Against Me! w/Billy the Kid @Electric Ballroom, London - Nov 19/14

Obviously, the band has changed a LOT since I saw them in 2008. That was a good show, full of high punk-energy. This. This was a brilliant show. Same, crazy energy, but full of warmth and real connection with the crowd. Laura Jane Grace looked comfortable in herself and open and appreciative of the vibe in the venue.  I don't think I've ever been to a show that just felt this good and was this much fun. I think this may be a rare thing in London, or any big city, where fans are perhaps too cool to really enjoy themselves.

After such an experience, I am now a firm fan. Plus, I can't seem to get the songs out of my head!

Setlist:
FuckMyLife666
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
Cliché Guevara
New Wave
Walking is Still Honest
Drinking With the Jocks
I Was a Teenage Anarchist
Black Me Out
Osama Bin Laden as the Crucified Christ
Don't Lose Touch
Transgender Dysphoria Blues
Dead Friend
True Trans Soul Rebel
How Low
Borne of the FM Waves of the Heart (w/opener Billy the Kid)
Unconditional Love
Thrash Unreal
Encore:
Miami
Rapid Decompression
Sink, Florida, Sink
We Laugh at Danger (And Break All the Rules)


Note: Billy the Kid was an excellent opener: energetic, charismatic and a great singer-songwriter. On one of her songs, This Sure As Hell Ain't My Life, Frank Turner joined her in a duet. Plus she's from Vancouver (although I'd not heard of her), so gotta love her.

Another Music Hiatus

I stopped going to live shows from 2011 to 2013. Two reasons, really.

@Radiohead

1st is that sometimes I'm just not impressed by new music coming out, even by bands I love. Nothing grabs me enough to get out and see a live show. Usually at this time, I see reunion shows advertised and contemplate one or two then don't bother 'cuz I'm out of the habit, and forget how much I love live music. Why do I keep forgetting?

2nd is that my fiance, has zero musical taste. Not bad taste, just no taste really. Example: "Take Me To the River" by Al Green came on the radio the other day in the car. I have a very annoying habit of trying to name a song in the fewest notes possible, and called out Talking Heads (you know, they covered it). I was wrong and was explaining why (I'm so tiresome!), forgetting he couldn't care less who does what song, when he said, "yeah, the big-mouth billy bass song". He had to explain what the hell he was talking about, as I shook my head in disgust. Remember the late night commercials for that fake fishing trophy plaque of a fish, which turns it's head to you and sings? Yep. *Smack Forehead*.

@Pemberton Festival

My old habit in @2008 was to buy 2 tickets to any show I wanted to see, and then figure out who to go with later. When we started dating, it was natural to take my new boyfriend to all these shows I had lined up. After about 7 or 8 shows, I started to notice that he wasn't into the music in the slightest. He usually spent the show looking at the crowd. I took the hint and started to go to shows with others. But, of course, in a new relationship it's often the easier option to do something you both like, more often than not. Fortunately, we both enjoy live comedy. I must say though that he's a real trooper, and a good boyfriend, because he will always be my back-up if no one else can make it. I just counted, he's been to 15 shows with me. Awww.

@REM

Last year (summer 2014), we moved to England, spitting distance of London, and all those shows! I met a great concert buddy pretty quickly, and this has reinvigorated my interest again. That and the new Against Me! album. She knew I'd seen them live before and her boyfriend (who introduced us) was trying to squirm out of going. I'm SO glad I did. They are now a firm favourite. Faith No More releasing a new album helps too, instead of just reunion touring. Whether this keeps up or not, we'll see, but I felt I could somewhat resurrect this old blog, for my own amusement and memory.

LCD Soundsystem @ Malkin Bowl - May 31/10

Setlist:
Us vs Them
Drunk Girls
Get Innocuous
Yr City's a Sucker
Pow Pow
Daft Punk is Playing at My House
All I Want
All My Friends
I Can Change
Tribulations
Movement
Yeah
Encore:
Someone Great
Losing My Edge
New York I Love You/Empire State of Mind

Muse @ Pacific Colliseum - April 1/10

Muse have been on my list to see live for about three years. Just about all the other bands I discovered around the same time along with the British Post-Punk Revival explosion I've now seen: Interpol, Arctic Monkeys, The Killers, Editors, The Fratellis, The Kooks and Maximo Park. I knew Muse were massive in Europe and reputed to be an amazing live act, but where were they?





The only time I remember seeing a Muse date near here was Sept/07 in Seattle. I didn't go to Seattle to see them then and I still have yet to travel that far for a gig. I figure everyone eventually ends up in Vancouver. Well, according to their site, the last time Muse were in Vancouver was at the Commodore on September 24, 2004! That's a five and a half year absence. They've played a handful of shows in Toronto, Montreal and Seattle on their tours since then, but we've been waiting a long time. Welcome back, boys.

So, was the wait worth it? Oh, yes. Even with the high expectations I had from their rumoured greatness live, I was not disappointed. The sound quality in the Pacific Colliseum was excellent, and Bellamy is a damn good front man, but the undisputed star of the night was the set design. I'm including some pics that may capture how impressive it was. Three skyscrapers on the stage that are both movable platforms and video displays, and a light show second to none was an admirable backdrop to a great night of music.

I'm not a fan of the increasingly overt influence of Queen on the band, so those moments during the night were lowlights for me (United States of Eurasia, piano solos). The highlights, beyond the phenomenal stage set, were my old faves Starlight, Supermassive Blackhole, Time is Running Out, and the new tracks Uprising and Resistance. I confess to avoid the crowds, we skipped out before Knights of Cydonia, but I bet that rocked too.

I also have to mention one fan who enthusiastically and single-handed got the entire place doing the wave while we were waiting for Muse to take the stage. Thanks man.


Setlist:
Uprising
Resistance
New Born
Map of the Problematique
Supermassive Blackhole
Hysteria (with Back in Black riff)
Nishe
United States of Eurasia
Feeling Good
(Drum Jam)
Undisclosed Desires
Starlight
Unnatural Selection
Time is Running Out
Plug In Baby
Encore:
Exogenesis Pt.1
Stockholm Syndrom
Knights of Cydonia

Arctic Monkeys @ Malkin Bowl - September 20/09

A very subdued show, and very different in feel to their PNE Forum appearance in September/07.

Perhaps it was the smaller outdoor venue, or that they are touring to support Humbug, a very different sounding album to Favourite Worst Nightmare. All that southwest US/Tarantino/Western themed music. I'll confess I'm not a big fan of their direction this album, but don't mind it in small quantities. Crying Lightning is awesome and I LOVE the Nick Cave cover Red Right Hand. That's been a fave song of mine for 15 years and is a perfect example of the sound the Monkeys are aiming for on Humbug. Hearing those live was a treat, but I was there to hear the stuff of their first two albums.

I wasn't disappointed by the setlist. Quite clever actually. Woven together, the Arctic Monkeys played all ten tracks off Humbug and ten songs from the first two albums, seven off Nightmare and three from Whatever People Say I Am. I would have loved to hear Teddy Picker, A Certain Romance, and Fake Tales of San Francisco but I heard them last time. I was happy they included This House is a Circus and, of course, Dancefloor, which was amusingly modified.

These boys are not what I would call showmen, standing rooted to one spot during the whole show, and very few words to or acknowledgment of the audience, but I have to concede the music is great to experience live. The Monkeys are musically acclaimed for a reason.

Setlist:
Dance Little Liar
Brianstorm
Crying Lightning
Potion Approaching
Pretty Visitors
This House Is A Circus
Still Take You Home
I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor
If You Were There, Beware
Sketchead
My Propeller
Red Right Hand
Dangerous Animals
The View From The Afternoon
Cornerstone
Only Ones Who Know
Do Me A Favour
Secret Door
Fluorescent Adolescent
505

Green Day @ GM Place - July 4, 2009

Green Day are a great live band. I was wary cuz of all the sell-out talk, but I've still been a fan since Dookie, and couldn't let seeing them live pass me by. I shouldn't have been. I highly recommend catching these guys live.

I'm moving away from getting floor tickets unless the band is known for a great live show AND I'm a big fan. Otherwise it's just too exhausting; all that standing around before the show. But, for Green Day, I couldn't imagine sitting down or watching them at a distance and not experiencing the crowd energy down on the floor. It was totally worth it.

Among many, many things, Green Day are great at audience participation. There were no less than 4 different fans brought up on stage, one to even share guitar duties. While some lucky young fans were singled out, Billie Joe and the boys made sure everyone had a great time: energetic performances, pyrotechnics, lots of banter with the audience and leading us in sing-a-longs. The experience both lived up to and exceeded my expectations and made me feel like a young punk kid again. Perfect. Thank you Green Day.

Setlist:
21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
East Jesus Nowhere
Holiday
The Static Age
Before the Lobotomy
Are We the Waiting
St. Jimmy
Geek Stink Breath
Hitchin' a Ride
Brain Stew
Jaded
Longview
Basket Case
She
King for a Day
Shout / Stand by Me
21 Guns
American Eulogy
Encore:
American Idiot
Jesus of Suburbia
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Minority
Encore 2:
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)

The Killers @ UBC Thunderbird Arena - April 24/09

Feeling a bit tired tonight, so skipped the openers. This was my first time at Thunderbird Arena. Apparently it's been renovated in preparation for the Winter Olympics. Sorta like the PNE Forum, but nicer. We didn't have great seats, near the back on the right side, but all seats seem to have a decent view due to steep seating. The only reason I'm sharing these moans is because some of this may have coloured my impression of The Killers show.

I'm glad I got to see them, and the show was okay, but it certainly didn't blow me away. And I thought the sound was a bit muffled, particularly on one of my favourite songs, Read My Mind. And while I'm not a huge fan of the Jumbotron, it certainly would have helped those at the back more fully appreciate the show.

The set decoration was pretty fun: palm trees, and a great layout of lights, where hundreds of lights in a grid pattern blanketed the backdrop and some of the stage fixtures, like the monitors in front. These were different for every song and sometimes during it, giving each song its own visual wash of colour.

The Killers launched right in to Human and then This is your Life off their new album, "Day & Age". In fact they played the first seven songs off the album, mostly in the first part of the set, sprinkling in some early songs and the Joy Division cover Shadowplay, complete with stills from Control, the biopic on Ian Curtis, which is a nice nod to one of their post-punk influences.

Other than the obligatory shout out to Vancouver, Brandon Flowers dedicated one song, I Can't Stay, to Nardwuar and nanaimo bars, making me guess they were interviewed earlier in the day. This song was a departure from my impression of The Killers, adding a full on Vegas show feel, complete with a sax player, and caribbean percussion. Very loungey. And hopefully very ironic. The palm trees didn't help at this point.

A Dustland Fairytale, apparently the new album's third single, brings the set to its first apex, soft teasing parts, followed by catchy and building crescendos. This song looks and sounds like its fun for the band to play, and I guess they'll be doing this live for a long time, maybe as a break from some of those hits they'll have to keep playing whether they like it or not.

This was followed by the highlight of the night, for me, Sam's Town. A super slowed-down and haunting version begins with desolate Las Vegas images projected behind the band, the stage awash in red. And with perfect timing, just as Flowers sings the final words of the line "But I know that I can make it / As long as somebody takes me home", up pops a motel "Welcome" sign. Take me home, indeed. I got shivers.

The main set is rounded out by a trio of hits, thrilling the now hooked and engaged audience. All but a few people are on their feet and dancing or singing along. At least the Killers got the set list down perfectly. Even from a distance it's clear that Flowers is an energetic and interesting front man, skinny in all-black, like the rest of the band, he bounds and dances around, across the stage and up on the monitors, occasionally playing a bit on the keyboard behind the stylized "k" centre stage. But, from our seats, it still felt a bit like watching a show on a 14" TV.

We ducked out before the encore, so we stood a chance at getting back home on the bus without being squashed, but it's pretty likely they played Bones, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, and When You Were Young, as their setlist has been pretty consistent so far on this tour.

So, an okay show. Certainly got me listening to the new album more, which is slowly growing on me.


Setlist:
Human
This is Your Life
Somebody Told Me
For Reasons Unknown
I Can't Stay
Joyride
Bling (Confessions of a King)
Shadowplay
Smile Like You Mean It
Spaceman
Losing Touch
A Dustland Fairytale
Sam's Town
Read My Mind
Mr. Brightside
All These Things That I've Done
Encore (Probably):
Bones
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
When You Were Young