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The Monkees (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, October 26, 2016)

Posted in Death Cab For Cutie, New Brunswick, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre, The Monkees, The Monkees, Weezer, XTC on October 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 26, 20162016-10-26-19-47-23] The Monkees

Like most people of my age I used to watch The Monkees on TV.  I was never a huge fan, but I liked the show a bunch and used to sing the theme (and pretend to be The Monkees when at the beach).  But I never really gave them much thought as a musical act (especially when I got older and learned that *gasp* they didn’t even play on the songs!).

Then I learned that there are some people who really really like The Monkees.  My college roommate was a huge fan, and a fellow I’ve met through another friend is an even bigger one–Craig, good luck on that book, man!  I also found out that Sarah and her fried Joanna used to watch the show all the time and were mega Monkees fans (without the album buying).

So when the band announced their 50th (FIFTIETH!) Anniversary tour, I thought it would be fun to go and thought Sarah would really enjoy it.  Sarah saw them on a previous anniversary tour (25, maybe?), where Peter, Micky and Davy were presence (Mike doesn’t typically do this sort of thing).  Of course, with Davy passed on, we wondered just how much of a Monkees show this would be.

Well, I never realized that Mickey sang most of the songs.  It makes sense now that I think of it, he is the voice of the Monkees after all, but I’d assumed it was a bit more democratic.  So as long as Mickey’s there it is still a Monkees gig.  Having Peter there lends it some credibility (Mike did perform a couple of shows when the tour went through California). (more…)

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Shellac (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 25, 2016)

Posted in Philadelphia, PA, Shellac, Union Transfer on October 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 26, 2016] Shellac

2016-10-25-22-32-01My friend Andrew asked me if I wanted to go to see Shellac.  They were a band I liked in the 1990s and had kind of forgotten about, although I did get and enjoy their album from last year, Dude Incredible.  And I thought that they would be a fun band to see live.

Shellac is known as Steve Albini’s band.  Albini is a famous record producer and famously cantankerous dude.  But people love the clarity and crispness of the sounds he gets.  On the Shellac albums, the guitars are so sharp and piercing that they feel textural.  But he also doesn’t mix things super loud, so nothing is overloaded.  Things are sharp and crisp.  And that is the same for the drums.  Drummer Todd Trainer’s snare drum really pops and the rest of his kit is just as sharp sounding.

On the other end is bassist Bob Weston.  Weston has one of the best bass sounds I’ve ever heard.  Deep and resonant, clean but not pretty.  While the guitar may be the most notable thing about Shellac, it’s the bass that sounds so impressive on those records.  And the three together make loud aggressive sorta punk, with Albini’s spoken/screamed lyrics.  This was definitely a show to bring earplugs to.

The sound of Shellac is quite minimal and, appropriate, so was the stage show.  Before the show Andrew and I joked that the blue gels covering the lights would be too much embellishment for the band.  And indeed, when they came on stage, there were eight white spotlights that lit them from the back.  And that was it.  It was all about the sound. (more…)

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Shannon Wright (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, October 25, 2016) [SHELLAC]

Posted in Kishi Bashi, Philadelphia, PA, Shannon Wright, Shellac, Twain, Union Transfer on October 26, 2016| 2 Comments »

[ATTENDED: October 26, 2016] Shannon Wright

2016-10-25-20-43-31My friend Andrew got us tickets to see Shellac. When I looked to see who was opening, the site listed “Shannon Wright.”  I had never heard of her.  I had t laugh that the blurb on Shellac was literally two sentences.  While Wright’s was 8 large paragraphs.

It made me excited to see her, but I had no idea what to expect.  And then she came out with just her guitar (and flashbacks to Kishi Bashi’s opener Twain came hurtling at me).

But Wright was no Twain.  She started with a looped guitar melody–rather pretty.  And then she turned it off–that appears to be her “tuning music” because once she started playing–it sounded nothing like that loop.

Wrights play a very aggressive guitar–she doesn’t strum of pick so much as pluck those string so that they slap back against the guitar.  Her low notes are percussive and her high notes are painful.  She uses no pick, so it really emphasizes this abrasive style.  Her songs have a very steady rhythm on the low notes–very easy to bob your head (or in some cases seriously headbang) along to, while the melody gets hammered out on the high strings. (more…)

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Umphrey’s McGee (The Fillmore Philadelphia, October 21, 2016)

Posted in Disco Biscuits, Dream Theater, King Crimson, Nirvana, Philadelphia, PA, Phish, Sturgill Simpson, The Fall, The Fillmore Philadelphia, The Who, Umphrey's McGee on October 22, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 21, 2016] Umphrey’s McGee

2016-10-21-21-25-48 As of this summer I didn’t know who Umphrey’s McGee were.  I assumed they were a country band or something.  Then I found out a friend of mine who was at the Phish show that I went to was a huge fan of Umphrey’s McGee too.  She said that they were amazing live.  I listened to some of their stuff (and learned that their debut was called Greatest Hits Volume III, which I love), and then saw that they were playing three nights at The Fillmore in Philadelphia.  So I got a ticket for the middle night to see what the story was.

And I think I picked a good night to go.  Friday night the band had an opening act, not so Saturday or Sunday.  This meant that they didn’t go on until 9:15, which was fine.  I arrived in time but I had forgotten about the long security lines (and I’m thankful for the security, but ouch, it adds ten minutes to the line).  I missed the opening song, but since the band played for nearly three hours, that was okay.

So it turns out that Umphrey’s McGee are a jam band who work within a more progressive/metal sound.  They have a lot of stops and starts and time changes and their guitar solos are superfast pyrotechnics.  Most of their songs extend to about ten minutes or more (maybe like Dream Theater if they were a jam band).

But the fun thing about UM is that they throw in all kinds of cover segments and mashups.  To my knowledge there were no mashup in this show, although they are about a to release a whole album full of great mashups. However, they did tease out sections of other songs during some of their longer instrumental jams, which was fun. (more…)

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Sloan (Underground Arts, Philadelphia, PA, October 15, 2016)

Posted in Canadian Music, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Philadelphia, PA, Sloan, Television, Underground Arts on October 16, 2016| Leave a Comment »

sloan[ATTENDED: October 15, 2016] Sloan

Back in the early 1990s, I heard Sloan’s “Underwhelmed,” and I loved it.  Such a great song that is still rocking and clever over 20 years later.  Sloan has a tumultuous few years after that, appearing to break up but not, getting signed and then dropped and then settling down and putting out some amazing music over the next 20 or so years which few people outside of Canada heard.

They have released eleven albums and I think that each one gets better and better.  Sloan is touring the 20th Anniversary of One Chord to Another.  There are some great songs on it, although it’s wasn’t my favorite album.  But the point is I have never seen Sloan.  In all the years I’ve been a fan, we’ve never been in the same place at the same time.  So even though I had been to a show the night before and this would make six concerts in twelve days (!), I bought tickets to see one of my favorite underground bands.

Since I knew they were playing all of OCTA, I listened to it a lot before hand and now, after seeing it live, I do like it even more than before. (But seriously if they do a 20th anniversary tour of Between the Bridges in three years…. you couldn’t keep me from that stage).

I’d never been to Underground Arts before.  It is indeed underground.  And it is indeed quite small (about 500 people max).

I arrived pretty early (start time was supposed to be 9:15, but they didn’t go on until 9:30–divas!).  But that meant that I was able to score a spot right behind the guy leaning on the stage.  As they say in Fast Times at Ridgemont High: so close I could scare the band. (more…)

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Squeeze (Keswick Theatre, Glenside, PA, October 14, 2016)

Posted in Glenside, PA, Keswick Theatre, Squeeze, The Easybeats, The English Beat, Tom Waits on October 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 14, 2016] Squeeze

2016-10-14-22-01-21Squeeze’s 1982 Greatest Hits album 45s and Under is my favorite Greatest Hits record of all time.  And yet, I don’t actually own any other Squeeze records.

But over the last year or so my friend Amy has been posting pictures of all the Squeeze and Squeeze-related shows she’s been going to.  And I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.  So when they announced they were playing The Keswick Theatre (which I’d never been to before, but which I knew was an intimate venue), I snatched up tickets.

And as their T-Shirt says (see bottom) I’d forgotten how much I like Squeeze. (more…)

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Richard Thompson (Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA, October 9, 2016)

Posted in Concert, Fairport Convention, Linda Thompson, Richard Thompson, Sandy Denny, Sellersville Theater, Sellersville, PA on October 9, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 9, 2016] Richard Thompson

2016-10-09-15-21-28I saw Richard Thompson play back in February at McCarter.  I saw him open for Wilco (well, I saw some of his set since I was late) back in June.  And now I’ve seen him in October.

That’s a lot of Richard.  But I couldn’t pass up this show because the Sellersville Theater is one of the most intimate venues around.  I scored Row G seats like in McCarter although Sellersville’s row G is a bit further back because they have tables in the front.  But it was still like having him play in my living room.

I’ve seen him play in many different styles over the years.  This summer he also toured with Bonnie Raitt with his trio.  I would have gone to that one, since I haven’t seen his trio, but prices were way too much and I don’t like Bonnie Raitt–well, her music anyway, I’ve no opinion about her.  Like the last two times, this was just him and his acoustic guitar.  And while I would love to have gotten a different setup, there is nothing wrong with just him and his guitar.

This was a matinee show (2PM!) thrown together kind of at the last minute (it was announced less than a month ago).  He joked about how matinees are usually played fro 5-year-olds or 95-year-olds–either playing 1930s covers or Puff the Magic Dragon.  He was glad that we were between those ages.

And like last time, there was the man just six rows away.  And I got to watch every amazing solos and chord changes and capo placements and tuning and everything else he could do with that one guitar.  For the McCarter how he played for 2 hours.  We only got 90 minutes (he said “I have three more minutes before I turn into a pumpkin”) which is a little skimpy (although probably about the normal length for a show).

And while no RT show is disappointing, I was a little bummed that his setlist was almost exactly the same as the one he played at McCarter.  The first two songs were different, but almost all of the rest were the same.  And there were no requests or improvs, apparently.

I mentioned last time that he doesn’t play a lot of songs from his new album.  Which is a shame both because his newer albums have been outstanding, but also because he works pretty hard at them (I assume), and he should get to play more from them.   Of course, I totally get that he is practically contractually obligated to play “1952 Vincent Black Lightning,” “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight” “Beeswing” “Persuasion” and something from Fairport Convention.  But holy cow, he has so many songs.   He could play a different setlist every night for a month!

But enough griping, because the show was great.  he sounded fantastic and the acoustics in Sellersville are really top-notch. (more…)

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Built to Spill (The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, October 8, 2016)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Built to Spill, Credence Clearwater Revivial, Sigur Rós, The Halo Benders, The Stone Pony on October 8, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2016] Built to Spill

2016-10-08-22-25-14Fifteen years ago I saw Sigur Rós.  A few days before that show I was supposed to see Built to Spill, but 9/11 happened and I skipped BtS.  So here it is fifteen years later and I get to see Sigur Rós and BtS a few days apart once again.  I also happened to see Built to Spill almost exactly one year ago today, so it was fun to do it all over again,.

This was my first time in the legendary Stone Pony.  I was shocked by how small it was and how strangely laid out it is (quite wide and not very deep).  I could have been within a few feet of the stage but when I varied I saw that even though the ticket said 7, BtS wasn’t going on until 10, so I scoured the venue and a saw a small riser to the back right.  I went up there and stood in the front of it, effectively three feet above everyone.  And I had a perfect view of the stage, so I stood there the whole time.

And boy am I glad.  The floor scene was a madhouse.  I was right above what was essentially the only way in and our once the club had gotten really packed.  People were squeezing past this small opening all night long.  And during the third song, a fight broke out–punches actually thrown!–because someone got in someone (both men of course) else’s way.  I even beer or something thrown in my face.  Stay classy, Asbury Park.

Unlike the previous show, BtS was only a three-piece.  Last show I marveled at Doug Martsch including two other guitarists to share lead duties, but I loved the fullness of the sound. I wasn’t sure what I would think of the band as a three-piece (my friend Jay informed me of the trio set up a few hours before they went on, so at least I was prepared–although I was bummed that Jay couldn’t make the show).

I was a little unconvinced about the sound of the three-piece when the band started.  But that turned out to be a mixing issue.  The drums were too loud, the bassist was inaudible and then Doug was himself.  But by the second song it was perfectly balanced and sounded amazing.

And once the sound was perfected, it came down to setlist.  And that was amazing–this setlist was almost entirely different from my previous show.  (more…)

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Alex G (The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, October 8, 2016) [BUILT TO SPILL]

Posted in Alex G, Asbury Park, NJ, Built to Spill, Car Seat Headrest, The Stone Pony on October 8, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2016] Alex G

2016-10-08-21-01-11I hadn’t heard of Alex G before this tour.  He is apparently a prodigy of home recordings, starting his self-released oeuvre when he was 17.  (He’s now 23 and looks to be about 15).

For some reason I’d gotten the impression that he was a shredding guitar god type of prodigy.  But he is not.  He’s more of a pop/experimental/lo-fi song-writing-type prodigy.  He reminded me of Car Seat Headrest both in terms of self released prolific-ness and general style.

He counts Elliott Smith (who I don’t hear) and Doug Martsch of Built to Spill (whom I do hear) as influences. In fact during the set, he stated that Built to Spill was the best band alive today. (more…)

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J&L Defer (The Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ, October 8, 2016) [BUILT TO SPILL]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Built to Spill, Disco Doom, J&L Defer, The Stone Pony on October 8, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 8, 2016] J&L Defer

2016-10-08-20-11-43It was raining pretty hard when I left for The Stony Pony.  Doors were at 7, I imagined Alex G (who was billed along with Built to Spill) would go on around 7:30, Built to Spill would go on no later than 9 and I’d be home early.

So I was bummed when I walked in at 7:30 and saw that there was another opening band called J&L Defer and that they would be going on at 8, and that BtS would not be going on until 10.  Ugh.

I assumed that J&L Defer (what a weird name) were some local band.  I was surprised to discover that they were a duo and that they were not there to rock us, but to play some shapeless noodling.  And, as soon as the guitar played a piercing note (opening acts tend to sound worse than the headliner and tend to hurt my ears much more), I got some earplugs. (more…)

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