Saturday, June 20, 2009
The Secret Machines - 6/19/09 - Santos Party House
Very rarely would I classify a show as being worth it if all you got was an abbreviated 5 song set from a band I could happily listen to play for 3 + hours. This was definitely one of those "worth it" moments. Setlist: Fire Is Waiting - Nothing new here - Vid. is partial Terrible Light - New song - In my humble opinion, it was brilliant! Like I Can - A revival from the Annex shows - Josh confirmed it's making the new album. Pure psych-pop goodness. Walls Are Starting..Nothing new here but really strong version overall - Vid. is partial Dreaming of Dreaming - By far the most exciting, bass-tastic version of this song I've seen / heard live. It melted hipster faces. Phil tore this shit up at the end! Being a forgetful douche, I forgot to inquire about a drop date for the new material. They are "wrapping up recording now" and I'm assuming we'll see something by fall / winter if hopefully not sooner. Possibility of more live dates soon but don't quote me on that. Viva La TSM!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Fleetwood Mac - 6/13/09 - Boardwalk Hall
Does Fleetwood Mac really need to be "unleashed"? Taking into account the blue-plate-special craving audience at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City Saturday night, I would hazard a guess the answer to that question would be a resounding NO!
Winding down the last leg of this pseudo greatest-hits tour, the Unleashed shows are a gift of sorts to their long-time fans by focusing on the spectacular number of hits the band has achieved over the last 40 + years. As evidenced in the setlist below, there was something for everyone (hell, even Lindsey got to "go insane" from his '84 solo album as it were). The band were in fine form; Stevie bringing the shawls and throaty vocals, Lindsey bringing the virtuoso guitar work and blush bars, John with the thudding bass and Mick with the fucking crazy - brass balls included! Hearing "Storms" and "Sara" for the first time live was reason enough to shell out coin for tickets to this hela-fun show.
And that brings me to the one negative point of the evening....the audience. Last night's affair was dispiriting to say the least from a crowd standpoint. I thought I was in a surreal production of Benjamin Button, The Early Years as I would guess the median age for this wild-bunch started at 55 +. No complaints there but one would think (especially in this economy) if you spend the money on a ticket and take the time / make the effort to get your sorry ass to the show you plan on displaying some form of joy at being there. Sitting in one's seat throughout the duration of the event and grumbling about people in front of you who would like to *shudder* stand in front of their seat and *gasp* shake their moneymaker a little during Gold Dust Woman is not appropriate manners, even if you did go to grade-school with Mick Fleetwood. If you feel your hip may be in jeopardy of shattering in three places if you stand up too suddenly, sit your decrepit ass at home and wait for the DVD. Please. Section 4, Row 23 I'm talking to you. Sorry you were unleashed upon by this 'mo last night but you so deserved it.
Setlist:
Monday Morning
The Chain
Dreams
I Know I'm Not Wrong
Gypsy
Go Insane
Rhiannon
Second Hand News
Tusk
Sara
Big Love
Landslide
Never Going Back Again
Storms
Say You Love Me
Gold Dust Woman
Oh Well
I'm So Afraid
Stand Back
Go Your Own Way
World Turning
Don't Stop
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Ticketmaster + Live Nation = The Devil!!!!!
Besides stifling competition (what little left there is of it), the proposed (and some now say inevitable) merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation will effectively price a large majority of concert fans right out of the venue come show time. Note Live Nation's increasing reliance on charging "ticketing fees" up to 1/3 the face value of the ticket price (and this does not include the mandatory $4-$8 charge per ticket for parking at company-owned venues) making one already misty for the days of Ticketmaster's 10-15% service charges.
For more on this troubling situation see:
Pet Shop Boys - North American Tour Dates - Presale Info.
PSB begin their "Pandemonium" North American tour Sept. 1 in NYC. Dates are as follows:
Sept 1 New York, NY Hammerstein
Sept 2 New York, NY Hammerstein
Sept 3 Washington, DC Constitution Hall
Sept 5 Boston, MA House of Blues
Sept 6 Atlantic City, NJ House of Blues
Sept 9 Miami, FL Fillmore
Sept 10 Tampa, FL Tampa Bay PAC
Sept 11 Orlando, FL House of Blues
Sept 12 Atlanta, GA Chastain
Sept 14 Chicago, IL Chicago Theater
Sept 15 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Ballroom
Sept 19 Vancouver, BC Vancouver Centre of Performing Arts
Sept 20 Seattle, WA Moore
Sept 22 San Francisco, CA Warfield
Sept 23 San Francisco, CA Warfield
Sept 24 Los Angeles, CA Greek
Sept 26 Las Vegas, NV Joint
Presale tickets now available at:
Sunday, June 7, 2009
NIN / Janes Addiction - 6/6/09 - PNC Bank Arts Center
So I found myself having a flashback of sorts while standing halfway through the Nine Inch Nails portion of last night's show, realizing it was almost 18 years to the day since I saw these two bands together during the first Lollapalooza tour in 1991. At which point I set my happy ass down and cried copious amounts of internal tears at the realization I am just too damn old. Then I looked at the stage, saw Trent Reznor about to have an aggro-induced coronary and then felt better about myself.
That being said, here's what developed:
NIN - Great show. Lots of energy. As you'll see from the setlist below it was skewed more towards the hard-core fans clamoring for more esoteric, b-side oriented fare. As that is not me, I was left a bit underwhelmed overall. As this tour for the band is being touted as a "farewell" concert of sorts, it was a fitting send off and tribute to the NIN aficionados. Note to tall shitbags who like to speak into each other's ears ever so softly every minute the band is on the stage, blocking the view for people unfortunately located directly behind them - please die slow deaths.
Setlist:
Wish
Last
Discipline
March of the Pigs
Reptile
Meet Your Master
Gave Up
La Mer
Non-Entity
The Way Out Is Through
Mr. Self-Destruct
1,000,000
Echoplex
Survivalism
The Good Soldier
The Hand That Feeds
Head Like A Hole
Hurt
Janes Addiction: You are the sun, the moon and the stars. From Perry Farrell channelling Charles Nelson Reilly in his polyester shell and kicky ascot to being accosted by Dave Navarro's large, pendulous nipples it was all it could have been and even more. In all seriousness I was more than trepiditious going into this show as it had been 18 years since I had last seen the original 4-some together. This is one of my "top 5 of all time" bands who I had seen countless times in clubs, dives and large arenas. "Nothing Shocking" and "Ritual..." are two of the most forward-thinking rock albums produced in the 20th century. There, I said it. Yes, you're right, I'm one of "those" types of fans of this band. However, after last night I found my fears were for naught. The band itself could not have been tighter. From Eric and Stephen's fantabulous rhythm section to Dave's ethereal guitar work, it was like they had been playing together as one tight-knit unit throughout all of these lost years. Perry was in rare form, dashing around the stage and mooning about lending credence to the fact that you can get old and still get HIIIIGGGGHHHH! Word is there might be a new album next year if the rest of these dates go well. Pray it will be so...
Setlist:
Three Days
Whores
Ain't No Right
Pigs In Zen
Then She Did...
Up The Beach
Mountain Song
Whores
Ain't No Right
Pigs In Zen
Then She Did...
Up The Beach
Mountain Song
Been Caught Stealing
Obvious
Ocean Size
Obvious
Ocean Size
Ted, Just Admit It..
Summertime Rolls
Stop!
Jane Says
Jane Says
Monday, June 1, 2009
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