Upcoming/Recent Shows
- Thread starter Absolut Kaz
- Start date
Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
Everyone come up/down/over for this marathon party. Always an incredible event and everything goes to Habitat For Humanity.
Rip_City
Well-Known Member
Had a fun time seeing Stella Donnelly in Portland this Thursday! Her vocals and adorable, cute sense of humor were a treat to experience live.
I sure thought more would've been in attendance, but I learned that it wasn't even half sold out with the balcony being roped off. Surely she has more fans here in the States?
Maria BC
Singer/songwriter and ambient pop musician relying on some loops and guitar pedals to create a kinda slowcore(ish) mood and ambiance. Not bad, and am interested to hear more. She was selling merch at the table, but I opted not to get anything.
Stella Donnelly
Gaahhh, she was a dream. 19 song setlist with encore, spanning ~75 minutes of stage time! She carried plenty of humor and enthusiasm to the performance, and was all smiles virtually throughout. About an even spread between her newest record Flood and her acclaimed debut Beware of the Dogs.
After performing nine songs, she reserved a 20min period for a few audience requests, so this would ensure the setlist would be (mostly) different for each date on this tour. Apparently, somewhere on a preceding California date, someone requested "Wonderwall" and she played a brief 15sec
She shared song background (both joking and serious) around each request.
Entire request segment filmed here:
Her band performed five more songs after, including the very fun and lively "Die" and "Tricks" as the closing numbers. Additionally, Stella was happy to share that she and her drummer came up with a choreography for the former back in Australia for this tour, which the audience and I tried our best to learn on the fly. She even did a handstand at one point during an instrumental break with help from the flugelhorn player holding her up Maybe someone has footage of that on YouTube lol? After, Stella was beaming ear to ear to tell us that we were the only US stop so far that had actually tried follow the choreography/dance.
Encore selection was a cover of John Paul Young's "Love is in the Air," fitting seeing that JPY is from Australia. Her performance was similar to the one she had on triple j but with an even more emphatic and boisterous vocal performance.
Post-Show
Most of the audience cleared out quickly after the encore, with Stella not sticking around either. Her band + event staff was there to assist with teardown. Three of us waited around (including one who I spoke to briefly who had never been to this venue prior) to get signatures for records. The band members were jovial and gracious enough to take merch back behind the stage to get autographed. Success! I've thought about selling my copy of her debut prior to learning of the Portland tour date, but it will be staying in the library for good.
EDIT: changed some words/misspellings
I sure thought more would've been in attendance, but I learned that it wasn't even half sold out with the balcony being roped off. Surely she has more fans here in the States?
Maria BC
Singer/songwriter and ambient pop musician relying on some loops and guitar pedals to create a kinda slowcore(ish) mood and ambiance. Not bad, and am interested to hear more. She was selling merch at the table, but I opted not to get anything.
Stella Donnelly
Gaahhh, she was a dream. 19 song setlist with encore, spanning ~75 minutes of stage time! She carried plenty of humor and enthusiasm to the performance, and was all smiles virtually throughout. About an even spread between her newest record Flood and her acclaimed debut Beware of the Dogs.
After performing nine songs, she reserved a 20min period for a few audience requests, so this would ensure the setlist would be (mostly) different for each date on this tour. Apparently, somewhere on a preceding California date, someone requested "Wonderwall" and she played a brief 15sec
She shared song background (both joking and serious) around each request.Entire request segment filmed here:
Her band performed five more songs after, including the very fun and lively "Die" and "Tricks" as the closing numbers. Additionally, Stella was happy to share that she and her drummer came up with a choreography for the former back in Australia for this tour, which the audience and I tried our best to learn on the fly. She even did a handstand at one point during an instrumental break with help from the flugelhorn player holding her up
Maybe someone has footage of that on YouTube lol? After, Stella was beaming ear to ear to tell us that we were the only US stop so far that had actually tried follow the choreography/dance.Encore selection was a cover of John Paul Young's "Love is in the Air," fitting seeing that JPY is from Australia. Her performance was similar to the one she had on triple j but with an even more emphatic and boisterous vocal performance.
Post-Show
Most of the audience cleared out quickly after the encore, with Stella not sticking around either. Her band + event staff was there to assist with teardown. Three of us waited around (including one who I spoke to briefly who had never been to this venue prior) to get signatures for records. The band members were jovial and gracious enough to take merch back behind the stage to get autographed. Success! I've thought about selling my copy of her debut prior to learning of the Portland tour date, but it will be staying in the library for good.
EDIT: changed some words/misspellings
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Diaper Baby Escape Plan
Well-Known Diaper Baby
Saw NIN again Thurs night in Vegas. Fantastic as always. Sold out. Yves Tumor opened. Was good. A nice whetting of the appetite.
Setlist:
Everything was great. Only weak song, IMO, was Sunspots from With Teeth. Would've liked to see that album represented with other songs. The Becoming (Downward Spiral), Me, I'm Not (Year Zero), and Down In It (PHM) were highlights for me. Trent & Co. really seemed to have fun with the PHM selections. Down In It and Sanctified were done with some nice veering from the source material....added grooves and exploration. Head Like a Hole didn't stray as far from the source but was definitely fresh.
Second time I've seen him do I'm Afraid of Americans and it is an expertly handled tribute. Fashion, that he did a cover of last year for a Bowie tribute, was also really well done.
I would have like more Fragile, but I had already read that it wasn't getting much love on this tour. In fact, I don't remember much or any Fragile last time I saw them. But that may be about the time in his life and/or his view of that material - I'm sure some nerdizen has an answer to that.
Either way, the opener Somewhat Damage was a great door buster and then Heresy two songs later followed by March of the Pigs was straight jet fuel.
Really love their ability to find the pocket of a groove and expand songs. Me, I'm Not was transformative but they really challenged the boundaries of a lot of the songs.
Wish and Gave Up were definitely both crowd energizers (I mean, they all were). And, Hurt, while a predictable way to close the show, was great and you can see they years of craft-honing Trent has done.
10/10
Edit: also, looking at everyone else's photos...y'all take way better pictures. TBF, these are from my buddies phones. I don't take my phone out during a show so he sent me ones he took. To be even more fair, my photos would have been worse, as I am inept with a camera phone (or just a camera period, I guess).
Setlist:
- Somewhat Damaged
- Letting You
- Heresy
- March of the Pigs
- The Lovers
- Sanctified
- Less Than
- The Becoming
- Sunspots
- Shit Mirror
- Me, I'm Not
- Survivalism
- I'm Afraid of Americans
(David Bowie cover) - Fashion
(David Bowie cover) - Down in It
(Tour debut) - Wish
- Gave Up
- Head Like a Hole
- Encore:
- Help Me I Am in Hell
- Happiness in Slavery
- And All That Could Have Been
- Hurt
Everything was great. Only weak song, IMO, was Sunspots from With Teeth. Would've liked to see that album represented with other songs. The Becoming (Downward Spiral), Me, I'm Not (Year Zero), and Down In It (PHM) were highlights for me. Trent & Co. really seemed to have fun with the PHM selections. Down In It and Sanctified were done with some nice veering from the source material....added grooves and exploration. Head Like a Hole didn't stray as far from the source but was definitely fresh.
Second time I've seen him do I'm Afraid of Americans and it is an expertly handled tribute. Fashion, that he did a cover of last year for a Bowie tribute, was also really well done.
I would have like more Fragile, but I had already read that it wasn't getting much love on this tour. In fact, I don't remember much or any Fragile last time I saw them. But that may be about the time in his life and/or his view of that material - I'm sure some nerdizen has an answer to that.
Either way, the opener Somewhat Damage was a great door buster and then Heresy two songs later followed by March of the Pigs was straight jet fuel.
Really love their ability to find the pocket of a groove and expand songs. Me, I'm Not was transformative but they really challenged the boundaries of a lot of the songs.
Wish and Gave Up were definitely both crowd energizers (I mean, they all were). And, Hurt, while a predictable way to close the show, was great and you can see they years of craft-honing Trent has done.
10/10
Edit: also, looking at everyone else's photos...y'all take way better pictures. TBF, these are from my buddies phones. I don't take my phone out during a show so he sent me ones he took. To be even more fair, my photos would have been worse, as I am inept with a camera phone (or just a camera period, I guess).
Viking Dan
Well-Known Member
I'll see your kick ass NIN show in Vegas and...
Duck for cover, with my 311 at the Ocean Casino, Atlantic City last night.
SA Martinez still does the robot, Nick Hexum still looks 20 years old, Tim is still a vastly underrated Metal guitarist, Chad Sexton is still excellent on the kit and Peanut still Peanuts. My best friend is a huge 311 fan, so what am I going to do?
But, we got paid to go to the show - hit a run of hot cards at the Blackjack table after the show.
It wasn't NIN in Vegas, but wasn't a completely terrible way to spend a Friday evening.
LiamGallaghersBucketHat
Go on, geezer.
Show #29 last night for Dave Matthews Band in Chula Vista. Last time I saw them was in 2014 while Boyd Tinsley was still an active member. This time around, they have a newish member, Buddy Strong on keys.
I was curious how they were going to fill the violin sections on certain songs. While I’ll always love the classic lineup, this band continues to impress. The set list was fire with a good mix of classics and more current tracks. Fool In The Rain might have been the highlight.
I was curious how they were going to fill the violin sections on certain songs. While I’ll always love the classic lineup, this band continues to impress. The set list was fire with a good mix of classics and more current tracks. Fool In The Rain might have been the highlight.
Diaper Baby Escape Plan
Well-Known Diaper Baby
Joisey! I grew up in CT so my thoughts on Jersey are already tainted by my NE sense of entitlement and self-satisfaction.
Honestly, I bet it was a great time. I had a buddy in Middle School (bout the time Down came out)/HS who LOVED 311.
I wouldn't put them on at home but I bet they put on a fun, energetic show.
Viking Dan
Well-Known Member
The Garden State gets a bad rap - but thats ok.
We're that Indie band that blows your mind when you get dragged to the show by that girl you are dating/opens for the headliner at the festival.
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Djxfactor511
Well-Known Member
Birthday present show in Columbus, OH courtesy of my brother tonight with Marcus King.
Ashland Craft was the first opener. Reminded me of someone like Morgan Wade. Spent a little too much time talking in between songs for my liking, and the song she mentioned just didn't get finished in time was unfortunately for her her best song.
Dean Del Ray strangely enough was the host of the evening. I'm still not sure why, but I shook his hand after he was done introducing Marcus.
Neal Francis was the 2nd opener. I've been looking forward to seeing him for so long. Unfortunately the opening slot didn't do him any favors with his mix. Keys were almost non-existent and the drums were way too high. He was amazing though.
Marcus King was the only show I saw during the peak of COVID. It was a drive in show in Tennessee and was a blast. Just a trio.
Today's band was filled up with keys, a rhythm guitar player, and two horn/percussion guys. I liked the trio waaaaay more.
Ashland Craft was the first opener. Reminded me of someone like Morgan Wade. Spent a little too much time talking in between songs for my liking, and the song she mentioned just didn't get finished in time was unfortunately for her her best song.
Dean Del Ray strangely enough was the host of the evening. I'm still not sure why, but I shook his hand after he was done introducing Marcus.
Neal Francis was the 2nd opener. I've been looking forward to seeing him for so long. Unfortunately the opening slot didn't do him any favors with his mix. Keys were almost non-existent and the drums were way too high. He was amazing though.
Marcus King was the only show I saw during the peak of COVID. It was a drive in show in Tennessee and was a blast. Just a trio.
Today's band was filled up with keys, a rhythm guitar player, and two horn/percussion guys. I liked the trio waaaaay more.
threesunrises
Well-Known Member
The Pearl Jam shows were great - we saw: Hamilton, Toronto, MSG & Camden. Did not take many good pix, so I'm not gonna post any... (also they are still on my memory card, rather than my phone 
)
Was not feeling great yesterday or today, so we decided not to make the trip out to Asbury Park for Sea Hear Now. I'm really sad and disappointed about missing it - husband doesn't really care as much, it sucks to have paid for the tix and not go. It's just money, right???
That said, I am incredibly psyched that I get to wake up at 5am tomorrow in order to get to the airport early to fly to Pitt to see The National!
Hoping there will be no delays, and I am FINALLY getting to the Warhol museum!!! Every time we've been to Pitt, no one ever wanted to go with me.
Here are 2 photos I snapped the last time we saw The Nats in Pitt, in 2017.
)Was not feeling great yesterday or today, so we decided not to make the trip out to Asbury Park for Sea Hear Now. I'm really sad and disappointed about missing it - husband doesn't really care as much, it sucks to have paid for the tix and not go. It's just money, right???
That said, I am incredibly psyched that I get to wake up at 5am tomorrow in order to get to the airport early to fly to Pitt to see The National!
Hoping there will be no delays, and I am FINALLY getting to the Warhol museum!!! Every time we've been to Pitt, no one ever wanted to go with me.
Here are 2 photos I snapped the last time we saw The Nats in Pitt, in 2017.
hatfieldpdx
Well-Known Member
Caught Pavement the other night at Edgefield. I was lucky enough to see them a handful of times in the 90s, and during their first reunion tour in 2009. I was worried this show would not live up to those past memories, but they sounded great and were amazing of course.
Here is a capture of Range Life:
Here is a capture of Range Life:
hatfieldpdx
Well-Known Member
Had a fun time seeing Stella Donnelly in Portland this Thursday! Her vocals and adorable, cute sense of humor were a treat to experience live.
I sure thought more would've been in attendance, but I learned that it wasn't even half sold out with the balcony being roped off. Surely she has more fans here in the States?
Maria BC
Singer/songwriter and ambient pop musician relying on some loops and guitar pedals to create a kinda slowcore(ish) mood and ambiance. Not bad, and am interested to hear more. She was selling merch at the table, but I opted not to get anything.
View attachment 151616
Stella Donnelly
Gaahhh, she was a dream. 19 song setlist with encore, spanning ~75 minutes of stage time! She carried plenty of humor and enthusiasm to the performance, and was all smiles virtually throughout. About an even spread between her newest record Flood and her acclaimed debut Beware of the Dogs.
After performing nine songs, she reserved a 20min period for a few audience requests, so this would ensure the setlist would be (mostly) different for each date on this tour. Apparently, somewhere on a preceding California date, someone requested "Wonderwall" and she played a brief 15sec
Entire request segment filmed here:
Her band performed five more songs after, including the very fun and lively "Die" and "Tricks" as the closing numbers. Additionally, Stella was happy to share that she and her drummer came up with a choreography for the former back in Australia for this tour, which the audience and I tried our best to learn on the fly. She even did a handstand at one point during an instrumental break with help from the flugelhorn player holding her up
Encore selection was a cover of John Paul Young's "Love is in the Air," fitting seeing that JPY is from Australia. Her performance was similar to the one she had on triple j but with an even more emphatic and boisterous vocal performance.
View attachment 151619View attachment 151618View attachment 151625View attachment 151620
View attachment 151624View attachment 151622
View attachment 151626View attachment 151621
Post-Show
Most of the audience quickly clearly out after the encore, with Stella not sticking around either. Her band + event staff was there to assist with teardown. Three of us waited around (including one who I spoke to briefly who had never been to this venue prior) to get signatures for records. The band members were jovial and gracious enough to take merch back behind the stage to get autographed. Success! I've thought about selling my copy of her debut prior to learning of the Portland tour date, but it will be staying in the library for good.
View attachment 151617
Nice! I caught her last time through Portland, when Faye Webster was opening. She was great and I definitely would have seen her again, but just couldn't pull it off. Too bad about the half empty room. It was a busy weekend for live music in Portland, with The Shins, Pavement, Spoon and Interpol all passing through.
Rip_City
Well-Known Member
This past Saturday at Revolution Hall yielded the loudest concert that I've ever attended. I thought ever since this March that Godspeed You! Black Emperor was the benchmark for necessitating volume warning at concerts. Boris had some things to say about that.
Nothing
From the three years that I have been to shows (mostly) by myself, this opener was a bullseye for my tastes. I've never listened to their music despite some praise on various threads of the forum and from position reception from publications. With that said, Nothing may be the best opener I've ever seen.
Their set ran for an hour, a very welcome change of pace from the usual < 40min opener sets. Blistering shoegaze/noise pop with not too much in between audience interaction. I enjoyed every song, some I even loved. Setlist flow and emotional energy was perfect.
They are headliner-worthy for small (maybe medium) sized venues without question.
Boris
The Japanese experimental metal outfit bludgeoned the audience with relentless riffage, walls of noise, and charismatic vocal performances from Atsuo. Most interestingly, they combined much of the various genres they have ventured into as a band during the set ranging from: thrash/drone/doom metal, blackgaze, harsh noise, and ambient. Drummer for this tour is Mike Engle, who was electric and precise. Set went for an incredible, thrilling 90min.
From the get-go, Wata, Takeshi, Mike, and Atsuo pummeled the crowd with three straight thrash metal tracks to ignite the set. By midway through the second song, people began to mosh. Although I was caught in it for about two minutes, I ended up conveniently in front row to take the pictures shown below, and was pretty much unscathed the rest of the way through. The pictures below are not the best as there was a light fog of dry ice for most of the show. Almost lost my left earplug at one point from a random shove behind me
There was a kickass drone metal segment segueing into doom metal for ~10min that was euphoric...everything I hoped a show of this caliber would be. Even with earplugs, the volume from the electric guitars/bass was so overwhelming that I couldn't make out Atsuo's vocals at all. He jumped into the audience to crowdsurf a few times, as well as hold up a guitar fuzz pedal that he egged the audience on to wildly toggle the knobs so that the music switched to more of a harsh noise variety
For an encore, the band returned with two more half stacks of amplifiers to invite the guitarists of Nothing back to the stage. Together, they performed a ~10min shoegaze/noise rock piece, with Atsuo switching over to drumset. A smothering wall of noise at the end with intended overwhelming feedback from the guitarists of Nothing.
Revelatory concert experience. I still have some ringing in my ears as I'm typing this.
Nothing
From the three years that I have been to shows (mostly) by myself, this opener was a bullseye for my tastes. I've never listened to their music despite some praise on various threads of the forum and from position reception from publications. With that said, Nothing may be the best opener I've ever seen.
Their set ran for an hour, a very welcome change of pace from the usual < 40min opener sets. Blistering shoegaze/noise pop with not too much in between audience interaction. I enjoyed every song, some I even loved. Setlist flow and emotional energy was perfect.
They are headliner-worthy for small (maybe medium) sized venues without question.
Boris
The Japanese experimental metal outfit bludgeoned the audience with relentless riffage, walls of noise, and charismatic vocal performances from Atsuo. Most interestingly, they combined much of the various genres they have ventured into as a band during the set ranging from: thrash/drone/doom metal, blackgaze, harsh noise, and ambient. Drummer for this tour is Mike Engle, who was electric and precise. Set went for an incredible, thrilling 90min.
From the get-go, Wata, Takeshi, Mike, and Atsuo pummeled the crowd with three straight thrash metal tracks to ignite the set. By midway through the second song, people began to mosh. Although I was caught in it for about two minutes, I ended up conveniently in front row to take the pictures shown below, and was pretty much unscathed the rest of the way through. The pictures below are not the best as there was a light fog of dry ice for most of the show. Almost lost my left earplug at one point from a random shove behind me
There was a kickass drone metal segment segueing into doom metal for ~10min that was euphoric...everything I hoped a show of this caliber would be. Even with earplugs, the volume from the electric guitars/bass was so overwhelming that I couldn't make out Atsuo's vocals at all. He jumped into the audience to crowdsurf a few times, as well as hold up a guitar fuzz pedal that he egged the audience on to wildly toggle the knobs so that the music switched to more of a harsh noise variety
For an encore, the band returned with two more half stacks of amplifiers to invite the guitarists of Nothing back to the stage. Together, they performed a ~10min shoegaze/noise rock piece, with Atsuo switching over to drumset. A smothering wall of noise at the end with intended overwhelming feedback from the guitarists of Nothing.
Revelatory concert experience. I still have some ringing in my ears as I'm typing this.
Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
This past Saturday at Revolution Hall yielded the loudest concert that I've ever attended. I thought ever since this March that Godspeed You! Black Emperor was the benchmark for necessitating volume warning at concerts. Boris had some things to say about that.
Nothing
From the three years that I have been to shows (mostly) by myself, this opener was a bullseye for my tastes. I've never listened to their music despite some praise on various threads of the forum and from position reception from publications. With that said, Nothing may be the best opener I've ever seen.
Their set ran for an hour, a very welcome change of pace from the usual < 40min opener sets. Blistering shoegaze/noise pop with not too much in between audience interaction. I enjoyed every song, some I even loved. Setlist flow and emotional energy was perfect.
They are headliner-worthy for small (maybe medium) sized venues without question.
View attachment 151710View attachment 151711
Boris
The Japanese experimental metal outfit bludgeoned the audience with relentless riffage, walls of noise, and charismatic vocal performances from Atsuo. Most interestingly, they combined much of the various genres they have ventured into as a band during the set ranging from: thrash/drone/doom metal, blackgaze, harsh noise, and ambient. Drummer for this tour is Mike Engle, who was electric and precise. Set went for an incredible, thrilling 90min.
From the get-go, Wata, Takeshi, Mike, and Atsuo pummeled the crowd with three straight thrash metal tracks to ignite the set. By midway through the second song, people began to mosh. Although I was caught in it for about two minutes, I ended up conveniently in front row to take the pictures shown below, and was pretty much unscathed the rest of the way through. The pictures below are not the best as there was a light fog of dry ice for most of the show. Almost lost my left earplug at one point from a random shove behind me
There was a kickass drone metal segment segueing into doom metal for ~10min that was euphoric...everything I hoped a show of this caliber would be. Even with earplugs, the volume from the electric guitars/bass was so overwhelming that I couldn't make out Atsuo's vocals at all. He jumped into the audience to crowdsurf a few times, as well as hold up a guitar fuzz pedal that he egged the audience on to wildly toggle the knobs so that the music switched to more of a harsh noise variety
For an encore, the band returned with two more half stacks of amplifiers to invite the guitarists of Nothing back to the stage. Together, they performed a ~10min shoegaze/noise rock piece, with Atsuo switching over to drumset. A smothering wall of noise at the end with intended overwhelming feedback from the guitarists of Nothing.
Revelatory concert experience. I still have some ringing in my ears as I'm typing this.
View attachment 151709View attachment 151708View attachment 151707View attachment 151706
Always go and see the opener. You passed, grasshopper. Bravo.
Always wear earplugs. Tsk tsk. A youthful mistake. You are young. No worries. There's time.
Start now with the earplugs.
Really. Trust me. Start now.
Rip_City
Well-Known Member
Oh yes, I've seen every opener for shows I've been to. Most are passable/good, this was outstanding. Usually arrive no more than ~30min after doors open.
I've acquired my first set of earplugs back in mid-May, and I've been using them regularly. Boris was even selling earplugs at the merch table, something I've never seen from a line of merch in the past...clearly a warning.
Yer Ol' Uncle D
Well-Known Member
Right on. It totally pays off to see every band on the bill. And all you need is one to change your life.
A few notable ones for me-
Saw Iggy Pop in a 300 capacity room in 1987. As if that wasn't enough, the opener - Jane's Addiction.
Saw The Jesus And Mary Chain in 1990 in a 1K capacity club. The opener - Nine Inch Nails.
Saw The Jayhawks in a 500 capacity club. The opener - Wilco.
And on and on...
As far as the earplugs - seriously, wear those things every show. No matter what you think it'll be like, Tinnitus is no joke. I wore plugs but started too late. I'm never in silence. I have a persistent ring and at times each ear will go off on a wild tangent and ring loudly for a couple minutes drowning out everything else. You don't want that.
I appreciate your love for live music. Man, it's the absolute best.
August was pretty much a washout. I had three concerts scheduled
Norah Jones / Regina Spektor (Boston) was a bit rough in all honesty. This isn't due in any fault to the artists in question. Regina Spektor particularly took the stage and had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand from beginning to end. I ended up really enjoying that portion. Norah was her solid professional self even if the setlist was not my personal preference (so many of my personal favs were rotated out for this show). However, the heat/humidity was pretty oppressive. I should have learned my lesson from last year's early Wilco show that even on the waterfront that 90 degrees and humidity will not be enjoyable in that venue. Also, for some weird reason, Norah Jones has the absolute worst fans. I've been to a lot of shows where you'd assume the fans would be terrible - they're never as bad as Norah fans. People having full blown cell phone conversations, very loud talking, exceptionally drunk middle aged folks wobbling around on a Tuesday...just a mess. I'll admit bad crowds can ruin things for me so others may not be as bothered but this is the third straight Norah show with a crap crowd which sucks. Maybe 5th time's gonna be the charm.
Both the Wild Hearts Tour (Angel/Julien/SVE) and Isbell were misses for me - I wouldn't have made in in time for Julien (a weekday show starting at 6:30 is a crime especially in a city that is a traffic nightmare as is) and Isbell was thunderstormed and traffic nightmared to the point that we called it before they even opened. On the bright side, Bill Burr at Fenway was a great time.
However, September has come back roaring.
Harry Styles (New York City) - This show was a payback for the better half. For my birthday last year she flew us down to Nashville to see Jason Isbell at the Ryman. This was after we had missed out on Harry Styles in Boston twice - with Kacey and Jenny Lewis who are both openers I'd have loved to see and we just didn't pull the trigger in time. She's also a New Yorker at heart (we end up there once or twice a year for a fun weekend trip anyway)...so this all came together.
The opener was Blood Orange for this showing (the man has some great openers). Blood Orange was never really an artist I loved but it was a pretty good opening act. Some new and old songs, the right kind of lower key/cool vibe. I'm not gonna lie and say the crowd was insanely into it but they're certainly strong among the "arena show opener" level performers I've seen.
The crowd knew what they were there for, and I have to mention this, the crowd was into the setlist between the sets. Full throated sing alongs to not just the OneDiretion song but pretty much everything. Queen sure. Frank Sinatra? Yep. I think there was either a B*Witched or S Club 7 too. The only thing they died down for was Billy Joel. Guess they're not as keen on him as Olivia Rodrigo is. Also need to note, GREAT crowd energy wise. All good vibes, bright colors, great energy. Minus the throwing stuff at the stage. A LOT of stuff got thrown at the stage. Weird stuff. He made a game out of catching it. That was the "I'm old" moment as it seemed to be expected.
The set on the whole was tight. I was a tiny bit surprised that the sound mix felt off at the beginning - bad balance of vocals to music. The momentum picked up as it went on though. Big kudos to Harry Styles' backing band - Sarah Jones stole the show on the drums (and my heart...jk, but she was great) but they used horns, percussion, backing vocals, heavier instruments effectively throughout. The mid-set really stood out to me (Matilda to Little Freak was very well placed and a nice little reprieve to the super high energy sections - it raised appreciation for those tunes for me) as was the closing of the main set. The man has great stage presence and energy - he played to all four sides of a center stage constantly without really taking any kind of break. It was very impressive all things considered. He is a very comfortable recommend to me if he comes around in the right spot for you.
Tenacious D (Gilford, NH)
We min/maxed this show. There were HUGE downpours so we pretty much hung out in the car and on the road til the very last minute to catch most of Tenacious D - so sorry DJ Doggpound.
Tenacious D was a blast. It was an exceedingly rehearsed show with story interludes pretty much exactly in terms of what you'd expect. There isn't huge vocal talent and Jack Black looks like an unfrozen caveman but the man is a performer through and through - the backing band was game for the sketch work and tunes. They did what they should - play the hits, make it funny, have some good imagery, and give the fans a good time. I do think the venue was a little too big for them - I was more towards the back and definitely didn't feel part of it. A 2-3k person venue would be ideal as opposed to 6-8k - I'm not sure if I need to see them again but it was really nice to get them on their own show as opposed to a festival set.
Outlaw Fest (Billy Strings, Avett Brothers, and Willie Nelson) (Mansfield, MA)
There was also Larkin Poe and Brittany Spencer but sadly timing did not work out (3:50 PM show on a weekday) to get there in time for the first two.
Billy Strings is a face melter. I think that stands up as true. I will say that I think he works better in either a traditional festival setting (where he has an artificially shortened set), his own show (where the fans are truly there for him), or maybe a jam bandy setting. He sounded great and he played hard but it all felt a little too meandering and long. The front of house was very much into it though so part of it may have been that we were farther back among those who were having their own kind of fun. It felt like the set was too long for a crowd not dedicated to him though. I think it'll be something they figure out as they do more of these things if he wants to but no one was mad at his set.
The Avett Brothers on the other hand were definitely better in this set than I thought they were when I saw them at a general interest music fest. A very solid if bit overlong 15ish song set. - oddly enough they seem to be excluding I and Love and You from all their live sets but the rest of their most notable tunes got played as well as a really nice Jim Croce cover. They were another one a notable portion of the crowd was there for. It felt a tiny bit off at parts but it's a well oiled machine.
Willie Nelson being alive at 89 is a borderline miracle, and they have definitely taken some steps to make this a bit easier on him. I saw him in a similar structure a while back with Kacey/Allison Krauss and it felt more spontaneous and a bit more alive whereas it was a bit more rehearsed and "I've done this a billion times before". His youngest song Micah (aka the Particle Kid, who was a blast) played some interludes and led on some songs, and the playlist was pretty strictly greatest hits and covers. With that said...the man is near 90, sounds really good, and put on a high quality show all things considered. Certainly well worth the money spent.
Norah Jones / Regina Spektor (Boston) was a bit rough in all honesty. This isn't due in any fault to the artists in question. Regina Spektor particularly took the stage and had the audience eating out of the palm of her hand from beginning to end. I ended up really enjoying that portion. Norah was her solid professional self even if the setlist was not my personal preference (so many of my personal favs were rotated out for this show). However, the heat/humidity was pretty oppressive. I should have learned my lesson from last year's early Wilco show that even on the waterfront that 90 degrees and humidity will not be enjoyable in that venue. Also, for some weird reason, Norah Jones has the absolute worst fans. I've been to a lot of shows where you'd assume the fans would be terrible - they're never as bad as Norah fans. People having full blown cell phone conversations, very loud talking, exceptionally drunk middle aged folks wobbling around on a Tuesday...just a mess. I'll admit bad crowds can ruin things for me so others may not be as bothered but this is the third straight Norah show with a crap crowd which sucks. Maybe 5th time's gonna be the charm.
Both the Wild Hearts Tour (Angel/Julien/SVE) and Isbell were misses for me - I wouldn't have made in in time for Julien (a weekday show starting at 6:30 is a crime especially in a city that is a traffic nightmare as is) and Isbell was thunderstormed and traffic nightmared to the point that we called it before they even opened. On the bright side, Bill Burr at Fenway was a great time.
However, September has come back roaring.
Harry Styles (New York City) - This show was a payback for the better half. For my birthday last year she flew us down to Nashville to see Jason Isbell at the Ryman. This was after we had missed out on Harry Styles in Boston twice - with Kacey and Jenny Lewis who are both openers I'd have loved to see and we just didn't pull the trigger in time. She's also a New Yorker at heart (we end up there once or twice a year for a fun weekend trip anyway)...so this all came together.
The opener was Blood Orange for this showing (the man has some great openers). Blood Orange was never really an artist I loved but it was a pretty good opening act. Some new and old songs, the right kind of lower key/cool vibe. I'm not gonna lie and say the crowd was insanely into it but they're certainly strong among the "arena show opener" level performers I've seen.
The crowd knew what they were there for, and I have to mention this, the crowd was into the setlist between the sets. Full throated sing alongs to not just the OneDiretion song but pretty much everything. Queen sure. Frank Sinatra? Yep. I think there was either a B*Witched or S Club 7 too. The only thing they died down for was Billy Joel. Guess they're not as keen on him as Olivia Rodrigo is. Also need to note, GREAT crowd energy wise. All good vibes, bright colors, great energy. Minus the throwing stuff at the stage. A LOT of stuff got thrown at the stage. Weird stuff. He made a game out of catching it. That was the "I'm old" moment as it seemed to be expected.
The set on the whole was tight. I was a tiny bit surprised that the sound mix felt off at the beginning - bad balance of vocals to music. The momentum picked up as it went on though. Big kudos to Harry Styles' backing band - Sarah Jones stole the show on the drums (and my heart...jk, but she was great) but they used horns, percussion, backing vocals, heavier instruments effectively throughout. The mid-set really stood out to me (Matilda to Little Freak was very well placed and a nice little reprieve to the super high energy sections - it raised appreciation for those tunes for me) as was the closing of the main set. The man has great stage presence and energy - he played to all four sides of a center stage constantly without really taking any kind of break. It was very impressive all things considered. He is a very comfortable recommend to me if he comes around in the right spot for you.
Tenacious D (Gilford, NH)
We min/maxed this show. There were HUGE downpours so we pretty much hung out in the car and on the road til the very last minute to catch most of Tenacious D - so sorry DJ Doggpound.
Tenacious D was a blast. It was an exceedingly rehearsed show with story interludes pretty much exactly in terms of what you'd expect. There isn't huge vocal talent and Jack Black looks like an unfrozen caveman but the man is a performer through and through - the backing band was game for the sketch work and tunes. They did what they should - play the hits, make it funny, have some good imagery, and give the fans a good time. I do think the venue was a little too big for them - I was more towards the back and definitely didn't feel part of it. A 2-3k person venue would be ideal as opposed to 6-8k - I'm not sure if I need to see them again but it was really nice to get them on their own show as opposed to a festival set.
Outlaw Fest (Billy Strings, Avett Brothers, and Willie Nelson) (Mansfield, MA)
There was also Larkin Poe and Brittany Spencer but sadly timing did not work out (3:50 PM show on a weekday) to get there in time for the first two.
Billy Strings is a face melter. I think that stands up as true. I will say that I think he works better in either a traditional festival setting (where he has an artificially shortened set), his own show (where the fans are truly there for him), or maybe a jam bandy setting. He sounded great and he played hard but it all felt a little too meandering and long. The front of house was very much into it though so part of it may have been that we were farther back among those who were having their own kind of fun. It felt like the set was too long for a crowd not dedicated to him though. I think it'll be something they figure out as they do more of these things if he wants to but no one was mad at his set.
The Avett Brothers on the other hand were definitely better in this set than I thought they were when I saw them at a general interest music fest. A very solid if bit overlong 15ish song set. - oddly enough they seem to be excluding I and Love and You from all their live sets but the rest of their most notable tunes got played as well as a really nice Jim Croce cover. They were another one a notable portion of the crowd was there for. It felt a tiny bit off at parts but it's a well oiled machine.
Willie Nelson being alive at 89 is a borderline miracle, and they have definitely taken some steps to make this a bit easier on him. I saw him in a similar structure a while back with Kacey/Allison Krauss and it felt more spontaneous and a bit more alive whereas it was a bit more rehearsed and "I've done this a billion times before". His youngest song Micah (aka the Particle Kid, who was a blast) played some interludes and led on some songs, and the playlist was pretty strictly greatest hits and covers. With that said...the man is near 90, sounds really good, and put on a high quality show all things considered. Certainly well worth the money spent.
threesunrises
Well-Known Member
Aaron handed me a pick. I needed tonight. Gotta get up in a few hours and fly home but damn, tonight was special. I love The National. So great to hang out with people I met through this band.
Jan
Well-Known Member
Saw the last night of Frank Turnesrs Loste venings V festival on sunday. First full contact punk rock show in a long while and it felt good. Although my covid warn app will probably go crazy next week it was well worth it. Saw german punk newcomer grundhass, which was fun and then Craig Finn and the Uptown Controllers, which were amazing. The Donots were main support and already had the whole venue jumping and froming circle pits. The Frank Turner show was pretty great, never seen a show where nearly everyone in the audiene is singing along to every lyric in every song. And i appreciated his two show rules : 1.) Don´t be a dickhead. Look out for each other. If someone falls down pick him up and Ruke 2.) If you know the words sing along.
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