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 ...

Phoenix, Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH - 12/9/2009

I was pretty beyond excited for this ... I've been a Phoenix fan for a while, seen them a few times over the years, and knew that they brought it. And now, of course, they've blown up, yet oddly, they were playing a super great (and perfectly sized) venue in Columbus, the Newport. I kept expecting this to get moved to the LC, but they kept it here despite it selling out.

We got there pretty early, made it through the openers (whose name totally escapes me now) and settled in for Phoenix. And it was fantastic. They sounded amazing and amazingly tight yet also brought a very nice level of an organic, "real" sound. They were also genuinely into it, which was nice to see. A very high energy level with a setlist that stretched back.

The photos are from when Thomas, the singer, came out in the crowd (right by us, obviously) for the final song, "1901." One of the best shows of the year for me ...

Setlist:

Lisztomania
Long Distance Call
Lasso
Run, Run, Run
Fences
Girlfriend
Countdown
Love Like a Sunset
Napolean Says
Rally
Consolation Prizes
Rome->extended outro

ENCORE
Everything Is Everything (Thomas and guitar only)
???
Too Young
1901

Arletta (opening for We All Have Hooks For Hands), Middle East Upstairs, Cambridge, MA - 11/22/2009

Two of my best friends from medical school plan in the Boston-based band Arletta, and I was lucky enough to be in town to get to see them play the Middle East. There was a good-sized crowd, and the Harpoon was flowing steadily. The first band to play, a group of Berklee kids whose name escapes me now, were quite good and super-talented (hey, they're from Berklee).

Arletta was next and played "the hits" over about a 30-minute set. It was very tight, and while I am beyond biased, I think their songwriting is getting better and chipping away at their sound, which is exciting.

The third band did nothing for me, and I can't remember their name.

But the headliners, We All Have Hooks For Hands, were phenomenal. Just a great live experience. These kids must be in their early 20's at the latest and just played their guts out, sounded great and seemed genuinely into it, which is a nice change of pace. I bought a CD and T-shirt afterward, which is a rare event for me. Check them out.

Phish, US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH - 11/20/2009

I am truly a late comer to Phish, having more or less ignored or actively disliked them back in the day. As I've grown up/gotten older/what have you, I've gained some appreciation for what they do. So we headed over to Cincinnati to see them play with low expectations aside from figuring it would be a good time.

Dinner at Jean Ro pre-show was excellent. Trout amandine for me, a killer pork chop for Noelle. I would argue that the excellent list of local and Belgian beers really made the meal, too. And a killer mousse. And a killer scallop appetizer. It was just righteous.

We walked over to the US Bank Arena, and the scene was typical Phish, I reckon. I'm definitely a bit old for this scene now, best exemplified by walking by a group of people doing nitrous right outside the venue. We wade through a true mass of people, get into our seats (which were pretty good, about 20 rows up off the floor, stage left) and await the rock.

The surprise ... they sounded great, very tight and with a nice, varied set. I was particularly stoked to finally, after all these years, get to hear "The Divided Sky," probably my favorite song of theirs. But they hit all the points that I like about them ... the funky stuff ("Moma Dance," "Gotta Jibboo") and the long/proggy stuff ("Divided Sky," "Time Turns Elastic").

For the sake of full disclosure, we left just before "You Enjoy Myself" as I had to get up to catch a flight out of Columbus. That means that we missed both "YEM" and "Golgi Apparatus," but I was satisfied. FYI, I think Noelle's favorite was "Possum."

SET ONE
Chalk Dust Torture
The Moma Dance
The Divided Sky
Alaska
Water in the Sky
Fast Enough for You
Time Turns Elastic
Gotta Jibboo
Fluffhead

SET TWO
Punch You in the Eye
Tweezer
Light
Back on the Train
Possum
Slave to the Traffic Light
You Enjoy Myself

ENCORE
Joy
Golgi Apparatus
Tweezer Reprise

Leonard Cohen, Palace Theater, Columbus, OH - 10/27/2009

To cap off a full month of a whole lot of rock shows, I had the distinct pleasure of finally, after many years of a spiritual connection to his music, seeing Leonard Cohen play live. Pre-show, we enjoyed a dinner at Third & Hollywood with my South Carolina buddy Beau and his dad, who were in town for business. Always good ...

We got to the show to find a long line for will call and ended up walking in as Mr. Cohen, looking dapper as usual, playing the first song, "Dance Me to the End of Love." The worst part of the evening was that the ushers were not letting people walk to their seats while a song was being played - super-aggravating. But we finally got to our seats, and what a show ...

You can see the setlist below, but it was an intense selection of songs. He played guitar a good bit throughout the second set and the many, many encores, and the show lasted over 3 hours (!!!). People, this man is over 70 years old. Unreal. His voice has grown into such an incredible baritone, too. Fantastic.

Highlights, if I had to choose some, would include "Bird on a Wire," "Suzanne," "I'm Your Man" and "A Thousand Kisses Deep." Great way to end Rock-tober ...

First Set
• Dance Me To The End Of Love
• The Future
• Ain't No Cure For Love
• Bird On The Wire
• Everybody Knows
• In My Secret Life
• Who By Fire
• Chelsea Hotel #2
• Waiting For The Miracle
• Anthem (with introductions of band members)

Second Set
• Tower Of Song
• Suzanne
• Sisters Of Mercy
• The Gypsy’s Wife
• The Partisan
• Boogie Street
• Hallelujah
• I'm Your Man
• A Thousand Kisses Deep (spoken)
• Take This Waltz (with band reintroduction)

First Encores
• So Long, Marianne
• First We Take Manhattan

Second Encores
• Famous Blue Raincoat
• If It Be Your Will (spoken)
• Closing Time

Final Encore
• I Tried To Leave You

U2 w/ the Black Eyed Peas, Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas, NV - 10/23/2009

Many moons ago, my girlfriend and I decided to head out to Vegas and see U2, as the closest they were playing otherwise was Chicago, and we both liked having an excuse to get back out to Vegas. I have mixed feelings about the city, but I always have a blast there.

We got in Thursday night and serendipitously were able to meet up with my cousin and his friend for dinner at the Strip House. I've eaten at the Strip House in NYC and had one of the better steaks of my life. This was probably not at that level but was fantastic ... a 16 oz. strip with blue cheese cooked on top. Not shabby. We ate around 10 PM Vegas time (1 AM our time) and didn't make it much later than that. We spent the weekend at the not-so-luxurious-but-reasonable-and-just-fine Bill's Gamblin' Hall and Saloon. I have a Player's Club card there (don't ask) and now get pretty crazy good promos from them. So we stayed on the cheap but saw shows and ate on the not-so-cheap.

Before the U2 show, we went hiking at Red Rock Canyon, which is only 25 miles from the Strip. Great hiking including a 6-mile loop around the White Rock area. We saw a ton of folks sport-climbing on the way in, too, which got me excited about a future trip. We then ate at In-N-Out Burger, which is always a treat. 2 for 2 on food selections thus far.

We then rested up and headed out to Sam Boyd Stadium for the big show. As we approached the stadium, we saw what looked like a UFO landing on the field. Turns out it was just the U2 stage. Seriously crazy ...



After a bit of wine in the parking lot, we headed in and got situated for the Black Eyed Peas, who were entertaining as hell. They've got a lot of hits, which is no news to anyone but someone like me who never listens to popular radio.



Then it was the big show. I saw U2 only once before this - back in high school at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC, with Big Audio Dynamite and Public Enemy opening up. We had 3rd row seats on the floor, which was just silly. The setlist back then (9/23/1992, according to www.U2setlists.com):

Zoo Station, The Fly, Even Better Than The Real Thing, Mysterious Ways, One, Until The End Of The World, New Year's Day, Wild Rover, Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around The World, Angel Of Harlem, When Love Comes To Town, Satellite Of Love, Slow Dancing, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet The Blue Sky, Running To Stand Still, Where The Streets Have No Name, Pride (In The Name Of Love), I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Stand By Me
encores: Desire, With Or Without You, Love Is Blindness, Can't Help Falling In Love

So this show was huge and hugely entertaining. It sounded great, it looked great, some moments were quite spine-tingling and, dare I say it, tear-inducing ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was a big one). There's not a lot I can say that hasn't been said before about U2. Bono kept the proselytizing to a minimum. There were no miscues or misfires whatsoever, which is kind of amazing given the scope of this show. The setlist for this show:

Breathe, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Mysterious Ways, Beautiful Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For / Stand By Me (snippet) / Viva Las Vegas (snippet), Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, No Line On The Horizon, Elevation, In A Little While, Unknown Caller, Until The End Of The World, The Unforgettable Fire, City Of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight, Sunday Bloody Sunday, MLK, Walk On
encores: One / Amazing Grace (snippet), Where The Streets Have No Name, Ultra Violet (Light My Way), With Or Without You, Moment of Surrender



Saturday included some gambling wins (bet on Ohio State to beat a 17-point spread against Minnesota and Vandy to keep within 13 points against South Carolina) and losses (blackjack) as well as seeing another friend during the afternoon. Nothing like catching up over beers in a casino. We had brunch at the Flamingo Paradise Garden Buffet as I had another comp thanks to Bill's ... it was pretty darn good, too.

But our dinner Saturday night at Nobhill was extraordinary. I cannot begin to describe how every aspect of this meal ... the food (Noelle had the Kurobuta pork chop with braised swiss chard, bacon lardons, toasted farro; I had the Atlantic salmon with shallot potato salad, roasted mushrooms, mustard) the crazy good house cocktails (esp. the Cablecar - Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum, orange curacao, fresh sweet and sour and simple syrup served up in a cinnamon and sugar-rimmed cocktail glass), the desserts, the wine ... it made me want to weep.

We finished things off seeing The Beatles: LOVE that night. A fantastic show if I do say so. Flying out Sunday morning was necessary, as being in Vegas wears me out, even when I don't do anything too crazy. A great trip ...

Andrew Bird w/ St. Vincent, Southern Theater, Columbus, OH - 10/19/2009

Wow, the Southern Theater is a pretty gorgeous venue. This was (oddly enough) my first show there. We started out with a couple drinks at Thurber's Bar next door (yes, as in James Thurber), which was also a cool little venue in and of itself. (Good beers on tap here, too, including the rarely seen [on tap, anyway] Italian imprint Peroni.)

We headed in just as St. Vincent had started. Great seats, maybe 12th row center. Aside from one guy who was yelling a good bit, people were quiet and seated and just digging the show. She, Annie Clark, was pretty great at times and a very striking presence on stage. She can play some guitar, too. I'm not super familiar with her stuff yet but am now that much more interested in picking up her last album.



After a solid 20 to 30 minutes of intermission, Andrew Bird came out. As usual, he started out with a couple of solo songs, but it quickly became apparent that the whole show was going to be a solo affair. This may have normally put me off a bit, but given the feel of the venue and just how into it all he seemed (whereas I've seen him play at bit more disinterestedly recently with the full band), it was kind of magical.

I have some approximation of a setlist ... during the first 45 minutes or so, he played a slightly altered "Dark Matter" (great), "Nervous Tic," "Masterfade," "Tenuousness," and finally got to a song off his disappointing last record, "Effigy" (though this is one of the better tracks on said album). There were a few more songs in there, including some traditional stuff like "Jesus is a Dying Bed Maker" and another newer one, "Anonanimal."





The full St. Vincent band then came out to back him up on an awesome 4-song send out with a new song, the St. Vincent tune "Marry Me" (just Annie Clark and AB), "Scythian Empires" and "Tables and Chairs." It was fantastic.





But nothing could beat the one-song encore ... Annie Clark and AB singing Bob Dylan's "Oh, Sister" into a single mic together. Fantastic.



A real treat ... a surprising, charged performance.