Yo La Tengo w/ Girl Talk, Gordon Field House, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH - 4/24/2009

"If the venue is a 'field house,' I think it's not worth it." - Noelle, my special lady friend, paraphrased/speaking much wisdom
Oh, Yo La Tengo. You make such (and so many) beautiful records yet can be so, so spotty live. I have seen you scorch the earth and have also seen you just not quite bring it. Chalk this night up to the latter, though there were significant hurdles to be overcome.

Talk about weird bills ... Yo La Tengo + Girl Talk playing at a small Ohio college's fieldhouse for their Springfest. Delaware, Ohio is only about 20 miles from Columbus, so I had to check this out. We grabbed dinner at Northstar (spotting a trend) and headed up, thinking that YLT went on at 7. Well, there was some other dude opening at 7, as we found out on arriving, so we had about 90 minutes to kill in Delaware. Nice, small midwestern town with the gorgeous Ohio Wesleyan University at the center of things. We grabbed a drink at a dive bar with slow service and then headed in.

Yes, the fieldhouse was a big gym with huge, echo-y, reverb-y, terrible sound. We caught the opener's last song (I honestly don't remember his name) and waited for YLT as Tom Waits' Swordfishtrombones played in its entirety. So YLT finally comes out and opens with, of all things, "Tom Courtenay," arguably their most well-known song. And the sound is complete mud. And it is LOUD. My Bloody Valentine-level loud. People holding their ears and walking out loud. Noelle made it to the second song and had to wait outside, as did many others. I had my earplugs in and was still shocked at the volume.

They played a pretty killer setlist with a slew of classics, but it never really came together. The venue was a big part of that, I think. By the time it was over, I was pretty done, as was Noelle. As we walked out after deciding to forego Girl Talk altogether, a rush of young folks (I think mainly high school, she thinks mainly collge) decked out in neon and generalized rave attire pushed their way in. That dude has officially left the tipping point in the rearview mirror.

Tom Courtenay
???
Stockholm Syndrome
Pass the Hatchet I Think I'm Goodkind
The Summer
???
Beanbag Chair
Mr. Tough
The Weakest Part
???
Autumn Sweater
Big Day Coming (fast)
Decora
Watch Out For Me, Ronnie
I Heard You Looking

Neko Case w/ Crooked Fingers, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 4/23/2009

There was no significant dining pre-show tonight. It was all bid-ness. So I am a part-time fan of both these acts and a much bigger fan of their previous/other incarnations (Archers of Loaf, New Pornographers, etc.), but I had a good feeling about the evening.

Contiuing a recent trend, we walked in, got a beer and were right where we wanted to be exactly as the music started. Pretty cool. Crooked Fingers consisted of Eric Bachmann being tall and singing/playing guitar, a female bassist/singer and a drummer/keyboardist. The arrangements were quite spare, and most of the beginning of the set consisted of songs not too familiar to me. Talk about going out with a bang, though ... he ended with "A New Drink for the Old Drunk" and "Angelina," a pretty killer 1-2 punch.

Then it was time for Neko. She was backed by 2 guitarists (one standard, one more pedal steel and other odd stringed stuff), a drummer, a bassist and Kelli Hogan on vocals. The crowd was more-or-less perfect: loud and enthusiastic between songs, pin-drop quiet during the tunes. She seemed into it and, I think, into playing a smaller venue for a change. The Newport is a great-sounding, great-sized rock club that ought to get more shows.

I didn't take down a setlist, but it was very similar to her recent shows, so I'm posting one of those, instead. The big surprise (and clincher for me) was that she did a 2nd encore and played "Star Witness." It was gorgeous ...

This isn't a show I have a ton to say about. It was quite good, and her vocals are stunning live. I find her songs to be a bit "same-y" at times, though, so it all kind of runs together a bit for me. The stand out tunes ("I Wish I Was the Moon," "Star Witness," "That Teenage Feeling," etc.) are jaw-dropping, but her whole catalog doesn't stand up to that level. If her songwriting matched her vocal prowess, she'd be ready to conquer the world.

1. Maybe Sparrow
2. People Got a Lotta Nerve
3. Fever
4. Hold On, Hold On
5. The Pharoahs
6. Middle Cyclone
7. Deep Red Bells
8. I Wish I Was the Moon
9. I’m an Animal
10. Prison Girls
11. The Tiger Has Spoken
12. Margaret Vs. Pauline
13. Red Tide
14. Don’t Forget Me
15. That Teenage Feeling
16. This Tornado Loves You

ENCORE:

17. Vengeance Is Sleeping
18. The Next Time You Say “Forever”
19. Favorite
20. Knock Loud

2nd ENCORE:

21. Star Witness

Wilco, Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Auditorium, Athens OH - 4/17/2009

***Photo courtesy of bluet14 on flickr.com.***
I can't remember how many times I've seen Wilco now ... maybe 20? Something like that? I think in terms of total package - songs, musicianship, all around experience - live bands don't get much better. I could go on and on about their control of dynamics, tempo, etc. Sometimes, I do. But let's just say that I'm a fan. And when they're playing about 90 minutes away on the eve of my birthday, well ... I'm there.

My girlfriend, some friends and I ate a rushed but as always great (fairly light) dinner at Northstar Cafe. (I can't even express how lucky I think Columbus is to have this place.) And then we drove 90 minutes to Athens, OH, a fairly picturesque college town where Wilco would be rocking it quite soon. We were pushing it in terms of time and having a hard time finding the venue on campus, but a nice, granola-y student walked us to the front door of the place on our asking directions. And about (literally) 3 minutes after finding our seats (front row of the balcony), the lights went down and the show started. (We totally missed the openers, A Hawk and a Hacksaw.)

In the pantheon of Wilco shows I've witnessed, this wasn't an epic barnburner and wasn't a bust ... it was solid with a few fantastic moments, which I'd say is a typical night for them. They still blow almost any other band off the stage, of course. It's hard for me to be very objective with them at this point, as they're so ingrained and near/dear. Getting to know their catalog from back as a high schooler loving Uncle Tupelo has been so formative as to prevent me from having the same expectations or reactions as I would to "just any band." It was a blast.

I put an asterik next to some personal highlights. They went super heavy on material from A Ghost Is Born, which is great for me as that is probably my favorite Wilco record. Biggest disappointment was having both "Hate It Hear" and "ITMWLY" in the first encore. Ugh.

Hell is Chrome
Company In My Back
You Are My Face
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Pot Kettle Black
Muzzle of Bees *(great, as usual - an underrated Tweedy tune)
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
A Shot In The Arm *(always epic)
Handshake Drugs
She's A Jar *(a nice, heartbreaking surprise)
Misunderstood *(midset? didn't see that coming)
Jesus etc.
Impossible Germany *(goosebumps every time)
Side With The Seeds
Poor Places -->
Spiders (Kidsmoke) *(this two-fer shows Wilco at their best right now)
----------
The Late Greats
Hate It Here
Heavy Metal Drummer
Walken
I'm The Man Who Loves You
----------
Kingpin
I'm a Wheel

***Photo courtesy of bluet14 on flickr.com.

David Burke's Primehouse, Chicago, IL - 4/14/2009

Usually all my gastronomical asides revolve around a concert experience, but this one was a stand alone (and, as it turns out, sit alone) thing all to itself. I went to Chicago for about 26 hours total for a conference on coagulation disorders (ROCK!) that included the flight, the hotel and $125 to spend on "incidentals." I figured an incidentally kick ass meal wouldn't be out of the question.

I had heard of David Burke's Primehouse on its own and then saw it featured on (forgive me) Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations television show on The Travel Channel. He seemed to like it, and since I was staying at the Allerton Hotel, about 4 blocks away, I figured I'd see if I agreed.

Sitting alone at a restaurant like this seemed a bit odd to me, so I offered to the maitre' d that I could just sit at the bar. He assured me that all was well with dining solo at this joint and proceeded to lead me to a fairly inconspicuous booth.

I started with a house cocktail called a flapjack - Dewar's on the rocks, maple syrup and (essence of) bacon. There was no bacon floating around in the drink, in case you're wondering. It tasted like slightly altered Dewar's (that means good). The appetizer was an on-special soft shell crab that was magnificent. And huge ... almost main course portions. Along with all of this was a light, slightly cheesy/Asiago potted roll (which I devoured in its entirety - click the link to get some idea of what this thing looks like - awesome). Between the appetizer and the steak, I sipped a heretofore unknown-to-me beer - the Goose Island Honker's Ale. It reminded me of a lighter Old Speckled Hen - very British and bitter. Again, thumbs up.

Then it was time for the steak - a 16-ounce, 55-day-aged bone-in ribeye (medium rare, of course). The aging gave it a smokey, almost bacon-y taste that I had not experienced in a steak before. I nearly went with an old school side (like creamed spinach or hashbrowns) but couldn't turn down the truffled French fries in the end because, as I've learned in the last few years, I'm a truffle slut. This was all washed down with a fairly economical glass of a Malbec.

I was fairly full but couldn't say no to a hazelnut creme brulee topped with coffee ice cream for dessert. Fantastic, rich custard that mixed beautifully with the ice cream. I was drunk on food thereafter but oh so happy - and impressed. The Primehouse does a very nice, modernized (but not overly) take on the classic steakhouse. Probably second to the Striphouse in terms of great steaks I've had in the last couple of years.

And yes, the coagulation conference folks picked up the tab minus the alcohol.

Morrissey, the Palace Theater, Columbus, OH - 4/1/2009

So this was my first chance to see the Moz after a near lifetime of loving basically his entire output. I had been keeping up with the setlists (courtesy of www.morrissey-solo.com) and wasn't expecting much in terms of surprises, etc. I also had picked up tickets last minute on StubHub for about $70 total (2 tix in the 10th row), which was kind of a nice bonus.

We ate at Tip Top beforehand, and it was delicious as usual. A lot of folks there were pre-show, too. Noelle rocked a reuben while I devoured a beef BBQ sandwich. And we had yummy beer.

We got to the Palace after the openers and probably about 10 minutes pre-Moz. He was showing video of the New York Dolls and some other similar-era glam/punk icons with whom I was not familiar. Lots of people there, too; not sold out, but a good-sized crowd.

He came out, and I must admit that I had a minor religious experience seeing him live and in person for the first time. The band was extremely tight, the sound a bit loud, the vocals a bit buried for it being, well, friggin' Morrissey. But it was great and a lot more high energy than I expected. He totally dropped his shirt at one point and looked quite good for his age, if I do say so in a heterosexual manner. I'd say the Smiths songs were all highlights, but that's kind of a given. No stage rushers until the encore, when quite a few folks went for the Moz. One guy got straight up clotheslined, which was hilarious but also a bit concerning.

This Charming Man / Billy Budd / That's How People Grow Up / Black Cloud / How Soon Is Now? / Irish Blood, English Heart / I Keep Mine Hidden / How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? / Ask / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed / Best Friend On The Payroll / When Last I Spoke To Carol / Seasick, Yet Still Docked / The Loop / Death Of a Disco Dancer / Let Me Kiss You / Sorry Doesn't Help / Something Is Squeezing My Skull / I'm OK By Myself // First Of The Gang To Die