I stopped by the Roseland Ballroom this Monday evening for a healthy dose of The Used. The band’s reputation for being wild men proceeded them- so I was intrigued to see what they were like live. The guys opened with a lot of smoke and “The Bird and The Worm” the first single from their new record Lies for the Liars. The set was very high energy, Bert engaged the crowd with calls for clapping, middle fingers and the shouting of various curse words. The not quite capacity crowd seemed to eat it up- there was plenty of moshing and girls making out. At one point McCracken instructed to the crowd to split down the middle and charge one another- which they happily proceeded to do. Highlights from the set included “Take It Away,” “I Caught Fire,” and “Pretty Handsome Awkward.” I give The Used credit for the high energy they brought- but truthfully it all seemed a little over the top- especially Bert’s rant re: what a tough day it had been. The band had- according to him- burned several Manhattan apartments to the ground, had sex with someone’s sister and killed two police officers. I’m all for rock and roll being anti-authority, and not that it was meant to be taken seriously, but it certainly lacked taste.
I’ve never been a huge fan of Elvis Costello. But on the other hand, I don’t particularly dislike him either. So, when a friend offered me a pair of tickets to see Costello live at the Mann Music Center, I jumped on them. The idea of just about any pop/rock star backed by a full orchestra is enough to pique my interest. Plus, the Mann – with its open-air seating – is the perfect venue for a late summer concert.
Unfortunately, this was not the perfect late summer concert. It was a snooze-fest.
From the opening “arrangement” of “All This Useless Beauty,” the entire show felt like musical theatre… marred by indulgent intros, long schmaltzy interludes, and missed opportunities. I guess what I was expecting was some really original and robust orchestral accompaniment to Costello’s eclectic brand of rock. Instead, the show was all orchestral “arrangements” of Costello’s song – some written by other musicians, some by Costello himself. Despite the fact that there seemed to be an anecdote to introduce each arrangement, suggesting that great care and thought went into them, every song felt like it had been shoe-horned into its new format. The musical choices were predictable and disappointing, such as the Perry Mason-esque intro to “Watching the Detectives.”
And then there was “Veronica.” Since (yes, I’ll own it) this is the Elvis Costello song that I know best, I was really looking forward to hearing what he and the orchestra were going to do with it. The answer: not a damn thing. Costello plaid acoustic guitar and Steve Nieve played the piano. That was about it. No drums. No horns. The orchestra joined them for a few bars toward the end of the song, but otherwise sat there looking hamstrung and restless. I wondered if they just didn’t even have sheet music for it. And then, when Costello was done singing the orchestra opened up with what sounded like an overture of “Veronica” but felt like an afterthought.
The only song that didn’t disappoint was “She,” the song Costello wrote for Notting Hill and which I’m pretty sure was originally written for an orchestra. It was beautiful. But not beautiful enough to keep me in my seat… as soon as that song was finished I bolted. Unfortunately, the highlight of this show for me was getting out ahead of the traffic.
The Melvins are a hot or cold band. There have been times that I’ve seen them rock a set for over two hours with non-stop intensity and I still left wanting for more. And then there have been other times when an hour of their monotonous jamming was about as entertaining as an unexpected root canal. There is no in between.
But once you’ve seen them tear it up on a good night, you know that checking out a live Melvins show is always worth the risk.
The Melvins are hitting the road in September for a fall tour. They’re sharing the bill with Big Business, a heavy rock duo that (not so coincidentally) happen to be members of the Melvins. The BB guys officially joined the Melvins and played on the last album, A Senile Animal. But they also continue to record and tour on their own as Big Business.
When they tour together, they play their set with two full drum kits and drummers on stage. It’s tough to imagine the Melvins rocking harder (or weirder) — but two sets of drums gets the job done.
Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello are pairing up for a quick 13-stop tour in the fall. Dylan will headline the shows around the same time that a 51 track retrospective entitled “Dylan” is scheduled for release on October 1. The shows will be the first solo appearances for Costello in 12 years. Amos Lee will open the shows.
September 22: Duluth, GA — Gwinnett Center
September 23: Clemson, SC — Littlejohn Coliseum
September 25: Norfolk, VA — Convocation Center
September 27: Charlottesville, VA — John Paul Jones Arena
September 28: Columbia, MD — Merriweather Post Pavilion
September 29: Kingston, RI — Ryan Center
September 30: Bridgeport, CT — Arena at Harbor Yard
October 2: Worcester, MA — DCU Center
October 4: Portland, ME — Cumberland County Civic Center
October 5: Manchester, NH — Verizon Wireless Arena
Menomena are three guys from Portland who play experimental rock. Really good experimental rock. They are currently on tour to support their most recent CD, and second major album, Friend and Foe, which is on indie-friendly label, Barsuk (mainly known for starting out way-pre-wheresoulmeetsbody-DCFC). To get what gives Menomena their unmistakable sound, band member Brent Knopf created a computer program, DLR, (Digital Looping Recorder) which they use to record various instruments, holding a microphone up while they improvise. So the MAC Powerbook comes to the gig, along with a xylophone, guitars, drums, bass, keyboards, and saxophones.
The anticipation at the Casbah was such that the show sold out before the opening act was done (no small feat in this town). The crowd was into it (another thing that should be noted as no small feat in this town or at this venue). The show was great. More than just hearing the songs recognized from the CD, it felt as though they were being assembled for you, making sense of their many facets and sometimes jarring compatibilities. The guys are great about it too, they aren’t there to bring you into some holier-than-thou-scene or prove what they know and you don’t. They are there to bring you their music, live, to share with their fans how music makes sense to them, how it should be heard. Bring on more Menomena and bring on that sax.
Counting Crows will be bringing Mr. Jones to a semi-rural area near you this summer. The band is gearing up for a summer long tour of minor league baseball arenas around the country.
If that’s not enough to draw you out, they will be joined by Live and Collective Soul, with Third Eye Blind stepping in for a few appearances. Sadly, Gavin Rossdale could not pull together a Bush reunion in time.
The tour kicks off July 22 in Wilmington, Delaware, the hometown of credit cards and… um, Fight Club? Nineties-palooza will hit towns like Dayton, OH, Tulsa, OK, Buffalo, NY, Allentown, PA and wrap up with a September 2 grand finale / laser light extravaganza in Fargo, ND, donchaknow.
Lame 90’s jokes aside, Counting Crows can put on a great live show. They tend to make even the biggest venues feel like a small club. But I actually saw a Live / Counting Crows lineup a few years back in Camden, NJ. They played it up as a Live homecoming, but both acts were extremely flat and boring. Counting Crows opened up and played every song straight just like it sounds on the album. It definitely isn’t something I’d make a trip to the boonies to relive.
After all these years, The Wedding Present still rocks. Dave Gedge and his new-ish line up bring both old and new Wedding Present songs to the live show. Dave Gedge is sappy, he’s brutal, he’s funny, he’s depressed. It’s all there in the live show. And yes, ladies standing in the front row, he will convince each and every one of you that he is singing directly to you. But, if you were at any LA or San Diego gigs, sorry, it was me he was singing to. Sure, Gedge is no youngster anymore, he forgets the words, laughs about it, and still refuses to play encores. But the energy and passion are all there.
In late March, Sanctuary Records released all of The Wedding Present’s John Peel Sessions in one Box Set. This six-disc collection starts with their first session in 1986 and ends with their last in 2004 that includes songs from their then forthcoming and still most recent album “Take Fountain.” As a live collection box-set, it’s about as comprehensive as they come all remastered and waiting for you.
Live music fans, the Black Keys feel you’re pain. They know without the proper equipment, taped shows sound muffled and inevitably have a recording of the drunk guy yelling something ridiculous like “Freebird!” or “Winger!”
To save the world from howling drunken bastards, the bluesy-rock duo from Akron, Ohio have released a free live EP on their Myspace site. The four tracks were all taped during the band’s 2006 Fall Tour.
The Troubador in LA on 9/13/06
No Trust
Girl Is On My Mind
The Mercy Lounge in Nashville on 12/15/2006
10am Automatic
Elevator
I got the chance to check out Patti Smith last night at the Hiro Ballroom here in NYC. Patti has a new record that comes out on Tuesday called Twelve which is entirely composed of covers of famous/semi-famous rock songs. I’ve seen Patti before- and her original material is riveting live so I was not exactly sure what to expect.
Patti and band opened with a gorgeous accordion driven version of Neil Young’s “Helpless” and moved through an opening set that included a much of the new album including “Soul Kitchen” by the Doors and “Midnight Rider” by the Allman Brothers, the later was introduced by the Longfellow poem “Paul Revere’s Ride”. The first set also included the “bonus track” “Perfect Day” by Lou Reed. Smith joked that had she known she would be required to provide so many additional tracks she would have called the album “ten.” Always a good conversationalist Smith ruminated on the unconscious decision to record so many songs that were released 1976 for the new album, why, well it was good year, she said. Later in the set she qualified the statement by calling 1976 a year when people were doing something- and implored the audience to do something themselves. Smith has always been a semi-political figure- perhaps most visibly of late in her benefits for Ralph Nader’s 2000 presidential campaign.
It was interesting to see which tracks Patti chose to cover in a very straight up manner and those that she chose to change more drastically. Her straight interpretation of the Stones’ “Gimme Shelter”, which she introduced as being in the tradition of great protest songs, was spine tingling. Her re-working of Paul Simon’s “Boy in the Bubble” seemed less effective to me. I guess that’s because I think the amazing thing about Graceland was its creative use of rhythm and melody – personal preference. Smith actually joked about the re-working claiming to have never really liked Simon or his music very much, even going so far as to skip a film that included his music (I assume she is referring to The Graduate). The band closed the opening set with and epic take on Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?” into Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”.
The band took a fifteen minute break and returned for a second set whose highlights included R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts”, which Patti dedicated to her daughter Jesse, and her Bruce Springsteen collaboration “Because The Night”. Though she did not explicitly state it, the recent tragedy at Virgina Tech seemed to be on Smith’s mind. She talked about the second amendment (the right to bear arms) and the intentions the founding fathers had in mind when they created the bill of rights. She contended that there was a distinction between having a gun in your home for protection and having citizens armed with automatic weapons. The second set also featured an original poem called “Tara” that Patti had written for her sister in law and her daughter. Appropriately Smith closed the second set with a cover song that has truly become her own over the years. Van Morrison’s “Gloria” is the opening track to her 1975 debut Horses. My father claims that anyone can sing “Gloria” and it will still be awesome- but for my money- Patti’s version is the best.
The band returned for a final encore including Stevie Wonder’s “Pastime Paradise” from the wonderful Songs in the Key of Life. It’s the song Coolio ripped off for Gangsta’s Paradise. There was a good moment of levity when Patti revealed her excitement at being asked to narrate a portion of the new Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie. The final bit also included the two strangest covers of the evening. Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, which Smith admitted the band had not really rehearsed- seemed a bit shakey- with Smith changing/flubbing some of the lyrics- which seemed odd. Perhaps stranger was the closing number Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” a seemingly strange choice for an artist best known for her intellectual take on punk rock. But as Patti explained- you don’t need to sing punk rock songs to be punk. Punk means not giving a fuck what anyone has to say about you. Well said.
I went to see Jesse Malin last night at the Bowery Ballroom. I am a big fan of Jesse’s music and I have seen him play all around the city over the past few years but last night’s sold out show may have been my favorite in recent memory. The home town show (Jesse is from Queens originally) was a celebration of sorts as Jesse has an excellent new album that comes out today called Glitter in the Gutter. Jesse and band had just taped Conan earlier in the day - so they had a lot to be excited about. As you might expect the set included lots of material off the new record including: the first single Don’t Let Them Take You Down (Beautiful Day), Tomorrow Night, Broken Radio, Little Star, Prisoners of Paradise, Black Haired Girl and In The Modern World.
There were also plenty of tracks from Jesse’s solo debut The Fine Art of Self Destruction including Riding On The Subway, Almost Grown, Downliner and Brooklyn. He also threw in Hotel Columbia from The Heat. A highlight of the set was Solitaire during which Malin entered the jumped off the stage- got the entire crowd to sit down on the floor- turned on the house lights- and had a little sing along. Jesse was typically talkative- sharing strange stories and telling jokes that at times seemed to go over the crowd’s head. Both are parts of what make him a compelling stage presence.
During the encore Jesse spoke for a bit about some new bands he was into including The Hold Steady- he then proceeded to cover one of their songs You Can Make Him Like You. The encore also included Going Out West, Lucinda (dedicated to Lucinda Williams), Wendy and finally closing with my favorite tune from the new record Aftermath.
There was a camera crew from HBO filming the whole time - so I hope a lot of folks get to see the final product- and discover Jesse Malin.
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