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King Crimson (Academy of Music, Philadelphia, PA, September 13, 2014)

Posted in Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, King Crimson, Ministry, Philadelphia, PA, Porcupine Tree, The Academy of Music on September 14, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 13, 2014] King Crimsonkc

When I saw that King Crimson was touring I asked some friends if I should go see them.  I’ve been a fan more in theory than in practice.  I like a lot of their stuff, always planned to listen to them more, but I barely scratched the surface of their output (they’re the kind of band who has released dozens and dozens of things with varying project names and incarnations and since they’ve been recording since 1969, it’s daunting to say the least).

So when two friends basically said they’d give their eye teeth to see the show, it was a quick decision to get my tickets.

It was time to brush up on my back catalog.  I had no idea what they’d be playing, so it was something of a crap shoot what discs to look into.  As it turned out between the two old CDs and the one live CD that I bought, I covered nearly everything that they played.  And that was pretty awesome.  I had grown to really enjoy the CDs over the last few months and to see it done in front of me was… well, it was amazing.

King Crimson haven’t toured since 2008, and I have never seen them before.  This line up was new for the touring band as well.  It was the first time that Adrian Belew hadn’t toured with them in decades.  But there were some old favorites playing:  Tony Levin, frequent KC contributor and amazing bassist (bass and more); Mel Collins, played with KC in the 70s but hasn’t since, and here he is (Sax, flute); Jakko Jakszyk, recent contributor to Fripp’s projects and the real unknown for me (guitar, vocals).  And then the three, yes, three drummers: Gavin Harrison has played with KC before (drums), Bill Rieflin, mostly known for playing with Ministry (!) (drums), Pat Mastelotto has played with KC before, including with Bill Bruford (drums).  And of course Robert Fripp (guitar).

So, do you need three drummers?  Isn’t that overkill?
Yes and yes.

The three drummers were utterly amazing and they were the focus of the show.  As you can see from the photo, the drums were out front so you could watch everything.

Before I get into the show, The Kimmel Center is beautiful and the sound was amazing.  I had first row balcony seats.  My one seating gripe: I was in front of Fripp, but he basically sat sideways facing the stage (and his wall of gadgets) so I never really got to see him do anything. He was in profile most of the night, and I saw his hands moving, but that was it.  So, next time, pick stage left to sit.  Also, bring binoculars, because why not.

Back to the three drummers up front.  Mastelotto on the left (I could see him perfectly), Rieflin in the center and Harrison on the right (profile, but he was very visible).  Behind, l-r Collins, Levin, Jakko and Fripp.

As I said, though, it was all about the drums. (more…)

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Kiss (Montage Mountain, August 9, 2014, Scranton, PA)

Posted in Kiss, Scranton Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA on August 14, 2014| 2 Comments »

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2014] Kiss

2014-08-09 21.41.30As I said, two years ago, I saw Kiss at this same venue and I marveled that Gene and Paul could still do all this while both in their mid 60s. But Paul’s voice sounded a little weak, and I wasn’t really sure that I wanted to see them again after that.

But here it is two years later, and I was back with my friend Matt and his family, and I’m going to say that the show was superb this year. Paul’s voice was in great form, the band seemed revitalized, even Gene seemed to enjoy himself.

Some changes were made on this tour.  I saw that in earlier shows in the tour they played some songs that I would have loved to hear–“King of the Nighttime World” especially, so I was a little bummed that they played a setlist that was pretty close (but not exact) to the last time.  What was surprising was what they left out–no “Shock Me” no guitar solo (I didn’t miss it) and no smoking guitar. So, “Ace” got short shrift, but there’s so much other spectacle that it wasn’t such a big deal. (more…)

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Def Leppard (Montage Mountain, August 9, 2014, Scranton, PA) [KISS]

Posted in Def Leppard, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Scranton Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA, The Who on August 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2014] Def Leppard

Two years ago, Kiss had Motley Crue open for them.  Crue was one of those bands that I liked when they first came out and then, as they made poppier/sleazier music, I liked them less.  This year, the opener was Def Leppard.  Def Leppard was even more egregious in terms of going from a heavy metal band to a massive pop band.  And, heck, it worked for them.  But as a young metal head, who enjoyed most of High and Dry and some of Pyromania, Hysteria was just too far.  And I actively disliked a lot of those songs (perhaps more than I needed to) at the time.

And what I learned is that even after all these years, while I could “forgive” some bands and actually enjoy their sets, I could not forgive Def Leppard for all of the songs that I really disliked.

But first…how ballsy is it to have your intro music be The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and then after the big scream near the end, have your banner drop and you finish the song.  I was pretty surprised.  But they sounded quite good, loud and brash.  And then they opened with “Let It Go,” a pretty heavy (for them) track from High and Dry which I had forgotten about but which rocked really well.  And I thought, hey, any chance they’re just going to play the heavy songs?

But no.  They moved into “Animal,” one of 6 songs from Hysteria.  Of course, it wasn’t all Hysteria.  They did play “Foolin'” which really didn’t do it for me as much as I thought it would-perhaps I was bitter about the Hysteria.  (more…)

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Dead Daisies (Montage Mountain, August 9, 2014, Scranton, PA) [KISS]

Posted in AC/DC, Bad Company, Dead Daisies, Guns n' Roses, INXS, Kiss, Scranton Times-Tribune, Scranton, PA, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake on August 12, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 9, 2014] Dead Daisies

daisiesTwo years ago, I went to see Kiss in Scranton.  I had seen them a few times by then, and since Paul’s voice sounded pretty bad, I didn’t think I’d go again.  But I love hanging out with my friend Matt and don’t get to see him enough, so when he invited me up for this year’s extravaganza, I decided what the hell.  And it turned out to be a very good show indeed.

The first opening act was a band called Dead Daisies.  Last time, they had an opening act that I didn’t investigate at all.  But this year, I had my phone out and figured that Dead Daisies was a local Scranton band, and I’d see if I could find anything about them.

Well, it turns out that Dead Daisies is from Australia and that the lead singer, Jon Stevens, was the guy who sang for INXS after Michael Hutchence killed himself (but before they did the reality show to find a new singer).  I never heard INXS in that version, but the way he was singing for this band, I can’t even begin to imagine him as a good fit.  Because he has a big old powerful voice and sings in a very un-Hutchence way.

When they first came out I was kind of unimpressed.  The first song sounded a ton like AC/DC.  And the second song sounded like Bad Company.  As it turns out the band is a kind of retro rock band, with connections to Guns N Roses (guitarist Richard Fortus has played with GnR and Dizzy Reed plays keyboards for GnR).  And it turns out that Slash co-wrote their song “Lock ‘n’ Load.”  The other guys in the band are Marco Mendoza on bass (he’s played with Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and many others) and David Lowy on guitar.  (more…)

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Modest Mouse (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, August 7, 2014)

Posted in Mimicking Birds, Modest Mouse, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on August 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 7, 2014] Modest Mouse

It’s terribly frustrating when you think you’re getting good pictures but your phone’s viewscreen is evidently ten times better than its aperture.

I have liked Modest Mouse for a pretty long time.  I think I first heard them with The Moon & Antarctica, but I also really loved This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (and I recall listening to it a lot while driving from New Jersey to Boston).  But I hadn’t realized that they hadn’t put out a new album in years.  They had an EP in 2009, but their last full length, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank was in 2007.

Recently on the show At Midnight, Tom Lennon, made a great joke about Modest Mouse.  The setup was Portland Pranks, and his joke was that people replaced all of the early Modest Mouse albums with their new ones.  This made me laugh because it’s very funny, but when I thought about it (and how often I’ve heard it), it made me laugh because Modest Mouse have 5 full length albums out.  And I think the first three are deemed classic.  But I’m also guilty of liking their early stuff more too.  (Although “Float On,” for all of its poppiness is a pretty fantastic song (so of course they didn’t play it)).

But man, did they play a wide variety of music.  Starting with a song from Lonesome Crowded West (the first of 3) and then playing a song from Moon & Antarctica (the first of 4), before playing something from We Were Dead (the first of four as well).  I had wondered why they were touring now since they don’t have a new release out.  But they played four new unreleased songs and, man were they different. (more…)

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Mimicking Birds (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, August 7, 2014) [MODEST MOUSE]

Posted in Happy Birthday, Mimicking Birds, Modest Mouse, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on August 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 7, 2014] Mimicking Birds

I was excited to get tickets for Modest Mouse, a band I have liked for years but had never seen.  And I was pleased to see that Mimicking Birds was opening.  They’re a band I knew a little (I liked one song and had listened to their albums online).  I liked their newer album more than the first, which was a little generic folkie to me.

We had just come home from vacation, and I had the 45 min drive to Sayreville ahead of me.  So I called the theater and they told me Mimicking Birds would go on at 8:15.  Last time, they estimated very early, so I left late, figured I’d get there at 8:15 and waltz in to see my friend Jay who I haven’t seen since we left the same job almost 2 years ago.

Well, a little detour on the way down delayed me somewhat, but nothing prepared me for the huge line waiting outside the place.  It seems that will-call is the more sensible way to go than actually bringing your tickets, as you don’t have to wait in line–weird.  So, I wound up missing half of their set and then spent the first song I heard looking for Jay.  When we finally met, I was able to hear the very end of their set, including singing a happy birthday to the bassist. (more…)

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Rodrigo y Gabriela (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, July 30, 2014)

Posted in Metallica, New Brunswick, NJ, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre, Stone Temple Pilots on August 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED, July 30, 2014] Rodrigo y Gabriela

rodygabI first saw Rodrigo y Gabriela on a Tiny Desk Concert and I was blown away.  I knew I had to see these two live.  Rodrigo has a heavy metal background (I didn’t realize that Gabriela was in the heavy metal band Tierra Acida with him).  But even with that background, who knew that two people with acoustic guitars could be so loud!  And our seats were terrific, row S, dead center. Very nice indeed.

Holy smokes, the two of them came out and just blew us away.  They opened with “The Soundmaker” (and really that’s about all I can do in terms of order of songs).  And it sounded louder and more amazing than it does on record.  Although, minor gripe, Gabriela’s guitar has a microphone in it and the bass (which I gather she made by banging on the body of the guitar) was mixed way too loud for the first three songs.  They fixed that for the next batch and then they sounded phenomenal.

After the first three songs (which included a bit of “stairway to Heaven” done in their own style), Gabriela talked to us a bit (while the guitars were tuned, I assume), and then they went back to the music.

Their stage set with pretty minimal–some bright lights on little stands (which were very cool actually).  But it didn’t matter, the two of them are electric on stage–whether it’s Rodrigo’s heavy metal stances or Gabriela’s pogoing, they are in constant motion.  About midway through the show they started using the projection screen behind them (at least I didn’t see any before that).  In addition to some interesting imagery, they also projected close ups of their guitars (I think from small cameras in front of them and from small cameras on the heads of their guitars).  I enjoyed that the images were low res and that they were staticy from time to time–it took any kind of preciousness away and made it look less like they were showing of their virtuosity and more like an interesting image to watch.

After the second set of songs, Rodrigo did a solo section.  He played some very nice flamenco guitar and some rocking solo sections.  Even though he is an amazing guitarist I actually enjoyed this part of the show least because I like the way they play off each other more than I like them individually.

Later in the set Gabriela had a solo section.  Her solo was a bit more interesting to watch because I find her guitar playing style to be mesmerizing and completely incomprehensible.  I loved watching her right hand rapidly moving back and forth, using her fingers on the strings, batting the drum with her thumb or knuckles, and playing heavy rhythm like no one I’ve ever seen.  her hand must be one huge callous.

Some other songs they played were “Torito,” “Sunday Neurosis” (it was alarming when the spoken voices came out of the speakers) and “Misty Moses” (which I learned is dedicated to Harriet Tubman–I also learned that all of the songs on their new album are dedicated to an inspirational figure, guess I should read the liner notes, huh?).

They may have also played “Santo Domingo” (it’s hard to tell, I admit).  But they definitely played Metallica’s “Orion.”  When I first heard that they played Metallica songs, I was really surprised, and I couldn’t wait to hear their take on this instrumental.  And they played a great version of it.  But what I found was that this song was the weakest one in their entire set.  I’ve always liked Metallica’s lengthy instrumentals, but they don’t hold a candle to Rod y Gab’s original songs.

Speaking of covers, about 3/4 of the way through the show, Rodrigo did a “karaoke” section, which was lighthearted and a lot of fun.  He played Stone Temple Pilot’s “Plush” although he didn’t sing a word–the audience provided all the singing, which was really funny. About half way through, the audience lost the plot and he laughed and moved on to the next song, Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Breaking the Girl, which didn’t get quite as many singers (he had a microphone for this one, but gave up when not many people sang along).  He then admitted that they usually don’t play for such a sophisticated crowd (ie. we were sitting down–except for this one poor guy who tried to get everyone up to dance many times).  So he went for a song that this older generation might know (much laughter) and did Pink Floyd’s “Breathe” which was very well received until he sang “I forgot the fuckin lyrics” and we all laughed.  The final song in the karaoke section was Radiohead’s “Creep” which everyone enjoyed very much.

“Fram” and “The Russian Messenger” were also both amazing–by this time the audience was practically bouncing on our seats.

The ended the set with two encores: “Hanuman” and “Tamacun.”  By the encore everyone was on his feet and we were clapping and swaying like fools.  It was that kind of show.  Who would have thought that two guitars could produce so much.  Rod y Gab really have to be seen to be believed.

 

 

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Kishi Bashi (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, July 30, 2014) [RODRIGO Y GABRIELA]

Posted in Jupiter One, Kishi Bashi, New Brunswick, NJ, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre on July 31, 2014| Leave a Comment »

kishi[ATTENDED: July 30, 2014] Kishi Bashi

A few months ago I bought tickets for Rodrigo y Gabriella at the State Theatre.  I was very psyched to see them because I’d seen some videos online and was super psyched to see their show live.  I don’t know when they decided to add an opening act, but about three days ago it was announced that the opener would be Kishi Bashi (this show isn’t even mentioned on his websites tour dates, so it must have been very last minute). But whatever the reason, I nearly whooped ion my seat at work when I saw that he would be the opening act.  And I told our friends Liz and Eleanor how excited I was because they were coming to see Rod y Gab with us as well

I’ve been a huge fan of Kishi Bashi’s since I first heard and then saw him on NPR.  I was mesmerized by the way he looped his violin and did some beatboxing for drums and basically made a whole band all by himself on stage.  I knew that he had been touring with a band this time around, but I was secretly hoping he do at least a few songs by himself.

And man alive was I not disappointed.  At the strike of 8, Kishi came out on stage in a pink tuxedo jacket and bowtie.  (I have no pictures from the show because I was observing the State Theatre’s no pictures policy, even though I appeared to be the only one observing it).  He played some violin improv stuff and then launched into “It All Began with a Burst” a great opening track that allowed him to show off his looping, his voices, his beatboxing and his amazing singing voice.  I was rapt from the get go.

He then played “Bittersweet Genesis for Him and Her” from his new album Lighght (named after the Adam Saroyan poem of the same name).  This isn’t my favorite song from the new album (probably because it is much less soaring than his others), but I enjoyed the live version quite a lot.  Then he went back to his older songs, playing “Atticus, in the Desert” (in New Jersey), which is one of my favorites off his debut.  (more…)

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Gogol Bordello (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 21, 2014)

Posted in Gogol Bordello, Man Man, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on July 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2014] Gogol Bordello

I first heard Gogol Bordello on a PBS music show (I assume it was Austin City Limits, but I can’t find any record of them being on the show).  I didn’t know anything about them, but I was really impressed by what I saw.  Since then I’ve bought a few records, and have enjoyed all of their appearances on NPR shows, but it was after watching the DVD that came with Live from Axis Mundi that I knew this was a band I wanted to see live.  So I was totally psyched that they were coming to the tiny Starland Ballroom.

Now I will say that they were not as exciting here as in the video.  That is due to a couple of things.  The first is that the club in the video was much bigger, allowing them to do a lot more.  The second is that in the video they had direct access to the audience, unlike at Starland so lead singer Eugene Hutz was able to go into the crowd in the video, as were the two dancers (suspended aloft on giant bass drums).  In Starland, they all stayed on the stage (although they did move all over it) and the two dancers have been replaced by one who was excellent but did not climb onto a drum at all).

Comparisons aside, Gogol Bordello put on a pretty amazing show. (more…)

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Man Man (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 21, 2014) [GOGOL BORDELLO]

Posted in Dave Grohl, Gogol Bordello, Man Man, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on July 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2014] Man Man

I went to the Starland Ballroom to see Gogol Bordello, but I was pretty excited that Man Man was opening.  I really only knew them from three things.  Their fairly popular (at least on WXPN) song “Head On [Hold On To Your Heart]” a synthy treacly delight (that really belies the bands manic energy) and “Paul’s Grotesque” a newer song (for XPN) that I didn’t actually realize was Man Man.  And, third, and most compelling, was their video for “Black Mission Goggle” live at Amoeba Records (which you can see at the bottom of the post).  In it they proved to be immensely silly and yet still quite talented.  And I love a band who can put on a show (which is why I wanted to see Gogol Bordello in the first place).

And Man Man did not disappoint.  The four piece came out on stage, with Brown Sugar, the bassist/Schatzaphone/percussionist/malletKAT player on the right side, Pow Pow, the drummer (whose kit was sideways), right in the middle and Shono Murphy the guitarist/trumpeter/percussionist on the left.  After playing an instrumental opening, Honus Honus, singer, keyboards and all around head honcho came out in a glorious cape, looking like Dave Grohl when he’s most possessed. (more…)

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