Grinderman, Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN - 11/19/2010

Good Lord was this a rocking show.  I'm a late comer to the Nick Cave cult, having really gotten into him probably around 2004 or so with the release of his B-sides collection (which is quite awesome, by the way).  My buddy Kevin, a long-time Cave devotee who has seen him with the Bad Seeds multiple times on multiple continents throughout the years, and I bought tickets for this the day they went on sale.

It had been a while since I last hit the Cannery, a notoriously not great place to see (and especially to hear) a show, what with it's odd shape and tendency for a lot of sound bouncing around the room, but it's Nick Cave et al - what are you going to do?

We grabbed dinner at McCabe's beforehand and missed the openers entirely.  By the time we arrived, it was pretty packed out, and without much ado, the lights went down and Nick Cave came out for what was a slamming, ultra tight rockfest.  He is one crazy awesome frontman, not quite as frenetic as Iggy Pop but extremely arresting and hard not to watch.

They came on very strong, basically playing "the hits," opening with "Mickey Mouse" and rocking through "Get It On," "Heathen Child," some other rockers off their two records and culminating in a scorching "No Pussy Blues."  The biggest issue is that after that crescendo toward the end of the main set, it went all mid-tempo and gooey for the remainder of the set.  It would've been basically impossible to keep up that level of rock, but it still kind of petered out a bit at the end.  But the highs were very high indeed ... fantastic stuff ...

The Cannery, of note, offered little good viewing space unless you were at the very front.  The sound was loud and clear where we were (straight back from the stage).  I've found that you have line up with the stage and can't be caught over at the bar side for decent sound.  It was a tolerable space for the show, though it remains my least favorite Nashville venue by a long shot.

Deerhunter, Exit/In, Nashville, TN - 11/10/2010

This show was a long time coming in the sense that I had not been able to check much out recently due to studying and - finally - taking some big professional exams.  I finished my last one this afternoon and was in full on release mode.  We got there just in time for Deakin's set (of Animal Collective), which sounded like Animal Collective minus much melody.  I have the record, so maybe it will grow on me ...

Deerhunter came out to a pretty packed house and from the get go sounded awesome.  They did their usual thing, which in my eyes includes ending each song in a noisy meltdown that then goes straight into the next song.  Their rhythm section is so locked in that it really works.  Their live sound has become so minimalist in a lot of ways that it reminds me most of a Krautrock type of vibe, which is right up my alley.

They played the hits, including "Nothing Ever Happened," which killed as usual.  Probably my biggest issue was that it ended around 1 in the morning, and I'm getting old, kids.  Great show ...

The National, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 10/3/2010

I've been loving these guys for a few years now, as has the rest of the music nerd nation, it seems.  One of my good friends was raving about Alligator for a long time, and I was on the fence when it was coming out.  (Interestingly, he saw them in Brooklyn with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! opening during the Alligator era, and over half the crowd left after CYHSY! were done ... foolish hipsters.)  I finally saw them live opening for Arcade Fire on the Neon Bible tour and right after Boxer was released, and the devotion (esp. to Alligator) has grown since then.

I've now seen them a number of times, most often in festival settings, and it's been amazing to me the extent to which they just bring it - emotional, cathartic, a big time high.  I'm thinking specifically of seeing them at Bonnaroo this year, Pitchfork last year and Lollapalooza a couple years ago.  Those shows were all just silly good ...

Needless to say, I was excited to see them at the Ryman.  We skipped Owen Pallet and hung out in downtown Nashville instead, something I don't do all that often.  This included beers at Robert's and then greasy goodness and more beers at Broadway Brewhouse.  We headed into the venue about 10 minutes before they started, and the crowd was good and into it, standing up and cheering, etc.  (Nashville's been on a streak of good crowds lately ... I hope this keeps up.)

My biggest beef with the show was that it felt a little phoned in to me.  The intensity that I've gotten used to with them was just not quite as apparent.  There were some great moments, but it never completely gelled for me.  On top of that, it just kills me when bands decide to leave out their strongest material ("Secret Meeting," "All the Wine," "Ada," "Start a War"), the stuff that really made them who they are.  I know they have to change it up sometimes (which bands like Wilco are sometimes terrible at doing, which also bothers me), but the changes were for the worse at this show.

However ... they completely saved what was a mediocre show from my perspective with an acoustic, no amplification, hear-a-pin-drop version of "Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks" to end the show.  Wow.  The last time I saw this go down was Jeff Tweedy at the end of a Wilco show playing "Acuff-Rose" unplugged at the edge of the stage.  A fantastic end, a ho-hum lead up.

Runaway
Anyone's Ghost
Mistaken for Strangers
Bloodbuzz, OH
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Afraid of Everyone
Available
Conversation 16
Apartment Story
Sorrow
Abel
Green Gloves
England
Fake Empire

90-Mile Water Wall
Mr. November
Terrible Love
About Today
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks (acoustic, edge of stage, no amplification)

Pixies, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 9/11/2010

I picked up Doolittle by the Pixies when I was about 12 or 13 years old.  I heard them on MTV's 120 Minutes and was blown away.  That album, along with REM's entire early output, Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, and the Cure's Distentegration (and a few others, like the B-52's and Hoodoo Gurus), was the start of a lifelong obsession with music.  (What a way to start - thanks, MTV [and my older sister and the older siblings of my friends].)

I had the good fortune to see the Pixies twice when they first reunited in 2004, once at the Ryman but quite spectacularly at Coachella (where they were immediately followed by Radiohead - not too shabby).  That Coachella set is one of the better concert experiences of my life.

So here we are, putting together one of my favorite albums ever with one of my favorive live experiences ever, yet I was going into this one pretty nonchalantly.

We had dinner beforehand at Cabana with some friends and then found downtown to be just hopping - nary a parking spot to be found.  Kind of strange, but good to see.  We arrived as F*** Buttons were finishing a very loud, very boring opening set.

Without much ado (though some very rude youngsters told us that we needed to move out of "their" seats - just like that - when they were in the wrong section altogether - why be rude, people?), the Pixies came out after a short silent film that included parts of Un Chien Andalou (the inspiration for "Debaser").  They rocked about 5 B-sides and then launched into "Debaser."  They sounded awesome, the crowd was just about sold out and totally on their feet and loving every minute of it (how un-Nashville, yet again - love it), and it kind of flew by all too fast.

What can one say about Doolittle at this point?  It's fantastic from start to end, and hearing it now reminds one all over again that without this sound, there would've been no "alternative 90's" decade of music.  They played a first encore with the more famous B-sides (including the UK surf version of "Wave of Mutilation" and ending with "Into the White").

They surprisingly came out for a second encore with all the houselights up (past curfew?) and ripped through "Winterlong" (Neil Young cover), "Alison," "Dig for Fire" (had not heard them play this live yet), "Where Is My Mind?" and finally "Gigantic."  They seemed to really be soaking up the enthusiasm of the crowd, etc.  So glad I went to this ...

All Tomorrow's Parties New York Festival, Monticello, NY - 9/3-5/2010

My third straight year back at ATP NY. My last 2 trips here had been amazing, and while the line-up wasn't as thrilling for me personally as the last 2 years, it's such an intimate and unique experience and always includes good friends such that seeing some things kind of new to me would just be icing on the cake to good times anyway.

9/3/2010 - Friday

I flew into Newark, NJ Friday morning without much issue, picked up my car, made the fairly quick 2-hour trip up to the Catskills without much ado and got settled in the charmingly delapidated Kutsher's by around 1 PM or so. My friends Matt and Nicole got in a couple hours later, and we were all relieved that they had relaxed last year's outside alcohol ban. Outside (as in "good") beer was technically not allowed, but they were not checking bags or being very uptight about it, so we brought in a couple of cases, mainly Sierra Nevada Torpedo, Souther Tier Double IPA and a sampler of Magic Hat. Made the weekend, I tell you.

First up was Aussie 80's post-punks the Scientists playing their first US show ever. The pre-show tunes were the Silver Jews, a good sign. They had a good, Nick Cave-ish blues rock thing going. Got a little same-y, though, and we only caught part of this.

Next was Mudhoney, and we sadly missed their opening "Touch Me, I'm Sick," but got to hear them rip through Superfuzz Big Muff and singles like "Sweet Little Thing Ain't Sweet No More." They sounded great, much better than when I last saw them in the mid-90's. Mark Arm's growl is just mighty. Great set.

No matter how much I'd listened to/read about/dreamed of seeing the Stooges, nothing could have prepared me for actually (finally) seeing them. My goodness ... Iggy was truly like a Tazmanian devil unleashed, just going bananas, stagediving over and over (as did a good many fans), and basically just unleashing his madness. They played Raw Power and then some choice cuts after that and sounded mighty:

Raw Power (in its entirety)
1970
noise
I've Got a Right
I Wanna Be your Dog
Open up and Bleed

ENCORE:
Fun House
No Fun

After a respite, we caught a few minutes of Sleep, some very heavy, very loud sludge/stoner metal. I could catch that they're good at what they do and are a pretty mighty, huge-sounding band, but it was really not my bag whatsoever.  Sleep time indeed ...

9/4/2010 - Saturday

Ahhh ... a gorgeous, cool Saturday morning with a mild hangover and a day of rock awaiting me.  I could tell that I'm certainly getting older/snobbier, as the delapidated accomodations, quaint as they may be and charming in their very disrepair, were getting to me a little.  But it was a fine day for the rock.  And it's around this time at any festival that the hanging out with your friends becomes just as important as the actual rocking out.

We started the day seeing the Sian Alice Group (theatrical, a bit much) and then the minimalist English, Krautrock-inspired Beak>, who were good but a bit boring.  I was super-excited to see Tortoise up next, but as usual, they fell a little flat for me.  Just very trancey and what not.  I saw them in the 1990's, and they kind of rocked a bit more, but those days are done, I guess.

I took a break at this point for a wood-fired pizza that was quite yummy and saw Bob Boilen from All Songs Considered on NPR there in line.  I didn't have the stones to say HEY to him, though.  Weird that I'd totally almost bearhug Nick Cave (see last year's report) but couldn't muster a mumbled Hullo to Bob Boilen.  More beer?

This was the big night to rock, though, so we started with Hallogallo, the reinvention of the Krautrock stalwarts Neu!.  I was excited for this but, in typical fashion for me this weekend, found it boring.

Then came a 1990's favorite for me, Bardo Pond.  Playing on the second stage does no one any favors at this festival, as the main stage sounds amazing while this stage straight up doesn't, but they were loud and pretty huge and were playing the first song off Amanita when we walked in.  They also played "Tommy Gun Angel" off Lapsed during their set.  I liked it a lot, but I knew that already.

Back on the main stage, we checked out Shellac (did their Shellac thing, which is fine but a bit predictable and repetitive) and then the Breeders (who sounded unpracticed and out of sorts - a mess).  I actually took a nap during Explosions in the Sky, whom my friends totally dug.  But I had to be ready for Sonic Youth.

I've seen Sonic Youth multiple times over the years, with my first time being in 1995 when they headlined Lollapalooza (which was a tour back then - I saw them in Raleigh, NC, on a stop that included Pavement, Superchunk, the Jesus Lizard, Beck, Cypress Hill and Hole).  I've seen them be both great and kind of awful, but I'm a big, old school fan of them.  I had last seen them probably almost a decade ago, so this was a big selling point for me.  And they were the best I've seen them ever.  Just the 4 of them, very focused, rocking out, playing nothing newer than Daydream Nation (which they played nearly half of).  It was transcendent (and sounded awesome):

Candle (when they opened with those first notes, I nearly lost it)
The Sprawl
'Cross the Breeze
Catholic Block
Stereo Sanctity (!!!!!)
Eric's Trip
Death Valley 69 (!!!!!)
Shadow of a Doubt
Hey Joni
The Wonder
Shaking Hell

ENCORE:
White Kross

I stayed up after it just high on rock and roll.  A great feeling.

9/5/2010 - Sunday

This was my fourth festival of the year, and I was feeling it.  A little burned out, a little tired, a little sure that nothing was going to beat Sonic Youth or the Stooges at this point.  We headed into town for pizza to start the day and then got back for the rock.

First up were a Nashville-connected band, the Greenhornes.  They sounded good and very true to their retro sound.  It wasn't all the spectacular, though, and got a bit same-y after a while.  I checked out maybe 15 minutes of F***ed Up, whom I just don't get and can't get into at all.  And I like a lot of punk and metal but just don't enjoy the straight up hardcore stuff.

On the second stage, we saw Vivian Girls (whom I like but who were pretty lame live, all things considered) and then Wooden Shjips (super loud and rocking, very good psychedelia).  We regrouped and mellowed out to Hope Sandoval on the main stage (very languid, a bit slow for me) and then caught the whole set from Dungen, who were quite good, especially when they rocked out a bit more.  I ended my night seeing T Model Ford, who was charming but predictably underwhelming.

Due to a 5 AM wake-up time on Monday in order to get back to Newark and catch my flight home, I opted out of seeing a few bands that I would have normally checked out ... most notably I missed Boris/Sunn(((O))) performing what must've been a crazy loud blast of feedback, both Raekwon and the GZA from Wu fame, and the Black Angels.  But the old man needed sleep ...

I'll spare everyone the details of flying out of Newark (slightly painful but no major hitches) and say that I had a blast, even if the music was my least favorite of the 3 years.  Not sure what the future holds for me returning to so many festivals, though I know that every spring I end up getting excited all over again, so never say never ...

Worth checking out are reviews (with great photos) from:

The A.V. Club

Brooklynvegan

Pitchfork

The Black Keys, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 8/12/2010

When I think of seeing the Black Keys, I think, "Solid."  Straight up solid, can't complain, no frills, hit the jugular rock.  I've been seeing them since 2005, and they really have been getting better and better at what they do.

After drinks at 12 South Taproom, we headed over to the show (back in the balcony at the Ryman).  Missed the openers the Morning Benders, whom I actually wanted to see, but such is life.

Show was sold out, pretty packed, and folks were actually standing and getting excited and enjoying themselves for change.  Not very Nashville at all, I'm happy to report for a change.

As per usual, they opened with "Thickfreakness" and ran through about 6 hits as a two-piece (very similar to when I saw them at Bonnaroo in June) including "Stack Shot Billy" and "Girl Is On My Mind."  Then they brought out the keyboardist and bassist for the new tunes.  They still sounded good, and the accompaniment is pretty minimalist, but here's my theory:  having those 2 guys play with them forces them to tighten up so much that it takes away the looseness that makes them so powerful and, dare I say it, special.  That sense of being on the edge of careening off the tracks is sorely missed.

They finished up the main set as a two-piece again and then encored with one song as a four-piece and a final tune as two-piece.  Sorry, no setlist.  Really enjoyed this one, loved the crowd being into it (why can't all Nashville shows be this way?), and as usual was not disappointed by the Keys.

Arcade Fire, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 8/9/2010

On the heels of playing 2 straight (almost or possibly completely sold out?) shows at Madison Square Garden (capacity: 18,200), the Arcade Fire pulled into Nashville to play the legendary Ryman (capacity: 2,362). I was kind of excited, to say the least. I'd also been digging on the latest release, The Suburbs, in a big way.

Our posse met up for pre-show drinks at 12 South Taproom and then headed over to the venue. I unloaded my extra ticket (at face value, thank you very much) and headed in. We had main floor, off-to-the-side seats, which I was nervous about as you don't really want to be way under the balcony at this venue, but they were turned out pretty great (see photo to the left).

The show was pretty epic, and this is a band who don't have many duds in their catalog. (I still love Neon Bible, no matter what the consensus is.) The new tunes, esp. the "big" ones like "Sprawl II" and "We Used To Wait," were sweeping, and the classics from Funeral were as epic as ever. This was probably my last chance to see them at a small-ish venue, and I'm glad I made it ...

(???'s = not quite sure but pretty sure)

Ready to Start
Laika
No Cars Go
Haiti
Half Light II - No Celebration (???)
The Suburbs
Deep Blue (???)
Intervention
Crown of Love
Tunnels
Suburban War (???)
We Used to Wait
Power Out
Rebellion (Lies)

Keep the Car Running
Sprawl II
Wake Up

Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago, IL - 7/16-18/2010

Friday - 7/16/2010

I flew into Chicago from Nashville after an all-too brief four hours or so of sleep. I met my lady at the airport (flying in from the C-bus), and we proceeded to our swank accomodation at the Hotel Palomar. Very nice. After a quick bite to eat and some finagling to get some new contact lenses for my girl, we headed up to Wrigley to see the Cubs beat the Phillies in what was a pretty great game. Great seats, too, as you can see from the photo.

That was a great way to start the trip, though it meant that we missed the opening set from the Tallest Man on Earth, which we were both looking forward to. But we got in there, met up with our other friends and started the rocking Friday evening post-Cubs goodness with Broken Social Scene. As usual for me, they were very meh ... some great songs, some forgettable songs, a bit of a mess of a stage show, but mainly lacking a central nugget to which I can latch onto. Their sound just isn't quite unique enough for me, maybe.

That left Modest Mouse as the headliner, and boy were they terrible. It all started out promising enough with "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes," but whereas I thought they might bust out classic after classic, they instead stuck to the last couple of records for the most part. They rocked "Dramamine" in the middle, but it was jammy and just bad. It was bad - what can I say? They played "Gravity Rides Everything" in the encore, too, but it was too late by then. There were 6 or 7 people on stage, though it looked/sounded like there were 20 - all cacophony and too much going on for a band that once thrived on spare minimalism and space. A wasted opportunity ...

Saturday - 7/17/2010

After a lazy morning of eating and shopping and pooling at the hotel, we finally meandered into the festival around 4:15 for the end of Raekwon's set, which included some Wu Tang bangers.  Fun, though as this festival proved over and over, great hip hop on record (see Wu Tang, Big Boi) does not translate to great hip hop live.  It was all bass and shouting, no finesse or dynamics.

But then came the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (JSBX), who in 1995 at the now defunct Rockafella's in Columbia, SC, melted my face during the Orange tour.  Well, we are all 15 years older now, but they still got the flavor.  Within the first 5 songs, they had rocked "Flavor," "2 Kindsa Love," and "Bellbottoms."  I loved it.  My favorite set thus far, but oh kids ... it was just beginning ... that's JSBX in the photo on the right ...

Wolf Parade hit the big stage ("big" being relative at a 15,000 person festival) and sounded awesome.  They ripped some new(er) songs and then, midway through, rocked "This Heart's On Fire" followed by "I'll Believe In Anything."  It truly doesn't get much better in rock than that last song.  Biggest bummer was that they left off "Shine A Light," but I really can't complain - it killed.

A very middling, forgettable set by Panda Bear followed.  Again - great, great records - terrible live show.  Oh well ...

But it was all good, as LCD Soundsystem proceeded to play the best set I've seen this year.  It was simply fantastic/transcendent/forward-thinking/dance-ready/awesome.  What is there not to like about this band and what they are doing now or, for that matter, have been doing for the last 7 years or so?  It was both the highlight of the festival and of 2010 musically for me:

Us vs Them / Drunk Girls / Pow Pow / Daft Punk Is Playing At My House / All My Friends / I Can Change / Tribulations / Movement / Yeah / Someone Great / Losing My Edge / NY I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

We grabbed come down drinks at G-Cue Pool Hall afterward (random, I know) and then turned in, being the old people that we are.

Sunday - 8/18/2010

This was definitely the most festival-centric day of the weekend, as there were bands I wanted to see starting quite early. And though I didn't mention it yet, it was hot - as in very hot, all weekend long.

We started at the tiny, shaded stage for the last few songs from Best Coast, who were endearing enough, and followed that by kind of watching the set from Girls. Pretty meh.

But pretty epic was the set from Beach House. They sounded amazing - maybe even better than at Coachella a few months before. The crowd was pretty rapt, too, which helped. Fantastic, languid set.

We sort of caught a big of Local Natives and Surfer Blood on the tiny stage, but it was such a human traffic jam that my ever worsening claustrophobia couldn't handle it. (I can only imagine what a hellhole it must've been back there at that tiny stage for Sleigh Bells later in the evening.)

We rounded out the evening by kind of halfway watching Major Lazer (crazy) and Big Boi (all bass and yelling - and every song is soooooo good - why must this have sucked live?).

What should have been the coup de grace for me rounded out the festival that night as Pavement took the stage, but they didn't come out until after about 10 minutes of a horrible, probably-meant-to-be-comedic intro from some former Chicago DJ. It was bad, talking about how Pitchfork was the minor leagues while Lollapalooza was the major leagues. People were booing vociferously.

After he finally left, Pavement took the stage rather nonchalantly and ran through their set, which was much shaggier and looser than when I had seen them at Coachella. It was good and, again, offered some cool surprises ("Fin" and "Debris Slide"?!?!?) but just seemed slapdash compared to the total badassery of LCD the night before. But it was a sweet sendoff nonetheless:

Cut Your Hair / In the Mouth a Desert / Silence Kit / Kennel D / Shady Lane / Frontwards / Unfair / Grounded / Debris Slide / Spit on a Stranger / Range Life / Perfume-V / Trigger Cut / Fin / Stereo / 2 States / Gold Soundz / Conduit for Sale / Stop Breathing / Here / The Hexx

Phosphorescent, Exit/In, Nashville, TN - 7/15/2010

The night before I was set to leave for the Pitchfork Music Festival, I had the good fortune of getting to see Phosphorescent (for the first time) at the quite small and certainly legendary Exit/In.  This was also my last week of "freedom" before starting a real job.  My pal April and I headed up a little after 9, expecting to catch a bit of the second opener and then to see the headliner.  Well, no one had played at all when we got there, so it ended up being a late night.

Up first was Nashville's own Caitlin Rose, who sounded quite great on some harmony-laden tunes.  Her band was cracking.  Second was a solo acoustic set from a guy touring with Phosphorescent.  It was fine, but the natives were getting restless.

So Phosophorescent took the stage just before midnight and proceeded to play the first 5 songs in order off their 2010 album Here's To Taking It Easy.  Wow, did they sound good.  It was pretty momentous for me, really, to see a band that locked in with one another playing tunes that they (and I) wholeheartedly believe in.  They played a few tunes off To Willie in the middle and closed the set out with I Wish I Was In Heaven Sittin' Down.  It just killed.

I'll be honest, though - it was so late, and his older songs aren't just quite as good, so that the encore was a bit of a letdown compared to the main set.  Plus a typical Nashville "fan" who is there to talk loudly and just make the scene, I guess, was ruining it for everyone around them.  But one of the better shows of 2010 for me ...

Bonnaroo Music Festival, Manchester, TN - 6/10-13/2010

This is still a work in progress with more photos to be added ...

Ah, back to Bonnaroo (number 5 for me). I know I've used this metaphor before, but this festival is truly the Bloomin' Onion of festivals - it seems so great and delicious yet decadent, then I eat and enjoy it but towards the end think that I'll never, ever do that again, but then time passes and I find that I can't reist its siren song allure.

6/9/2010 - Wednesday

I start this out on Wednesday as my buddy Jason and I headed down from Columbus that day, car fully stocked with supplies and ready to rock. We got down to Nashville with plans to pick up my other buddy (and our third Bonnaroommate - sorry, couldn't resist) at the airport at 7:30. His flight was delayed until around 11 that night, though, so we met up with a lot of my Nashville friends, enjoyed dinner and drinks, rounded up Michael, and got a few hours of sleep before heading in to the mouth of madness.

6/10/2010 - Thursday

Up at 6 AM, feeling good, ready to beat the traffic in this year (unlike last year, where we got detoured into 9 hours of hell off exit 127). Grabbed some grub and coffee just a couple blocks from my house, and were en route. We figured we could just swoop in on I-24 and not have a problem this early. So wrong ... we were stuck in hell traffic going EAST past the festival exit for 4 hours, then got re-routed onto that same terrible detour as last year at exit 127. We sat there for about an hour and then decided to get on the back roads.

I must say that I think we finally cracked the Bonnaroo code when it comes to how to get in easily. I'm sure other folks have known this for a while, but we swept in with no problem going the back way. I-24 - never again. That's all I have to say.

By 4:00, we were set up, shade tents up in Camp Roger Murdock (best campsite we've gotten in years), beers cracked, gearing up for the tunes. We started out with Here We Go Magic, whom I'd seen once opening for the Walkmen. They sounded good - much bigger and fuller than that Walkmen show.

We pretty quickly drifted over to see Local Natives, though, and they sounded pretty great. That album is a good one, and they tore through most of it. Next up was part of the Miike Snow set, which was not totally my bag but sounded pretty good. Jason and I wandered off to see JB Smoove's comedy set. I love him on Curb Your Enthusiasm, and he had a decent enough stand up set. (While we're at it, I just have to embed a couple more great Curb scenes ... Leon as Danny Duberstein and the raunchiest joke ever told.

We then caught the Dodos for a bit (sounded fine, nothing great), took a breather and ended the night with the XX. I only made it through about 5 songs before just petering out and needing some zzz's (get it? XX? ZZZ's?). A strong start ...

6/11/2010 - Friday

I was obviously tired, as I got a solid 8 hours or so of sleep, which was the last I'd see of that this go round. We had an easy morning and made our way in around 12:30 to catch the last half of the Punch Brothers set. I'd seen Chris Thile play a solo set a few years ago at the Basement in Nashville and was excited to see him rock the mandolin again. I'd also played Taboo with the banjo player, Noam, many moons ago (Nashville is a weird place). They sounded good and did some interesting bluegrass versions of the Strokes' "Reptilia" and Radiohead's "Morning Bell."

Next up was most of the set by the Carolina Chocolate Drops, an African American bluegrass/folk band. They sounded pretty great, though I'm not super familiar with their material.

I was then very pumped to see Hot Rize, a great bluegrass band and one I had not seen since 2003 or so. Their guitarist, Bryan Sutton, is one of the best flatpickers in the world. They played about 45 minutes of their bluegrass "hits," including "Blue Night," "Climbing Up A Mountain," "Radio Boogie," and "Just Like You." The sound was a bit off, which plagued their whole set, but I was still loving it. They then did about 30 minutes of their Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers schtick, which involves them playing country and western swing and kind of acting goofy. That did not go over nearly as well. They then closed out with a couple more traditional bluegrass tunes. It was a big treat for me, but I don't think it translated to the Bonnaroo crowd at large as well.

We then headed over and got in position for the National. Excitement was high, I'll be honest. And they delivered a really great set. The older songs of course sounded stronger, but the newer stuff gained a lot of vitality live. Sound was great, energy was great ... it was awesome, a real highlight for the weekend:

Start a War
Mistaken for Strangers
Anyone's Ghost
Bloodbuzz, OH
Brainy
Secret Meeting
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Afraid of Everyone
Little Faith
All the Wine
Available (off the Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers album - wow)
Conversation 16
Apartment Story
Abel
England
Fake Empire
Mr. November
Terrible Love

ENCORE

About Today

There was a big night coming up after this, so we took a breather for a few hours, skipping Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers (bummer) as well as the Kings of Leon (meh).  I actually slept another solid 2 hours or so back at the tent (because I'm an old, old man) before we headed back in for the Black Keys.  They got started at midnight and played about 7 songs as the traditional 2-piece band.  And what a start to the set ... "Thickfreakness," "Girl Is On My Mind," "Stack Shot Billy," "10 AM Automatic," "Busted," "The Breaks" ... and then they brought out the other 2 dudes to help them with the new songs.  We stayed for a bit of this and then headed over - with much skepticism, based on past experiences - to see the Flaming Lips.

I'm happy to report here that the Lips were the best I've ever seen them.  We caught about the last half of their "regular" set including the end of "Yoshimi," some new songs and a rousing, closing "Do You Realize?" before they took a break and then came out with their full cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.  I'd heard that they really kill this, but I was pretty blown away at what they did with an album I already loved in the first place.  They put their spin on it yet remained true to the record.  Pretty awesome.

Next up - starting at 2:30 AM - was LCD Soundsystem, a consistently great live band in my experience.  And yup, they were great again.  They opened with "Us Vs. Them" and played all the hits including "Losing My Edge," "Daft Punk is Playing At My House," "Movement," "All My Friends," on and on and on.  It was tight.  The crowd was pretty bananas, too, which was fun.

Actually saw the sun start to rise around 5 AM and maybe slept about an hour before starting all over again ...

6/12/2010 - Saturday

None of us really slept, which can make for a rough day, but we were all still on a relative energy rush from the night before.  We headed into Centeroo around 10:30 that morning out of restlessness, had a couple beers, and then sat in the hot sun and kind of watched (though we could barely see it) the US-England World Cup match.  The 1-1 tie was pretty awesome to experience with a few thousand other folks.  We caught about the first 45 minutes of the Dave Rawlings Machine set next, but I was dragging so much by then that I had to get catch a breather/nap at that point.  I hated to miss the Melvins, but I was pooped.

We got back in and saw a little bit of Jeff Beck, which was interesting but a little more guitar-wonky than I thought it would be, and also saw a few tunes from Weezer from about a half mile away.  Nothing too great.

But then we got a good spot and settled in for our first big stage show to see Stevie Wonder.  He sounded amazing, coming out playing a key-tar and just rocking it.  His catalog is deep and contains so many songs I thought about ("Higher Ground," "Superstitious," "Livin' for the City"), didn't even think about ("Signed, Sealed, Delivered," "My Cherie Amour," "Sir Duke," "Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing") and that I expected to hear but didn't get ("Boogie On Reggae Woman").  The newer stuff was a bit schmaltzy and not so great, but man did he sound good.  His band gave him space, too, which was surprising.  It was pretty awesome, really.

Jason and I stuck around for the first bit of Jay-Z's set, which was imposing and sounded great, but we were just spent at this point and headed in for the night.

6/13/2010 - Sunday

Sunday was hot, and we were losing our edge at this point.  We moved slowly around our campsite, trying to muster our reserves.  We packed our stuff up and headed in for Calexico's set.  It was, well, boring, and they were once for me an exciting, interesting band.  They did play "Across the Wire," which at least brought back some nostalgia for me, but it was not that great.  And did I mention that it was hot?

We retreated to some shade and heard some country from Jamey Johnson (not my thing).  We then caught another Bonnaroo first for me, a set at the tiny Sonic Stage, seeing Medeski, Martin and Wood play a crazy good 45 minute set.  His drumming is not to be believed.  In an epic quest for shade and nourishment, we then entered an intimidating line to get tickets for the 5:30 show from Aziz Ansari.  We were all skeptical but ended up getting tickets (while hearing Against Me! - again, not my thing ... not a great musical Sunday so far) and then got in line to actually get in the comedy tent.  We finally made our way in, soaked in the AC (ahhhhhhh ....), and proceeded to laugh our asses off at his 40-minute or so set.  His comedy is pretty silly but really works.

We then headed over for our last set of the weekend with Phoenix.  They sounded great, playing every single song off Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, three tracks from It's Never Been Like That and a few other gems but oddly leaving out "Too Young" to a very large audience.  I think the whole crowd's energy was pretty depleted, though, all things considered.  While it was fun and sounded great, it did not carry the same ooomph was some of the earlier sets we saw.

We got back to the car and were back on I-24 with a shower and Waffle House awaiting us.  I'll be interested to see if I make it back.  Something tells me that I'll have a hard time staying away.  While the music is great, it's really the energy and the intangibles of the Bonnaroo experience that set it apart from other festivals.  If they could just fix the traffic situation ...

The Avett Brothers, LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH - 5/29/2010

As a last minute sort of thing with some friends in town for a quick return trip to the C-bus, we collectively decided that a nice way to spend a warm Saturday evening would be sitting outside at the LC hearing the Avett Brothers, a band loved by many that I know but whom I've never completely gotten.

We pre-partied/ate yummy things at Betty's and then headed over and caught the opening set from Jessica Lea Mayfield. She is very young and has a very strong voice and some great songs. It was major downer country twang (in a good way), and I dug it.

Then the Avetts came out to a pretty solid crowd. I wish - truly - that their music was more up my alley, but something about it just doesn't jibe with me. The lyrics are a bit trite at times, the playing/singing is good but not all that great, the energy is there but comes off for me as more bluster than focus. Based on the many, many good friends whose opinion I respect having a lot of affection for this band, I feel like the problem is me, but at the end of the day, it seems like a kind of goofy bluegrass/folk thing that just doesn't turn my crank.

It was a fun night out, though, with great friends and great weather. We ended the night at Char Bar with some jukebox salvation there. Good times ...

Neil Young w/ Bert Jansch, Palace Theater, Louisville, KY - 5/26/2010

I'll save folks some suspense and say that this was a bit of a letdown. I love - love - Neil Young, and the last time I saw him, it was pretty spectacular. I had great seats (10th row, dead center) and was very, very excited to see him solo acoustic so up close.

I rolled into Louisville and met up with a guy at Ear X-tacy to sell my extra ticket, which went off without a hitch (thanks, craigslist). Afterward, I parked downtown, grabbed some sushi, and then had a couple beers near the Palace Theater (where I'd been once before to see Wilco with My Morning Jacket opening - a great show) at Bluegrass Brewing Company ... good stuff.

I was in the venue right after the doors opened as I was pretty pumped to see Bert Jansch, a celebrated guitarist and English folk player, probably best known for his classic "Black Waterside."

He came out, sat down with his acoustic guitar, and just played a low key, technically bewildering set. His feel is just superb. (And yes, "Black Waterside" was the third song in the set.) This was a real thrill for me, I'll be honest.

So we waited (I was definitely one of the younger folks at a show for a change, thank you very much), and then Neil came out and launched into a killer 3-opener on acoustic guitar (see below). This was probably worth the price of admission alone, I'll be honest. Hearing him play "Tell Me Why" was beyond words.

He then played 3 new songs, and just as the last time I saw him with a full band, his new songs are just terrible. I'd even say they were somewhat trite. It's such a shame, and it's underscored by how powerful his old songs remain. He then blasted into "Down By the River" with electric guitar (full distortion and everything) but obviously solo. It was weird but worked. "Ohio" was also played the same way, and it killed, especially in light of the recent 40-year anniversary of the Kent State killings.

Things went quite stale after "Ohio" for me ... the new songs were terrible, "After the Gold Rush" was great, "I Believe In You" didn't work that well, and the end with Neil playing full bore electric by himself for "Cortez" and "Cinnamon Girl" just seemed bizarre to me. The encore was another not so great new song, and that was it ... 90 minutes, done.

He's still a great performer (not on the level of Tom Waits in terms of players from his generation, but probably better than most anyone else ... Dylan comes to mind directly as an icon who has simply fallen from grace in terms of performing), but the new songs were just unspeakably bad to me. Ah well ...

Also ... Louisville is such a pretty town with some of the coolest bike racks this side of New York City ...

1. My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)
2. Tell Me Why
3. Helpless
4. You Never Call (new)
5. Peaceful Valley (new)
6. Love And War (new)
7. Down By The River
8. Hitchhiker (new)
9. Ohio
10. Sign Of Love (new)
11. Leia (new) (piano)
12. After The Gold Rush (organ)
13. I Believe In You (piano)
14. Rumblin' (new)
15. Cortez The Killer
16. Cinnamon Girl
---
17. Walk With Me (new)

Tribute to Alex Chilton for Nashville Flood Relief, Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN - 2/21/2010

I was heading down to Nashville for other reasons this past weekend and, lo and behold, Mercy Lounge announces a benefit for Nashville flood victims that is at the same time a tribute to the late, great Alex Chilton (one of my all time musical heroes) featuring Jody Stephens (the original drummer of Big Star) as well as multiple other local and Southern musicians whom I'd be pretty stoked to see in general.

My buddy Aaron and I headed up around 10 just as David Vandervelde was finishing up a nice solo take on "Take Care."  This was followed by nice solo versions of "I'm in Love With a Girl" and "Thirteen" by Carl Broemmel from My Morning Jacket (see photo).

Next up was the de facto "house band," featuring Jody Stephens on drums, Chris Stamey of the dB's on guitar and vocals and Mitch Easter on guitar and vocals.  They sounded amazing together, obviously seasoned musicians to a tee.  They also played a great selection of classic Big Star:

"I Am The Cosmos" (Chris on vocals)
"When My Baby's Beside Me" (Chris on vocals)
"Way Out West" (Jody on vocals)
"Kizza Me" (Mitch on vocals)

Then came a local Nashville power pop band called Joe, Marc's Brother, who also sounded insanely tight and did a great job with "Jesus Christ" and "Thank You Friends," followed by the house band (without Jody on drums now) doing "Life is White," "In The Street," "Don't Lie to Me," and "The Letter" (with a couple of the original Box Tops coming up to play, too).  It was very celebratory and just sounded great.  These tunes are so good, though, that one could argue that they are hard to mess up.

The end came with Brendan Benson (of the Raconteurs, etc.) getting up to lead the band through a shambling but charming "O My Soul" and, to close, of course, "September Gurls."  This was a great night of music, and if there's any problem I had, it was that a serious segment of the crowd didn't seem all that familiar with the Big Star catalog.  But this was, at the end of the day, simply fantastic.

My Morning Jacket, LC Pavilion, Columbus, OH - 5/2/2010

It was looking like it would be a wet, heavy storms kind of night, and I'd been excited about this show for months.  Anyone who reads this knows I've been a pretty big fan of MMJ since 2003-2004, but they are a very different band than they were then - not worse per se, just different.  I fell in love with the high lonesome Neil Young folky Southern rock that they put out back in the At Dawn and It Still Moves era, and this is still my favorite stuff of theirs, but I can (and, to some extent, have learned to) appreciate their later output on its own merits.  I'd even say that Evil Urges has, shockingly, aged quite well for me.

The weather held out, thankfully, and it turned into an overcast, cool evening - kind of perfect, really.  We got in just as the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was ending their set.  It sounded fine and like a nice intro (and typically kooky one) to MMJ.

They came out a little after 8 PM with both guns blazing (see toy guns on Jim James' hips above) and, as is typical of them, sounded great.  The shaggy dog awesome-ness that they once projected has been replaced by a bit more professional sheen than I care for, but like I said, I've come to appreciate their current sound on its own.  A couple of new songs/covers were thrown in, but this was very similar to the last time I saw them (at this same venue, in fact).  The encore with the horn section was awesome, and some of these songs will always give me goosebumps ("Golden," "The Way That He Sings," "Lay Low").

And that was a pretty awesome 5-song opening run ... I mean, damn ...

On - 8:15

One Big Holiday
Off The Record
Gideon
I'm Amazed
Mahgeetah
Tonight I Want to Celebrate with You
Golden
Where to Begin
Lay Low
The Way That He Sings
Wonderful (The Way That I Feel)
Carried Away (new song, Carl singing lead)
Don Dante
Smokin' from Shootin'-> end of Run Thru
Touch Me I'm Going to Scream
Anytime

Wordless
Evil Urges w PHJB
Highly Suspicious w PHJB
Carnival Time w PHJB
Dancefloors w PHJB (!!!!)
Move On Up w PHJB

Off - 10:35

Coachella Music Festival, Indio, CA - 4/16-18/2010

Day 1 - 4/16/10

We flew out from Columbus and without any major hitches arrived in Palm Springs, CA, which boasts an amazing, open air airport. It was really cool. We rented a car, stopped by In N' Out Burger (which was crazy busy with a ton of Coachella folks getting their fix), and then drove over to check in to our room at the Hyatt Grand Champions (part of a travel package). Daaaaaaamn ... nice digs. We were pretty pumped.

We shuttled over to the festival around 3:30 or 4:00 and already had our wristbands, which was key, as the line to get a wristband (as in ticket holders just showing up) was insane. (Same thing happened last time I was here, too.)  We breezed past and walked in, the weather a dry high 80's.  We were feeling good.  The biggest issue was going to be how to choose between different acts.  It's always a conundrum at these things, though.

We paid $7 a piece for a Heineken (ugh) and caught a little of Street Sweeper Social Club, Tom Morello's (Rage Against the Machine) side project, playing on the main stage.  Nothing great, but they did a pretty cool, heavy cover of MIA's ubiquitous "Paper Planes."  Also, he is a sick, sick guitar player, which I enjoyed.

We then made it over to the other big stage to see the full set from She & Him.  They were fun, Zoe was cute, it was a good time if a little wispy to make it out over that big field with competition from lots of bass and low end all over the rest of the park.  But they were good, and hearing M. Ward sing "Roll Over Beethoven" was pretty crucial.

We stuck around that stage for about 3 songs from Passion Pit ... I just don't get it. Not my thing.

We headed to our first tent show next and caught the last 4 songs or so from Lucero. Man, this was loud. Good ol' Southern rock, though, and something like the Drive By Truckers and Bruce Springsteen having a lovechild. It was also not too crowded, so we were feeling good about our spot for Grizzly Bear.

Boy, were we wrong. It got very, intensely, uncomfortably crowded quickly. They were a bit rusty, opening with "Southern Point" and playing (while we stuck around) "Cheerleader" and the beginning of "Knife" (plus a couple others) before we had to bolt. It was difficult to even get out of the tent, and being able to breathe again was pretty great.

We made it over to the second stage to catch the full set from Echo & the Bunnymen, a big draw for me and one of my favorite 80's bands. They were great, and his voice sounds exactly the same as 30 years ago, which is amazing. Ian, the singer, just stood there smoking with a black trenchcoat and sunglasses on. It was kind of perfect. Setlist included "Lips Like Sugar," "Bring on the Dancing Horses," "The Killing Moon" (which he introduced as "the greatest song ever written") and a closing "The Cutter" (which he introduced as "the second greatest song ever written"). Strong stuff.

We then kind of ambled over for a far off gaze at the main stage to see LCD Soundsystem, another big draw for me and one of my favorites of the last 5 years. We saw them rip through "Losing My Edge," "All My Friends," some new songs, "Yeah," and a closing "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down." Not the same epic level shows from 2007, but pretty great nonetheless.

We were even farther off the second stage for Vampire Weekend, who sounded great (and very tight). They've grown a lot since I saw them touring the first record, and they were good at what they do. We were fading, though, and decided to skip Jay Z (controversial decision though that was) and get back to the resort for some Z's (pun semi-intended).

Day 2 - 4/17/10

Amazingly, we started Day 2 with a 10-mile run through Palm Springs. It was kind of grueling, I'll be honest. We survived, though ...

We got into the festival around 4:30 and started out with Beach House, who were one of my favorite sets of the festival. They kind of rocked (in a dreamy, Beach House way), and some of the Teen Dream material sounded quite epic. Mid-set, they busted out "Zebra," and it was thrilling. Spine-tinglingly good.

We grabbed a beer and a margarita and kind of watched Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, though this didn't do much for either of us (well, not for me), though I hear great things. We ambled back to the tents for Dirty Projectors, where there was shockingly not a big crowd. They sounded fine, though again seemed a little off (similar to Grizzly Bear the night before). Ezra from Vampire Weekend was standing about 15 feet from us for a good bit of this.

We left that set early and made it over to the second stage for the whole set from Hot Chip. I had last seen them in 2007, and they killed back then. This was a much bigger production and felt a lot less organic than 2007 did (in stark contrast to LCD Soundsystem, who are still keeping it pretty real, as the kids say). They did play "Over and Over," but they pretty much avoided The Warning otherwise, much to my chagrin. I'm not big on their output since then, either.

MGMT were a far off ball of noise for us, and this is another band that I just don't completely get. Again, not my thing. (Yes, LCD and Hot Chip and a lot of electronica is right up my alley while some of it just isn't ...)

Finally, we stuck around for about 6 songs from Muse. They are a true stadium rock band and sounded friggin' huge. The guitarist/singer/main dude is an Eddie Van Halen level shredder and was a great entertainer. The music was very, very one note, though, and something I knew I didn't love but just wanted to see for the sheer spectacle (of which there was plenty).

It was off to bed then ... the 10-miler was catching up with us ...

Day 3 - 4/18/10 (my birthday)

So this was the day - most of the bands I'd come to see were on this day, including Pavement, one of my top 5 all time favorites. This would be my 10th time seeing them and first time since 1999. It was a dream come true to finally see them again.

We started the day with poolside drinks (Bloody Marys and margaritas), and it was hard to get moving thereafter. But we did and made it in for the start of Local Natives. They sounded pretty good and played all the hits (including their cover of "Warning Sign"). The kids were digging it, and so were we.

We next caught most of Deerhunter, which was reliably good, including "Nothing Ever Happened," which always slays. This was followed by beer and then about 3 songs from Sunny Day Real Estate. These opening songs included "Seven," a big hit for me in high school, which was very cool to see. They seemed to be having a ball, too, which is nice to see.

We then made it to the main stage for the trifecta ... Yo La Tengo, Spoon and Pavement, all in a row. Yo La Tengo were their typical, underwhelming selves. For a band that was once so great, they just seem to have kind of lost it. I wanted to be digging it more, but it wasn't happening.

Big Day Coming
???
Stockholm Syndrome
Mr. Tough
You Can Have It All (w/ dance routine)
Sugarcube
Autumn Sweater
???
Pass the Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind

Spoon came out next, and as usual, they absolutely slayed. They are so tight and have such an incredible catalog. They also seemed to be having fun and mentioned that this was the end of their current tour.

Is Love Forever
Don't You Evah
The Way We Get By
Got Nuffin
I Turn My Camera On
Don't Make Me a Target
Who Makes Your Money (w/ Bradford Cox)
Written in Reverse
Small Stakes (!!!)
Rhythm n Soul (w horns)
Stay Don't Go (w horns)
The Underdog (w horns)
Black Like Me

And finally, after 11 years and countless dashed hopes, I finally saw one of my rock and roll heroes (or 5 of them, I guess), Pavement.  They sounded great, probably better than most any time I saw them back in the day, though they routinely transcended their own limitations back then and somehow elevated things to otherworldly places.  Malkmus played almost exclusively without a guitar pick, which was weird, and Bob Nastanovich was unchanged completely.  They didn't even look all that much older.  Some rarities came out, too.  Interestingly, the crowd was kind of thin.  (Phoenix was playing opposite, and that probably helped.  We could hear a little of them, and they sounded great as always.)

Silence Kit
In the Mouth a Desert
Stereo
Frontwards (!)
Father to a Sister of a Thought
Two States
Shady Lane
Gold Soundz
Grounded
Perfume V
Date w Ikea
Fight This Generation (!!)
Range Life
Trigger Cut
Starlings of the Slipstream (!!!)
Summer Babe
Unfair
Cut Yr Hair

We were both pretty spent at this point, and though we tried to muster the energy for Gorillaz (which I'm sure was awesome), we had to head in.

Day 4 - 4/19/10

This is worth mentioning due to more pool time (nice), a second trip to In N' Out (animal style, always), and some more QT at the Palm Springs Airport.  I mean, this was the view from Gate 5 as we waited on our flight:

I don't know if I'll make it back to Coachella (probably not without a VIP pass and some extra time off afterwards for recovery), but this was a good 'un ...

Avenues reunion show, 12th & Porter, Nashville, TN - 4/10/2010

My buddy Aaron and some friends I've made via him used to be a band called Avenues. They self-released a full length and then an EP in the early-to-mid-2000's. I saw them play a reunion show once a few years back, and they decided to do it again at 12th & Porter (where I saw Spoon in 2004!).

Anyway, I was in town to close on a new house as I'm moving back to Nashville full time come late June/early July, 2010, and this was happening the same weekend. Nice! We got to the club a little after 10 (late for me these days), mingled for a while, and then without so much as a soundcheck Avenues were off and running.

I was impressed - compared to that one time I saw them way back when, they sounded much more confident, much tighter. The songs sounded great and very fleshed out. Most of these guys are playing music on some level still (and Dan, the guitarist, has a pretty great thing going in Brooklyn with his band, the Royal Chains), so maybe I shouldn't be surprised that they could bring it together so well without even a rehearsal.

Major props ...

[Photo courtesy of Mobley Photo.]

Spoon, First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN - 4/2-3/2010

We decided a few months ago that getting to see Spoon at a club rather than a theater would be pretty awesome (and maybe not possible for much longer), plus we decided this would be a good excuse to check out Minneapolis in a hopefully warmer month. (Also, I had wanted to check out First Avenue ever since realizing its historical impact [Prince, the Replacements, Husker Du, etc.] in my teenage years.)

On getting into town Friday, we just hopped on the light rail from the airport into town. Very easy, very cheap, gave us a quick idea of the city. We got into our hotel without much hassle and grabbed dinner at Bradstreet Crafthouse, where we sat at the chef's table/bar and watched them prepare the food. Great cocktails, super yummy tapas style foods. We gorged, I'll admit it.

We got to the venue for night 1 right at the doors and were able to grab a good spot and see both openers. First up was Micachu and the Shapes, who were terrible. Waste of time. Then there was Deerhunter, whom we'd seen before and enjoyed. I thought they were great again - very tight, huge sound. I feel like if Bradford Cox was a super hot indie rocker, these guys would be huge. Oh well.

Then Spoon came on, and while the club was packed, it wasn't just crazy. And they were great - long set, very tight, very into it, pretty intense. If anything was a bummer, it was that the crowd seemed to have caught on to Spoon around the time of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but what can you do?

Setlist:

Before Destruction
Nobody Gets Me But You
The Way We Get By
Small Stakes
Me and the Bean
Ghost of You Lingers
Is Love Forever?
Love Song (DAMNED cover)
The Underdog
Who Makes Your Money
Written in Reverse
The Modern World (WOLF PARADE) (!!!!)
Don't Make Me A Target
Everything Hits at Once (!!!!)
The Beast and Dragon Adored
I Summon You
Got Nuffin'
You've Got Yr Cherry Bomb
Black Like Me
--------
Metal School
I Turn My Camera On
The Two Sides of Mssr. Valentine
-------
Don't You Evah
Someone Something
Rhythm and Soul

We stumbled back to our room and collapsed from exhaustion, as that was a marathon show.  Great stuff.

We started Saturday out at Hell's Kitchen, whose breakfast totally lived up to the hype.  Strikingly good stuff.  The Twins were playing an exhibition game thereafter at the new Target Field against the Cardinals, so we looked for tickets, but nothing was cheaper than $100 or so a pop, so we skipped the game and walked down by the river.  A gorgeous day in the Twin Cities.

Dinner was at the Oceanaire, a fantastically old school seafood place.  Wow, was this good.  Crabcakes, oysters, huge cuts of fish, creamed corn and hashbrown sides, and then Key lime pie to end it all.  All fabulous.  My only complaint is how stuffed I was afterward.  Great, though.

We got to the club for night 2 around 8-ish, as the doors were at 6 with it being an all ages show.  We got down on the floor just as Deerhunter were finishing.  I'd say it felt more crowded and, well, rude-ish than the first night, but I was also super full and still kind of tired from night 1.

Spoon came out and seemed a bit more jovial, not as intense as night 1.  But they were great again and mixed up the setlist nicely.  (In full disclosure, we left during "Finer Feelings" due to it being so packed, us being so full, etc.)

Setlist:

I Saw the light
I turn my Camera on
Jonathon Fisk (!!!!)
Nobody gets me but you
Way we get by
Ghost of you lingers
Stay don't go
Dont make me a Target
Love Song (DAMNED cover)
Who makes yr Money
Back to the life
Mathematical mind
Someone something
Vittorio e
They Never got you
I Summon you
Finer Feelings (!!!!)

(per the internet, the rest of the tunes:)

Written in reverse
Utilitarian
Cherry bomb
Don't you Evah
Trouble comes running
Underdog

So we missed seeing "Trouble Comes Running," but I'll live.  A great couple of shows, truly.  Their bassist (since 2007, I think?) was so on, and Jim Eno has been a tight drummer since the beginning.  Just a solid band.

We ended the trip with a 9-mile run around the Lake of the Isles, which was stunning.  The flight back Sunday was painfully long due to a delay at Midway, but a great, fast trip to a very cool city.

Zoso, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 2/5/2010

So my first show of 2010 is the Led Zeppelin cover band whom I've seen about a bazillion times over the years. I don't have a lot to say about this show and am posting more for the sake of completeness. It was certainly fun and required braving some nasty snow/freezing rain. It was preceded by a typically "meh" dinner at Mad Mex. The setlist was pretty standard for them, though they busted out two surprises, "Dazed and Confused" (complete with bowed guitar) and "Moby Dick" (complete with totally sick drum solo including a long segment of "John Bonham" playing with his hands). It was fun, though I'm ready for the real rock to return to the C-bus ...