Thank you . I got tickets for his show at the Disney Hall thanks to you. My last was Bob Dylan at the Dolby 10/24/14. Great sound and Bob was in a good mood and voice.
One of your favorite bands ? Who's still in it ? Maybe Kim Simmonds ? I guess my last show was a Pioneer Park show in Salt Lake a few years ago. Maybe Thurston Moore ?
Sleater-Kinney in Chicago. The 17th of this month. I'll have to update after seeing them again tomorrow!
Ryan Adams at the Tower Theater, Philadelphia PA. Great show! Got tickets yesterday for his upcoming show at The Grand Opers in Wilmington, DE. That one should be awesome as The Grand Opera is my favorite venue in the Philly region. Beautiful theater with fantastic acoustics.
Fleetwood Mac. Portland Oregon. Best show I've seen, except maybe Elvis Costello during the Trust tour. Mick closed the show by giving a short but honest speech. I've seen a lot of shows and I've never seen a show end with "closing remarks." Mick's speech was really nice and heartfelt even though he did it every city and I recognize it's just showbiz. Stevie sang great, Buckingham played well. John was incredible, and frankly, he was the only one to deviate from the records.
Parliament - Funkadelic on Valentine's Day night a couple of weeks ago. An amazingly awesome show, one of the best dance nights I could have imagined taking my wife on a date night to. Plus, the show had one of the cooler endings that I've ever seen. Here in Boston, the show took place on the night of one of our many major snowstorms this year and that afternoon it was an open question as to whether the show would go on or not. Typically at the House of Blues in Boston on Saturday nights, concerts end around 10PM so they can clear out the club and have a club night / DJ night afterwards. Well, due to the storm the club night was canceled and judging from a couple of sound guys coming on stage, they gave George Clinton the okay to go over the curfew a bit. Well, they ended up playing for well over another hour, only begrudgingly stopping after A) the club brought up the house lights and when the band didn't get the hint B) a few minutes later cutting the club PA sound system so the band was only playing with their own amplification and C) finally having House of Blues staff cut the power to the band's own amps. And still this didn't have the desired effect of ending the show as George, the drummer and the backup singers got the crowd singing along to a loud, raucous and a capella rendition of "Atomic Dog!" There's nothing like leaving a club sweaty and riled up and emerging into a blizzard of snow. One of the most fun nights I've ever had at a concert, highly recommended!
Richard Thompson acoustic show a couple of months ago in Middletown, OH on the Miami University campus. It was great to hear the acoustic treatment of cuts from his 'Electric' album. Next weekend: Jonathan Richman in Louisville, KY.
Dom Flemons, The American Songster, last Fall. A great night out and recommended for anyone who likes music.
Elton John, last night. Davey and Nigel were on board and they banged out the goods, but EJ was having a little difficulty hitting some notes. Still a great show - a true legend. Afterwards, some drunk girls tried to start some trouble with us on the way out. Cincinnati crowds always have random packs of unconscionable a-holes.
I saw Rob Halford, Queensryche, and Iron Maiden in St. Louis in the early 2000s. Great show. Got wasted.
I should have went. Love Chris Thile's playing and the T Wolfe is my favorite local venue. I had tickets to Sturgill Simpson at the Grey Eagle Last night but unfortunately he canceled. I had been looking forward to it since November
Brilliant! Me - White Stripes... but it was the Under Blackpool Lights DVD. Tut - that's naughty of me. Actually, the last one was back in 2007. Why so long? I don't know, it just happened and see things advertised now and then but always something comes up and I forget or miss getting tickets. I checked it up and thought it was actually longer than that, because I went to quite a few in 2004/5 and then just suddenly didn't find any of much interest. It was when I lived by the seaside in Rhyl, North Wales and saw 80s Liverpool band China Crisis doing their 'Unplugged' thing - never was a fan of their studio work but I've got a DVD of them doing a similar show and they had a CD out too which I liked a lot and that gave me the idea to go. I asked a friend who was a big fan of theirs since they begun (late 70s/early 8os) and he leaped at the chance. They were excellent, the music was great and one of the best shows I've ever seen. The singer was a gas - he was giggling and saying weird stuff about mushy peas in between the first few songs; so very entertaining all round!
My most recent(last) concert was Allen Toussaint at Family Gras in Metairie, LA. Admission...FREE. A bit cold that Friday night, so I had a chance to get by the barrier in back of the "VIP" area. At 77, he played like a musician MUCH younger. Played roughly 80 minutes. The hits kept coming and coming and coming...... Caught a nylon Frisbee he threw out to the crowd. Signed and dated. Nice night indeed.
Sorry to hear about Sturgill - I know that show sold out ages ago so I can imagine you and a lot of others were disappointed. Any reason given and/or a rescheduled date set? Was actually at the Grey Eagle the Friday before to see Sean Watkins, so got 2/3rds of Nickel Creek in within a week. (Will hopefully catch Sara later this year.) And yes, I love the T Wolfe - only live a couple of blocks away now to boot so am a very happy camper!
Madonna in Detroit in '12. It was the first time I ever saw her live. She came on a full 2 hours late, right as the buzz from the watered-down beer started to fade into lethargic sullenness. Musically, it wasn't very interesting at all. Her shows are mainly for the $500 + seats, so you can see the dancers and the costumes and all that. I was struck by how committed she was to the performance though. Total pro. Despite being in her hometown, it was lacking in sentimentality. At one point, she said that she just knew Detroit was gonna make a comeback. It sounded very disingenuous of her, being a billionaire with mansions all across the world, and all..
In January I saw Chuck Prophet at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle. Great show with Chuck pulling songs from everywhere including Lou Reed, Alex Chilton and Flamin' Groovies covers. A friend knows Chuck so we got comp tickets. The club was packed, but I got to sit at the side of the stage.
They were/are one of my favorites. Unfortunately, Kim Simmonds is the only remaining original member, but he has and excellent band behind him and they were playing all the great tunes.
I saw Jack White last summer and he was way too loud. I had to move from the pit area to the lawn. big ego on that guy
Eagles at Hanging Rock last night. They were fantastic but the sound was way too soft. Then a huge thunderstorm rolled in which was spectacular until the winds hit causing one of the giant screens to swing at at 90 degree angle, shorting out and some huge road cases to fall over onto the stage. I've never seen a band exit so quickly! One moment they were playing a song, the next there was nobody on stage. We had to wait almost an hour in the rain before it was safe for them to return. Which they did with Doolin Dalton (reprise), taking us straight back into the zone. It rained for the rest of the night but I think we still got the full set minus chatter and some pre recorded videos. Worst bit was I couldn't find my friends car after and had to walk around for 90 minutes in the rain looking until the traffic jam eased and the car revealed itself!
In June, I drove from Michigan out to London, Ontario by myself to see St. Vincent. It was about a two and a half hour drive, and I got there right on time. The opening acts were good, and the St. Vincent performance was phenomenal. As enjoyable as it was, she seemed to lack a bit of... personality. I know she's staying in character and all that, but I think I would have rather seen her come out of that "alien" act for a bit. It made it seem too calculated and rehearsed. Despite that, I was wowed by her performance, musically. The final encore performance of "Your Lips Are Red" took the cake. I wanted to stay and party with the good people of London, Ontario, but I had to work the next day, and it was already close to midnight. Returning to the United States, on the other hand was quite the pain in the butt. Apparently a guy in his early 20s crossing the border alone at 2AM is suspicious. They searched my car and made me fill out paperwork in which I promised that I was not a terrorist. All in all, it was worth it.
Jason Moran and the Bandwagon with guest vocalist Horace Grigsby February 7, 2015 at Wortham Theater in Houston Wonderful show and world premiere of Holed Up, a multi-media work featuring new compositions by Jason Moran, commissioned by Da Camera and inspired by Robert Rauschenberg.
