People would whip out their headphones, their CD players, their Nirvana references...and I'd be at a loss. My parents were part of the problem: "You listen to music," they insisted. "Sinatra and Gershwin are ten times better than that the junk they play on MTV!" I bore equal responsibility, though, because I did little to correct the problem. My boldest attempt at breaking into the modern music world was buying a Creed cd senior year. Scott Stapp would so make me cool.
Somehow, though, as I entered William and Mary, I did not feel musically secure. Why had Creed not given me more cred?!
The big change came with Weezer a month into freshman year. Listening to “Undone,” “Say It Ain’t So,” “Buddy Holly,” and the rest of the blue album, I found rhythm, emotion, wit, wisdom…everything I could ask for in music. After that came Foo Fighters. And then early Dylan, Chili Peppers, Wilco, and fifty more. By the end of college, music had become the most important thing in my life.
Influential as music had become, I still had never traveled to a live show. As soon as I graduated, though, I made a pact to correct that: concerts would become what music had been in college. A month after graduation (6/21/07), I drove to Maryland and saw my first show, Wilco. The month after that, I took the train to NYC and saw Dispatch. Then came the White Stripes, Muse, and forty more. This past June (6/21/09), at Wolftrap Pavilion in Vienna, VA, I attended my
44th concert – Wilco. I made a full circle.
If you choose to browse this blog, you will be able to trace that circle – to follow the concerts from the first to the last. I had wanted the blog to go live right after 6/21/09 but that clearly didn’t happen. I’ve posted six reviews since then, and the final nine will be posted by mid January, when everything will be up to date.
My suggestion is that you glance at the “Current Concert List” box at the top right corner of the page, type a band you’re interested in into the search bar at the top left corner of the page, and click on that entry. If you’re able to find two or three songs you connect with, awesome. If you’re not able to find any, well, at least you’ll see I’ve moved past Creed…
If you’re interested in the “Full Circle” Wilco show, type “Wilco” in the search bar and that will bring up the 44th concert.If you’re interested in any of the other bands from the “Current Concert List” box, type those in the search bar.Have fun listening. :)
It was advertised a “free fest” – a day-long free concert with better bands at a better venue than last year’s Pimlico Race Track event.If it had actually been possible to get through on Ticketmaster.com at 10am Saturday morning, quite a crowd would have gone to the show: Mike Vance, Andrew Schmadel, Meagan O’Neill, James Porter, Ryan Smith, Kyle West, Taylor Howard, Dahniel-Ross Thompson, etc.As it worked out, though, Magic Mike Erickson was the only person (in all of Virginia?) able to get through and snag a free ticket.
Fortunately, Jim Dunleavey, Matt Decarlo, and Chuck Abbott were willing to pay for online scalper tickets, so I was still able to have some friends at the show.
JET
I had not prepared for Jet because I intended to be at the Hold Steady show for most of the performance.I never made it the Hold Steady, though, because the only available parking space was at HowardCommunity College, which was half the distance to Guam.This turned out not being that bad, however, because apparently the Hold Steady’s frontman, Craig Finn, was not much of a singer, and Jet’s frontman, Nic Cester, definitely was.I had also heard a number of Jet songs before without knowing they were actually ‘Jet songs.’I was intrigued enough by the performance that next time I see they’re coming to the 9:30 Club, I’ll download their stuff and check them out.
Grade: B
THE BRAVERY
Most of what I just said about Jet applies to the Bravery: barely knew them, but was intrigued enough by them that I will prep and attend one of their shows next time they come to DC.In general, when I go, I hope to hear more electronic flourishes and Killer(s) hooks.More specifically, I want to re-hear “Time Won’t Let Me Go,” a song they wrote about The Outsiders, my favorite middle school novel.Any song that has a Cherry Valance reference, I’m there…
Grade: B
BLINK 182
Blink was a bit disappointing.One of my former students, who I later found out had attended the show, said this was because the lead singers, Tom Delonge and Mark Hoppus, couldn’t sing.I had not noticed a big dropoff from the vocals on the album.What I did notice was the fifty mindless curses disguised as edginess or humor. In certain cases, profanity can be artistically useful: the few choice words in "Lose Yourself" come at just the right moments, adding further drive and urgency to the song. The many choice words in Carrie-Anne Moss' speech in Memento come like a relentless attack, adding further shock and anger as we realize that she is such a...not nice person.
With Blink on stage, though, they just seemed to dump out as many F words and sex jokes as they could -- as if by the 55th one the audience would finally think, "NOW I get it -- they are so punk." Sorry, Mark and Tom, 'punk' is about being rebellious and clever, not repetitive and lame.
Off-putting as their shtick could be, the actual performance was strong.Delonge had a few nice guitar riffs, Hoppus had some good bass lines, and drummer Travis Barker was able to show off more than just his $30,000 tattoos.And in the end, the best thing Blink had going for them were there actual songs – perhaps the best non-Green-Day pop-punk catalog ever.“Fell in love with the girl at the rock show / She said ‘What?’ and I told her that I didn’t know / She’s so cool…”
Grade: B
WEEZER
They played “The Good Life”!!!Acoustically, lyrically, it is my all-time favorite Weezer song.They’re so reluctant to play anything off Pinkerton, though, and this was one of the album’s more obscure tracks…yet they played it!I was on cloud nine.
Other things I liked about the show: (1) Rivers’ amusing attempt at push ups during “Pork and Beans” (2) The amusing scent that still filtered through the crowd during “Hash Pipe” (3) How catchy their new single, “I Want You To,” was in concert (4)How loud everyone could bellow “Say It Ain’t So”(4) The fact that Rivers abandoned the awful hat/mustache, returning to the classic NYU glasses(5) The fact that they didn’t end on “Buddy Holly.”They did a solid version of “Buddy Holly,” jumping on and off a trampoline between beats (!), but made it the second-to-last song.By ending on a “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” cover, they kept it interesting – they avoided going stale.
Now all they need to do is have a straight Pinkerton show, and my life will be complete…
I am pretty sure there were two distinct groups in attendance at Green Day’s Madison Square Garden concert: those who loved the band’s crowd-pleasing antics – and those who hated them. The latter group saw the gleaming lights, fire balls, and…t-shirt launches (!) as evidence that the band had become a corporate joke. According to them, Green Day was now as Punk as Rob Thomas was Rock.
Fortunately, I had not grown up with Kerplunk / Dookie, fell in the former group, and loved the show. I would admit they could be a bit hypocritical at times: railing against the “Mass Hysteria” of the “Static Age” when you appeared on the finale of American Idol? Really? Overall, though, they were exactly what I expected them to be: high-caliber Arena Punk. When they repeatedly prompted the crowd with “wayyyy-o,” they were not unconsciously crying “sellll out;” they were pumping everyone up!
And they certainly were able to rouse everyone: I don’t think the crowd remained seated for more than five minutes of the three hour show. Why would they, when there were so many opportunities for participation? Two songs in, they opened the gates and allowed everyone in the upper levels two minutes to sneak onto the floor level. Five songs in, they invited Drake, this hilariously cocky little kid, on stage to dance to “Long View.” The fact that they tore him a new one once he went off stage made it even more adorable.
Band-crowd connections continued throughout the night. Billie Joe told this amusingly profane story about taking down a cab driver who dared to insult Green Day. He also took fifteen-second song requests, incorporating Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man,” Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You,” Guns ‘n Roses “Sweet Child of Mine,” Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger,” and Lynrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” into an absurd, inspired, ten-minute jam.
Moreover, he invited all types of fans to play on stage. A thin, monotone, middle-aged man stumbled through “Basket Case” before diving effortlessly into the crowd. A heavy, vocally-gifted teen nailed all of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” before thudding on top of crowd. Unquestionably the most impressive fan of the night, though, was the girl who performed “Jesus of Suburbia.” She took lead vocal and lead guitar and hit everything!
In the end, that was what made the concert rock. It may not have had the in-your-face, underground charisma of Rise Against, but it was not an empty corporate show. Finding a girl who can mesmerize Madison Square Garden for nine minutes means you’re looking for soul. It means you still care.
How do you build on an A+? I thought I’d be in for at least some disappointment considering how Rise Against blew my mind the first time I saw them, but there was no dropoff. If anything, they were better this time.
The first show I was mainly impressed they didn’t suck. This time I came in knowing that they’d be far better than on their albums, but I was also looking forward to a number of specific tracks: “Long Forgotten Sons,” “Re-Education (Through Labor),” “Swung Life Away,” even “State of the Union” – for its sheer, decibel-breaking gall. These tracks – and virtually all others – were incredible. I was able to mosh and scream and pump with a thousand other maniacs to songs I actually knew/liked.
The overall high point of the concert was the first song. Tim McIllrath walked onto a dark stage, waited a few seconds to heighten the anticipation, and then pounded into “Collapse [Post-Amerika].” The visuals were, as usual, stunning: McIllrath, bathed in neon light, ran, jumped, and flailed across every part of the stage. The crowd was happy to follow his lead, transforming into a single seething mass before the song even hit the chorus. The added awesome effect this time was that I actually knew the chorus: “this is not a test; this is cardiac arrest.”
Close behind “Collapse” was the last song before the encore, “Prayer of the Refugee.” Powerful as that song is, I love that they didn’t put it dead last. (“Ready to Fall” fit perfectly in that slot.) It still launched the crowd into an inhuman frenzy (“don’t hold me UP now; I can stand my OWN ground”), but did so at an unexpected moment. (Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio, take note: place “The Middle” and “Radio” somewhere else!)
“Prayer of the Refugee” actually threatened to accomplish what “Collapse” had promised: “cardiac arrest.” As soon as the song ended, I felt dizzy and started to have trouble breathing. (Ninety seconds of rage’ll do that to you…) I eventually recovered for the remaining seven (!) songs after the encore, but it was touch-and-go for a few seconds.
The new measure of a great punk rock concert? Cardiac arrest.
Sound stops suddenly. You’re dazed. You’re not sure what to do. Chatter develops, but you don’t want to hear it. You speed walk, trying to get away from the mindless babblers as quickly as possible. Eventually, you separate; you find silence. Then you consider calling someone. The music was so dynamic, the experience was so profound that you need to share. No, you decide, not yet. That would break the spell. Minutes later, as you join the line of cars inching through the parking lot, you’re ready for the call. You fawn, gush, and try anything you can to recreate the concert for the person on the other line, but it never works. They don’t understand.
After you finish the call and inch up a few cars in line, you reach the final stage: you listen to the songs again. Any other concerts, even the good ones, you’d never listen to the songs again. After days of album preparation and two hours live, you’re maxxed out. You’re ready to move on. After A+ concerts, though, it takes longer to let go. The spell lasts through the night...
What made this Wilco concert special – what made it join the A+ elite? The same thing that brought the others to the top: it broke the rules. It was a followup concert that actually improved on the original! Thus far, over 43 concerts, every subsequent show was worse than the original. There was no question, though, that every aspect of the Wolftrap concert was better the Merriweather one. The instruments were loud this time, I could actually understand everything Jeff Tweedy was saying, and I could not have asked for a better setlist. The thing that made the setlist particularly memorable was that I knew every song. It took me a while to remember the name of some of the A.M. / Summerteeth tracks at first, but sure enough, I’d be able to scribble down the title in my notepad by the end of the song.
I am well aware that 99% of you reading this right now do not have that same familiarity with Wilco’s songs. Considering that, I’d advise you to skip over this track-by-track scribbled live blog and move on to the next show. If you happen to be a Wilco fanatic, though, enjoy…
Part One
o “Wilco (The Song).” Great sound! Strong volume and you can actually understand everything he’s saying.
o A much appreciated “Shot in the Arm” early. Rare that a band plays an early song at the start. Nice electronic addition in the last third.
o “At Least That’s What You Said”!!! Right before this song, a guy asked if I could move a few seats over so his friends could all sit together. The physical move enhanced the transition from two mediocre songs to a true performance. A total hush in the audience, who all take in the emotion. Take that, Death Cab!
o “Black Bull Super Nova.” Intro sounds just like “Spiders.” Blood lyrics, red background, fog effect, and fearsome beat make this quite scary.
o “She’s a Jar.” Whoa, tonal shift. They’re distributing tracks from different albums nicely so far. This is clearly from Summerteeth. I really thought this was going to a mediocre night. Love to be wrong!
(Note: there's a better tonal shift on the album: from "Black Bull Super Nova" to "You and I." Check it out.)
Part Two
o “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.” Meh. Feedback in Yankee Hotel Foxtrot can get excessive at times. “One Wing,” on the other hang, is great. Fits “At Least That’s What You Said” well.
o Jeff Tweedy speaks! He explains that he will now play the most requested song on their website, “How to Fight Loneliness.” Says “36 of you are going to be very happy right now.” After the song, he adds, “Um, yeah, that sounded like about 36 people.” He then insists that he wasn’t ‘fishing’ for applause, but he might as well have been ‘cause the song was pretty bad.
o “Impossible Germany”!! The extended guitar rift is incredible.
o “Jesus Don’t Cry.” Such warmth.
o “Deeper Down” and “Sonny Feeling” are both lackluster. He hilariously makes up for messing up a “Sonny Feeling” lyric by explaining, “at that moment, I realized I’d written a song that mentioned Eminem, so I became afraid he’d come and kick my a--.” Nice recovery. Take that, Jack Johnson!
o An even funnier moment occurs in the transition to "Handshake Drugs.” Tweedy points to a group of people in the crowd who had letters written on their t-shirts and says, “Huh? There’s no ‘F’ in Wilco?” As soon as he said that the 14 people rearrange themselves and reveal W-I-L-C-O (T-H-E F-A-N-S). Heeeee! Quick as ever, Tweedy insists, “Man, this parenthetical stuff is getting out of hand.”
o I’m surprisingly happy to hear “Handshake Drugs.” The guitar battle is indulgent / awesome.
Part Three
o “Hate It Here,” that laundry song from Sky Blue Sky, is pretty funny. Nice lights-on effect during the chorus. Man, the volume at Wolftrap rocks.
o “Walken.’” Meh about the song, but their genial funk persuades me.
o “I’m the Man Who Loves You.” God, they’re so hip. They have so many styles; it’s seamless.
o “Hummingbird”! Starts off without no guitar, does some faux grandstanding. The audience joins in – aww. Mic flipping and electric guitar at the end – nice!
Encore
o “You Never Know” and "Heavy Metal Drummer” both pale in comparison to “Misunderstood.” I do not know “Misunderstood,” but hearing how appreciative diehard fans are, knowing they’re listening to a track from 14 years ago, from Being There, is touching.
o "Spiders" is even better than last time. And it’s DIFFERENT. They put the rhythm in a different key. :) I lose all self consciousness. My eyes are closed; I’m slapping my knees, my chest, the chair, anything that beat tells me to.
o They end on “I’m A Wheel”!!! “Spiders” is more profound, but ending on a simpler song, showing they’re not just showoffs, feels perfect.
Wilco, The White Stripes, Dispatch, Muse, The Shins, Guster, Jimmy Eat World, Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Ok Go, Foo Fighters, The New Rockers, Bruce Springsteen, Lifehouse, Nada Surf, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, REM, Alkaline Trio, Alkaline Trio, Bruce Sprinsteen, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, The Offspring, Jack Johnson, Foo Fighters, Counting Crows, Ben Folds, Weezer, Cake, Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, Coldplay, The Who, Smashing Pumpkins, AC/DC, Oasis, The Killers, Kings of Leon, Jimmy Eat World, Ben Kweller, Tokyo Police Club, Girl Talk, Modest Mouse, Flogging Molly, David Cook, Death Cab for Cutie, Kings of Leon, Sister Hazel, The Decemberists, Alkaline Trio, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen, Tv on the Radio, Wilco, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson, Blink 182, Weezer, Taking Back Sunday, Rise Against, Green Day, Jet, The Bravery, Blink 182, Weezer, Ben Folds, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen, The Get Up Kids, Bob Dylan, The Pixies, Weezer, Rock and Cole, Rise Against, Arctic Monkeys, Muse, Alkaline Trio, Spoon, Ben Folds, Nada Surf, Vampire Weekend, The Protomen, Phoenix, Weezer, Arcade Fire, Spoon, The Presidents of the United States of America, Live, Naughty by Nature, Everclear, Third Eye Blind, Billy Idol, Rock and Cole, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Gogol Bordello, Girl Talk, Jimmy Eat World, Bon Jovi, DJ Pauly D, Carbon Leaf, Dropkick Murphys, Girl Talk, The Strokes, Lupe Fiasco, Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, Jack's Mannequin, Guster, Wilco, Smashing Pumpkins, Givers, Ra Ra Riot, Wu Lyf, Foo Fighters, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Rock and Cole, O.A.R., The Black Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Nada Surf, Guster, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Radiohead, Wilco, Motley Crue, Kiss, Band of Horses, My Morning Jacket, Bruce Springsteen, Alabama Shakes, Nas, ZZ Top, Jack White, Nas, Skrillex, Dispatch, Passion Pit, Of Monsters and Men, Rock and Cole, Fun., Mumford and Sons, Elliott Yamin, Crystal Bowersox, Rockapella ft. Carmen Sandiego, Alkaline Trio, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Grizzly Bear, The XX, Bruno Mars, Beyonce, Guster, Ben Folds Five, BN Ladies, American Idol Season 12 Tour, Jimmy Eat World, Imagine Dragons, The Flaming Lips, Franz Ferdinand, Alkaline Trio, Alkaline Trio, Elton John, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kanye West, Rock and Cole, Rebelution, Young The Giant, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen, Alabama Shakes, Ben Folds, Queen ft. Adam Lambert, New Politics, Paramore, Fall Out Boy, Phillip Phillips, OAR, Arcade Fire, Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, Zac Brown Band, Black Keys, Carrie Underwood, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, Eminem, Taking Back Sunday, Ben Folds, Dave Matthews Band, Mumford and Sons, Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters, Rise Against, OAR, Christina Perri, Ed Sheeran, Stevie Wonder, Kendrick Lamar, Givers, Straight No Chaser, Melinda Doolittle, Muse, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Guns 'n Roses, Paul Simon, Panic! At the Disco, Weezer, Tony Bennett, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Weird Al Yankovich, Bruce Springsteen, Adele, Jimmy Eat World, Green Day, Explosions in the Sky, Wilco, Rise Against, Dispatch, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Sister Hazel, Regina Spektor, Ben Folds, Roger Waters, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Colony House, Mutemath, Foo Fighters, Bruce Springsteen, Haley Reinhart, Dispatch, Franz Ferdinand,U2, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Game of Thrones: Live Concert Experience, The Pixies, Weezer, Gary Clark Jr., Muse, Snow Patrol. Ben Platt, The Rolling Stones, Ra Ra Riot, Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind, and The Mountain Goats, Sonic Castaways, Jeremy Eliot, Norah Jones, Mavis Staples, Katy Perry, Wilco, Nada Surf, Jazz Trotters, Foo Fighters, Guster, Rise Against, Sleater-Kinney, Wilco, The Eagles, Noah Kahan, Laughing Colors, Up All Night, Guster, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Dave Tieff, Rage Against The Machine, Franz Ferdinand, Dispatch, O.A.R., The Killers, Broken Social Scene, 'Bruce Springsteen' at Paul Verbesey's 'Surprise' Party, Arcade Fire, Noah Kahan, The Struts, Spoon, Jimmy Eat World, Straight No Chaser, Van Morrison [Newmyer Flyer], Bruce Springsteen [Newmyer Flyer], Colony House, Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen, Lauryn Hill, Dispatch, Jason Isbell, OAR, Goo Goo Dolls, Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service, Hozier, John Legend, Wilco, Ben Platt, Joan Jett, Alanis Morissette, The Doors, David Bowie, Grateful Dead, Talking Heads, The Hives, Foo Fighters, Fitz and the Tantrums, O.A.R., Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Dinosaur Jr., The Flaming Lips, Weezer, Tonic, Violent Femmes, Girl Talk, Jimmy Eat World, Liz Phair, Dispatch, Rise Against, Bob Dylan, Laughing Colors, AC/DC, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band. [Recaps still to come for Dashboard Confessional, Goo Dolls, and James Taylor.]
Upcoming Shows
Ian Tongi (Saturday, November 1, The Hamilton – DC). [There's literally never been a single entry on the Upcoming Shows list. If you have a good one in mind, lemme know.]
Somehow, though, as I entered William and Mary, I did not feel musically secure. Why had Creed not given me more cred?! 
