should get tickets for a show.

Friday, June 24, 2022

Brandi Carlile/Lucius, June 24, 2022, at the Greek Theater

Anyone may know how much I hate shopping for presents. I love giving away gifts, but the obligation of a holiday, also when there are too many other things going on that thinking about what to give becomes another hassle, is often overwhelming. Anything that can help in figuring out what to get Carla is always a huge benefit. This year, tickets for Brandi Carlile went on sale in October, and getting them then keeping it a secret that we’d go to the show in the next year, was a gift I could give, as well as a gift to myself to have the task done. Of course I would have gotten the tickets anyway and didn’t have to make it a gift, as well as being something for both of us (since we could both enjoy a show), but however you might define a gift it could apply. (Also possibly at a time when money was tighter than usual, so dedicating the budget (whatever that is) could apply to an event, especially since material objects are so less valuable, and we want experiences over more stuff.) We also hadn’t seen Carlile, even though we had been fans (at least since “The Joke”), so we could get over there to show our fealty. It was a Friday night that we could easily schedule, and even driving into L.A. isn’t always the hardest trek if you plan it well enough and get out early. Which we did, even getting there early enough to see openers Lucius, which were an unspectacular alt-pop group leaning on vocal harmonies, which is fine, but not for a headliner-status, especially when compared to Carlile, who they knew well enough through collaboration (then came out on stage during Carlile’s set). This was also the day that Roe v. Wade had been overturned, the show less than 24 hours after the ruling was officially undone, so the wound was fresh enough to leave everyone stunned, and even too soon to have an immediate plan about how to react collectively. With much of Carlile’s demographic being women and the new ruling being an issue that went beyond just abortion but into women’s rights, this show was a time to come together and see the others in the fight, and relax to inhale before the coming fight. As it was so soon after it happened, there was only a minor mention of it, and Carlile’s show went on, likely as usual. She may have been more concerned about the performance rather than the feeling, but if absolutely nothing else, she has the voice to electrify anything, paired with songs that can strike at the heart, to a solid backing band (including the twin-brother guitarists, who offer the visual of a mirror image behind her, like a two-pronged attack, but also the power of loyalty when they stuck with her through when she got big, not just as a band but as the back-up for a single performer, though one as spectacular as Carlile, whose stardom was clearly apparent from her beginning). It was likely the same show she had been churning out throughout the entire tour (for In These Silent Days), though honed by this point to be silky smooth, so there wasn’t much spontaneity that would have gone a long way, but so safe as to showcase the songs instead of coming up with surprises that would disrupt a warm, lovely evening amidst the coming turmoil outside the lush environs of the Greek Theater, among thousands of like-minded fans equally concerned with what was going on in the world, but for now living in a beautiful moment that Carlisle and her band could bring.

Brandi Carlile’s set-list:
“Broken Horses“
“The Things I Regret“
“You and Me on the Rock“ (with Lucius)
“The Story“
“The Eye“
“The Mother“
“Mama Werewolf“
“Space Oddity“ (David Bowie cover)
“Creep“ (Radiohead cover)
“This Time Tomorrow“
“Right on Time“
“Sinners, Saints and Fools“
“The Joke“
“Turpentine“
“Party of One“
“How“ (Marcus Mumford cover; with Marcus Mumford; live debut of unreleased song "I'll forgive you now as if saying the words will help me know how...")

“Hold Out Your Hand“

“Stay Gentle“

“Over the Rainbow“ (Harold Arlen cover)

Brandi Carlisle/Lucius, June 24, 2022, at Greek Theater

Anyone may know how much I hate shopping for presents. I love giving away gifts, but the obligation of a holiday, also when there are too many other things going on that thinking about what to give becomes another hassle, is often overwhelming. Anything that can help in figuring out what to get Carla is always a huge benefit. This year, tickets for Brandi Carlile went on sale in October, and getting them then keeping it a secret that we’d go to the show in the next year, was a gift I could give, as well as a gift to myself to have the task done. Of course I would have gotten the tickets anyway and didn’t have to make it a gift, as well as being something for both of us (since we could both enjoy a show), but however you might define a gift it could apply. (Also possibly at a time when money was tighter than usual, so dedicating the budget (whatever that is) could apply to an event, especially since material objects are so less valuable, and we want experiences over more stuff.) We also hadn’t seen Carlile, even though we had been fans (at least since “The Joke”), so we could get over there to show our fealty. It was a Friday night that we could easily schedule, and even driving into L.A. isn’t always the hardest trek if you plan it well enough and get out early. Which we did, even getting there early enough to see openers Lucius, which were an unspectacular alt-pop group leaning on vocal harmonies, which is fine, but not for a headliner-status, especially when compared to Carlile, who they knew well enough through collaboration (then came out on stage during Carlile’s set). This was also the day that Roe v. Wade had been overturned, the show less than 24 hours after the ruling was officially undone, so the wound was fresh enough to leave everyone stunned, and even too soon to have an immediate plan about how to react collectively. With much of Carlile’s demographic being women and the new ruling being an issue that went beyond just abortion but into women’s rights, this show was a time to come together and see the others in the fight, and relax to inhale before the coming fight. As it was so soon after it happened, there was only a minor mention of it, and Carlile’s show went on, likely as usual. She may have been more concerned about the performance rather than the feeling, but if absolutely nothing else, she has the voice to electrify anything, paired with songs that can strike at the heart, to a solid backing band (including the twin-brother guitarists, who offer the visual of a mirror image behind her, like a two-pronged attack, but also the power of loyalty when they stuck with her through when she got big, not just as a band but as the back-up for a single performer, though one as spectacular as Carlile, whose stardom was clearly apparent from her beginning). It was likely the same show she had been churning out throughout the entire tour (for In These Silent Days), though honed by this point to be silky smooth, so there wasn’t much spontaneity that would have gone a long way, but so safe as to showcase the songs instead of coming up with surprises that would disrupt a warm, lovely evening amidst the coming turmoil outside the lush environs of the Greek Theater, among thousands of like-minded fans equally concerned with what was going on in the world, but for now living in a beautiful moment that Carlisle and her band could bring.

Brandi Carlile’s set-list:
“Broken Horses“
“The Things I Regret“
“You and Me on the Rock“ (with Lucius)
“The Story“
“The Eye“
“The Mother“
“Mama Werewolf“
“Space Oddity“ (David Bowie cover)
“Creep“ (Radiohead cover)
“This Time Tomorrow“
“Right on Time“
“Sinners, Saints and Fools“
“The Joke“
“Turpentine“
“Party of One“

“How“ (Marcus Mumford cover; with Marcus Mumford; live debut of unreleased song "I'll forgive you now as if saying the words will help me know how...")
“Hold Out Your Hand“
“Stay Gentle“
“Over the Rainbow“ (Harold Arlen cover)

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Brad Paisley, April 21, 2022, at L.A. Colosseum

Seth, based in Kansas, travels for work, and when he comes to California, or more specifically L.A., he contacts me and we’ll go out, at least for a beer. This time he gave me a heads-up and asked if I’d be interested in seeing Brad Paisley. What would have been a strange choice any other time, if we ever would consider it, which we wouldn't, but to get out and meet up and have a reason to see a show, there wasn’t much reason not to. I looked up Paisley tour dates to see where he was playing and didn’t find anything, or at least nothing outside of the Midwest any time in our season. But whatever it was, I could go along with it. Turns out it was a concert as part of a week of presentations made by a client of Seth’s company (or Seth was the client), and they made a big night for a party and entertainment. So I was Seth’s guest. It was at the sports arena, familiar for being where FYF used to be, now made up like a fancy picnic for clients or would-be clients. Lots of free food, particularly pricey barbecue but almost any other kind of casual dish possible available, and an open bar (which would be more enticing to me if I didn’t have to drive back to Orange County after it and if I knew the current state of my tolerance for alcohol). Seth also had to watch it for talking to his own clients there that he had to make nice with. The Paisley performance was almost an afterthought, just some entertainment to tie it together, maybe give a reason to talk about it later, so we wandered over to give it a chance. Paisley playing in California could have been an uncommon thing, since a lot of country acts don’t get out of their best markets in the Midwest (at least away from the blue of Cali), but it was a lot of non-Cali folks transplanted for the week, and Paisley would have been just their thing no matter where they were. He certainly had fans there, probably not more than if he’d played his own show, but also not one to pack out the stadium. Since it was such an exclusive event it was maybe a quarter full, and even that not fully full, and the stage was set up near the closer in-zone, facing away from the field, shrinking the exhibition space to a sliver, but more than enough for how many were there (and actually wanted to see it, but to be fair it was most). We gave it a shot. The guy was big enough to be a titan of modern-day country music and that had to account for something. Neither of us had much to do with that genre (though I at least could go alt-country, if there’s any connection there in the first place), but I understood that out of that pack Paisley was one of the best, at least as a songwriter, and maybe there was some appeal there, if he didn’t side too close with the pop-country I could barely tolerate (the same as regular pop, for similar reasons). As it turned out there were songs about fishing and drinking (at least from the home videos that somehow qualified as a video backdrop -- long from the artful visuals of Tool) and that wasn’t much for us, when we could do our own drinking. So after a few songs -- more than enough -- we retreated back out to the area outside the stadium and had our fill of food and drinks without having to compete with those seeing the show. We hung out, which was good enough for us, and did get to hear a rowdy rendition of Paisley doing “Hot For Teacher” (though missed him doing “Purple Rain” just before, which would have been nearly unreconiziable if it was done right, and an abstract choice for that crowd and in the middle of the set, but could have been some adventure that could have made it worth it). Then shortly after our conversation -- particularly about the genius of Marcy Plaground -- caught the ear of a lady who shared our music tastes and maybe age, and we hung out with her for the rest of the night, and that was good enough for our evening of social mixing and entertainment.

Brad Paisley’s set-list:
“Ticks“
“River Bank“
“Perfect Storm“
“Online“
“Then“
“Waitin' on a Woman“
“Last Time for Everything“/“Purple Rain” (Prince cover)
“Hot for Teacher“ (Van Halen cover)
“Mountain Music“/“Old Alabama“
“I'm Still a Guy“
“Crushin' It“
“I Can't Change the World“
“American Saturday Night“
“Celebrity“
“She's Everything“
(Unknown) (Acoustic)
“No I in Beer“
“I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)“
“Mud on the Tires“
“Today“

“Alcohol“

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

Pixies, March 16, 2022, at House of Blues Anaheim

In 2022 folks were just starting to go back out for concerts or public gatherings, or at least they tentatively were after the false stops and starts of the pandemic in its waning, uncertain days after the initial lockdown that kept anyone at home. That also went for the bands, who were traveling even more to get out, and being away from the road life they were so familiar with. Carla & I had already gone to a first show back a few months ago but Cid & Jon were just coming out, and we were all unsure even at that time if it was a great idea to be out (inevitably being on the cusp of coming out of or going into another lock-down). But the tickets had already been bought, and there had been worse reasons to stay in, so we got out and took our chances, as well as chancing that it would be a show worth risking our safety for, but we had thought it would be a good bet. It could have been like any other show, and the venue (the first time we'd been there) was just as packed as any time they could have played. Something called Clockworks opened but we missed them, less from less time there minimizing our risk, but more from our habit of arriving late from having lives during the day. We might have been good for Pixies shows for a while, especially if they were playing new stuff (ug), but Cid & Jon were up for it and we follow their lead. Post-reunion Pixies were road dogs, doing as much as they could if they had to do it in the first place, desperate to get back at it, maybe not at the best time, but for a short tour through the Southwest, including near us, maybe to get their sea-legs back and get ready for it again. (Or to see if the crowds were still there, and we could have helped cut them off by not going.) (Or to make their money for whatever they were going to do and what anyone would pay for.) The good news was that they stuck with the old stuff, as if to make sure they could find their groove again. For what they played they only did one new song and it was easy to disappear into the rest of the set. That doesn’t show much faith in their new material that they bothered doing at all, but it saved us from it when we’d already decided we could do without it. We’d already seen the show(s) with the old stuff but it was good to get back out, and seeing such a familiar band again was a comfort. But it was limited in its reach and hesitant in execution, wobbly but acceptable, then got worse. Frank’s voice was thrashed from the beginning, either from being away for so long or rushing into it with a marathon show in Arizona the night before. That would have been forgivable. If we could even tell the difference, it might have given them a bit of an edge and reason to push and changed up the sound we knew too well. (Frank never has had to go back to the screeching vocals from his youth, but it’s been impressive post-reunion that he would and has and still can, almost enough to suffer through his boredom for being there). But he made a big deal out of it and got flustered, then a broken guitar string that was either cause for his frustration or only an addition to it, put him over the edge. After only 26 songs (a short set for a Pixies show) and just about an hour, Frank stormed off the stage. Paz covered for him (feigning that he really did want to play for us -- a lie for anyone who has tolerated Frank Black Francis dragging through a show) and it had been short enough that any of us would expect him to come back. But they were done for the night. It might have been just at the edge of how long they were obligated to play to not have to issue a refund, or maybe they just didn’t want to give the money back (26 songs would have been a great set for any other band, but for them it can be about quantity). It's some arrogance to brush off a truncated show and assume the fans will still be their fans for it, but Frank could say he doesn't want to be there anyway and we're lucky he would deign to do it). But that was it and we couldn't do about it. It didn’t do much for me other than shrug, since being a Morrissey fan for as long has made me tolerant of temperamental artists and unpredictable performances (if they happen in the first place), no matter how genius, but Cid & Carla were peeved (they’d given up on Morrissey long ago for his show-canceling antics). I just thought we’d probably reached another level in being done with them and could set off on a better fresh start being able to go back out to shows again.

Pixies’ set-list:
“Gouge Away“
“U-Mass“
“Head On“ (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
“Something Against You“
“Isla de Encanta“
“Rock Music“
“Dead“
“Debaser“
“Crackity Jones“
“Cactus“ (false start #1: Charles loses his voice)
“Gigantic“
“Planet of Sound“
“Tame“
“Mr. Grieves“
“Ed Is Dead“
“Bone Machine“
“Break My Body“
“Cactus“ (false start; Charles loses his voice)
“I Bleed“
“Caribou“ (false start; guitar string breaks)
“Vamos“
“Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)“
“Nimrod's Son“
“All the Saints“
“The Holiday Song“
“Caribou“

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Beach Bunny/Miloe, December 8, 2021 at The Observatory (Santa Ana)

We knew about Beach Bunny from Rae, when her teen musical tastes were forming and going in different directions, then she arrived at a band approximating rock without my direct influence, and I could support that. This show came up when we were in some degree of lock-down during the pandemic (the first one, at least), and we had hopes that we would eventually come out of it and go to a show again. As it was, after not knowing a show in autumn 2019 was going to be our last before getting 2020 totally knocked out (from pretty much doing anything outside of the house, much less a concert), it was rolling the dice that any show would even happen (and maybe that we would all be alive and able to go). But we would take that chance (as well as the crap-shoot of even getting our money back if the show got canceled), and well enough in advance to be able to plan (as much as we could) for what might happen. Maybe a hope that the tickets would be cheaper for the uncertainty, but they were full price (a portent of the rising cost of tickets that would eventually price us out (for the most part)). So along with Carla we had three of us going, then Dylan and/or Maira happened to casually drop in a conversation elsewhere that they were fans, so we got them too, and it would have been crappy to leave out Rae’s roommate Naomi (especially since she was going through a rough time, even over everything else going on with everyone). So we had our team, and a pretty good one for a weekday night at the all-ages venue. The Observatory was also where I had my last show two years before, and in that time it also became our (most) local venue after we moved to Orange County. It didn't provide any extra safety, but it worked. Also a great place to see an indie band, who had a bit of recognition, with tunes that carried a little better for being poppier than just turning up volume, generations after pop-punk meant anything more than having a rhythm guitarist, and relying on songs rather than a cute lead singer (though that worked as a bonus, even when she served to be more relatable than lust-baiting for the boys). It wasn’t all kids for the show, though enough to inject some energy when we’re used to solemn adults standing around and, at most, nodding along arhythmically. Even a light-hearted approach, to match the poppiness of the songs, though staying tuneful instead of being goofy on stage. They stuck to some solid tunes and it worked well enough for them to pull off a club show (before playing bigger places but opening). They even threw in the Katy Perry during the encore, being recognizable on its own, even more than their own stuff, but fitting, and a treat for the fans who already knew everything else inside and out (though an equal bonus for those who didn’t know any of it). A decent show, as a welcome return to live concerts again (for as long as those might last, and if they came back in the form we knew. If this was the last show ever it would have had to be good enough. At least we were together). We weren't so out of practice that we couldn't have gotten there just as the band we wanted to see went on, but we were cautious just in case, not wanting to miss any of it if we were wrong (also being the guides for our kids who weren't as concert-honed), so we got there plenty early, enough to see Miloe as opener. They didn't have anything to be more significant than the headliners or to ever headline their own show in a comparable place (and all boys), but it was good to let the kids experience an opening act that would largely be dismissable but could prime them for checking out ones in the future to discover a great, new band ahead of the curve.

Beach Bunny’s set-list:
”Prom Queen”
”Love Sick”
”Cuffing Season”
”Oxygen”
”Promises”
”Good Girls (Don't Get Used)”
”April”
”Rearview”
”Entropy”
”6 Weeks”
”Dream Boy”
”Nice Guys”
”Colorblind”
”February”
”Sports”
”Blame Game”
”Boys”
”Cloud 9”

”Hot n Cold” (Katy Perry cover)
”Painkiller”

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Sleater-Kinney, November 13, 2019 at the Observatory OC (Santa Ana)

I love Sleater-Kinney as much as anyone, and have ended up seeing them on pretty much every tour since discovering them at Dig Me Out (possibly due to my friends -- the broadest range of fans I know (though mostly ladies) -- wanting to go, as well as how the band are tour dogs and make sure they hit all the venues, especially L.A.), but I hadn’t dug enough into The Center Won’t Hold, assuming that No Cities To Love would be as far as they could go after getting back together, which could have been a too-tenuous reunion (easy to fall apart when it's only a few people). But I entered to win tickets, since I would take them if I got them, and won (though I don't remember where I got it from). That would have been great if the wife could go, since she’s an even bigger fan than me, but they came the night before the show and she couldn’t avoid work. I put the call out for folks to take the other ticket and got Chris, then we met up with other L.A. friends, particularly Matt, at the show, showing that it would have been a group anyway. Also my first go at the Observatory (though had been close at The Constellation Room on a night too much of a mess to have done anything but get in and out of there). I only realized later the value of The Center, maybe even more than Cities, then retroactively had to put my appreciation into the show for tunes I didn’t fully know at the time, especially “Reach Out,” which hit me hard and deep not long after that, one of my favorite tracks and choruses of modern times, then cursed myself for not knowing to enjoy it when I was there hearing it but not realizing what it was and would be to me later on. This show also had the curse of missing Janet, who had left shortly after the recording of the album, and didn’t get to the tour, though, following along with why she quit, wasn’t needed anyway (so they said). For as great as the music was that they made, and for being produced by St. Vincent, it was also in the direction away from the earlier work that made them, which was rough and raw enough to touch nerves in those adventurous enough to get past the caustic, conflicting beauty of post-punk riot-grrrls, exchanging polyrhythmic drums for synths that smoothed the edges, more palatable with a different range if that's what they were going for though risking that sharp delicacy that worked so well before, so then a shame they had to lose a force in the band powerful enough to stand up to the guitar fury in a sound known for it, but of the ties that bind between the three, she would have to be the one to lose. It could be argued to have been better if they had broken up again and pursued those sounds outside of the band they'd established, but it’s up to their own artistic wanderings, and at least they came up with something compelling from it, almost as good, but different. Janet’s mastery of varying rhythms -- as not just one of the best female drummers, but one of the best drummers around, full stop -- would have made it a different thing, and possibly wouldn’t have worked as well, but it was definitely a sound that was missing, and playing their older stuff without her would have suffered if the songs didn’t have such a solid foundation, with or without those playing on it. It all translated fine to the concert, and those who were just discovering them -- as there were plenty of young people there -- wouldn’t have missed what once was. As it was it had to be the transition show between the old sound and what they had ahead of them -- which was certainly a wish for as much as they could do and for as long as they would stay together (though being down to basically just the two of them didn’t leave much if they were or weren’t going to), on a good album, as pretty much they all were, but twisting from one thing to another, not the old form and not yet what it would be, but still solid, and with the familiar jaggedness now for the uncertainty of where they stood, like the old days but updated for still being indie darlings, as was the magic they’ve had in songs if not musicianship, and have been loved and admired for, whatever form they take. Apparently Kaina opened but we didn't notice and weren't even there that early.

I don’t like to include in these posts what happens in the future, since I’d rather them have the perspective of being written close to where I was when the show happened, but I have to note, not knowing at the time, that this would be the last show I'd (and by extension we'd) see for over two more years, during which we and the rest of the world, notably the music-performing and touring world, went into lock-down for the pandemic. We had shows again eventually, but at the time we had no idea knowing how long it would be (if ever) or that this would be the last show we’d have so too long. But (also going into the future) it worked out.

Sleater-Kinney’s set-list:
“The Center Won't Hold“
“Hurry On Home“
“Price Tag“
“The Future Is Here“
“Jumpers“
“Reach Out“
“Bury Our Friends“
“RUINS“
“What's Mine Is Yours“
“All Hands on the Bad One“
“Bad Dance“
“One More Hour“
“Restless“
“Oh!“
“The Fox“
“LOVE“
“Get Up“
“Can I Go On“
“A New Wave“
“Animal“
“The Dog/The Body“
“Entertain“

“Broken“
“Words and Guitar“
“Modern Girl“
“Dig Me Out“

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Massive Attack, September 5, 2019 at the Hollywood Palladium

Trip-hop didn’t do much for me in the ‘90s save for maybe Portishead or Ruby (the lack of range between the two showing how far I didn't go with it), but as usual Carla had already been to anything cool no matter how obscure (or obscured). It was easy to bring me into Massive Attack as they soundtracked some of our early, special moments together, but they were really something I should known about on my own. I knew them from a few remixed tracks and they had a great visual design, but it wasn’t as much as it should have been. I still wasn’t completely sold when we got the tickets if they were just another alt band years past their height (though being British helped), but I got it later, catching up before the show (originally set for May) so I could appreciate it properly. This was a performance of Mezzanine, apparently their biggest album, but I’d picked up enough by then to know that they weren’t sticking only to that album but letting other stuff weave into the set. They certainly played the whole album, as advertised, but in their own order with other tracks mixed in (all covers that had been so fundamentally transformed that I realized they were credited to having played only when I looked at the set-list), which inferred that they were leaving out anything else from their other albums in deference to their own whims. But they had the guest-stars who originally performed those songs, and that was enough. Even if they weren't really performing in the tradition sense, they had done the heavy lifting of creation years before already, which they represented, and it was the best they could do with the magnificence they'd created and now returned to (if that was only a version as a starting point for what they shaped the show into). Not long after this show I found my way to their other stuff, in particular Blue Lines, which was a sufficiently superior work, so it’s good I didn’t know “Unfinished Sympathy” at the time, since even “Teardrop” wouldn’t have been enough of a substitute. An electronic act doing a whole album might not have been the same challenge as a live band, since they could replicate any sound they recorded with something canned, which a band couldn't necessarily pull off, including vocalists, so having the originals there was superfluous but a nice touch (and surely got them out of the house if they needed that). On the screen beyond they had some great visuals that referred to a paranoid conspiracy thing like what helped define the ‘90s, so it was either stuck in that era or very forward-thinking (and anticipating or following nostalgia for that decade), but they had the right to make the reference, having helped define a sub-sub-genre of music with this album (at least somewhere in the world). Even the guys eschewing any banter or acknowledging any of the world around them was a chilly reference, cold enough to be cool, and in keeping with electronic acts who let the computers do the performing, but their presence such a minimal amount of humanity that it would be welcome, when all this performance could be canned and they might be up on stage checking their e-mail. But if only for the music and the visual throw-back it made for a night out and an appreciation of a seminal work (and gateway to more), even if Carla & I wouldn’t be allowed to replicate those special moments in public.

Massive Attack set-list:
“I Found a Reason“ (The Velvet Underground cover)
“Risingson“
“10:15 Saturday Night“ (The Cure cover)
“Man Next Door“ (John Holt cover) (with Horace Andy)
“Black Milk“ (with Elizabeth Fraser)
“Mezzanine“
“Bela Lugosi's Dead“ (Bauhaus cover)
“Exchange“
“See a Man's Face“ (Horace Andy cover)
“Dissolved Girl“
“Where Have All the Flowers Gone?“ (Pete Seeger cover)
“Inertia Creeps“
“Rockwrok“ (Ultravox cover)
“Angel“ (with Horace Andy)
“Teardrop“ (with Elizabeth Fraser)
“Levels“ (Avicii cover)
“Group Four“ (with Elizabeth Fraser)

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Cowboy Junkies, May 19, 2019 at the Fonda

I discovered Cowboy Junkies (besides just a minor entry on the Pump Up The Volume soundtrack) past their prime, mostly through my brother’s recommendation of Studio, and over time I drifted into their stuff, not much beyond that album until later, but I eventually realized that it had settled fairly deeply with me. They were also still an active band, even if anything they’d done since hadn’t gotten much traction, and still together for the intermittent show. It was easy enough to get a ticket for the show (a single, just to make it easy) and see if I could catch up on what I'd missed, even this late for us all. Being a show at the Fonda is also encouraging (especially on an off night when parking in Hollywood is easier). I was having a low day but I could look forward to the warm comfort of their music. I got there early (8:09) but they started earlier (8:00), showing chiefly how outside of rock n' roll they could be by actually starting on time. They’re not a band that can add a lot of energy in a live setting such as to defy the gentle lilt of their music, but that’s a feature, to run parallel to the minimal production on much of their records. Still, I was hoping for a burst of enthusiasm in the second set, when the first was unfamiliar (from a new album) and seemed to take its time, mirroring their age-earned placidity (and gray hair), but a measured count of how they performed. The singer's voice was scratchy, but it was a patina earned from age. (And whose name I've never looked up, which says something about the appeal of the band as a whole.) It was fine, but maybe they could go to something livelier after the break. A few songs from the end of the set there was an altercation at the bar (of all shows, betraying the meek nature of the night’s performance), then something going on outside. The band took a break as planned but during that time the place was evacuated -- calmly, to match the vibe -- and we all shuffled outside and waited. And waited. Then fire trucks came to the place next door. But no one had us leave. Apparently a fire had broken out at the neighboring weed shop (that I didn’t even know was there (but also had no reason to know)). We waited some more but after a while it was apparent the rest of the show wasn’t happening. For a show that actually got away with starting so early it got cut off, like it was punishment for defying rock concert standards. (Also to us, with no refund for the abbreviated show.) It was a bummer to not get all of an infrequent show by a band I had so recently found, but I ended up being able to get home in time to see the Game of Thrones series finale (the original plan for the night, though I would have rather had the show).

Mar's Concerts