Backstreet Boys August 27, 2010 Nautica Pavillion Cleveland, OH Aaron Lewis of Staind October 18, 2010 The House of Blues Cleveland, OH My musical taste is very diverse.
Excellent show. The National were a little more upbeat than I expected. Arcade Fire always put on a great show and didn't disappoint. They were incredible. Relatively intimate outdoor venue, no rain, not too cold, ran into some old friends, perfect evening.
Wow, it has been awhile since I've seen a concert. Last one was Muse at the Pepsi Center, Denver CO last year. My next one is System of a Down in May. :> I'll post then!
The Avett Brothers 30 April 2011 Wright Center Birmingham, Alabama Man Man / Shilpa Ray 01 May 2011 Bottletree Birmingham, Alabama Interpol / School of Seven Bells 02 May 2011 The Ryman Nashville, Tennessee
Echo & the Bunnymen May 11, 2011 9:30 Club Washington, DC They did "Crocodiles" and "Heaven Up Here" back-to-back.
Camper van Beethoven & Cracker Friday May 13, 2011 The Buckhead Theater (formerly the Roxy) Atlanta, GA Camper played the first set and played all of Key Lime Pie, plus Wasted, White Riot, Take the Skinheads Bowling, and Shut us Down. They sounded really good. Cracker came on after a short break and proceeded to play through Kerosene Hat. But I left about 4 songs into it. I don't begrudge Dave Lowery making some dough after CvB initially split, but I personally could never get into Cracker's music. Would've preferred that CvB had kept playing and done some stuff from ...Revolutionary Sweetheart, etc.
Saw System of a Down on Wednesday near Denver. HOLY CRAP what an amazing show. I've never seen them live before, but have watched plenty of YouTube clips of performances and I will say I was quite nervous to see them. A lot of the videos seemed to be hit and miss, but damn if they didn't sound amazing. 29 song setlist? That's the way to do it! I really hope they come back again before setting to work on a new album (god I hope). Gogol Bordello was pretty sweet too. Seeing Biffy Clyro next week.
Groupon clone through Chicago Reader sold Bootsy Collins tix for June 10 for $12.50@. Im hoping to counterbalance the George Clinton show, which was terrible. C'mon Star-Child. Make it better.
New Pornographers/State Radio/Freelance Whales/Man Man/Against Me!/River City Extension @ B.O.M.B Festival, Hartford CT, 5/29/11
I went to this, and it was great. http://www.npr.org/2011/05/25/136503845/our-concert-could-be-your-life
He didnt. In fact Bootsies show suffered from many of the same issues as Georges. He was an hour and a half late. Maybe Im just old (Ill never be lawn freak old) but I hate that. The first song was Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop. There was one performer on stage for every letter in that word. I counted fifteen, including an emcee type in toughskins, a pink boa, and a Michael Irvin surplus sceptre. That was before Bootsy even came out. I have no idea why they want three keyboards and a live brass section. This band had so many backup singers it wasnt clear which one of them was actually singing the leads at any given time. Not that it mattered. There wasnt an intelligible lyric to come out of that conglomeration the whole time. I suppose somewhere in Chicago there is a venue large enough for that much sound. Perhaps Palwaukee Airport would do. Even the jets at Ohare arent as ill-defined or loud. As for Bootsy, he can really slap the Space Bass. The guy made it shake, pedals and all. Still, there was a second bass player, which made little sense until it became clear that Bootsys main job was to strut around the wings pointing and lurch dancing with the identically dressed (spotless red-sequin suit) twentieth person on stage, a dancer rocking a sweet Angela Davis 'fro. Just like George, Bootsy was only on stage for about half the show. Apparently there wasnt room as the stage manager wqas trying to see how many funk-dancers he could fit into a phone booth. Its clear that the Mothership has the population density of downtown Kowloon.
I haven't seen Bootsy live since (I think) 1998 (in Chicago, actually, at the Riviera). But the P-Funk All Stars shows have been evolving in this direction for a long, long time: that it's not about the music (or musicianship, anyway), but rather the show, with George Clinton as master of ceremonies. There was always that component to P-Funk shows; but it's different now in that that's the *main* focus. But Bootsy's shows tended to be more stripped down, and it's a bummer to hear he's going that route. I expect some of it may be the fact that he's 60 years old.
The Antlers @ The Mod Club Toronto, Ontario, Canada 14 June, 2011 Even though I really like their two albums I wasn't expecting them to translate into a great live act. Perhaps my less heightened expectations served me well, because god-dammit they were great. So, so cathartic.
B'52s/Go Gos Ravinia Park 6/17/11 The B52s are just as much fun as ever but showing age for the first time Ive seen them. They had some harmony trouble a few times but easily made up for it with sheer B52ishness. The Go Gos are a semi-pleasant amusement. We didnt bother walking up to the pavillion to get a look. My real issue is...Why would the B52s EVER open for the Go Gos?