2005 Concert Journals

[murlough23]

I thought that it might be a good idea to start another "Journals" thread where we keep track of concerts we've been to and are thinking about going to this year. I'll start:

1/21 - Olivia the Band CD Release Party - Haleiwa, HI - C+
* Olivia the Band B
* OTB setlist: (unknown old song), 39, Saturday, Butterflies, Shut It Out, Along the Way, Novocaine, Kill the Grey, Kid Innocence, (unknown old song), Stars & Stripes, Heaven, Saturday (again!)
* Pennylane B-
* (other opening bands) D-

2/6 - Something Like Silas - Calvary Chapel, Pasadena, CA - B-
* SLS setlist: Creation's Call, When I Search, Words that You Say, Holy and Anointed One, What a Friend I've Found, Better Is One Day, In the Burning, Forever

2/28 - The Elms - Viper Room, Hollywood, CA - B+
* Elms setlist: She's Cold!, Who Put Rock & Roll in Your Blood?, The Downtown King, The Towers & the Trains, Black Peach, Speaking in Tongues (I missed the first two songs)

4/9 - Jars of Clay - Felix Event Center, Azusa, CA - B
* Jars of Clay B+
* JoC setlist: They'll Know We Are Christians by Our Love, Show You Love, I Need You, Like a Child, Love Song for a Savior/Faith Enough, The Valley Song (Sing of Your Mercy), God Will Lift Up Your Head, Jesus I Lift My Eyes, Hiding Place/Worlds Apart, Liquid, I Need Thee Every Hour, It Is Well with My Soul, Flood, Nothing But the Blood, My Heavenly
* Tyrone Wells C-
* Small Boat Sinking B

4/30 - Over the Rhine - Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA - A-
* Over the Rhine A
* OtR Setlist: I Want You To Be My Love, Born, Spark, Lookin' Forward, Anything at All, Suitcase, Bluer, Drunkard's Prayer, Ohio, Firefly, All I Need Is Everything, Cruel and Pretty, Hush Now (Stella's Tarantella), Moondance, Latter Days, My Love is a Fever
* Kim Taylor B

5/20 - Corrinne May (with full band) - The Mint, Los Angeles, CA - B-
Setlist: Little Superhero Girl, Save Me, Everything in Its Time, Free, Safe in a Crazy World, Let It Go, Every Beat of Your Heart, Angel in Disguise, The Birthday Song, If I Kissed You

5/24 - Vienna Teng with Marina V. - Hotel Cafe, Los Angeles, CA - A-
* Vienna Teng A
* VT Setlist: Hope on Fire, My Medea, Blue Caravan, Dark Clouds (a song written and sung by the cello player), Lemonade (a song written and sung by the violin player), Recessional, I Don't Feel So Well, Love Turns 40, Harbor
* Marina V. B

6/1 - Mute Math w/ Mat Kearney - Viper Room, Hollywood, CA - A
* Mute Math A
* MM Setlist: Chaos, Plan B, Stare at the Sun, Noticed, Reset, Peculiar People, Control, We All Break the Same
* Mat Kearney B+

10/8 - Something Like Silas w/ Rayah & Sanctified - Smart City Grinds, Azusa, CA - B
* Something Like Silas A-
* SLS Setlist: Creation's Call, When I Search, Soul Search, Divine Invitation, Please, All I Want, Song for the Broken, In the Burning
* Rayah: C+
* Sanctified: B

12/17 - Nickel Creek w/ Andrew Bird - Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, CA - A+
* Nickel Creek A+
* Setlist: When in Rome, Reasons Why, This Side, Stumptown, Best of Luck, Smoothie Song, Jealous of the Moon, Nice Dream, When You Come Back Down, Toxic, First and Last Waltz, Helena, (unnamed instrumental), Anthony, House of Tom Bombadil/Short People, Somebody More Like You, House Carpenter, Out of the Woods, The Lighthouse's Tale, Scotch & Chocolate
* Encore: Doubting Thomas, The Fox/The Weight, Why Should the Fire Die?
* Andrew Bird A
* Setlist: (unnamed instrumental), Sovay, Capital I, A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left, Plasticities, Why, Fake Palindromes, Skin Is, My, Tables and Chairs

Last Update: 12/18/05

[Wildcatblue7]

I'm not sure when the next good concerts here will be.  I'm not sure anything is scheduled yet.

[Josh]

11/19-- U2, Atlanta, GA (Ihopeihopeihope!)

(By the way, murlough, if enough pholks use this thread then I'll sticky it)

[murlough23]

11/19-- U2, Atlanta, GA (Ihopeihopeihope!)

When do tickets go on sale? Because when they do, you'd better act FAST.

Me, I'll wait for the DVD.

NP: "Woman King", Iron & Wine

[Josh]

When do tickets go on sale? Because when they do, you'd better act FAST.

Me, I'll wait for the DVD.

NP: "Woman King", Iron & Wine

Saturday at 9 AM.

[DvChWi]

Caedmon's Call with opener Andrew Peterson-3/11/05

AP:

I'd seen Andrew Peterson before, and liked him quite a bit.  This time was no different.  He's a good song writer, and both funny and insightful to listen to in between songs.  I haven't got around to checking out his actually albums, but I like him live.

CC:

Well, when they were actually playing they were good.  However, Cliff likes to talk.  A lot.  I know that the Dalit people in India are oppressed.  I knew that after the first speech you gave.  Why must I hear it repeated in ten minute long talks every two songs?  Unlike Derek Webb(who also likes to talk a lot), Cliff is a bit boring to listen to for extended periods of time.  Also, Danielle wasn't there(pregnancy), so they had another lady fill in for her parts.  Fortunately, she did a pretty good job.  They also had two guys from India on stage, a floor drummer and a singer.  They added some interesting variety to the show.  On the whole, I enjoyed Caedmon's set, but I would have like it a lot more if Cliff's speeches had been a bit more concise.

[murlough23]

Caedmon's Call with opener Andrew Peterson-3/11/05

So jealous that you got to see Andrew Petereson, and performances of Caedmon's Call material that was actually good!

What would you say the talking-to-song ratio is? How many songs did CC play total, and how many were from the new album. I love that album to pieces and I'd love to ehar it live, but I hate Cliff Young speeches with a passion, so I don't know whether it's worth bothering to drive to a CC show any time soon.

Set lists from either show would be much appreciated!

NP: "Kill the Grey", Olivia the Band

[Aaron]

When do tickets go on sale? Because when they do, you'd better act FAST.

Me, I'll wait for the DVD.

NP: "Woman King", Iron & Wine

Saturday at 9 AM.

Unless you have fingers of fire, good luck.

[DvChWi]

So jealous that you got to see Andrew Petereson, and performances of Caedmon's Call material that was actually good!

What would you say the talking-to-song ratio is? How many songs did CC play total, and how many were from the new album. I love that album to pieces and I'd love to ehar it live, but I hate Cliff Young speeches with a passion, so I don't know whether it's worth bothering to drive to a CC show any time soon.

Set lists from either show would be much appreciated!

NP: "Kill the Grey", Olivia the Band

I'll try to answer these, but I really didn't make much of an effort to remember the exact details.  Sorry.

AP:
I'm not really familiar with his songs, so I just have to remember what he said they were called. Here is what I remember:
Penny Song
Family Man
After the Last Tear Falls
Matthew's Begats
A song about Abraham whoes title I forget.....
A duet with Andrew Osanga
...and a couple more that I don't remember.

CC:
The talking to song ratio may not have actually been 1 to 1, but it sure felt like it.  There was a speech about every two or three songs.  Here is my attempt at a setlist, not really sure about the order in a lot of places:
Share The Well
There's Only One (Holy One)
Sarala
40 Acres
Mother India
Bombay Rain
The Innocent's Corner
Lead of Love
Wings Of The Morning(this rocks live, by the way).
Solo for Indian drummer and singer guy.
God of Wonders
Before There Was Time
Hands of the Potter

Encore. You wouldn't believe how many people left before this.  Cliff said "goodnight," the lights dimmed, and people started filing out.  Either they were total concert newbies, or they were trying to escape more speeches.  Anyways, they played:

Hope to Carry On
A song with the Indian guy on vocals(not on the album, IIRC).
Dalit Hymn

That looks more or less right, I think.  Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

EDIT:  You probably already knew this, but I just have to point out that CC's keyboard/organ player rocks.

[dgp11776]

Concerts I hope to attend soon:

1.  Mars ILL/Playdough/Listener "Dying of Thirst Tour" - Friday April 15 in Asheville, NC or Saturday April 16 in Charlotte, NC.

2.  Steven Curtis Chapman/Chris Tomlin/Casting Crowns - Friday April 29 in Charlotte, NC.  A friend has two extra tickets, so my wife and I may go.

3.  Mute Math/Mat Kearney - Tuesday May 10 in Charlotte, NC.

[murlough23]

Penny Song

"Loose Change".

A song about Abraham whoes title I forget.....

Either "Canaan Bound" or "So Long, Moses".

A duet with Andrew Osanga

"After the Last Tear Falls" is the only one I know of, and you already mentioned that one, so I'm stumped.

The CC setlist sounds to me like it'd be worth sitting through the speeches, though I'd probably still be mad that those took the time of another 4 or 5 songs. I feel very strongly that while it's OK for a band to have a spoken message, it should not, under any circumstances, substitute for performance, which is what you're paying the band for when you purchase a ticket. Yeah, the message is for a worthy cause, but isn't the music supposed to be communicating that cause?

EDIT:  You probably already knew this, but I just have to point out that CC's keyboard/organ player rocks.

Indeed. As long as he's not writing crap songs like "Who You Are". (He wrote a lot of non-crap songs on the last two albums, so he's redeemed himself.)

 

[Josh]

11/19-- U2-- Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA.

They sold out in under ten minutes, but I GOT MY TICKET, so all is well.

[murlough23]

11/19-- U2-- Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA.

They sold out in under ten minutes, but I GOT MY TICKET, so all is well.

Good for you. My roommate tried, but failed.

Darn U2 for being so popular!

[dgp11776]

11/19-- U2-- Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA.

They sold out in under ten minutes, but I GOT MY TICKET, so all is well.

Floor tickets?

[Josh]

11/19-- U2-- Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA.

They sold out in under ten minutes, but I GOT MY TICKET, so all is well.

Floor tickets?

Yes! Fairly good ones, too.

[Escuchame]

Good floor tickets?

I thought they were all the same.

[Josh]

Good floor tickets?

I thought they were all the same.

Yeah, I think that, technically, they are all the same. The tickets still specify seat and row numbers, but since there aren't going to BE any seats for this event...

[Aaron]

Good floor tickets?

I thought they were all the same.

Yeah, I think that, technically, they are all the same. The tickets still specify seat and row numbers, but since there aren't going to BE any seats for this event...

There aren't going to be any seats?  Are you sure.  This is the Phillips Arena, unless you mean no seats on the floor.  

[Josh]

Good floor tickets?

I thought they were all the same.

Yeah, I think that, technically, they are all the same. The tickets still specify seat and row numbers, but since there aren't going to BE any seats for this event...

There aren't going to be any seats?  Are you sure.  This is the Phillips Arena, unless you mean no seats on the floor.

Dude, I've never even been to place... I'm just repeating what it said on the Ticketmaster page. So yeah, you may be right... I have no idea, really.

[Aaron]

Good floor tickets?

I thought they were all the same.

Yeah, I think that, technically, they are all the same. The tickets still specify seat and row numbers, but since there aren't going to BE any seats for this event...

There aren't going to be any seats?  Are you sure.  This is the Phillips Arena, unless you mean no seats on the floor.

Dude, I've never even been to place... I'm just repeating what it said on the Ticketmaster page. So yeah, you may be right... I have no idea, really.

Well it is the home to the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA so there should be standing room on the floor depending on the size of the stage.  Any way you cut it, it will be packed with sweaty bodies!

[danny316]

There is a very good chance that I'll be seeing Low and Pedro the Lion on Thursday.

Anyone want to pub some older Low songs for me? I'm not too familiar with them and I don't want to feel like I don't know any of their songs.

[dgp11776]

From Coldplaying.com:

In the inside Entertainment magazine Coldplay have confirmed they will begin their North American tour on July 28th and their 9-week-long first leg will feature Franz Ferdinand and Rilo Kiley as opening acts.

[murlough23]

Too bad I didn't get around to seeing Coldplay while Eisley was still opening for them.

[danny316]

I saw Low, Pedro the Lion, and Trampled by Turtles last night.

I'll post some more about that later.

[Aaron]

From Coldplaying.com:

 

Now that would a great concert.

[bethany]

Because I posted in the wrong thread initially...

I saw [a href="http://benkweller.com"]Ben Kweller[/a] in concert last night, and it was awesome. Just really, really good. It was just him and his guitar and piano (and harmonica). The kid has boundless energy, in a good way.

[RedcoatJones]

Dude, I've never even been to place... I'm just repeating what it said on the Ticketmaster page. So yeah, you may be right... I have no idea, really.

Philip's Arena is very nice. I've never seen a concert there, but it is an NBA/NHL venue, so I assume, there will be a floor with no seats, then the regular seats on three sides from the installed seating.

Are you coming in just for the night, or are you spending the weekend? I ask since parking around Phillip's is a nightmare...much easier if you are staying in a nearby hotel and walking or staying near one of the MARTA stations and riding in (there's a stop basically at the front door).

Oh, yeah, and I'll be seeing Shawn Mullins, Sugarland, Gaelle and The Warm Gunns tomorrow at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival (it's free!). I'm only familiar with Mullins and Sugarland, but I'm always up for hearing somebody new (esp. if they're free....)

[bethany]

Seeing Derek Webb/Sandra McCracken/Steven Delopoulos  tomorrow night in Minneapolis.

Q and not U next week.

Sadly, I will be in Florida the week that The Shins, Bright Eyes, The Faint, and Rilo Kiley are all playing in Omaha. And The Killers show the week after that is all sold out. Alas.

[danny316]

I saw Low, Pedro the Lion, and Trampled by Turtles last night.

I'll post some more about that later.

My review

There's a slight chance I'll be seeing Steven Delopoulos next month, and a slight chance I'll be seeing April Davenny open up for Threefold tomorrow.  

[murlough23]

Just updated my list to include grades and a setlist for last night's Jars concert.

[enemy anemone]

4/30 (Sat) - Over the Rhine - Knitting Factory, Hollywood, CA
 =)  

[Aaron]

So these are the two concerts I missed this past week


Thursday - Gavin DeGraw w/ Michael Tolcher

Saturday - Matt Nathanson


Guess what I'm missing this week?

Wednesday - Bob Dylan

[RedcoatJones]

Saw 4 short sets at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival Friday night:

Shawn Mullins: good performances, strong voice. Lost a little bit of his vibe being a sole singer/songwriter on a large outdoor stage (with an audience primarily waiting for the next band).

Sugarland: Fronted by the lead of one my old local favorites, Soul Miner's Daughter, they put on a great show. Music trends towards the contemporary, radio-friendly country, but they write some good lyrics (yep, a country band that writes their own songs) and play with a great energy. Had a lot of fun during their set. Oh yeah, and I thought thier radio single (Baby Girl) was the weakest song of the set.

Gaelle: R&B with a little bit of 70's groove. The band's music was good, but the singer was a little shrill for my taste (and didn't mesh well with her background vocalists). I was glad when her set ended.

The Warm Gunns: local rock band with a hard-rock (AC/DCish) sound and a front-man channeling Freddie Mercury on stage. Fun, but not a band I'd become a die-hard fan of.

[ajyouthguy]

Winter Jam 1/29, Little Rock:

Matthew West--B...much more fun in concert than on album.
Rachael Lampa--B-...great vocalist, boring stage presence to me.
Newsong--C...better than I expected, more talent and diversity than I expected, but still...Newsong....was ready for them to get out and let others on.
Tait--B...Mike has a great stage presence, and they are pretty good musicians, but I dunno, something was lacking in their live show.
Tobymac--A-...Like his style or not, he is one of the great shows in Christian music...tons of fun, tons going on, lots of people very talented doing lots of stuff.  VERY fun to watch.

Shane and Shane, 2/17, Russellville.
Shane and Shane--B+...they are about my favorites in all of Christian music, and they were cool, but it was too short, and the lack of a full band, while interesting and while they did as good as possible without it, left some things to be desired.  But they know how to put on a show that is fun and funny, but spiritual at the same time, and they are incredibly talented and passionate about their music.

Collide Tour, 2/21, Ft. Smith:
Kids in the Way--B-...Some of my youth loved them, I had a hard time getting into them.  I appreciate them more now than I did then, I think, but it was hard for me to get past the wall of noise and sound they had continuously.
Seventh Day Slumber--B-...Easier to understand, but their live sound is lacking.  I like that it rocks but is understandable, but they just seem to lack the power punch of the live show of many rock bands of their style.
Skillet--A...I've never been let down by Skillet...they give as powerful and moving and rocking of a show as anyone in CCM and this night was no exception.  They rock, hard, and loudly, but in a still understandable and very enjoyable way. They have a tremendous live sound, and this night was no exception. They played a TON of songs, from every album, which was very cool.

Strong Tower Tour, 3/20, Conway:
Stellar Kart--D+...they tried, hard, but i thought they came off very cheesy. maybe in the future they'll be better, but i wasn't impressed.
Barlowgirl--C+...I didn't come with high expectations for them, but I was pleasantly surprised, honestly.While nowhere near awesome, they were way more rocking and enjoyable than I expected, and much more talented than I thought.  They were, by far, the highlight of this night, which isn't saying a whole lot, but then again, I didn't go to this concert because I wanted to go so much as I had youth wanting to go.
Kutless--D+...their new rhythm section was cool...otherwise, they bored me.

[murlough23]

Your comments on Tait and Toby are interesting, AJ. I've always thought Tait had an excellent live sound, and since cliche lyrics don't bother me as much in concert (hey, I can hardly ever hear a rock band's lyrics anyway) and I generally like Tait's demeanor and the way he doesn't take himself and his band too seriously (i.e. he'll make jokes like "Never give a Black man a Bible when he's on stage" and stuff like that), my only real complaint about Tait when I've seen them has been short set lists. I'm willing to bet that even some of the crappy songs from Lose This Life would sound pretty good live.

Toby, on the other hand... I find him interesting to watch live, but not to listen to. I find that most of his songs come off a bit flat, and since his CD's have so many things going on in the different songs, lots of background vocals and all that, it's hard for him to make it all sound good live. Plus he has this annoying habit of changing his mind mid-song and doing something else, or throwing in one too many oldies to appease a middle-of-the-road audience who doesn't care for this newfangled rap stuff and is only there to see (fill in AC-friendly band of your choice).

While I'm at it, I'll mention that KMax is very entertaining live - as eccentric as you'd imagine he is, and highly energetic. The only drawback is that he's freakin' impossible to sing along with, and that most of the Stereotype Be material doesn't sound as good with a live band. But he's probably my favorite live performer of the three.

dc Talk live still owns them all, though.

[linds]

lindsay's concert journal:

Fall 2004:
Rilo Kiley, Lincoln, NE----A
John Vanderslice, Lincoln, NE----A-
Buddy Miller, Lincoln, NE---- A+
Emmy Lou Harris, Lincoln, NE----A+

Spring 2004:
Ben Kweller, Lincoln, NE----A
Sandra McCracken, Minneapolis, MN----B+
Stephen Delopoulous, Minneapolis, MN----B+
Derek Webb, Minneapolis, MN----A-
Thunderstandable, Lincoln, Ne----D
The Zyklon Bees----B-
Maneater----B
Food for Animals----C-
The Apes----F
Q and Not U----A
 

[murlough23]

My Jars concert review is up.

[plvarona]

My Jars concert review is up.

Nice review there!  It was good to hear Jars going to the acoustic setup, since their recent albums are fairly conducive to that.   Too bad their latest tour isn't going through Florida, though.  

I actually listened to one song on Small Boat Sinking's Myspace page and I liked what I heard.  Whenever they get a CD out I too may have to check it out.

[dgp11776]

I'm seeing Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, and Casting Crowns tomorrow night.

[plvarona]

I will be making the trip to the Tampa area to see Inside The Outside's final show tomorrow night.  Expect a mini-review from me within the next few days.