Gigs, Concerts, and Other Live Performances

[becs]

If you've never seen or heard of Danielson (Famile) I would HIGHLY recommend checking them out at that fest, they're a trip.

[Leestu]

Saw Dinosaur Jr on Saturday night at a gig with an audience of about 500 to 600 people. J Mascis's guitar work sounded fantastic. Unfortunately I wasn't close enough to watch his fingers work their magic apart from occasional glimpses. They mainly played songs from Farm and they sounded so much better live than they do on the CD. The highlight of the night for me was when they played Wagon, immediately followed by Freak Scene. I must admit my dancing became a bit rabid during those two songs. Great night, and I just really appreciate that I got a chance to see them.

[silversurfer19]

I saw Dinosaur Jr a few years ago and they were a bit of a mess. Seems like they have got it together again now which is cool.

Anyway, last night we went to see Jack White's new band The Dead Weather at the newly re-opened Powerstation (a smallish venue which hosted early performances of Radiohead, Marilyn Manson and was the setting for one of The Cramps live dvds also). Jack was the main driving force behind the music, really pounding at the drums with quite a menace, but the rest of the band were a good complement to him. Alison has really developed since the last time I saw The Kills live 3 years ago, she has really developed quite a presence for lead. I'm very happily married but man, I think half the audience were wanting to whisk her away backstage for a little bit of you know what! She can really pull you in with her sexually driven performance. Dan and Jack Lawrence also provided some very competent support, and with their matching guitars (kind of in line with the tradition White employed with the Stripes) really looked a team who's job it was to drill home the heavy blues rock on show.

It was a really strong performance, all of the band ebbed and flowed together, like you always want a supergroup to perform. They have obviously been jamming together for quite a while. One thing I did keep thinking though was that with Jack White you have probably one of the best guitarists of the century and he seemed to be wasted back on the drums. Not putting down his very good drumming, but he played the guitar on only two of the 14 song set, but when he did he totally owned the stage. The band were also very capable on all instruments, with Dan interchanging between organ and guitar, Alison between keyboard, vocals and tamborine, Jack Lawrence on drums and bass, and Jack White on drums, vocals and guitar. They also introduced three new songs, all of which maintained their debut's dark blues roots, and were very well received by the crowd.

Overall a very good gig, we got a little drunk and danced around quite a bit. Let's just hope more bands start to play The Powerstation again.

[NSpan]

Sounds cool.. Rarely does a drummer "lead" a live show.. What'd you think of Jack Lawrence (the bassist)? When I saw The Raconteurs, he was the band's strongest player--not even Jack White outshone him.. And, though I've never seen them live, his other band (The Greenhornes) is one of my all-time favorites..

I, too, saw Dinosaur Jr a few years ago... I really enjoyed it--but (like some of their albums) a lot of the songs kinda bled over into each other, creating a somewhat monotonous vibe.. Fortunately, the music that they DO play is good enough that a lack of diversity in the set isn't such a terrible thing.. Either way, they were totally trumped by the opening act... Dead Meadow completely stole the show.. They were so impressive that Dinosaur Jr. almost seemed anticlimactic.. (Nothing against them, Dead Meadow was just THAT good!)

We just got back from Ray Davies tonight--and what a performer!! The set was about as good as you could ask (almost all Kinks--and his song selection was perfect.. he stuck to the tracks that have aged the best--not necessarily dictated by which were hits or not in the old days).. I guess he doesn't smoke, because his voice is nearly as good as it was in 1964... The first two-thirds of the set was acoustic (with most songs slightly reworked to accommodate), then he had the opening band (The 88) join him to play the rest of the show with a full band... Ray has an amazing stage-presence.. and he seemed to genuinely enjoy being there.. he was very humble and constantly bantered with the audience.. that kinda thing doesn't usually make or break a show for me--but, tonight, his good attitude REALLY added to the overall experience.. might post the setlist later.. also: i bought one of The 88's albums on vinyl and i plan to download the rest--so i'll report back on them if it's good.. if their studio stuff is anything like their live stuff, i'm definitely gonna dig it..

[silversurfer19]

Jack Lawrence was good without ever really standing out. Maybe that was the intention, I just found White's drumming to be so dominant (both on record and live) that it was easy to forget the others' obvious impact. Other than that the band worked so well as a unit that none of them really stood out. It was kind of like Jack White was leading from the back and everyone else followed suit, melding into this colossol verve of noise. It's been a while since I have seen a band work that well together, I usually seem to find band members fighting for the spotlight, almost trying to outdo the other, but I think ego's were left at the door here in respect of creating something quite special.

By the way, nice to hear of another Greenhornes fan, I love Sewed Soles in particular.

I'd love to see Ray Davies live, that sounds like one of those kind of gigs which you remember when you are older and tell the kids. I've been to only a few of those in my time, but seeing Ray Davies would probably be another. Always good to hear when an artist has not lost their relevance and that they can still provide a show rather than just a by numbers singalong, taking time to actually plan a setlist can be vital to the success of a gig, so playing to your strengths is always a good move. Regarding banter, I'm with you, it's cool if the banter actually benefits the show, rather than just the mumblings or 'humour' that some acts give us, but I'm quite happy if they just play a very solid show in the end. If I wanted jokes I'd go see a comedian (remembers bad memories of Blink 182 shows and Green Day...).

[silversurfer19]

Last night we saw Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. As we walked up the street to The Powerstation, I couldn't help but notice the shocking return of the black leather jacket. It was like we'd been transported back 10 years again, to the time of The Strokes, The Vines, The Soundtrack Of Our Lives and BRMC, where their legions of fans clung onto those tight black jackets for dear life. Those jackets seem to have been uneathered again (although those who didn't own the jackets generally wore black also - well, except a couple of girls who thought it a good idea to wear a fur chinchilla around their shoulders). I remember when I first heard their debut album of the same name, and hailed it as the first great record to the 21st Century. I still feel that tag is warranted today, it's a stunning album mixing hard rock, blues, folk and psychedelia. I last saw BRMC when they were promoting their second album, in a mirky bar in Manchester, and to be honest, it felt like not a lot had changed, despite the loss of the drummer from their original line-up. They entered the stage in a sea of fog, hazy lights casting their shadows as the only glimpse of their arrival, before a barrage of bass pulsated throughout the stage. BRMC had been away for a while, but they had well and truly returned.

While it took a few songs before I warmed to the new drummer, and those may have recognised her as a former member of The Raveonettes, as her style appeared a little more restrained and stiff, but eventually she got going and the rest of the band clicked into place around her. The band played a large collection of songs from all of their records, even allowing for an encore mid-way through the set to accomodate a more gentle transition into the Dylan-esque folk of their Howl record, as well as testing a number of tracks from their new album Beat The Devil Tattoo. Their style evoked a lost mystique of rock n roll, with a little Jesus and Mary Chain, a little folk and some hard psychedilia too, and while if the band had existed in the early 90s they would have been bandied around as a typical shoegazer group, their style is in fact much more in your face, it's loud, aggressive and totally enthralling. It was a total return to form for the band, and while their fans have seemed to age with the band (rather than gaining a whole new generation of devotees), you could see they were more than satisfied with the 2 hour plus performance. Helena and I danced the night away reacting to each and every burgeoning bass, engulfed within a savage wall of fuzz. The band finally left the stage following a second encore which cumlinated in a tantalising rendition of Spread Your Love, leaving behind them once again nothing more than a white hazz and a siren of feedback. If you see BRMC are checking into your area in the near future, you could do much worse than explore this mesmerising display of music.

[BarcaRulz]

Just found out that Against Me! will be coming down under on the 8th of October. Might check them out.

[Geezer]

You will NOT be disappointed...

[Geezer]

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/164618 ... ezer.jhtml

Weezer fans, please read the above link, and try not to pee your pants with excitement!

[Buscemi]

I still can't believe they did an album based on Jorge Garcia from Lost.

[silversurfer19]

Dear God I hope they come to play NZ. I haven't seen them live since The Green Album tour and seeing either of those shows would be a dream come true!

[NSpan]

concert season is upon us!

09/09 - "Pinkerton" Tribute @ Thunderbird Coffee
09/10 - Moistboyz @ Red Eyed Fly
09/10 - Leon Russell @ Gruene Hall
09/11 - Leon Russell @ Threadgill's
09/14 - Jon Anderson @ Paramount
09/14 - Black Angels @ Waterloo Records
09/17 - Bright Light Social Hour @ Antone's
09/19 - Ray Wylie Hubbard @ City Terrace & Hartman
09/20 - Smashing Pumpkins @ Stubb's
09/21 - Pixies @ Austin Music Hall
09/22 - Pixies @ Austin Music Hall
09/25 - BRMC w/ Stone Temple Pilots @ Backyard
09/27 - Ratatat @ Stubb's
09/28 - Pavement @ Stubb's
09/30 - Guided By Voices @ East Side Drive-In
10/17 - Elf Power @ TBA*
10/23 - Toadies @ Stubb's
10/23 - Ian McLagan @ Stubb's
10/31 - Galactic w/ Invincible Czars @ Stubb's
11/03 - Mumford & Sons @ Stubb's
11/14 - The Dandy Warhols
11/19 - Black Angels w/ Black Mountain @ La Zona Rosa

[transformers2]

I saw Alice In Chains,Deftones and Mastodon last night. It was a spectacular show and let me just say that Alice In Chains still has it without Layne.

[silversurfer19]

I've got Pete Hook playing the Joy Division classic record Unknown Pleasures tonight. I'm more than a little excited for this...

[numbersix]

I'd love to experience that, although that said I feel it would need Sumner's distinct guitar-playing.