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Coming to a living room near you!

A mere four hours before the show, I get a call from a friend of mine asking me if I want to usher the Black Keys show at the Fox, telling me I could sell my tickets and watch the show for free. After giving it a moment’s thought, I politely declined knowing full well that I wanted to plant myself up in front of that stage to get the full experience I had been waiting for since first falling in love with the band.

And plant myself, I did. After hurriedly eating a snack at The Den, I rushed over to make sure I could find a spot where there wasn’t a 6’5″ dude standing in front of me (being only 5’2″, this is usually a problem). Third layer from the railing, and a bunch of girls similar in height meant I should be fine once the show actually started.

There was only one opening band, calling themselves The Makeout Party. Hailing from Anaheim, California, they reminded me of The Muppet Band, complete with that 70′s look and songs about birthday suits and kitties. I wish I could have heard the lyrics better as they seemed like a band I would actually enjoy. Their set lasted about 30 minutes, but they seemed concerned about running out of material in that time, as there was plenty of banter in between songs.

At 9:15 pm the lights go down, and The Black Keys come on stage. The set begins with “Everywhere I Go” from Thickfreakness. I close my eyes and let the guitar grooves wash over me.

I understand that there are different genres of music out there. I myself have been on a synth, dance-pop binge as of late. But it’s damn refreshing to hear some good, unadulterated  Rock N’ Roll. No keyboards, no mixers on stage, there’s not even a bass! Just some excellent guitar playing provided by Dan Auerbach, and foot thumping drumming from Patrick Carney. There’s no room for hip shaking here, you must bang your head. I even had to bring out my air guitar for one of my favorite songs, “Your Touch,” which was extended from the album version.

This is the kind of music for which Guitar Hero and Rock Band were made. It’s  just too bad The Black Keys songs are not available to download, otherwise I’d be Dan Auerbach playing live from my living room.

My only qualms with the whole show was that it ended way to early, around 10:30 pm, and they only played two songs for the encore. The last BART back to the city isn’t until 12:45 am! Come on!

Regardless, seeing The Black Keys at the incredibly beautiful and “fancy” Fox Theater was awesome.

p.s. it’s not Rock N’ Roll to throw your drink at the lead singer, it’s drunk and disorderly.

Jack Paradise and Sam Eastgate of Late of the Pier

It’s been one month since I watched the stage crew for Direct TV’s SXSW Bat Bar single handedly tear apart Late of the Pier, oh, and then watch them get the plug pulled on them after three songs at their day show. Needless to say I was more then ready to watch the real thing after the teasers in Austin.

The crowd is ready and aggressive not to lose their hard earned spot up close to the stage which only stands a few feet taller then us. Sequin covered, they emerge from house right. Smiles to me are a good thing; they are ready and so am I. It began with the anticipant groove of bodies ready to sweat and dance. I am glad that Popscene redid the AC, it helped to keep the ladies at that perfect sweaty sexy level and not cross that fine line of “oh, she nasty”. I stared to watch the show lined up with Jack Paradise he plays the synth or as their MySpace describes: electronic battle tappin’.  I think that does him justice.

Jack’s androgynous mannerisms kill me, and kind of turn me on. His lower jaw extends well beyond his upper, giving everyone up front a great view of the pearly white on the bottom as his upper lip conceals the tops; His shoulders swing rhythmically back and forward. He wants me I know it! His eyes are either looking into the crowd or flipped far back into his head. It’s great, he has such a hypnotizing way of playing those beat pads with one and in the air as the other taps, then the reverse.

Sam Eastgate, the lead singer, keeps coming over to check up on levels and what not. I know that Sam is a perfectionist. I know he knows when something is off. He comes across as an obvious labor of love. He’s attentive to the noises coming out of the loop, amps, and synth.  You can tell he is always thinking one step ahead of the beat. Yet he’s elegant in his conduction of the technical working that is taking place and attains a sort of omnipresent stage presence.

I see several different crew members scurrying around the tiny Popscene stage, fixing this or that. It’s really obvious there are so many different layers to their live performances. I respect their decision to keep the idea of playing live pure, too many bands take the easy route and just play to a pro tools track or pop open their fifth member, and I mean their Mac Book. The Apple logo is becoming as common on stage as Marshall or Gibson. Sam explained to me after the show that he doesn’t take this route because he thinks of his music as a living breathing work. It grows as you play it and take it where it wants you to take it. Having a computer making things easier constricts you to play what the computer knows how to play.

I have heard many people make reference to how Late of the Pier is not tight enough and there is a lot of legitimacy to that, they are a bit off at times, but I really think that this is what makes them so great. Everyone strives to be invincible and yeah this is what everyone works to achieve, but so few do; not to make excuses for mediocrity but to identify that what’s going on is great and needs to be recognized for what it is not what you think it should be. This is the way music should be perceived as, a living, breathing, sweating, imperfect machine this is constantly evolving and for Late of the Pier’s case a passion for perfection that we are all invited to enjoy!

I look forward to seeing them again. They are without a doubt a band that has assembled a great offering of style, attitude and skill. There live shows present something different every time: a guessing game of antics and originality bringing new light to songs that are overplayed on my iPhone.

I would like to thank Aaron at Popscene for giving permission to photograph the show.

Then a funny thing happened.I walked by the Uptown at around 3:45 and there were only about 40 people in line.  So I got in line and started thinking about whether or not I should stay or not.  I called some people and told them to come by, and the next thing I knew, I was going to Green Day at the Uptown, thus proving I’m insane.

This was my third Green Day show in just over a week, so everything needs to be taken in that context.  The Independent show happened so fast, I barely had time to get excited for it.  The night at the Fox in Oakland was a big bombastic stage show, and the crowd energy was fairly low.  But last night at the Uptown, it was crowded and hot and sweaty and a little dangerous.  Although it was the most sloppy of all the shows, and there were a fair amount of technical challenges, it was truly great to be there.

I didn’t take down a setlist because my Blackberry was dead, and anyway, I was being pushed and shoved consistently for more than 2 hours.  They played the entire new album and then a second “set.”  Like the other shows, they played American Idiot, Jesus of Suburbia, King For a Day and Minority.  Here’s some brief highlights:

• During Novacaine, Billy Joe was having horrible feedback issues.  Each time he did, he spiked his microphone on the ground.  It was like a little tantrum, and it was entertaining to watch.  After the song, he asked us if the feedback was too bad, and I think the consensus was “my ears are ringing too much for feedback.”
• At one point, the band started taking requests.  Someone asked them to play 86.  Billy Joe started teaching it to Jason White, who has been the 4th guy in the band for the last ten years.  Then he fiddled with it a little bit more, finally realizing he couldn’t play it.  People started jeering, and he said “you try writing more songs than John Lennon!”  This brought more jeers, and he said “I didn’t say they were all good.”
• Billy Joe had to stop Minority in the middle to tell some guy in the front of the crowd not to feel up women when they crowd surf.  He looked really pissed about this.  Minority ended up being the last song, and I blame that guy.  There clearly could have been more songs!

It’s nice to know that my Green Week is over.  Three Green Day shows in eight days is really tiring.  One can only pogo into the early morning hours so much before they need to take a night off.  If Green Day were playing a surprise house party tonight, and I were invited, I’d probably skip it.

Or would I?

It's a bit blurry because it all seemed like a strange dream, or because I took it with my Blackberry

There was a lot of discussion in the weeks leading up to this show about why it was happening now.  None of that seemed to matter when I saw the marquee, pictured above, with the name and dates.  It was really Leonard Cohen, live in concert!

I’d listened to the NPR recording a few times; needed to make sure he was still going to sound good at age 74 before I made the effort to go to the show.  There’s nothing worse than going to see a legendary act and have that act look and sound awful.  It can ruin all the memories.  But the NPR recording sounded so good, I came in with high hopes.

It’s possible that there has never been a more perfectly fitting show booked at the Paramount Theater.   When Mr. Cohen–what the Paramount crew called him–took the stage in his suit and fedora, he looked like he was stepping out of an older time.

The show ran more than three hours, and it covered all the bases.  All the “hits” were there:  Dance Me to the End of Love, Who By Fire, Everybody Knows, Suzanne, Hallelujah, I’m Your Man and Chelsea Hotel were my favorites of the night.  Yours may have been different.  I wasn’t keeping a setlist, but Jim Harrington put one in his Mercury News review.

Other bases covered include some songs that are less than stellar.  In fact, the “legendary act” effect took hold of me somewhere after 2 1/2 hours into the nearly 3 1/2 hour show.  What’s this effect?  When I see a legendary act whose songs I don’t know intimately, I reach a point where I go from awe to indifference.  I was surprised to have this happen last night, but I think I can explain what  happened.

Because the arrangements of the songs all had a similar feel, there was no momentum to the show in itself.  It wasn’t going to sweep anyone away who didn’t already have complete buy in.  During our pre-show meeting, the house manager referred to these shows as being “church-like.”  And she was completely right.  The audience sat silently, clapping at their favorite lines.  The only real sign of life happened at the beginning of First We Take Manhattan.  For about 15 seconds, everyone was standing and clapping.  But then everyone was back to sitting silently.  It’s not quite a catchy energy.

These are minor quibbles, really, because the good clearly outweighed the bad.  Mr. Cohen’s voice still sounds amazing, and he enunciates so clearly, his brilliant and beautiful lyrics were easily heard, even by the uninitiated.  His large band played beautifully, especially Javier Mas on the bandurria.  He’s awesome.

So all in all, it was quite an experience.  I can’t see myself going to see him again unless he does something like go on tour with a 4-piece punk outfit or something completely different.  It was an evening devoid of surprises, and Mr. Cohen forgot one of the key lessons of show business:  always leave ‘em wanting more.

Beware the back slash

Beirut-March of the Zapotec/Holland

Release Date: February 16, 2009

As a girl who claims to be quite a huge Beirut fan, my natural reaction when I first heard about the newest production from said band was, OMG! I had read in an article in Fader Magazine that front man, Zac Condon, had traveled down to the Oaxaca region of Mexico and recorded with a troop of local musicians known as Banda Jimenez of Teotitlan del Valle. This bit of information made Zapotec all the more exciting, as a blogger of Mexican decent, to feast my ears on.

I had prepared myself to listen to the album on the train ride to work which takes about 30-45 minutes, more than enough time to get through the entire EP. Right off the bat, I was met with the lush, pompous sounds of trumpets, and tubas, as I expected, beautifully arranged, not necessarily in  traditional banda, but still with the essence of the region. However, about 16 minutes into my quenching my fangirl lust, I was rudely interrupted by generic sounding synths coming through my headphones. I had to check my iPod nano to make sure it hadn’t suddenly decided to crap out. I found, however that, yes indeed I was still listening to the same EP, and sure enough as the vocals started up, none other than Zac Condon. What I didn’t realize was that this was a double EP with that dumb “/Holland” tacked on to the end. I guess the back slash allows you to put together two entirely different genres of music and have it be OK. In this case, please do not pass the Dutch.

I was disappointed to say the least with the latter half of the EP, which belongs in a Hyundai commercial or relegated to one of Zac Condons side projects.

Stand out track in March of the Zapotec is “The Akara.”  Condon’s voice  comes off smooth, silky and sexy.

Overall, the first 6 tracks are great, and worth listening to. Everything else?  Eh.

Outside Lands Festivalgoers dancing to Manu Chao last year...

They released the initial line-up for this year’s Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival, and if you haven’t already seen it on the 20,000 other sites that are posting it, here it is…
Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Beastie Boys, Incubus, Black Eyed Peas, MIA, Jason Mraz, Ween, Band Of Horses, TV On The Radio, The Dead Weather, Atmosphere, The Mars Volta, Thievery Corporation, Modest Mouse, Tom Jones, Silversun Pickups, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, The National, Q-Tip, Brett Dennen, Built To Spill, Mastodon, Raphael Saadiq, Calexico, Os Mutantes, Midnite, JJ Grey & Mofro, Kinky, Deerhunter, Lila Downs, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave, The Dodos, Betty Lavette, Dengue Fever, Heartless Bastards, The Dirtbombs, Lenka, Akron/Family, John Vanderslice, Matt & Kim, Portugal. The Man, The Morning Benders, The Duke Spirit, Zee Avi, Blind Pilot, Sambada, Ryan Bingham, West Indian Girl, Extra Golden…

Now, I think it looks pretty good, and I can discuss all the bands at length if you wish, but I am a bit more worried about all of the things that can go wrong with this show.

My experience with the festival last year was pretty bad. The restrooms were located in the middle of the festival grounds, and there were only very small passageways cleared to move between the stages. Also, security was few & far between. It felt as if anything were to go wrong, you would have to have to count on the kindness of strangers to get to the medical tent (also very far away from the main stage).

So, I’ll just bullet point a bit that I am excited about for this year’s event, in all hopes they fix some of the big issues from last year, so the show can actually be enjoyable.

First the headliners: Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, & The Beastie Boys. All bands that could have played a similar festival 15 years ago. Not very edgy choices, not very risky, but I really like the idea of Pearl Jam playing in my backyard.

On for the main reasons to brave the possible riot:

Os Mutantes: Brazilian Psych-Punk band, that rarely play North America.

Tom Jones: His voice is still in great shape, and that man has charisma coming out of his ears.

Raphael Saadiq: Former member 0f Tony! Toni! Tone! that put out a great retro-soul record last year.

More thoughts leading up to the event

A great movie about a not-so-great band

The Anvil Experience at Slim’s promised a preview screening of the documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil followed by a live performance by the band itself.  I figured this was going to the best possible way to see this movie, so off I went.

I’d be lying if I said I were familiar with Anvil.  Their name sounds familiar, but it’s so generic, it would sound familiar to anyone, I’d imagine.  They are a Canadian metal band that’s been playing together since 1978, and although they were influence on a few more famous bands, they never found success themselves.  Thirty years later, they still play together and try to make their rock and roll dreams come through.  The band goes on a comically bad tour of Europe, tries to get a record deal, and just try to keep themselves together as a band.

I’ve seen interviews where the band’s leader “Lips” does not like comparisons to This Is Spinal Tap, but here comes some.  And if he has anyone to blame, it’s the director.  There are some spoilers in the next bullet points, both for Anvil! and This Is Spinal Tap, so be warned.

• There’s a scene where the two old friends who started the band together sit in a restaurant and sing the first song they wrote together.
• There’s a scene where the guitar player turns his amp up to 11.
• One of the friends quits the band at one point and has to be brought back into the fold.
• Anvil visits Stonehenge.
• The movie finishes with a triumphant concert in Japan.
• The drummer’s name is Robb Reiner.  No, I’m not shitting you.

The parallels come so fast and furious that at times I wondered if I was being taken in by some art project, some created band for the movie.  I was in the middle of a crowd of old metal fans wearing vintage Anvil gear, so unless they were in on it, this is a real band with a real history.

The movie is consistently entertaining, often funny, often moving, and I recommend it for pretty much anybody.  The movie was made by a fan of the band, someone who had been a roadie for them many years ago, and the love for the music and the people is apparent on screen.

As soon as the movie concluded, Slim’s raised up the movie screen and the band Anvil performed a short set.  To give you some idea of how much of a metal cliche this band is, let me list the songs they played:

1. This is Thirteen
2. Six Six Six
3. White Rhino (with a 7-minute drum solo)
4. Metal on Metal
5. Mothra

Can you think of a more apt collection of song names?  I’m telling you, no one could make up a more ridiculous band.  And when I say “ridiculous band,” this is a good thing.  Anvil are pretty sloppy, and the material isn’t particularly interesting. This leads me to believe that part of the reason they never really made it is because they were never all that good.  After seeing their story, I like them and I’m rooting for them.  They’re musicians, they’re Canadian, they love their families, and they are definitely playing music for the right reasons.  This movie has had some success already in the UK, and they now have professional management and a booking agent, and it’s clear that they are about to ride a short of wave of notoriety.  It’s about fucking time.

The crowd was still chanting “Anvil!  Anvil!  Anvil!” when the lights came up at Slim’s, but the night wasn’t over until Lips and Robb Reiner came out to chat with the fans and sign autographs.   They looked happy as they could be, and I doubt they’re going to leave until everyone gets some time with them.  In fact, I left the club about a half-an-hour ago, and I bet they’re still there, posing for pictures and signing autographs.  Their moms must be proud.

This picture is not from this show, but the singer was wearing the same shirt. Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/fugutabetai/ for allowing the share.

I thought I was seeing a White Lies show, and it was nice that Friendly Fires were playing. But by the time the show was over, it was clear I had seen a Friendly Fires show, and that it was nice that White Lies were playing.

I got there right as White Lies were taking the stage. (There was an opener called The Soft Pack but I was unable to see their set. Other reviewers might lie about this.) I like White Lies album a lot, and the music sounds good live. It’s just that they don’t do much on stage. They just stand there. Their music calls for them to be dressed better, too. I still like the album, but their set left me cold.

I scooted up front with some friends to watch Friendly Fires, and this band is a great time! The songs sound so lively on stage, and the band performs with a catchy intensity. It makes it hard to not dance. There was, in fact, much dancing. I still can’t recommend their album other than as a demo for their live show. Their set was only 40 minutes or so; they’re going to need more material to become a true headlining band. But if you are at a festival where they’re playing, make a point of visiting their stage.

Billie Joe's Setlist did not match the actual setlist. Thanks to http://www.flickr.com/photos/geekstinkbreath for allowing sharing of his photo!

When the email came through announcing that Green Day was playing the Independent (a 500-or-so capacity venue in San Francisco) that same night, I bought tickets before I could consider whether I could actually go.  How did I get the email fast enough to buy tickets?  I thank Blackberry push email.  Thanks Blackberry!

When I arrived, there was still a lengthy line at will call.  There were folks walking up and down the line offering big money for tickets, but I decided $200 a ticket wasn’t worth both missing the show and the ribbing I would take from people for missing the show.  (My price was going to be $500 a ticket, but I wasn’t going to ask and no one was going to offer.)  Besides, you wouldn’t be reading this if I had taken the money, and you–the readers–are very important.

As expected the show leaned heavily on the material from the new album.  Thanks to the photo above and Wikipedia, I was able to determine the likely song titles for everything they played.  The setlists and my full review are below:

First Set

Welcome to Paradise
21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
Viva La Gloria!
Before the Lobotomy
Christian’s Inferno
Last Night on Earth
East Jesus Nowhere
Peacemaker
Last of the American Girls
Murder City
Viva La Gloria?
Restless Heart Syndrome
Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
Static Age
American Eulogy
See the Light

Of the new album material, the ones that really stood out to me were 21st Century Breakdown, East Jesus Nowhere, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, and the second half of American Eulogy.  These are songs I hope become part of the standard Green Day repertoire.  The only song I put in my notes as “lame” was Last Night on Earth.  The song destined to be a pop single (if such things existed anymore) is Last of the American Girls.  I’m looking forward to the album.  I especially enjoyed the fist bumps, high fives and smiles being passed around the band as they got to the end of some of these songs.   Since this show was basically an open rehearsal, it’s nice to see them happy they nailed it.  At other times, they shrugged at each other, which I took to mean “we’ll get it next time.”  As for me, I couldn’t tell the difference.  It all sounded tight and awesome.

After playing the closing song from the new album, the band left the stage, only to be called back for an “encore.”  Since I could see the setlist from where I was standing, I knew they had a lot of material left to play.  It looked to me more like a list of songs they were working on than an actual setlist, and this turned out to be the case, as stuff was played in a scattershot order with many things skipped and some requests taken.  The second set went like this:

Second Set

American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
She
Christie Road
Impromptu Blues Jam
J.A.R.
F.O.D.
Longview
Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?
Going to Pasalacqua
Macy’s Day Parade
King For a Day (w/Shout & Stand By Me)
Minority

The last time I saw Green Day (at the Warfield in 2005), they did an epic 2-hour encore, so I wasn’t sure what to expect here.   This time we got a solid hour packed with big hits, rare early material, and insane renditions of King For a Day and Minority.  The show changed from being a rehearsal of their new material (which the crowd was wholly unfamiliar with) to being a non-stop barrage of perfectly played crowd favorites.  The only song that felt like there were some kinks being worked out of was Macy’s Day Parade.  If you look at the scribbled “setlist” in the photo at the top, you’ll probably get an idea of the songs you can expect to be played on Green Day’s upcoming tour.

Here’s some random show notes:

• I saw that the writer for the Oakland newspaper said that “press was barred” from this show.  Someone’s feeling butt hurt I guess because he couldn’t buy a ticket.  The press is not barred from using Ticketweb.  Boo hoo.
• After the first song, the band posed for cell phone photos, and then Billie Joe asked everyone to put away their phones.  This was absolutely brilliant as everyone actually listened to him.  It really did make the show more enjoyable as a spectator, too.  Can every band please do this?
• I didn’t see anybody in line actually sell their tickets for the $100 bills being waved around in front of them.  I’m proud of my fellow showgoers, and think that the excellent energy inside was due to the fact that people didn’t have some sense of entitlement for being there.  For the most part, the crowd was energized and engaged, and that made the whole evening very enjoyable.
• And finally, my contacts tell me that there will be another Green Day show this week at the Fox Theater in Oakland.  Join their mailing list, and don’t miss out.