299 -- O.A.R. -- Saturday July 27, 2024 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

I finished a critical Participate Learning phone call 15 seconds before O.A.R. started playing! Perfect timing!!

A minute before the end of the call, this hot couple behind me pipes in “good luck, Diana” and says how much they appreciate the half an hour of help I’ve been providing on the phone?! The interpersonal GLORY continues when this psychopath to the left me is apparently nudged by the husband half of Hot Couple and warns him about staying away the rest of the night?!?! He makes to this demand in THE PIT?!?!?!?! Hot Couple and I nicely shut him down and further strengthen our bond!!!!!

--- For their first song, being from Rockville, MD, they cannily choose “No Place I’d Rather Be”! It was on an old-school poster from someone in the front row. It’s not even a big song of theirs. YES.

--- I immediately FB message this to Danny, Kelly, Meagan, James, and Katie: “This O.A.R. show is about to be amazing — I can already tell — at a time I really need it. Wish Danny was here with me, but for many reasons, it’s already GREAT!!!”

--- I’d never heard “Revisited” before, but it’s an easy listen, worthy of the Eastern Shore.

--- “So Moved On” includes the line “I’m so bored”: I’m not!!!

--- “Love and Memories”!!!! Many levels at once. My hot bff: “Give it to me. I will want it all.”

--- “About An Hour Ago”!!! Apparently the first song they ever recorded, in 8th grade, in their Maryland basement. Cool new piano solo.

--- “Irish Rose”: a stirring acoustic deep cut. What lyrics!!

--- “Shattered”!!!! Unity abounds.

--- Awww, a band they started with, Virginia Coalition, joins for “She Gone (Only In Dreams).” The Virginia Coalition guy’s got a voice!

--- “The Element”: another enjoyable deep cut!

--- “We’ve played all these cool places, 9:30, beyond, but coming back here is special. As it is for you. Memories rush back……This one’s for people we met today. Lola and Liv, this one’s for you. It’s called ‘Peace’”!!!!

--- “Heaven” is aptly named!!!

--- “Missing Pieces” features groooovy electric, drum, keyboard, sax, and trumpet. Solos for everyone!!!!

--- Brand new song with DJ Khamir. “We’re an original crew. We have a whole lot of original crews out here. Let’s bring him out. Brady Watt.” HA, he’s in a Ravens jersey for “Gonna Be Me,” a friendship song… Awwwww at Brady.

--- I update the FB thread with a clip of the “Missing Pieces” instrument battle, adding a caption: “pretty low energy so far.” Ten seconds later, they transition to “Atlantic City” Bruce!!!!! I immediately leap, screech, and apologize to the women in front of me. “No!” they reply. “Get hyped!” My people!!!!

--- “Hey Girl”: it’s bedlam, folks!!!!! Killer mandolin solo. TROMPETTTTTTA.

--- “Anyway”: awwww at the music-related lyrics!! Ooh at the transition to electric darkness. Brady Watt brings it. Whoa, wild record-scratching scat section?! 

--- “A wise man once said: the thing about music is, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

--- “Poker”!!!! MY CALVES. Awww at the woman continually picking up playing cards to re-throw.

--- Aww at Fitz joining for the Tears for Fears cover.

--- Wonder how long before I bring Brody and Riley to O.A.R. It will happen.

--- Time to get *another* shirt. It was that good.

Grade: A+

298 -- Fitz and the Tantrums -- Saturday July 27, 2024 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

The first time I listened to Fitz, a few weeks before the show, there was no transition period. The rhythm, lyrics, and delivery were catchy from the start.

When I continued to listen, individual songs became hard to distinguish, and it made me remember that indie dance pop is not my wheelhouse. Nevertheless, I dug them. 

The good vibes continued into their set. Fitz was animated and committed — and, unlike The Hives, they put music center stage. I loved the band’s diversity as well: a snazzy, hair-streaked white lead, a bouncy, beautiful black co-lead, and a pianist, saxophonist, and guitarist of three other backgrounds. The variety fit the vibe of the performance: all sounds for the sake of the audience. That may sound forced, a college brochure come to awkward life. I swear, though, in the moment, it was true!!!!

--- “I Just Wanna Shine”: they got everyone to turn on their lights and wave in rhythm throughout!! Mini woo for the frontman casually flicking a guitar pick into the crowd at the end — well before the last song. Just rewards for a job well done!!!

--- “All The Feels” is appropriately named. “The Walker” continues the joy.

--- Awww, when they played at the Capitol 4th for PBS a few weeks ago, they met a kid named Fitz, who they invited to Merriweather. After a few seconds of scanning the crowd, everyone finds him, sitting on his parents’ shoulders!!!!

--- Intro to “Moneygrabber”: “We’ve been touring for 17 years. This is for everyone who’s been following us from the very beginning.”

--- “Hand Clap” confirms it: Fitz is a GREAT opener.

Grade: A

297 -- The Hives / Foo Fighters -- Tuesday, July 23, 2024 -- Hersheypark Stadium -- Hershey, PA

The trip to PA to see The Hives and Foo Fighters was strange and exhausting. ‘Strange’ can often be a good thing, as most great shows have some outlier, something new. 

That wasn’t the case here. I thought I’d be able to have a nourishing dinner and drinks at the show, but the venue had neither of those. Just a pretzel, water you had to carry in a cup, and scalding sun. Then, the killer, halfway through The Hives, I realize my charger had no charge! My phone could run out before Foo Fighters even started. For the first time in 200+ shows, I’d have no ability to take notes! It may seem wrong to stress about that. Not having a phone may seem like a chance for something positive – to let go. It wasn’t. Notes are my way of processing – of allowing moments to reverberate. Without them, it dragged – emotionally and physically.

The remarkable, hopeful twist: when I looked back on the few notes that I did take and my overall grades, I was more positive than I remember. I’ll go back to my usual Boy Scout Of Chargers habits next time, but I’m glad the mistake affected me less than I thought it did.

THE HIVES:  

--- Love how Hershey Park has speakers in the parking lots. You can clearly hear the concert throughout your (marathon) walk from the first lot. Great way of making up for a problem!!

--- “Rigor Mortis Radio”!! Catchy title, lyrics, and song from the first listen and live.

--- “Pennsylvania, are you ready to go fast? Are you ready to go fast?” Open bands’ task is impossible, but Hives frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist is *workin* it. Good for him.

--- Her prompts the crowd: “ladies and gentlemen and everyone else.” If he means what I think he does, awesome!!!

--- Lol at the unexplained ninja onstage.

--- “Hate To Say I Told You So”!!!!! The energy and charisma of Almqvist and everyone else is HISTORIC. I have never seen an opening band this committed. It’s light outside, people barely know them, and people still care. I want my jumping to measure up. So seeing them next time they come to the 9:30 Club or Anthem solo.

--- And . . . this is awkward. Their antics in songs that follow are one-note. My enthusiasm is back down to Earth. Disappointing, but I do dig the effort, and they remain above most openers. 

Grade: B+

FOO FIGHTERS:

--- I thought the lack of a phone would be freeing. It would provide me the in-the-moment concert experience artists crave — or at least wish we could return to. What I realized is, for me, it was restrictive. The phone is not about surfing random social media or taking interchangeable stage shots — it’s about savoring details. Not having it also made the set feel longer than it ever has before.

--- That said…it was still Foo Fighters, live, in the pit, so it was great. The Hives’ energy eventually felt hollow. It didn’t have history, variety, or restraint. Dave Grohl has these in spades, so it rose above the obstacles.

--- The top moments: (1) This woman defending my right to jump! Right before “Monkey Wrench"!! (2) Dave’s intro to “My Hero,” a tribute to Henry Bonebrake, his Civil War era relative in Hershey. He really is Young Bruce. (3) Eight concerts later, they played “Aurora”!!!!! Thanks, Taylor.

Grade: A-/A

296 -- The Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense -- Thursday, October 5, 2023 -- Angelika Mosaic -- Merrifield, VA

The title is as fitting as the band’s name, Talking Heads. There was no reason to search for a logical sound or message in this doc directed by Philadelphia’s Jonathan Demme — or to be angry I didn’t know any of the songs in this concert film. Frontman David Byrne’s sub-Katie-and-NCV voice didn’t matter either. What mattered was the heady mix of color, energy, and invention that bobbed at all times. David Byrne was David Bowie, Rivers Cuomo, and Pee Wee Herman at the same time. Few people know The After Party had a third season — and it was filmed it in 1984… 

Grade: A

295 -- Grateful Dead: Grateful Dead Meet-Up 2022 -- Tuesday, November 1, 2022 -- Angelika Mosaic -- Merrifield, VA

Grateful Dead was one of the only major bands I’d never seen, Deadheads are famously devoted fans, and an album played a prominent role in Freaks and Geeks, so this singalong doc seemed ideal. The problem? The infomercial intro, the lack of songs from the Freaks and Geeks / greatest hits albums, and the midtempo malaise. I also expected more flavor from Jerry Garcia, the inspiration for Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. Same applied to the crowd — fewer cheers than golf claps. A far cry from Bruce at Hammersmith. I’m glad the pace and banter eventually picked up, but mostly, I’m grateful this is the last I’ll see of the Dead. 

Grade: C

294 -- David Bowie: Moonage Daydream -- Thursday, September 9, 2022 -- E Street Cinema -- DC

If I were a big David Bowie fan, this Bowie doc would be the film of the year — a decadent swirl of every flavor of Hark ice cream. Alas, despite prepping 51 Bowie songs beforehand, his style still isn’t for me, the musical equivalent of the “Restless” episode of Buffy. And yet…the depth and imagination of director Brett Morgen and Bowie himself is off the charts. Scene after scene, I found myself questioning art, people, loneliness, connectedness, and the universe. The film fit life itself. It was exhausting, overwhelming, eye-opening — an experience well worth having. 

Grade: A+

293 -- The Doors: Break on Through -- Friday, February 12, 2020 -- E Street Cinema -- DC

There are many reasons this Doors concert doc should have worked. 1: I had strong history with the Doors. I remember my dad playing an oversized Doors record as a kid, and “Riders on the Storm” haunted me almost falling out of a bus in Rome, on dirt hills in Oaxaca, and on The Wonder Years. 2: I fully prepped for it, casually listening to the Doors discography. 3: It was to be shown at E Street, as a Q+A with surviving members of the band. 

Sadly, none of those things mattered – it was awful. It was less a ‘concert’ doc than a drifting semi-jam session that didn’t include “Riders” or, somehow, any of the songs I prepped. Maybe a few of the songs were featured, but I kept falling asleep mid-mumble. The clincher? It wasn’t even a Q+A! No one showed up! 

The lack of people, ultimately, is what saved it – that give it the little plus that saved it from joining Bob Dylan and Givers as the all-time worst concert. With Dylan, I was surrounded by hundreds of other fans who must have felt the same betrayal. With Givers, I was surrounded by ten kids and parents, who had placed their faith in me. Here at least I could rub my eyes, shake my head, and move on…

Grade: F+