Live Music

[Sky]

Yeah, it was the Orchestra doing the christmas set. I went in thinking it was going to be all xmas tunes (which would be ok), but he put on an amazing show. I was almost speechless at how amazing he is. They did a bunch of Orchestra regulars (Gene & Eddie, Route 66, etc) in addition to the xmas stuff. In the middle of the show he brought the drummer, bassist, tromboner and a backup singer playing fiddle out to the front of the stage and played some gypsy jazz (Django style) as a smaller band. Then the tromboner and fiddler left and they did some Stray Cats as a three piece (though the Orchestra guys aren't as good as the Cats), throwing the Grinch song into the middle of Stray Cat Strut segueing back into the full band and more standards + xmas tunes.

He did a cool set of classical tunes in a boogie style. The way he can arrange for the orchestra is amazing, he weaves in and out of being true to the original and swinging rockabilly style.

[Tale]

If you are anywhere near Raleigh, North Carolina, please check this band out for me live: The Secret Theatre (demos on that link, crappy mobile phone video here)

Um, how to describe it ... Radiohead meets GLaDOS? The singer/songwriter has a unique voice and a lot of talent, and I hope he goes far. The demos on MySpace can be downloaded but the cymbals are a bit tinny.

They're unsigned but jumped to 4000 MySpace friends after a few gigs. I know him as the roommate of someone I watch on YouTube, appearing in some of her videos: 1, 2.

[Sky]

Not close.

Also, scored front row center tickets for BB King in May. Very excited. 

[stray]

BB was the first live show I ever got to see  Unless you count the city symphony.

Kinda blows my mind that that was like 15 years ago -- and he seemed ancient then!

[Sky]

He'll be 82 this year. Buddy Guy will be 72.

My first show was Judas Priest on the Defenders of the Faith tour. \m/

[Selby]

My first show was Judas Priest on the Defenders of the Faith tour. \m/

Now that must have been a good show (before the TurboSuperchargedRamItDown era of overproduction and generic riffing).  I saw them with Ripper Owens and they are still one hell of an entertaining band for having been around as long as they have.

[Sky]

I was 13. Seeing a stadium-sized Metallion (the critter on the cover of the album) was face-melting. When they did Electric Eye and lasers came out of its eyes, when it lifted it's leg/paw/ramp and Rob came riding out on his Harley....I was already on the path to metaldom at the time, but that show sealed the deal. Got a guitar that summer, and always been a fan of dual guitar bands (Maiden, Priest, Fate, Slayer).

These days I like seated shows, so tired of general admish, which used to be my favorite because I was a mosher, before it got all fucked up mainstream nonsense. I also dig the old blues guys because they will give you a little history and some lessons, too. How cool is that? Buddy Guy has a section of his show where he talks about old-time guitarists and he'll play little sections from their stuff to demonstrate their styles, it's wicked!

[stray]

I hate seated shows. Surefire way to turn me into a grump. Even if someone else is paying.


You're getting too old Sky!

[Sky]

Gladly so. I did my share of hell-raising, I'm more than happy where I am now in life.

[stray]

Well, I'm not necessarily talking about hellraising... It's just much nicer being able to move closer to the act no matter what you pay, wandering around meeting people (and getting fondled by them), sticking your head next to the PA speaker, whatever. Seated venues always feel so stuffy and constrained. People standing in place to dance -- not fun. And half of the time, no one wants to do that, so they just sit. And the people who do dance look like morons, realize it, and just sit eventually. And even worse, they're hundreds of feet away and pretty much getting most of the action through a jumbotron. Might as well stay at home then.

Really man, the whole "splendid" thing? That was bad enough! Now you're advocating seated venues. Totally not rock 'n' roll dude. 

[Sky]

I do not want to be fondled by strangers. I do not want my head by a PA speaker. I don't go to concerts to wander around and meet people. I do not mind standing in place and dancing with my fiancee, people who think I look like a moron can go fuck themselves, I really don't give a shit what people think.

I'll give you the point that getting shitty seats sucks, but if it's a good live band like the Allmans, it's still worth it, because you get to see a different show every time. And there's still the vibe of the show. But I usually get good tickets these days.

Like I said, I know I'm getting old, and I'm a-o-fucking-k with it. I did all the things you think are cool when I was younger. I so don't give a shit about being rock'n'roll now. Let's not fag up the thread any more with this bullshit, eh?

[stray]

You can't be that much older than me, can you? [edit] I'm 30 by the way... Although I really don't think actual age should matter.

Anyways, don't get too pissed. Be old, fine -- but don't be THAT old to start calling this "thread fagging"! This is not politics. Talking about the merits of seated or general admission in a Live Music thread doesn't have to be so taboo. These are light, friendly jabs, sir. Not trying to offend you....Too much. 

[Righ]

I'm older than both of you. I like standing shows more than seated ones because when the audience is responding to the music, the band tends to play better. That is all. My legs would prefer it if the shows were seated venues, but its not my legs that listen to music, so fuck them.

I first saw Judas Priest on the Point of Entry tour. The album wasn't up to their standard, but they were great live. I did also see them on the next few tours, including Defenders of the Faith. Saxon were another great double guitar metal band from that period.You should run out and buy a copy of Wheels of Steel.

[Tale]

I saw BB King as the support on U2's Rattle n Hum tour in Sydney in 1989. That's 19 years ago and he seemed ancient then, too.

[Selby]

Saw Social Distortion last night to a packed house of 600 people or so.  Always an interesting time, especially with the Hank Williams covers and the acoustic renditions of several songs.  The obligatory setlist was:

Reach For The Sky (acoustic)
Ball And Chain (acoustic)
Cold Feelings (acoustic)
Six More Miles (To The Graveyard)
Alone And Forsaken
Under My Thumb
Born To Lose
Can't Take It With You
Coulda Been Me (with blues intro)
Drug Train
This Time Darlin'
Highway 101
Mommy's Little Monster
Sick Boys
Winners And Losers
(encore)
Far Behind
Prison Bound
Ring Of Fire

[stray]

Social D is one of my favorite bands (hence the avatar). Who'd they play with?

[Selby]

They played with the Tone Junkies, who were actually VERY good compared to most opening acts I've seen.  They had a good audio mix and weren't afraid to do a variety of things with the guitar as opposed to just playing power chords over and over again.  Very energetic group.

For some reason I've almost never seen a good opening act at a metal show.  They usually are just some local band that "plays heavy" by downtuning and trying their best to imitate Korn and other 1 finger chord bands.

[stray]

I haven't seen that many metal acts to remember actually. Though I did play in one (and yeah, it was crappy).

[Sky]

They usually are just some local band that "plays heavy" by downtuning and trying their best to imitate Korn and other 1 finger chord bands.

I haven't seen many metal shows since that shit got popular. Kinda funny, when I jammed with a metal drummer out of Syracuse, he loved my 'old school' style. Hah. Goddamned kids.

[Phildo]

I haven't seen many metal shows since that shit got popular. Kinda funny, when I jammed with a metal drummer out of Syracuse, he loved my 'old school' style. Hah. Goddamned kids.

Alright, we'll get off our lawn if you promise to stop blaring your Styx records.

[stray]

The band I jammed with weren't downtuners, but death metalers.. Which is just as bad, in my opinion. Death metal drummers kick ass and all, but I can do without the rest.

There's a lot of older type of metalheads in my city though (I suspect like what you're mentioning, Sky). Not my thing either, but I have more in common with them at least.

[Righ]

For some reason I've almost never seen a good opening act at a metal show.

Does a long time ago count? Diamond Head were one of the best support bands I ever saw, as were Metallica, who later covered them. Not metal, but Nirvana and Pixies were pretty good support bands too. :)

[Sky]

Saw Queensryche open for Kiss, Metallica open for Ozzy, Melvins open for Tool, off the top of my head.

[stray]

Melvins should never qualify as an opening act! Especially for a band younger than them.

Must've been a cool show though.

[Sky]

It was. At the Poughkeepsie civic center or something, the size of a high school gym, not a large one. Got to meet tool after, so it was all good.

[Righ]

Finally the Aussies get a chance to see one of the best live bands around:

Porcupine Tree have confirmed their first ever live concerts in Australia in April:

FRIDAY 25 APRIL - MELBOURNE, THE METRO
SATURDAY 26 APRIL - SYDNEY, THE ENMORE
SUNDAY 27 APRIL - BRISBANE, THE TIVOLI

[lamaros]

Really? At the metro? Ugh.

[Selby]

Does a long time ago count?

Well sure.  But nowadays it seems every metal opener I've seen is basically subscribing to the "scream unintelligibly into the microphone" and the whole "rapid start, rapid stop" chord progression, usually played with 1 finger up and down the fretboard.  Slayer seems to suffer the most.  Every opening band for Slayer I've ever seen has completely sucked (except for Hatebreed, but I just wasn't that into them).  The only time I do recall a "good" metal band opening was when Angel Dust opened for Opeth back in 2001.

[Tale]

FRIDAY 25 APRIL

ANZAC Day. Sorry, too busy waving flags, beating Muslims and raping Aborigines.

[Sky]

Not music, but just grabbed a couple tickets to see Carlin. Never seen him live before, and he's not getting any younger. He is one of my heroes.

[stray]

He's getting kind of scary. The last hbo special he had was just bleak, even by his standards.

[Sky]

Yeah, that's our fear. Last thing we saw of him he was a bit less pessimistic (at least for Carlin), but even at his most pessimistic, it's still some cutting wit. It's a life list thing, anyway. Like seeing Bo Diddley even though he was barely coherent and months away from his debilitating stroke.

[Righ]

FRIDAY 25 APRIL

ANZAC Day. Sorry, too busy waving flags, beating Muslims and raping Aborigines.

Interesting - an Eric Bogle connection. His anti-war song "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" was based on Gallipoli and refers to ANZAC Day, and he's also well known for another anti-war song "No Man's Land" ,,, which happens to be the name of Steven Wilson's (of Porcupine Tree) recording studio.

[Selby]

Saw Bad Religion tonight on the first of their 4 day tour.  They decided that rather than play the same setlist with 1-2 modifications that this time they were going to progress through their catalog beginning back at the first EP forward.  Tonight they played 75% of the first album and 1st EP, which was great.  Lots of complaints from various people who weren't digging it, but they could get bent as far as I am concerned as they put on one hell of a show.  They threw some other hits in as well so it wasn't a complete bore to the fairweather fan.  For some reason people still like to toss shoes at Jay who then puts them on the microphone stand or on the amps (tonight was a set of Rockports and a sneaker).  They even acknowledged the Into The Unknown album, which Greg just groaned over.

Setlist for those that care...

Bad Religion
03/07/2008

Fuck Armageddon
New Dark Ages
Damned To Be Free
Doing Time
I Want To Conquer The World
LA Is Burning
We're Only Gonna Die
Part III
Slaves
Do What You Want
Stranger Than Fiction
Faith In God
In The Night
Suffer
Punk Rock Song
No Control
Latch Key Kids
Pity
Generator
Politics
Drastic Actions
Infected

[Abagadro]

That's a hell of set list from those guys.  Fuck Armageddon is one of my favorites and is in several of my specialty playlists.

I'm bummed I'm in Vegas the week before they play there.