2006 Concert Journals

[murlough23]

i'm curious as to what that means exactly...i've only seen one artist that i can recall more than once on a tour, but I'm curious, knowing how big of a Jars fan you are, what that means?

They played almost the exact same setlist, in the exact same order. Only three songs were different - one of which was "Liquid", which I've rarely enjoyed in a live setting, another was their cover of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" in 6/8 time, and the third was "The Eleventh Hour". No "Silence", no "The Edge of Water", no "Scarlet"... basically almost half of their album never got played live because they had such a stagnant setlist on that tour. It wasn't worth dropping another 20-something dollars just to hear three different songs, and as much as I love Jars, they were much less entertaining live as a rock band than they are now as an acoustic band.

[murlough23]

thanks for the heads up about this. I've been wondering when TVB will be playing around here. that date isn't listed on their site yet. any info on the venue?
I haven't heard of The Listening--have you? do you like TVB? I haven't gotten into any of the stuff on their new album, but love some of their older songs.

The only TVB album I've heard is Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic, which I think came out a while ago. It was... interesting. I'm in the process of downloading Drop-Dead, and also The Listening's new album (they used to be The Rock & Roll Worship Circus, and their sound was fun but cheesy; perhaps they've grown up a tad with the name change and all). We'll see what I think of them. I figure the live shows should be entertaining... KMax is in a position where he doesn't have to have Christian bands opening for him if he doesn't want to, so I figure he (or his label?) must believe in these guys.

by the way, dgp, Hollywood is about 16 miles north of where I live but it takes at least an hour and a headache (and too much swearing) to get there. I'll do it if I have to, but sometimes it just seems like it might as well be another country.

It's just as frustrating getting there from the San Gabriel Valley. People who like Hollywood either live in it, or don't live in Southern California at all. I wish we could pass that memo along to some of our favorite artists.

from what I've heard, KT will probably be back in the area again soon, this time with a full band. personally, I prefer hearing/watching her play alone with Wee Bastard, but I've heard good things about the band.

Yeah, I'd rather catch a show with just her and the pdeal, but anything is better than nothing.

I thought you might enjoy her music and would have urged you more strongly to check it out before her show here, but...I dunno, I've noticed that we like a few of the same bands but not necessarily the same aspects of their music or the same songs. sometimes I hear something and think "oh, maybe murlough would like this or find it interesting" but then you find it boring or annoying, so my gauge of your musical taste has been rather hit or miss with more misses than hits, I think.

I'd say you've had more non-responses from me than hits or misses, and that's not your fault, it's just a matter of "so many artists, so little time". If I haven't had the time to sit down and properly listen to something, I can't really comment on it intelligently, and I have a lot vying for my time these days (and that's despite the fact that I listen to music all day on headphones at work). Sometimes it's hard to judge just from one pubbed song, too.

That said, your tastes do seem to run a little "sparser" than mine. So I'd guess that you're right about us liking some of the same music for different reasons. I tend to like things that are more dynamic and rhythmic... even when it comes to stark, folksy kinds of music. Doesn't mean it's got to have tons of drums or anything... but with a group such as Over the Rhine, I tend to prefer the layered stuff that has a strong, consistent flow to it and seems to pick up steam as it goes... "Firefly", "Bothered" and "Born" are good examples. Stuff like "Drunkard's Prayer" or "My Funny Valentine", I have a tougher time getting into.

KT puts a lot of emphasis on rhythm, so whether I like a song of hers or not depends on whether that rhythm is a dynamic, interesting one, and whether the melodic colors she puts behind it are interesting. "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" - awesome song. "Other Side of the World" - blah.

[murlough23]

I saw Casting Crowns, Nichole Nordeman, and Josh Bates in concert last Friday night.

Ugh, awesome, and double ugh, in that order. (Question to Nichole - what's a girl like you doing in a dump like this?)

I enjoyed Nichole Nordeman, although she was difficult to hear between songs.

She seems to have that problem. The one time I saw her opening for Steven Curtis Chapman, nobody could hear what she was saying in between songs, and people actually started being really rude and yelling "Can't hear you!" and mumbling to themselves, which made it even harder to hear her. Granted, this was the Arrowhead Pond and it was likely her first time in front of a crowd that huge... but apparently this is an ongoing problem for her. I guess some people are just softspoken (like my wife, for example... you can't make out a word of her vows on our wedding video). You'd think somebody would get a clue and up the volume on her mic.

She went the acoustic route. She was on piano, accompanied by acoustic guitar, stand-up bass (*swoons*), and drums.

Some of it probably sounded better than it did on the album, then. I'd love to hear a full live recording from her with that sort of a back-up band one day.

[Josh]

Dad-GUM.

I've never seen anything quite like last night's Wilco show. Those guys are just plain INCREDIBLE musicians. The night was filled with so many astonishing feats of showmanship that picking a highlight is tough, but I don't think I've ever had such a giddy concert moment as the false ending of "Spiders"-- the song faded almost to a hush, and then, just when it seemed like they were through, they exploded into one final chorus, as euphoric as a U2 song. I just about broke down and wept at the sheer joy that the musicians were clearly feeling.

And speaking of joy, Jeff Tweedy is a surprisingly warm, engaging frontman. I've been told that the last time Wilco was in town-- supporting Summerteeth-- the show didn't sell well, and Tweedy was more than a little annoyed. Last night's show, however, was sold out to an enthusiastic crowd that welcomed the band back on stage for two encores. For his part, Tweedy joked with the crowd and his bandmates, told pointless stories, and frequently complimented Knoxville for our beautiful Tennessee Theater. He was clearly having a blast.

During the second encore he encouraged some audience participation, and was somewhat befuddled when two of his bandmates dropped their instruments and took a seat on top of the piano. Tweedy followed suit, stopping to share some funny stories and interact with the crowd. It was one of the most bizarre things I've seen at a concert, and it worked perfectly.

Best of all: Wilco wrapped things up with one brand new song from their upcoming studio album, and it's definitely a keeper. It starts off as a gorgeously melodic, direct pop song-- not unlike "Hummingbird" or "Handshake Drugs"-- before building into a delirious gospel chorus. It's one of the most beautiful things they've ever done.

[enemy anemone]

well, I'm kinda bummed that Phil Keaggy had played a show in Manhattan Beach earlier this month and I didn't know about it. when I was thinking about how concerts are "always" in Hollywood or other places that aren't the easiest for me to get to, I was like "why can't there be concerts in, like, Manhattan Beach?" oh well.

dunno if you're interested, dgp, but he'll be playing in Charlotte tomorrow (for your time zone, today already--the 18th).

[murlough23]

The first time I saw Corrinne May (independent pop singer from Singapore) was at a tiny bar in Manhattan Beach. I'm seeing her at my church tomorrow. Funny how things come full circle.

[dgp11776]

dunno if you're interested, dgp, but he'll be playing in Charlotte tomorrow (for your time zone, today already--the 18th).

I actually saw that and was intrigued, but several folks from church took a bunch of kids in the community out for the day - fun in the park, pizza, etc.  I was happy with my choice!  Thanks for always giving me a heads-up, though.

[ajyouthguy]

Sunday: Winter Jam 2006, Little Rock: Tobymac, Newsboys, Newsong, Hawk Nelson, Zoegirl, Krystal Meyers, Flight from Egypt.

It was ok, but it was not for me.  But my 17 youth that went loved it.

[murlough23]

Corrinne May and Justis Kao played at our church on Saturday. Justis is quite talented with the acoustic, piano-based R&B/soul stuff. He's worth keeping an eye on (and I don't just say that because he's our church's music director; I fully expected his music to be "not my thing" when I walked in). Corrinne was who I really came for, but she made the mistake of playing ballad after ballad and it was really quite dull in comparison. I'm not as big of a fan of hers as I used to be.

Full review in my next blog entry.

[Aaron]

Sunday: Winter Jam 2006, Little Rock: Tobymac, Newsboys, Newsong, Hawk Nelson, Zoegirl, Krystal Meyers, Flight from Egypt.

It was ok, but it was not for me.  But my 17 youth that went loved it.

I think I'd shoot myself at a show like that

[ajyouthguy]

Sunday: Winter Jam 2006, Little Rock: Tobymac, Newsboys, Newsong, Hawk Nelson, Zoegirl, Krystal Meyers, Flight from Egypt.

It was ok, but it was not for me.  But my 17 youth that went loved it.

I think I'd shoot myself at a show like that

you're probably right.

[plvarona]

I saw Kevin Max with label-mates They Sang as They Slew and Brennan Strawn in Atlanta this past Thursday.  It was a pretty good show too.

This was the first time I've seen KMax live, as he brought a full band with him, and also brought along a laptop to supplement electronic samples for the intros of some of the songs.  I must say that Kevin is a pretty good entertainer too.  He's very good at playing to the crowd, and he also threw in a few nice one-liners throughout the set.  Musically, Kevin and the band gave a solid performance as well, despite Kevin battling a cold at the time.  The performance didn't flow the best it could at first, although this improved a lot toward the end of the set.  Kevin also improvised on the vocals quite a bit, which ensured that the songs would not sound exactly the same as they did on the CD.  As for the crowd, they were a bit subdued at first, but they really started getting into the performance in the second half of the set, which really made the concert more fun.  So overall, I definitely give Kevin a "thumbs-up."

For those who are curious, this was Kevin Max's set list: "Confessional Booth", "The Imposter", "Sanctuary", "Seek", "I Need You, The End", (reading poetry), "The Royal Path of Life", "Absolution" (featured Brennan Strawn on vocals), "Jump Start Your Electric Heart!", "21st Century Darlings."

As for the the opening acts, They Sang As They Slew were fairly entertaining.  They brought a moody rock sound (a la Cool Hand Luke) mixed in with some '70's classic rock influence.  On the plus side, they had a lot of energy, and entertained the crowd with a jam-session at the end of just about every song they did.  Their songs also contained quite a few volume changes within each song, which they pulled off mostly well.  Even when things got loud, the lead singer was still fairly audible on most of the songs, so that was a plus.  The only significant complaint I had about their performance was that on the softer songs the lead singer sounded like he was barely singing, which annoyed me a little bit.  Still, that aside, this was still a pretty good performance.

Brennan Strawn gave an acoustic set with just an acoustic guiar and did a pretty solid job with it too.  Brennan has a nice falsetto voice, he does have a few good hooks in his songs, and his lyrics also seem to be fairly intelligent.  I was also impressed in how he was able to rework the instrumentation in his songs to fit them into an acoustic setting.  (If you listen to the songs on his myspace page, you'll notice they were primarily piano-based.)  Brennan expects to have his solo CD out in the Fall, so if his performance was any indication of how the CD will be, I think he's one to watch.

I'll probably have a full review on my Epinions page within a week or two.

[murlough23]

Anberlin was pretty good tonight. Very energetic, though the lead singer was screaming more than singing at times, and it was hard to hear the guitar solos. Their sound improved three or four songs in, and they were really strong, harmnically speaking, at certain points. They never really slowed down to do anything like "(The SYmphony of) Blase" (too bad, I love that song), and they stuck mostly to their current album, playing only two (my favorites!) from Blueprints, plus one new song whose title I didn't catch. The highlight was definitely "Dance, Dance Christa Paffgen", played just like it is on the album, but it showed a lot more dynamic in sound on the band's part instead of just being a wall of noise. That song had a solid flow to it; I appreciate it even more now than I already did.

We purposefully got to the show late, hoping we'd miss most or all of the opening bands (Tooth & Nail bands that one isn't already familiar with don't tend to make for concert going unless one's really into the emo and hardcore scenes). We happened to get there right before Anberlin took the stage - I hadn't realized that Emery would be closing the show, so I guess we got lucky as far as traffic and parking were concerned. We decided to wait around and see if Emery was any good - we figured out in about ten seconds that they wouldn't be our style. Our ears were already ringing from Anberlin's set and we weren't really in the mood for screamo, so we took off. That has to have been the quickest amount of time (roughly two and a half hours) between leaving for a concert and returning from one for my entire concert-going life thus far.

[enemy anemone]

just found out that Leigh Nash will be playing at the Hotel Cafe here in LA on April 22 (Saturday). I shall have to make an effort to go.

[murlough23]

just found out that Leigh Nash will be playing at the Hotel Cafe here in LA on April 22 (Saturday). I shall have to make an effort to go.

That's a good venue. I've seen Vienna Teng there twice. It's really tiny, though, so show up early.

[enemy anemone]

I just thought I would mention that Over the Rhine has never been to Charlotte, NC...NEVER.  And that sucks.

I just thought I would mention this new date:

Mon Jun 05: Charlotte NC, Visulite Theatre

[dgp11776]

I just thought I would mention this new date:

Mon Jun 05: Charlotte NC, Visulite Theatre

GAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh, I am so THERE!  Thanks for the info - great way to start the day.  I can't wait to tell my wife.

[Aaron]

so I'm going to be missing Switchfoot and MuteMath here in Rochester next Thursday.  I have previous engagements!    

[enemy anemone]

glad to be of help, dgp! =)

hey mur, I just found out this new date:
KT Tunstall -  May 9 (Tues.), Music Box @ the Fonda (Hollywood)

[murlough23]

glad to be of help, dgp! =)

hey mur, I just found out this new date:
KT Tunstall -  May 9 (Tues.), Music Box @ the Fonda (Hollywood)

Awesome, but unfortunately, I have a weekly commitment on Tuesdays that I don't want to break.

NP: "Heaven", Olivia the Band

[enemy anemone]

yeah, weekdays are not so good for me and I won't be going. she'll also be playing the House of Blues in San Diego on the following Thursday if that works any better for you. (not for me--at all.)  [_[  

[dgp11776]

Well, it looks like my first shot at seeing Over the Rhine probably isn't going to happen.  The more my wife and I talked about it, a 9:00 show on a Monday night isn't all that possibly with a baby.  Oh well, that's life, I suppose.

[Aaron]

Nickel Creek was in Rochester last week. 



and I found out yesterday.


Just my luck

[Wildcatblue7]

Unless something comes up, I'm seeing Bela Fleck and the Flecktones next month.  Sweeeeet.

[enemy anemone]

looked for and found more info on the upcoming Kevin Max/The Violet Burning/The Listening gig. apparently it's in San Bernardino. I don't exactly consider that LA.  it's kind of far for me to drive, so I dunno.

[murlough23]

[Aaron]

[Josh Powell]

You guys are lucky.. we're so far out in the country that I'm lucky if I get a band playing an hour or two from here. And since my Dad has to drive, I'm only able to convince him to take me to bands that are playing pretty close and that both of us like. So so far I've only seen Jars of Clay. (Plus Sarah Kelly opening. She was horrible live. I actually semi-liked her album though.. but live she was aweful.)

Most of the decent shows happen at Alexandria, which is about a 3 hour drive from here.

Off topic-- what Wilco album should I start with?

Josh

[murlough23]

Off topic-- what Wilco album should I start with?

I vote Summerteeth.

NP: "Friends", Ghoti Hook

[enemy anemone]

It's a Saturday, so I can handle it. It just means I have to pick another weekend to go up North, as I had originally planned to do during Memorial Day weekend. I like KMax a lot, and I've recently become fond of The Listening - if the "Olivia" listed turns out to be Olivia the Band, then even better!

according to the flyer here it is indeed Olivia the Band.
I still haven't decided if I'm going to try to go.

[enemy anemone]

[enemy anemone]

recently found out that T-Bone Burnett is touring again after almost 20 years. maybe I will try to go.

June 20 Los Angeles Wilshire Ebell Theatre (with Jakob Dylan)


...or not. tickets are $165 and up.

...or not. those are the best tickets from the expensive places. ticketmaster has them for $37. so I dunno.
 

[plvarona]

[murlough23]

Well, the wife and I had a blast at the KMax/Violet Burning/Listening/etc. extravaganza out in San Bernardino yesterday. We decided to make a weekend of it, spend the night in SB, and drive up to Idyllwild today, but aside from our own little adventures, the concert was excellent, honestly a lot better than what I expected for an event that this church was obviously attempting for the first time. There were logistical issues with the timing of when the bands played and how long they'd get to set up, and due to the meager turnout (even for KMax later in the evening), I surmised that the church hadn't exactly advertised this well. Then again, despite the fact that MKax is more or less a household name in CCM, none of the artist present are exactly big on CCM radio right now. The three main acts are semi-indie at this point, after all. (Michael Pritzl from TVB actually made a dig at this when commenting on reviews that had been written of Drop-Dead, remarking that CCM magazine took away the "plus" from the "A+" rating that the reviewr intended to give out, and that some magazine with "Today" in its name took away a star due to not understanding the lyrics to "Rewind". He said that The Fish doesn't play them because they're "only safe for part of the family.) Anyway, the sound and lighting were excellent - surprising for a church venue. And the small turnout meant that we were in (or beyond) the front row during all performances. The artists all did a good job of getting the audience involved and encouraging them to come close to the stage so that they wouldn't be playing to a lethargic, scattered group of people in distant pews. I normally hate when artists goad the audience into participating, but when you have a small crowd to work with, it does take some effort to get that live energy going, so I credit all of these artists for not getting discouraged. (Maybe KMax was a little discouraged, since he was clearly playing to a crowd that wasn't expecting what he gave them, but well, KMax playing in a church, what did we expect?)

Olivia the Band was better than last time I saw them. They're probably the best melodic and outright fun pop/punk band that I know of, other than of course Relient K. The church setting was far better for them acoustically than the old gym we saw them in last time. They only played 6 existing songs plus one brand new one, and everything pretty much sounded as solid as it did on the album. No surprises, but no complaints. We were out at their merch table after the show when we realized that the merch guy recognized my wife from Hawaii, and Reed (lead singer of OTB) went to the same high school as my wife. Oahu is a really small world, y'all.

The Listening freakin' rocked the house. Seriously guys, they're a must-see if you like mesmerizing rock bands that really kick into high gear live. I almost want to say they're the new Mute Math, but Mute Math is nowhere near getting old, and I don't want to overstate the case. In any event, they've clearly shed the cornball elements of the Rock & Roll Worship Circus and become something totally invigorating and alive. The programmed elements and convoluted keyboard equipment meshed beautifully with the raw, loud drumming and guitar playing. Some songs like "Be in Your Eyes" got whipped into quite an exciting frenzy, and of course I loved the extended jam on "Hosea in C Minor". The strobelights were a bit much during "The Undiscovered", but I think hearing that track live made me appreciate it a lot more. Closing number "Everything Is Nothing" was absolutely beautiful - and the keyboard loop that sounds programmed on the CD was actually played live all the way through. They completed that song with a long, slow, drawn-out guitar instrumental by Gabe Wilson, which was basically the tune to the doxology (you know "Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below...") Then they left the stage while the keyboard equpiment played some pre-recorded bell-and-chime lullaby sort of stuff. Beautiful performance. My only complaint was that they didn't play "Triple Fascination". Interestingly, they were the only band to not attempt to engage the audience verbally - they never spoke once in between songs, which was good because it didn't waste the already limited time they had to play their songs, which tend to run longer than the average rock song.

The Violet Burning is one of those classic Christian alternative bands that I never got into, so I wasn't sure what to expect from their set (I'm only familiar with the albums Drop-Dead and Demonstrates Plastic and Elastic). They didn't quite catch my attention at first, but somewhere midway through their set, I realized that "Do You Love Me?" friggin' ROCKED, and then I was sold. They might have faltered a bit by choosing the dirge-like "The End Begins" as their closer (I'd have perferred "Humm", and there were several requests from the audience for what were likely classic songs from older albums), but I still think they were promising, and I should probably catch up on more of their back catalogue at some point. As mentioned briefly earlier, Michael Pritzl has a great sense of humor. He seemed so serious, opening the group's set with a solemn prayer and all, but I think he's aware that wry humor and ironic/dark subject matter don't have to be contradictions to serious faith.

Kevin Max surprised us all by doing an acoustic set - just him, one acoustic guitarist, and a bass player. It kind of left his set a bit lacking in the energy department, but he did it in hopes of giving us something a little special. It probably wasn't the crowd for that sort of thing - several people walked out at various points during his set, and he actually kind of joked about it ("It appears we found the person who made that comment on my Myspace!", etc.), but I could tell he felt a bit awkward in that setting. Still, the group of us up front (not surprisingly, mostly young women) were very supportive, and recognized and sang along to his songs. The set was mostly comprised of new stuff from The Imposter, and even stuff like "Confessional Booth" or the older track "Existence" that I thought wouldn't work live sounded excellent. The flow of the songs was only really marred by Kevin's usual tendencies to deviate vocally from what's on the CD - I'm fine with vocal improvisation, but deciding to speak rather than sing a few lines, or replace them with random interjections, just seems lazy, especially during a song like "Sanctuary" that is just built to be a powerhouse vocal performance. Still, he sounded excellent, and he surprised us yet again by pulling out what he said was the song he related to most out of the entire dc Talk canon, "What If I Stumble?" The back-to-back love songs "Stay" and "I Need You, The End" really didn't make for the best closers, but oh well, still a very good set. I'll probably go see him again at whatever L.A. cloub he plays next with a full band.

NP: "The End Begins", Violet Burning

[enemy anemone]

I enjoyed reading your writeup and wish I hadn't missed the shows. :\

thought you might be interested in some TVB setlists from this tour since they're almost exactly the same and may be similar to the one they did in San Bernardino. sometimes I hear a live song and wish I knew what it could be so I could look for the album it's on.

from a show in Minneapolis:
Humm, Ilaria, Berlin Kitty, Rewind, Do You Love Me?, More, Goldmine, The Ends Begin, Fabulous Like You, All I Want, Low, Gorgeous, One Thousand Years
from a show in Newport, KY:
Humm, Ilaria, Berlin Kitty, Rewind, Do You Love Me?, More, Goldmine, The Ends Begin, Fabulous Like You, All I Want, Low, Dreadful, One Thousand Years

in my own concert-going news, a couple weeks ago I got a yahoo group digest that said Eleni Mandell would be playing Tangier again on June 3rd (Sunday). I got all excited, then read further that it had been canceled. later I found out it was back on again, so I'm hoping nothing else comes up, either on her end or my end.

[murlough23]

I know they didn't play "Humm", "Ilaria", or "Berlin Kitty". I'd recognize all of those songs. Perhaps oen of the later ones that isn't from Drop-Dead would be the opener that I was unable to identify.

[ajyouthguy]

I saw Monday Morning last night in Little rock as part of a "faith night" deal with an Arkansas Twisters arena 2 football game.  They were VERY cool...i felt bad for them that they didn't have a bigger crowd, but I enjoyed their set, and I stood and talked to them about a wide vareity of stuff afterwards for about 10 minutes.  Very cool.

[enemy anemone]

just got back from seeing Eleni Mandell play at Tangier again.  she played a shorter set than last time and didn't have her full band with her, but I really enjoyed listening to her silky, sultry voice and her saxophone/dobro/banjo player work his magic. I was impressed with the strong sounds she pulled from her small acoustic guitar. tonight's setlist was quite different from last time's, with more of the new songs that will be on her upcoming album, I'm guessing.

here are the songs, as best as I can guess the titles:
Salt Truck (the weather has been extremely warm and Eleni mentioned that she wrote this song in the winter, so maybe it will cool us down.)
Invisible Man
Snake Song (one of my favorites, esp. live.)
I've Got the Right Side
The Makeout King (funny song!)
Perfect Stranger (she commented that she had thought about this being the title track of the next album, but then she read in "a crappy fashion magazine" that Halle Berry's next movie will have this title.) 
Alien Eye
Iowa City
My Twin (my favorite of the unreleased ones, about an imaginary twin)
Wings in His Eyes
American Boy
Feels Like Today Again (she called this Waltz in 8, I believe)
encore:
Pauline (by request)

you can hear a few of her songs at her site and her myspace.

after she was done, another band came on. I found their music too incomprehensible and distressing so I left after 3 songs.

Tangier is always really really dark so it's especially hard to get good photos. these were slightly better than last time's, though.

[dgp11776]

[murlough23]

Well, if any of you thought you were obsessive about concerts, try this one on for size. I have a friend whose sister recently paid upwards of $800 for fifth row seats at a Madonna concert here in L.A. And that's not even the best part. She flew in from FRICKIN' HONG KONG just for the weekend, to attend the concert.

I mean, dude, wouldn't Tokyo have been easier?