Concert Pics Archives
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So spoke our tour guide at the Sam Adams Brewery on Friday. He was talking about the special Brewmaster Blend of Stout pictured above, but he might as well have been talking about the weekend in Boston that Ms. Smith and I just had.
To be honest, we were just happy to get up there in the first place. We took the 9 a.m. flight out of Dulles so we arrived up North before the snow did. While we were waiting for our bags, we learned that the flights scheduled to arrive after us had all been canceled. And with good reason; it snowed from noon until after 10 p.m., leaving between 8 and 10 inches of snow on the ground. But we had no problems getting around town - if anything, it just made the city more picturesque.
I've been to Boston plenty, but this was easily my best trip yet. We had a great hotel - smack dab on the MIT campus -, a great neighborhood, great food and drink and no shortage of things to do. It all culminated with the Super Furry Animals show Saturday night, which was - for the record - my 30th (!!!!) Super Furry Animals gig. I too recoiled in horror after reading the previous sentence.
The gig was great, a loose and informal affair in front of a sell-out audience. The Paradise is a great room, although it has a funny shape. It's very wide, but not very deep. The sides of the club have risers and balconies, so the best view is generally from the sides of the stage. But the sound was superb, as was the vibe from the crowd.
A few hours before the gig, I got an email from David, a reader of the leafblower who wanted to buy me a pint at the gig. After doing so, I bought the next round and insisted he come backstage after the gig to meet the band. We made our way backstage as the last strains of ":Keep The Cosmic Trigger Happy" faded into the night and I introduced him to everyone and we hung out well into the early morning, drinking beer and talking football and whatnot. The recent injury to Eduardo was a big point of conversation, as was the band's Conan O'Brien taping today. We had two sides arguing for specific songs - myself and the crew on one side and the band on the other. Add in the 37 Stella's I drank andyou can see where this is going.
Anyways, before I knew it, the driver started up the tour bus, which meant it was my time to head back to the hotel, officially ending my Super Furry road trip of 2008. I think this tour has been really good for the band. They stripped down their show to the bare essentials, letting their songs speak for themselves and from the feedback I've heard, the reception has been entirely positive. Another ilb reader, Joyce from NYC, emailed me this morning to say last night's show in NYC was the best he'd seen the band do in over six years.
I think it's easy to get caught up in the "show" aspect of the last few tours, and I definitely missed the video of head-banging Ozzy during "Receptacle for the Respectable," but I think this tour (and album) are a reboot of sorts for the band, and it's done the trick. You don't need Yeti costumes when you write perfect pop songs and this tour reminded everyone of that.
On the good news front, there is a possibility of another US tour towards the tail end of the year, which is both exciting and frustrating. Exciting because, hey, more shows! Frustrating because I will either be on my honeymoon or out of vacation days. :)
I'm not sure if the Conan taping will air tonight or another day, so check your local TV listings. Gruff said the band were supposed to do Conan at the start of the tour but they decided not to do it because of the strike. This will be the band's second appearance on Conan, the first came back when the band was promoting Rings Around The World. Here's the mp3:
[mp3] Super Furry Animals | (Drawing) Rings Around The World (live on Conan O'Brien)
I'm a bit late on this but I would be remiss if I failed to go on record about how fucking awesome Buffalo Tom was last Friday night. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give the show a 15. Seriously. They destroyed my low expectations and put on what will definitely end up being one of the best shows I will see in 2008.
I can't for the life of me remember the last time I saw them play. I'm guessing 1997ish, which put Friday night's show at about 10 years overdue. But it was like they never left. Everything from Let Me Come Over and Big Red Letter Day sounded as vibrant and fresh as the first time I heard those songs. And the newer songs sounded right at home besides these "classics."
The best part of the show was how much fun the band was having on stage. Yes, to an extent this show was a trip down memory lane, but it was a welcome one. It was clear Bill, Chris and Tom were playing these songs because they love them and were happy to be performing them again. Their energy was infectious and the crowd more than reciprocated. They even took requests. The only (minor) downer was Chris's sore throat, which kept the band performing "Three Easy Pieces," one of the songs I was most looking forward to hearing. But he sucked it up for "Late At Night," so it's hard to complain about that.
Setlist: [via the BTMB]
Staples / CC and Callas / Sodajerk / Thrown / Summer / Treehouse / Mineral / You'll Never Catch Him / Kitchen Door / Scottish Windows / Tangerine / Velvet Roof / I'm Allowed / Bottom of the Rain / Late at Night / Taillights Fade
Encore:
Late At Night / Frozen Lake / Birdbrain / Wiser
I have serious doubts if I will see a better show this year. It was that good.
[mp3] Buffalo Tom | Larry (live)
Also, I finally saw Cloverfield last night. I liked it, but it felt like I was watching someone play a video game. I have some serious issues with the last 20 minutes of the movie, but overal...thumbs up.
**UPDATE** - Pygs In a Blanket nails one of my complaints.
Finally, Robbers on High Street have canceled their show at DC9 tonight.
Real quick...Editors were totally on point last night. When they came through town a few months ago they seemed a bit off. Maybe it was them, maybe it was me (Sky high expectations), I can't say. What I can say is they played an amazing set last night. Their collective energy level was much higher, and it showed through in their set. Ed Lay was straight-up attacking his drum set. I was up front for most of the night and had planned to go in the back and stand with Natalya and her friend when there was a lull in the show. Well, that didn't happen until around song # 9 or so. Great, great show. And a good way to start out the 2008 concert year.
Can't say the same for the openers. I detest Louis XIV, who have yet to write a decent song. And about 30 seconds into Hot Hot Heat's set, their tour manager came up to me and scolded me that my photo pass was only good for Editors and not his band. Oh really? If my band just released and was touring behind their third album, which was greeting with universally lukewarm reviews, and was in the process of playing a nine song set, seven of which were old tunes, I'd be begging people to pay attention to my band before they fall off the face of the fucking planet. But hey, you got it. I won't talk about or pay attention to them no more.
If you haven't read it yet, don't forget to check out my interview with Editors lead singer Tom Smith.
While we're semi-on-the-subject, there is an embarrassing amount of great shows in D.C. tonight. The 9:30 has Blonde Redhead, who I have yet to see (the 2 songs I saw them do at ACL Festival last year don't count). The Black Cat is hosting Yeasayer and MGMT in the backstage (locals read all about the brouhaha regarding the small venue yesterday) and The Red and The Black has my boys from GreenVegas, NC, the one and only Future Islands. I saw them last year at Whartscape and they were teh awesome. Normally I would be front and center at the Future Islands show, but I threw my hat into the Yeasayer ring last week. So if you're one of the "lucky" few with tickets, see you tonight.
Mew @ Black Cat - "The highlight of the night, however, was the encore performance of "Special," a song a few concert goers around me said they were waiting all night for. Madsen started riffing with the band's drummer while the rest of the band slowly took the stage, launching into the song's signature riff with a perfectly timed crescendo that had the audience going wild."
LCD Soundsystem @ 9:30 Club - "I wouldn't call myself a huge LCD fan by any means, and to be honest, the amount of hype they're getting from NYC was turning me off on the band a bit, but holy shit, they brought the noise last night. It was one of those shows where the band plays for over an hour and you're having so much fun it feels like only 10 minutes. And the best part of it was the usually stoic D.C. audience was totally letting their hair down and absolutely turning it loose. Most everybody in the club was dancing, even old men like me. I was proud to be from D.C. last night."
The Pipettes and Smoosh @ Black Cat - "The Pipettes are, as some are wont to say, the sound of one pan flashing, but no matter how you feel about the group, they put on a great show. There were plenty of choreographed dance moves to go along with the group's throw-back, doo-wop sound, and best of all, the girls seemed to be enjoying themselves. The crowd certainly did. Think of them as the female Art Brut. You either get it and totally love it or you don't."
The National @ 9:30 Club - "There were some outstanding moments, none of which I can remember directly because I was slightly to fairly drunk. There were quite a few songs that had me dancing around like no one was watching. One of the songs off of the new record got a new arrangement and it sounded great, but I can't remember which one it was. "Lit Up" and "Mr. November" got the chatty Cathy's standing all around us to shut the fuck up and actually watch the show."
Travis @ 9:30 Club - "Normally I absolutely abhor it when bands play "greatest hits" sets. But when it's been seven years since you've seen a band, those type of sets aren't exactly a bad thing. In fact, last night the set was perfect. Because they played "Back In Black." On a whim. As the last song of the night. It was INCREDIBLE."
Dappled Cities Fly @ Black Cat - "They played the Black Cat's backstage room last night and put on one of the most enjoyable shows I've seen this year. Their sound is a glorious blend of Mew, Supergrass, The Shins and Levy - art rock with perfect pop hooks occasionally sung in falsetto."
Kings of Leon @ 9:30 Club - "You know all those completely overrated bands like The Decemberists, Beruit, effing Sufjan, Band of Horses, The New Pornographers, Tapes N Tapes, Andrew Bird and the like? You can have them. Go ahead and take 'em. Just give me Kings of Leon. Give me a band with career ambition, building their fan base the right way - releasing albums that get progressively better while touring like crazy and playing bigger and bigger venues, but most importantly a band that fucking brings the rock live. Their set last night at the 9:30 Club was perhaps the best show I've seen this year. "
Voxtrot & The Little Ones @ Black Cat - "You know how I always say I love bands that do mainly verse-chorus-verse songs with a "do do do," "la la la" or "woo woo woo" thrown in there at some point? The Little Ones generally do all three in most of their songs. Think of an American version of I Should Coco-era Supergrass. Tons of energy, lots of smiles on stage and plenty of chances to clap along with their songs. And it's pretty impossible not to sing along with the "hey-oh"'s in "Lovers Who Undercover." I had a ball during their set."
Pela @ Historic Sixth & I Synagouge - "Holy hell. They were brilliant. Forced to do a 30 minute set due to the schedule, they wasted no time and pulled no punches, delivering one of the best sets of music I've seen this year. They were damn near perfect. The choruses were big and soared when they needed to and Billy showed a newfound talent for pulling back a bit and showing a bit of restraint during the slower songs."
Jen Lekman @ Black Cat - "I couldn't stay long at the Jens Lekman show last night and that turned out to be a real shame. He was brilliant. It was a cold, rainy night outside but this guy was just emanating sunshine from the stage. And he managed to turn a good show into a great show in just the second song of the night, when during the last little bit of "The Opposite of Hallelujah" he dropped in a sample of "Give Me Just A Little More Time" by The Chairman of the Board."
Morrissey @ DAR Constitution Hall - "We only got to shoot two songs and they went by in a flash(no pun intended). I had both of my cameras with me and would switch between the two whenever the buffer on a memory card would fill up. I had them placed on the stage in front of me, which was very handy. During the second song, while I was putting one camera down and picking up the other, Moz hit me in the face with the mic cord! Awesome."
Superdrag @ 930 Club - "They didn't get to the good stuff, that being everything off of Head Trip In Every Key, until the latter part of the set but it was worth the wait. "Sold You An Alibi" killed. As did "Do The Vampire." "I'm Expanding My Mind" was every bit of the sonic godhead I make it out to be in my head. So yeah, this show was good."
I've already gushed at how awesome this gig was, so here is the visual evidence. And, as a treat, some live MP3's from a Head Trip In Every Key era show that have been burning up my iTunes in the last week or so.
[MP3] Superdrag | Destinantion Ursa Major (Live)
Your eyes do not deceive you, those are my photos of Jay-Z gracing Pitchfork Media today. Head over there right now and you can see my work on the front page.
I was a pretty big Jay-Z fan before shooting him on Friday, but even more so now. Here is quite possibly the biggest artist in the country, with the # 1 album in all the land and he gives me three songs in a small club. No restrictions, no photo release, no attitude, nothing. His staff was incredibly polite and professional throughout the show. In short, Jigga knows how to roll.
His show is mesmerizing. Hit after hit after hit. The best part is he doesn't have a hype man. It's just him on stage with no distractions. His backing band only added to the show, never took it over.
The craziest thing? The crowd, a mix of hip hop heads and casual listeners, were more well behaved than the Morrissey crowd from last week. Respect.
I headed down to the Verizon center last night to photograph The Police.
Shots should be up over on DCist soon. Here they are.
Semi-related but not really: Daniel Boud talks to Anton Corbijn about photography.
Last night I finally got to shoot Morrissey. I say "finally" because I was supposed to shoot three of the dates he cancelled back in July. Three! But it was not to be. And after the show last night, I think the wait was almost worth it.
I was incredibly nervous when I got to the venue. I was trying not to put too much pressure on myself to get "the shot" but it wasn't working. I had some serious butterflies in my stomach. About five minutes before Moz went onstage, the promoter led the photogs down to the front of the house. There is no photo pit at DAR, so we had to basically shoot from the crowd. However, the bouncers were nice enough to clear people out of the center aisle which was just enough space for myself and Ryan, the other photog. I was front row! Before I could even get settled, the lights dimmed and Morrissey bounded out across the stage. I took a deep breath and went to work.
We only got to shoot two songs and they went by in a flash(no pun intended). I had both of my cameras with me and would switch between the two whenever the buffer on a memory card would fill up. I had them placed on the stage in front of me, which was very handy. During the second song, while I was putting one camera down and picking up the other, Moz hit me in the face with the mic cord! Awesome.
When our two songs were up, I stored my camera in the production office and then went back out to enjoy the show. Even though the venue was just over half full, Moz was in fine form and looked like he was enjoying himself greatly. He played a great set (although he completely ignored any Ringleaders material - save for the b-side "Good Looking Man About Town") and the crowd was mad for it.
I got my hands on the second shirt that was thrown out but a mad scramble for it ensued and I gave up on it. Besides, what am I going to do with a 1/4 of a sleeve? Moz ended up throwing three shirts into the crowd and it seemed to rile everyone up. There were something like 12 stage invaders during the last song and Moz was loving it. he had the biggest smile on his face. Security was really cool about it, letting people jump up on stage and then back down if they didn't do anything crazy. They had their hands full. Boz threw out a set list right before he walked off stage and I just missed it. Dagger. Even so, I declare my 13th Morrissey gig a success.
Oh, and I got the shot.
Setlist: (via)
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before / Irish Blood, English Heart / Interesting Drug / Death Of A Disco Dancer / Sister, I'm A Poet / One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell / Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself? / Billy Budd / Jack The Ripper / The Loop / Stretch Out And Wait / I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris / Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want / Tomorrow / I Like You / Good Looking Man About Town / The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores / That's How People Grow Up / The Boy With The Thorn In His Side / Dear God, Please Help Me / How Soon Is Now? // First Of The Gang To Die
I couldn't stay long at the Jens Lekman show last night and that turned out to be a real shame. He was brilliant. It was a cold, rainy night outside but this guy was just emanating sunshine from the stage. And he managed to turn a good show into a great show in just the second song of the night, when during the last little bit of "The Opposite of Hallelujah" he dropped in a sample of "Give Me Just A Little More Time" by The Chairman of the Board. The crowd went crazy, as well they should have.
I'll put it to you this way. The show was so good I had no problem missing all of the D.C. United playoff loss to Chicago and most of Boston's 2-1 Game 2 win to see it. I immediately downloaded his new album from eMusic when I got home. Think of The Housemartins with a little more bossanova thrown in. Best.
I had the worst day yesterday. Work was stressful as hell but I eventually got everything done and sorted and some time after 7 p.m. I made my way down to the Verizon Center to see The Hives and Maroon 5. Only my ticket and photo pass weren't at will call. Sigh. But I eventually talked to the right person and was granted a photo pass (but no ticket). So basically I could shoot the show - the first two songs of each artist - but that's it. Luckily the little waiting area we were confined to had a TV and I could watch the game. But I digress...
This was the first show I'd ever shot at the Phone Booth and also the first show where I didn't actually get to see the show. But it wasn't so bad. I got home at a decent hour and wasn't up all night editing photos (just watching baseball).
Anyone heading to the Black Cat tonight to see The Hives is in store for a great show. I've seen them a few times before (even toured with them a bit in my former music industry life - nicest guys ever) and they can still bring it.
Buy Tyrannosaurus Hives
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