Jan 30
DaraAdult Contemporary, Singer/Songwriter
it’s still surprising to hear beautiful noises come out of a person you’ve only heard speak so far – but I wasn’t surprised that Karen sings with the heartfelt passion that I always suspect is under her cool calm collected non-singing demeanor – I liked that the passion seemed more genuine than showmanship, as if her songs were about things she had actually experienced – her voice is rich and even, with a cool elegance that is soothing – interesting and smart lyrics and well-crafted songs – she plays with her voice at times and she used some sort of beat-recorder to add rhythm to one song – I especially liked that she’s brave enough to pause and give the song room to breathe – and she managed to play guitar well with half-frozen fingers!
Nov 14
DaraIndie Rock, Modern Rock, Singer/Songwriter
a former member of The Hidden Cameras and a golden frosted fairy of a man – he’s near albino – his voice was both good and interesting, but his singer-songwriter style grew old very quickly – towards the end of the set, the band moved into indie rock material that was more exciting
Aug 17
AndrewAlternative Rock, Rock and Roll, Singer/Songwriter
Tori Amos gave an exquisite performance, starting with a three-song whammy including a big, big version of Big Wheel. The Sinful Attraction tour rolled into Boston for the last U.S. stop showing no fatigue from the twenty-plus dates that came before. The show began and ended on a euphoric high. The setlist was heavy with American Doll Posse tracks and a big nod to From the Choirgirl Hotel.
There wasn’t much talking, aside from introducing the band, but just a seamless run through some of her best tracks, including a heavenly solo version of Silent All These Years on the Bösendorfer (during the Lizard Lounge segment). The new material was pretty, but simply couldn’t match the depth of her older tracks which was more obvious by her pairing Tear in Your Hand against Welcome to England (the new album’s first single). Of the new material, Flavor, stood on its own the best, bookended by two amazing performances, Space Dog and Hotel respectively.
She picked a lot of songs that really focused on her vocals and keyboards, shunting Matt Chamberlain’s drums and Jon Evan’s guitar parts to the background. Especially songs like The Power Of Orange Knickers and Digital Ghost which climaxed on her performance alone, the backing instruments very much seemed like an afterthought.
The surprise of the night was when Tori came out in her Santa persona (from the ADP album) to pound through throbbing versions of Raspberry Swirl and She’s Your Cocaine and Body and Soul during the encore. Holding a martini glass, Santa flicked her drink on the crowd in the front row. But here’s the thing, the costume change revived the energy of the show in a way I couldn’t have predicted. The collective vigor of the venue, including from Tori herself, took a huge upswing with Santa on stage, matching the power of Big Wheel in a way that nothing in between could hold a candle to.
Tori Amos setlist
Give
Big Wheel
Cornflake Girl
Bells For Her
Space Dog
Flavor
Hotel
Tear In Your Hand
Welcome To England
Jamaica Inn
Silent All These Years
You Know I’ve Gotta Go improv
Cool On Your Island
Lady In Blue
The Power Of Orange Knickers
Talula
Digital Ghost
Precious Things
Strong Black Vine
Encore
Raspberry Swirl
She’s Your Cocaine
Body And Soul
Mar 21
DaraReggae, Singer/Songwriter
this venue immediately transports you to another place with irregular stadium seating, Mai Thai drinks, open-aired roofing, and the sweet smell of pot – the world of dub, ska, rocksteady and things reggae-beautiful – I was immediately soothed but was scrunching my brows once the music started – it was sounding like Lenny Kravitz to me which was not what I was looking for – UrbanBiker, a far more savvy consumer of the genre, stated in flat disdain “…this is not reggae… this is a Jamaican singer/songwriter” – all he needed to say… ‘singer/songwriter’ is the death knell no matter where you’re from – he islanded it up a little bit as songs progressed but never approached escape…
Mar 21
DaraCountry, Folk, Singer/Songwriter
I’ve seen her before in The Knitters – suppose I developed an affection for her because of Rockboy’s minor obsession and because I am fascinated by people who traverse from the world of punk (X) to the world of country (The Knitters) – the crowd was a lot of late-middle-aged men with badges…. ech – Exene looked ancient… maybe 60? – she had attitude in abundance in demeanor and speech but her music was just blah – singer/songwriter with a slight country-folk twang – we left for hotter waters
Oct 27
DaraGoth, Lounge, Punk, Rockabilly
the motivation for this outing – this band has twice been the “best show ever” that I missed and Rockboy saw – they definitely knew how to work a crowd though I found the mix of psychobilly and exhortations to chant “Hell Yeah!” disconcerting (it’s the name of their album…but still – I attributed their lack of cultural consistency to being from Denmark) – the lead singer, Patricia Day, has the most gorgeous honey-rich speaking voice I have ever heard and wooed the crowd with winning grins and a tight black dress – she also played a fat upright bass and regularly stuck a fat little tongue out of her mouth at the crowd – she paused midway through the show and yelled at a guy in the crowd, “Can you please stop choking him!?” and proceeded to fully berate him, telling him to cool his hormones, it was very exciting and set the audience to cheering – the other highlight of the band is the guitarist (and husband) and sometime bass guitarist/vocalist as well, Nekroman, who also plays with The Nekromantix – it seemed he must have emerged from the womb playing psychobilly music but I found the tattoos of vegetables on his neck distracting – their sound is great: although the instrumentation tended toward straightforward psychobilly, the songs were distinctively more melodic and gothic-lite than typical – a sound similar to Tiger Army’s but I might think that because they share a label – they also did a ska song that was particularly pleasing to me (they have three, says Patricia) – although they put on a good show (though bringing drunk attention-seeking girls on stage was a mistake) their sound was quite off to the point that her voice was muffled and the overall sound was scratchy – Rockboy felt that they were rushing through songs and had lost that raw passion that new bands have
Oct 01
DaraLatin, Modern Rock, Punk, Singer/Songwriter
I was silly excited to see this show – I only discovered him in the last year or so but love his work with The Modern Lovers AND his solo career – of course the post-punkness of The Modern Lovers is appealing to me but there is generally something very appealing to me about his voice and his song constructions – so he turned out to be a bit of a wack job with perpetually turned-up eyebrows in a seemingly contrived expression of innocence and goofiness that I suspect masks a deep dislike for humankind and a vicious little ego – but maybe being an odd genius results in such behaviors and feelings – the real surprise to me is that the man is a guitar virtuoso, playing songs riddled with jazz and Latin influences and then handling both the bass and lead progression in a song – he would end each song with a spin of his guitar – in my theoretical version of his life, he was the sort who got bored so easily and quickly that he had to constantly move on to new things or be suffocated, so he was a punk and then went into a prolific career as a singer/songwriter and then moved out of the US and became infused with new sounds and learned to speak French and Spanish – he sang several songs in Spanish and midway through the show got into the habit of re-singing the song he just sang, either a new version of the intro or the entire song in a different language, I found this presumptuous and pretentious and wasn’t sure if he was trying to insult the crowd or really saw value in resigning the same songs – oh! oh! the most important part for understanding my impressions of this show: $15 was charged for him alone without the standard two opening bands, he started at 9pm, he insisted on no air-conditioning at the show, it is still in the 90s in Austin, therefore eccentric or pretentious – he had something of the Mountain Goats about him but his songs aren’t as quirky or deep but rather more childlike and silly – this may have been a reflection of his poorly crafted set list for the show, at least insofar as the songs I like by him – lastly and most importantly, I figured out that my affinity for Jonathan Richman is a result of the incongruity of his post-punk voice overlaying infectious little Latin-flavored melodies
Sep 26
AndrewSinger/Songwriter, Soft Rock
Fairly generic female-empowered pop. Rambled between songs and not in any focused way. The set included Steer and Angela from her 2008 album On a Clear Night but none of it was particularly memorable.
Sep 19
DaraAlt-Country, Glam, Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter
knew them from one song that I really liked on Pandora but was more interested when I found out that Stephen Malkmus of Pavement is a member – turns out they’ve been around since the late 80s – the lead singer David Berman is very engaging – he’s thin (a la melancholy drug abuser) with swagger and sunglasses and a speak-singing low voice that alternated between sounding like Lou Reed and David Bowie – they’re like a lo-fi country or indie rock band with a poet/glam rocker fronting them – Emo’s was overflowing with random people – the whole band had class and I am a new fan
Sep 19
DaraAlt-Country, Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter
started by informing the crowd that he’d started the tour with a band but was with a band no more, generally seemed bitter and Emo’s is just a venue entirely unsuited to a singer/songwriter, otherwise he did a good job for being a lone guy on a big stage, nice voice and sufficient stage presence, think his purported nuance was lost on a crowd of that size though
Sep 16
DaraCollege Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Prologue:
A long-time closet favorite of mine – her melodies are soothing – her lyrics are smart, interesting and relatable – she’s stunning – realized tonight that her incongruently deep speaking voice may be what makes her songs within my range
Austin City Limits tapings:
Only my second because they make the tickets practically impossible to get (not for sale so have to have connections), this of course creates the requisite mystique, plus they generally only book high-quality musicians and have a tremendous sound system, the crowd (seated and genteel) is basically middle-aged musicheads and suburban people who otherwise don’t go to see music
Impressions:
Quite awkward with gangly and ungraceful height and shoulders hunching up to her ears – her face matches her deep voice with sharp features, a defined brow and oft-blinking eyes – despite all of this she is an attractive person – pretty rigid on the stage outside of her mildly ribald between-song commentaries and a seemingly intentional stage presence (smiles, rock star poses, etc.) for the last song – seemed to be using ‘fuck’ to convince the audience that she is not mainstream
Started with single “Freeway” from her new album – the song that her fans supposedly hate, “The Great Beyond,” was clearly a departure (almost proggy classic rock) – but then I realized that she’s genuinely got a prog rock bent what with the moog and organ accompanying on every song – had a token world-music song – did a very nice job with “Save Me” and “One is the Loneliest Number” from Magnolia – hit every song from my favorite album (Bachelor No. 2) except for “Hanging Around” – the three encore songs were all from this album: “How Am I Different,” “Nothing is Good Enough,” “Calling It Quits”
Moog player was clean-cute-cute with Converses – organ player was old rocker with long frayed hair in a Mean Eyed Cat t-shirt (a Johnny-Cash themed bar in Austin) and velvet jacket – buddy on bass was 80s geek with bold tie and striped shirt under business jacket – drummer was a healthy round bald guy with heavy glasses – not sure that she has a regular band outside of the geek
Her singing voice is very natural and effortless – it can be melodious and perfect but then there’s a constraint or stiltedness to it (somehow a part of that effortlessness) – something about this and her general minor-chord aura reminds me of Townes Van Zandt – realized that part of the stiltedness is her voice sliding into nasal restraint for the higher notes – I figured all of this out when she did my favorite song “Red Vines” without her band, slowed down and acoustic
Doesn’t try to sound like the boys but definitely not a girly girl singer – she’s a good pop song writer: melodies with some driving loops but some of her songs sound too much like her (repetitive or too clearly Aimee Mann) but some are lovely and take you in – high quality pop that endures
Her between-song banter largely involved mocking the pee-ers – admitted she was very nervous – told a story about a song that she wrote for Shrek 3 that was in part inspired by Snow White and the dwarves that she quite liked despite it not being quite her style (try-try-try again theme) – but after they asked her to speed it up and then asked her to make it sound like Fall Out Boy and then didn’t accept it anyway she totally reworked it and changed the meaning to a twisted fairytale theme
Epilogue:
So I was operating under the impression that she was a fellow child of the 90s in her Doc Martens, jeans and funky little t-shirt and vest – not to mention she sang a song about being 31 and realizing that your life isn’t what you expected it would be and that you really ought to have your shit more together – but upon some googling when I got home I figured out that she’s 47 (!!!), was in a punk band called Young Snakes when she dropped out of Berklee music school and then a new wave band Til Tuesday in the 80s…
Sep 13
AndrewSinger/Songwriter
Jacqueline Smith was charming with a 45-minute set that mixed in original tunes with some well-chosen cover songs. Accompanied by a guitarist and occasionally tapping on the keyboard in front of her, Smith’s primary weapon was her voice and she perfectly captured the audience with her sweet voice. She described all her songs as being about “heartbreak or songs about ‘done me wrong’.” Occasionally offering the audience a joke that “sounded better in my head” she said laughingly after, her banter was way more alluring than she may have realized.
She followed the bittersweet Ticket for a Train with a Ray LaMontagne cover Jolene. But she shined best on her own material, from the jazzy Cavalier to NY State and the simmering All Over Me. The absolute highlight was the gorgeous lament Siren Song, which she promised would be the title track of her upcoming LP release. “Where did all the good men go?” she crooned on the cut, “pretty girls took them every one.” That track alone makes the heartbreak worth it.
Sep 13
AndrewAmericana, Singer/Songwriter
Andrew Mitchell hit the stage at Kennedy’s Midtown bar with his guitar, opening with a more than respectable version of R.E.M.’s (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville. His 45-minute set also included the Styx cover Come Sail Away and Woody Guthrie’s Pretty Boy Floyd, a throwback to 1939. Considering he was playing to only a handful of people, he still gamely put on a noteworthy show.
Aug 14
DaraLounge, Pop, Singer/Songwriter
very atypical for Austin, this band is a vehicle for girls with pretty voices, ballads and ditties as if they were little girls playing around at home, I liked them, the two harmonizers and the lead vocalist all look alike, we were actually there as stalkers of one of the backup harmonizers (PartyBoy’s ex) although PartyBoy denies that he happens to show up at every single Dana Falconberry show
Aug 02
AndrewPop, Singer/Songwriter
We only caught the last two songs of her set, a Beatles cover and one of her own, due to hitting traffic on 95 near Gillette Stadium, where Bruce Springsteen was playing tonight. Not much to comment except her performance seemed artful.
Jul 25
AndrewFolk, Singer/Songwriter
Catie Curtis brought her phenomenal singer-songwriter talents to Natick for a homecoming performance of sorts. The Center for Arts in Natick is an intimate stage to play on, where the artists just walk into the room and on to the stage. Accompanied by Kevin Barry, who has played with Paula Cole and Mary Chapin Carpenter, Curtis opened with waggish Slave to My Belly and masterfully ran through a two-hour show that covered many of her most popular songs and new ones from her upcoming release Sweet Life.
In the folk tradition, Curtis peppered every song with commentary, random stories about herself and her family and life as an artist. One story was about a sign on a church bathroom stall door that said “Please flush the toilet behind you.” Sure, it had nothing to do with the song that followed, but nobody in the audience minded even a bit. She explained a name change of the track Are You Ready to Fly? from the new album was because people weren’t taking in the wistful meaning of the original title Teenagers Jumping off the Bridge.
She had her rockin’ moments, notably Kiss That Counted and her softer side, a gorgeous cover of Emmylou Harris’s Red Dirt Girl. Lovely was a track that, as she said, “she wrote in the 20’s” and would have easily fit as a big band tune (or Cole Porter for that matter). Other tracks from the new album, out September 8, The Princess and the Mermaid and Happy were standout moments in an otherwise impressive showcase.
A request from the audience for Dandelion made her react in surprise, “Really?” but she gamely played the song. Towards the end of the night, she played a song for parents of teenagers, Don White’s Be Sixteen with Me. Another request Magnolia Street bookended her main set paired with the doleful Hard Time with Goodbyes.
The encore was two songs. The first, the exquisite Love Takes the Best of You was introduced by Curtis taking requests then concluding “I’ll play a song you’ve never heard.” She finished with Passing Through which ignited a soulful impromptu audience singalong on the chorus.
Jul 25
AndrewFolk, Singer/Songwriter
Chris Trapper strapped on the guitar and launched into a 45 minute warm-up for Catie Curtis with the heartfelt Letter to the Middle of the World. Armed with a raspy, unpolished voice and slight stutter, the lanky performer quickly warmed the crowd to him, wrapping each song in a story. Boston Girl was written after spending a year on the road, about the comforts of coming home. Birthday Song was his answer to singing happy birthday to an audience member. And Wish I Was Cool was every geek’s high school reunion song.
His set transitioned smoothly from folk balladry like Starlight to more uptempo numbers, the best of which Boston Girl left huge smiles around the room. Sure, most of the songs were about that special girl but his awkwardness and utter sincerity made the delivery of each wholly charming.
Jun 29
AndrewAdult Contemporary, Pop, Singer/Songwriter
Cyndi Lauper is just amazing. Her political speech was uplifting (think southern gospel preacher stumping for the get out and vote) and she touched the crowd through her music. The highlight was an impossibly gorgeous and spare version of I’m Gonna Be Strong and the classic Time After Time with an a capella intro of the track Lyfe from her new album Bring Ya to the Brink. While she was more talkative this year, she also seemed a little more tense overall, and several of her songs seemed to stop abruptly with a flick of her hand towards the band.
The new material fit in great with her classic tracks. Rocking Chair, despite being a weird cat-lady kind of song, actually came across as a solid live tune. She sang Set Your Heart, which she debuted last year on tour, from the middle of the audience as if she was determined to reach out to everyone. And Into the Nightlife was a pure disco tune. She pulled out an acoustic version of Erasure’s Blue Savannah by way of leading into a rocking I Drove All Night. The entire ensemble came out at the end for Everyday People and the show closer True Colors.
Cyndi Lauper setlist
Change of Heart
Rocking Chair
Set Your Heart
When You Were Mine
Sisters of Avalon
She Bop
Into the Nightlife
Blue Savannah/I Drove All Night
I’m Gonna Be Strong
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Encore
Rain on Me
Lyfe (intro)/Time After Time
Money Changes Everything
2nd Encore
Everyday People (with ensemble)
True Colors (with ensemble)
Apr 29
DaraBlues, Country, Glam, Indie Rock, Performance, Singer/Songwriter
Friend3 and Friend2’s band of four months – they both sing though Friend2 is more Mountain Goats while Friend3 is dramatic rock, Friend1’s ex-roommate is on trumpet, “burner” on incongruent V-shaped guitar, long curly hair on drums, band includes some three other members-mostly brass, so as the vocals/songwriters varied did the music, from witty-lyric silly-voice songs to dramatic rock opera numbers to a rock-medium when both sang together, distinctive diverse band with musical talent, they’re disparate right now plus can’t judge them fairly because I know them
Mar 15
DaraBluegrass, Punk, Singer/Songwriter
one-man band playing violin and singing in a way very reminiscent of my local hero Scott H. Biram but not as punk nor as tight, turns out they’re touring together soon
Mar 02
DaraCollege Rock, Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter
a sociologist by day and a songstress by night — her CD release party, she and her piano were accompanied by B. Sterling Archer (a whiz on many instruments) and Brett Staggs, still strikes me as solid and genuine, she is a more mainstream Fiona Apple, I was so proud
Mar 02
DaraSinger/Songwriter
a bearded mystic singer/songwriter, his set improved greatly when his one-man-band moved from cheesy keyboard to guitar
Jan 31
DaraCountry, Folk, Gypsy, Jazz, Singer/Songwriter, Surf Rock
this is not who played (Carousel Lounge!), was a lone middle-aged cowboy with a posse of three young girls and more of a moody rock aura than country, struck me as a singer/songwriter whose songs you know are good if only he had a band backing him and somebody who could sing except that he could sing, he had an unimposing scruffy whining voice, especially liked him because he incorporated so many sounds: jazz, country, swing, rock, gypsy, surf, his rebel songs were kind of embarrassing because I just didn’t buy it
Sep 29
AndrewAlternative Rock, College Rock, Pop, Singer/Songwriter, Soft Rock
With swift set changes between bands, and minimal sponsor plugs, MixFest 2007 was an almost uninterrupted four and half hours of music. Twice between sets, the DJs of Mix 98.5 offered seat upgrades to a lucky fan who sent a text message care of sponsor Dunkin’ Donuts, but when they called out the name of the winner of the upgrade, it was hard to tell if that person was even in the arena. It seemed like a useless gesture anyway because nobody stopped a stampede of freeloaders who rushed the stage from Colbie Caillat to Matchbox Twenty. So if whoever won the seat upgrade took advantage of it, they had to compete for a view of the stage with a couple dozen other people who took their own initiative to upgrade their seat to the front row.
The music between sets were music videos by Beyoncé (”to the left, to the left,”) Plain White T’s, and Fergie, plus Who Knew by Pink and for whatever reason, snippets of Barenaked Ladies classic The Old Apartment but never the whole song.
Matchbox Twenty nonchalantly took the stage and launched into Long Day. Theirs was a laid-back reunion, the first of a handful of tour dates in promotion of their greatest hits set Exile on Mainstream
.
Their set was a rousing singalong from start to finish and the crowd was very into it. Thomas, himself, was a bundle of good vibrations. He danced to the beat of the music, engaging the crowd with winks and expressions of delight perfectly captured on the video screens (and likely hundreds of camera phones.) He’s an ultra-expressive performer, it pays to be close enough to watch his face as well as his grooves. But the thing that struck most about Matchbox Twenty’s leading man is how normal he seems, the guy next door type. He came across instantly approachable and likable. He chatted a lot during the set, as much to his bandmates as to the crowd, and whizzed through familiar songs like 3am and If You’re Gone.
New tracks held up well against the old material, but amazingly, they seemed to have a more relaxed bent than some of the older songs. The lyrics to How Far We’ve Come seem like the typical Matchbox Twenty downer ballad, but the energy and the pulse of the song just don’t fit their old image the way Unwell and Bent perfectly encapsulated it. And they wedged the downright playful song I’ll Believe You When in between Bright Lights and the set closer Push. The energy picked up further into the set, especially Real World, Back to Good. A middle-aged woman in the crowd took center stage at the bottom of the stairs at section 114, using her fist as a microphone, gyrating and waving and imploring for attention from Rob Thomas, and when that didn’t work, turning her attention to the audience behind her. She was so hysterical, she kept waving for whomever she was with to join her “on stage,” and that person shrunk done further in his seat the longer she stayed at her mark.
Thomas introduced an extended jam version of Bright Lights with a few lines of Please Come to Boston (a song Joan Baez made famous). The song also featured Kyle Cook and Paul Doucette (who moved off of the drums and is now playing guitar) taking turns on lead vocals.
Daughtry was an energetic warm-up act for Matchbox Twenty. Chris Daughtry was a force on stage, sexy and personable all at once, riveting to take in. There is no way to understate how much of a turn-on his performance was, all the way up the last song. He engaged the audience to sing with him, it worked better on the new single Over You than earlier in the set. But if nothing else, it proved that Chris Daughtry, the almost-American Idol, was no fluke. His stage presence and soulful hard rock was custom-tailored for mainstream.
Daughtry mixed some radio-friendly tunes It’s Not Over and Home over the course of the set, and added in a fine cover of Alice in Chains Nutshell. What About Now proved even their balladry was impressive. During Nutshell, and the set closing There and Back Again, Daughtry left the stage to send the attention to the rest of the band. Overall, from the lighting to the simple red curtains in the backset, everything about this forty-five minute performance worked.
The only downside was a painfully extended version of There and Back Again that seared your ears. But it came at the end of the set, and keep this in perspective: who needs to hear when you can’t take your eyes of Daughtry?
Local news anchor Maria Stephanos put in an appearance with Mix 98.5 DJ Gregg Daniels. Her voice was painful high-pitched, nails on the chalkboard, it was hard to imagine that she’s a nightly news anchor on Fox. Daniels, somehow, was even more annoying. He put on a Red Sox jersey seemingly for the whole purpose of getting the hometown crowd to cheer. (The Sox were losing at the time to the Minnesota Twins, though they eventually won the game.)
Mat Kearney’s unremarkable twenty-minute set featured Undeniable, his breakout single, and Breathe In, Breathe Out which he introduced as “a song for doctors to make out to” because it was picked up by Grey’s Anatomy. But it didn’t matter because nothing in his set stood out. Kearney and his band seemed fixed in place. Granted, it was a tight space, a small stage to begin with and two bands’ worth of instruments still packed away behind them. But there was something decidedly perfunctory about the whole affair. Rather than embracing a chance to play for a crowd who was less familiar with him, he seemed to be just putting in the time until the next act.
Kearney called out Boston a number of times within the songs, modifying a short interlude during Undeniable to rap about MixFest, the Red Sox and Boston. The crowd cheered, but he might as well have yelled “Yankees sucked” because it wasn’t the music they were reacting to. A few points for stage presence, but charming, he was not.
Before Mat Kearney’s set, the DJ’s Daniels and Fast Freddy, asked the crowd for someone who wanted to introduce Kearney. They pointed out a woman on the floor about half-way back of the arena, calling to her, “Come up here, Jiggles!” The lady, a heavy-set woman in her late thirties, raced up like a little school girl, seemingly oblivious to the insult. Then, she came out on stage to make the announcement, and Daniels implored her to dance again, saying it was seeing the dance was the reason he picked her out of the crowd. Nancy “Jiggles” from Taunton, MA was a bundle of energy, made a great introduction, even stumbling over Mat Kearney’s name. A minute later, as Kearney launched into her set, we saw Jiggles walk by our row on her way to the concession stand. Apparently, not a fan.
Even a relatively small venue like Agganis Arena was too big for the voice of Colbie Caillat. She was absolutely swallowed up by the acoustics, and her vocals weren’t that strong to begin with. She arrived on stage preceded by a 5 piece band, in a minuscule black dress that was one inch (on top and on bottom) from being a whore. Plus, it was a poor fit and more than once, she stepped out of the spotlight to adjust her dress. She lacked any stage presence at all, and on the video screen, no amount of make-up could hide her bad skin, her face riddled with acne.
There was nothing great about her material, mostly Vegas lounge act, washed out high notes and lifeless songs. Her bassist handled the material better in falsetto than her vocals. When she introduced the tune The Little Things my friend leaned over to me and said, “Like her dress.” She started to introduce the new single, Realize, but was interrupted by a heckler in the front row, probably calling out to her that he could see straight up her dress. Her response was a bubbly “Thank you!”
The last song of her set, the “hit” Bubbly, was the only time when she put on a show, channeling a little bit of Jewel. The rest was just filler.
With little fanfare, Gregg Daniels and Lady D of Mix 98.5 in Boston, MA, introduced Blue October as the opening act of MixFest 2007. My friend described the two DJs as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and What Not to Wear on the stage all at once. Fortunately, they were only there for the sponsor’s plug which included, strangely enough, Land O’Lakes cheese.
Blue October sounded great. The material from the last album Foiled forces Justin Furstenfeld to sing, which he can do, but hasn’t done enough of in earlier concert outings. They opened MixFest to a tiny percentage of the 7000+ capacity crowd, but gave a tight and energized performance for those smart enough to arrive on time. Calling You was absolutely gorgeous. Furstenfeld’s stylized vocals only faltered at the end. He took to saying the lyrics to Hate Me instead of singing them. But the song is heart-wrenching and it capped a brief, but thoroughly satisfying, ride.
I hope it was the band’s choice to go early rather than a function of being the least well known of the bunch. Though I concede it was probably the latter explanation for how they pulled the 7pm start time, it was a bit of a disappointment to only hear 5 songs. And since Blue October were vastly better than the two acts that followed, it really made the decision questionable.
Nevertheless, it was a great mix of music.
Sep 29
AndrewPop, Singer/Songwriter
Even a relatively small venue like Agganis Arena was too big for the voice of Colbie Caillat. She was absolutely swallowed up by the acoustics, and her vocals weren’t that strong to begin with. She arrived on stage preceded by a 5 piece band, in a minuscule black dress that was one inch (on top and on bottom) from being whore. Plus, it was a poor fit and more than once, she stepped out of the spotlight to adjust her dress. She lacked any stage presence at all, and on the video screen, no amount of make-up could hide her bad skin, her face riddled with acne.
There was nothing great about her material, mostly Vegas lounge act, washed out high notes and lifeless songs. Her bassist handled the material better in falsetto than her vocals. When she introduced the tune The Little Things my friend leaned over to me and said, “Like her dress.” She started to introduce the new single, Realize, but was interrupted by a heckler in the front row, probably calling out to her that he could see straight up her dress. Her response was a bubbly “Thank you!”
The last song of her set, the “hit” Bubbly, was the only time when she put on a show, channeling a little bit of Jewel. The rest was just filler.
Sep 15
ChristySinger/Songwriter, Soft Rock
Amazing, amazing, amazing.
They have apparently had a very rough tour, she was very humble and overwhelmed by the support. Continuously was giving thanks to the audience for their spirit.
Paula opened with Mississippi (she played the piano) and then played 3-4 new songs from Courage
. I thought they were a bit heavy. Then it was onto the oldies but goodies, Hush, Hush, Hush, This Fire, Bethlehem, Where Have All The Cowboys Gone (the non aggressive non-finger version), Amen, and then an encore with I Don’t Want to Wait and Jolene. The new songs were Comin’ Down, 14, Love Light, and It’s My Life. I think I liked 14 best!
She was very excited to be in NY, which is where she lives now with her daughter. Apparently she is in the middle of a divorce.
The crowd was about half Mandy Moore fans and half Paula. Many left between sets. I heard one of the Moore fans on the street afterwards who had stayed for Paula and she was booking it to Virgin Mega Store to pick up Paula’s album, because she was so amazing. I missed the opening act, only caught one and a half songs of his because I hit major traffic on the way into the city.
Aug 24
AndrewAlternative Rock, College Rock, Indie Rock, Rock and Roll, Singer/Songwriter
Presale tickets went on sale to day for Mixfest 2007 at Agganis Arena (Boston University) hosted by Mix 98.5. Matchbox Twenty will headline the show (read a review of Matchbox Twenty). Other acts slated to appear include Daughtry, Mat Kearney, Blue October (read a review) and Colbie Caillat.
The show will take place on September 29, 2007 at Agganis Arena, approximately 7,200 seat capacity for concerts, which makes this one of the most intimate MixFests ever (read a review of MixFest 98.5 10th Anniversary.)
My esteem for both Rob Thomas has grown considerably in the last few years almost entirely due to his solo release Something to Be
. Matchbox Twenty songs were ubiquitous on the radio ten years ago, and even though my feelings for their older stuff is hit or miss, I’m excited to see them again and give the band another chance.
Likewise, I didn’t have great things to say about Blue October the first time I saw them, but their performance was solid enough that I gave their studio albums a chance. Their last album Foiled
was wholly accessible and Hate Me is one of the most amazing songs I’ve heard in years. I had tickets to their last Boston show, but they cancelled after Justin Furstenfeld broke his leg and needed surgery.
Daughtry is supposed to be a good live act, and while I’m not gushing for them, I watched American Idol and Daughtry got whacked off that show (my favorite theory is that American Idol knew he would have a successful music career and didn’t need the boost of a win the way Taylor Hicks did. And see how much good it did for Hicks.)
Mat Kearney is currently making radio waves, but Undeniable is just annoying. Still, I sat through a set from Michelle Branch, I am pretty much steeled for anything.
Colbie Caillat sounds like a porn name.
Got your own opinions? Post comments here, or register with concert-central.com and post your own reviews.
Jun 16
AndrewAdult Contemporary, Alternative Rock, Art Rock, Dance, Pop, Punk, Rock and Roll, Singer/Songwriter
The True Colors Tour for the Human Rights Campaign rolled into Boston with some amazing talent ready to dance the night away in the spirit of equality and community. Those themes embodied much of the political message of the night, and variously, performers weighed in with their own messages of encouragement. Beth Ditto, of the Gossip, told us one song was written in reaction to George W. Bush’s re-election, but the message of the song was “we’re going to fuck who we want to fuck.” Rufus Wainwright let his music do the talking with a stirring rendition of Going to a Town with its overt political message, “I’m going to a place that is already been disgraced, I’m gonna see some folks who have already been let down. I’m so tired of America.”
But the night’s most poignant moments were both from Cyndi Lauper. Before Erasure’s set, she came out to address the audience about supporting The Matthew Shepard Foundation’s “Erase Hate” Project, encouraging us to “not hate the haters.” She found the stairs and without hesitation, marched into the audience and greeted people from the stands, all while never losing her message of equality and community. And when she speaks “community” she means everyone.
The second amazing split second was during the ensemble finale of True Colors, as the song wound down to its finale chords, Cyndi embraced her fellow musicians onstage and there were genuine, unfettered tears in her eyes. The message and the means of expression were that important to her.
Cyndi Lauper is otherworldly. There is no other way to describe her performance. To the opening chords of Hole in My Heart, she stood behind a white ceiling-to-floor curtain, visible only by her silhouette before she came out on stage adorned in a wide umbrella hat decorated in rainbow color stripes and long black wig. She wore an inexplicable outfit that looked like a flak jacket dress with S&M straps that seemed neither functional nor decorative. She tore across the stage through every song, as if trying to reach out to every single person in the audience. She never lacked for energy, never suffered a dull moment even with technical difficulties marring her entire set. During one pause between songs, Cyndi explained that the doctor shut her mother’s legs right as she was cresting, to make her grand entrance into the world, “and I ain’t been the same every since!” she screamed before ripping off her wig to reveal the shock of short, purple hair underneath.
The new material held up equally well as the classic hits. She drastically reworked She Bop into a ballad rocker, something that could have come straight from an Eagles setlist. When You Were Mine was a pulsing rock number, and a duet with Amanda Palmer who knew she was vocally outmatched and did her best to stay out of the way. Girls Just Want to Have Fun closed out the night, and at the end, the performers from earlier came out with enormous rainbow-colored balloons and tossed them into the audience.
Erasure’s 45 minute set came near the tail end, just as the sun had set. Though the five hour equality lovefest was never dull, the timing of Erasure’s disco-tinged, non-stop rotation of familiar dance hits was a welcome boost of energy.
They stuck to their biggest U.S. hits, folding in three songs off the new album, including the set opening Sunday Girl. Backed by three singers, Andy Bell and Vince Clarke came out on stage in matching vintage Blondie t-shirts with the words “Platinum Blonde” on the front in silver glitter. Vince wore army fatigues over his shirt and a platinum blonde wig. Andy was the most casually dressed he had been in ages. He looked good, just as seriously sexy at 43 years old as he was when he auditioned for Vince Clarke in 1985.
They launched into a string a hits and never dipped into their catalogue past the 80’s except for songs from the new album including I Could Fall in Love with You, the lead single from Light at the End of the World, and Sucker for Love, a disco anthem off the new album.
Andy’s voice was in fine form, and the three background singers, fitted in black wigs, added a great texture to songs like Chains of Love and some gorgeous harmonies on Oh L’Amour. Andy paused before launching into Love to Hate You to show off his glittery pointy toe footwear. Vince strapped on a guitar for rousing singalongs A Little Respect and Sometimes. From the opening synth note to the bows at the end, the crowd was on their feet and stayed there.
I had heard Debbie Harry was deliciously awful, so I was disappointed that from afar, her act sounded pretty good. Up close, however, her act was another story altogether.
Debbie Harry moved like a glacier across the stage, bouncing in place like a bobble head for long periods of time and then drifting to other points on the stage. Her crystalline voice was untarnished by a thirty plus year career and the music overall was enjoyable, but there was something so wooden and awkward about her stage presence, it riveted all your attention. During guitar solos, she moved to the back of the stage to stand placidly in the shadow of the drum set to await her turn. The closest she got to animated was a little Tina Turner kick but mostly, it was like watching the wax figurine of Debbie Harry sing Debbie Harry songs.
No Blondie songs in the setlist, and a few debuts from her upcoming album including Necessary Evil and Whiteout. The best of the night was the new single Two Times Blue which closed out her set. Afterwards, they rushed her body back to the cryogenic freeze to be thawed out when the tour hits Columbia, MD.
Rufus Wainwright walked out on stage backed by an entourage, and launched into a rousing version of the song Release the Stars from the album of the same name. He was wearing a red, white, and blue striped shirt, and his band looked like the sixties had puked all over them. There was a saxophone, guitar, bass, piano, French horn, drums, and a trumpet and each of the players sang harmonies. It made for melodious and heavenly renditions during the set including the new single Going to a Town and Gay Messiah, from the album Want Two.
The Dresden Dolls are the kind of band that cannot be described by mere words, but I’ll try anyway. One half Amanda Palmer and one half Brian Viglione, they are self-described as a punk cabaret. It’s a fitting, however limited, description. They came on stage calmly. Amanda was outfitted in fishnet stockings and a corset and Brian in a white nightgown, with his face painted mime white, pajama-bottoms with his underwear on the outside.
This was a hits show of sorts. They knew that the audience would be largely unfamiliar and pulled out some of their best known songs including Shores of California and Coin-Operated Boy. Amanda does the singing, pounding on her keyboards while Brian accompanies on drums, and once, guitar. He’s silent, but makes theatrical facial expressions throughout. This might not sound like a recipe for a concert, but trust me, they were both equally arresting on stage. At one point, with a beer in her hand, Amanda sings with the gusto of a drinking song (it was a drinking song) as the beer boils and bubbles over the lip of the bottle, sending foam and beer spraying the stage and running down her hand. Brian, who stripped off the nightgown after the first song and played shirtless through the end of the set, was never boring to watch. He effortlessly managed to play, act and command his share of the attention.
They closed the set with an audience vote between War Pigs (yes, that War Pigs) and Girl Anachronism from their self-titled album. To our credit, the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the Dolls’ own song.
The Gossip had the unenviable task of opening for the True Colors Tour in Boston, MA promptly at 6pm. They got a rousing introduction by host Margaret Cho, who effusively praised lead singer Beth Ditto. Of the crowd, half of whom hadn’t arrived yet, most weren’t at their seats when The Gossip launched into their first song.
Not knowing what to expect, I was mostly taken back at first by how close we were to the speakers. I think I would have enjoyed their set much more if we had been further away (the only other time I have ever said that was during The Dead 60’s and then I wanted to be so far away, I was in another building…) but as a band and as a human being, The Gossip and Beth Ditto were entrancing.
There’s no other way to describe her performance. Beth is overweight and outspoken. She painted on her dressed, which showed every nook and cranny of her body and she wasn’t afraid to move it and twist and contort with the music. You could not take your eyes off of her. She also spent a few moments between songs addressing the audience. She admonished us for not cheering when she talked about the other bands playing tonight, “When someone says the name of a band, you usually clap.” Later, she also let us know, it’s okay to dance if we want to. She also told us that the band was 2/3 gay and 1/3 GBA “Gay By Association.”
The Gossip, it turns out, has been around the entire decade, producing three albums and there were a handful of people in the crowd that new every song. I wasn’t one of them. But after the initial shock of seeing Beth Ditto’s pantyline etched into her dress like a concrete handprint on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and getting a straight shot view down guitarist Brace Paine’s butt crack, it turned out they were an amazing band.
Margaret Cho started her night as hostess of the True Colors Tour subdued by saying frankly, “We’re all happy Jerry Falwell is dead.” Yes, that was subdued. Cho was happily inserted between each band while the crew changed sets behind her with marvelous efficiency, giving us small chunks of her stand-up routine that got dirtier as the night went on.
If you have never seen Margaret Cho live, she is one of the rare comedians who is not only not afraid to talk about anything, but she’s seriously raunchy and so unbelievably funny. Without missing a beat on topics including the Pope (she called him a queen), gay cruises “Being gay is not a choice, it’s a lot of fun,” George W. Bush, and of course, Paris Hilton, using her “I’m a prisoner” to great effect more than once during the night.
It’s rare that a festival show completely lives up to its billing from start to finish but the True Colors Tour did without a doubt. The message of equality was so fully integrated into the night, but it was never intrusive or out of place. The music was simply awesome. Even the breaks between acts was short, the set changes efficient, punctuated by the hysterical Margaret Cho so that time passed like it was nothing. At the end of the night, I was almost dizzy from the overwhelming feeling of euphoria. And damn if I didn’t want to do it all over again.
Jun 16
AndrewRock and Roll, Singer/Songwriter, Soft Rock
Cyndi Lauper is otherworldly. There is no other way to describe her performance. To the opening chords of Hole in My Heart, she stood behind a white ceiling-to-floor curtain, visible only by her silhouette before she came out on stage adorned in a wide umbrella hat decorated in rainbow color stripes and long black wig. She wore an inexplicable outfit that looked like a flak jacket dress with S&M straps that seemed neither functional nor decorative. She tore across the stage through every song, as if trying to reach out to every single person in the audience. She never lacked for energy, never suffered a dull moment even with technical difficulties marring her entire set. During the new song, Grab Ahold, she moved casually into the audience and stayed among the crowd for several minutes.
During one pause between songs, Cyndi explained that the doctor shut her mother’s legs right as she was cresting, to make her grand entrance into the world, “and I ain’t been the same every since!” she screamed before ripping off her wig to reveal the shock of short, purple hair underneath.
The new material held up equally well as the classic hits. She drastically reworked She Bop into a ballad rocker, something that could have come straight from an Eagles setlist. When You Were Mine was a pulsing rock number, and a duet with Amanda Palmer who knew she was vocally outmatched and did her best to stay out of the way. Girls Just Want to Have Fun closed out the night, and at the end, the performers from earlier came out with enormous rainbow-colored balloons and tossed them into the audience.
It was notable that even among some performers that have had equally long careers, Cyndi Lauper still outshined them all tonight. The True Colors Tour as it came about was her vision and she deservedly took the last spot in the line-up and lit up the stage with her presence. I cannot emphasize enough how overwhelmed with joy I was at watching her performance and knowing that every single person in the audience was sharing that same experience.
Cyndi Lauper Setlist
Hole In My Heart (All The Way To China)
Grab A Hold
The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough
Set Your Heart
When You Were Mine (with Amanda Palmer)
She Bop
I Drove All Night
Money Changes Everything
Time After Time (with Beth Ditto)
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
True Colors (with Ensemble)
Jun 16
AndrewArt Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Seeing Rufus Wainwright live solo, and seeing him perform backed by a seven piece band are quite different experiences. So tonight, he walked out on stage backed by an entourage, and launched into a rousing version of the song Release the Stars from the album of the same name. He was wearing a red, white, and blue striped shirt, and his band looked like the sixties had puked all over them. There was a saxophone, guitar, bass, piano, French horn, drums, and a trumpet and each of the players sang harmonies. It made for melodious and heavenly renditions during the set including the new single Going to a Town and Gay Messiah, from the album Want Two.
The problem was the set was short and Rufus mostly avoided up tempo numbers. He also had little time for his trademark banter, which typically trails off into all sorts of remarkable and vain tangents. So while the music was sumptuous, it was also an atypical Rufus Wainwright experience.
Rufus was playing two nights on the True Colors Tour, at Boston and the next day in Columbia, MD.
Oct 29
DaraArt Rock, Singer/Songwriter
I LOVED this show, the most minimal guitars you’ve ever heard (at times) and a totally unpredictable voice which all fit with their studio work. The surprise was the dynamism of Mike — he was all repressed insanity – face contortions while he sang a ballad. Great lyrics and then these monologues in between each song that were Hilarious. He came off as this tortured smart ex-gothic (eyes very close together) who was saved by this band. And when the guitars stopped being minimal all three of the boys played well, one guy did keyboards at times. So interesting and bizarre in a not very loud way.
Oct 10
DaraHard Rock, Modern Rock, Singer/Songwriter
first few songs had some punk chord changes but by the end he was an any-man’s singer songwriter, he was on time and played a respectable length of time – not so punk or not a poseur?
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