Natalie Merchant with the Nashville Symphony, Schermerhorn Symphony Center, Nashville, TN - 11/13/2011

This was a bit off the usual path for us, but it seemed like it would be a cool thing to do as part of celebrating my wife's birthday. We started out at Virago, which was exceptionally good. We got into the venue, which was pretty darn crowded, and right on time Natalie Merchant took the stage, looking quite a bit older than I expected, though that's probably due to the fact that she is forever frozen in her 1987, In My Tribe-era persona.

That being said (and being a bit harsh, I know), she sounded fantastic and much better than I could've anticipated. The setlist drew heavily on her recent output, which features classic poems set to orchestral arrangements, but she whipped out some deep cuts, including a jaw-dropping "Verdi Cries" during the first set and a fun "Kind and Wonderful" encore to the end the show.

Most of all, it's hard to overstate how impressive her voice was in a live context, especially a concert hall that sounds as good as the Schermerhorn.

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN - 10/16/2011

Not a whole lot to say about this show. I ended up going with some friends more or less on a whim. I have their first record and think that it's fine as far as poppy/ear candy type stuff goes. The opener, Twin Sister, has been getting a lot of press, but we mainly hung out on the deck catching up pre-show.

So the Pains of Being Pure at Heart came out and did their thing, actually playing "This Love Is F---ing Right" second on the setlist, but the whole thing just didn't do a whole lot for me. They were competent but did not bring a whole lot to the table that was so compelling. It's tough when the last band I saw was 2 nights of Wilco, who set a pretty high bar in terms of musicianship and bringing the live goods.

Great time with my friends, just a fairly meh show ...

Wilco, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 10/01-02/2011

I'd had a good, long break from Wilco, and I kind of needed it. They remain one of my favorites, but their shows had become a bit rote for me by the time Wilco (The Album) had come out. I'd seen them get downright magical at the Ryman back in the mid-aughts, so I was feeling pretty excited for 2 straight nights.

Night one, we had friends in town and pre-partied at home with some grilled out goodness and a nice pinot (what typical Wilco yuppie scum fans we are). By the time we got to the venue, the Hatch Show prints were all sold out and Nick Lowe had started his set. We actually kind of hung out and skipped Mr. Lowe, which I know is sacrilege, but we needed a breather.

We were sitting midway up in the balcony for night one, and it was definitely the "angrier" of the 2 nights, with Tweedy not getting into a lot of banter and kind of rocking through and featuring a few of the darker recent numbers ("Poor Places," "Bull Black Nova") before giving way to a lot of uptempo older cuts from AM and Being There to round things out. Some moments off the new album, especially "One Sunday Morning," were absolutely enthralling, while some were a bit flat. "Jesus Etc." hit me particularly hard for some reason. It was good stuff, great at times, but did not seem to hit those crazy highs that they were reaching circa A Ghost Is Born.

NIGHT ONE:

One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
Poor Places
Art Of Almost
I Might
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
One Wing
Bull Black Nova
Rising Red Lung
Impossible Germany
Shouldn't Be Ashamed
Handshake Drugs
Standing O
Jesus, Etc.
Born Alone
War On War
Dawned On Me
A Shot in the Arm

Encore:
Whole Love
36 Inches High (Nick Lowe cover) (with Nick Lowe)
I Love My Label (Nick Lowe cover) (with Nick Lowe)
Box Full Of Letters
Walken
I'm the Man Who Loves You
Monday
Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Night 2 found us in about the seventh row on the main floor (see photo was above), which was pretty killer. The setlist would appear to be much darker, but the mood was much more jovial and light. I'd never heard "Less Than You Think" played live before, and you'd think that "Black Moon," "Ashes of ...," and a mid-set "One Sunday Morning" would be major downers, but it was more of a mellow, laid back vibe. Nels played one of Gregg Allman's old Les Pauls for "Impossible Germany" (and killed it, I thought). "I'll Fight" reminded me of how mediocre that last album was.

I was hoping for a bit more variety between the two nights, but I've seen them so many times over so many years that my expectations are probably a bit off the chart. Similar to their recent recorded output, I'd say that this was a very solid outing though not one that was going to break your heart.

NIGHT TWO:

Less Than You Think
Art Of Almost
I Might
Black Moon
Ashes of American Flags
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Pot Kettle Black
Born Alone
Side With The Seeds
One Sunday Morning (Song for Jane Smiley's Boyfriend)
I'll Fight
Impossible Germany
Open Mind
Handshake Drugs
Dawned On Me
A Shot in the Arm
Hummingbird

Encore:
Whole Love
36 Inches High (with Nick Lowe)
I Love My Label (with Nick Lowe)
California Stars
The Late Greats
Heavy Metal Drummer
Red-Eyed and Blue ->
I Got You (At the End of the Century)

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings, The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC - 8/5/2011

We sped over to Asheville from Nashville on Friday afternoon. We made it in about 4 hours and missed Knoxville traffic, which was huge. We got checked in at the Hotel Indigo (very nice) and made it over planning a late dinner afterward. The sold out show was at the Orange Peel, a venue I love ... a great space with great acoustics and amazing beer selection. We mainly enjoyed Lagunitas IPA's, which was a treat. We were also able to meet up with some friends who were in from Charlotte, which was pretty cool and a nice surprise.

The show ... WOW. They just killed it, and the new songs, which had seemed sleepy to me on the record, just slayed live. Some highlights include "Look at Miss Ohio," Gillian doing a folky jig during "Six White Horses," a killer "Revelator" after which Dave looked pretty intensely shaken, and getting to hear "Wrecking Ball" during the first encore. I only got a couple of photos and one video, as they were discouraging camera use.

Of note, we had the late night menu at Lexington Ave Brewery (meh - I hear the full menu is killer, though) and one of the best breakfasts I've ever had at Tupelo Honey Cafe on Saturday.

Scarlet Town
Elvis Presley Blues
Ruination Day, Pt 2
The Way It Goes
The Way It Will Be
I'm Not Afraid To Die
I Want To Sing That Rock and Roll
Annabelle
Dark Turn of Mind
Look at Miss Ohio

Down Along the Dixie Line
Hard Times
Tennessee
Six White Horses
Sweet Tooth
Revelator
Silver Dagger
Red Clay Halo

Encore:
Wrecking Ball
The Way That It Ends
White Rabbit

Encore 2:
Ruby
I'll Fly Away

Bon Iver w/ the Rosebuds, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 7/27/2011

Having seen Bon Iver touring For Emma ... a few times (mainly at festivals, truth be told), I was pretty excited to see how this new, expanded sound was going to translate live and affect the old tunes. Friends and I met up at Puckett's beforehand for a beer, which was probably not the best choice after all, but there really aren't all that many great, low key options near the Ryman.

We completely missed the Rosebuds, who have a tune or two that I like, but were there for the main show. The beginning 5 tunes were incredibly strong and super tight. "Holocene" is up there with anything he's done yet. The middle section dragged for me big time, but then came "Re: Stacks" followed by an incredibly strong run of his other really great new songs ("Calgary" and "Beth/Rest") and a great closer in "For Emma."

The encore was great, esp. the age old Ryman move of playing "Skinny Love" sans amplification at the edge of the stage. It goes without saying, but his voice live is something to behold. Great show.

Perth
Minnesota, WI
Holocene
Towers
Creature Fear -> Team
Beach Baby
Hinnom, TX
Wash.
Blood Bank
If Hollywood Don't Need You (Don Williams cover)
Re: Stacks
Calgary
Beth/Rest
For Emma

Encore:
Flume
The Wolves
Skinny Love

Bill Callahan, Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN - 7/17/2011

My buddy and I somehow rallied on a "school" night to hit this show. Being on the guest list helps, as there isn't as much investment. We headed in around 9:45 to a pretty rough opening act (a spoken word, experimental kind of thing) and just chilled on the deck.

We then made it in and grabbed some stools to sit back and enjoy it. Bill had a 2-piece backing band consisting of a guitarist and a drummer mainly playing brushes They really helped flesh things out and were quite tight with Bill. He was quite animated and seemed to be digging it, playing acoustic guitar the whole show.

I didn't take down the whole setlist, and we left prior to the end of the main set, anyway, because we are old and needed sleep, but he played most of Apocalypse as well as a few classics such as "Eid Maw Clack Shaw," "Too Many Birds" (which killed) and "Our Anniversary."

I wish that this show had started at 9 instead, but such is life.

U2 w/ Florence and the Machine, Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, TN - 7/2/2011

My fiancee moved to Nashville in January this year, and when we found out that both Paul Simon and U2 (her 2 favorites) would be playing within 5 miles of our home during her first year here, it felt quite special. With that in mind, I gave her some amazing seats (the Red Zone) for her 30th birthday, and we had been anticipating this show for almost a year. In addition, this weekend was a huge party of friends and family all coming in and filling the house, making this a true celebration.

We all started the day with a cookout and many beers at our house. Since we live about 2 miles from the stadium, we took a cab over, grabbed a pre-show drink in PF Chang's (which was insanity in and of itself), and made our way in. The Red Zone was a pretty amazing vantage for this show. We got ourselves a couple pints of Guinness and waited for the show.

Florence and the Machine opened and were a complete snoozefest. I had expected a bit more of a show from this outfit, but it was just not clicking.

U2 came out to a full stadium, and the feelings were pretty magical and, honestly, a bit nostalgic for me. The opening suite of numbers from Achtung Baby was the highlight of the whole night for me. Just amazing tunes, and it was cool that they were comfortable playing them in order like that. So many other highlights, as well, including their first performance ever of "The Wanderer," a rousing ending with "All I Want Is You," and just a slew of stone cold classic tunes.

My only complaint: the encore featured "Hold Me ..." instead of "Ultraviolet," but that's about my only negative comment. Well, that, and the fact that getting cab after the show was nothing short of impossible.

It was a great show and a magic weekend for us.

Setlist:

Even Better Than The Real Thing
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Until The End Of The World
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / The Wanderer (2 verses)
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day
Elevation
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Discothèque (snippet)
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On

ENCORE:

One
Where The Streets Have No Name
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender
All I Want Is You

Notes: This is just the second U2 concert ever in Nashville, 29 years and 7 months after the first. It is also the first U2 concert anywhere in the state of Tennessee since 14 May 1997, Memphis. The snippet of The Wanderer is quite lengthy, running to two verses, and had never been played live before. At the end of the show, Bono pulls a member of the crowd who happens to be blind on stage to play guitar; he performs All I Want Is You with the band, dedicating it to his wife.

The Long Players perform STICKY FINGERS in its entirety, Frist Museum, Nashville, TN - 6/24/2011

In honor of the Andy Warhol retrospective (which we saw at the Wexner in Columbus, OH, and found amazing) opening, the Frist had the Long Players on board to play Sticky Fingers all the way through. The Long Players are basically ace studio musicians with various folks taking lead vocals for each song.

Knowing this was the Frist, we got there right at 6:00 PM, and sure enough, they were launching right into "Brown Sugar" as we walked up. One cool thing was that they had Bobby Keys, the original saxophonist on the album, sitting in with them. Another cool thing was that one of the guest vocalists was Dan Baird of Georgia Satellites and solo fame.

One great highlight was Keys telling the story of recording "Can't You Hear Me Knocking?" in one take (!) and how Mick hated sax solos in rock songs. The band was very tight, of course, though at times they were too tight, in that they lost some of that Stones swing/swagger on tracks like "Sway." They killed "Can't You Hear ..." and "Moonlight Mile," though.

They played a second set of other Stones tunes, but we had to split before then. Sure enough, they played Sticky Fingers in original order and quite spot on ...

Okkervil River w/ Titus Andronicus and Future Islands, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 6/11/2011

We were up in Columbus for a wedding and decided somewhat last minute to catch this show, starting with a lovely meal with friends at Third & Hollywood (still great). It wasn't too crowded, and we walked in, grabbed a couple beers and settled in for the last few songs from Future Islands, whom I thought sounded great. Very Joy Division-ish. Not a lot of stage charisma, but it's something I could imagine listening to on my stereo.

Next up was Titus Andronicus, and I had high hopes for seeing these guys (and gal) bring it live. Their sound is just not my thing at all, though: super chaotic, no discernible melody, unable to tell one song from another. They were charasmatic and had me rooting for them, but I just didn't enjoy them at all.

Finally was Okkervil River. I saw them play an absolute knockout show back in 2005 in Austin, TX. They are basically a different band now, though - much more professional and slick. Also lacking a little of the passion/fire/what have you that they once carried. There were some highlights, such as the slowed down, acoustic "No Key, No Plan" and the "hits" toward the end.

We ended up leaving before the encore, so we missed Westfall, which is a bummer. It was great seeing friends and hanging, but the show left something to be desired for me.

White Shadow Waltz
A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene
The Latest Toughs
Rider
Starry Stairs
Wake and Be Fine
Piratess
The Valley
John Allyn Smith Sails
No Key, No Plan (Acoustic)
So Come Back, I Am Waiting
Your Past Life as a Blast
For Real
Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe
Lost Coastlines

Encore:
The Rise
Westfall
Unless It's Kicks

Same As It Ever Was - Talking Heads Tribute Band, The Frist Museum, Nashville, TN - 5/27/2011

My old friend Michael was in town for a long weekend, which was in and of itself great, and this little show happened to be going on. We had dinner prior at the Local Taco (nice!) and a drink before the show at the Flying Saucer (meh) before heading in. This was not a mind-blowing show or anything, but the weather was great, the sun was setting, the location behind the Frist was fantastic and the band did a reasonably good Talking Heads with a lot of the hits, including "Naive Melody," "Burning Down the House," "Girlfriend is Better," and "Crosseyed and Painless."

Paul Simon, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 5/19/2011

We were pretty dang excited about this one. When Paul Simon announced that he was not only playing Nashville but actually playing the Ryman, my jaw kind of dropped. Knowing this was probably once in a lifetime, we sprang for some good seats and just went all out. I've loved his work since before I really had a concept of music, and the same goes for my better half.

We pre-partied at a business dinner at Virago, which was yummy but a bit rushed on our side, as we had to get over to the Ryman before this thing started. We looked for Hatch Show Prints, of course, but they were not offered for this show. Bummer.

We got to our seats ...

... just before 7:30, and by 7:40 he and his band had taken the stage. (Glad we left dinner early.)

They sounded great, volume was just right, crowd was appropriately into it. I got lost in my own little world for a huge part of this show, not really concious of the surroundings, which was a cool feeling. The band was large (8 or so folks) but so very right on and rarely if ever feeling like too much. And great players, of course.

The highlights were numerous, and my personals were kind of obvious for me ... Mother and Child Reunion, That Was Your Mother and Hearts and Bones was killer three songs in a row, as were Peace Like a River, The Obvious Child (which was stunningly good) and The Only Living Boy in New York.

The first encore was great, but the second encore was stupendous, esp. a very affecting reading of "The Boxer" with Jerry Douglas sounding amazing on dobro (and the whole crowd singing along loudly). An unplanned closer of The Boy In The Bubble was a huge treat for me, too.

If I had to have a complaint, it's that I thought we'd get Graceland in Nashville, but no dice. This will be a tough show to beat in 2011 for me ... he sounded amazingly vital, the new stuff sounded great even stacked against the old stuff ... a life-affirming show ...

Crazy Love, Vol. II
Dazzling Blue
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
So Beautiful or So What
Slip Slidin' Away
Vietnam (Jimmy Cliff cover)
Mother and Child Reunion
That Was Your Mother
Hearts and Bones
Mystery Train (Little Junior's Blue Flames cover)
Wheels (Chet Atkins cover)
Darling Lorraine
Rewrite
Peace Like a River
The Obvious Child
The Only Living Boy in New York
Love Is Eternal Sacred Light
Questions for the Angels
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
Gumboots

Encore 1:
The Sound of Silence (solo acoustic)
Kodachrome
Gone At Last
Here Comes the Sun
Late in the Evening

Encore 2:
Still Crazy After All These Years
Bye Bye Love w/ Don Everly (The Everly Brothers cover)

The Boxer (with Jerry Douglas on Dobro - first time played on this tour)

Encore 3:
The Boy in the Bubble

Interpol, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 5/2/2011

This was a show I went into feeling pretty meh about and left feeling the same way. Even kind of hoping it would end soon. I really haven't been into anything by Interpol since the first record, and that continues to this day.

Met up with friends at the downtown Broadway Brewhouse and then made it over to the show, completely missing the openers. Got into our seats, the show started, and it was just very rote and rock by the numbers. What can I say? Not my thing anymore I guess ... for the sake of completeness, a setlist:

Success
Say Hello To The Angels
Narc
Hands Away
Barricade
Rest My Chemistry
Specialist
Lights
Take You On A Cruise
Summer Well
NYC
The Heinrich Maneuver
Memory Serves
Not Even Jail

Encore:
The Lighthouse
Evil
The New
Slow Hands

Three Ring Circle, The Station Inn, Nashville, TN - 4/20/2011

We had had dinner at Virago in/near the Gulch for a professional event and, being the neighborhood, decided to pay a spur of the moment visit to the Station Inn.  I had read about a sort of bluegrass all star band called Three Ring Circle doing a show, so we figured we'd check it out.

The Station Inn has the coolest vibe and history-soaked feeling of almost any venue in the city.  We got a pitcher of Bud Light and settled in.  It was about half full.  The band came on just after 9:00 and played a pretty killer newgrass set (we only stayed for the first set, as it was a "school night").  The dobro player was especially ridiculous.  It's definitely a Nashville perk to be able to see world class bluegrass players on a random Wednesday night with about 100 other folks, no big deal, just hanging out and enjoying it.

Rush, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN - 4/3/2011

We had just flown in from South Carolina where we had been for an engagement party (and amazing meals at FIG, Hominy Grill and the Marina Variety Store [see photo of softshell crab, eggs, hashbrowns, etc. to the right - amazing]) a few hours before heading downtown to see Rush.  We had time for a quick meal at the Local Taco and made it down to the Bridgestone in time to see many dudes filing into the venue.  We grabbed some beers and made it to our seats with time to spare.  The stage was pretty geeked out with tons of lights and odd contraptions.

The band came out to a very odd, somewhat overlong video intro (again, super geeky) and launched into a killer opening twofer of "The Spirit of Radio" and "Time Stand Still," a somewhat boring middle of the first set, and then a fantastic ending of the set with an especially great "Marathon" (not one of my favorites of theirs).  The second set, with Moving Pictures played in its entirety, was a real highlight.  The band sounded super tight to me.  We made it to "2112" when fatigue set in.  We made it out during that song, and it pains me to have missed "La Villa Strangiato," but after "YYZ," I think I'll live.

It was a fun, tight show, though this is a band followed by obsessives who are going to love all the new songs (some of which are dreadful) and basically go bananas for every single part of the show.  What's most impressive to me is that, as far as I can tell, it really is just the 3 guys on stage making all this insanely complex, precise racket.  And seeing Neil Peart do his drum solo is something to behold ...

A fun, geeked out good time ...

 

Video Intro (Rash: The Real History of Rush Act 1)
The Spirit of Radio
Time Stand Still
Presto
Stick It Out
Workin' Them Angels
Leave That Thing Alone
Faithless
BU2B

Freewill

Marathon

Subdivisions

Intermission

Set 2:

Video Intro (Rash: The Real History of Rush Act 2)

Tom Sawyer

Red Barchetta

YYZ

Limelight

The Camera Eye

Witch Hunt

Vital Signs

Caravan

Drum Solo (Love 4 Sale)

Closer to the Heart (with Alex acoustic intro)

2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx

Far Cry

Encore:

La Villa Strangiato

Working Man

Video Outro (I Still Love You Man)

Prairie Home Companion, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN - 3/26/2011

Going to this show definitely entailed a certain acceptance of getting older, hopefully graying gracefully and with dignity. I've sporadically enjoyed the Prairie Home Companion radio show for years, somewhat secretively, and knowing that Garrison Keillor is planning retirement in 2013, I felt like this was quite a chance to see the show live.

Much to our surprise, there were a lot of young faces at this sold out show on a rainy, gusty Saturday. It was interesting to be in the Ryman during daylight hours with sunshine pouring through the stained glass windows.  They were actually selling beer (another shocker for me), so we grabbed some drinks and made it to our seats.

The musical numbers spread throughout the evening included Sam Bush, the Civil Wars (who sounded great live, though their album is a bit slick for my taste), Sara Watkins and Emmylou Harris.  The comedy bits included some of the musicians, Keillor sang with the various artists as he is wont to do, the news from Lake Woebegon was pretty enchanting but on the lighter side.  Keillor called Broadway a National Park of honkeytonks, which I think is a pretty cool descriptoin.  It was pretty magical to see these performers (including the PHC regulars) put on such a production and keep it old-timey yet very relevant and fun.

We capped this off with a trip to Robert's, which as always did not disappoint ...

Guilty Pleasures, Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN - 3/5/2011

This evening found us heading out to the Mercy Lounge en masse in party mode (meaning we were up for a night out past midnight).  The Guilty Pleasures always put on a fun show with a totally oddball mix of 80's songs, from the obvious to the sublimely obscure.  This was no exception, and it again really showed off the talent of these guys.

The coolest part, though, and the super memorable aspect of the show, was when Jonathon Cain of Journey joined the band for "Faithfully," "Touchin' Lovin' Squeezin'," "Separate Ways," and "Don't Stop Believing." His daughter joined, as well, as she is an aspiring singer.  He sounded great and took lead vocals along with his daughter on "Faithfully."  I didn't realize that he wrote/co-wrote all those songs.  Pretty cool to see him in such a tiny venue when Journey still plans arena gigs.

Definitely an "only in Nashville" type of thing ...

The Dismemberment Plan, Paradise, Boston, MA - 1/28/2011

It's funny how excited I was for this show, being a fan of only their last 2 records and not really not a fan of their other output.  I saw the D Plan twice in their original existence, once at Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC, and then on their farewell tour (July 2003) at Echo Lounge in Atlanta, GA.  The latter was an especially rocking show.

We decided to make a Boston (family, friends)/New York City (friends, food, shows) trip with this as an added bonus, timing it all right with a big nasty snow storm.  Amazingly, we got up there and got around without much issue at all.  Foodwise on this particular day, I enjoyed a Legal Seafoods lobster roll (not the greatest ever, but dependable), pizza from Figs in Beacon Hill (excellent) and a post-show Chinese pigout at the Peach Farm (not for the faint of heart).

My sister, on first moving to Boston, had lived a couple of T stops down from the Paradise in Allston, MA, but I had oddly never been to a show at this venerable venue.  That was exciting in and of itself to me.  Similar to other storied venuse like First Avenue or Exit/In, they are not shy about promting the parade of rock legends that had once played there.  I love that stuff, though.

Openers the Forms were pretty bad, like a less inventive (but heavily indebted to Animal Collective.  Then came the D Plan, who both looked and sounded exactly as though 8 years had not passed since I last saw them.  It was uncanny, almost reverse aging.  The beginning of the set was great for me, heavily drawn from Change and Emergency & I.  They sounded very tight, and the drumming continues to be amazing with these guys.  Travis is still a funny, joyful frontman.  The end of the main set and the beginning of the encore were heavy on the jittery early tunes, of which I'm not much of a fan.  The closing with "Spider in the Snow" and "Back and Forth" really saved it for me, though.  They covered almost all the bases and didn't leave out any hits.  Glad I made this trek ...

The Face of the Earth

A Life of Possibilities
Automatic Follow Through
You Are Invited
Sentimental Man
The City
The First Anniversary of Your Last Phone Call
Time Bomb
What Do You Want Me To Say?
Come Home
The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich
Gyroscope

If I Don't Write

Girl O'Clock

I Love A Magician

Ellen and Ben

Do the Standing Still

OK, Joke's Over

The Ice of Boston (see photo)
That's When the Party Started
Spider In The Snow
Back and Forth

The Walkmen, Exit/In, Nashville, TN - 1/15/2011

I think that there is nary a better band playing in the country right now than the Walkmen.  They have put out a remarkable string of albums going back to their debut and are making music for the ages.  To put it another way:  I was psyched for this show.

We finally tried NY Pie in West Nashville before the rocking ensued, and it was pretty great.  According to the Exit/In website, there was no opener with the Walkmen going on at 9, so we ended up getting there way too early, but it was fine as lots of friends came out.

The openers ended up being Lower Dens, who sounded great.  They very much had the early 80's new wave thing down, but the singer had some pipes.  I kind of wish they had ended their set a little earlier, as they went on a bit too long, but they were good.  As I was grabbing a beer during their set, I got a chance to shake hands with Hamilton, the Walkmen's frontman, and thank him for coming back to Nashville.  He was gracious.

So the Walkmen come out with no fanfare at all.  The crowd was nice and full but not crazy.  We were pretty front and center, much more so than normal.  And what can I say?  They absolutely killed.  One of the better shows of the nascent year, but I don't see much that could top it.  The Nashville Scene did a nice write-up with lots of pics, too.  I can hardly express how good these guys are, how amazing their songs are, how many classic tunes they could play but didn't ... just about perfect ...

Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone (couldn't think of that one before ...)
Angela Surf City
In The New Year
138th Street (!!!)
Blue as Your Blood
Woe Is Me
Little House of Savages (!!!!)
All My Great Designs
Victory
While I Shovel The Snow (best song of the night - transcendent)
On The Water
Canadian Girl (!!!!!)
All Hands on the Cook
Juveniles

New Country (just Paul and Ham)
The Rat
We've Been Had (!!!!!!!!!!!)

Guided by Voices w/ Times New Viking, Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN - 1/14/2011

I first saw the "classic" GBV line-up in 1995 at the Masquerade in Atlanta, GA.  We drove down without tickets (5 hours from my South Carolina hometown), rocked out to them with support from Chavez (!!) and Sixteen Deluxe, chowed down post-show at a Waffle House and then drove back home, getting back to Sumter at 7 in the morning.  It was fairly epic.  GBV was touring Alien Lanes and were every bit as awesome as I could have imagined.  They opened with "Shocker in Gloomtown," ended the main set with "Echos Myron," and basically left me speechless.

I proceeded to see the newer incarnations of GBV multiple times over the years, including four (!) times on their farewell tour in 2004.  I was and remain a bit of a fan.  When they announced the classic line-up tour for 2010, I was a bit peeved at myself for not making the effort to see them in Vegas or Columbus, but I just couldn't swing it.

Lo and behold, they decide to come down to Nashville for a big rock show.  My fiancee moved down here more or less the same day as this show, but she still made it out there with me for what proved to be a long night of rock.  We met up with friends and actually grabbed a great spot, which in the Cannery is a huge deal.

First up was Times New Viking, whom I'd seen in Columbus before.  They've never really done it for me, and tonight was no exception.  It was fun enough, I guess, but nothing too fantastic.

Without too much down time in between, Uncle Bob and company took the stage.  They proceeded to rock a very long, exhaustive setlist that should pop up on http://www.gbvdb.com/ any day now and from which I'll transfer to here.  They pretty much hit all the classics, even hitting a couple tunes from Mag Earwhig!.  The band sounded tight-ish though not overly professional.  Bob was great as ever, drinking hard, doing big kicks, and sounding great.  Tobin Sprout looked the same as in 1995.  The rest of the band looked a good deal older/worse for the wear, but they delivered the goods.

Similar to seeing Pavement last year, it was a great nostalgia trip but not exactly a "great" show.  I had a blast, I sang along, I loved every minute of it, but it definitely reminded me that you can't bottle the magic of a certain time/place (see 1995 above) and recreate it all over again.  All of which also underscored the very powerful reaction I had to seeing the Walkmen the following night, i.e. seeing a band in their prime and at the height of their powers.

We left after the first encore, and they apparently came back for a second encore that included "Motor Away" (doh!).  Also, Jim James was spotted by friends at the show, though we missed him personally.

Wolf Parade, Exit/In, Nashville, TN - 11/22/2010

Wolf Parade had already put on one of my favorite shows of 2010 with their set at Pitchfork, so getting to see them at the Exit/In was pretty darn exciting.  They released one of my favorite albums of the 2000's (Apologies to the Queen Mary) and one of my top 10 favorite songs maybe ever ("Shine A Light").  Good stuff.

We got inside for the opening a band, a Modest Mouse-by-way-of-Japan band whose name escapes me now.  They were good in a goofy, fun way.

Wolf Parade hit the stage and opened with "You Are a Runner ..." and really didn't let up from there.  One of the best parts of this show was that it was at a perfect capacity - not so full that you couldn't move but also very high energy and with everyone totally into it.  I kind of took down a setlist but kind of didn't.  They played "Palm Road," "Language City" (which features maybe their best outro), a killer "I'll Believe In Anything"/"This Heart's On Fire" in the middle similar to Pitchfork, and an encore that included, yes, "Shine a Light."  They closed the whole thing out with "Kissing the Beehive."

Solid show, great band.  I didn't get around to writing this until 2011, so it's a bit skimpy on the details.