What Show Did You Just See?

[Northern Neighbour]

Over the last couple of weeks, I've seen:

- Real Estate and Pure X at Il Motore in Montreal. Pure X's debut album was quite good - mellow synth pop, but their second album was a dud. They released a new album on Tuesday, but I have yet to hear it.  Real Estate were excellent. The setup at Il Motore has the stage at the front of the venue (more like a bar that has about 600-700 capacity). After their first set, the band started to walk off stage but had nowhere to go.  So Alex turned back and spoke into the microphone, "Guys, why don't we just keep playing. It's not like we can go anywhere."  After a short break for the rest of the band to get a drink, they played an extended encore, some of it ad lib.

- Caught the Dum Dum Girls and Blouse at Il Motore last Friday night. I'm a fan of both. Blouse were great, even with their new indie rock sound (their debut was synth-pop). DDG have improved immensely with their live shows since the first time I saw them in 2010. Dee Dee was battling a cold or another ailment, but she soldiered on. Great show.

- The next night, saw Montreal's Suuns, who are an experimental rock band that mixes deep house, doom, indie rock, electronic, synth, etc. The music can be brooding at times or completely pulsating. Awesome band and one I definitely recommend seeing.

- Last night, saw Vancouver band The Zolas (had a post-set interview with them, too). They're poppy, but fun. They were actually the second of three bands.  The first band was James Younger, who plays in The Zolas. He was great. His sound was almost Mikal Cronin-esque but not as fuzzy.  Can't say Ty Segall because it didn't have the reverb or indie rock feel - more indie pop-rock.  The third act was The Mounties, a super-indie Canadian band, although I missed most of the set hanging out with the founding members of The Zolas.

[johnnYYac]

Warpaint at Gabe's in Iowa City on April 1.  I love their albums, and they sounded pretty solid in person, but there was nothing compelling about them on stage.  It was a standing GA club, level floor, low stage, and lots of tall people.  I never actually saw the drummer or her kit.  Their stage presence was indifferent.  At one point, one of the vocalists said "It feels like a Friday night!" with her hands in the air.  I though to myself, "Nah, it feels like a Tuesday night to me..."  Still worth $15 and I picked up the latest LP on the way out.  I'll enjoy them from the comfort of home and my turntable...

[walterfredo]

April 1- Neil Young at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood (where the Academy Awards are held).  Pure awesomeness.  What a venue.  Neil is the man.

April 3- Widespread Panic at the Arlington Theater in Santa Barbara

April 4 & 5- Widespread Panic at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. 

panic killed it as usual, all three nights were amazing.  Nicky Sanders (from the Steep Canyon Rangers) came out both nights in LA, Neal Casal (Chris Robinson's Brotherhood/ Hard Working Americans) came out Saturday night in LA. 

Good times had in SoCal last week.

[parkervb]

My first Springsteen and E Street concert.  Wow, what a force of nature he and the band are.  Some feedback issues during the show but that is the only complaint.  Here is a great recap from NJ.com

http://www.nj.com/springsteen/index.ssf/2014/04/bruce_springsteen_plays_a_summ.html

[ericm]

My first Springsteen and E Street concert.  Wow, what a force of nature he and the band are.  Some feedback issues during the show but that is the only complaint.  Here is a great recap from NJ.com

http://www.nj.com/springsteen/index.ssf/2014/04/bruce_springsteen_plays_a_summ.html

Glad you liked it Parker.  I was there too, and thought except for the feedback issues, it was a fantastic show.  I really loved the Sherry> Talk To Me>Seaside Bar Song>Jersey Girl four pack mid set. It really did have an at the beach in Jersey feel to the show. Great fun, and lots of energy. 

[Mr. White]

I got to see Howell Dawdy at Zanzabar in Louisvlle last night. He's pretty funny. He sings a little, but most of his stuff is spoken word. Here is one of two videos I recorded.

http://youtu.be/9MfRQyPMR0E

[dmooney99]

The Whigs in philly at the Nortstar Bar last night.  I was debating whether or not to go, but tix were kinda cheap at $15.  Forgot how much they rock live.  Also they have a new album out which i wasn't aware of until recently 

[Sidus]

65Daysofstatic last week and Crippled Black Phoenix two days ago. Was the first time I saw 65Daysofstatic live and it was a great show. It was ten years ago they released their first album, so they played  the whole album to celebrate during the first part of the show. In the second part they played nearly everything from their newest album (Wild Light), which was one of my favorite albums of 2013. Great show, very loud (this seems to be the standard with instrumental (post-rock) bands :P).

However, Crippled Black Phoenix was even better. It was a 2.5-3 hours show and I only paid 10 euros (like 14$ or so). After 1.5 hours I thought "damn, great show but they haven't played my favorite songs yet...", but then they played more than a hour and played all my favorite songs in a row  . I was blown away, it got better and better. Great audience as well! Half of the band has been changed since the last time I saw them (2 years ago or so), but this seems to be an improvement (better singer). Can't understand why these guys aren't more popular. Epic show, one of the best I've ever seen! Certainly the best price-performance 

Crippled Black Phoenix - 02 We Forgotten Who We Are (HQ)

[Gina]

Just saw Hall & Oates - great show.  They sound fantastic and covered all the major hits from 70s and 80s.  They look good too (considering Daryl is almost 70). 

The only downside, is it was a short show - barely 80 minutes in total from start to the end of the second encore.  I guess when you are 70 and not always in the best of health, you just can't pull off 2 hour shows any more.

[oistheone]

Saw Television last night in Toronto, and GOOD LORD -- these guys have still got it! Tom and crew exude an effortless cool -- I'd be happy if I was half that smooth when I'm their age! The sound was perfect, with each instrument fully defined in the mix. Closing my eyes, it felt like I could have been listening to a live bootleg from the 70s. And of course, the playing was masterful. Tom is a guitar surgeon, each lick so precise and stinging it was like a musical incision. I realize Jimmy Ripp may not be an original member, but I am thrilled to have seen him in the band because his playing was absolutely flawless. What tone!! I'm going to have a hard time picking up my Telecaster after watching him "Ripp" for two hours. And it takes some kind of bass player to jam on "Marquee Moon" for fifteen minutes while keeping the groove flowing AND interesting throughout -- well done, Fred! Gotta say though, Billy might have stolen the show. What an inventive drummer. Nothing was out of bounds with him, he was using his sticks on the side of the drums, on the cymbal stands, even on the floor! One of the best drummers I've ever seen.

The whole night was pretty much perfect. Tom was in a great mood, joking with the audience throughout and appeared to be thrilled with the energy the packed house was giving him. Last night was two hours of classic tunes, played with force and originality, while NOT sounding like a jukebox. If you are even a passing fan of Television, DO NOT MISS THIS TOUR! My girlfriend only knows a few tunes off Marquee Moon and she was a little afraid that they might not put on a "show", but she was riveted and grooving the entire time -- afterwards saying it was one of the best shows she's ever seen! Bravo, Television. Bravo!

[ericm]

Got to hang with some great guys tonight preshow Bruce in Albany. Always great to see you Jeff, and you too Joey.  Looking forward to the backyard show next month. In the meantime, here's a little Bruce pic from tonight. 

[manonthemoon]

Was just blown away by Mastodon, Gojira, and Kvelertak both last night in Philly and earlier this week in DC.  Was by far the best tour bill I have seen this year.  Kvelertak more than held their own in a shortened set and it was interesting seeing 3 lead guitars who all got to do there own solos at different points and a very energetic vocalist.  Gojira was just a pure assault with the kick drums being like machine gun fire.  They were definitely top notch and on their game at both shows.  I heard many people who were there only to see that group and I can see why.  Mastodon lived up to their hype as one of the great live bands on the road these days.  They know how to whip a crowd into a frenzy like no one else.  The sheer force of the mass of humanity that was the crowd close to the stage was crazy all set long last night.  Just a mass of bodies, headbanging hair, and aggression.  The band was fantastic as well, playing a couple of new tunes off the up coming album and also pulling out various songs from their entire catalog of material including a 12 minute Hearts Alive and personal favorite Crusher Destroyer.  They ended the night like they always do with Brann talking to the crowd and saying they can't wait for the new album to get out there and that they'll be back soon to play those songs indicating another long period of touring this late summer/fall.  That coupled with the rumored Winter EP that has been mentioned to be released near the end of the year makes it feel like these guys will never slow down and that's a good thing.

[Murph]

Phosphorescent killed at Webster Hall last night. It was great to finally get to see all those Muchacho tunes I love with a full band. They really do the whole psychedelic, cowboy rock thing justice. Really awesome show.

[iLikeBeer]

Saw The Head and the Heart last night in Cleveland at the Masonic Auditorium and they didn't disappoint. The venue and the audience on the other hand...  LAME is the only word that comes to mind about the crowd... 

The venue was all seated except for the pit and the mezzanine was reserved seating. The 'balcony' (if you want to call it that) was GA.  So, we didn't get our tix early enough so we found seats in the balcony. The show starts and my wife and I stand to start dancing and we suddenly see we're like the only ones standing and then we start hearing it from behind to sit down?!  I was like SERIOUSLY???    Did they not realize what show they were at?  Thankfully the venue wasn't sold out so we moved to a spot where we could get our groove on without obstructing the lame asses who had to sit through the ENTIRE show.  I'm still dumbfounded as to how so many people managed to keep their asses planted to their seats for such a high energy band like The Head and the Heart.  At least they didn't keep us from having a great time!   

[johnnYYac]

Blitzen Trapper at Gabe's in Iowa City tonight. Great show, hot and sweaty. Went back in after the show for this...



They closed a lengthy encore with a cover of Kravitz's Are You Gonna Go My Way.

[oistheone]

Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings played at Massey Hall last night -- what a show!

I was very fortunate in that I had front row seats, but as soon as the Dap Kings took the stage, that seat was ignored for the rest of the night. As usual with Massey Hall, people behind me were yelling at me to sit down, but thankfully Binky "The Man" Griptite spoke up for me, saying "I know those seats are comfy, but we need EVERYONE to GET THE HELL UP right now!" Thanks Binky! I've never seen such a normally stuffy hall turn into such an awesome dance party free-for-all. My friends who had tickets a few rows back ended up boogiein' in the front row with us! We got lots of love from Sharon and the whole band and my girlfriend got to go up on stage and bust her moves! Sharon is just amazing, there is no hyperbole when it comes to describing her - she's every bit the firecracker she's described to be. Completely infectious energy, and what a band! Can't wait to see 'em again at Forecastle.

Also, the opening act James Hunter is unbelievable. I've been wanting to see him for years, and was a bit disappointed at first to see he didn't have his band, but those worries were quashed pretty much immediately. Just as good, if not better, when it's just him and a guitar. Check him out if you love talent!

Funny side story -- we were at a bar after the show and my girlfriend realized she lost her wallet. I was almost positive it wasn't stolen, so I went back to the venue to try and track it down. This was about an hour after the show and everything was getting broken down so there was no way I was getting inside. I explained my situation to a security guard, who quickly referred me to the tour manager and told me to follow him. I was led backstage and told to wait behind a sweet red velvet curtain. I heard a shout from behind the curtain asking me what color the wallet was. "SILVER", I shouted back. The voice told me to come through the curtain, so I popped through, and there's the whole band chilling out! Homer, the Dap Kings drummer, says "Here you go" and tosses me the wallet! I was so flustered, thanking them for the show, thanking them for the wallet, I was probably a blabbering idiot and just got outta there as quickly as I could before going back to the bar as a hero. But to me, the real heroes were the Dap Kings. What a night!

[Mr. White]

Last night, my brother and I got to see The Pat Metheny Unity Group for the second time this year. We took our father up to Louisville to see an intimate show at the Kentucky Country Day-School Theatre. The theatre holds between 380 and 460 people (depending on how the seating is set up). There were probably around 300 at last night's show. We had wonderful seats - 4th row, pretty much in the center. He played about 2 hours and 30 to 40 minutes with no opening act and no intermission. As always, Pat put on a really special show, however, there weren't many changes since the February 16th show we saw down in Nashville at The Ryman Auditorium.

Here is a slightly blurry photo of Pat waving good-bye at the end of the show.

[LBSUNFLWR]

wow, I didn't know that KCD theater was that small, never been. That is awesome.
I am seeing Josh Ritter there in September. 

[YimYodd]

Bonnie Raitt  on July 4 TH  at Fair ST LOUIS in Forest Park. About 100,000 people there (90 percent of them there for post show fireworks) . We snaked thru to third row w the diehards, she had great band, played lotta old stuff and beer tent was just to right of stage! Great nite, oh yeah - fireworks were good too

[pattilovesmmj]

Jack White
Need I say more?