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Archive for the ‘Wellmont Theater’ Category

Parliament-Funkadelic featuring George Clinton (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 19, 2023)

Posted in Blue Eye Extinction, Fishbone, Funkadelic, George Clinton, Montclair, NJ, Parliament, Wellmont Theater on August 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 19, 2023] Parliament-Funkadelic featuring George Clinton

I’ve had Parliament’s Greatest Hits since like 1990.  I have a couple Funkadelic albums.  I am in no way a huge fan, but I’ve always liked them and I’ve always thought that George Clinton was a pretty great guy.  I realize 100% that the P-Funk heyday was literally decades ago.  And of course I knew that any P-Funk concert in 2023 was going to be an imitation of what the band(s) got up to back in the day.

But since George was going to be there and his name was on the marquee, I assumed that this show would be a 21st century update to the classic P-Funk show.  And with the technology (and costumery) available, it seemed like this could be an outrageous spectacle.

And it was not.

Well, it was a spectacle.  There were some forty people on stage over the course of the night.  Not even all of them were musicians.  There were people ringing in the stage (one woman had her purse with her) who I’m guessing were VIPs or who won a contest or something.  When the band first came out there were four horn players, two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, a keyboardist, a disembodied voice (eventually I located him), four backing vocalists and George himself.

These musicians came and went throughout the show, sometimes being replaced by others.  And who even knew what was going on in the back where people were unseeable. (more…)

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Fishbone (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 19, 2023) [PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC]

Posted in Blue Eye Extinction, Fishbone, Funkadelic, George Clinton, Montclair, NJ, Parliament, Wellmont Theater on August 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 19, 2023] Fishbone

I first heard of Fishbone from John Cusack wearing a Fishbone shirt in Say Anything (1989).

And it wasn’t just a random T-shirt

[Cusack didn’t like the boom-box scene].  In a last-ditch effort to convince his star to try the scene the way it was written, Crowe told Cusack that the song blaring from the stereo would be by the band Fishbone. At the time, the actor was a big fan of the ska group, and their music’s inclusion helped persuade him to give it a try. The shot worked, but the scene was still a long way from reaching its legendary form.

(While sources all agree that a Fishbone song was played from the boombox on-set, which song was used seems up for debate. AFI claims it was “Question of Life, Mental Floss says it was “Turn the Other Way” and Uproxx believes it to have been ”Bonin’ in the Boneyard.” For the sake of argument, we’ll trust Crowe, who said that “Party at Ground Zero” was the song used.)

Anyhow, I liked the logo and decided to check out the band (or at least that’s how I remember it).  I loved their first EP with it’s funky dancey, naughty songs.  And Truth and Soul followed to great success.  Then it was their terrific The Reality of My Surroundings which sold me for good on Fishbone.  They even had a pretty big hit with the very heavy “Swim” from the following album.  So I’d been following Fishbone for about five years and hen kind of lost touch with them.

But those albums received a ton of play in those years and I never forgot how much I loved them.

So when I saw that they were still together (or reunited or whatever) I was surprised and delighted.  There’s been a ton of lineup shuffling over the years, but as of this concert, four of the six original members are now back (or still) in the band. (more…)

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Blu Eye Extinction (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 19, 2023) [PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC]

Posted in Blue Eye Extinction, Fishbone, Funkadelic, George Clinton, Montclair, NJ, Parliament, Wellmont Theater on August 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 19, 2023] Blu Eye Extinction

I had been looking forward to this show quite a lot.  I’ve loved Fishbone for years and I assumed that PFunk would be a lot of fun.

At the last minute I found out that there was going to be a third band, Blu Eye Extinction opening as well.  I was pretty tired going in so this wasn’t welcome news.

I walked in as they were playing and I rather liked their sound–a rock/funk/rap experience.  Off t the side of the stage was a woman playing keys and singing backing vocals.  But he singing style was… different.  Kind of operatic and not exactly related to the melody.  It was a puzzle for sure.  So I looked them up and found this

Blu Eye Extinction is a NYC-based funk fusion band.  The brainchild of Isotopia Records’ Constance Hauman who brings an unlikely combination of opera, jazz and funk to her keyboards and vocals, is only possible with the funk foundation and masterful grooves of the electric bass of James Jones. His unique style also encompasses his vocals, supporting Henry Ott’s rock guitars…  If that isn’t enough, you add front man and emcee TJ Robinson on trombone, percussion and rap vocals, supported by JS Williams‘s rich trumpet w/ R&B vocals, and last but so not the least, Joshua Keitt’s metal-rock funk drums, it is no wonder that audience’s minds have been blown on the 50 UK and US shows since their debut at New Orleans Jazzfest April 29, 2022.

(more…)

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Flogging Molly / Anti-Flag / Skinny Lister (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, February 18, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anti-Flag, Flogging Molly, Montclair, NJ, Skinny Lister, Wellmont Theater on February 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: February 18, 2023] Flogging Molly / Anti-Flag / Skinny Lister

I actually saw Flogging Molly twenty-three years ago when they opened for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.  They had just released their debut album and I remember enjoying their mix of Punk and traditional Irish music.  I never would have guessed they’d still be around all this time later.

I also just found out that the lead singer of the band is Dave King the singer from the 80s heavy metal band Fastway, who I liked a bunch back in the day.

I wasn’t all that interested in seeing Flogging Molly–I haven’t listened to them since–although I’m sure they put on a super fun show.  But I was interested in seeing Anti-Flag (again).

Anti-Flag is a punk band who I should have known about but only learned of through my son.  Their live show was awesome and I definitely want to see them again. (more…)

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Anthrax / Black Label Society / Exodus (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, January 31, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anthrax, Black Label Society, Exodus, Montclair, NJ, Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer, Wellmont Theater on January 31, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: January 31, 2023] Anthrax / Black Label Society / Exodus

Anthrax is the only band of the classic heavy metal landscape that I’ve never seen (who I want to see, anyhow).  I thought seeing them in Montclair would be an easy decision.  They’re back to almost their original lineup (okay, not original, but “classic” lineup).  And I thought a Tuesday night show less than an hour away would be perfect.

They had played this tour in Philly back in August and I just wasn’t feeling it.  I don’t really care about Black Label Society, and it just felt like a lot of work.  But a close show seemed like a much better idea.

S. said she’d like to go too, so I got us both a ticket.  About a month ago I found out that it had sold out.  And I realized that I didn’t really want to go to a sold out metal show at the Wellmont.  I assumed it would be well attended, but a sold out show gave me visions of the worst metalheads all smashing around each other and it suddenly felt really unappealing. (more…)

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An Evening with The Flaming Lips (Wellmont Theatre, Montclair, NJ, October 20, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Montclair, NJ, The Flaming Lips, Wellmont Theater on October 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 20, 2022] The Flaming Lips

I have seen The Flaming Lips six times and they never disappoint.  In fact, the last time, I said to myself that I wanted to bring my kids next time so they could enjoy the spectacle of inflatables, and confetti and balloons and lights and everything.

But this show happened to be right on my daughter’s birthday.  For some, that might be an awesome birthday present.  But she doesn’t really know them and didn’t want that to be how she spent her birthday (fair enough).

So we didn’t go to this one.  But I’m sure Wayne and the guys will be back again.

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Demetri Martin: I Feel Funny (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, September 24, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Demetri Martin, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on September 24, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 24, 2022] Demetri Martin

Demetri Martin is one of my favorite comedians.

I would love to see him live.  But this show was scheduled for the same day as the Frantic City Festival that we had tickets for.

I hope he’ll come back around some day.

 

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Anthrax / Black Label Society / Hatebreed (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, August 28, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Anthrax, Black Label Society, Hatebreed, Montclair, NJ, Ozzy Osbourne, Wellmont Theater on August 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 28, 2022] Anthrax / Black Label Society / Hatebreed

Anthrax is the only band of the classic heavy metal landscape that I’ve never seen (who I want to see, anyhow). They’re back to almost their original lineup (okay, not original, but “classic” lineup).

This is the third or fourth time they’ve come around recently, but they’re never with anyone else that I want to see.

I don’t really care about Black Label Society, the band created by Zakk Wylde.  I’ve never cared about him and his silly name (although I didn’t realize he was from Bayonne, so that’s kind of cool).  I now he played with Ozzy, but  that was long after I cared about Ozzy too, so whatever.  When this tour was announced, I listened to couple of songs and thought they were okay.  Their presence on the bill definitely impacted my decision not to go.  If it had been a band I liked more, I might have stuck it out. (more…)

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Guster (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 10, 2022)

Posted in Guster, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on August 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 10, 2022] Guster [rescheduled from January 14, 2021, I guess]

Back in January, Guster was supposed to play the Wellmont (after postponing a seated acoustic show in 2020).

This show seems to have been the rescheduled show–does it even matter at this point?

The show sold out and we had pretty good seats.  Seats? For a  Guster show?  The seats thing proved to be the real downfall honestly because I was seated behind a freaking behemoth of a guy.  The entire row was full of normal sized people and this hulking dude who clearly did not care about Guster. What a travesty that was.

The guys came out to raucous applause and they opened with “Careful.”  Surprisingly, this was only the third time we’d seen them play this.  By the way, this was our ninth Guster show, we are definitely getting into territory where if they play anything we haven’t seen before we will be surprised.

Ryan was wearing one of his new wild fruit suits and looked wonderful. (more…)

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Laura Stevenson (Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ, August 10, 2022) [GUSTER]

Posted in Ben Kweller, Guster, Laura Stevenson, Montclair, NJ, Wellmont Theater on August 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 10, 2022] Laura Stevenson [rescheduled from January 14, 2021, I guess]

Back in January, Guster was supposed to play the Wellmont (after postponing a seated acoustic show in 2020).  Ben Kweller was supposed to open that show, which would have ben pretty fun as I don’t really know him very well, but I know he is tangentially related to Guster.

For this new show, Laura Stevenson was the opening act.

I only new Laura a little–from a Tiny Desk concert many many years ago, which I enjoyed.

I assumed she’d be fun–Guster tends to have good opening acts.

But we had a terrible time getting to the show and parking for some reason. Usually it’s not a problem parking in Montclair, but this show (which was sold out–good for Guster, but bad for us, I guess), made Montclair really crowded.

It seemed to take a long time to get in. (more…)

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