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recently 9/03 * locally
8/02 * open stage
5/02 * downloads
6/03
Read my disclaimer (click)
5/6/04 I've left out quite a few shows, I think, in the past few months. White Stripes @ the Rave in particular. Think I meant to bitch about the crowd at that show, but... I'll try to be better (she said again)! And Marilyn at the Rave made up for Ozzfest. Anyway, I'm just happy people are touring and concert season is starting up again! Can we beat the curse of Sonic Youth by seeing them @ the Rave?? Will I see Ari Hest at Schuba's AND Summerfest, or just Summerfest? Lollapalooza has Morrissey and the Cure, and the Furs are playing in Chicago (see, the 80s are more timeless than people gave thme credit for!!). Oh, and PLEASE, can we mention the HIVES?!?!? **sigh** I'm so excited. These are good things!! (now, how will I afford all these shows??
Summerfest is soon upon us, and frankly I'm more excited than I've been in ages. For you Summerfest lovers, I do not count the main stage acts as true "Summerfest" acts - those are regular "expensive" concerts that just happen to be the same day as the "true" Summerfest - pay one admission, see as many people as you want, eat like a pig, drink like a fish (well, for some... not for me!) Oh the wonderful small stages!! Please - I hope I don't miss: OLD 97s! Jason Mraz! (with Ari Hest Opening!), Cowboy Mouth (I'm comin' for you, Fred!), Bob Schneider! Michael McDermott! OkGo! Rufus Wainwright!
If you want to listen to what I listen to most of the day during work, CLICK
HERE to hear my Launch Radio Station.
Oh yes - and I've hopped on the new "Adopt a Song" craze - it's silly and pointless - kinda like me. My first "adoption" was a White Stripes song (click for details), but my most appropriate (and the song I adore)?
My apologies
to those who are offended by the domain name of the above link, but...
"Get over it!"
Okay... now,
on to who I saw!
The Rating
System ***** amazing - would not want
to miss next time around. I'd probably cry if I did. :-D **** great! very cool - would
hate missing next time around, but wouldn't cry. :-)
*** good, not great - didn't
live up to my expectations, for whatever reason. :-
/ ** just plain bad - maybe it
was an off night or something, but wouldn't risk going again.
:-( * waste of my precious time
- haven't had that yet!! :-P Show
- Venue - Date Brief
Commentary ****1/2 Violent
Femmes Femmes
Rock!! They pretty much stuck to the "standards" from
the first album and the smattering of college-loved "hits,"
which are always cool, but MAN - DO SOMETHING from FREAK
MAGNET once in a while, for starters!!! Love them, though... **** Ministry **** Jason
Mraz **** Toad
the Wet Sprocket Not
nearly as "on" as the Milwaukee show, but definately wonderful.
Fortunately, we got to see the wonderful and energetic Bleu
perform. Unfortunately, we also had to endure Wheat. Oh well... ***** Toad
the Wet Sprocket Amazing
musically... You could close your eyes and swear you were listening
to the CD it was so right on. Got a hint of new tunes which
sounded great! They were wonderful. **** Reverend
Horton Heat Much
much better than NY Eve the previous year!! More fun, better
venue!! Rocking!! The opening band, Cedar Case, was an excellent and fun complement!!
Hoping to catch them again soon! **** Circle
Jerks I'll
admit, I had to brush up on my CJ stuff before this show, but
what a trip!! Keith Morris in short, high tops and long dreds,
looking like someone you'd hand money to on the street... :-D
guitarist/bassist show their age... and yet they rocked the
house!! High energy, genuine passion! Wönderful!! ***** Paul
Westerberg Almost
didn't make the first one! **whew** It's Paul. What
can I say? He's a God. To see other's reviews of these and other
Paul shows, click here. See some (low res) pictures from the Virgin
show here. ***** Violent
Femmes Victor
DeLorenzo is back, and this show was AMAZING!! I sang,
I whistled, I was psyched!! What a great show! Can't
wait to see them again!! *****
John
Mayer - WMYX After Five Live 3 songs,
sung flawlessly, small crowd, no squealing, funny, personable...
just a great setting. Way too short, but free, so who's complaining?
See some (low res) pictures here. ***1/2 John
Mayer As packed
as I've ever seen the Rave, with every song being sung by almost
every 15-20something female there. Tough night. **** n'sync
Got
free amazing tickets and passes to the soundcheck from a friend.
Like their music or not, these boys are VERY entertaining and
high energy. Fun show! Parking at the Allstate Arena is HELL,
though!! See some (low res) pictures here. ***1/2
Smashmouth Opened
for N'Sync. I love Smashmouth. They're fun without being
pretty. :-) *** Reverend
Horton Heat Hard
to explain why this wasn't the best show, even though I like
the Reverend's stuff. Musically, it was good, but it was NY Eve,
and it wasn't all the celebration and as cool I we'd hoped
it would be. I'd probably prefer a more intimate setting for
them. *****
Iggy
Pop (warning - don't open this link at work!) If I tell
you it was worth the 11 hour drive there and back, that should
be enough. But no - 50something Iggy has more cool and energy
than performer's 1/2 his age. Totally wired, a trip to watch,
and the venue itself in Altanta was one of THE best places to
see a show!!! And he invited the audience on the stage
with him! Can't get cooler than that!! Classic!! ****1/2 Butthole
Surfers Oh man...
it was a drug trip without drugs... unlike any other show you'll
see, the Butthole Surfers are inexplicable live... Their last
CD got kind of mixed reviews, but I love it!! Can't
wait to see them again. Deduct 1/2 star for grossing me out
at one point where I couldn't watch!! :-D ***1/2 Rollins
Band I don't
do hardcore, usually... but you know, I'm a Henry fan. So I
went. And I survived. For me, it was just a chance to see
Rollins "in person," but I think I'd much prefer the
spoken word show. Lots of energy, though. I was told Rollins
wasn't as "on" as usual. Maybe next time. **** Misfits
Fun,
energetic, tongue-in-cheek horror punk at its finest - and Marky
Ramone was there on drums, playing Misfits AND Ramones music,
etc... Really fun, really entertaining, and at the end, the
lead singer sat on the edge of the stage and just hung out with
the fans, which is the ultimate in cool! *****
Glen
Phillips & Nickel
Creek Musically
flawless, genuinely great entertainment. These two are putting
a CD together calling themselves the "Mutual Admiration Society".
It shows. Perfect complement to each other, it's certainly going
to be a beautiful thing to hear.
Glen
Phillips, Rhett Miller,
Evan Dando, Metro, 9/10
I'd just like to add that on occasion, I looked at the stage and
thought "Jeff Buckely stood on that stage..." $6
ticket, free parking a block away, light traffic for Chicago,
beautiful weather, Metro was cool temp wise, got up front, saw
Glen and Rhett heading out to dinner? (stalking temptation
was there - but we held ourselves back!!) Does is get much
more perfect a night than that?? Doubt it!! Glen I've reviewed
many times. He's great. A little more political than usual in
tonight's short set, but he was wonderful - I'm sorry he and Rhett
didn't play together though. Crowd talkers in back during the
show - I hate you people. You are rude. Leave if
you want to chat. RHETT... let's talk RHETT. I admit, I was a
little late on the Rhett/97's bandwagon, but I've been trying
to see him now for the past oh... maybe 2 years? For some reason
or another I never had the opportunity. Something would come up.
Not like the curse of Sonic Youth, but...
Rhett was worth the wait!! The test of a true talented rock n'
roller is being able to do rock-out songs with just a guitar and
still get the crowd going. Rhett was like a mini-tornado, with
a tinge of Elvis, flying, strumming, moving, shaking, and signing
such a high energy show! He was amazing -
sounded great, moved great, looked incredible (See
Pics Here), played an amazing set... I won't miss him next
time he comes around. I have 39 pics of Rhett - only a few of
them are on the site because of site size restrictions. E-mail
me if you'd like to see the whole batch. I also have pictures
of Glen that are okay, but not as good as previous ones posted
here. Uh... Dando pictures too, but... I just can't comment on
him. I thought he was stoned out of his mind, rude, and someone
needs to tell him how to start a show!! His first bunch of songs
were lethargic and slow and it didn't get much better... well,
"Baby, I'm Bored" pretty much summed it
all up!!
Sex Pistols,
DropDEAD (I'm sorry, it's DropKick) Murphys, Reverend
Horton Heat - Aragon Ballroom, 8/03
This
bill was all wrong - the Dropdead Murphy's shouldn't
be in the same building with the Pistols or the Reverend, they
sucked so bad. They should have opened for the Reverend, at the
VERY most. I don't get their appeal AT ALL, and I'm pretty lenient
on musicians!! So, for fun, I
did this. Got there a little late. Only heard 3 Rev songs,
but I already know he's awesome - if you can see him, do so. And
finally, I got to see Johnny Lydon (Rotten) before I die - it's
a goal. How incredible is it to see those bulging eyes yelling
at you about anarchy and hate?? The show ROCKED. Johnny's got
a nice gut going now, a great swagger and style, and an infamous
attitute!! Glen Matlock, Paul Cook, and Steve Jones could walk
past you 100 times a week and you'd never guess they were Sex
Pistols - just middle age, rather conservative looking guys. (Sid
would not have aged as well as Glen
Matlock!) But I think it's awesome they got together for fans
to see them. It was great to scream along to some of my favorites
- Liar, Pretty Vacant, Anarchy in the UK. Awesome show, very cool,
high energy. Crowd was cool!! Ticket prices were a little high
though... hard to be an anarchist and pay $50 for a concert ticket!!
Iggy
Pop/Sonic Youth - Detroit, MI - 8/14/03
Well,
at least I can say I was in the Great Blackout of 2003!!
Took 2 days off work, drove 6 hours to see Iggy and Sonic Youth
only to have the damn power go out and the inability to return
to Detroit 11 days later!! This would be the 3rd time
we've attempted to see Sonic Youth - first time,
we were promised tix from a chick in Chicago the DAY of the show
and she backed out on us the last minute. 2nd time, we were going
to drive to CLEVELAND - had tix in hand - and my baby had to go
out of town the next day so it wasn't something that was really
feasible. Lost money on that. And now this!! So... we're not going
to ever try to see them again!! It's too expensive!! We love you
Iggy - Don't play with them again! We want to see you!! (Glad
Kristin could get our tix, though - bitch!! :-D
)
OZZFEST
- Main Stage Acts
Alpine Valley - 8/03Lawn
Seats. Couldn't see a damn thing on stage. No video screens until
Ozzy. Surrounded by drunks. What is the point? Seriously,
it was an experience, but one I don't really care if I go to again.
I do like Marilyn Manson's sound, and Korn as well - I like that
huge, loud, rhythm with screaming angry vocals, even though it's
not really "me." But Marilyn did mostly the new stuff,
which I don't know very well, so it was rather slow and I didn't
get to scream "I wasn't born with enough middle fingers!"
He did win the world record, I think, for saying the word "fuck"
the most times in one sentence. :-) Sadly, I can't name one Korn
song, but they sounded good. Disturbed played too - seemed to
be loved by the more "normal" Ozzfest attendees. I knew
one of their songs. Ozzy - it's time to hang it up. You're too
old and too fried to continue to slaughter your own songs. Hang
up your devil horns and call it an era.
White
Stripes - w/ Whirlwind
Heat
Amazing Aragon Ballroom, Chicago
- 7/03Totally
sucked. If you live anywhere near Milwaukee, when they
finally get around to playing there, don't bother making the trip.
Please. Don't go!! Trust me! (BUT, if you
do, be prepared to battle with me, who will jab many a rib and
poke several eyes to get my way to the front of that damn stage!!)
Okay - to keep from alienating the many Stripes
fans out there ~ I'm KIDDING! This was the most amazing, exhilerating
show ever!!! No pyrotechnics,
no light shows - just Jack and Meg and a few guitars, a keyboard,
drums, and 2 dozen or songs from 4 great albums for me to scream,
whistle, jump up and down, clap, and sing to. I don't remember
being this excited about a show ever!! Old stuff, new stuff, show
tunes - honestly, Jack, you could have played for 3 hours and
I wouldn't have gotten tired!! Now - if you could
stop finding ways to avoid Milwaukee and get here SOON!!
Ari
Hest - w/ Mike Errico
Schuba's, Chicago - 6/03
notes
Ari Hest show last night was much
much better than I was expecting. (Don't
ask me why?!?!) Opening for him was Mike
Errico, who's CD I will eventually buy. He writes
wonderfully humorous and catchy songs, mainly about relationships,
and has an incredible voice. (If I thought anyone knew who he
was, I'd compare his voice, at times, to Gavin DeGraw's.) Ari
was wonderful. This was the 2nd of 2 shows, and I think the first
one, the crowd was rather "thin." But not this show.
He was charged up, in great
voice, and wonderful, and I had a huge grin and sang through the
whole thing. Encore, last song... "Hallelujah"
somewhat ala Jeff Buckley. Ari is one of the few people who can
dare to go there. He has an amazing vocal range. He can go from
a beautifully high, on-key falsetto to a rich, warm and sexy baritone
effortlessly... At one point I got teary eyed, and then later,
he hit this low note and I literally had to catch my breath. **sigh**
Looks like
I'm going to close work early for Summerfest July 3rd. Here
are my pictures!
Rollins
Band performs Black Flag - w/ special guest
Keith Morris
The Rave, Milwaukee - 6/03Very
cool show! (Even
if I know all of 3 Black Flag songs, and I use the term "know"
lightly !!) Crowd was pretty cool, mix
of old and new. Keith did the first, oh, 5-6 songs, and
then it was all Henry. He was sweating so much that his cotton
black t-shirt and black jeans looked like a
Batman suit when he as done, it was so shiny and clingy. The man
is just too buff for words - kinda scary. :-) And spits and sweats
a lot. Keith is too
fun. Wish he'd come out and done something more - he's totally
great to watch, but... The highlight of the night for me was Henry's
last 4 encore songs - He asked the audience if they were ready
for the truth... if they could handle the truth... and every one
yelled "YEAH!" He yelled, "The truth is... Sheena
is a Punk Rocker!!" And went on
to sing 4 Ramone songs. (I'd seen the Ramones on the same stage
in the 80s.) It was a great finish to the night!! :-)
Q101 Block Party, Chicago, IL - 6/03
The Vic, Chicago - 4/03If
you value your hearing, don't be down in front at a Ministry show.
Very cool show. A kinder, gentler Al Jourgensen looked great (relatively
speaking), and was definitely having fun. Heavy hitting, explicit
video synched with the music, this was quite an experience. Would
have been better had I been "angry" enough and known all the lyrics
rather than just the chorus ("Breathe, breathe, breathe you fucker!!"
etc...) :-) But play "Stigmata" and it's all worth it!!
The Rave, Milwaukee - 4/03Mraz
fans will chastize me for this rating, I'm sure... but while I
love his CD, and the live stuff from more intimate venues I've
heard, this show wasn't quite the thrill I had hoped for. It was
great, and Jason has an amazing vocal talent and does the impromptu
lyric thing we all love, but I didn't hear anything that exceptional
that would put it in the 5 star category. When the song that gave
me chills on the CD (Absolutely Zero) doesn't do it at the live
show, it's kind of disappointing. (Maybe the crowd contributed
to the downgrade, but...) I downloaded the taped show, and it
confirmed my thoughts. It was just really missing something for
me. Can't put my finger on it.
The Vic, Chicago - 2/03
Rave, Milwaukee - 2/03
Double Door, Chicago - 12/02?
House of Blues, Chicago - 11/02?
Virgin MegaStore, Chicago - 5/02
Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI - 8/02
The Vic - Chicago, IL - 8/02
Barrymore Theater - Milwaukee, WI - 8/02
Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI
Rockbottom Brewery, Milwaukee - 4/02
Rave, Milwaukee - 4/02
Allstate Arena, Chicago - 4/02
Allstate Arena, Chicago - 4/02
Metro, Chicago - 12/31/01
Earthlink Center, Atlanta - 10/01
Chicago Theatre, Chicago - 10/01
Rave, Milwaukee - 9/01
Rave, Milwaukee - 10/01
House of Blues, Chicago - 10/01
recently 3/03 * locally 8/02 * open stage 5/02 * downloads 3/03
Glenn
Tilbrook - The Rave Bar, 7/26/2001 Kurt
Neumann - Harborfest, 6/16/2001 Glen Phillips w/
Peter Stuart - The Rave Bar, 5/11/2001 Nickel
Creek - Schuba's (Chicago), 5/08/2001 Vertical
Horizon - The Rave Ballroom, 4/25/2001 Cowboy Mouth &
Southern Culture on the Skids - The Rave
Basement, 4/18/2001 Rob McCuen
& the Ruins w/ Trolley - McAuliffe's,
Racine , 4/14/2001 Milwaukee Symphony
Orchestra - MCPA , 4/13/2001 Seven
Nations - Shank Hall, 4/5/2001 The Danglers,
Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire & Happy Apple - Shank Hall,
3/30/2001 The
Waterboys - The Vic Theatre, Chicago,
3/27/2001 Frogwater - Linneman's,
St. Patty's Day! 3/17/2001 Jazz Mandolin
Project - Shank Hall, 3/4/2001
recently 7/03 * locally 8/02 * open stage 5/02 * downloads 3/03
Just some
links to local acts. The
Danglers The
Lovelies Pat
McCurdy Fiercely
Me, Spirit
Creek, Popstar
69
THE most original and talented "trip" to hit the stage in
this town EVER - not just "since" the Femmes. Uncategorizable
and definitely not for the conservative music lover. Charged
and unpredictable, tight and experimental, they'll blow your
mind (if it's open). :-) Three genuinely nice guys and great
musicians who deserved to win the 2001 Battle of the Bands.
I've gotten permission to upload some pictures taken at McAuliffe's
in Racine!!
You gotta love a band that has more than one
"prominent" female - it would be cooler if one "lovelie" wasn't a
male, but... :-) let's not get picky!! This is a no-nonsense,
"hard pop" band that is out of the garage and has a big following in
town!!! great sound, great songs, and great style!! I wouldn't be
surprised to see them make it nationally.
I've seen Pat. I'm sorry, but he gives me a
headache, he's so annoying. This link is for MEL, his biggest fan!!
3
bands, 3 web sites, one bass player. :-) I've never seen any of the
bands - keep missing them!! (One of these days, John!). I'm
betting they're all great.
US
Project
I’ve been dying for the opportunity to "voice"
my views on what the rest of the city calls the "Me Project," but
I’ve decided tread lightly and remember the rule “if you can’t say
something nice about somebody…” BUT, I’ll say this - first time I
heard these guys, I'll admit, I was impressed. Great musicians,
great "show," big sound, danceable stuff, great percussion... I got
the CD and came to a realization... The US Project is better “live,”
especially if you haven’t heard their recorded stuff. On CD, they
come across great instrumentally - and Tommy Greywolf on violin
really gives them a somewhat “unique” but still mainstream musical
sound - but Scott E.’s vocals are sometimes painful to listen to,
and as a lyricist, he's... well... it’s hard for me to get past
songs such as "Where Do I Turn" (where he sings from the perspective
of a gay woman, with the "lyric" "I'm physically attracted to women,
not to men...") without laughing!! This summer, I found out the
backup singer, Tracey, who truly COULD sing, quit after Summerfest
2000... so there was no reason to go see them again – so I
haven’t.
recently 7/03 * locally 8/02 * open stage 5/02 * downloads 3/03
I popped into Linneman's after the VH show on 4/25 to listen to some more music and have a real beer (Riverwest Ale). Saw one of my favorite open mic guys - a young blue-collarish folk/bluesy guitarist named Andrew Richmond who just really has kind of a down home style, slightly gritty voice, ala Springteen, I guess. Kinda looks a little blue collar... Sweet face, soft spoken and seems modest, plays guitar well, writes insightful lyrics, and has real heart in his music. I think I saw him play his first night at Linneman's. I know he recently moved here from somewhere else, somewhere south. Can't quite remember where, though. What a treat.
Also saw Joey Leal, who is a wonderful guitarist - beautiful and musical, with a smooth vocal style. He's extremely talented in all aspects, including song writing. And I do think too, he has a gift of finding songs that suit his style, as he did covers by artists I was not familiar with (not a big surprise) and making them sound like they were his. It was mentioned he has a CD out - I may buy it. His guitar work alone would be worth it. He and his fiancé own a place called ReJo's, which used to be Rory's coffee shop. I went there after work the next day. :-) see EATS (under cafe's).
Thacher Schmid. (I hope I got the name right!) Gotta love the open mic night. You never
walk away without some "jewel." I was at Linneman's for open mic
night a week or so ago, not for site material, really, so
I wasn't paying too much attention to the acts on stage. I'd seen
many of them before, some rather un-noteworthy, some just plain annoying,
some with potential... And then there was the keyboard player with a
gutsy, gritty voice similar to Tom Waite, playing some unusual
blues/swing/rockin' piano numbers. I didn't catch his name, but he
was something different, and really great to watch, and I hope
I catch him again when I can just listen. Then, unfortunately,
I was planning on heading home early and was standing outside so I
missed seeing a friend play what I was told was "the music of Syd
Barrett" (but then again, that could have been sarcasm), but
I did get little tastes his music while he warmed up, sitting in the
back at the table next to mine (very distracting, but in a nice way)!
However, at one point, while standing outside talking, getting ready to
head home, there was a "call" back inside from a violin and
I suddenly became MESMERIZED by this phenomenal musician, who played
a lingering tune which blended classical, bluegrass, middle eastern,
Celtic, and a few other musical styles into one flowing piece of absolute
magic. There I stood, just inside the doorway, watching in awe, and
getting the scoop on this guy from Jim Linneman (Thacher Schmid - he's
well known in the Milw. music community, been in various bands, he's a
sought after studio musician... ). The entire time he played, I had a
huge smile on my face. When I hear something musically incredible,
I feel as if I've been lifted onto a cloud. This man gave me a little
bit of heaven that night!
His name was Eric Adams. (I think.) He was from Kenosha. He did have a band that played
in the Kenosha area, but I'm not sure it was a blues band. (We tried to
eavesdrop - that was the info we gathered.) It was in the fall of 2000,
and my friend Kim was visiting from out of town. I was having the
damnedest luck taking her to places I'd told her about (closed, crowded,
whatever), and it was becoming a frustrating but laughable visit. It was
Sunday, and we finally ended up eating at Gill's Cafe for a great dinner
when plans for a few other places didn't pan out. Afterward, I was going
to take her to Linneman's but it was early and I wasn't sure if they
had opened yet. So, since the Up & Under had an open jam w/ the Terry Frank trio or
something, I said "let's go in - I'll show you the place, and we can just
listen for a bit." Terry Frank wasn't there yet, and there were about 10
other people in the place at best. A couple of musicians with their
guitars were sitting and talking with each other. After a bit, a very
unassuming guy gets on the stage with the drummer and bass player of the
trio. Kinda tall, young, sweet faced, "teddy bear" looking guy - nothing
that stood out about his look. Suddenly, he started playing, and Kim and I
looked at each other like we'd just discovered gold!! "OH
MY GOD!"
This guy played blues guitar with incredible skill, but more than that, with incredible SOUL. And then he sang, and he had this wonderful husky voice that belted. I'm writing this on a flashback, though... had I been alone that night, most likely I would have written pages on his performance!! It should have been a crowd of 100 opposed to 10 that were blown away by this guy that night (even the U & U staff was raving!), but eventually he humbly left the stage and Terry Frank went on. We left at the same time as the guitar player, passing him on the road, considered following him... but instead we went home. THAT, however, is the kind of thing that makes the open stage such an incredibly great thing to experience.
If anyone knows who this guy is, and WHERE he is - EMAIL ME. NOW. :-)
Stuff I'm Downloading (uh... legally)
recently 7/03 * locally 8/02 * open stage 5/02 * downloads 3/03
I'm broke. Most of the time. So downloading new music, and burning it to CD at work is something I've grown quite fond of. So... I thought I'd share what's in my new burned CD collection with you!
- OK Go I love those boys!
- Libertines
- Jump Little Children
- Spoon
- Joseph (slit my wrists) Arthur
- Eels
- Flaming Sideburns (I love my Scandinavian rockers!!)
- Live Stuff from the White Stripes, Hives - videos, too!
Oh, and
I've adopted my first song!!
Don't ask me why, or how, or even what it is all about, but...
"When I Hear my Name" by The White Stripes
is my new baby!!
"When I Hear My Name"
when i hear my name i want to disappear
when i hear my name i want to disappear
oh oh oh oh
when i see my face i want to disappear
when i see my face i want to disappear
oh oh oh oh
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