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)

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)

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“

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“