Tomahawk, Exit/In, Nashville, TN - 10/27/2012

Not a lot to say about this show, as I'm not super familiar with the band. I am super familiar with Duane Denison, though, so that and the fact that this was the first Tomahawk show in 9 years got me here in the first place. A buddy and I made our way in to a pretty darn packed Exit/In with a ton of Mike Patton super fans and fairly well enjoyed a tight set from the band. I couldn't name one song they played but, similar to the Melvins earlier this year, enjoyed the onslaught and seeing Patton live. Pretty amazing performers.

The Walkmen w/ Woods, Mercy Lounge, Nashville, TN - 09/27/2012

A large group of friends made it to this one, which was thankfully moved from the Cannery into the Mercy Lounge. We somewhat oddly had pre-show drinks and food at the Flying Saucer (hey, it's close) and made our way over. Woods opened the show and sounded pretty good, if a bit grating and twee at times.

Then came the titans of good music themselves, the Walkmen. They age like a fine wine and just continue to impress. It was a typically great show with some truly noteworthy moments (like the encore).

The Love You Love

Heartbreaker

Blue As Your Blood

I Lost You

On The Water

In The New Year

Line By Line

Seven Years Of Holidays

Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone

Angela Surf City

Love Is Luck

All Hands & the Cook

Juveniles

We Can't Be Beat

Heaven

Encore:

138th Street

Wake Up

While I Shovel The Snow

We've Been Had

Built to Spill, Exit/In, Nashville, TN - 09/14/2012

It's hard to overstate my love for this era of indie rock. I'm a nostalgist, and judging by the list of shows I've seen in 2012, that's pretty obvious. That being said, few bands have had the crazy awesome output of the 1990's as Built to Spill, and the level at which their music holds up is hard to contradict.

Some pals and I met up for drinks at the Corner Bar and then made our way in for the show. As usual, the band just kind of sauntered out, tuned up, and launched right into a fairly insane set (note that, again, I missed "Time Trap," which I'm apparently destined to never hear live):

Traces

In the Morning

The Plan

Made Up Dreams

Velvet Waltz

????

Reasons

Sidewalk

Nowhere Nothin' Fuckup

Car

????

In Your Mind

Carry the Zero

Encore:

Crimson and Clover (Tommy James & The Shondells cover)

????

Virginia Reel Around the Fountain

I'll simply say that Made Up Dreams -> Velvet Waltz was sublime; that as much as I love it, I could go the rest of my life not hearing them play "Car" live again; and that "Carry the Zero" live is beyond awesome. The main set was so good that the encore was truly a bit of a letdown, I think. A sloppy version of "Crimson and Clover" rather than "Untrustable" or "Going Against Yr Mind"? Just weird. But moments of this show were simply towering ...

Guided by Voices w/ Turbo Fruits, Marathon Music Works, Nashville, TN - 07/26/2012

Oh, GBV ... much like the last time I saw them on their reunion tour (which has become never-ending, I guess), the magic just wasn't there like before. My wife, her sister, her sister's husband and I had a pre-show dinner at City House (awesome) and headed over to this show. The venue easily holds 1,000 folks, and it felt eerily empty for this show, which was sad. We missed the openers, had a couple drinks, and then out came Bob and the boys.

They proceeded to play a set leaning heavily toward their newer material (which I admittedly don't know at all) and sounded quite sloppy, which was once a virtue but now just felt, well, off. I'm clearly yearning for something that can't be replicated (like seeing them on the Alien Lanes tour in 1995 and having my teenage mind blown). We left after about an hour and a few nuggets (notably "Shocker in Gloomtown" and "Exit Flagger"). Hate to be so half-hearted on a band that I once adored so, but it's just how I feel.

Roger Waters - The Wall, Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN - 06/19/2012

I'm playing big time catch up on my 2012 shows toward the end of the year. Working in the real world gets super busy. Sadly, over almost 6 months, I only have about 5 shows to report. I really am getting old, I guess.

First up, the wife and I paid a bit too much for some really good tickets to what I would best describe as a Broadway spectacle reworking of an album that is very near and dear to my 12 year old self. I did see John Prine sitting a few rows in front of us, which was beyond cool. He's kind of short in real life.

So it was a huge production with all the explosions and frills one would have expected. We "ran like hell" (sorry, couldn't resist) right around the end of "Run Like Hell" and didn't stick around to the very end. All in all, it was cool in the way that a crazy musical with lots of staging and effects is cool but not very "rock." It left me a bit cold, all in all, though I'm not sure what I was expecting otherwise. I should probably just stick to the club-sized venues.