133 -- Bruno Mars -- Wednesday, June 26, 2013 -- TD Garden -- Boston, MA

Bruno Mars’ brand of pop is not necessarily my favorite type of music.  His live performances could also use more ad libbing, moments where he makes specific connections with specific songs.

That said, there was very little to criticize about Bruno Mars' Boston performance, and everyone in the arena (including me) seemed to have a good time.  His energy, his vocal ability, and the production values were all remarkably strong.

Some live reactions:

--- Pounding drums, a huge green parrot, a huge forest backdrop, the first word of the song being ‘hello’...“Welcome to the Moonshine Jungle” indeed. 

--- Saying "Natalllllie" is surprisingly fun – as is the random explosion at the end.  

--- The vendor will not sell me a large pink lemonade even though the large cups are RIGHT THERE in the cabinet.  I tell him, “I’m not trying to be difficult; I’m genuinely curious why they can’t be used.”  “Honestly,” the guy said, “I don’t know.  I just know all of them are banned.”  So strange.  Did Mike Bloomberg become mayor of Boston?!

--- “Runaway” is awesome – especially with the sirens and megaphones.  Only thing missing is a duet with Joshua Ledet!   

 
--- “Young Girls” is a nice, tender change of pace.  Aww, the woman next to me is singing along.

--- The intro to “Treasure:” “This is time to put down your camera phones and DANCE.”  HA!  Guilty as charged.

--- I officially decide to stop multitasking.  Don't want to miss anything.  The show has gotten GOOD.

--- Wow, it wasn’t on his two albums, so I completely forgot about “Billionaire.”  Such a good song.  Wish Travie McCoy’s rap section was in there, but the Chuck Berry intro (Bruno B. Goode?) and the full-arena ending more than makes up for it. By far the best so far.

--- Can’t remember if this is the reggae “Show Me” or the reggae “Liquor Store Blues.”  Not a fan of either.

--- “Marry You” remains happy and catchy as ever.  Shocked he did not mention today’s Supreme Court decision.  Come on, Bruno, don’t do such a canned show.  Adapt! 

--- Shows his crazy good falsetto in “If I Knew.”  Nice intro as well: “My first album was called Doo-Wops and Hooligans  because I love old school music, and it's very important I stay true to that.”

--- Then a series of strange things happen.  First, he invites this girl to come on stage and dance with him.  Next, he calls her Natalie, like in the song.  Then, he has most of the rest of the band randomly mack on her?!  Finally, the strangest part, she never even comes on stage!  At least we get one of the band member's poems out of it: “Roses are red, violets are purple, as long as I'm with you, I'll never hurt you.”  Lol.  Reminds me of my brilliant second-grade effort: “Chocolate is brown / vanilla is white; I’d take you any day over a bottle of Sprite.”  Ms. McDaid may not have liked it, but that woman was awful.  Don’t believe me?  Her reaction to the poem: “Well, Colin, poetry is not for everyone.”  Neither, apparently, is teaching…

--- Intro to "When I Was Your Man": “This is the hardest song I’ve ever had to write.”  What a vocal.

--- “Grenade” is a good attempt at darkness.  The scary piano intro, cool trumpet middle, and extended guitar ending all show chops.

 
--- “Just The Way You Rrrrrrrr.”  Still no Supreme Court?!  The vocal acrobatic remix at the end makes up for it.

--- Encore.  What dubstep ridiculousness is this?  Wow, he's full on playing drums -- nice.  “Locked Out Of Heaven” can swagger AND soar.  Gold confetti!

--- Lol, “Gorilla” features so many explosions – and green gorillas!  Not sure how I feel about the awkward acapella section.  Totally sure how I feel about discussing the physical double entendres on stage -- moving right along…

Grade: A-

131 / 132 -- Grizzly Bear / The XX -- Sunday, June 16, 2013 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

GRIZZLY BEAR:

I thought an iPhone could guide me through any concert.  At every show since getting one, I’ve been able to grab a few lyrics, Google them, and refresh my memory for what song the band is currently playing.  With Grizzly Bear, this should have been especially easy since I had heard their albums multiple times before.  Time and time again, though, I found it impossible to latch onto anything.  I kept getting left with flickering lights and incoherent mumbling.  Smashing Pumpkins and Passion Pit have shown that flickering lights and incoherent mumbling are not automatically negative.  When you can’t identify memorable rhythms either, though, and the only phrase you can identify is “all your useless pretensions,” it’s a problem.

Grizzly Bear was saved from a failing grade by frontman Edward Droste.  He at least made an attempt to talk with the crowd, and his no-frills wardrobe was amusing.  A blue smock borrowed from art class?  Jeans used to repaint the second bedroom?  Droste’s biggest saving grace was the final song, “Sun is in Your Eyes.”  It had a warm rhythm, poetic lyrics, and was way more satisfying than anything that had come before it.  To paraphrase its final verse, I’ll never be coming back to another Grizzly Bear concert, but it was nice to end on something so bright.                   

Grade: D+

THE XX:

The XX proved what I said in the Grizzly Bear review: incoherent mumbling is not automatically a negative.  If a band has strong stage presence and memorable instrumentals, as the XX did, the mumbling can actually add mystery.  Flickering gray lasers, a blue light show, and a strangely sensual guitar duel added to the eeriness.  The best song of the set was “Sunset,” which featured a solid slow-down ending and this spooky line: “It felt like you really knew me, but now you see right through me.”

Can’t say I’ll be the first to grab XX’s next album, but if they were playing with another band I liked or were part of a festival, I’d be down for another show.

Grade: B

130 – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Saturday, June 1, 2013 – Penn’s Landing / Festival Pier – Philadelphia, PA

Macklemore changed the way I look at rap.  I had always thought that rap’s intense focus on language would make it a perfect genre for me, and I had heard flashes of brilliance before: “Jesus Walks,” “The Prayer,” “Lose Yourself,” etc.  All too often, though, I found myself bogged down by overused curses, minority-bashing slurs, and topics I could not quite relate to.  (Hard as it may be to believe, I do not regularly encounter blood-crip drive-bys on my way to work.  I’d admit to having at least 99 problems, but a habitual need to trash women is not one of them.)   

Macklemore changed all that by offering songs of conscience (“Wings,” “Other Side”), songs of compassion (“Same Love,” “Starting Over”), and songs that made me start dancing...and not feel gross at the end (“Thrift Shop,” “B Boy”).  His attention to detail in the lyrics and Ryan Lewis’ attention to detail in the videos enhanced the style and substance of each song.  As with Bruce Springsteen, the songs felt not just exciting, but urgent – these were about real people and real issues.  Three tracks on his first album, “I Said Hey,” “Contradiction,” and “White Privilege” even address all of my prior rap issues!  (I.E. Overused curses, minority-bashing slurs, and socioeconomic rifts.)  If you’ve only heard The Heist, I strongly recommend these off Language of My World.

One thing I would not recommend is going to a show in THOUSAND DEGREE HEAT.  The temperature at the venue, the fact that I had to walk three miles down this godforsaken pier to get there, and the fact that the acoustics were not very good when I got there did not make this the best Macklemore show. 

Despite these challenges, Macklemore (AKA Ben Haggerty) did everything he possibly could to pump the crowd up.  He bounced up and down on the stage, crowd surfed off the stage, enunciated every syllable to make up for the acoustics, checked section by section how ready the crowd was for “Can’t Hold Us,” and covered his hot Sean Kemp jersey with an even hotter fur coat! 

He also had enough memorable lines to make Dave Grohl jealous: “Wow, we’re excited to be here.  Just flew in directly from Egypt!  [Shocked applause]  Nah, we just came from Seattle.  Philadelphia, welcome to my Heist…This is the biggest civil rights issue of our generation.  Finally we're starting to have a conversation.  No one can choose who they love, but we can all choose to accept the love everyone’s given… Nothing better than seeing thousands of people come out in 90-degree weather with this humidity…Your boy just got heat stroke!...[As an intro to ‘White Walls’]: Philly, we like you so much that after the show, we’re inviting you to our 1990 Cadillac Deville.  It’s got full A/C, loads of Capri Sun, and a TAPE DECK.” 

Quotes like those make me count the days till I can hear him, as a headliner, at the 9:30 Club.  Even if I only have twenty dollars in my pocket, I’ll be there.

Grade: B+

129 -- Alkaline Trio -- Friday, May 15, 2013 -- Ram’s Head Live -- Baltimore, MD

I hate ending on a negative, as this concert did, so let’s get this out up front: Alkaline Trio needs to play longer shows.  There’s leaving people wanting more, and there’s leaving them unfulfilled.  How can a 63-year-old like Bruce Springsteen tear through songs for four hours, and a punk band barely more than half his age not make it 63 minutes?  New bands like Givers and Passion Pit can give you your money’s worth in a short time because they only have one or two albums.  When you’re up to eight albums, though, it can’t work.  You can’t include enough new, old, known, and obscure songs.  A show without “Radio,” “Armageddon,” “Mercy Me,” “Private Eye,” "Stupid Kid," “Mr. Chainsaw,” “We’ve Had Enough,” and anything off Agony and Irony has issues.  I know the band is not here to disappoint, but fans don’t deserve that – they deserve more time.

Fortunately, during the minimal time Alkaline Trio performed, they were great.  “Dead on the Floor” had a cool, slow-down instrumental towards the end, “Crawl” had more rhythm shifts then I remembered, “Sadie” proved what a deep reserve Crimson has, and the show featured s satisfying mix of catchy new songs ("FBI,” “Warhol,” “Torture Doctor”) and soulful old ones (“Clavicle,” “Blue Carolina,” “97”). 

Couldn’t shout “Hell Yes” to the show overall, but hopefully next time, with Kevyn Allgeier and a longer setlist, the shout will return…

Grade: B