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Concerts thread - FBG's lovin' live music, we're back in action! (2 Viewers)

Strumbellas last week. The Jayhawks this weekend. Bob Mould in September and am considering seeing Grace Potter as well. Also eyeing tickets to Frank Turner, but may not be able to go. 

 
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This was a great weekend, felt like every show I went to was incredible (except The Struts). @Steve Taskerand @UniAlias were great neighbours, had an awesome time sharing beers, listening to music and hanging out with them and our other non FBG friends all weekend. Our other neighbours were great (let's never listen to that podcast...). Everyone we met was super positive all weekend. I lost my voice Saturday-ish and it still hasn't come back yet. I think I'll blame it on the dust (couldn't be the drinking, smoking, yelling, talking, lack of sleep, right?).

In terms of shows, Foals were absolutely incredible, I somehow found myself in a mosh pit, losing my buddy, my sunglasses, my flip flops and likely some of my dignity in the process. Someone saw me lose the flip flops and returned them to me. It was one of the absolute best crowds I've ever been part of. Everyone so into it, going hard, but also looking out for each other. This video captures it well (not mine)

Ended up in the 2nd row for Wolf Parade and they were fantastic as well. All 3 headliners were what you would expect and more... I have a full (but long) review of the weekend that I'll likely post on a blog and can post here as well if anyone is interested, but just wanted to say what a great time it was. In terms of the headliners, I can't imagine anything topping it.
I'll throw down something a little more substantial tonight re: my favorite performances and a weekend recap, but just wanted to pop in and say that @Northern Voice and Tyler were great camp companions all weekend.  I'd love to see your recap comments.

Just wanted to add that you missed one thing....fka mother####ing twigs :wub:  .  Oh my god, the performance and choreography were insane.  It was the ultimate late night trip-hop R&B dance party combined with absurd performance art.  Apparently CoS said it was the #3 show after Arcade Fire and Ray Lamontagne, for whatever that's worth.  I can't find any videos out there though.

FKA twigs is an artist in every sense of the word: singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, visionary. Her Saturday late-night set at WayHome encompassed all of those descriptions and more with a perfectly calculated piece of performance art.

Adopting the look of a witch doctor with long, white dreadlocks and feathered nasal septum, twigs took the stage alone with “Water Me”, clutching a large crystal while stalking, bending, and twirling with liquid-steel fluidity. For “Pendulum” and “Figure 8/Video Girl”, she was joined by a red-robed male dancer who occasionally intertwined with her, then several other capable contortionists who helped divide the set into four acts. New songs “Wound Up” (only a possible title at this point) and “Yes Yes Yes” were as spellbinding as older stunners like “Numbers” and “Two Weeks”. During each, twigs drew massive rounds of cheers with burst after burst of unimaginably complicated choreography. As they should at a good fest, fans received more than just live music; they got a mind-altering experience.

 
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Just saw Anders Osborne at the start of his new road trip last Friday...he was killing it.https://youtu.be/jQL_Q9pWeo0

Catch him in your neighborhood - he's well worth it.

Seeing Chris Robinson Brotherhood tomorrow night.
CRB playing some of their new stuff which continues the hippie freak flag trip jamming vibe- a highlight was Neal Casal (a great guitarist) getting a few turns with Duane Allmans Les Paul they pulled out of the Big House.

http://www.jambase.com/article/neal-casal-uses-duane-allman-gold-top-chris-robinson-brotherhood-show

And of course playing "Hard To Handle" in Otis's birthplace.

 
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WayHome was a fantastic time.  Camped with Unialias, Northern Voice, one of my friends and one of NV's friends.  Great 5-person camp, way too many beers among the group.  My EZ-Up tent broke at like 6:15 PM on Friday evening and I had to do emergency triage with our neighbors to take it down.  I somehow got WayDrunk on Thursday night from about 10 PM - 1 AM but rallied at the end.  Friday night was a bit of a whirlwind with ol Unialias, some parts are....a little hazy.  Saturday was light because I didn't want to burn my energy before M83 / Arcade Fire / fka Twigs and glad I did.  Fantastic night of music.  And Sunday was mostly a relax day.  Was in a perfect groove for HAIM and Glass Animals back-to-back.  Sunday night was a ####show with our neighbors.

The fest definitely had some problems, especially the beer and food lines, but overall was just a great time.  Also we're on a podcast apparently.

Ended up about 6th-7th-ish row for HAIM, M83, and Arcade Fire, 2nd row for fka Twigs, and maybe 10th-ish row for LCD Soundsystem.  All totally worth it.  Arcade Fire and fka Twigs were genuinely two of the best shows I've ever seen.  Here's my letter grades for the shows, in chronological order of when they performed, with show descriptions in spoilers.  I only rate the show if I see at least half of it. 

  • A+:  Arcade Fire, fka Twigs
  • A:  LCD Soundsystem, HAIM, Glass Animals
  • A-:  White Lung, Foals, Marian Hill, M83, Stars, The Killers
  • B+:  Shad, Matt & Kim, Banners, Black Mountain, The Arcs
  • B:  Braids, Kurt Vile & The Violators
  • B-:  Lucius


Friday

  • Braids - B: spent most of the time battling to get a beer.  Was excited for this one but it was kinda boring live
  • Shad - B+: fun show, energetic, intelligent rap.  Would like to see an entire show sometime
  • White Lung - A-: I am not sure how she can perform like that on a nightly basis.  Superb energy, badass.
  • Foals - A-: I don't know them as well as I should but this was fun.  Northern Voice loved it.
  • LCD Soundsystem - A:  another solid show like Bonnaroo.  Virtually the same show, little variation.  They brought it though.
  • Marian Hill - A-:  similar to Bonnaroo as well.  She's so damn cute live.
  • Matt and Kim - B+:  they have so many hits and they're so energetic but they kinda come off as a little fake.  It was a fun dance show on a late night but not much different from the other times I've seen them
Saturday

  • Banners - B+:  I knew nothing about them but enjoyed a nice chill afternoon laying under the trees at WayAway stage listening to them.  Laid back rock.
  • Kurt Vile and Violators - B:  I like them but couldn't get into this one, just wasn't the right mood for the afternoon.
  • M83 - A-: very rehearsed and staged, but they played the hits for the most part and it was lovely.
  • Arcade Fire - A+:  superb, incredible.  Hit after hit after hit.  Every piece was perfect.  One of the best shows I've ever seen.
  • fka Twigs - A+:  ridiculous choreography.  It was an entire piece of performance art.  She may have been lip-synching at times but I don't even care.  My mind was absolutely blown.
Sunday

  • Stars - A-:  fun show, they played the hits.  Nice little poppy afternoon.  I don't think I've ever seen a pregnant woman perform like Amy Millan did.
  • Lucius - B-:  a little too slow for my liking.  Clearly very impressive musicians but that's about it for me. 
  • Black Mountain - B+:  definitely going to have to check them out further.  Know nothing about them, solid rock n roll
  • The Arcs - B+:  basically just the Black Keys
  • HAIM - A:  they can shred hardcore.  Ran through all the hits and their new ones sound great
  • Glass Animals - A:  #1 surprise of the weekend.  I have perpetually struggled to get into their studio stuff but ### #### it was a great live show
  • The KIllers - A-:  only because I wasn't familiar with some of the stuff and was stuck pretty far in the back.  I'm sure I'd have loved it if I was a bigger fan.  They played the jams off of Hot Fuss and Sam's Town and sounded good, it looked like a very polished arena show to me
 
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Not surprisingly, I agree with Steve Tasker on a lot of the concerts, the main differences being shows that we were closer/farther away or more/less interested in going into them. I list them somewhat in a best to worse form but really no complaints music wise. Also, I talk a little bit more here about the festival grounds, food, etc.. I went to WayHome last year and plan on going every year (hopefully more years with this years' group!), so those things are important in addition to the bands, which were almost without exception very very very good.

Names ommitted to protect the guilty... Also, this is very long.

This post is very long and largely for my benefit, to write down the weekend memories down while they’re fresh in my mind so I can look back on this weekend forever. None of the videos linked here are mine.

Highs:

The people – same as last year, everyone was having a great time, helping each other out, generally just being a kind, friendly crowd, which when there are 40, 000 people in relatively tight quarters, is far from a sure thing. Specifically, our camping partners were fantastic and the group adjacent to us helped make a great weekend better. We spent almost as much time on the campgrounds sipping on beer, listening to music and just hanging out. Also, massive shout out to the guy who brought me my flip flops when I got caught up in a moment and found myself in a pit. WayHome last year and this year, is a great reminder that people are generally good. Nearby campers, strangers beside you at a concert, all friendly and just like last year, I didn’t see a single fight or major incident.

Foals – The toughest conflict of the weekend for me was whether to see Foals or Chvrches, whose sets were parallel to each other. It weighed on me to the point that I actually had a dream a week or so before the festival that I saw Foals and had a great time. I chose to take that as a sign and they were my choice for Friday evening. The show more than exceeded my expectations, the crowd was absolutely fantastic, I was able to get near the front, and yes, this is where some moshing took place. I lost my sunglasses (cheapies, thankfully) and my flip flops (which were returned to me) and had an absolutely amazing time rocking out. It was chaotic but never remotely unsafe (again, can’t overstate how good the crowd was) and the show that I will come away from thinking about most often and likely telling everyone I see about just how great it was. These videos catch themood pretty well. There’s a reason these guys are headliners in the UK.

Wolf Parade – Like Foals, another really good rock band with some extended sing a longs and awesome jam sessions. They were actually the band I saw before Foals, coming on at 6:15 before Foals at 8:15. We were in the 2nd row for this one and when the camera pans right at the :34 second mark in this video you can see my Jays hat (blue and white w/tad beak).

Arcade Fire – I’ve seen Arcade Fire twice before, so it wasn’t quite life changing moment for me that it was for people seeing them for the first time, but it was still pretty special. They smashed the time clock, letting everyone know it was going to be a long, full show. Their ending run of songs was very heavy on Funeral tracks, including Rebellion (Lies), Power Out, Tunnels before finishing with Wake Up. Win Butler is a great showman, Regine’s voice was better than I remember and the setlist in general was flawless. This was one of only a handful of shows they are playing this year and was pretty obviously the band most were there to see and the biggest crowd of the weekend. And the fireworks display at the end of their set was ridiculous.

The Killers- All 3 headliners this year were so good. Big fun arena rock singalong songs again and again and again. The Killers played the Sunday night headline spot and as a result had a bit smaller crowd than Arcade Fire as some people chose to head back to the real world Sunday night (admittedly, we did this last year when Sam Smith closed out Sunday). We took the opportunity to get as close as possible, ending up in the 2nd GA row (about a half dozen rows back including VIP). This was my 4th time seeing The Killers, in addition to seeing Brandon Flowers solo last year. Both last and this year I was struck by how much he was enjoying himself on stage. Again, the setlist here was very strong, starting the night with Mr. Brightside, finishing with When You Were Young and mixing in covers of Joy Division and Elvis Presley, and even playing a couple songs I haven’t seen live before (This is Your Life, Glamourous Indie Rock & Roll). All in all a prefect ending to a great weekend – our friends who stayed for the concert but weren’t huge Killers fans also came away impressed by just how many hits they have to draw from. Tell your friends

LCD Soundsystem – Without repeating myself and dragging this post out all day, again, they played all the hits, had some amazing, euphoric singalongs, huge moments, and closed with their best “All My Friends”. This one had the added bonus of being a massive dance party as well.

Porta Potties – Yes, this is a high point. Maybe it was my good fortune but I arrived shortly after they were cleaned on many occasions, they were plentiful with no lines and in shockingly good condition.

Festival Grounds- It really is a beautiful, well laid out space. The one nitpick would be to have more shade but that’s tough to do when you need open space for so many people. The stages are so easy to move between and no sound bleed at all between stages when multiple bands are performing at the same time.

M83 – Playing Saturday night on the main stage, the new songs were very good live, with Mai Lan travelling with the band to play “Bibi the Dog” and “Go!”. Everyone uses the word “epic” to describe M83 and when they play songs like Steve McQueen and Midnight City, you can’t argue. They need to play more Saturdays = Youth, in my opinion.

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats- They played on Friday at 4:30, perfect time for some good beer drinking music. Opening with my favourite “I Need Never Get Old” and finishing with their biggest hit “S.O.B.” transitioned into a cover of “The Shape I’m In” (The Band cover), it was the first show of the weekend and a great way to start.

The Arcs- I missed the first couple songs from The Arcs but made it in time to see my favourites, “The Arc” and “Outta My Mind”. Lingered more towards the back for this lazy Sunday afternoon show, but they are a very tight band with a sound pretty similar to the lead singer’s primary band The Black Keys.

Third Eye Blind- Newly relevant after their Republican party trolling, they were far from the best band musically this weekend but you better believe everyone there belted out every word to “Never Let You Go”, “Graduate”, “Deep Inside of You”, “How’s It Gonna Be”, “Jumper”  and “Semi-Charmed Life”

Arkells – Thanks to their love of Peterborough, I’ve seen Arkells more than any other band. Their set here was something different though. I’m used to seeing them in smaller venues like The Venue or The Red Dog. Here they were one of the biggest draws of the weekend, they played the “second” main stage and were likely the largest crowd I saw there all weekend – impressive considering the number of people who had already moved over the get a good spot for Arcade Fire at that point. Their set included never before played song “Drake’s Dad” plus a couple others from their upcoming album, plus the required hits and equally required at an Arkells show cover – including parts of “My Girl”, “Higher and Higher” The Jackson 5 and a full cover of The Hip’s “Music At Work”. With the new songs, covers and shortened set, it was a little less “hit” heavy than most of their shows but more than made up for it by bringing a full horn section to truly emphasize their Motown influence. Plus, theLeather Jacket singalong was one of the best of the weekend and makes me wonder if they’re far from headlining major Canadian festivals.

Beirut – Horn heavy, lots of great harmonies, very well suited for Sunday afternoon in the blistering heat. The next best thing to being on the beach in Mexico listening to a Mariachi band.

Lucius – I had no intention of seeing them and haven’t listened to them much, but sitting on the grass on the hill with everyone who’d been camping together all weekend, they were a fun way to spend Sunday afternoon.

Half Moon Run- They are very good live, bringing an even higher level of energy than on their albums. I actually saw these guys In 2013, when they opened for July Talk (who themselves were just breaking out) and Billy Talent for a $10 Lac-Megantic charity show at The Venue. With Half Moon Run also blowing up now, it’s fun to think about what it would cost to see that trio of bands these days.

Stars- Also played tribute to The Hip, with a “Doing It Fir Gord” T-Shirt. This was a really good show, heavier on their synthy material, which I love – I only wish WayHome had scheduled them differently, as this would have been a fantastic late night show and suffered a bit, in my opinion, for being at 3:30 in the afternoon on the last day of the festival. Interestingly, when I saw them at Riot Fest in 2014 they played an afternoon set as well, so the late night Stars party still has to wait.

Mac DeMarco – did play late night on Friday night and was excellent. Hard to describe his sound (slacker rock?), but very good.

Water- was plentiful enough on day one for me, and they added more stations over the course of the weekend – no complaints from me here.

Preparation – From year 1 to this year, a lot was learned. Having our own eggs and burgers, plus a shade tent on our camp site saved a lot of money and likely heat stroke.

Dirty Hippiness- I pretty much completely gave up on shaving/changing/staying remotely clean early on. There was so much dust (because it hasn’t rained all summer), it seemed like a lost cause.

JP’s Barbecue 3 Meat Poutine- About $5 more than it should have been, but wow, it was tasty.

Disappointments/Nit-picks

There’s not a lot of negative to come out of a weekend like WayHome, but in the interest in fairness, here’s what I would like to see improved for future years:

Food Selection/Lineups- It seems like compared to last year, there was a lot less selection in terms of food. There was tons of poutine, lots of pulled pork but not too much else. The lines at peak time were awful, almost an hour long. Long lines meant going wherever was the shortest line – inevitably a poutine place.

Last Minute Policy Changes – Set the limits for what people can bring into the campgrounds at whatever you want but don’t change it the Tuesday before the event starts – I’m sure we weren’t the only ones who did our preperatory shopping on the weekend before, only for what we bought to no longer be allowed in.

“24-Hour” Area – For starters, on Sunday night Pizza Pizza was already closed, leaving only the burger/fries joint open. I’m sure the food was fine, but it takes a lot longer to serve it that it does to whip out premade pizza fast and furious. When Pizza Pizza was open here earlier in the weekend, lines and services were fine, but like in the grounds, it would be nice to have a different option than Pizza or fries.

Beer Selection- I’m a beer geek, so it was always going to be tough to satisfy me here, but having only 3 options in todays world of so many well made varieties of beer is crazy. It’s obviously because Molson throws a ton of money at them (and who could deny those Canadian cans are beautiful), but come on Molson, Coors Light and Creemore Original? Mix in a pilsner. Or a wheat beer. Or something from one of the 25 brewers in the greater Toronto/Barrie area. Thankfully we brought lots of our own to sample on the campsite.

My voice – It was gone by Saturday. It’s now Wednesday afternoon, it still hasn’t completely come back.

FIDLAR – Okay, it’s not fair to them, I get it, people get sick and when you rock as hard as these guys, a throat infection isn’t something to mess with. That said, I was really looking forward to seeing them, so it was still a bummer that they had to cancel their show.

The Struts- Their mix of Queen/Rolling Stones sounds seemed like it would play well at a festival environment, but after heading into to see them Friday, they just didn’t sound good. I read elsewhere it was a mixing issue that was corrected once they got a few songs in, but I had already moved on by that point – on the plus side, this made it easy to get a very good spot for Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.

Friday Late Night - This one is all on me, but some combination of the long day, the heat and the beer had me ready to pack it in at 1 AM. That of course sounds perfectly rational, but Matt & Kim played at 1 AM and would have been perfectly suited to that time – I would have liked to seen it.

Sunday Burritos- Both this year and last year when I went for a burrito on Sunday, they were sold out of almost everything but a cheese/ground beef/bean burrito. Veggies in general were hard to come by in the festival grounds. On the plus side, a post-festival weigh in shows I gained almost no weight this weekend.

Prices - Beer and food were both expensive ($10.50/beer, $12 burrito), the cashless system costs $5 to get your balance back, showers were $9.50 – all adds up over the weekend.

Merchandise – I was able to get a nice Wayhome shirt on Saturday, I heard they sold out later on and if they ever had posters, they were gone before I could get one. I went back on Sunday to get a Foals shirt I’d seen earlier but they were gone as well. Beirut shirts gone as well. In general it seemed lacking, at least for what I was interested in.
 
I'm an amateur compared to most of you in here.  

But doing a Temple of the Dog double bill in November.  Going to catch them at MSG with New York/East Coast buddies.  Flying to LA a week later to catch them at the forum with Vegas/LA buddies.  

All involved parties are negotiating releases from wives/children to hang with their bad influence friend, yours truly.  I suspect some are omitting my involvement.

One thing about being older is you tend to do things better.  If I had caught these guys in their 1st go round (did they ever even tour?  I dunno), it would have been 4 guys in a Days Inn, and nosebleed seats.

Now, we are arranging NYC tix through an exec at Barclays Center, and staying at luxury hotel in Santa Monica thanks to another buddy's wife.  

 
Brit Floyd outdoors, under the stars tonight... :porked:

ETA: Was fantastic and the 3 female backup singers were outstanding and hot as hell.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

 
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I'm likely going to break down and buy a Sunday day pass to TURFTo in September. I have a charity event that weekend so can't do the whole thing, but Sunday has Death Cab, The New Pornographers, Matthew Good, Jimmy Eat World and most importantly, The Hold Steady playing Boys and Girls in America in entirety. 
I bought this day pass... Can't miss Hold Steady playing BAGIA...  even if I have seen them play it in full once before.

 
Saw three shows in four days, so here it goes...

Sunday - Guns N Roses + Lenny Kravitz >>> last minute audible to see this after hearing all of the reviews from the prior weeks shows in Philly and NY the night before.  Always wanted to catch Lenny Kravitz and he did not disappoint - considered that a bonus for me (would have gone to see GNR even if Tokimonsta had opened).  GNR was fantastic - if you are on the fence about going to this show, get off the fence and go.  Glad I made the last minute decision to go.  If your city does not have a GNR show coming up, get a new city.  Seriously,  Axl, Duff, and Slash brought it fierce.
Saw GnR last night in Orlando, agree with everything you said. They were fantastic. I was on the fence about this tour until I saw some clips and reviews of the shows and bought tickets a couple of weeks ago. Axl's still got it, I was blown away how good he sounded. Of course the band was awesome, too. The Cult opened up, and they werent that great. Ian Astbury cant hit any of the notes anymore...35 minutes of talk-signing. Oof.

Guns played 24 songs, the show was over 2.5 hours of non stop rocking. My favorites were November Rain, Knockin on Heavens Door, and Sweet Child o Mine. Axl didnt really interact with the crowd at all other than an occasional "you feeling good?" here and there between songs...didnt matter though, he sounded good as he ever has.

A local radio station in Tampa said theyll be coming to Tampa on the next leg of stadiums after this one is done, that commitments are in place but cant/wont announce anything until this tour wraps up....the band recently confirmed that theyll be touring well into 2017, so if you missed them this time you might be able to see them on the next leg(s)

 
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Just bought tix to see Alabama Shakes at the Greek next Tuesday.  Chris Young at the Ventura County Fair on Wednesday.  Then Beth Hart at the Canyon Club Oct 7th. Got a late start to summer concerts but making a run now.  Getting intrigued with GNR based on your guys reviews.

 
Just bought tix to see Alabama Shakes at the Greek next Tuesday.  Chris Young at the Ventura County Fair on Wednesday.  Then Beth Hart at the Canyon Club Oct 7th. Got a late start to summer concerts but making a run now.  Getting intrigued with GNR based on your guys reviews.
I was so impressed with GnR in Orlando Friday that I got a ticket to the New Orleans show last night since I had to drive to Mobile...Unfortunately ran into tire trouble around Pensacola and didnt trust it to hold up for 5 more highway hours and decided to not chance it. Ended up having to eat the $70 ticket. Sucks but knowing they might come back through before this tour ends takes some of the sting away.

 
Got Tragically Hip tickets yesterday for next Wednesday's show in Toronto. These are long sold out (lead singer Gord Downie has terminal brain cancer, so while they won't call it the last tour it is). It's actually got the Canadian government looking into Ticketmaster/StubHub practises since they were instantly sold out than marked up on Stubhub. They've released a few seats sporadically here and there since the initial on sale and I've tried every time but finally got them yesterday.

 
outside lands tomorrow, Kenny Chesney (free tickets) Saturday, GNR on Tuesday, and then Ben Harper the following week in Oakland :excited:

 
Went to the new Ford Ampetheater on Coney Island Boadwalk for O.A.R. this past Saturday night.  First, let me talk about the venue.  Drove out there Saturday from Central NJ - about an hour to get there.  Venue is two blocks from the Brooklyn Cyclones stadium - no game, so you can park there like we did.  Small place (5,000 seats), with decent sight lines from the front section side.  All seats are considered to be "covered" - but if you are in the last 4-6 seats of the row a rain storm may make you question that cover.  Pretty good sound under there as well - did a walk during the opener to check it out.  A little difficult getting our, but from lights up to my driveway was only an hour fifteen, so not bad considering.  Would go back for another Saturday show - not sure it would work logistically for another day for me from Central NJ.

O.A.R. put on a great show Saturday night.  Show built up really well and they slipped the new song into the right spot - great energy coming from the stage.  "hHeaven", "Peace" and "Poker" were really solid.  Opening band was The Hunts - seven brothers and sisters with a Mumford and Sons meets The Lumineers combo sound.  Not bad, but I wouldn't go crazy trying to catch their set.

 
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Seeing Def Leppard and Tesla in Tampa Monday night...and am taking a girl I havent met (but know via Facebook) to it. Should be interesting.

 
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Saw the Wheels of Soul 2016 version at Red Rocks on Friday - simply awesome. Tedeschi Trucks with Los Lobos and North Mississippi All Stars - covers galore and interaction between all the bands during the sets.

Here is Susan and the band just killing it at the end- enjoy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgo0nAMioW0&feature=youtu.be
Man - so jealous.  Tedeschi Trucks is touring around here - gotta get to see them again.  I saw Los Lobos at the Doheny Blues Festival 2 years ago (actually think North Mississippi All Stars played the other stage).  Back to LL, was right next to the stage and they were so freakin' good.  Can't even imagine both of them at Red Rocks.

 
Radiohead.Freaking unreal show. I've seen them seven times, and this was in the top 3. Outside Lands Admitting how subjective music taste is, they are one of the best live bands out there, period. Unreal setlist, and they just nailed it. 
 
For Son Volt fans, Jay Farrars current tour - featuring the entire Trace record plus a few others at the end - is exactly what you'd expect. A crowd of 40 somethings politely sips their craft beers and house wines while Jay runs through his set of 20 year old songs, extremely professional with no banter and very little variation from the studio. He then thanks the crowd and departs, and we all politely file out of the auditorium and go home to our families. Great show. Just a trio of guitars on this tour, Jay on acoustic all night, a pedal steel and an electric - both I think original band members. 

 
Alabama Shakes at the Greek in LA last night.  First of all - what a phenomenal venue for a summer concert.  Not a bad seat in the house and the acoustics the way it's set within Griffith Park in the hillside, surrounded by trees, is phenomenal.  Honestly best acoustics I've heard anywhere.  Sound is so pure.

I believe Brittany Howard is a once in a lifetime talent.  I've never heard someone with that kind of vocal ability matched with that much soul.  Just scratched the surface.  I was hooked the first time I saw her on SNL.  So glad I saw them live.  2nd night at the Greek tonight.  If you're in LA - go.  

 
Just scored a ticket to an ultra private July Talk show at the CBC in Toronto for a "CBC Music Live" performance.  It sounds like a live performance of their upcoming album front to back.

There will only be 70 people in attendance

Pretty stoked!

 
Alabama Shakes at the Greek in LA last night.  First of all - what a phenomenal venue for a summer concert.  Not a bad seat in the house and the acoustics the way it's set within Griffith Park in the hillside, surrounded by trees, is phenomenal.  Honestly best acoustics I've heard anywhere.  Sound is so pure.

I believe Brittany Howard is a once in a lifetime talent.  I've never heard someone with that kind of vocal ability matched with that much soul.  Just scratched the surface.  I was hooked the first time I saw her on SNL.  So glad I saw them live.  2nd night at the Greek tonight.  If you're in LA - go.  
she is pretty amazing and she seems to be increasing her "range" as she goes.

 
Best surprise set of Newport Folk Fest 2016 = Banditos (catch them)

Best overall set = Middle Brother (if they ever tour again, catch them)

 
Caught the Countng Crows/Rob Thomas/K Phillips show the other night in NJ.

Did not read the start time and missed K. Phillips (he was on 630-710ish) completely.  Rob Thomas (730-845ish) was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC.  Third time I was seeing him with his solo band(but first time not at The Beacon) and his show was just as good as a MB20 ampetheater show.  Great mix of known solo material + deeper solo/ MB20 cuts + covers (Prince's "Baby I'm A Star" for me - Bowie's "Let's Dance" the next night) + reworked MB20 hits (IMHO, "3 A.M." slowed down with the addition of pedal steel is worth the price of admission alone).  Give me one or two more MB20 tunes and it would have been a perfect set.

After that, the remaining highlight was hearing "Super 8" from Jason Isbell during the changeover.  Or that Counting Crows "only" played 1:45 (915-1100).  Take your pick.  

I sensed trouble during "Mr. Jones" at three songs in (the first of here "play em each night war horses").  I didn't leave only because CC stuck our favorite war horses at the end ("A Long December" for me, "Rain King" for my better half).  And like the 15 or so songs that preceded them, they butchered those war horses as well in a way that only David Lee Roth/Vince Neil could.  Adam's voice got "slightly" better as the show marinated towards the midpoint, but he was awful.  And since it seems from the set lists, they rotate "Round Here", "Omaha", and "Sullivan Street" onto the front end of the set where you get two max on any given night, so you don't even know which one you'll get (SS for us) if you are looking for one of those.  So, maybe it was a bad night in Holmdel.  Or maybe not (my friends who went the next night in Camden have a similar outlook).  Adam commented that they loved the venue (my 3x seeing them there) and the sound there, but maybe they have a new sound guy as I did not think they sounded good at all.  Even the band harmonies (when they had them) were off.  

Bottom line is if you've seen them years ago and thought about going back, don't.  Or do, but only to see Rob Thomas and call it an early night.

 
Just scored a ticket to an ultra private July Talk show at the CBC in Toronto for a "CBC Music Live" performance.  It sounds like a live performance of their upcoming album front to back.

There will only be 70 people in attendance

Pretty stoked!
Is this a House of Strombo thing or something different?

 
Just scored a ticket to an ultra private July Talk show at the CBC in Toronto for a "CBC Music Live" performance.  It sounds like a live performance of their upcoming album front to back.

There will only be 70 people in attendance

Pretty stoked!
Jealous.  They just announced a Buffalo show in December, but I might be out of town (just a few days after the Arkells show).  Hoping to catch them again, they're getting up there as one of the bands I've seen the most times now.

 
Just caught two-nights of Pearl Jam at Fenway Park last weekend (Friday and Sunday evenings). They were my 15th and 16th PJ shows and they were both top 5 ever, with Sunday making a run for best ever. Environment around Fenway was electric... inside it was remarkable. Very cool vibe, great crowd.

The sound was unreal for an outdoor show, with lots of locals chiming in that it was the best sound they've ever heard at Fenway. They brought in some new system that had speakers all over the ####### place. Money well spent. 

The band is sounding as good as they ever have... Ed's voice is healthy and strong. Musically the band is on point and putting forth a remarkable amount of energy. Setlists are incredible blends of deep tracks, covers, and hits. They played 32 songs on Friday and 34 songs on Sunday. Just incredible shows. 

Friday: 

Pearl Jam - Fenway - Boston, MAAug 05, 2016 - Show OneWalk On Music: Baba O’RileyBand Onstage: 7:40 - Band Offstage: 10:30 (Show Time 2h 50m)
32 songs played 


VIDEO: "Masters of War" (dylan cover)
VIDEO: "Black" (F/ Bronson Arroyo on guitar) - Note McCready solo @ 5min mark, and light effect at 8min mark)

Setlist & Show Notes:

01. Release02. Long Road(“let me take a look at you before the sun goes down. I don’t know how it happened but look at us. We are all at center field.”)03. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town04. Low Light05. All Those Yesterday’s (during the outro Ed reads off all of the Red Sox championship banners)06. Given To Fly07. Mind Your Manners08. Why Go(Ed ask the audience how it sounds and lets them know it sounds great on stage. He mentions he likes the Cubs which elicits some boos. Ed gently chastises the audience for so soon forgetting how it feels to suffer. Ed briefly ponders the number of rings the Cubs have compared to a certain politicians balls. He states emphatically that he is purely speculating. He says the Red Sox were always his favorite American League team.)09. Daughter, WMA, Another Brick In The Wall-part 2-(Waters) (one chorus only changes one lyric to “people leave your guns at home”)10. Even Flow (Mike goes to the barricade and solos with the guitar behind his head while he is embraced by fans. Ed hands the mic to some gentlemen at the barricade to sing a little bit)(Mike and Matt start “Grievance” but stop after 30 seconds when no one else joins in. turns out they skipped on a song on the set list.)(The next song is dedicated to #34 “Big Papi {David Ortiz}”. Ed can’t believe this is going to be his last year.)11. Faithfull12. Grievance(Ed apologizes for bringing up the person he brought up earlier. He doesn’t want to give that person any attention and he doesn’t want to be divisive in any manner. He wants tonight to be all about getting along and feeling safe together.)13. I Am Mine14. Down (Dedicated to Howard Zinn)(Ed invites up a guest that used to pitch for the Red Sox and is the owner of one of the rings that the Red Sox have won. The player is on another mound now and he is rehabbing his arm and that involves playing acoustic guitar. Ed introduces their friend Bronson Arroyo.)15. Black w/ guest Bronson Arroyo on acoustic guitar and backing vocals. Ed asks the audience to hold up lights so Bronson can see how magical this place can be. The audience complies with a huge display. 16. Do The Evolution17. Masters Of War-(Dylan) {full band e.v. electric gtr)18. I Am A Patriot-(Van Zandt) {fast version full band}19. Porch (Ed goes to the barricade for the outro and ends up with a Red Sox cap)Encore Break OneDuring the break Ed chats with the audience and has some Polaroids of the crowds he took on the first tour displayed on the video screens. He says the first time they played in Boston at a club called Axis. He doesn’t have pictures from that show because he took pictures of security guys beating up a kid. He laughs over the security guy trying to tear the Polaroids but he didn’t get the pictures back. He also shows Polaroids from when he snuck into Fenway because he just HAD to get in.20. Strangest Tribe “you’ve been a great tribe”21. Society-(Hannan)“This is for Jason and his wife”22. Just Breathe(Ed appears to change his mind about what song he wants to do. He asks if he can get a uke. Former Red Sox player Kevin “Youk” Youkilis delivers Ed’s ukulele. “Hey, I got a Youk!” They drink wine and praise the Red Sox nation. As Youk leaves the stage Ed thanks him for dressing up for the occasion, which Youk, clearly did not do.)23. Sleeping By Myself24. Wasted Reprise/Life Wasted (Ed sings the line “Don’t Give Up” four times before starting the Wasted Reprise. Possibly quoting Peter Gabriel’s song but it didn’t follow the melody and was just those four words.)25. State Of Love And Trust (Ed walks to the far wings while singing while Mike runs all over the place. Before the solo Ed lies on his stomach and reaches for a beer from an audience member. He takes a sip and hands it back. Blue gets a great shot of the security persons amused reaction to Ed’s antics. )“We are going to borrow a song from our friend Roger. We sang it together for a Hurricane Sandy benefit and we have done it ourselves a few times but it seems like a great song to play out doors. And if anybody is tripping balls or whatever version is your favorite”.26. Comfortably Numb-(Gilmour, Waters) {Ed plays piano during the outro solo}27. Corduroy (during the instrumental break while getting the audience to sing asks the audience if they have a few more innings in them or do they need a relief pitcher. “We got it if you got it.”)Encore Break TwoEd thanks the fans for being so great and praises the venue.28. Draw The Line-(Perry, Tyler) Aerosmith cover“That’s for Joe Perry. We are thinking about you.”29. Alive(Ed introduces the band. Ed also introduces the great sportswriter Peter Gammons who comes on stage.)Ed says the band is going to try and play a song they haven’t played since maybe the first time they came to Boston. He says the request came from Mathew Plummer whose father had passed away. Ed gets a little choked up while talking about it. He tells Mathew that they can all relate to losing someone. Mathew and his father didn’t agree on all music but they came together on this song.30. I’ve Got A Feeling-(Lennon, McCartney)31. Baba O’Riley-(Townshend)

[/SPOILER]
 
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Pearl Jam - Fenway - Boston, MAAug 07, 2016 - Show TwoWalk On Music: Pendulumorphosis 7:33Band Onstage:07:34 - Band Offstage:10:47 (Show Time: 3h 13m)
34 songs played


[SIZE=15.4px]VIDEO: "Rockin in the Free World" (Neil Young Cover - f/ J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr)[/SIZE]

[SIZE=15.4px]VIDEO: "Breath" (rarity from Singles Sountrack)[/SIZE]

Setlist / Show Notes: 

01. Pendulum(Ed remarks that things are going to get a lot faster later but he wants to enjoy easing into the scene because it is so nice. He also brings up the incident reports submitted by security at the end of the evening. “No, not Mike McCready, those went unreported.” Ed suggests the audience pace themselves so there are fewer alcohol related ejections.)02. Off He Goes03. Nothing As It Seems(“Sometimes I will make up any excuse to make a toast but this one is deep.” EV goes on to enumerates all of the hard work the grounds crew had to put in on the off day to keep these hallowed grounds looking good. He toasts the great ground crew and all the work they do.)04. Nothingman05. Wishlist06. Interstellar Overdrive-(Barrett, Mason, Waters, Wright)07. Corduroy08. Animal09. Hail, Hail(Ed checks on the audience to make sure they are good. He confesses that he is actually resting before the next song. He reminds people the date to register to vote and notes that there is a bill to legalize marijuana and to make sure to get out and vote. He also praises the governor for passing an non discrimination bill for LGBTQ.)10. Lightning Bolt11. In Hiding(“Playing in the deepest heart of the warning track is the hardest working drummer you will ever see. Mr. Matt Cameron.”)12. Even Flow (Mike straddles the barricade and solos a bit with the front row.)(After Mike tears it up on Evenflow Ed introduces the next song. “Not only can he do all that but in a moment of repose he can right a beautiful song like this…”)13. Sirens (extended sing a long outro) (Ed says he and Jeff were talking and the subject or mortality and additional responsibilities came up as well as the preciousness and fragility of life they were aware that we all had to take care of each other.)(“speaking of moments that will live in our memories..” Ed introduces Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith. Tom comes out and praises Pearl Jam and says he is impressed with two sold out nights at Fenway. Tom warns everyone that he has been playing with Thin Lizzy this summer so he is concerned that those old songs might have been pushed out of his head so he is gonna just follow along.)14. Draw The Line-(Perry, Tyler) W/ Tom Hamilton of Aerosmith. Tom plays Jeff’s checkerboard 12 string bass. (Ed is thinking of playing a uke song. Asking for his uke and once again Kevin Youkilis comes out. He tells Ed that the only way to play Fenway is if you wear a Red Sox Jersey. Ed reaches for his belt and begins to unbuckle it asking “just a Red Sox Jersey?” Ed ends up keeping his pants on but he does wear the jersey while “Youk” introduces the next song.)15. Lukin16. Not For You/Modern Girl-(Sleater Kinney) (tag)17. Immortality18. Deep19. Jeremy(Vedder tells the audience that even though the audience indicated earlier that they were here two shows ago Ed says tonight’s crowd is singing even better. Ed goes onto talk about the band is donating money from these shows to local charities through their Vitalogy foundation and notes that Theo Epstein and his brother are also contributing.) 20. Unthought Known21. Rearviewmirror (shorter version)Encore Break One(Ed asks the audience how the are. “7th inning stretch? He is holding a cap and mitt and says, “I’ve got my hat and my glove and my ball. I ain’t leaving until I play some ball.” He again praises the venue and the audience. He tells a quick story about the band driving by the first hotel they stayed at. It was a Howard Johnson’s that was across the street. The band jokes that it took them 25 years to just get across the street but it was actually a pretty big jump. He thanks the local crew including Sam Kennedy. “hopefully we get to do it again someday.” Ed brings up the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy. He called all of his friends in Boston including Theo and he said “it is true. One city, Boston Strong”. They were in the studio when it happened and this was the song they were writing that day and some events influenced the lyrics.)22. Yellow Moon23. Angel24. Footsteps(“I don’t want to waste anytime but I can talk baseball for just a minute? There are a lot ties between rock music and baseball.” Ed talks how baseball was one of the ways he got to know Johnny Ramone. He also relates an anecdote about a spectacular home run Big Papi hit and some poor outfielder missed. He seems pleased that A-Rod is retiring.25. I Believe In Miracles-(Ramone, Ray)26. Mind Your Manners27. Better Man/Save It For Later-(Charley, Cox, Morton, Steele, Wakeling)(Ed stops playing the intro to ask the audience to please tell Dustin Pedroia hello and that he thinks he is a badass. Ed then continues the song.)Encore Break Two(Ed wishes his friend and guitar tech Simon Happy Birthday) Someone wearing a Trump mask helps to celebrate)28. Smile29. Go30. Love, Reign O’re Me - (Townshend)31. Do The Evolution32. Breath33. AliveJ Mascis of Dinosaur Jr comes out for “Rockin’”34. Rockin’ In The Free World-(Young) w/ J Mascis. Mike McCready on bass, Ray Cameron (Matt Cameron's Son) on guitar. Jeff Ament ran around and played drum sticks percussion.Ed brings out **** Dauphinee (sp) who has worked so many PJ shows. For Pearl Jam it doesn’t feel like a show in Boston until they see ****.35. Yellow Ledbetter/Star Spangled Banner
 
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Jealous.  They just announced a Buffalo show in December, but I might be out of town (just a few days after the Arkells show).  Hoping to catch them again, they're getting up there as one of the bands I've seen the most times now.
This will be my 4th time seeing them, and I have tix for the London show in Oct.  They are becoming a must see band.

 
Went to Jimmy Buffett this past Thursday. Awesome as always. Love that atmosphere.
There is a golf tournament going on here in Greensboro called the Wyndam, and it kicked off yesterday. There is a big tent called Margaritaville that serves alcohol, food, and has live entertainment under it. Yesterday Jimmy Buffett showed up and sang "Margaritaville" with the band that was playing. 

 
This will be my 4th time seeing them, and I have tix for the London show in Oct.  They are becoming a must see band.
Picking up my tickets to their December 16 Buffalo show today.  Gonna be a great week for music with Arkells a week before on the 9th.

 
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I saw The Black Lillies last Thursday night at a free show in Durham. I've seen them before at the Merlefest and other places. They're a good band from Knoxville, and play great live.

 
Caught the Countng Crows/Rob Thomas/K Phillips show the other night in NJ.

Did not read the start time and missed K. Phillips (he was on 630-710ish) completely.  Rob Thomas (730-845ish) was FAN-FREAKIN-TASTIC.  Third time I was seeing him with his solo band(but first time not at The Beacon) and his show was just as good as a MB20 ampetheater show.  Great mix of known solo material + deeper solo/ MB20 cuts + covers (Prince's "Baby I'm A Star" for me - Bowie's "Let's Dance" the next night) + reworked MB20 hits (IMHO, "3 A.M." slowed down with the addition of pedal steel is worth the price of admission alone).  Give me one or two more MB20 tunes and it would have been a perfect set.

After that, the remaining highlight was hearing "Super 8" from Jason Isbell during the changeover.  Or that Counting Crows "only" played 1:45 (915-1100).  Take your pick.  

I sensed trouble during "Mr. Jones" at three songs in (the first of here "play em each night war horses").  I didn't leave only because CC stuck our favorite war horses at the end ("A Long December" for me, "Rain King" for my better half).  And like the 15 or so songs that preceded them, they butchered those war horses as well in a way that only David Lee Roth/Vince Neil could.  Adam's voice got "slightly" better as the show marinated towards the midpoint, but he was awful.  And since it seems from the set lists, they rotate "Round Here", "Omaha", and "Sullivan Street" onto the front end of the set where you get two max on any given night, so you don't even know which one you'll get (SS for us) if you are looking for one of those.  So, maybe it was a bad night in Holmdel.  Or maybe not (my friends who went the next night in Camden have a similar outlook).  Adam commented that they loved the venue (my 3x seeing them there) and the sound there, but maybe they have a new sound guy as I did not think they sounded good at all.  Even the band harmonies (when they had them) were off.  

Bottom line is if you've seen them years ago and thought about going back, don't.  Or do, but only to see Rob Thomas and call it an early night.
Funny - I've seen Counting Crows time.   The first time they were the headliner and Live opened up.  Live kicked ###, CC sucked.  Then I saw CC opening up for Stevie Wonder at a TigerJam benefit concert, and it was reversed.  They were great that night...

 
I'm going to Farm Aid in Virginia next weekend. Anyone else going to that? I went to Farm Aid in Raleigh a couple years ago, and it was great. The regular foursome of Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews will be there, and this year Sturgill Simpson and Alabama Shakes will be with them. Six other bands will be performing too, and Willie's kids are in some of the bands.

 
I'm going to Farm Aid in Virginia next weekend. Anyone else going to that? I went to Farm Aid in Raleigh a couple years ago, and it was great. The regular foursome of Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews will be there, and this year Sturgill Simpson and Alabama Shakes will be with them. Six other bands will be performing too, and Willie's kids are in some of the bands.
Couldn't get any of my friends to go with me (stupid kids). I might end up going last minute though. I'm seeing Sturgill in DC in October but would love to see Alabama Shakes and DMB. I haven't been to the venue in ages but it has always sucked.

 
I saw Prophets of Rage at Red Rocks on Wednesday night.  It was a great show.  I thought B-Real from Cypress Hill did a nice job filling in for Zach de La Rocha's vocals, and Tom Morello ripped some sick guitar solos.  It was a nostalgic evening of Making America Rage Again.  

 
Green Day and The Killers are both playing $20 shows in Toronto as part of the World Cup of Hockey but both are weekday afternoons and I can't pull that one off. 

I have a weekend coming up right now where I have tickets to Arkells on Nov. 4, Pet Shop Boys Nov. 6 and Foals on Nov. 7. All in Toronto, problem being I'm 90 minutes outside Toronto and that's a lot of driving/money/especially if I stay over for a couple. Not sure what i'm going to end up doing there. May sell PSB, even though they're the one of the three I haven't seen before.

 

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