Nov 26
DaraBluegrass, Country, Goth, Gypsy, Punk
this band was my favorite from a wealth of SXSW fantastics and I was even more impressed this time, some bands strike the personal chord and this band is one of them for me, the singer’s voice is a tremendous creening wail and the fiddler fiddles like a mad genius and the whole band has the fierce energy that sets a crowd to dancing without their full consent, the drummer was on top of his drumset several times, they paint traditional bluegrass/country-type-songs black and then hype them up with a gypsy punk undertone, inspiring as recordings and even moreso live
Nov 26
DaraAmericana, Country
totally captivating, three winsome (very) young girls who rock like boys – one or two of them actually went to a girl rock camp, there was a pretty little long-haired blonde who keeps her wild-side feminine, there was a sexy official-bad-girl in tights / mini skirt / raccoon hat / LA Guns t-shirt, there was an underage cute one in a curly bob who is probably the secret baddest of them all, oh and there was a guy playing drums but nobody paid attention to him, they met in Tennessee and do raucous sitting-on-your-porch country numbers that they wrote themselves
Nov 26
DaraAmericana, Rock and Roll
in same indie-psych-rock vein as The Parson Red Heads but not as pleasing – I attribute it to the pop-rock quality of the singer’s voice
Nov 26
DaraBluegrass, Country, Jam Band, Rock and Roll
mix of psychedelia and folk in an indie style – reminiscent of Grateful Dead and Neil Young , many band members, we enjoyed them
Nov 24
AndrewArt Rock, Indie Rock
Amanda Palmer stormed into Boston for the first two nights at the Paradise Rock Club, supported by the Danger Ensemble. Palmer’s solo album is a force of nature, as is the performer herself on stage. Playing keyboard solo and accompanied on about half the songs by violinist Lyndon Chester, Palmer ran through most of the songs from her solo album, keeping the audience riveted with soft love lorn songs like Ampersand and the tragic Blake Says. Musically, Palmer has never sounded better. She pounded through spirited versions of back to back Dresden Dolls’ tracks Backstabber and Coin-Operated Boy. During Guitar Hero, she played air guitar and lip synced to her own track from the front of the stage.
She stopped the set twice, once to auction off a signed guitar from the music video for Guitar Hero (it went for $790). Later, she went to a segment called “Ask Amanda” where she answered questions from a hat. It was that kind of show.
The Danger Ensemble is a four-piece performance group that acted out scenes on stage while Palmer played. Some of the pieces were stunning, like the tour de force of “Will Kiss for Kash” during Coin-Operated Boy. During Have to Drive, the Danger Ensemble reassembled in the audience, pushing the crowd away to make a space to work with and proceeded to climb on each other like a living sculpture. It was engrossing and Palmer was happy to share the attention.
The show opened with a eulogy performed by Palmer’s mother (getting the crowd to sing along to Abide with Me) before Palmer herself appeared through the crowd in a white shroud and launched into Astronaut.
The show closed with a lip synced extended version of Rihanna’s Umbrella, a singalong cover of Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer with The Builders and the Butchers supporting and Ryan Sollee sharing lead vocals. Then Vermillion Lies and Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band joined the rest on stage for a wild romp through Leeds United. It was that kind of night. Amazing.
Nov 24
AndrewJam Band
The Builders and the Butchers is a five man jam band. Why they were opening for Amanda Palmer is beyond me, but they were clearly game for the off-kilter crowd and avant garde performances of the other bands on the bill. Still, their music was a series of straight up rock jams, admittedly hard to figure out what they hell they were singing about. Lots of references to blood and other dark imagery. During their closing song, When It Rains, lead singer Ryan Sollee passed out to the audience a bunch of things to bang along to with the band.
The bassist played the entire set with only three strings after one snapped during the first number.
Nov 24
AndrewCabaret
Vermillion Lies, billed as sister cabaret, opened for Amanda Palmer. The two sisters harmonized and clapped and played a ragtag of makeshift instruments to great effect. The opened with a little ditty about cutting open Grandfather, then sang the song of the two sisters with Long Red Hair. The songs smacked of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, definitely not the happily ever after kind. They harmonized beautifully, kept up the chatter in between songs.
“What’s in the box?” we were prompted to ask before Blue (complete with a marionette performance). The Astronomer was a dirty song “the solar system really turns me on
I’m floating through your galaxy your milky ways are all over me”. They closed with two romps through Circus Fish and wildly entertaining Global Warming, which got the crowd pumped and chanting along to the refrain:
global warming – it’s hot!
global warming – it’s not cool!
global warming
it’s too cool for school
Nov 24
HarrisTour Dates
The Fray will head out on a short headlining tour to promote its self-titled new album in stores February 3. The album’s first single You Found Me debuted last week during Grey’s Anatomy.
The Fray tour
January 6 Denver, CO Gothic Theatre Write a review
January 8 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue Write a review
January 9 Chicago, IL Metro Write a review
January 10 Detroit, MI St. Andrew’s Hall Write a review
January 12 Toronto, ON Phoenix Write a review
January 14 Boston, MA Wilbur Theatre Write a review
January 15 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore Write a review
January 16 Washington, DC 9:30 Club Write a review
February 4 New York, NY Webster Hall Write a review
Tour information is up to date at time of publication
Nov 14
HarrisTour Dates
Motley Crue has scheduled 2009 North American tour. The rockers will be supported by Hinder, Theory of a Deadman and the Last Vegas.
Motley Crue Saints of Los Angeles 2009 tour dates
February 2 San Diego, CA Cox Arena Write a review
February 4 Reno, NV Reno Events Center Write a review
February 6-7 Las Vegas, NV The Joint Write a review
February 10 Omaha, NE Quest Center Write a review
February 11 Moline, IL iWireless Center Write a review
February 13 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena Write a review
February 14 Madison, WI Alliant Energy Center Write a review
February 15 Rockford, IL Metro Centre Write a review
February 17 Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo Arena Write a review
February 18 Saint Paul, MN Xcel Energy Center Write a review
February 19 Green Bay, WI Resch Center Write a review
February 21 Nashville, TN Sommet Center Write a review
February 22 Birmingham, AL Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex Write a review
February 25 Greensville, SC Bi-Lo Center Write a review
February 27 Lafayette, LA Cajun Dome Write a review
February 28 New Orleans, LA New Orleans Arena Write a review
March 3 Miami, FL Hard Rock Casino Write a review
March 4 Orlando, FL UCF Arena Write a review
March 6 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Write a review
March 7 Erie, PA Erie Events Center Write a review
March 8 Hershey, PA Giant Center Write a review
March 10 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place Write a review
March 11 Hamilton, ON Copps Coliseum Write a review
March 13 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena Write a review
March 14 Baltimore, MD 1st Mariner Arena Write a review
March 16 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Write a review
March 17 Manchester, NH Verizon Wireless Write a review
March 18 Portland, ME Cumberland County Civic Center Write a review
Tour information is up to date at time of publication
Nov 08
User ReviewsClassic Rock
An Argument for Dylan
What are the chances? Driving along and there you see a big sign flashing “Bob Dylan in concert.” He is, after all, truly a living legend. Since I have never seen him and I might not get another chance, I thought I’d be an idiot not to grab this opportunity. Veronica wasn’t overly thrilled since she had seen him several times before (her dad is the quintessential old hippy making the annual Dylan pilgrimage). I tried to think of some provocative ways to sell her on the idea of spending a hundred bucks and a couple hours of her life listening to unintelligible lyrics mumbled by a 67 year old man.
I tried the living legend idea but she had seen him before, so…as we talked about it, I stumbled on what I think is the real reason for anyone to be interested in seeing Dylan, even if they don’t particularly care for his music. Few people in the history of the arts ever make significant changes in the way their medium is executed. Bob Dylan is one of those few. He fundamentally changed the way songs are written, not musically, but lyrically. There is a noticeable difference between songs before and after his influence. Before Dylan, lyrics told stories in a clear, straightforward manner. The use of imagery was mostly confined to the music itself, with melody and chord structure. He changed that. Now it is common for the lyrics to be used as a vehicle to “paint a picture” as much as the feel and form of the music. Bob Dylan had a huge hand in making that happen. This point made an impact on Veronica and now she was actually looking forward to the show (I wisely decided not to remind her that she wouldn’t be able to decipher a word the man sings–lest I lose the whole lyrics argument).
We arrived just before showtime without tickets and by complete dumb luck got seats in the third row that were somehow overlooked in the advance sales. What can I say, we lead a charmed life. The first thing I noticed upon entering the arena was the crowd. It’s been a long, long time since I have been to a big stadium Rock concert but I still remember what it was like…and this wasn’t it. I actually felt like one of the younger ones there. This was probably a good thing. No mosh pits, groupies, biker security or clouds of pot smoke to obscure the reason we came. There was, however, a quite large contingency of younger kids from the local college willing to stand though the entire show in exchange for the cheaper ticket prices. Perhaps that’s where some secret herbal fires were burning. It did seem like a small whiff drifted by now and then.
As for the show itself, it was pretty much what I expected, except that Dylan has reinvented himself as a keyboard player on this tour. He only touched a guitar on a couple songs and used the harmonica mainly to add a little color here and there. The crowd went wild every time he touched the harp though, so it worked.
Dylan’s been known to do entire shows of songs only a hardcore fan would recognize so we were happy to be graced with some classics like “Highway 61 Revisited”, “Like A Rolling Stone”, “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue”, “Maggie’s Farm” and “All Along The Watchtower”. All nostalgic, bring-you-back-to-a-certain-place-and-time classics. For Veronica, an especially fond memory occurred during “Rainy Day Woman #12 and #35″ (huh?, oh yeah, “Everybody Must Get Stoned”) remembering her mother’s shock that her father was listening to “that song” in front of the children. Daddy easily explained it off as a song about Jesus, which is funny because it’s (kinda) true. A fine little childhood memory, that made Veronica smile.
It can be a bit off-putting how Dylan never acknowledges his audience, almost like watching a rehearsal. You can see that as good or bad, personally I find something to like in it. The lighting is sparse–you never really get a good look at him, the stage very pared-down. It’s almost as if the crowd is an afterthought. I can see how after several decades of performing these songs he might purposely phrase his lyrics so that it doesn’t turn into a sing along. It also occurred to me that the college kids (and some of the old hippies) should stop shouting out requests of favorite songs, because it might make him all the LESS likely to play them.
Dylan wasn’t vibrant, yet he didn’t seem like an “old guy”, either. As Veronica noted, he “oozed cool”. He is after all, as his introduction stated, “the poet laureate of rock ‘n roll. The voice of the promise of the 60s counterculture. The guy who forced folk into bed with rock, who donned makeup in the 70s and disappeared into a haze of substance abuse and emerged to find Jesus.”
And the band kicked ass.
by David, GypsyNester.com
Nov 06
User ReviewsAlternative Rock
Smashing Pumpkins 11-06-08 United Palace Theater NY, NY
A truly terrible performance of the Smashing Pumpkins last night in NYC. Billy insulted the crowd, played a 35 minute jam session that no one could appreciate, came out to an encore singing “Everyone is Beautiful” which got boo’s from the audience while people gave the band the middle finger. It was the worst concert I have ever been too. I might add I love the Smashing Pumpkins. Their Greatest Hits album is considered as one of the great classics of my time. However, people got ripped of last night of their hard earned money. It is always a bad sign to see people in the audience leaving a show early and giving the thumbs down sign as they are walking out. I was actually thinking the whole show was a joke and thinking that Smashing Pumpkins is now officially done as a viable band in concert.
Nov 03
User ReviewsAlternative Rock
Smashing Pumpkins.
Nov 3rd 2008
Massey Hall Toronto, Ontario
I love the Pumpkins, but their Nov 3rd show in Toronto’s Massey Hall was a major disappointment. They played a few of their hits, and for the rest of the performance, basically just jammed out… It was quite pointless, and was technically sub par at best… That was the saddest part for me, the jamming out part sucked… Even more disappointing is that when they were playing their hits, they completly nailed them…Almost perfectly… Small bits of greatness, mixed in with garbage.
By Jason
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