Rolling Cef Concert Reviews

Volume #1, Issue #2 (11/30/97)

It has been a while since I last gave an update on the west coast concert scene. As you know, my relocation and new job has been very time consuming, but I've managed to find a little time to rock and roll. If you enjoy reading these updates, always feel free to send in money to keep them coming!

John Lee Hooker
November 6, 1997
The Edge, Palo Alto, CA

A word of advice for concert goers.. Don't spend money to see 80-year-old performers. John Lee Hooker can still entertain, but he burns out really quickly. His band played without him for about the first 15 minutes, which made me think they were the opening act. John Lee finally came out to join them and took his usual position sitting down on stage. Basically he plays the whole show sitting down and you know that when he stands up, there is only about 10 minutes left. It seemed like he only played about 3 songs, but it's hard to tell since they sound very similar. One goes "Boom, boom" - another goes "Hey, hey" - and the other goes "Yeah, yeah". Very simplistic, but somehow he's made a career out of it. It definitely wasn't a bad show, but I think most people left feeling a bit ripped off. He wouldn't even sign autographs outside, even though there were less than 10 people waiting by his limo. At least I saw him before he dies.

Seven Mary Three w/ The Honeyrods
November 23, 1997
The Edge, Palo Alto, CA

After seeing Seven Mary Three live, it is no surprise that they've fallen off the scene. These guys are your classic bar band. Even though they travel in a tour bus now, they look like they actually work part time as labourers to pay the bills. (Then again, so does the Tragically Hip.) As a band, they're really tight, but most of their songs seem incomplete. It's like they have a good idea, but don't know how to finish it. The highlight of the show was when they asked audience members to volunteer to come on stage to sing Cumbersome. I was ready to go! Unfortunately, I wasn't picked. They put 3 guys on one mic and 3 girls on the other. Two of the guys were really into it. They had good voices and collectively knew the words to the whole fuckin' song. The girls knew absolutely nothin' but looked good, none-the-less.

Opening up was The Honeyrods from Nashville. These guys kicked ass. They're young, with a lot of energy, and they know how to write rock songs. Every song in the their set was solid with a good hook. They sound like a cross of Our Lady Peace and The Nixons. They use three electric guitars for a lot of the songs, and you can actually hear three guitar parts. I picked up their CD at the show for $10 and it's even better than I expected. Definitely a band to watch out for. It won't be long before Seven Mary Three is opening up for the Honeyrods.

Everclear w/ Our Lady Peace
November 26, 1997
The Fillmore , San Francisco, CA

Everclear thinks that taking a good song and playing it as loud as possible with maximum distortion is somehow an improvement. Actually, most of the crowd agrees with them too, but I'll tell ya, when they took a half-time break and played 4 songs totally acoustic, these guys really shined. I would love to see an all acoustic performance of this band. I've heard three versions of their new single Everything to Everyone. The live version is the worst. The CD version is far superior. And an acoustic performance I heard on a local radio station is the best I've heard yet. The legendary Fillmore concert hall is mandatory stop for live music fans anywhere. You can actually feel the floor move up and down while standing more than 20 feet away from the mosh pit.

The opener, Our Lady Peace, was of course amazing. Raine was just wailing on the vocals and I find his voice still sounds better every time I see him. Their wasn't much crowd response, but I think most people were just stunned. OLP is definitely not your average band. I dare to say, that these guys are approaching U2 quality! The band even further intrigued the audience by finishing with a wicked version of the Beatles song, Dear Prudence. Can't wait to see them again.


| Rolling Home |

This page hosted by GeoCities Get your own Free Home Page