Thursday, March 14, 2024

Coming Up

Upcoming shows:
* Pulp, September 19 at the Hollywood Palladium.


New entries:

More posts soon, including, but not limited to, Brad Paisley, as well as Brandi Carlisle, Primavera '22, Afghan Whigs (again), Lissie, L7 (again), Smashing Pumpkins/Jane’s Addiction, Pixies (again)/Slow Pulp, Sisters of Mercy, Leanna Firestone/Abby Cates, Taylor Swift/Haim/Owenn, Samantha Fish/Eric Johanson, Please Don’t Destroy/Ian Sweet, The Walkmen, Be Your Own Pet/Birthday Girl, Liz Phair/Blondshell, Me-First & the Gimme Gimmes, Fall Out Boy/Jimmy Eat World/The Maine, The Kills (again),  Neko Case, Sleater-Kinney, Bombay Bicycle Club, Myki Berenyi Trio/Lol Tolhurst x Budgie, Prayers/My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, and Olivia Rodrigo/The Breeders.


If you just got here, start with the introduction.

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).

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Totally ‘80s Weekend #7, January 26, 2019 at Microsoft Theater

One of my other posts went on about these nostalgia shows, and how they’re fueled by the hits, with acts well past their prime as well as plenty of one-hit-wonders, and how they're poor for getting a decent set from a band, but some of them can start to make up for it, by volume if not pure quality. And again it wouldn’t be our thing, since we’d much rather see a full set by any band we’re interested in, even if we have to see a separate show, which would also mean we wouldn’t have to sit through bands we didn’t know or care about. Yet these shows can cover a lot of ground, and aren’t even always tied to being “modern rock” from a few decades ago, but can go into mainstream pop or even some acts that were big but never got on our personal radars. But more than anything, this show was about a night out with friends, with me & Carla joining up with her work-friend Sarah and Sarah’s boyfriend Brian, and maybe some other friends. We got a drink at the Palms (familiar since my dad built it) before. Our seats weren’t bad -- on the floor, a few rows back, near the middle. For any show like the Totally '80s Weekend (#7, in case there's a value in the order), for anyone else it wouldn't have been about much more than those singles that were as big as they got in America, and no one trying to be a hero by playing anything newer than 30 years, though the audience would have been just as disinterested by a song that wasn’t one of the hits no matter how old it was or wasn’t. Few of the non-hits made an impression anyway, but especially The Flirts, if it wasn’t "Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime)" (believing they’re keeping it together enough to appear on stage at their age); Jody Watley (possibly a replacement for Tiffany, whose absence was just as well) and Rob Base had a few good hits between them that were big enough to bust through genres so that even I knew them, then padded out their sets with a lot of energy that floated what was only obscure stuff; Candyman was a special guest (though everyone was a special guest if this whole thing was a one-off), and even his hit was too obscure for us; we didn’t care enough about Farrington + Mann to know why they couldn’t be called When In Rome (which doesn’t help anyone), but they played their couple of recognizables (obviously higher up in the popularity hierarchy) and were a good lead-in to the headliners later; The Bangles are proudly L.A.-local and yet we’ve always missed them, over the decades when I knew all their MTV hits, possibly taking them for granted for whatever local availability they’ve had, and we had to go one of these nostalgia fests to finally see them, though they had more hits than just “Walk Like An Egyptian,” which they deserved better than, even if they made it just slightly more than a novelty hit. Of course they sounded great and could even pull off being a relevant act for being current (relatively, as even their most recent songs were old enough to border on oldies), and if they didn’t have enough hits to float them through their entire set, it was enough familiarity for us (even if I never reached beyond the greatest-hits, though I wore that one out both on cassette and CD). We didn’t get “Be With You” but we also didn’t get the full show, so maybe they’ll pop up again while they can still keep the look. Without being too disrespectful to the event and the other bands, they seemed to be having a laugh at the show, that anyone who wasn’t drunk and had any idea about the culture of music would know how ridiculous the whole thing was, but they were still having a good time (while getting out and getting paid); as far as I was concerned the rest of the show could have gone away for only seeing Bananarama. To a lot of people they could have too easily have seemed like a minor pop act that got lucky, had a few good songs (more than a one-hit wonder), and were probably bigger somewhere else, but they grew on me in my later life, even when I I dissected their greatest-hits album (leaving out “Cruel Summer” from any set-list). Even before then I’d been into just short of obsessed with Shakespeare’s Sister, for which I couldn’t ask for a connection, though in full shows they did “Stay,” so I was at least on the right track. And by this they were down to only two ladies, but they were enough for a show (though if it had just been one that could have been weird). If nothing else they could do no wrong for “I Heard A Rumor,” one of the greatest productions of the ‘80s, if not all of pop music ever (even before I discovered  the rest of Wow!, with which prior knowledge I would have wanted to go to the full show at the Novo the year before, but had to settle for this). They had enough hits (that hit somewhere) to fill a set, even if it was a fraction of the space they deserved, which also seemed to amuse them when they realized they were done with what they could do. What was only a sampling seemed a crime but also a concession to such a show (especially when no one else deserved the stage more), but even getting that much was a treat, especially if it was just the last signature on all they would do for the Americas. Those ladies are eternal so they could probably pull it off again and still look great, but there wouldn’t be much point if that’s as much as they could get so far after the heyday. But we were fortunate to get even that and good with it; the order seemed a jumble (even in this post), loosely based off their number of hits but maybe more off how well they were regarded today, but I certainly wouldn’t have picked OMD (Orchestral Movements in the Dark) as the headliner, and certainly not deserving of the additional amount of time they pulled. The audience made it sound like they were the most eagerly-anticipated of the night, but that could also be from how much all the parents drank cumulatively and how it was almost time to go. Admittedly, OMD had hits, though I was largely lost for anything beyond “If You Leave,” which has been a classic since 1985 (when I heard it in a parking lot on Fresno commercial radio), but it couldn’t balance out the other songs that weren’t quite so slick or seductive, and often just doofy stuff. If they were riding on the back of Depeche Mode they never had the atmosphere or sexiness (even when they weren’t clearly old guys) and surely got in from being yet another Brit new wave band (the reduction completely on purpose). They might have been in denial for how much “If You Leave” was carrying them by playing it like it was just another song in the set, but they had a lot of twinkly lights that lit up the interior with a sparkling ambiance, and it might have been nice to have such a gentle let-down to finally end the show. Also no finale bringing everyone out to do an ill-advised jam, with all of them doing their contractually-obligated sets and high-tailing it from the building, but it was also getting late and babysitters needed taking home, so it all got stamped as a few hours’ visit into a shuffle of ‘80s hits like many others, and they would dig up a new (if not fresh) crop of the same for next time, since apparently there are yet more bands with not much else going on but to reunite for a night (but you can certainly fill up a bill with one-off hits, and the lesser bands might go cheap just to have someone paying them).


Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Darks’ set-list:
“Enola Gay“
“Secret“
“Tesla Girls“
“History of Modern (Part I)“
“If You Leave“
“(Forever) Live and Die“
“Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)“
“Locomotion“
“So in Love“
“Dreaming“
“Electricity“

The Bangles’ set-list:
“A Hazy Shade of Winter“ (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
“Live“ (The Merry‐Go‐Round cover)
“Manic Monday“ (Prince cover)
“Going Down to Liverpool“ (Katrina and the Waves cover)
“September Gurls“ (Big Star cover)
“If She Knew What She Wants“ (Jules Shear cover)
“Want You“
“In Your Room“
“Hero Takes a Fall““
Walk Like an Egyptian
“Eternal Flame“

Bananaramas’ set-list:
“Cruel Summer“
“He Was Really Sayin' Somethin'“ (The Velvelettes cover)
“I Can't Help It“
“Look on the Floor“
“I Heard a Rumour“
“Venus“ (Shocking Blue cover)

Farrington + Mann (When In Rome)s’ set-list:
“Heaven Knows“
“Wide Wide Sea“
“The Promise“

Jody Watley’s set-list:
“Some Kind of Lover“
“Don't You Want Me“
“Everything“
“Real Love“
“Friends“
“Looking for a New Love“

Rob Base’s set-list:
“Pump It Up“
“The Incredible Base“
“Joy & Pain“
It Takes Two“

Candyman’s set-list:
“Melt in Your Mouth“
“The Roof Is on Fire“ (Rock Master Scott & The Dynamic Three cover)
“Knockin' Boots“

Saturday, August 25, 2018

David Byrne, August 25, 2018 at the Shrine Expo Hall

I never had much use for art-rock when I was younger, and I didn’t know about the early NYC punk scene before I knew about music beyond the radio. But the Talking Heads had some songs that I liked when I found them, and they could be just another pop band as far as I knew. Sand in the Vaseline was the greatest hits that I was hungrily awaiting in the early days of getting CDs, and I didn’t shy away from a two-disc set that had a lot more songs than I wanted but plenty I could explore, and I eventually got into it over time, though I still clung to the hits (mostly off Little Creatures then some of the easy, later stuff). Even then I didn’t follow David Byrne into his solo stuff and I didn’t have much to do with him without the anchor of the 'Heads (though I got The Heads album and still put “The Damage I’ve Done” on playlists (it being a pretty great Johnette Napolitano song)). As such I wouldn’t have bothered with Byrne’s American Utopia except for getting it from the library, and it still didn’t do much for me. If Byrne wasn’t leaning hard into pop or rock then it was too arty for me to stay with. A little too weird to be catchy, and not enough easily consumable moments. As such we wouldn’t have bothered with the live show, but friends had to ditch out and we said we’d take the tickets, and Carla & I went with Candy. I had read that the show was an arty thing but it was another experience to see it in person. It was less a concert and more of a performance, which can happen with some of the edgier music we might be into, since if there aren't expectations for the music then there might not be the same for the performing of it, and it doesn’t always work but it can at least be interesting and fresh, enough to set it off from just a rote run-through of songs. And while I didn’t hew with Byrne’s music as much, I could appreciate that he was trying to do something new and creative, as he always does (and probably why he's refused to go back to the Talking Heads, though even just a little bit wouldn't have killed him). I wouldn’t normally be into such a thing but it was good to see something new from a show. Byrne even thew in a few Talking Heads tunes, a surprise from someone who has so adamantly tried to separate himself from his past, more successful endeavors, even at this own expense, though it was to get something more out of them with new versions than to just flog the hits or revisit what he’d already done decades ago (as evidenced by hitting "Once in a Lifetime" early in the set instead of building up to it (though still conceding to climaxing with "Burning Down the House")). Though it also marked how we don’t need a Talking Heads reunion if Byrne would be allowed to only take it back to what it was, since his restless spirit wouldn't accept the vacuity of a rehash when he could do something new, and on his own (as interesting as it could be, it would flop if they didn’t recapture the purity from what the people loved, such is the conundrum of new art vs. old love). Byrne even took a sampling of this show to SNL and it worked just as well. It was even better to see this performance before Byrne moved well beyond it with his next project, which could even be the complete opposite of what he’d done, which might not be something I’d love but it’s a thrill to witness where such a wildly creative mind’s impulses take him. We missed opener Ibeyi. (And I wouldn't always bother to note which are songs from the old band in the set-list, but those stood out as the better bits.) 

David Byrne’s set-list:
“Here“
“Lazy“ (X‐Press 2 cover)
“I Zimbra“ (Talking Heads)
“Slippery People“ (Talking Heads)
“Dog's Mind““
“I Should Watch TV“
“Everybody's Coming to My House"
“This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)“ (Talking Heads)
“Once in a Lifetime“ (Talking Heads)
“Doing the Right Thing“
“Toe Jam“ (Brighton Port Authority cover)
“Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" (Talking Heads)
“I Dance Like This“
“Bullet“
“Every Day Is a Miracle“
“Like Humans Do“
“Blind“ (Talking Heads)
“Burning Down the House“ (Talking Heads)

“Dancing Together“
“The Great Curve“ (Talking Heads song)

“Hell You Talmbout“ (Janelle Monáe cover)

Monday, August 13, 2018

The Kills, August 13, 2018 at the Regent

Jen had another extra ticket for a concert, and if I wasn’t working then I was at home and usually good for a weekday show. I was a fan of The Kills, though I didn’t go much beyond seeing them at a festival and liking the stuff that they also knew was worth playing. I also hadn’t been to the Regent for a show; it's good for a mid-size venue, but a little too easy to get packed for a popular act. We got a good parking spot around the corner (also a perk for a weeknight show), and got there to settle for a spot in the back (though Jen isn’t one to fight to get close, and I don't care enough to do more than go with flow), in time for “Black Balloon,” missing the older stuff at the beginning that we probably saw at a past festival anyway (and also opener Saul Williams, who had headlined the Troubadour once and was now opening in a club, but the mix of styles and genres would have been interesting). It takes some confidence to go from older to newer in a set (unless it's just to use the familiar stuff to hook the audience enough to get them to pay attention to the new material), relying on new stuff to carry the climax of the show, but it’s not like they had hits that anyone was holding out for, and their newer stuff (off Ash & Ice, which came out two years before, so this had been a long tour) was strong enough to sound great without it having to chart as pop music somewhere. And they could still pull a crowd for a show, and maybe even could have without Mossheart’s heightened public profile for an association with Jack White (which left Hince with either resentment or time off). As far as two-person bands with a prowling front-woman and a dude on guitar, I might have taken Sleigh Bells for the live show, if only for the volume and more neo-gothiness than scuzzy NYC vibe, but the Kills could translate whatever they did with production to a live setting, even if the rhythm was canned. We also didn’t get as much (or any) off No Wow as I would have liked, but they had already gotten 13 years and three albums (not counting The Dead Weather and solo work) past it, and I thought I could do without them for a bit, so I couldn’t complain. I also hadn’t gotten obsessed by “Future Starts Slow” until well after that, and it had already become an old track they'd cycled out, so I couldn’t know what I was missing, and it was all still what could be expected from their show, unpacked and expanded from the usual festival.

“Heart of a Dog“
“U.R.A. Fever“
“Kissy Kissy“
“Hard Habit to Break“
“Black Balloon“
“Baby Says“
“Tape Song“
“Echo Home“
“Sour Cherry“
“Doing It to Death“
“Whirling Eye“
“List of Demands“ (Saul Williams cover) (with Saul Williams)
“Pots and Pans“
“Monkey 23“

“That Love“
“Siberian Nights“
“Steppin' Razor“ (Joe Higgs cover)
“Fried My Little Brains“

Saturday, July 28, 2018

80's Weekend #6, July 28, 2018 at the Microsoft Theater

I’m not usually one for nostalgia concert packages: most of the acts are 30 years or more past their prime, which can be sad, or they’re still relevant but no one wants to hear anything that isn’t the hits (and usually just the biggest one). And the festival format doesn’t allow the decent acts with songs beyond the hits much time for a full set, and the one-hit-wonders have way too much time. Even when they get some good bands we usually wouldn’t bother, if only not to have to pay for the whole thing when only one band is worth seeing (and not for a portion of their full set). But we’ll take tickets to a show. Carla & I were at a nephew’s birthday party on a Saturday afternoon when our sister-in-law messaged us that she had tickets for the ‘80s Weekend show that she needed to get rid of since she had another show that night. (Her error in scheduling, and she picked the country act on the other side of that conflict, which was to our benefit.) We didn’t have anything going on that night so we took them, though we had to cut short our time at the party (after I drove to near downtown L.A. to meet her for the tickets, then we had to go back and get ready), and missed the first few acts, but Soft Cell/Marc Almond and Thomas Dolby probably didn't hold much for us anyway. Also seeing Richard Blade on a screen more than anyone needs to, but very little downtime between acts since they have a revolving stage to minimize the wait, though we were in no hurry for any of it. We walked in for Berlin. Terri Nunn still looks and sounds great, not too far from their heyday (but our seats weren't great and they didn't have big Jumbotron screens). They actually had a few beyond “Take My Breath Away” but there wasn’t much concern for them. They were always to me a band from KROQ and Metro between the edgier stuff, though "Sex (I'm a...)" often seemed audacious for the mainstream (which was why it was "alternative"). The Microsoft Theater is still a little too formulated to be all things to all shows, but it’s a surprise that no one else has much thought to make pitch black their venue's interior theme to focus the visuals. There wasn’t anything to gain for being closer and among the moms who couldn’t get out of the ‘80s, or worse, only knew it secondhand, and had been partying much longer and earlier in the day than we had; Adam Ant would have been fine enough for festival filler, but I’d seen him just recently -- maybe on his same tour -- and his set here ditched some of the lesser hits in favor of trying to fit in some newer (or newer) tracks. (Though I always forget that Ant did "Desperate But Not Serious." That's always been a great track. Maybe even to balance out with "Goody Two Shoes" (which he inevitably had to have played).) Few in the crowd were there for anything but the hits (to be said for pretty much all the acts), but Ant played like he was still a concern, since it was more of a crowd than he’d get on his own. And he still had that masked drummer, who had a different costume (still with the mask) and made his act cooler than maybe it was even 30 years ago; Blondie have longevity if nothing else. They’d seem to be just the kind of band to headline one of these shows, with enough hits to fill any slot, but just the fact that they landed the feat of having a #1 hit in every decade of their career (up to the ‘10s, at least), maybe put them in another echelon, enough to headline this kind of thing. They also know how to churn through the hits, even if they didn’t need much more than “Heart of Glass” and the sucker cuts that everyone recognizes even if they don't know the words. Still, they have enough time to get out some better stuff off the usual track, like “Hanging on the Telephone” telegraphed by starting with a subtle dial-tone before jumping in with that rush of a drum beat like it can't wait to get going (the best starting of any rock song of all time, I argued recently, even if that was just off the top of my head). Debbie Harry could be a grandmother who doesn’t need to keep up with coming on younger than she is, but the band still gets hired for these things and people still get out to see them, even if it’s more for the memories than keeping up artistic integrity when they come up with new stuff that could take away from their contingent of well-loved and well-played hits. If it’s about the hits for the moms who can afford a package show like this (and all the drinks) then it’s as good as any show with a steady measure of recognizable tunes, though it could be a bit much for the casual fans and not enough for those who are really into the acts, though this could be enough for those bands to come out once more and actually get a crowd, even if they're dragging out the same old hits yet again, often to the exclusion of anything else they've done.

“One Way or Another“
“Hanging on the Telephone“ (The Nerves cover)
“Fun“
“Call Me“
“Rapture (included snippet of “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)“ by the Beastie Boys)
“The Tide Is High“ (The Paragons cover) (included snippet of “Groove Is in the Heart“ by Deee-Lite)
“Long Time“
“Atomic“
“Heart of Glass“ (included snippet of “I Feel Love“)

“From Russia With Love“ (Matt Monro cover)
“Dreaming“

"Dog Eat Dog"
"Vive le Rock"
"Apollo 9"
"Antmusic"
"Friend or Foe"
"Ants Invasion"
"Desperate But Not Serious"
"Zerox"
"Prince Charming"
"Christian D'or"
"Strip"
"Kings of the Wild Frontier"
"Goody Two Shoes"
"Stand and Deliver"

“No More Words“
“The Metro“
“Masquerade“
“Show Me Tonight“
“Take My Breath Away“
“Sex (I'm a...)“
“Highway to Hell“ (AC/DC cover)