... a great, great show... it far exceeded my expectations which were, after a couple years of progressively less exciting solo performances, somewhat dampened. Pauly was focused and serious for his first concert appearance with a band since 1996. Early on he mentioned that some local "buttfucks" were already using the "Painkillers" moniker so they were trying to come up with a new one. On stage suggestions included "Kevin Bowe Works Blue" and, my fave, "Paul Westerberg and His Only Friends." Surprisingly, Paul played a lot of the leads as Kevin Bowe, Jim Boquist and Michael Bland ripped thru 100 minutes of highlights -some predictable, some quite surprising - from the PW / Mats catalog. BTW, Bowe is a longtime Mpls singer/songwriter/guitarist who, with his long-forgotten Mpls band The Dads, played with the 'Mats at one of their very first gigs, according to PW. Nothing resembling a low spot and the time seemed to go by in a flash. The boys seem to be very well rehearsed (definitely not one of Paul's strong suits in recent years) and looked to be having a blast. Anyone who didn't crack a smile watching Boquist strut and stromp around is probably a Republican.
Highlights for me: a powerful, emotional "My Dad," "Let the Bad Times Roll," "What a Day For a Night," "As Far As I Know," virtually all of the 'Mats songs. Even the Partridge Family song seemed to fit in (it was, FWIW, a "straight" rendition - no goofing around). There were so many great songs that weren't played that tonite and Sunday have the potential for even more excitement. A few weeks ago, I was worried that two nights might be one too many. Now I'm very much looking forward to going to all 3.
Paul Westerberg and the Painkillers *
5 November 2004
Pantages Theater - Minneapolis, MN
* = Kevin Bowe (guitars, vocals), Jim Boquist (bass, vocals), Michael Bland (drums)
Waiting For Somebody
Final Hurrah
Kiss Me On The Bus
My Dad
AAA
Achin' To Be
Mr Rabbit (Kevin Bowe on mandolin)
Making Me Go
Let The Bad Times Roll
As Far As I Know
Little Mascara
Valentine
High Time
new song ?? (solo electric)
Sadly Beautiful (solo acoustic 12 string)
Crackle & Drag (solo acoustic 12 string)
If Only You Were Lonely (solo acoustic 12 string)
Lookin' Up In Heaven (acoustic w/ band)
What A Day (For A Night) (acoustic w/ band)
Love Untold (PW on electric 12 string)
I Will Dare (PW on electric 12 string)
I Think I Love You (Partridge Family cover)
Alex Chilton
Left Of The Dial
ENCORE
MPLS (PW on blues harp)
I'll Be You
Folk Star / Jingle
Only A Hobo (Dylan cover)
Can't Hardly Wait
Saturday, November 6, 2004
Monday, November 1, 2004
8 days a week - a concert diary
Finally catching up on some sleep after an intense string of live shows here in the Twin Cities. I was out 8 nights in a row and saw some of the best live music I've seen all year. If I would've gone to the Interpol and Badly Drawn Boy shows on the 19th and 20th, that would've made 10 nights in a row, a run my body, wallet and wife probably would've objected to. It was a hell of a ride and I only missed two shows of consequence: Two Cow Garage (who were up against Centro-matic; they seem to be snake-bitten when it comes to scheduling conflicts in these parts) and David Thomas.
10/21/04 - ROCK FOR KARL BENEFIT @ THE QUEST. Much has been written about this historic night, a "special" occasion that for once actually lived up to the hype and even, at times, exceeded it. You know it's been a good night when a Paul Westerberg solo set is close to the least exciting thing on the whole bill (and who woulda thunk the highlight of his set would be "Kentucky Rain?"). Paul later redeemed himself nicely with a gloriously unkempt version of "Dead Flowers" with the Louris-less "Golden Smog" ("if me, Gary or Danny is missing, it ain't Golden Smog" - Kraig Johnson, 10/19/04), a performance that perfectly evoked the spirit of those drunken cover-fests 15+ years ago at the Cabooze, Uptown Bar and 400 Bar (original version). The "GS" set ended on a high note with a furious Iggy cover sung by KJJ ("Knocking 'em Down,' from "Soldier"). Then it was time for the Gear Daddies reunion, a set I quite enjoyed in spite of what can only be described as the "ugliness" of a large portion of GD "fans" (way too many rude, fucked up, frat-boy, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing mooks).
The most historic moment of the night, of course, was Grant Hart popping up on stage during Bob Mould's blistering solo electric set for two songs. While later reports from those in the know indicate that it might be premature to say that 16 years of acrimony have finally ended, it was nonetheless a powerfully emotional moment. And the man of the hour? Well, Karl sounded great on stage during SA's well-received, rockin' set and looked surprisingly chipper considering he was essentially nearly roasted alive during his extremely aggressive radiation treatment just a few months ago. Bad news? Well, it almost goes without saying that this benefit was at the wrong club in DT Mpls - the Quest is a horrible, wretched place, even by Clear Channel standards - but it's a testament to the power of the event itself and abundant good vibes that the severe shortcomings of the venue were overcome for a good cause.
10/22/04 - SARA LEE GUTHRIE & JOHNNY IRION / THE OLD 97s @ FIRST AVE. The 2 most recent New West signings on a very strong double bill. I mentioned in an earlier post my total pleasure at seeing Woody's granddaughter and her hubby backed by a couple of Jayhawks + Dave Boquist; suffice it to say that you should really try and catch them live if you can, especially if this expanded line-up ever hits the road (KYFC). Their new studio album, produced by Gary Louris at Ed Ackerson's Mpls studio, is a remarkable accomplishment and contains at least one song, "Gervais," that is destined to be a classic (comes out 1/25/05).
Like many here, I'm somewhat lukewarm about the recent 97s album, but their show was a crowd-pleasin' hoot damn near from start to finish. All phases of their recorded history were mixed in nicely, fondly evoking memories of the their 90s shows when they played to considerably smaller crowds here (there were well over a 1000 at this show). Throw in a smart cover or two and a truly impressive expenditure of energy, and you've got one sweat-drenched, deliriously happy crowd at the end of the night. Nice guys, too - hung around till the last cell-phone camera portrait was snapped.
10/23/04 - "ROCK FOR DEMOCRACY" @ THE TRIPLE ROCK. Started the night out early at yet another benefit (Summer 2004 in Mpls will definitely be remembered as "The Summer of Benefits") over at the Triple Rock catching my friends The Mood Swings, a "fuzz-pop" power trio led by Ashley Prenzlow, who are currently recording an album for Susstones. This was a very strange night, the concept being to alternate hip-hop and rock bands on one bill (The Melismatics, another fine Susstones act, were the headliners). I didn't stick around too long since I had to head over to...
10/23/04 - "WELLSTONE MUSIC DAY" @ THE TURF CLUB. About a zillion acts on this one, including local music scribe Jim Walsh, who helped plant the seed for this event last year. Jim used to front a local band back in the day (Laughing Stock, whose career highlights include one long-lost LP, a string of shows with the Replacements, and opening for Billy Bragg at one of his very first US shows when he played to about 50 people in the 7th St. Entry in 1985) and is currently dabbling with writing new music. Ya all know the drill: writers wanna be musicians who wanna be writers who wanna be actors who wanna be musicians... Grant Hart, Curtiss A and Slim Dunlap were the big draws and by 2am everybody was in a drunken, giddy mood, a fairly typical occurrence for a Saturday night at the Turf. The festivities ended with a now seemingly obligatory cover of "What's So Funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding," but the highlight for me was Curtiss A jumping up during Slim's set, Jameson in hand, for a never more pertinent reading of his scathing early Twin/Tone classic, "Land of the Free."
10/24/04 - LIANNE SMITH / RICH MATTSON @ THE TURF CLUB. Speaking of Twin/Tone, Lianne used to be in local Rockabilly cats, Safety Last, who, near the end of their run, also featured a young Gary Louris, right before he hooked up with Mark Olson in the Jayhawks. Lianne currently lives in NYC and is jumping back into the music scene after an extended absence. It was just her and an old Tele, with her former bandmate in Safety Last and The Tanglewoods, Jim Tollefsrud on drums. Nice set, with shades of Rosanne Cash and Jill Sobule evident and lots of promising songs. Rich Mattson is from Ol' Yeller, a cool local band who've put out 4 solid albums. For my money, he's just about the most underrated talent in town. He's a hard working guy with great stage presence and he seems to have the ability to pop out good songs at will. This was an acoustic set accompanied by one of his bandmates and featured lots of brand new songs, some being a dramatic departure from the rootsy Americana of Ol' Yeller. The night wound down earlier than I thought, so I hopped on I-94 and headed towards DT Mpls to catch...
10/24/04 - THE CRAMPS @ FIRST AVE. When I was planning out my concert schedule a few weeks ago, this was a show I thought I'd miss. As it turns out, I saw the whole shebang and ended up drinking way more than I planned on to boot, probably in reaction to the unrestrained campy decadence of Lux, Poison Ivy and crew. It had been two decades since I'd seen these sick weirdos and they were every bit as good as I remembered them. Maybe even better. The years have been surprisingly kind to these two (although, up close, I noticed Ms. Ivy had on a *lot* of make-up) as they've cranked out album after album of their patented brand of "psycho-billy" junkie rock. A week early for Halloween, although you never woulda known it from the crowd. I haven't seen so many freaky punk outcasts in one place since 1983, and that was probably at a Cramps show, too.
10/25/04 - WILCO (NIGHT 1) @ THE ORPHEUM THEATER. I'll admit I didn't have high hopes for this one since I was profoundly underwhelmed the last time I saw them in this space (July 2002) - I believe I used the word "snoozefest" to describe that show. The new expanded line-up, however, has opened up a whole new chapter in the band's history, something I've become increasingly aware of as I've listened to a big pile of 2004 Wilco live shows in recent weeks. In retrospect, it now appears that the fault line for Wilco fans will turn out to be the Summer 2001 live shows, aka The Jay Bennett Farewell mini-tour. This is the demarcation between the eclectic alt-country/Americana/whatever-you-wanna-call-it of the "old" Wilco and the "new" Wilco, who probably are more inspired by the Velvet Underground and Neu than Gram Parsons or Neil Young.
Personally, I was absolutely blown away by this new edition of the Jeff Tweedy Band. What Wilco plays these days resembles "rock" music but is probably closer to some conceptual high-art version of "rock" (I heard a local musician after the show refer to them as an "American Spiritualized," and that was meant as an extreme compliment). I'll admit, I'm a sucker for the "symphonic noise" and unabashed experimentation they are now so obviously fond of. Having said that, I can easily understand how some (many? most??) long-time Wilco fans now feel that their heroes have jumped the shark. I know how awful it can feel when a band you love gives up the ghost (I've still never forgiven Strummer and Co. for sacking Mick Jones). After witnessing this, the 23rd Wilco performance I've seen in MN, it's easy to see how one person's "beautiful noise" can be another person's "pretentious wankery." Wilco seemed particularly intense and driven on this otherwise uneventful Monday night; it was 49 minutes before Tweedy said a single word to the audience (I happened to be running my stopwatch, a carryover habit from my old taping days). Predictably, the bulk of the setlist was from the last two albums, but even the older material was affected by Wilco's new directions and strategies, which are explained nicely by Mikael Jorgensen (aka "Laptop Guy," although he actually is quite competent on a variety of keyboards/doo-dads in the current live line-up) in the appendix of the new "The Wilco Book." Case in point: the new noisy middle section of "Via Chicago," which, IMO, expands exponentially the disturbing creepiness and sadness of this song, resulting in a chilling listening experience. This is the same noisefest that Karla so mercilessly derided; I thought it was one of the highlights of the night - go figure. The line clearly has been drawn in the proverbial sand and I fear those who are jumping off the bandwagon may never catch up with it again.
10/26/04 - WILCO (NIGHT 2) @ THE ORPHEUM THEATER. Intensity level was dialed down a few notches for this show; not as many skronk-fests and journeys to inner space. Tweedy was more affable and engaged with the audience, and the encores were a bit more palatable to fans of the "old" Wilco. Monday night we were sitting in the front of the balcony so we had a birds eye view of the amazing Mr. Kotche. On Tuesday I was down in the 6th row so I was able to pay more attention to the Nels Cline (who, literally, brings the noise to this band) and Pat Sansone, who does a fine job as the resident multi-instrumentalist (Leroy who?). Some welcome setlist variations for night 2 - another big change from the early post-YHF shows - including "Hell Is Chrome," "Less Than You Think" and "Magazine Called Sunset." "Spiders" worked well as the main set finale; both versions I saw were superb, the metronomic intensity building to dizzying heights. Definitely becoming a big crowd fave, at least for fans of the "new" Wilco. Like I said, the line has been drawn... FWIW, I'm also a fan of the earlier, non-Krautrock live versions of "Spiders," although it's essentially become a different song now. As he did the night before, Tweedy gave his political stump speech (he and most of the band went to a John Edwards rally earlier in the day at the U of M) before a very powerful version of Bill Fay's "Be Not So Fearful" to end the show. I left the second night suitably awed and anxious to see this line-up again, a drastically different feeling than I had after the last few times I'd seen the band.
Milled around for a bit after the show (saw Alan Sparhawk from Low - who's no stranger to conceptual methods - in an intense discussion with Tweedy; don't be surprised if Wilco go all "slow-core" on the next album...heh, heh), but not for too long since it was time to walk down Hennepin Ave. a few blocks to see...
10/26/04 - CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN @ FIRST AVE. This show apparently wasn't selling well - Tweedy announced from the stage earlier in the night at the Orpheum that a Wilco ticket stub + $5 would get you in to see CVB. After the Wilco show I noticed a few First Ave. employees actually giving away comps to the people exiting the theater. Regardless of the price, it was surprisingly good show for a long-dead band, especially considering that their equipment just got jacked a few weeks ago. Much to my delight, they played a ton of material from their "Santa Cruz" years, along with a big chunk of the new album and a very entertaining batch of covers ("White Riot," "Pictures of Matchstick Men," etc.). A large contingent of Wilco members and friends were in attendance, gaining admittance only after Marc Perlman and I patiently explained to the door person that these people weren't just coming from the Wilco show but they _were_, in fact, Wilco (First Ave. was co-promoting the Wilco show and someone was supposed to have left word at the door). At one point, I exasperatedly asked the cashier if she couldn't just change my media credentials from "plus 1" to "plus 11," which didn't quite get the reaction I was hoping for.
10/27/04 - DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS @ THE ELECTRIC FETUS. An afternoon acoustic in-store set that featured 2-3 songs from Hood, Cooley and Isbell. Words, melodies and finger-pickin' took center stage for this performance in front of the box set section. It all came off surprisingly well considering the absence of their usual triple electric guitar roar. It's becoming increasingly evident to me that Jason Isbell is the real deal; he's an amazingly accomplished songwriter and guitar player for such a young whippersnapper. Hopefully a proposed solo project is on the fast track.
10/27/04 - CENTRO-MATIC / DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS @ FIRST AVE. Another strong double-bill and an impressive crowd for the Trucker's first big room show in MN. Centro played an hour set that seemed to last about 15 minutes and were just friggin' awesome. It was also cool to see Jason Isbell provide some atmospherics on a few songs. All of the Centro guys are amazing musicians - their command of mood and dynamics is absolutely masterful. Will J.'s almost becoming a regular around here - he did an opening solo set at the Triple Rock a few weeks ago and will be back there in a few weeks for another solo set, opening for the reformed American Music Club. I chatted with him for a few minutes during the Truckers and he couldn't have been nicer. Definitely one of the "good guys" (John Stiratt belongs in that category, too).
The last few Truckers shows I've seen were largely uneventful, but they sure kicked ass from the git-go this time; they were as hot as I've ever seen them. Several of the songs off "The Dirty South" have grown on me in recent months and they played nearly all of those in the first 90 minutes. This was fortunate for me since I had to take off to pick up my wife a few blocks away at the Loon bar. She had just come in from the airport on our new billion dollar LRT choo-choo train and was having a drink while watching the Red Sox complete their stunning curse reversal. Usually 90 minutes will get you an entire concert; for the Truckers, that's about half a show!
10/28/04 - JOHN CALE @ FIRST AVE. Pitifully under-attended show, considering this man's CV and influence on modern rock music - back in the early and mid-60s, he was exploring (helping to invent?) some of the very avenues that Tweedy and Co. are traveling these days. On the surface, there are more than a few similarities between Cale and the "new" Wilco - both share a penchant for songs featuring lilting melodies and light passages interspersed with blasts of the avant-garde. Cale is touring with a very competent 3 piece band in support of last year's "Hobo Sapien" album, his first release in a long time. Stylistically, Cale and his band were almost ridiculously diverse - everything from delicate, whimsical ditties to long, loud segments of sampled noise and distortion (hmm...sound familiar?). Highlights included "Fear is A Man's Best Friend," "Cable Hogue," "Leaving It Up To You," a radically revamped, very disjointed "Gun" and a long jam version of the immortal "Pablo Picasso." All in all, a superb show, even though he didn't play a whole slew of personal faves ("Big White Cloud," "Guts," "Amsterdam," etc.). Cale alternated between his keyboard/sampler, viola and acoustic & electric guitars and showed he's still the shit, well into his 5th decade of involvement with some of the best music created in the modern era.
10/29/04 - HOME. Spent some quality time in front of the TV and computer. Had the strange sensation that I was missing something, somewhere...
10/21/04 - ROCK FOR KARL BENEFIT @ THE QUEST. Much has been written about this historic night, a "special" occasion that for once actually lived up to the hype and even, at times, exceeded it. You know it's been a good night when a Paul Westerberg solo set is close to the least exciting thing on the whole bill (and who woulda thunk the highlight of his set would be "Kentucky Rain?"). Paul later redeemed himself nicely with a gloriously unkempt version of "Dead Flowers" with the Louris-less "Golden Smog" ("if me, Gary or Danny is missing, it ain't Golden Smog" - Kraig Johnson, 10/19/04), a performance that perfectly evoked the spirit of those drunken cover-fests 15+ years ago at the Cabooze, Uptown Bar and 400 Bar (original version). The "GS" set ended on a high note with a furious Iggy cover sung by KJJ ("Knocking 'em Down,' from "Soldier"). Then it was time for the Gear Daddies reunion, a set I quite enjoyed in spite of what can only be described as the "ugliness" of a large portion of GD "fans" (way too many rude, fucked up, frat-boy, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing mooks).
The most historic moment of the night, of course, was Grant Hart popping up on stage during Bob Mould's blistering solo electric set for two songs. While later reports from those in the know indicate that it might be premature to say that 16 years of acrimony have finally ended, it was nonetheless a powerfully emotional moment. And the man of the hour? Well, Karl sounded great on stage during SA's well-received, rockin' set and looked surprisingly chipper considering he was essentially nearly roasted alive during his extremely aggressive radiation treatment just a few months ago. Bad news? Well, it almost goes without saying that this benefit was at the wrong club in DT Mpls - the Quest is a horrible, wretched place, even by Clear Channel standards - but it's a testament to the power of the event itself and abundant good vibes that the severe shortcomings of the venue were overcome for a good cause.
10/22/04 - SARA LEE GUTHRIE & JOHNNY IRION / THE OLD 97s @ FIRST AVE. The 2 most recent New West signings on a very strong double bill. I mentioned in an earlier post my total pleasure at seeing Woody's granddaughter and her hubby backed by a couple of Jayhawks + Dave Boquist; suffice it to say that you should really try and catch them live if you can, especially if this expanded line-up ever hits the road (KYFC). Their new studio album, produced by Gary Louris at Ed Ackerson's Mpls studio, is a remarkable accomplishment and contains at least one song, "Gervais," that is destined to be a classic (comes out 1/25/05).
Like many here, I'm somewhat lukewarm about the recent 97s album, but their show was a crowd-pleasin' hoot damn near from start to finish. All phases of their recorded history were mixed in nicely, fondly evoking memories of the their 90s shows when they played to considerably smaller crowds here (there were well over a 1000 at this show). Throw in a smart cover or two and a truly impressive expenditure of energy, and you've got one sweat-drenched, deliriously happy crowd at the end of the night. Nice guys, too - hung around till the last cell-phone camera portrait was snapped.
10/23/04 - "ROCK FOR DEMOCRACY" @ THE TRIPLE ROCK. Started the night out early at yet another benefit (Summer 2004 in Mpls will definitely be remembered as "The Summer of Benefits") over at the Triple Rock catching my friends The Mood Swings, a "fuzz-pop" power trio led by Ashley Prenzlow, who are currently recording an album for Susstones. This was a very strange night, the concept being to alternate hip-hop and rock bands on one bill (The Melismatics, another fine Susstones act, were the headliners). I didn't stick around too long since I had to head over to...
10/23/04 - "WELLSTONE MUSIC DAY" @ THE TURF CLUB. About a zillion acts on this one, including local music scribe Jim Walsh, who helped plant the seed for this event last year. Jim used to front a local band back in the day (Laughing Stock, whose career highlights include one long-lost LP, a string of shows with the Replacements, and opening for Billy Bragg at one of his very first US shows when he played to about 50 people in the 7th St. Entry in 1985) and is currently dabbling with writing new music. Ya all know the drill: writers wanna be musicians who wanna be writers who wanna be actors who wanna be musicians... Grant Hart, Curtiss A and Slim Dunlap were the big draws and by 2am everybody was in a drunken, giddy mood, a fairly typical occurrence for a Saturday night at the Turf. The festivities ended with a now seemingly obligatory cover of "What's So Funny 'bout Peace, Love and Understanding," but the highlight for me was Curtiss A jumping up during Slim's set, Jameson in hand, for a never more pertinent reading of his scathing early Twin/Tone classic, "Land of the Free."
10/24/04 - LIANNE SMITH / RICH MATTSON @ THE TURF CLUB. Speaking of Twin/Tone, Lianne used to be in local Rockabilly cats, Safety Last, who, near the end of their run, also featured a young Gary Louris, right before he hooked up with Mark Olson in the Jayhawks. Lianne currently lives in NYC and is jumping back into the music scene after an extended absence. It was just her and an old Tele, with her former bandmate in Safety Last and The Tanglewoods, Jim Tollefsrud on drums. Nice set, with shades of Rosanne Cash and Jill Sobule evident and lots of promising songs. Rich Mattson is from Ol' Yeller, a cool local band who've put out 4 solid albums. For my money, he's just about the most underrated talent in town. He's a hard working guy with great stage presence and he seems to have the ability to pop out good songs at will. This was an acoustic set accompanied by one of his bandmates and featured lots of brand new songs, some being a dramatic departure from the rootsy Americana of Ol' Yeller. The night wound down earlier than I thought, so I hopped on I-94 and headed towards DT Mpls to catch...
10/24/04 - THE CRAMPS @ FIRST AVE. When I was planning out my concert schedule a few weeks ago, this was a show I thought I'd miss. As it turns out, I saw the whole shebang and ended up drinking way more than I planned on to boot, probably in reaction to the unrestrained campy decadence of Lux, Poison Ivy and crew. It had been two decades since I'd seen these sick weirdos and they were every bit as good as I remembered them. Maybe even better. The years have been surprisingly kind to these two (although, up close, I noticed Ms. Ivy had on a *lot* of make-up) as they've cranked out album after album of their patented brand of "psycho-billy" junkie rock. A week early for Halloween, although you never woulda known it from the crowd. I haven't seen so many freaky punk outcasts in one place since 1983, and that was probably at a Cramps show, too.
10/25/04 - WILCO (NIGHT 1) @ THE ORPHEUM THEATER. I'll admit I didn't have high hopes for this one since I was profoundly underwhelmed the last time I saw them in this space (July 2002) - I believe I used the word "snoozefest" to describe that show. The new expanded line-up, however, has opened up a whole new chapter in the band's history, something I've become increasingly aware of as I've listened to a big pile of 2004 Wilco live shows in recent weeks. In retrospect, it now appears that the fault line for Wilco fans will turn out to be the Summer 2001 live shows, aka The Jay Bennett Farewell mini-tour. This is the demarcation between the eclectic alt-country/Americana/whatever-you-wanna-call-it of the "old" Wilco and the "new" Wilco, who probably are more inspired by the Velvet Underground and Neu than Gram Parsons or Neil Young.
Personally, I was absolutely blown away by this new edition of the Jeff Tweedy Band. What Wilco plays these days resembles "rock" music but is probably closer to some conceptual high-art version of "rock" (I heard a local musician after the show refer to them as an "American Spiritualized," and that was meant as an extreme compliment). I'll admit, I'm a sucker for the "symphonic noise" and unabashed experimentation they are now so obviously fond of. Having said that, I can easily understand how some (many? most??) long-time Wilco fans now feel that their heroes have jumped the shark. I know how awful it can feel when a band you love gives up the ghost (I've still never forgiven Strummer and Co. for sacking Mick Jones). After witnessing this, the 23rd Wilco performance I've seen in MN, it's easy to see how one person's "beautiful noise" can be another person's "pretentious wankery." Wilco seemed particularly intense and driven on this otherwise uneventful Monday night; it was 49 minutes before Tweedy said a single word to the audience (I happened to be running my stopwatch, a carryover habit from my old taping days). Predictably, the bulk of the setlist was from the last two albums, but even the older material was affected by Wilco's new directions and strategies, which are explained nicely by Mikael Jorgensen (aka "Laptop Guy," although he actually is quite competent on a variety of keyboards/doo-dads in the current live line-up) in the appendix of the new "The Wilco Book." Case in point: the new noisy middle section of "Via Chicago," which, IMO, expands exponentially the disturbing creepiness and sadness of this song, resulting in a chilling listening experience. This is the same noisefest that Karla so mercilessly derided; I thought it was one of the highlights of the night - go figure. The line clearly has been drawn in the proverbial sand and I fear those who are jumping off the bandwagon may never catch up with it again.
10/26/04 - WILCO (NIGHT 2) @ THE ORPHEUM THEATER. Intensity level was dialed down a few notches for this show; not as many skronk-fests and journeys to inner space. Tweedy was more affable and engaged with the audience, and the encores were a bit more palatable to fans of the "old" Wilco. Monday night we were sitting in the front of the balcony so we had a birds eye view of the amazing Mr. Kotche. On Tuesday I was down in the 6th row so I was able to pay more attention to the Nels Cline (who, literally, brings the noise to this band) and Pat Sansone, who does a fine job as the resident multi-instrumentalist (Leroy who?). Some welcome setlist variations for night 2 - another big change from the early post-YHF shows - including "Hell Is Chrome," "Less Than You Think" and "Magazine Called Sunset." "Spiders" worked well as the main set finale; both versions I saw were superb, the metronomic intensity building to dizzying heights. Definitely becoming a big crowd fave, at least for fans of the "new" Wilco. Like I said, the line has been drawn... FWIW, I'm also a fan of the earlier, non-Krautrock live versions of "Spiders," although it's essentially become a different song now. As he did the night before, Tweedy gave his political stump speech (he and most of the band went to a John Edwards rally earlier in the day at the U of M) before a very powerful version of Bill Fay's "Be Not So Fearful" to end the show. I left the second night suitably awed and anxious to see this line-up again, a drastically different feeling than I had after the last few times I'd seen the band.
Milled around for a bit after the show (saw Alan Sparhawk from Low - who's no stranger to conceptual methods - in an intense discussion with Tweedy; don't be surprised if Wilco go all "slow-core" on the next album...heh, heh), but not for too long since it was time to walk down Hennepin Ave. a few blocks to see...
10/26/04 - CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN @ FIRST AVE. This show apparently wasn't selling well - Tweedy announced from the stage earlier in the night at the Orpheum that a Wilco ticket stub + $5 would get you in to see CVB. After the Wilco show I noticed a few First Ave. employees actually giving away comps to the people exiting the theater. Regardless of the price, it was surprisingly good show for a long-dead band, especially considering that their equipment just got jacked a few weeks ago. Much to my delight, they played a ton of material from their "Santa Cruz" years, along with a big chunk of the new album and a very entertaining batch of covers ("White Riot," "Pictures of Matchstick Men," etc.). A large contingent of Wilco members and friends were in attendance, gaining admittance only after Marc Perlman and I patiently explained to the door person that these people weren't just coming from the Wilco show but they _were_, in fact, Wilco (First Ave. was co-promoting the Wilco show and someone was supposed to have left word at the door). At one point, I exasperatedly asked the cashier if she couldn't just change my media credentials from "plus 1" to "plus 11," which didn't quite get the reaction I was hoping for.
10/27/04 - DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS @ THE ELECTRIC FETUS. An afternoon acoustic in-store set that featured 2-3 songs from Hood, Cooley and Isbell. Words, melodies and finger-pickin' took center stage for this performance in front of the box set section. It all came off surprisingly well considering the absence of their usual triple electric guitar roar. It's becoming increasingly evident to me that Jason Isbell is the real deal; he's an amazingly accomplished songwriter and guitar player for such a young whippersnapper. Hopefully a proposed solo project is on the fast track.
10/27/04 - CENTRO-MATIC / DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS @ FIRST AVE. Another strong double-bill and an impressive crowd for the Trucker's first big room show in MN. Centro played an hour set that seemed to last about 15 minutes and were just friggin' awesome. It was also cool to see Jason Isbell provide some atmospherics on a few songs. All of the Centro guys are amazing musicians - their command of mood and dynamics is absolutely masterful. Will J.'s almost becoming a regular around here - he did an opening solo set at the Triple Rock a few weeks ago and will be back there in a few weeks for another solo set, opening for the reformed American Music Club. I chatted with him for a few minutes during the Truckers and he couldn't have been nicer. Definitely one of the "good guys" (John Stiratt belongs in that category, too).
The last few Truckers shows I've seen were largely uneventful, but they sure kicked ass from the git-go this time; they were as hot as I've ever seen them. Several of the songs off "The Dirty South" have grown on me in recent months and they played nearly all of those in the first 90 minutes. This was fortunate for me since I had to take off to pick up my wife a few blocks away at the Loon bar. She had just come in from the airport on our new billion dollar LRT choo-choo train and was having a drink while watching the Red Sox complete their stunning curse reversal. Usually 90 minutes will get you an entire concert; for the Truckers, that's about half a show!
10/28/04 - JOHN CALE @ FIRST AVE. Pitifully under-attended show, considering this man's CV and influence on modern rock music - back in the early and mid-60s, he was exploring (helping to invent?) some of the very avenues that Tweedy and Co. are traveling these days. On the surface, there are more than a few similarities between Cale and the "new" Wilco - both share a penchant for songs featuring lilting melodies and light passages interspersed with blasts of the avant-garde. Cale is touring with a very competent 3 piece band in support of last year's "Hobo Sapien" album, his first release in a long time. Stylistically, Cale and his band were almost ridiculously diverse - everything from delicate, whimsical ditties to long, loud segments of sampled noise and distortion (hmm...sound familiar?). Highlights included "Fear is A Man's Best Friend," "Cable Hogue," "Leaving It Up To You," a radically revamped, very disjointed "Gun" and a long jam version of the immortal "Pablo Picasso." All in all, a superb show, even though he didn't play a whole slew of personal faves ("Big White Cloud," "Guts," "Amsterdam," etc.). Cale alternated between his keyboard/sampler, viola and acoustic & electric guitars and showed he's still the shit, well into his 5th decade of involvement with some of the best music created in the modern era.
10/29/04 - HOME. Spent some quality time in front of the TV and computer. Had the strange sensation that I was missing something, somewhere...
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
Review: "Hail to the Chefs" Fundraiser - 9/27/04 - Modern Cafe - Mpls, MN
Quite the event -- superb food, great people-watching and some really excellent music. MC was local Mpls music legend Chris Osgood and the restaurant was staffed by all kinds of volunteers, including a fair number of familiar local musicians.
Music at the late show started out with local folk/country singer Wendy Lewis & her trio (who offered up the first of 3 Neil Young covers played last nite -- "For the Turnstiles") and then Trailer Trash's Nate Dungan, who turned in a nice solo set highlighted by a brand new, topical original ("Foreign Policy") and a hopefully- not-topical-anytime-soon reading of Gram Parson's "My Uncle."
Next up was essentially a scaled down version of Golden Smog: KJJ, Marc Perlman, Danny Murphy & Jessy Greene. Their 7 song set was dominated by a whole lot of "bummer" tunes sung by Kraig -- an interesting, to say the least, counterpoint to the racous, celebratory mood that prevailed amongst the political/food/music junkies that were in attendance. Nothin' like a coupla "junk" songs to go along with your slow-cooked salmon, spinach puree and chevre tart! Everyone sounded pretty damn good in spite of the crude set-up -- the "stage" was a hunk of plywood elevated with milk crates in the corner of the restaurant and the PA was about as basic as you can get.
"Mini Golden Smog"
(Johnson, Perlman, Muprhy, Greene)
"Hail to the Chefs" Fundraiser
Modern Cafe
Minneapolis, MN
9/27/04
SETLIST
-- On the Beach (nicely colored by Jessy's violin)
-- Signed D.C. ("my soul belongs to the dealer")
-- Ill-Fated (sung by Danny, of course, very nice to hear again)
-- Making Waves (rarely played over the last 5 years -- harmony vox by Jessy)
-- Losing My Religion (yes, the R.E.M. song, first verse sung by Danny, Kraig sang the rest; complete with that catchy Mandolin riff, courtesy of Perly)
-- Yesterday Cried (another one that rarely shows up)
-- The Losing End (Neil cover #3, dedicated to GWB)
Music at the late show started out with local folk/country singer Wendy Lewis & her trio (who offered up the first of 3 Neil Young covers played last nite -- "For the Turnstiles") and then Trailer Trash's Nate Dungan, who turned in a nice solo set highlighted by a brand new, topical original ("Foreign Policy") and a hopefully- not-topical-anytime-soon reading of Gram Parson's "My Uncle."
Next up was essentially a scaled down version of Golden Smog: KJJ, Marc Perlman, Danny Murphy & Jessy Greene. Their 7 song set was dominated by a whole lot of "bummer" tunes sung by Kraig -- an interesting, to say the least, counterpoint to the racous, celebratory mood that prevailed amongst the political/food/music junkies that were in attendance. Nothin' like a coupla "junk" songs to go along with your slow-cooked salmon, spinach puree and chevre tart! Everyone sounded pretty damn good in spite of the crude set-up -- the "stage" was a hunk of plywood elevated with milk crates in the corner of the restaurant and the PA was about as basic as you can get.
"Mini Golden Smog"
(Johnson, Perlman, Muprhy, Greene)
"Hail to the Chefs" Fundraiser
Modern Cafe
Minneapolis, MN
9/27/04
SETLIST
-- On the Beach (nicely colored by Jessy's violin)
-- Signed D.C. ("my soul belongs to the dealer")
-- Ill-Fated (sung by Danny, of course, very nice to hear again)
-- Making Waves (rarely played over the last 5 years -- harmony vox by Jessy)
-- Losing My Religion (yes, the R.E.M. song, first verse sung by Danny, Kraig sang the rest; complete with that catchy Mandolin riff, courtesy of Perly)
-- Yesterday Cried (another one that rarely shows up)
-- The Losing End (Neil cover #3, dedicated to GWB)
Monday, July 19, 2004
Review: Golden Smog & Jayhawks - Rock For Democracy - 7/18/04 - First Ave. - Mpls, MN
THE JAYHAWKS
(Louris - Perlman - O'Reagan - Grotberg)
Rock For Democracy
First AVe. - Mpls - 7/18/04
1. One Man's Problem (w/ Jim Boquist = ac gtr/bg vox)
2. Pray For Me (w/Jim Boquist = ac gtr/bg vox) For some strange reason i don't feel like doing any “research” right now, but I think the last time they played this, Bill Clinton was in his first term.
3. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (Hollies cover; Tim = lead vox; w/ Jim Boquist = ac gtr/bg vox) One of many songs last night that were perfectly in sync with the vibe of the event. Beautifully sung by Tim, just breathtaking. Man, what an underrated singer. Hell, what a singer, period!
4. Tailspin (w/ David Poe = elec gtr/bg vox) Dedicated by Gary to "GW." Biting political commentary? Wishful thinking? One of the best damn pop songs in recent memory? Answer: D) all of the above.
GOLDEN SMOG
(Louris - Johnson - Murphy - Perlman - Peter Anderson)
Rock For Democracy
First Ave. - Mpls - 7/18/04
1. Starman (Bowie cover; Gary = lead vox, Jim Boquist = bg vox) Live debut - yet another excellent choice from the cool cover stockpile. Pssst: the boys recorded a killer version of this song this summer - don't tell anybody.
2. That's When I Reach For My Revolver (Mission of Burma cover; Dan = lead vox, Ed Ackerson = elec gtr, bg vox = all) Another debut. Dan dedicated this to MN guv "Tiny Tim Palewnty" in the wake of a lot of recent hoo-haw in these parts concerning gun control legislation.
3. Powderfinger (Neil cover; KJJ = lead vox, David Poe = gtr/ bg vox, Dave Pirner = bg vox). Smokin'. Don't think they've pulled this one out since the '96 glory days.
4. Do Anything You Wanna Do (Eddie and the Hot Rods cover; Dan = lead vox) Another '96 blast from the past. An early punk anthem (1976) that fit in well with the spirit of the event.
5. The Dream is Never Over [tentative title] (brand spankin' new; Gary & Dan = lead vox, Blake Hurlbert = percussion). Very catchy little bugger, also recently hammered out in the studio. A new Smog song is obviously welcome news, especially if there's more where this came from. Should be in a car commercial or something.
6. 18 (Alice Cooper cover; Dave Pirner = lead vox; Ed Ackerson = elec gtr; Jim Boquist = elec gtr) Took a while to get this "train wreck" going - two false starts. Very Smog-ish moment indeed. This and the next song definitely evoked the drunken, murky joy of the earliest GS live shows back in the '80s at places like the Cabooze, Uptown Bar, 400 Bar (original version) etc.
7. Shooting Star (Bad Co. cover; Dave Pirner = lead vox) The set ended like it started - with a "star" song. Pirner at his finest. Think i actually saw a few lighters up in the air.
Bunch of other guys played, too.
(Louris - Perlman - O'Reagan - Grotberg)
Rock For Democracy
First AVe. - Mpls - 7/18/04
1. One Man's Problem (w/ Jim Boquist = ac gtr/bg vox)
2. Pray For Me (w/Jim Boquist = ac gtr/bg vox) For some strange reason i don't feel like doing any “research” right now, but I think the last time they played this, Bill Clinton was in his first term.
3. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (Hollies cover; Tim = lead vox; w/ Jim Boquist = ac gtr/bg vox) One of many songs last night that were perfectly in sync with the vibe of the event. Beautifully sung by Tim, just breathtaking. Man, what an underrated singer. Hell, what a singer, period!
4. Tailspin (w/ David Poe = elec gtr/bg vox) Dedicated by Gary to "GW." Biting political commentary? Wishful thinking? One of the best damn pop songs in recent memory? Answer: D) all of the above.
GOLDEN SMOG
(Louris - Johnson - Murphy - Perlman - Peter Anderson)
Rock For Democracy
First Ave. - Mpls - 7/18/04
1. Starman (Bowie cover; Gary = lead vox, Jim Boquist = bg vox) Live debut - yet another excellent choice from the cool cover stockpile. Pssst: the boys recorded a killer version of this song this summer - don't tell anybody.
2. That's When I Reach For My Revolver (Mission of Burma cover; Dan = lead vox, Ed Ackerson = elec gtr, bg vox = all) Another debut. Dan dedicated this to MN guv "Tiny Tim Palewnty" in the wake of a lot of recent hoo-haw in these parts concerning gun control legislation.
3. Powderfinger (Neil cover; KJJ = lead vox, David Poe = gtr/ bg vox, Dave Pirner = bg vox). Smokin'. Don't think they've pulled this one out since the '96 glory days.
4. Do Anything You Wanna Do (Eddie and the Hot Rods cover; Dan = lead vox) Another '96 blast from the past. An early punk anthem (1976) that fit in well with the spirit of the event.
5. The Dream is Never Over [tentative title] (brand spankin' new; Gary & Dan = lead vox, Blake Hurlbert = percussion). Very catchy little bugger, also recently hammered out in the studio. A new Smog song is obviously welcome news, especially if there's more where this came from. Should be in a car commercial or something.
6. 18 (Alice Cooper cover; Dave Pirner = lead vox; Ed Ackerson = elec gtr; Jim Boquist = elec gtr) Took a while to get this "train wreck" going - two false starts. Very Smog-ish moment indeed. This and the next song definitely evoked the drunken, murky joy of the earliest GS live shows back in the '80s at places like the Cabooze, Uptown Bar, 400 Bar (original version) etc.
7. Shooting Star (Bad Co. cover; Dave Pirner = lead vox) The set ended like it started - with a "star" song. Pirner at his finest. Think i actually saw a few lighters up in the air.
Bunch of other guys played, too.
Sunday, July 11, 2004
Review: Kraig Johnson & The Program - 7/8/04 - Red Carpet - St. Cloud, MN
Here's a mini-review of The Program show last Saturday.
===================
The Program played their first show after their Spanish tour in St. Cloud, MN last Saturday. The absence of David Poe (who will be at the upcoming Mpls and Chicago shows) and the requirement of two 1 hour sets provided the necessary ingredients / inspiration for an experiment that prodded the boys dangerously close to “jam band” territory. Not that there’s anything wrong with that...
The Program's first show as a "power quartet" turned out to be truly enjoyable and memorable, with some positively sterling instrumental work from Mssrs. Anderson and Ackerson. About half of the songs got stretched out and, for the most part, sounded great.
Their recent trip thru Spain with the Jayhawks has evidently done wonders for their set. They’re obviously itching to play, as anyone who saw the energy they were radiating by the end of the second set can attest to.
Along with the regular Program songs, several cool covers were played: a couple of Neil Young songs, the Velvet’s “What Goes On,” and a scorching version of The Stooge’s “TV Eye” which, strangely enough, Wilco saw fit to cover a few years ago in Amsterdam.
There were also two certifiable moments of “Smog-ish” behavior, as in Golden Smog. Kraig, of course, is a founding member, Peter Anderson filled in on drums at the semi-secret, Tweedy-less GS show two summers ago at the 400, and Jim Boquist and Ed Ackerson are “honorary members” who’ve appeared both in the studio and on stage with GS. So everyone on stage had suitable GS credentials. The first set saw The Program debut of “Spooky” - long a GS live staple - and it clocked in at damn near 15 minutes! And, in what easily was peak of the night for me, T. Rex’s “Buick MacKane” - one of the highlights of every ‘96 GS show it appeared in - also made its Program debut, rocking like nobody’s business.
And so it went - another great Program show in St. Cloud in front of just about the strangest damn crowd you can imagine.
===================
The Program played their first show after their Spanish tour in St. Cloud, MN last Saturday. The absence of David Poe (who will be at the upcoming Mpls and Chicago shows) and the requirement of two 1 hour sets provided the necessary ingredients / inspiration for an experiment that prodded the boys dangerously close to “jam band” territory. Not that there’s anything wrong with that...
The Program's first show as a "power quartet" turned out to be truly enjoyable and memorable, with some positively sterling instrumental work from Mssrs. Anderson and Ackerson. About half of the songs got stretched out and, for the most part, sounded great.
Their recent trip thru Spain with the Jayhawks has evidently done wonders for their set. They’re obviously itching to play, as anyone who saw the energy they were radiating by the end of the second set can attest to.
Along with the regular Program songs, several cool covers were played: a couple of Neil Young songs, the Velvet’s “What Goes On,” and a scorching version of The Stooge’s “TV Eye” which, strangely enough, Wilco saw fit to cover a few years ago in Amsterdam.
There were also two certifiable moments of “Smog-ish” behavior, as in Golden Smog. Kraig, of course, is a founding member, Peter Anderson filled in on drums at the semi-secret, Tweedy-less GS show two summers ago at the 400, and Jim Boquist and Ed Ackerson are “honorary members” who’ve appeared both in the studio and on stage with GS. So everyone on stage had suitable GS credentials. The first set saw The Program debut of “Spooky” - long a GS live staple - and it clocked in at damn near 15 minutes! And, in what easily was peak of the night for me, T. Rex’s “Buick MacKane” - one of the highlights of every ‘96 GS show it appeared in - also made its Program debut, rocking like nobody’s business.
And so it went - another great Program show in St. Cloud in front of just about the strangest damn crowd you can imagine.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
Review: Gary Louris - solo acoustic - 7/9/04 - Orchestra Hall - Mpls, MN
(photo courtesy of Karla L)
What an amazing experience. Gary Louris solo acoustic in the Minnesota friggin' Orchestra Hall. Beautiful acoustics. World Class ambience. Front row seats for the taking. And free. What a world...
This was all part of the "Day of Music" festival that takes place on this weekend every year at the MN Orchestra Hall. They feature live music for 24 hours straight, featuring everything from rock bands to solo jazz acts. Some of the music takes place out on their plaza, some in the lobby and a lucky few in the main auditorium.
Gary Louris
solo acoustic
"Day of Music" festival
Minnesota Orchestra Hall
Minneapolis, MN
9 July 2004
1. The Man Who Loved Life
2. Save It For a Rainy Day
3. Vagabond (?) [new song]
4. Boston Maid [new song]
5. See Him on the Street *
6. Tailspin
7. Mr. Wilson
8. Jesus Christ Superstar (?) [new song, written with his friend "Paco" from Spain]
9. Waiting For the Sun
10. Stumbling Through the Dark
* - last known performance = 10/28/95 (Mark Olson's last show with The Jayhawks)
Friday, June 25, 2004
Sussed-tacular! - live Susstones event next Tuesday in Mpls
As some of you Twin Citians may know, the Susstones record label (Polara, Faux Jean, Melismatics, etc.) has a DJ event every Tuesday night at the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis where a host of DJs - including Ed Ackerson - spin a wide variety of very cool music.
Next Tuesday (6/29), Susstones will be offering up "SUSSED-TACULAR!" a special live music event featuring:
The Mood Swings -- a hard rockin' power-fuzz trio who have been ripping up local stages recently. Special "celebrity" bassist for this performance only.
The Melismatics -- one of the best live acts currently performing in the upper Midwest. If you like the first two Cheap Trick albums (pre-Budokan), you'll go nuts over these guys. A special "acoustic" performance.
David Poe -- everybody's fave Lower East Side pop bobo, this talented and charismatic sweetie always puts on a great show and is a major FOJ (friend of the Jayhawks) to boot. Rare acoustic performance featuring new material from his superb upcoming album "Love is Red."
Sideways -- This is Ed Ackerson's futuristic / retro side project, an instrumental combo that will be playing tunes from 2002’s excellent Sideways CD, “Oblivion and Points Beyond.” Blending several ‘60s genres (mod, pysch, R&B, acid rock, Brit blues, spy film soundtracks), with Ackerson’s unique vision and always superb axe work, a Sideways show is like getting lost in the world’s best record collection circa 1968. This will be an extremely rare live outing -- only the third public Sideways performance ever. And check out the killer band: Peter Anderson and Kraig Johnson (who play alongside Ackerson in The Program), keyboardist Tim Oseau and former Jayhawks roadie, Blake Hurlbert on percussion. Completing the trip will be interactive visuals from CoLab.
Also: the usual “Sussed” DJ sets before and after the music plus a strong likelihood of a “special guest” or two or three.
Doors at 9:30; music from 10pm-midnite in the intimate confines of the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater (capacity <100). Located in the heart of Lyn-Lake on Lake St., a block west of Lyndale (and just a few blocks east of Uptown). Tickets will be cheap ($5 or less).
http://www.susstones.com/sussnews.html
Next Tuesday (6/29), Susstones will be offering up "SUSSED-TACULAR!" a special live music event featuring:
The Mood Swings -- a hard rockin' power-fuzz trio who have been ripping up local stages recently. Special "celebrity" bassist for this performance only.
The Melismatics -- one of the best live acts currently performing in the upper Midwest. If you like the first two Cheap Trick albums (pre-Budokan), you'll go nuts over these guys. A special "acoustic" performance.
David Poe -- everybody's fave Lower East Side pop bobo, this talented and charismatic sweetie always puts on a great show and is a major FOJ (friend of the Jayhawks) to boot. Rare acoustic performance featuring new material from his superb upcoming album "Love is Red."
Sideways -- This is Ed Ackerson's futuristic / retro side project, an instrumental combo that will be playing tunes from 2002’s excellent Sideways CD, “Oblivion and Points Beyond.” Blending several ‘60s genres (mod, pysch, R&B, acid rock, Brit blues, spy film soundtracks), with Ackerson’s unique vision and always superb axe work, a Sideways show is like getting lost in the world’s best record collection circa 1968. This will be an extremely rare live outing -- only the third public Sideways performance ever. And check out the killer band: Peter Anderson and Kraig Johnson (who play alongside Ackerson in The Program), keyboardist Tim Oseau and former Jayhawks roadie, Blake Hurlbert on percussion. Completing the trip will be interactive visuals from CoLab.
Also: the usual “Sussed” DJ sets before and after the music plus a strong likelihood of a “special guest” or two or three.
Doors at 9:30; music from 10pm-midnite in the intimate confines of the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater (capacity <100). Located in the heart of Lyn-Lake on Lake St., a block west of Lyndale (and just a few blocks east of Uptown). Tickets will be cheap ($5 or less).
http://www.susstones.com/sussnews.html
Saturday, March 6, 2004
Kraig Johnson & The Program in the Windy City - brief report
checking in from the windy -- and cold -- city. they say there's a bunch of wet messy snow back in mpls. hmm...i wonder what's worse?
kraig and the boys turned in a great set at schuba's on thurday night. very nice crowd; damn near a full house. thanks to everyone who made it; everybody really appreciated the nice turnout.
pretty much the same set they've been working on lately. "on the beach" was wondrous and the big rockers ("freight train," "take me home," etc.) were typically off the hook. the old g. smog classic "if i only had a car" was especially smokin' and the crowd totally was diggin' in, this being sort of a golden smog home away from home.
the crowd really seemed to dig the program thing -- brisk sales of cds after the show amidst the inevitable "when is he coming back" questions.
neil & greendale was swell last night; off to see bobby d at the riv tonite. rock 'n' roll rehab on monday!
kraig and the boys turned in a great set at schuba's on thurday night. very nice crowd; damn near a full house. thanks to everyone who made it; everybody really appreciated the nice turnout.
pretty much the same set they've been working on lately. "on the beach" was wondrous and the big rockers ("freight train," "take me home," etc.) were typically off the hook. the old g. smog classic "if i only had a car" was especially smokin' and the crowd totally was diggin' in, this being sort of a golden smog home away from home.
the crowd really seemed to dig the program thing -- brisk sales of cds after the show amidst the inevitable "when is he coming back" questions.
neil & greendale was swell last night; off to see bobby d at the riv tonite. rock 'n' roll rehab on monday!
Monday, March 1, 2004
Review: Kraig Johnson & The Program - 2/28/04 - Red Carpet - St. Cloud, MN
Yes, the Program show on Friday at the Turf was a blast, in spite of the band not being terribly happy with a variety of technical things. The fact that they were still able to put on a great show is a testament to their dedicated, if not unconventional, work ethic.
And how cool was it to see Perly play the gtr hero? Maybe Gary should switch to bass for awhile!
As fun as the Turf show was, though, the next night in St. Cloud was an all-timer. Unlike Friday, there were plenty of smiles on stage throughout the show. That's the good news. The bad news is that the place was deader than a Al Sharpton rally in Alabama. Plenty o' peeps up there but they all seemed more interested in doing whatever sex-crazed coeds do in places like the Red Carpet. 'twas a shame since the band was a-clickin'. The setlist got thrown out the window and the boys just went into the "zone," in spite of a near absence of meaningful audience response. The Velvets got covered, always a sign of a good Program show; Poe's twangy, rarely played "Death Watch For a Living Legend" actually filled the dance floor for the only time all night; a new, "alt-country," sunnier version of "Right to Me" was debuted; and the 1-2 encore punch of "Take Me Home" (aka "If You See Me" aka "Wandering Around") and "Freight Train" felt like an A-Bomb dropping in the middle of Stearns County. It was especially fun to watch Smokin' Ed -- he was as happy as could be since he got to turn up his amp and do what he does best: make his axe smoke.
And speaking of "On the Beach," as nice as the Turf version was, the St. Cloud one was simply stunning, and it wasn't even on the setlist! The Turf performance got cut short after one solo but in St. Cloud there were four (for those keeping score: Ed, Ed, Poe, Kraig on acoustic). The line about needing "a crowd of people" seemed especially ironic giving the surroundings.
If it wasn't the best Program show ever (I might still be lost in the haze of a great show), it was at least in the top 2 or 3 of the two dozen or so i've seen, in spite of the lameness of the audience. Who knows why such strange things happen in such strange places? Just another rock 'n' roll mystery, i guess. I was so inspired i composed an essay ("If a great concert occurs and nobody's there to see it...can you still hear a tree fall in the forest") at 6am Sunday morning when i got back home. I'll try and put it up on my tradelist site before i head out of town.
The Freight Train rolls on down to Chicago on Thursday. Hope to to see lots of people at Schuba's.
And how cool was it to see Perly play the gtr hero? Maybe Gary should switch to bass for awhile!
As fun as the Turf show was, though, the next night in St. Cloud was an all-timer. Unlike Friday, there were plenty of smiles on stage throughout the show. That's the good news. The bad news is that the place was deader than a Al Sharpton rally in Alabama. Plenty o' peeps up there but they all seemed more interested in doing whatever sex-crazed coeds do in places like the Red Carpet. 'twas a shame since the band was a-clickin'. The setlist got thrown out the window and the boys just went into the "zone," in spite of a near absence of meaningful audience response. The Velvets got covered, always a sign of a good Program show; Poe's twangy, rarely played "Death Watch For a Living Legend" actually filled the dance floor for the only time all night; a new, "alt-country," sunnier version of "Right to Me" was debuted; and the 1-2 encore punch of "Take Me Home" (aka "If You See Me" aka "Wandering Around") and "Freight Train" felt like an A-Bomb dropping in the middle of Stearns County. It was especially fun to watch Smokin' Ed -- he was as happy as could be since he got to turn up his amp and do what he does best: make his axe smoke.
And speaking of "On the Beach," as nice as the Turf version was, the St. Cloud one was simply stunning, and it wasn't even on the setlist! The Turf performance got cut short after one solo but in St. Cloud there were four (for those keeping score: Ed, Ed, Poe, Kraig on acoustic). The line about needing "a crowd of people" seemed especially ironic giving the surroundings.
If it wasn't the best Program show ever (I might still be lost in the haze of a great show), it was at least in the top 2 or 3 of the two dozen or so i've seen, in spite of the lameness of the audience. Who knows why such strange things happen in such strange places? Just another rock 'n' roll mystery, i guess. I was so inspired i composed an essay ("If a great concert occurs and nobody's there to see it...can you still hear a tree fall in the forest") at 6am Sunday morning when i got back home. I'll try and put it up on my tradelist site before i head out of town.
The Freight Train rolls on down to Chicago on Thursday. Hope to to see lots of people at Schuba's.
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