The Cure, May 31 at the Hollywood Bowl

If you're a Cure fan, they're one of the best bands ever to see in concert. They normally play for at least two hours, usually closer to three, and that included their show at the Hollywood Bowl. They play a variety of their stuff, from hits to deep album cuts, probably some B-sides on some nights, and they were playing stuff from their new album (4:13 Dream, not one of their best), which wasn't out yet, but they limited that number to less than a half-dozen, which were received well anyway. Their set changes every night and even their most popular songs they might or might not play. If you're hoping to hear one particular song you may or may not hear it but you're also more likely to hear an obscure track. They still play a lot of the hits, even early in the set, knowing that there are still other hits to play later on. They play a tight show, with not a lot of on-stage banter (no one else in the band besides Bob Smith has a mic and no one can understand his mumbling anyway). The band look exactly as they have for the past 30 years (though Bob has noticeably gained some weight) except for the guitarist, who would have been too goth-punk for Marilyn Manson's band. Seriously, a creepy-looking dude (and probably old) but a good musician (though Bob plays a lot of the lead guitar parts himself). Bob even seemed like he wanted to keep playing that night but it was already getting close to 11:30 and there are curfews. I'm not sure if their live set will convert anyone but you know if you're a fan or not already. If you're not a Cure fan, hopefully you were someone's date or the alcohol is cheap because you're in for a long haul. This was the show rescheduled from the previous October, which had tickets going on sale in the early summer so I'd had mine for almost a year. I made the mistake of buying two tickets without having someone readily available to go with me and everyone I knew was busy that night and the eBay auction had no takers (even with the starting price at half what I paid for it) but I put a listing on Craigslist and had someone contact me about it within a few minutes of posting it who met me before the show and paid full face value ($67). It was a sold-out show but you know there's always someone trying to get rid of a ticket.

I love the idea of riding a tram to the Hollywood Bowl but I live within walking distance of the subway and it's only two stops to get there. The parking at the Bowl is horrendous, though I've parked a few lots down, where it wasn't stacked but cost $25. Public transportation only rarely works in Los Angeles but when it does it's great. Especially in Hollywood, where lot-owners know they can gouge people who own cars, I don't want to go to shows sometimes when I know I'll be paying more for parking than the cost of a ticket. There are a few places that are within range of the subway but you also run the risk of not getting the last train, which runs at midnight, if the show runs late (and I've certainly been to some that do). Luckily, at big shows like at the Bowl, they know that their usually-older guests have to be up early the next morning (as I had to be, though it doesn't mean I'm old).

The Cure's set-list:
"Underneath The Stars"
"Prayers For Rain"
"A Night Like This"
"The Walk"
"The End Of The World"
"Love Song"
"Sleep When I'm Dead"
"To Wish Impossible Things"
"Pictures Of You"
"Lullaby"
"From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea"
"The Perfect Boy"
"Hot Hot Hot!!!"
"The Only One"
"Push"
"Friday I'm In Love"
"In Between Days"
"Just Like Heaven"
"A Letter To Elise"
"Never Enough"
"Wrong Number"
"One Hundred Years"
"It's Over"

"If Only Tonight We Could Sleep"
"The Kiss"

"At Night"
"M"
"Play For Today"
"A Forest"

"The Lovecats"
"Let's Go To Bed"
"Freakshow"
"Close To Me"
"Why Can't I Be You?"

"Boys Don't Cry"

Von Bondies, May 23 at Safari Sam's

I saw the Von Bondies at the San Diego Street Scene a few years and suddenly realized that I should have seen them more than that one time. They're a bit of a cross between a few-generations-removed Rolling Stones and the White Stripes, with a slightly gritty, Detroit-rock sound. (And they probably wouldn't care for the White Stripes comparison since their second-biggest claim to fame is that Jack White beat the hell out of their lead singer, Jason Stollsteimer back in '04 but bad publicity is still publicity.) Stollsteimer is smart enough to have hot chicks as his guitarist and bassist (replacing the hot chicks that were his previous guitarist and bassist) but the music is good enough that they're not a necessary distraction. I'm surprised that they were playing a medium-sized club for their L.A. stop, since they're riding on the popularity of "C'Mon C'Mon" which apparently the theme song for Rescue Me, but for whatever reason they're playing there, I went to see them. They only had an album or two worth of material, as well as a new EP, but they played every song you would want them to (if you knew them well enough to want them to play certain songs). They actually didn't have a huge crowd, which I didn't mind, but I hope it doesn't discourage them from continuing to tour (though they came back once, at least). It was the first time I'd gone to Safari Sam's and I fell in love with the place and hoped to go back again but it had closed before I had the chance. The place was clean, with ample parking, good bar-grub, a good lay-out, nice bouncers, and great sound. The kind of place I would open if I could. It was way too good to last.

Another review of the show here.

Eels, April 16 at the El Rey

You never know what you’re going to get at an Eels show, as any fan of their knows. And as their fans know, the Eels is really just E and indeed, at the El Rey, it was just him. He had one other guy helping him on instruments, as well as reading sections from E’s book, and I wouldn’t complain that it was any less of a show even though it wasn’t a full band and the ticket was $40. Apparently, a bit before the show he had fired Butch, the only other constant member of the band since E decided to form a band. The show was mostly acoustic, with a few bits of really loud electric-guitar, including a raved-up version of “Novocain for the Soul”, and a neat drum solo where E took over playing the drums from the other guy, while still playing, not missing a beat, then back again. It’s a shame that the Eels’ music is often thought of as a novelty, as evidenced by the easy, expected laughs during “It’s a Motherfucker,” which begins with those words and is actually a very sad song. The music could be considered quirky but I would never say it’s meant as a joke. As a matter of fact, their second album, Electro-Shock Blues, is on my list of Most Depressing Albums and it’s also often considered their best one by other. It may seem funny on the surface but there’s pain underneath, like a lot of the best music. That night in concert E was a little closer to Beck than They Might Be Giants but whatever form he takes, he puts on a good show.

I don't remember Vanessa being an Eels or E fan but it was her idea to go to the show. We probably drank.

The Gutter Twins, April 2 at Avalon

The show with the Gutter Twins, featuring Greg Dulli of the Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers, and Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees and Queens of the Stone Age, was exactly what I expected: dark, grinding rock that's great to drink to (though I hadn't planned to drink until I got there and ran into a friend from work). They played most of their album and a track or two of Lanegan's solo stuff and, after a satisfying set, left the stage. The crowd cheered and waited for an encore... then the house-lights came up, music came on over the P.A., and the bouncers shuffled everyone out. No encore? Now, a band isn't obligated to play more, especially after they played for a good hour (almost to the minute), but it was disappointing, since we all wanted more and saw no reason why there wouldn't be. Even worse, I'd read a review of some of the other shows they'd played and was really looking forward to some of the stuff they'd play post-set (especially some Twilight Singers stuff and, if I wished hard enough, maybe a 'Whigs track). It was good enough but, right at the end, turned out to be a bit of a let-down. Openers Great Northern were good, very polished, leading me to think they were from other bands but all I could find is that the guitarist used to be in 30 Seconds to Mars. As a warm-up act they were great. This was also the show where I imfamously paid $25 to park across the street from the place (being no street parking in the area, even on a weekday night). Sometimes I want to tell Hollywood that it can fuck itself, even when it has good shows.

Saul Williams, March 25 at the Troubadour

I didn’t know anything about Saul Williams except that Trent Reznor had produced his new album but Andrew, a NIN fan dedicated enough to have an interest in Reznor's other projects, said it would be a great show so I went along, also with Vanessa. And it was. The Troubadour is a great place to see a concerts but the sound can be muddy for voices, which makes it poor for a show where there can be a lot of talking if not rapping, which actually didn’t hurt Saul Williams’ performance as everyone in the crowd was shouting along to his words, including the spoken-word parts. But even if you scored it only on the music it would still be a success, getting big chunks of dance-industrial with the weirdo rap, making for an interesting experiment (and perhaps even better on disc). And the fact that I got street parking made for a great evening as well as being with my friends. And maybe Reznor was in the audience that night? Who knows?

Nada Surf/Sea Wolf, March 19 at the Fonda

Seth got me into Nada Surf a few years ago and Vanessa got tickets for the Fonda show so we checked them out. Their early stuff was scrappy, indie-pop-punk, in the Weezer mold (their first album was even produced by Ric Ocasek) and they were popular for a little while due to a song called, aptly enough, "Popular", which I think was used as the theme for some TV show. I couldn't tolerate the song then and Seth said they'd never played it in all the times he'd seen them in concert but, just my luck, they played it that night at our show. At least the rest of the set was good. Their stuff after that first album was a lot more M.O.R. and fairly breezy but in concert it was heavier. Vanessa said it seemed liked there was some inspirational/religious themes going on with their music but I have to say I enjoyed it just because it was good to see a band that actually seemed to be really excited about playing live. Openers Sea Wolf, a local band who apparently had some songs on the radio, were great. I picked up their album later on.

Nellie Mckay, March 14 at Largo

One of the best things about living in the Los Angeles areas is the kind of special shows you can get to. Nearly every band comes through town (or at least close enough), as well as the secret shows, warm-up dates, beginning or ending a tour (sometimes both), and big acts doing shows in small places. Nellie McKay isn’t a big name but she should be. She also doesn’t tour (though she toured enough a few years ago to open for Alanis Morrissette, I recall reading) and she’s not well-known (though she had a short article in Rolling Stone and they rated Get Away from Me, her first album four stars (still underrated)) but she does shows here and there, usually a few in L.A. every few months, and usually at Largo, when it was at the old location on Fairfax, which at least used to be a small restaurant/bar that hosts low-key acts (often Jon Brion and sometimes Aimee Mann) and comedy (Sarah Silverman and David Cross are there so much you’d think they live there). Vanessa had never been there (though she’s lived about two blocks away from there for years) so I made dinner reservations for the show (having dinner there is how you reserve a place for the show). At a small place like that, any seat is near the stage but we were only a few feet away. Ms. McKay came out and played a charming set, mostly on piano but also some ukulele and she worked the crowd until there couldn’t have been even one person who wasn’t under her spell. I told Vanessa that she didn’t need to know the songs since it was more about the show than hearing familiar songs and McKay played a few songs even I hadn’t heard (including feminist anthem "Mother of Pearl" and "Zombie"), surely some new songs she’d been working on, and probably some old ones I just hadn’t heard. Between songs she told jokes and it was hard to tell what was practiced and what was just coming to her at the time. I don’t know if the loopy blonde is a character that McKay is playing or if that’s really her (the ditzy genius) but whoever she really is, she puts on a fun show. She probably isn’t playing anywhere near you but if she is, you really ought to go. She’ll probably be playing somewhere small.

Raveonettes/Be Your Own Pet, March 4 at the El Rey

The Raveonettes and Be Your Own Pet aren't two groups that you would normally think go together. I happen to be a fan of both and I would maybe-probably go to see each individually but put them together and it's an essential show. There were a lot of people at the El Rey that were there to see each seperately but I can't imagine there were many people who would have hated the others' music, as disparate as those two groups might be. Be Your Own Pet might have always been an opening band at that kind of venue, only because they can do a full set of their scrappy, teenaged thrash-pop songs, about 20 songs, in less than 30 minutes, but it's a crying shame that Paramore -- who ripped off everything about BYOP (including their home-town) but were more palatable and far less fun -- are big and BYOP aren't. The Raveonettes play '50s/'60s-retro surf-sex rock and not much fun (compared to BYOP) but it's well-crafted and seductive and entrancing. So if you think of it as seeing two really great bands quite possibly at their peak at this moment, then they absolutely fit for a great show. It was shortly after that that BYOP broke up and, one of my great regrets, that was the one time I got to see them, even sadder because I got even more into them after that. In any case, Vanessa went with me to that show since she's a Raveonettes fan but I couldn't quite get her into BYOP.

The Raveonettes' set-list:
"Hallucinations"
"Dead Sound"
"That Great Love Sound"
"Let's Rave On"
"Lust"
"Red Tan"
"Love In A Trashcan"
"Expelled From Love"
"Attack of the Ghost Riders"
"You Want The Candy"
"Black Satin"
"Blush"
"French Disko"
"'Aly, Walk With Me"

Marilyn Manson, February 23 at the Wiltern

Remember when Marilyn Manson used to play arenas? Those days may or may not be behind him but theaters suit him better anyway. I can't say I'm a particular fan but the new album is surprisingly good and I know that he puts on a show. I wasn't disappointed. He opened with a slow number and that was about the only thing downbeat about the rest, almost two hours (going well past midnight): it was hard, fast, and loud, though the momentum was stalled in the minutes between numbers when the stage had to be set up for the next part (which included a podium he sang from, candles, and black confetti that twice filled the place). He went with his best songs, some album cuts, with an emphasis on Mechanical Animals, probably playing up to the fact that Twiggy is touring with him again, though he only did a number or two from his new album, which was slightly disappointing but he made up for it. Kerry King from Slayer came out frequently throughout the show to play guitar. And it's not often that you see a sexy, female nurse slowly wheel a cart on stage and, after her head is lifted off her body, you realize it's a robot. But the real winners of the night were the crowd. Usually L.A. crowds are sluggish and hard to impress enough to move but everyone was there for a great show, screaming along to the music, making new friends in the mosh-pit, and flipping off the performer (an act which has always perplexed me). It seems I read somewhere that Marilyn was done with music and wasn't going to tour anymore. I'm glad he changed his mind. Ours opened and I didn't even remember there was an opener until I checked my notes.

Marilyn Manson's set-list:
"Cruci-Fiction in Space"
"Disposable Teens"
"Irresponsible Hate Anthem"
"Great Big White World"
"mOBSCENE"
"Mechanical Animals"
"Heart-Shaped Glasses (When the Heart Guides the Hand)"
"The Love Song"
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (Eurythmics cover)
"Rock 'n' Roll Nigger" (Patti Smith cover)
"Tourniquet"
"Little Horn"
"Happiness Is a Warm Gun" (Beatles cover)
"The Dope Show"
"Rock is Dead"
"Coma White"
"Coma Black"
"1996"
"Antichrist Superstar"
"The Beautiful People"
(That may or may not be the actual set. I don't remember all of those songs being played, but it was a while ago.)

Rob Dickinson, January 24 at the Viper Room

One of the few times I get out to the Viper Room but I'd go nearly anywhere in L.A. to see Rob Dickinson. It was some of the same set as he'd done at Coachella two years ago but there's not a bad thing that as he's playing great songs, about half his own solo stuff but slightly more Catherine Wheels tunes. Included in the set was "The End of the World", a track on the version of his solo album that was after the one I got, but it was so lovely that I had to go home and download it. For this show he also added some musicians so it's wasn't strictly solo and acoustic after the first few numbers, though, sadly, no members from CW but including a hottie cellist, and did a few extra songs, including "The Nude" (from CW's Chrome) and encoring with, perplexingly (and perhaps ironically) a cover of "Don't Stop Believin'". Yes, by Journey. But he pulled it off (though just barely). I sure like living in a town where you can easily get out to see shows like that, even better when Vanessa and Andrew can go and we can drink.