There was a bit of that in the early parts of HTDA’s set, too. When Trent Reznor (rarely) took over vocal duties from his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, the Nine Inch Nails faithful would rise up and match the group’s big, electronic sound. That isn’t a knock on Maandig, whose stellar voice never wavered during the 90-minute set — it’s just that people will always gravitate toward the icon.

By the time they got to Welcome oblivion, though, the night belong to Maandig, and rightfully so. Reznor is meticulous in his efforts to make his shows look and sound like something you won’t forget, and this HDTA show is designed to elevate Maandig from singer to star. When the chorus of the remixed version of The Space in Between hits, she is exactly that — Reznor drifts into the smokey background and Maandig is the only thing worth looking at and listening to.

When she finally spoke to the crowd, before main set closer A Drowning, Maandig was the only voice anybody wanted to hear. Mission accomplished for Reznor, then.

Spare thoughts:

• I will say that the pacing of the set itself was, at times, exceedingly strange. A Drowning is a great track, but a bit of a weird set closer after BBB, The Space In Between, Fur-Lined and The loop closes had pushed the crowd to the right side of raucous.

• HDTA’s light show was fantastic. In almost every NIN show, there was at least a few signature technical or lighting moments. Ditto for this one.

• Missed excellent openers DIIV, mostly because they were the second-last band I saw before leaving SXSW about a month ago. But check out their debut, Oshin, if you like shoegaze rock.

Setlist:
The wake-up
Keep it together
Parasite
And the sky began to scream
Ice age
The Believers
How long?
Welcome oblivion
BBB
The Space in Between
Fur-Lined
The loop closes
A Drowning

Encore:
On the wing
Strings and attractors
We fade away

Perhaps this is a testament to the influential power of this older music. This influence was seen primarily through the elongated jam sessions of James and his band, in a similar vein to the Allman Brothers or the all-star Grateful Dead. James took the stage shortly after 9 p.m., and did not leave it, save for the teasing moments before the encore, until close to 11:15 p.m. Two hours is formidable considering James’ set was only 15 songs in length. Nine of the songs made up his main set as well as the entirety his solo debut album: Regions of Light and Sound of God. The encore was composed of six songs. All of the songs on their respective studio recordings, including the covers that made up the whole encore, probably clock at just more than an hour. This indicates that James and his band lead about 50 minutes or so of pure experimentation and spontaneous performance.

So I reiterate: there was a plethora of jamming. The band was properly equipped, James had a backing quartet of accomplished musicians; the drummer even nuanced the front man’s soft strum with a bit of guitar soloing himself from the back of the stage on “Exploding.” The sprawling quality of the night’s set often took the format of the band taking off just before the song’s last chorus, followed by a moment of pure stillness where James would leave the stage and the drummer and/or keyboardist would lead the band, and then finally James would return to blow away concert-goers with a final refrain. This occurred nearly on every song, from opener “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” to show closer “Changing World” (a cut from New Multitudes, a Woody Guthrie tribute album to which James contributed.)

Key songs of the evening included the mentioned “State of the Art” and “A New Life.” Both tunes, relatively serene on the album were vamped up for the audience. The former was fit for arenas; James whipped out his flying-v guitar and commanded attention in a way that I would expect maybe Iron Maiden to. “A New Life” was a straight up crooner; James and his band came off as a band in a club’s residence as opposed to a rock band.

Jim James performing “Wonderful Tonight.”

Concert attendees desperate for an encore definitely received what they asked for. The encore was two-thirds the length of his main set and delivered a line-up of fan favorites not pulled solely from his solo material. The encore was its most memorable in the beginning, when James gave his band a song off to do “Wonderful (The Way I Feel.)”

James’ solo performance style does not differ all that greatly from when he plays with My Morning Jacket. Regardless of James’ context, the concert will be defined by gorges of sonic bombardment, with a handful of peaks known that are actual written songs. This in turn makes James a musician to look towards when searching for jam-band stylings with a youthful vigor. James inflects no indication of stopping in his seemingly endless performances, so expect more James in the future.

(A note on the opener, Cold Specks: James aside, musical aesthetics remained vintage during the entire evening. This soulful crew remitted sounds unknown to a venue recognized mostly for being a rock club. Cold Specks had notes of Ella Fitzgerald with a tinge of a gothy Corinne Bailey-Rae. When front woman Al Spx went solo without her band to support her, she was at her most graceful, putting the Newport crowd in utter awe. )

Last Friday, me and fellow Dissonant Geek Justin went to see one of the hardest working metal bands today, Opeth perform on their 3rd and final North American leg in support of their 2011 release Heritage. Opening in direct support were fellow Swedes and repeat openers, Katatonia.

We arrived at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair – an older building with an art deco look and netting on the ceilings. The bands managed to pack the entire lower level of the Theatre and Katatonia took the stage about an hour or so after the doors opened.

Katatonia came on and mainly played material from their last three releases – 2006′s The Great Cold Distance, 2009′s Night is the New Day and 2012′s Dead End Kings, which have a more alternative and catchy vibe than their early career. Unfortunately, that decision lead to all the songs sounding pretty similar. Crowd reaction to them was mixed – pockets of the crowd would be moshing and jumping around, while other parts of the crowd either stood with arms crossed or just looked plain disinterested. While Katatonia are solid technically, they are a band that are pretty standard live, (I’ve seen them as headliners as well, no difference) and unless you’re big into Alternative or Scandinavian metal, they probably won’t do much for the average person.

Opeth though, is an entirely different story. The band is constantly out touring and has gathered a passionate legion of fans from it. Having mellowed out a bit by making Heritage, a love letter to 70s prog rock, the last two Opeth tours have been quieter affairs of acoustic songs and Heritage material. This time around, the band put more of a career retrospective on the show, although they ignored their first two releases . Starting with Heritage’s big single, “The Devil’s Orchard,” the band then got heavy again with crowd favorite “Ghost of Perdition” and “White Cluster” before quieting down again with “Hope Leaves” a song from their other experimental album, Damnation. The midway point of the set was “Atonement”, a mainly instrumental, psychedelic piece from 2005′s Ghost Reveries, which was the most represented album of the night with three songs.

The second half of the show was heavier with “Deliverance”, “Hessian Peel” and main set closer “Reverie / Harlequin Forest”. That’s not to say that nothing new was happening – “Haxprocess” gave the Heritage material a final spin and the band remade an old classic in making the classic track of 1998′s My Arms, Your Hearse, “Demon of the Fall,” as an acoustic song.

In between the music, frontman Mikael Akerfeldt displayed his trademark sense of humor – being that we were in New Jersey, Bon Jovi jokes we’re in full force along with jabs at himself and his “boyfriend”, Porcupine Tree frontman turned solo artist Steven Wilson. Akerfeldt also lead the audience on a sing along to the chorus of the song “Harvest.” As a prelude to the encore – the title track off 2001′s breakthrough release Blackwater Park, Akerfeldt took great delight in getting the crowd to headbang in silence. “We’re going to have a good fucking laugh over that one guys!” he proclaimed before launching into the encore.

Overall, a great night and yet again proof as to why Opeth keeps people coming back for more.

By: Amanda M.

Mungkin tidak banyak yang bisa kita diskusikan dari sebuah latihan terbuka yang dipaparkan oleh Paduan Suara Mahasiswa Agriaswara dari Institut Pertanian Bogor, dikarenakan memang istilah yang digunakan latihan terbuka. Memang ada beberapa pendekatan bisa dilakukan dalam mengadakan latihan terbuka, latihan terbuka layaknya sebuah gladi resik untuk seluruh program tanpa jeda ataupun latihan terbuka layaknya latihan sehari-hari dengan sesekali menghentikan musik untuk memberikan koreksi. Namun malam ini, Agriaswara dan Arvin Zeinullah memilih pendekatan pertama di panggung Erasmus, sehingga walaupun bernama rehearsal untuk hari besar naik tahtanya raja baru Belanda di bulan Mei ini, namun terasa sebagai sebuah bagian dari konser.

Secara umum, setelah membuka dengan lagu kebangsaan Belanda dan Indonesia Raya, Agriaswara terjun untuk menggali khasanah madrigal Orlando di Lassus dari aliran musik renaisans Burgundy, hingga karya-karya modern dari Eric Whitacre, Heikki Sarmanto, Jussi Chydenius dan ditutup dengan lagu tradisional Lisoi.

Agriaswara tampil dengan cukup meyakinkan dan penguasaan karya yang penuh yang menurut seorang penonton malam itu dan aktivis paduan suara Jay Wijayanto, baru saja dibawakan dalam konser mereka yang lalu, juga di Erasmus Huis. Mungkin sedikit perhatian perlu ditujukan bagi kestabilan intonasi pada suara bass yang sungguh memegang peranan penting, dan relaksasi yang cukup pada lini suara, terutama tenor untuk mendukung proyeksi yang lebih mantap. Selain itu kejelasan dalam aba-aba akan mampu memoles lebih jauh Two Moves and The Slow Cat karya Dennis Kam yang terbilang paling rumit, namun seluruh paduan suara patut diacungi jempol karena mampu menyanyikan karya ini dengan penguasaan yang mendalam pada lagu. Sungguh open rehearsal ini sudah mencapai taraf layak konser, sehingga agaknya cukup jenaka apabila penampilan mereka hanya digolong sebagai latihan belaka.

Di babak kedua, giliran aroma resital tiga dara yang disuguhkan. Pieternel Berkers (akordeon), Bernadeta Astari (Soprano), dan Kanako Inoue (piano) berkolaborasi dalam sebuah resital yang seru dan menggelitik. Menarik karena kolaborasi tiga instrumen ini bukan hal yang biasa kita dengar. Dua lagu Poulenc Les Chemins de l’amour dan Voyage a Paris yang aslinya ditulis hanya untuk piano dan vokal bertambah warna dengan akordeon yang membawa napas romantisme dan eklektik tersendiri. Demikian juga karya Dansa dari Bachianas Brasileiras no.5 dari Villa Lobos dan sebuah potongan dari Cosi fan Tutte dari Mozart, Una donna a quindici anni, mendapat warnanya tersendiri dengan dimainkan oleh trio ini.

Bergantian karya vokal dengan piano seperti Ständchen dari Strauss dan Quel guardo il cavaliere… so anch’io dari Donizetti, piano dengan Akordeon seperti Oblivion dan Adios Noniño dari Piazzolla. Berkers, sang akordeonis, bermain dengan penguasaan total pada instrumennya. Pemilihan register yang membius dan beraneka warna dimampukan oleh akordeon tombol yang ia mainkan, sehingga musik yang disuguhkan pun variatif. Karya Amalgame dari Angelis menjadi bukti dari permainannya yang begitu asyik. Sedangkan Inoue tampil dengan nafas yang berbeda pada salah satu Nocturne Chopin yang ia bawakan malam itu. Permainannya yang lembut memberi kesan berjarak yang memberikan efek santai dan ringan pada karya opus 27 no.2 ini.

Bernadeta Astari sebagai seorang soprano lokal yang telah berhasil gemilang menimba ilmu di negeri Belanda tampil dengan maksimal. Dengan berani ia mengeksplorasi panggung dengan kemampuan aktingnya yang baik. Ekspresi wajah begitu jelas menggambarkan nuansa hatinya yang dengan lincah berinteraksi dengan instrumentalis lainnya. Dari segi vokal pun ia sungguh matang dengan penguasaan suara yang mumpuni. Proyeksinya pun terasa lega dengan kemampuan bermain warna dan emosi langsung pada suaranya yang merdu namun memiliki ketajaman yang cukup untuk menembus suara akordeon yang bisa saja menghadang. Sungguh sebuah paket musikal yang lengkap untuk seorang vokalis. Alhasil sambutan terdengar meriah di akhir pertunjukan dan trio ini menutup seluruh persembahan dengan Bengawan Solo yang dimainkan di atas piano, akordeon yang mengiringi Deta yang bernyanyi bersama penonton.

Konser malam ini memang beda baik dari segi konsep maupun penampilan tapi cukup seru untuk dinikmati dan dicermati. Penonton pun pulang dengan perasaan puas.

A grand finale to Melbourne’s Metropolis New Music Festival, Shadows showed off the wealth of music that comes under the festival banner. It also made me wish that I’d had time to go to a few more of the numerous other concerts across the festival’s two weeks.

British composer and conductor Thomas Adès both programmed and conducted the concert, showing himself to be both versatile and daring in his approach to new music.  Adès’s works are almost approaching mainstream in both his native England and overseas. While maybe not so well-known to Australian audiences, the opportunity to hear these works conducted by the composer was not to be missed. The program was tantalising in its variety, juxtaposing the more conventional orchestral forces with solo cello and large chamber configurations, and Adès was totally at home on the podium.

Niccolo Castigliano’s Inverno In-ver was an intriguing study in the the variety one can achieve with a limited soundscape. In this case, the limiting factor was pitch – all eleven movements were concerned with the high and tinkly. The variety of sounds produced (if occasionally a little taxing on the ears) was mesmerising, a wonderful study in colour and orchestral texture. Each movement felt exactly right in its length and scope, and the work left the impression of having been treated to an exquisite tasting-platter of sound.

Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Kai for solo cello and ensemble dragged the audience out of this dream-like state into a harsher reality. The cello was constantly pitted against the full force of the ensemble (including bass guitar and drum kit), forcing soloist Steven Isserlis to respond with a dramatic and occasionally forced musical vocabulary. Isserlis executed the solo part with incredible sincerity and flawless technique, though the piece as a whole might have benefited from a little more contrast in colour and instrumentation.

Isserlis’s solo performance that followed the interval was breathtaking in a totally different way. Four movements of Gygory Kurtag’s Signs, Games and Messages for solo cello, the miniatures were delicious in their economy of gesture and idea. Isserlis’s performance captured this beautifully, demanding absolute attention of the audience as he captured even the most delicate of gestures. It was a pity that this segment of the concert seemed to be over too quickly – placed directly after the interval it took the audience the first few of these short movements to settle down and stop rustling! I could quite happily have listened to the whole work; the performance was one of the rare moments where it felt like soloist and work were perfectly matched.

While this may have been my high point of the concert, I was still suitably impressed with what followed. One of the winners of this year’s Cybec composition competition, Lachlan Skipworth showed that the younger generation of Australian composers are continuing to produce new and interesting works. His piece Afterglow, while not really resembling the piece described in the program note, was nevertheless refined and a pleasure to listen to. Framing a central piccolo solo (played by Andrew Macleod with his usual precision), the work showed an economy of gesture and interesting attention to the details of colour.

Adès, having shown the same enthusiasm for every piece on the evening’s program, finished the concert with three dances from his first opera Powder Your Face. Lively and catchy as one can be while still staying in the new music vein, the dances rounded out a spectacular evening (and I am told festival), and were certainly a crowd-please. For me – I’ll certainly give the opera a listen very soon, but failed to be quite as revved up by the dances as I thought I would be. Maybe, after reading the opera synopsis in the program, I wanted a little more drama. But then new music never intends to please universally, the challenge to confront the unknown is far more important.

Bring on Metropolis 2014, next time I will make sure to attend more!

I entered the palladium around five o’clock for Shadow Fall’s set. The band started off with their song “The Light that Blinds” which is one of my favorite songs from the band. It definitely shows off the excellent musicianship of the band. The band then played “Idiot Box,” and that pleased the crowd even more. When the band finished the song lead vocalist Brian Fair addressed their hometown crowd and proceeded to talk about the events of the week in Boston and Watertown. He then dedicated the next song, “Weight of the World” to Boston which was an awesome gesture. The band then launched into another one of their best songs, “King of Nothing” off of their album Retribution, this was another great crowd pleaser. The band continued playing the rest of their set which was topped off by their song, “War” a song whose lyrics were penned by Bob Marley and adapted for a more metal sounding song, but the message remains the same.

I then walked around the venue to check out all the vendors that were at the palladium, but returned to watch thrash metal legends Exodus’ set. When the lights dimmed and the intro to “The Ballad of Leonard and Charles” you knew the Palladium was about to become a thrash paradise. In front of me appeared Gary Holt who was ready to thrash.  The band was tight and played some of their best and classic material including “Piranha,” “Bonded By Blood,” and “The Toxic Waltz.” It was my first time seeing Exodus, and I have to say I was blown away by the thrash metal masters.

Next up was Every Time I Die who came on right at about 8:00. They also played a killer set and gave the Palladium a healthy dose of hardcore. They even through in some metal too by playing a Pantera medley. The band played some of their best songs including some of personal favorites, the band seemed in tip-top shape including Singer Keith Buckley who puts on a great performance.

Hatebreed was up next, and what more can we say about Jamey Jasta and crew, but that they deliver a great show every time you see them. The band started off with one of their best songs, “To The Threshold,” and from then on they never let go of the solid grasp they had on the Palladium playing some of their best material including “  In Ashes They Shall Reap,” “Puritan,” and “Destroy Everything”

Headlining the festival night one was Anthrax who played, an amazing set that consisted of them playing the entirety of the thrash metal classic, Among The Living. The band started off with the great title track off of the album, “Among The Living.” It brought the  Palladium’s energy up another notch. This lead perfectly into the album’s second track “Caught In a Mosh,” which is a staple of the bands regular show. The band then played another classic from the album, “I Am the Law” which went over great with the crowd especially when Joey Belladonna dedicated it to the Boston Police Department. They then played  “Efilnikufesin (N.F.L.)” and “A Skeleton in the Closet” which rapped up part one of Among The Living. They launched Into a killer cover of “March of The S.O.D.”

The stage went black until the stage was lit up again when the intro music to “In The End” came on along with two large banners of Dimebag Darrel and Ronnie James Dio two fallen metal heroes who the song is dedicated to. The band sounded tight on this song and pulled off a great tribute to the two fallen musicians. The band then played a cover of AC/DC’s “T.N.T.” which went over great with the audience who were chanting along to the signature riff. The band then played “Madhouse” off of their record Spreading The Disease.

The band then continued into the second half of the album Among the Living by playing another  classic “Indians” which included the infamous call for a Wardance! by Scott Ian which is a call for a giant Circle pit. The band then played their cover of Joe Jackson’s “Got The Time.”

The band then came out for their encore which included the song “Imitation of Life” which was followed by the band’s rap flavored song “I’m the Man” and the band concluded their set with “Anti-Social” which was an awesome way to end the set.

-B. Harlow

A buzz of excitement filled the crowded room at Grimey’s for The Lone Bellow’s Saturday in-store performance. Everyone knew that The Lone Bellow would soon be added to the list of popular back-to-basics Americana bands such as The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, The Civil Wars, and The Lumineers. Each of these bands has also previously had their turn at Grimey’s or downstairs at The Basement.

The Lone Bellow’s show at The Exit/In that evening had been long sold-out.  The band’s assault on Music City would continue the following week:  After opening for Dwight Yoakum’s two nights at the Ryman, they would return to The Basement for a special midnight show that second night.

“Bellow” is a fitting name for this band. Their sound is layered with loud ascending harmonies that delightfully roar above excellent musicianship and songwriting. Band leader Zach Williams carries most of the weight. His two cohorts, Kanene and Brian, are equally adept during their moments upfront. Although The Lone Bellow’s sounds are upbeat, most of their original songs deal with soured romantic relationships. Their song titles make this apparent. To whom the songs are directed remains a mystery; the topic was never addressed.

The Brooklyn-based trio of Southern transplants (plus added bassist) gave the enthusiastic crowd six songs from their eponymous debut record released back in January to critical acclaim.  Most of the crowd seemed quite familiar with it. They also played a brand new song about which Williams playfully commented “Don’t tell anyone about it!” Williams had the misfortune of breaking an E-string during the second number. Without a guitar tech to help out, he carried on guitar-less until he became frustrated and chose to play it anyway. For the final two numbers, Williams engaged the eager fans with a cheerful sing-along to the choruses. It was a fitting compliment to the band’s spirited sound.

I see this branch of Americana as more of a return to tradition than as something new and original. Nonetheless, it gets a great deal of attention from both fans and press alike. I also believe that the Mumfords have received much more notoriety and acclaim than their talent merits. What would have happened had someone like The Lone Bellow come along first to rekindle this musical fire? Could it have been them winning Grammies and headlining festivals instead? They are a great band, and I predict they will soon have their day as well.

SETLIST:

1. You Can Be All Kinds of Emotional
2. You Never Need Nobody
3. Two Sides of Lonely
4. You Don’t Love Me Like You Used To
5. Leave Me, Let Me Go (new song)
6. Teach Me to Know
7. The One You Should’ve Let Go

BAND:

Zach Williams – acoustic guitar and vocals
Kanene Pipkin – mandolin and vocals
Brian Elmquist – acoustic guitar and vocals
[unknown] – standup bass

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So finally after all these years of living vicariously through everyone’s fantastic stories of what Clutch is live, I decided to experience the amazingness for myself. Isaac and I arrived to what was a completely sold out show at The Depot and when I say sold out, I mean totally sold out. The place was packed wall to wall with black t-shirts and bearded sweaty dudes. The perfect atmosphere for Clutch’s blues friendly party rock metal. We  made our way through the crowed so we could get close enough to properly see and feel the hammer that was about to be dropped on us from the stage and when the band finally emerged I knew I was in for a serious treat. Neil Fallon is probably one of the most engaging front men in rock. He’s like the grand minister from groove metal hell that has been ordained to preach to the masses all that is bodacious in the world. Fallon stalked the stage back and forth dropping fiery verse after fiery verse which stoked the crowd into a bigger frenzy with every song. This is the most excited reaction I had ever seen any crowd give to a band. They were absolutely enthralled by all that Clutch was giving them.

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Clutch played a solid and energetic set throughout and now that I have seen the demonous preaching that Fallon and Co. can bring. I am now converted and have become a devote follower of all that is Clutch. Now I just need to grow my beard out longer and get some more black t-shirts so I can fit in with the rest of the congregation.

The main item was Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 “Reformation,” an 1830 tribute to Lutheranism that deploys hymn tunes as elements of a symphonically worked-out whole. Woodwind chorales imply an organ, while trombones (with which Luther equated with the trumpet or “tuba” of the Latin Bible) invoke the Almighty.

All of this went well, the woodwinds ablaze with colour and the trombones speaking with three-in-one authority. NACO strings are traditionally lean, but they can warm up where necessary, as they did in the songful Andante. Zukerman dictated a moderate pace in the Scherzo and the finale, more effectively in the latter, which proceeded solemnly to a noble (and Protestant) conclusion.

Earlier we had heard the Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan apply striking intelligence to Saint-Saëns’s easily underestimated Piano Concerto No. 2. Bold and firm where it needed to be, the first movement came off as a thoughtful improvisation. The lighthearted middle movement was smartly articulated and the concluding tarantella moved forward with suitable temperamental fury.

The starter was John Estacio’s Brio. Part pulse music and part cinematic sweep, this overture was just good enough to suggest that its composer could do an awful lot better.

The orchestra was appearing as a guest of the TSO under the aegis of the Casual Concerts series. This meant there was commentary, including plenty from the conductor. A disarmingly (maybe even alarmingly) casual figure on the podium, Zukerman is very much in love with his own down-to-earth image. The story he told about Frankfurt was so clogged with schmooze and bonhomie it could hardly be understood. Since Eric Friesen, the master of ceremonies, is one of the world’s most experienced Zukerman handlers, we had a right to hope for something more coherent.

This is not a concert review, but it is music related as this is about a ‘band’ I overheard in the hotel room next door to mine. My first night in LA was spent at The Grafton on Sunset. This is a hotel fairly central to all the bars and clubs on The Sunset Strip. I stayed her my last night in LA five years ago. Unfortunately I forgot how thin the walls were and made the mistake of staying here again.

At 1:30am I heard the people in the room next door come ‘home’. This woke me up because it sounded like they were in my room. Next thing I know there is music being played I am assuming through a laptop. It definitely wasn’t like instruments. Over the course of the next couple of hours this is what I heard and surmised about the guys next door.

There were only two guys in the room – band mates. I couldn’t figure out if they had just come from a show or if maybe they were in town to meet with agents/record labels and then spent the night partying it up on The Strip. The music I heard was one of their songs. A debate was had on whether or not one instrument came in early, if it was fine the way it was or if maybe it was too prominent. This went on for at least an hour. One person, we’ll call him Frank as I didn’t catch his name, was telling the other, Robby (I did catch his name) to no overthink it or feel self-conscious because “I know you. You get self-conscious when people give you feedback.” This debate ended with Robby telling Frank “I love you. You get me. You’re the only one that tells me like it is. I’m so happy to have you managing me and love being in a band with you.” Seriously Robby, it took over an hour for you to understand what Frank was telling you? He was saying the exact same thing over and over.

After the debate was over and everyone was feeling loved, Robby said “Let’s get some girls to come over and party.” He proceeded to call an escort service. While he knew what hotel he was in and that he was on The Sunset Strip, he didn’t know the address. Apparently the person on the other line didn’t know the hotel or The Strip. He finally gives her an address and repeats something she said about 100 and something street. Turns out whatever service he called was in Hollywood, Florida and not Hollywood, California. “Oh, that explains why she didn’t know the hotel.” What a winner.

He calls a local escort service to request a girl to come over. I’ve never knowingly known someone that has called an escort service. I do not know what the process is, but it did not sound like he needed to describe the type of girl he wanted. I didn’t hear anything about hair color, race, age, etc. He did have to give his name, which is how I found out what his name was. After hanging up he told Frank that the girl would be meeting him in the lobby and that he wanted to go to the bar for a while. Maybe only a minute later his phone rings and it’s the girl confirming she is on her way.

Before she arrives, Frank tells Robby “Do this line of cocaine, take the beer and the jaeger and have a great time.” There is some discussion about if they are splitting the coke evenly and then it sounds like they spill some of it out of a cup. I could actually hear the snorting and then breathing out their noses. I immediately saw James Spader in “Pretty in Pink” as I hear this because it sounded like what you see in movies. I could picture them wiping their nose and shaking their head.

They figure out who’s keeping what booze and drugs and Robby leaves and says he’ll be back at 6am. But says he’ll bring the girl back if she’s willing to ‘party’ with both of them. It’s now about 2:30-3am. All I could think is please don’t want to party. I don’t know if I can handle listening to both of you having sex with a hooker.

Frank is up for a bit. I can hear him snort some more cocaine and belch more than once. I can also hear him get into bed, sigh and make a few more noises before there is silence. At some point in the middle of the night Robby comes back with his ‘escort’ just so Frank can see what he looks like. There are a few pleasantries exchanged and they leave.

I woke up around 7-7:30am. At about 8am I hear the Frank wake up and repeatedly say “Shit, shit, shit.” I guess he actually needed to be up at 6am? He calls Robby but it appears he gets no answer so he proceeds to get ready. At 8:30am the phone next door rings and rings and rings. Frank was getting ready so he did not answer the phone. It rings and rings and rings again. Finally he answers the phone and says he’s up and getting ready. Robby comes by and I hear them talk about the ‘escort’ and what happened as Frank finishes packing despite the fact that he is going to miss his flight. It’s now 9am and his flight is at 10am. You can’t even get to the freeway by 10am in morning commute traffic.

They talked about how Robby brought the girl over so that Frank could see that she was cute. It turns out the girl was only 19 years old. Apparently there was a sparkle in her eye; she’s not yet jaded and obviously hasn’t been doing this very long because she didn’t look “worn”. Nice guys, nice. Robby and she did have sex. He gave her an orgasm but Robby “couldn’t get there, but she was worth the money” (~$225). Frank said, “Well at least she was worth the money to fake an orgasm.” Robby of course had to defend himself and say that he KNEW he had given her an orgasm and that he would be able to tell if she was faking. Right. Hate to break it to you (well not really), but she was faking. Isn’t that what you paid her for? To make you feel like a stud?

Since I could hear them loud and clear I was holding in my laughter. This all sounds unbelievable, but it is too crazy to be made up. My imagination is just not this creative. Moral of the story, never stay at The Grafton on Sunset and stay the hell away from musicians. They are too sensitive and self-conscious in one instant and complete sleaze balls in another.

This past week I learned a few more things: 1. Each year Seattle rapper Macklemore has a pizza party for his fans, 2. There is always a contest to get into the pizza party, and 3. Columbia City is not a bad place to spend three hours if you have not been invited to Macklemore’s pizza party but your daughter has.

On Tuesday morning, I received an email from my wife (we still like to communicate the old-fashioned way) that informed me that Owour sent a text to my daughter and invited her to Macklemore’s pizza party. I knew who Owour was because my daughter talks about these Seattle rap folks by first name, and I have seen him on television several times jumping around with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis as they played that “funky” music the children love so much.

The invitation was an unexpected and generous act that caught us unprepared. The party started a 6PM and was in an area of Seattle that my wife and I were not familiar with, so that meant I would be going. I get to venture into the unknown because I am taller than my wife and don’t mind getting lost.

We live a bit away from Seattle so it was a dash to make it to Columbia City in time, it didn’t help that the Mariners were having a game downtown, but we made it to the pizza party in time for my daughter and her invited guest to stand in line for a few minutes before being swept in through the VIP entrance. It was a little like taking her to the airport and dropping her off for a three-hour trip to some place fantastic. I know enough about the band to know that she was in a safe place with some great people.

Here is what her evening was like:

The line to get into the world premiere pizza party.

My daughter with the director of the Thrift Shop video (Jon Jon), and Ray Dalton.

Macklemore’s shoes. I believe those are Ryan Lewis’ shoes to the right.

Macklemore, Mary Lambert and Owour performing Same Love.

While my evening was not as glamorous, I did manage to survive. I ate an entire pizza in about ten minutes. Wandered down to Starbucks and watched some old ladies knit up a storm.

This is before Charlotte arrived. Once Charlotte showed up some serious knitting went down.

I found a great eyeless gnome.

My son was afraid of gnomes when he was younger, so I took a picture of this guy and sent it off to my son with this message, “Is this under your bed?”

I ate a small plate of nachos.

After the pizza, I could not finish the entire plate of nachos.

After the pizza, the coffee at Starbucks, the discovery of the gnome, and the plate of nachos, I still had about an hour to waste. So I wandered aimlessly around the streets until it got dark. I did discover a “Gentleman’s Club” just down the street but decided that even though I am a gentleman, I should probably skip that one. (I did not have my top hat and tails with me.)

My daughter eventually emerged from the party and by all accounts had a great evening. She saw the world premiere of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ new video, met lots of people, witnessed a mini-concert, and most importantly had an experience that she will remember forever.

If there is one thing life has taught me it is that experiences are priceless. My greatest regrets are when I passed up opportunities to do something because it was slightly inconvenient or cost more than I was willing to pay. I look back on those handful of opportunities with the knowledge that the $40 I saved by not seeing Pink Floyd in Auckland was wasted someplace not as memorable, the $75 I didn’t want to spend to rebook my flight to include a Fijian stop-over probably got spent on rice and beans in Spokane, and the chance to drive to LA to see Linton Kwesi Johnson in concert would have made me tired for work on Monday, but it would have created a memory that I still have today. It is those moments I regret, but those are the moments that help to remind me that driving to Seattle on a Tuesday night and getting back late was worth it even if the only thing I got was heartburn and a great big hug from my daughter.

Here’s the new video if you were curious.

]]> http://thevubackstage.com/2013/04/21/rites-of-spring-2013-the-good-the-bad-and-the-juvenile/ Sun, 21 Apr 2013 21:52:32 +0000 thevubackstage http://thevubackstage.com/2013/04/21/rites-of-spring-2013-the-good-the-bad-and-the-juvenile/

Alumni Lawn had a true festival atmosphere on Saturday for Rites of Spring 2013.

When the Music Group announced the 2013 Rites of Spring lineup, the reaction was mixed at best.  To many, there didn’t seem to be a real headliner, and overall the acts weren’t nearly as big as they have been in the past (unless you were a Christian rock fan, in which case you were ecstatic about NEEDTOBREATHE).  I myself considered the lineup to be fairly iffy when I wrote a preview of it in March.  This lack of hype really manifested itself in the week leading up to Rites; most people I know were far more excited about every fraternity throwing down on Saturday.  My own, Delta Tau Delta, had a crawfish boil featuring live music from Lockwood Barr and Gage, and as you all know if you follow the blog or the show, live music is all I need to have a good time.  As such, I was at Rites for EVERY ACT, on both Friday and Saturday, live-tweeting the show until my phone died right before NEEDTOBREATHE came on.  And overall, I’d have to say that the show was better than I expected.  While there were a few duds, most of the artists put on a great live show, and the people who did come to the concert were very high-energy for the most part.  In case you missed part (or all) of the show, here’s a recap of Rites of Spring 2013.

- NEEDTOBREATHE was the best act of the weekend.  Part of this may be based on the awesome crowd they played for–while the band’s Christian inspiration may have put off many potential concertgoers, those who showed up were loud, energetic, and clearly very dedicated to NEEDTOBREATHE (also, they may have set the record for most sober Rites audience ever).  But even without the huge show of support, this would have been the highlight.  Frontman Bear Reinhart has a great voice for the Southern-rock style, and I love how they incorporate banjo and mandolin into rock music without a hitch.  My favorite parts of the music were the extended jams between songs, when the band’s musicianship was on display.  Although there weren’t any noteworthy solos, there wasn’t really a need for any, since the performance was so tight.  Some highlights were excellent covers of “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Stand By Me,” both of which were given a bluesy makeover and were sung along to by the crowd.  Drew Holcomb and his wife Ellie, of their namesake band, were invited out for “Stand By Me,” which drove the crowd into a frenzy.  As a bonus, they ended the encore with an emotional acoustic piece, “Difference Maker,” that will be featured on their yet-to-be-released album.  Try as I might, I cannot find any weakness in this show…NEEDTOBREATHE was very crisp, they worked the crowd incredibly, and the music was at the forefront of their performance.  They are consummate professionals at the top of their game, and the audience benefited massively.

- Baauer needs to take some tips from Rusko.  Though both produce electronic music, Rusko far outclassed Baauer on Friday night, showing who’s the veteran of the genre.  He probably benefited from playing later, and thus having a more inebriated audience, but Rusko did a great job of making the most out of a scant setup comprised of a folding table, two turntables, and a mixing board.  He was dancing around the whole time, periodically got the crowd pumped up by shouting into a microphone, and varied the tempo nicely to keep things fresh.  Thus, what amounted to ninety minutes of straight dubstep was fun throughout, as evidenced by the constant moshing of the crowd.  Perhaps my only complaints were that the lights accompaniment was subpar and that Rusko has stereotypically British teeth (you know what I mean).  Other than that, he was all that was to be expected out of one of the biggest names in dubstep: creative beats and constant engagement of a rowdy audience.

Baauer, on the other hand, may have been the worst act of the weekend.  His music did not vary in tempo at all, and I didn’t find his samples very interesting.  He was also poor at engaging the crowd, for the most part just standing on stage and bobbing his head to the music.  To his credit, he tactfully omitted the line “Con las terroristas” from the Harlem Shake in the wake of events in Boston, but even the Harlem Shake was fairly anti-climactic…the most notable thing that happened during the song was one kid going crazy at the drop and shaking his beer all over the people surrounding him (including me).  Overall, Baauer was a massive disappointment and really showed his lack of experience in playing electronic music for large crowds.

This is the most interesting Baauer ever got.

- There was a wide variety of frontman skills on display.  The best was easily Mat Kearney.  His music is fairly generic singer-songwriter stuff, although I though some of the electronic drum effects he used were original and cool and his melodies were well-written and singable.  But the reason he succeeded was because of the energy he brought to the performance and the things he did to get the crowd invited.  He made excellent use of the steps on the stage side of the fence keeping the audience at bay, climbing right up to the crowd and addressing them directly.  At one point, he crowd surfed standing up, which was one of the nimbler feats I’ve ever seen.  He also did a lap around the audience while singing, and it is an indication of the energy of Kearney compared to his band that the crowd literally turned to follow him around while the band kept playing.  In addition to these mobile antics, he struck a great balance between keeping the music coming and talking to the crowd.  He also pulled a Billy Joel by inviting an audience member to come on stage, though stomping on a suitcase/bass drum takes decidedly less skill than playing the piano part for “New York State of Mind.”  This awesome crowd engagement, combined with above-average music, made Mat Kearney probably the second-best act behind NEEDTOBREATHE.

Mat Kearney literally walked on water, with “water” being the crowd’s hands.Meanwhile, Miguel danced and stripteased but otherwise underwhelmed.Delta Spirit’s frontman has eyes like this cult leader, and is probably just as insane.

Miguel was surprisingly underwhelming as a frontman.  He showed off his great dancing skills and definitely used his body to psych up the crowd (I’m pretty sure he flashed some gratuitous pubic hair at one point), but didn’t do a great job balancing talking and singing.  The stories he told about his life were interesting but not what the crowd wanted to hear, and certainly not for several minutes at a time.  In addition, I found his voice weak, and if you’re touring as a self-named act with a backing band, your voice had better be the highlight of the show.  Instead, I thought Miguel’s guitarist, Dru, was the best part of the act.  I got to talk to Dru after the show and he told me that he and Miguel go way back, which may explain why Miguel basically treated him as a co-frontman.  His solos were impressive, but the best moment in the show was when Dru dropped his guitar and he, Miguel, and the guy triggering the pre-recorded tracks did a dance together.  So even though Miguel himself was less than I expected, his band picked up the slack and put together a solid performance.

Delta Spirit was a different animal entirely.  They were probably the craziest on-stage performers I’ve ever seen, to the point where it got a little too crazy.  The music, while good, was too loud for me to discern any individual parts or really enjoy it, though I got a general indie-punk vibe.  Also, I’m pretty sure their frontman was on some sort of substance during the show…he often opened his eyes to the point of looking like Heaven’s Gate cult leader Marshall Applewhite, which definitely creeped me out, and he was mostly unintelligible when addressing the crowd in his raspy voice.  These negatives put a damper on what was otherwise a decent performance; I liked Delta Spirit’s use of secondary percussion and keyboards to build an atmosphere, and found the combination of punk with the echoey trends of modern indie alternative to be interesting.

- Juvenile was…juvenile.  He certainly wasn’t helped by the Music Group’s bizarre placement of him between The Apache Relay and Delta Spirit on Saturday, which was dominated by rock music, indie or otherwise.  He would have fared better before Friday’s crowd, perhaps switching with The Kicks.  However, I don’t even know if that would have saved him.  The problem was that Juvenile took himself very seriously while the crowd seemed to regard him as a joke.  His rapping wasn’t bad, but his lyrical themes revolved solely around bitches and hoes, which may have been popular when Juvie got popular during the Crunk movement of the mid-2000s but just sound dated now.  The fact that the crowd only knew the last two songs he played–”Slow Motion” and “Back That Azz Up”–rendered him unable to engage the crowd effectively, and when he was unable to provide a smashing live performance to make up for this, it became obvious that he was an ordinary rapper who happened to ride the Crunk wave to momentary stardom.  In addition, he said some things that simply aren’t oay to say when you’re 38, at one point calling 55% of Vanderbilt women “hoes” and openly talking about the alcohol he had put in his Sprite.  Overall, it was a poor performance, but I almost feel bad for Juvenile…he hasn’t been relevant since “Slow Motion” hit Number 1 in 2004, and he’s trying very hard to reintroduce himself to the world stage.  In the end, though, he was playing for an audience that was clearly not there for him and saw him as humorously pathetic, and this perception was echoed when Delta Spirit and Mat Kearney made subtle jabs at him, the former directly, the latter by omitting him from acts he was proud to be playing with.

- Music City’s homegrown talent was on display.  Including the Battle of the Bands winners, seven of the acts this weekend had Nashville roots.  Aside from Mat Kearney, the best of these acts was probably Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors.  Their music was fairly typical of roots rock bands and not too original, but Drew Holcomb did a good job of engaging the crowd, getting them to sing along to songs like “Tennessee.”  The melodies were anthemic and the music was powerful, creating an energetic sound that was best displayed in their cover of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” and their closing number, “Fire and Dynamite.”  They weren’t afraid to slow it down at points, though…one song was sung with just acoustic guitar and the voices of Drew and Ellie Holcomb.  Overall, this was a very tight band that made the most of their crowd support, which has undoubtedly been boosted by virtue of their touring with NEEDTOBREATHE.

The surprise stars of the show.

The Kicks were hard rock’s representative this weekend, and played the part very well, wearing all black and looking like rock stars.  They worked the Friday crowd pretty well, providing good energy, but I thought the most impressive aspect of their performance was the music, which falls somewhere between Neon Trees and Jet in terms of mixing catchy melodies with good riffs.  They made good use of unison singing during their choruses, and their breakdowns were a great display of their ability on their instruments.  I was particularly impressed by the way their bass player subtly added color to the songs, creating a full sound that allowed for more soloing by the lead guitarist and freed up their singer from having to play rhythm guitar.  As a fan of bands like Rush and Led Zeppelin, it was nice for me to see that hard rock is still alive, even if it is no longer at the forefront of American popular music.  As their bassist Gabe told me, “Who would have thought that banjo’s in the Top 40?”

Hard rock isn’t dead!…except in the Top 40.

The Apache Relay and Humming House both represented this trend toward folksier music in the Top 40.  The Apache Relay’s sound had a very dreamlike, atmospheric quality to it, and reminded me of the “Wall of Sound” popularized by Phil Spector in the 1960s and revived by Oasis in the 1990s.  This was abetted by the wide variety of effects used by their musicians, especially the violinist, who looked particularly crazy.  The mandolin also added a nice folksy element to the music.  Overall, they provided a huge, echoey sound, but I thought they could have worked the crowd better…they just stood there and played, for the most part.  Humming House was far more minimalist, going Mumford-style and having their bass player use a kick drum to keep a ubiquitous thumping rhythm.  Their lead singer and songwriter, Justin Wade-Tam, told me the band formed out of Sunday night traditional Irish jams at his house, and that sound came out through their music, which featured cool interplay between the different string instruments and good variation of fast and slow songs.  Out of the musicians, I thought the violinist was given the most opportunity to shine through solos.  However, I didn’t find the music very catchy or differentiable from similar acts.  Part of this may be that this type of lyric-centric songwriting really requires multiple listenings to be fully appreciated.

Apache Relay violinist, or Theon Greyjoy gone wildling?

The Battle of the Bands winners did a great job showing why they were considered the best of the eight acts from Thursday night and of 28 overall submissions to the contest.  Joel Heumann’s band sounds like a mix of Earth, Wind and Fire dance-funk with 1940s big band music, perfectly fitting his goal of playing “music people can move to,” as he told me.  Interestingly, in talking to him I learned that he started out playing hardcore and metal but became allured by the groove of funk and jazz.  The highlight of his set was his song “Feeling Good,” which will appear on his EP, Self-Titled.  Acklen, on the other hand, was more of a modern rock-blues band, and featured solid guitar interplay, good guitar and bass solos, and an awesome cover of “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers.  Their lead vocalist was a bit pitchy, and their songwriting wasn’t all that original, but they rocked hard and their passion for the music came through.

Well, if you’ve made it all the way to the end of this review, I appreciate it.  All the acts this weekend, whether good, bad, or Juvenile, put in 110% effort to put on a good show.  Though the headliner was polarizing and some of the acts were poorly placed in the lineup, on the whole the Music Group arranged an awesome concert.

That’s all for now.  Tonight we’ve got the season finale of The VU Backstage, featuring Elizabeth Lyons.  If you like what you just read, follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook to get updates on all the musical happenings at Vandy!

-DJ Zach

I was watching Animalize Live & Uncensored  the other night for no other reason than, well… it was time to do so (again). Any way, I had an epiphany in Kiss / Bruce Kulick terms. Contrary to many a Kiss fans insistence that Revenge is the high tide mark for the humble shredder, I believe Kulick’s finest hour (minus the Blazefest in Chicago in which I heard him settle in a way that I wish happened more often) may just be this very hyper piece of Kisstory. Talk about a fuckin’ pro, Bruce Kulick stands tall like a redwood on this classic 80′s concert vid.

Bruce’s Achilles heel to me, and Gene & Paul might admit it if we were on a stuck together on the ‘Kiss Clipper’ headed for the eastern rim,  is that he’s not a true “closer” type. Maybe just ‘cuz he’s a mellow guy and not a type-A personality. Often the most important thing you say isn’t actually the first,  especially in show biz and rock & roll. All the greats from Page on have asked, “but how do I get out” when they’ve got something going but know it’s all about how you end it. Guitar solos that is. Closing was Ace Frehley‘s forte, maybe not Bruce’s.

For my buck, Bruce is better in the studio than live ….not on this Animalize evening in Detroit in 1984. Ironically, he almost seems more comfortable with the idea of being a random gunslinger than he was after being handed the lead duties full-on w/ Asylum (even though, yes I know… take it easy, Bruce was already in the fold on Animalize the disc and played on a couple cuts, the best stuff on the disc too lead wise (see “Lonely is The Hunter”)).

At this stage of the game, Bruce had no time to think about it and played it straight from the heart — the result is Kiss at their 80′s finest on a particularly “hot nite for rock & roll!”.  It’s so cool to watch now ‘cuz Bruce was  literally “Under The Gun” on that Animalize tour: For outsidersrs, ‘BK’ was originally a fill in for the late Mark St. John who, in a strange twist of fate, acquired a rare disease that affected his hands to the extent that he could no longer play guitar … just after having learned to play Kiss music on the bitchn’ Stanley-fueled Animalize. Go figure. I think most of us were excited about Mark at that point and figured Gene & Paul had done their homework and we were all systems go, then another Kiss hiccup as it were. It took a while for that news to get out and so it was kinda like… uh, is that Marek St. John?  

As an aside before I forget, Bruce’s tone on the show isn’t my fave but at least he wasn’t overriding a chorus as he was later prone;  practically a vocation for guitarists in the 80′s. At times though he sears and showcases some impeccable timing / picking. He’s  super fucking well versed in all things rock guitar, old school to the tapping ruling the day for guitarists in the hair band freak show that was MTV in the mid-80′s.

But know why he shines on this show most? Because he is playing the very role he was born to play – the under dog. Ace was similar in that regard,  ultimately becoming a rock god “spacing out and having fun” in the role and big shadows of mega front-men Gene Simmons & Paul Stanley.  Fans were always generally rooting for Ace,  still are. Similarly, and because he was kinda a fill-in, Bruce had nothing to lose and a sincerity about him that comes off his fretboard, especially here as he walked the “Kiss gauntlet” (Gene’s words) . To us Kiss fans, Bruce was just some dude we didn’t even know, and thus Animailze Live & Uncensored a very cool live introduction, one in which he both rocked and (also) didn’t suck; hard to do in ’84 when you think about it. Though it’s over simplifying things a bit, this is the day he won the gig for all intents and purposes. Kisstory indeed!

In some ways Bruce Kulick saved Kiss when he became the lead player. He was the team player us Kiss fans could love and still miss Ace because, above all, it was clear Bruce ‘got it’ on every level.  The storm was over and we felt secure again as fans. The ‘who-the-fuck-is-going-to-be-our-lead-guitarist’ crisis finally averted, Kiss would get back on an even keel with the line up set until the loss of Eric Carr to a brain tumor in 1991. With Bruce now in place, Kiss was a true ‘band’ again for the first time since the original line-up really. In the wings, current guitarist Tommy Thayer must have observed Bruce’s low key approach and used it to his benefit in filling the Space Ace,and Bruce’s, shoes today.

Not one damn misstep best I can tell on this whole concert which was “GOIN’ OUT LIVE ON THE RADIO / BEING FILMED FOR AN MTV CONCERT!”.  Best solo’s on it?  Well, a few were semi-mimicked in one way or another but, over all (always gotta qualify shit with Kiss fans) Bruce does whatever the hell he wants to Kiss classics one after another, basically kicking the shit out of the material. I recommend “I Still Love You, “War Machine”, “Under The Gun”, “Thrills In The Night” and perhaps his laser tare on “Love Gun”?  His playing “Black Diamond” is interesting too if not downright blasphemous: maybe his best ever solo w/ Kiss save “Hell or High Water” or “Tears Are Falling”.  ”Turn On The Night” and “Rise To It” are other Kulick favs.

More importantly, it’s clear on this show that Kulick locks in with the band seamlessly and, given the circumstances, never looks nervous or like he’s unsure he fits in. Not an easy gig to pick up. In modern terms, he really owned it. There must have been high fives all around backstage that night and later when they watched the show, Bruce had made the grade and in spades. Go ahead >>> log off and Animalize! back to ’84 for the best Kiss  non-make-up era concert money can buy. Kiss fans owe a debt to Bruce… raise your glasses people.

The Canadian Shield perform at the Silver Dollar Room.

“We’re going to play a super new one for you now,” Canadian Shield singer/guitarist, Doug Gorrie, told the crowd.

“We are?” drummer Mike Bone asked innocently from his side of the stage whilst sipping on a cold one.

“It’s called ‘Heart On Fire,’” Gorrie explained, at which point somebody in the crowd yelled out, “Hard on fire!” and the room burst into laughter.

Bone turned to the culprit, and said in a completely deadpan tone, “And you’ve just ruined this beautiful moment. This is the first and last time we’re ever going to play this song.” Of course he then turned to his bandmate and instructed him to say the line “Hard on fire” at least once during the song. (When he did, Bone made sure to smile at the guy in the crowd.)

This is the general gist of how a Canadian Shield concert goes down. Bone and Gorrie (which sounds like the name of a Saturday morning cartoon on Nickelodeon) like to joke around and have a good time sharing their music with their friends. (In fact, the gentlemen of Wildlife, who perform backup vocals on the band’s debut EP, were in attendence on Wednesday, April 17 at the Drake, and definitely made their presence felt in the crowd; Gorrie and Wildlife bassist Derek had a lengthy conversation in between songs about robot guitars and robot drums while Derek stood in the crowd.) It was a fun, laid back kind of night.

Musically, the band sounded great. “Wings” was definitely my personal highlight, as it perfectly captured what I love about the band. The song started out swaying with the gentle rhythm of a field of grass dancing in a summer wind before Gorrie kicked in with a “1, 2, 3, 4!” and completely transformed the song; the manic drums and guitar sounded like a herd of horses stampeding through the room, trampling and devastating that once pristine field of grass.

The two of them came together during this frenzied part of the song. Gorrie stood facing his drummer, bouncing back and forth on his heels, as well as up and down and side to side, as if he could barely contain the wild and bucking energy and sound flowing from his guitar.

Bone, meanwhile, was doing his best street performer impression, trying to pull of some sleight of hand trick; his arms crossed this way and that and moved with such speed that they reminded me of that old rubber pencil trick I used to do in elementary school.

Playing together in the middle of the stage, seemingly ignoring the crowd in this most intimate of moments, and playing off of each other’s energy, they created a beautiful hypnotic image. It was as if a giant bonfire stood towering in the middle of the room. Bone’s hard-hitting beats echoed the cracking of the wood as the whirling winds of Gorrie’s guitar carried the smoke up into the infinite night sky.

Essentially, the band made the crowd forget that there are only two members in the Canadian Shield by using the intimacy of that moment to shrink not only the stage, but the room itself. You could see and feel the joy that these two friends shared onstage, and it was completely contagious.

You could definitely hear the Canadian influences that flow through these two Thunder Bay boys. Gorrie’s voice sounded like an amplified version of the Constantines’ Bryan Webb, and many of the band’s tunes, such as “HMS Erebus,” featured some chunky Neil Young type riffs.

With the amount of new material that the band played that night, I’m sure the immediate future looks very bright for the Canadian Shield. For now, have a look-see at their bandcamp site.

Eric Clapton Crossroads (DAVID HANDSCHUH/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Within the first ten minutes of the first night of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, I turned to my buddy and exclaimed, well, “that was better than an encore. Do we go home now?” Behind the attempted humor, I was serious in my sentiments.To open the show, Eric Clapton and guests greeted an enthusiastic full house at Madison Square Garden with a five-song acoustic set that drifted and jived through Clapton staples like “Lay Down Sally” and “Wonderful Tonight.” Clapton invited artists like Vince Gill and Andy Fairweather Low on stage, the latter of which sang tremendous lead vocals on his song “Spider Jivin” – the second song of the night. Clapton began the concert with “Driftin.” In the middle of his opening set, Clapton performed “Tears in Heaven,” which he has unearthed for his 50th Anniversary Tour. The song, written in response to the death of Clapton’s four-year-old son, is as potent as it is simple. Because of its subject, Clapton rarely plays it (last time before this tour was in 2003). Hearing him perform the song live was well worth the price of admission.

At the helm of the show was emcee and original Blues Brother, Dan Akroyd, who introduced artists and, prior to the concluding set by the Allman Brothers, performed a rousing version of “Got My Mojo Working” with Keb ‘Mo. In reviewing my notes from the show – and recalling my euphoric loquaciousness during/after the show, I realize now that despite my pre-show expectation to see a slew of revered guitar gods, I couldn’t quite grasp how overwhelming and ethereal the concert would be. Perhaps the “kid in a candy store” axiom might suffice in describing the crowd’s zeal, but I believe it may be a little weak. There was an infectious gregariousness to the crowd; this wonderful atmosphere of musical passion and friendship. It was as if the guitar community was coming together for a convention, a mind-blowing convention.

Let’s face it; the entire five-hour concert was a highlight. It was a virtual all-star game of guitarists. I intended on marking down some highlights of the night, but I ended up typing furiously on my cell phone (and then my friend’s cell phone after my battery depleted) just to keep up with the plethora of highlights. For your reading pleasure, I have narrowed down my thumb-tiring list of typed highlights to just three major performances during the show. Before I get to the top three of the night (not counting the Clapton solo set I mentioned above), let me commend Booker T and Steve Cropper for their set (the first after Clapton’s acoustic opener). Paired with Blake Mills, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Keb Mo, Booker T and the NEW MG’s played a five-song set (concluding with “Green Onions) that featured a strong version of “Born Under a Bad Sign.”

Now on to the top 3…

3.) “Everyday I Have the Blues” with Robert Cray, B.B. King, Jimmie Vaughn & Eric Clapton

Blues royalty. Yeah, something like that. B.B. King, who is in possession of a personal fountain of youth, was electric for the few songs he sat in on. I particularly like this performance because it highlights the spirit of the festival. As these legends (King, Cray, Vaughn, and Clapton) playfully swapped and stole solos from each other, the crowd could almost smell the aroma of blues – which to me is a mixture of hard scotch and worn guitar strings. This jam is about as authentic as you can get. It is the blues. Strip away the stage, crowd, and allure, and there would still be four individuals playing the blues.

2.) “Don’t Let me Down” with John Mayer and Keith Urban

After a small set of original pieces, John Mayer summoned Keith Urban onto stage to complete a guitar duo for an electric performance of The Beatles’ “Don’t Let me Down.” There are so many things to like about this performance. A.) It’s an awesome cover of a Beatles’ song. B.) John Mayer and Keith Urban can flat-out kill it on the guitar. C.) They also can sing pretty damn well. D.) If you listen closely, the band adds several interesting influences into the song (country hints mixed with traditional blues). E.) Go to the 3:00 minute mark, refer back to B, and enjoy.

1.) “Whipping Post” with The Allman Brothers Band

12 minutes of pure, unadulterated, brilliance. Watching the Allman Brothers Band is always a treat, but they brought it to a completely different level for this concluding performance at Crossroads. The solos were that much more inspired, and the band played with some extra fire and oomph that propelled the song to the apex of awesome. Listening to the jam-packed crowd, five hours into the concert, belt out the familiar lyrics like it was the opening song was also spectacular.

Legendary show! And, all for a good cause.

Bow Down.

[A shorter version of this review was published in The Sun Chronicle.]

Boston has been a city on edge, but Fleetwood Mac helped to take the edge off with a dazzling 2 1/2-hour show at the TD Garden on Thursday night.

While a regional response team stood ready with assault rifles outside the venue in the wake of the Boston Marathon explosions, the legendary rock group charmed a packed house of fans — mostly of the middle-aged variety — inside the Garden.

The group’s 23-song set mixed classic hits with lesser-known material and two new songs — “Sad Angel” and “Without You” — off a forthcoming EP.

There were the time-tested Mac standards, including “Don’t Stop,” “Dreams” and the title track off of “Tusk,” the 1979 album that subverted the formula of its wildly successful predecessor “Rumours,” which has sold more than 45 million copies worldwide.

And there were the less typical live numbers, including “Not That Funny,” a gorgeous “Sara” and the dark, moody “Sisters of the Moon.”

This is the band’s first tour in three years (they’re set to return to the area on June 21 at the Comcast Center, and tickets are still available), but their sound remains crisp and their chemistry electric.

Fleetwood is the dependable yet zany drummer, and his solo during “World Turning” offered ample opportunity for the 65-year-old to display his youthful spirit. John McVie is stoic on bass, taking the spotlight during rare but key moments, such as the sinewy interlude during “The Chain.”

Lindsey Buckingham is the group’s glue — Fleetwood called him “our mentor, our inspiration.”

The singer/songwriter and guitarist performed masterfully throughout the night, especially on the acoustic “Big Love” and a gripping “I’m So Afraid,” which drew a standing ovation. He seemed almost as excited as the crowd at the end of songs, shouting and fist-pumping like he’d just won a competition, a mix of intensity and sheer excitement.

Stevie Nicks remains the group’s mystical chanteuse, taking center stage on classics like “Rhiannon” and her solo hit “Stand Back,” bedecked with all the familiar accessories: a microphone draped in beads and scarves, a tambourine decorated with ribbons, black dresses with layers of chiffon and lace, platform boots, shawls giving way to more shawls.

She broke out the top hat for “Go your Own Way,” twirled wistfully at the end of “Gypsy” and chanted “you can’t save me now” to close out “Gold Dust Woman.” Her voice was in fine form — the best she’s sounded since 1997’s live album “The Dance.”

The love affair between Nicks and Buckingham has fueled many of the group’s biggest hits, and their relationship — once beautiful and then bitter, now simply bittersweet — remains a central focus of the show, especially with former member Christine McVie absent.

Each time the band took the stage, Nicks and Buckingham did so arm in arm. They briefly clasped hands after a poignant rendition of “Landslide.” During the second and final encore, the pair traded songs about each other. Nicks belted out “Silver Springs,” a spiteful, love-gone-wrong masterpiece that was excluded from “Rumours” but found new life as a single on “The Dance.” Then Buckingham bid farewell with “Say Goodbye,” an acoustic number about lost love and the search for closure. Both melancholy and hopeful, it was a fitting way to end the show.

Before leaving the stage, Nicks called Boston “one of the strongest cities in the world.”

“You’re tough,” she said. “You’ll get through this, and next year your fantastic race will be run, like always.”

***

Set List:

Secondhand News
The Chain
Dreams
Sad Angel
Rhiannon
Not That Funny
Tusk
Sisters of the Moon
Sara
Big Love
Landslide
Never Going Back Again
Without You
Gypsy
Eyes of the World
Gold Dust Woman
I’m So Afraid
Stand Back
Go Your Own Way

First Encore:

World Turning
Don’t Stop

Second Encore:

Silver Springs
Say Goodbye

To see some pics from the show, visit my Instagram page.