May 28
AndrewIndie Rock
Abandoned Pools was not an enjoyable opening act. I keep having to look up their name to see if the word “pool” is plural. They are that forgettable. They had a minor radio hit from their album “Humanistic” and the rest of the set was just killing time until the main act. The surprise cover version of “Army of Me” firmly cemented my opinion that some songs only work when they are performed by the original artist. Moldy percussion and a weak lead vocal turned the cover song, and actually the entire set, into sonic crap.
May 28
AndrewAlternative Rock
05.28.2002 Garbage The Joint, Las Vegas, NV
Opener: Abandoned Pools
Garbage toured in support of their third album, beautifulgarbage and I was a huge fan. Shirley Manson and company did not disappoint. Butch Vig, Garbage drummer and producer of Nirvana’s Nevermind, was sidelined with an ear infection (the second time he had pulled out of a Garbage tour) and was replaced by Matt Chamberlain who, of course, also percusses for Tori Amos in addition to session work. His first date on the tour was Las Vegas, and the band tailored the setlist around his lack of familiarity with the new material. But Matt was hardly a Garbage virgin, he played with them the last time Butch Vig called in sick on a tour.
That, in fact, wasn’t even the biggest twist of the night. Shirley Manson was also ailing, losing her voice in fact, and was very worried about having to cancel future dates. A soothing liquid potion was concocted for her to minimize the damage and she apologized upfront that the pace of the show was going to be slightly subdued so she wouldn’t wear out her voice.
She ended up spending generous amounts of time between songs talking about the recording experience and the treatment of record companies towards their clients. It was very much like being at a taping of VH1 Storytellers and it was one of the most enjoyable concert experiences I have ever had. Now, why talking was better than singing for her voice, requires someone who understands the mechanics of the vocal chords to explain, but it wasn’t like the show came to a deadstop after every song. She entertained through the entire show, some talking, and a lot of Garbage hits.
My favorite Garbage song of them all is “Milk.” The song is loosely about codependancy in relationships “I am weak But I am strong / I can use my tears to Bring you home” and it showcases a typical Garbage melody. You know a Garbage song when you hear it. “Not My Idea” always gets the crowd jumping. By request, the band began to perform “Queer” got through first 2 verses only, then aborted. There were a few occasions that Matt Chamberlain had to be prompted through a song but it’s not like anyone in the audience would notice if he missed a beat once in a while. He’s pretty fuckin’ good no matter what. The encore started with an early nugget “Supervixen” which Shirley suggested was only for the hardcore Garbage fans. They closed with “Only Happy When It Rains” which is of course, the quintessential Garbage radio-friendly tune.
Garbage is one of those bands you see live, and realize just how much of their catalog you already knew. They also recorded the James Bond “The World is Not Enough” title track. I was totally thrilled. The song contribution met every expectation of mine, even the video. So did their live show, Butch Vig and a healthy Shirley Manson, or no.
Setlist
Push It
#1 Crush
I Think I’m Paranoid
Special
Cup of Coffee
Til the Day I Die
Not My Idea
When I Grow Up
Queer
Milk
Shut Your Mouth
I Just Wanna Have Something To Do
Stupid Girl
Cherry Lips
Vow
Encore
Supervixen
Only Happy When It Rains
May 09
AndrewRock and Roll
Ryan Adams opened and I really enjoyed his Gold album tremendously, so I looked forward to it. Aside from a decent attempt at “Brown Sugar” to close his set, this was a mucky mess. Not enjoyable. I hear to tell he’s an uneven live performer and I wouldn’t go out of my way to see him again in any case. I think I recognized some of the songs, but there wasn’t enough musicianship to sing along to.
May 09
AndrewRock and Roll
05.09.2002 Alanis Morissette The Joint, Las Vegas, NV
Opener: Ryan Adams
This was concert number four in a string of shows my friend and I saw in about five weeks in the late spring of 2002. The shows got better as we went along, even though it was more mentally taxing to get pumped for another live show. Alanis Morissette was simply awesome. I attribute this to three factors. This was her first US tour with this particular backing band, and quite frankly, they were far superior to her previous line-ups. They also had a ton more experience. Eric Avery (bass) played with Jane’s Addiction and David Levita (guitar) played with Santana. Compare that to her original backing band (who she toured with on Jagged Little Pill and Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie) Nick Lashley and Jessie Tobias who principle experience included playing with…Alanis Morissette. Her bassist for Junkie Chris Chaney, plays for Jane’s Addiction now. The point is, they complemented her well, but the sound was far more vibrant at this show than ever before. The show rocked because I have never heard her voice sound so pure. It was simply magical to listen to her sing. She does a lot of vocal gymnastics that sometimes come across as discordant instead of harmonious – especially on Junkie tracks, but her voice was in excellent condition. She clearly took advantage of the time away from the road to rest herself. And I could probably argue that it helped that there were only 3 Junkie tracks on the set. Even though “Sympathetic Character” always distinctly reminds me of fingernails scrapping a chalkboard, or a cat in the final throes of death. But we’ll forgive the one song because the rest of the setlist was stellar.
The name of this tour is Toward Our Union Mended Tour from the Under Rug Swept contribution “A Man.” She actually did the Under Rug Swept Tour but the dates were pretty much all in Europe. I rediscovered a great love for all things Alanis, and we stood fuckin close to the stage. If I had to come up with a third reason that this show was insanely enjoyable, it would simply be because I am an insanely huge fan. This performance cemented it.
She played all of the singles (minus “Ironic” but what can you do? It wasn’t called Toward Our Greatest Hits Package Tour) and covered most of the new album and it was perfection. “Purgatorying” and “Sister Blister” showed up on the Feast on Scraps album and they both were bitchin live contributions. Although I kind of thought maybe “Purgatorying” as one song instead of three partials would have been more enjoyable. It’s actually a pretty song.
“So Unsexy” included one stanza of “I Feel Pretty” and “You Oughta Know” sounded much different, but she reinvents that song for every tour. She fortunately axed the long piano solo before “Uninvited” (it was probably intended as a break for her voice originally). “Hands Clean” is Alanis in her element and she does a lot of vocal switch-ups during the live version. I think a naysayer might call it warbling. But it doesn’t sound like it to me, either when she’s singing it or when I am singing it in the shower. Or in the car. Or at my desk.
Set List
Baba
Right Through You
21 Things I Want In A Lover
Hand In My Pocket
Purgatorying I
Sister Blister
So Pure
Precious Illusions
Sympathetic Character
Purgatorying II
So Unsexy
You Oughta Know
Purgatorying III
Head Over Feet
Hands Clean
Uninvited
Surrendering
1st Encore
You Learn
That Particular Time
2nd Encore
Thank U
May 04
AndrewAlternative Rock, Latin
Despite being assured that Maria Fatal has released albums, I have never stumbled across one in a retail store. Online, I have seen listings as “not available.” They were awesome, so that’s too bad their distribution isn’t widespread.
Maria Fatal was a tight, Spanish-singing rock group, fitting for a Cinco de Mayo celebration. It’s pretty much not possible to find an album of theirs in my neck of the woods, but they have released a few.
May 04
AndrewAlternative Rock, Modern Rock
05.04.2002 Concrete Blonde Palace Theatre, Hollywood, CA
Opener: Maria Fatal
Blonde’s Mojave is being released June 2004.
For hardcore fans of Concrete Blonde it has long been known of their somewhat incestuous relationship with Roxy Music, Wall of Voodoo and the like, so in tribute, Johnette Napolitano had the Palace Theatre play an old Roxy Music footage shown against a thin white curtain before the show. Their recent album’s only single, “Roxy” is another nod, and the band opened with an extended instrumental introduction before the curtain lifted and they went straight into “Roxy.” Whether or not Johnette herself believes it, it is good to see Concrete Blonde producing new music again. She’s been busy since the last Concrete Blonde album Mexican Moon which was brilliant but mostly ignored by the public. So if somehow you decide to follow her-post Blonde career, here are some tips.
Pretty & Twisted with Wall of Voodoo’s Marc Moreland (and their amazing contribution to the If I Were a Carpenter.) Pretty & Twisted, aside from one notable album and tour, have the distinction of being the first band to play at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas. It was almost a year before the Joint started doing all ages shows (most of them are now) so I didn’t get in.
She also recorded a one-off album with Holly Vincent, Vowel Movement which is near impossible to find (including my copy), but is a raw and visceral experience if you happen across it. Casual fans don’t bother. It lacks the slick production of anything else Johnette has ever done.
She sang with the Heads, which was only a couple songs and I could kind of close my eyes and imagine they were Concrete Blonde songs instead, but let’s face facts, the Heads just suck without David Byrne.
And song track contributions: Well, at least that I know of, she did a song for Pamela Anderson’s movie, “Barb Wire.” Yikes! Okay song, baaad movie.
Her solo album, Sketchbook just doesn’t exist on the open market.
While on the Group Therapy tour drummer Harry Rushakoff disappeared and the band recruited Gabriel Ramirez-Quezada. Since he played in the opening act, Maria Fatal, it kind of made for a quick set change. Concrete Blonde stuck mostly to songs from their most popular album, Bloodletting, which spawned the hits named after people, “Joey” and “Caroline.” She flubbed the lyrics during “Joey” and seemed to have a hard time getting back on track. “Take Me Home” was too discordant to convey the melancholy and wistfulness of the lyrics. Johnette and Jim Mankey switched lead guitar and bass for “Take Me Home.” Then, they closed the show with probably the top two most haunting Concrete Blonde melodies, “Mexican Moon” and “Tomorrow, Wendy.” The latter is a wake-up call about the AIDS epidemic, which Wall of Voodoo singer Andy Prieboy wrote in 1988. So while the whole show wasn’t particularly upbeat, it certainly was memorable.
The setlist isn’t what I would have picked, but Johnette is pretty intoxicating on stage (er, and intoxicated, she begins every show with a full glass of wine and the rest of the bottle rests next to her amp for refills.) The other bummer was that Steve Wynn had been touring with them (think Nick Cave) but he wasn’t around tonight.
The show was moved from the Wiltern in Los Angeles, and it’s always a little dicey getting around Hollywood. We actually were only staying a couple blocks from the venue, and we paid the premium for parking next door, instead of walking a few blocks in any direction. Most of LA isn’t really as scary as its reputation, and some parts are scarier. Hollywood all around is moving rapidly towards the latter. Maybe being tentative and cautious is a little unreasonable (particularly since I had lived in L.A. not that long before) but we were and we did. And I think I would upgrade my hotel next time and stay somewhere a little cleaner and probably where the front desk clerk doesn’t hide behind protective glass.
Set List
Roxy
God Is A Bullet
Valentine
Tonight
Everybody Knows
Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)
Little Conversations
Caroline
Joey
Days & Days
When I Was Fool
Violent
Someday
Take Me Home
Mexican Moon
Tomorrow, Wendy
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