139 – Jimmy Eat World – Sunday, August 11, 2013 – 9:30 Club – DC

Six years ago, Jimmy Eat World was my first 9:30 Club show.  I have now seen them there four times, more any other 9:30 Club band.  They’re not perfect, but they’re solid.  You can always count on them for satisfying, guitar-driven rock.  If you too are a Jimmy Eat World fan, and sometimes all you want is to hear a song you know, scroll to the bottom, and click on any of the links.

In the meantime, if you’re interested, here are some quick hits from the concert:

--- Pleasantly surprised they started with “Big Casino”

--- Less pleasantly surprised that Jim Adkins’ voice sounds strained.  “Appreciation,” “Kill,” “Damage,” and “No, Never” continue the trend.  The low point is “For Me This Is Heaven.” The “me” the title refers to must not be in the audience.  The lack of choruses and all other background music exposes the strain – to the point that the crowd starts talking halfway through!

--- Fortunately, strangely, the strain was not evident on any other songs, and every other aspect of the show was great! 

--- “A Heart is Hard to Find,” “My Best Theory,” “Work,” “Lucky Denver Mint,” “Your New Aesthetic,” “The Authority Song,” “Coffee and Cigarettes,” and “23” were all better than they’d ever been before.  I especially liked the mini swing, the circle back to the ‘townie kid,’ and the guitar solo in those last three.
     
--- I also loved the fact that I was now at the point where I could call certain songs before they even played a note!  Band ESP made me call “The Middle,” “Always Be,” and “Chase This Light” beforehand.

--- Their Taylor Swift cover was hilarious.  Enough of those jagged solos and ooh-e-oohs, and I’d get back together, no questions asked.

--- It was great to share Jimmy Eat World live for the first time.  Hark Tagunicar seemed to most enjoy “Futures,” “Hear You Me,” “Let It Happen,” and what I’ll call The Fantastic Four.  The straight-to-the-encore march of “Pain,” “A Praise Chorus,” “Sweetness” and Bleed American” was an adrenaline RUSH.  I did not take a single note for four straight songs.  It felt like Rise Against; it felt like Mumford and Sons; it felt like the mark of a band I’ll be seeing for many years to come…    

Grade: A-

 

138 – American Idol Season 12 Tour – Thursday, August 8, 2013 – Time Warner Cable Arena – Charlotte, NC

I’m pretty sure the few, ‘elite’ Idol viewers will be the only ones reading this, so let’s go straight to the live reactions…

--- Love the Southern hospitality as I enter the arena.  “Welcome, sir.”  “Thank you kindly.”  “Enjoy the show, ya hear.”  Now I see where awesome host Lindsay Ellis gets it from!

--- It seems that more people auditioned in Charlotte than came to see the winners?!  Can’t complain about the second-row seats though.

--- Starting the show with a Ryan Seacrest video and the Idol intro music is a smart choice.  You feel like you’re part of an episode.

--- Who gets the second biggest applause in the contestant countdown on the video monitor?  Burnell Taylor!  Candice deservedly gets first, followed by Kree third, and Angie fourth.

--- Kree and Candice shout, “Let's welcome Aubrey Cleeland!”  And…no one reacts.  Her performance, “[Nutra] Sweet Dreams and [Generically] Beautiful Nightmares,” doesn’t help matters. 

--- Paul Jolley goes for Carrie Underwood's “Blown Away.”  Well sung, but I wasn't.  His rendition of Rascal Flatts’ “Summer Nights” sounds like the waiter from Office Space trying to sing.

--- Curtis Finch Jr. shimmied out in his blindingly white suit, and I was ready to bash him.  Yet, he came out and did Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man," and he tore it UP!!!  He restrained himself for so long.  The extended Mickey Mouse falsetto at the end was a bit much, but he earned that.  Best of the night so far.

--- I may be a “Hopeless Case” when it comes to dance music, but Amber Holcomb’s bland performance did nothing to convert me. 

--- The boys' “Locked Out Of Paradise” is much better.  It helps that it’s a much better song. Surprised they actually said the “sex” chorus – at least it’s not “Gorilla.”  Like the yellow lights and the mini spin from my new friend Curtis.

---  Devin Velez slays “Somos Novios” – especially the “mas oscuro” part.  It’s impossible to see Paul Jolley doing that.

--- All these angelic, family-friendly girls perform Pitbull's “I Know You Want Me” about “getting nasty.”  Awkward.

--- Burnell, in all red (heh), sings Rihanna's “Diamonds in the Sky.”  Amber gradually joins in from the other side of the stage.  Powerful. 

--- “We Are Young” is by far the best full-group song they’ve done.  Again, it helps when you have a good song.  Lazaro Arbos sings for the first time haha.  It’s for four seconds – he sings for another four the next song…  PJ actually does well.  Omg, Candice emerges, barely sings a verse, and it still stands out.

---Sigh, One Direction’s “Live While We're Young.”  Fine, it's catchy -- and enjoyable to hear the screams.

--- An intermission???  First intermission in 138 concerts.  A really long one too.  At least Randy Jackson comes on the screen at one point and says something informative.  Kidding.  Randy does come on, but it’s not informative. 

--- The Phillip Phillips commercial is somewhat informative.  It teaches me this equation:  Elliott Yamin + Jack Johnson = Phillip Phillips.  Good voice, likable, but boring.  None of Elliott’s runs or underdog charisma.

--- Angie Miller's cover of Jessie J's “Mamma Knows Best” on top of the piano is hot.  There’s no pyrotechnics, but there’s fire.  Second best of the night, half standing O.  Crazy to think last year she was graduating high school.  Here comes her original song!  The background instruments distract, and I wish she wasn't in red / the whole thing was quieter, but still good.

--- Awwww, Janelle Arthur auditioned in Charlotte and was at the show in Nashville last year in the last row!  For all its negative aspects, that’s what Idol is all about!  Her cover of Keith Urban’s “Where the Blacktop Ends” is solid.

--- Lol, Lazaro is “Feelin' Good” in his all-pink ensemble.  I swear, James Porter, vocally, he does a good job.

--- A good job should not get Lazaro a second song.  Power slurring does not put you on the “Edge Of Glory.”
 
--- Kree Harrison, “Up to the Mountain”!!

--- Kree, Alabama Shakes!!!  I literally shouted this band name out loud I was so pleasantly surprised.  “Hold On”’s got soul.  I swear she looked and motioned at me at one point.  Perhaps because the rest of the crowd was AWFUL.  Worst first four rows ever.  I felt inappropriate getting out of my seat.  She lied about how good the crowd is, but it was a lie.  Brittany Howard's voice is, honestly, more varied and powerful, but "Hold On" remained the best moment of the concert.

--- Upbeat group dance number led by CANDICE GLOVER.  She auditioned here too!  Glad she got her single out of the way early.  The whole arena swayed to it, without prompting.  The lyrics made it much better than expected: “Get rejected, look yourself in the mirror, and tell yourself…I Am Beautiful.”  

--- I’m biased against midtempo, but Candice’s new song about summer grew on me by the end.

--- The crowd FINALLY got its act together and gave a standing ovation for “Love Song,” by far the high point of the Idol season.

--- HA, we go from the deeply meaningful “Love Song” to a bescarfed Paul Jolley singing about wanting to touch my face.  Huh?

--- The final song’s transition from Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone” to Phillip Phillips’ “Gone” was clever – and, if you have to incorporate the whole group, the perfect ending.

Grade: B+

 
American Idol Season 12 - Angie Miller "You Set... by FanReviews
Candice Glover - Love Song - American Idol 12... by IdolxMuzic

137 – B.N. Ladies – Tuesday, July 30, 2013 – Prospect Park Bandshell – Brooklyn, NY

My first Barenaked Ladies concert was way better than expected.  Here are some reasons why: 

--- Frontman Ed Robertson had talent.  It was like listening to a professional guitarist, vocalist, and standup comedian all in one.

--- “Did I Say That Out Loud” had great lyrics: “I don't know what's got a hold of me: not alcohol, not alchemy, [it’s] greater than gravity.”

--- “Pinch Me” was soothing, as was “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” the first song they ever released. 

--- Ed Robertson’s voice was so clear.  This clarity helped him even more whenever he rapped.  My frustration at every rap show I’ve been to so far has been how many words get lost live.  This never happened with Robertson, not during “One Week,” his impromptu Brooklyn rap, or the “Big Bang Theory Theme Song.”  (The full theme song, by the way, is way longer than it is in the show.)

--- So many funny lines: “It is great to be in the fabled land of Brooklyn.  I'm always seeing you in trendy shows with your handmade cutlery…I must pause and do the Sound of Music test on this piano…This entire stage seems drenched in hamburger whiff…I had a nerdgasm last week when Stephen Hawking quoted us! ”

--- My only regret was that I did not know songs like “Gonna Walk,” “Keepin’ It Real,” and “Odds Are” as well as I should have, but I can correct that next show.

--- They performed “Brian Wilson” at almost 9:30 on a Tuesday night – which is an exact line from the song!

--- “If I Had A Million Dollars” featured Ben Folds and a funk-out finale.  The best part was the guy in the row behind me, singing every line, shouting how he was back to being a senior in high school – he was back to 1999!

--- One super-size song in the encore incorporated “Trouble,” “Thrift Shop,” “Scream and Shout,” “Titanium,” and “Blinded by the Light.”  They played all this while literally batting monkeys and other stage props back and forth with their guitars?!  Early on in the show, Robertson said that his fellow guitarist “put the pro in Prospect Park.”  After listening to the encore, I’d say that applied to the whole band…  

Grade: A- 

136 – Ben Folds Five – Tuesday, July 30, 2013 – Prospect Park Bandshell – Brooklyn, NY

This concert, which brought together Guster, Ben Folds Five, and Barenaked Ladies, showed the limits of any opening band.  At their solo concerts, Ben Folds Five have proven themselves outstanding performers.  I have left their concerts feeling moved my by their music, entertained by their antics, and energized by their rabid fanbase. 

The problem for Ben Folds Five at this Brooklyn show, though, was that they were an opening band.  It seemed like a lot of the crowd did not know them or did not come to the show primarily for them.  They also had little time to build up rapport between songs because they were restricted to such short sets.  This “Opening Band Problem” is nothing new.  Modest Mouse and The President of the United States of America were actually better than the main band and better than they were on the albums, but every other opening band I’ve been to has not worked.  They always seem destined to be second best.  What made Ben Folds Five’s failure different was they put on a grade-A concert last time!

Opening band issues were compounded by the fact that the crowd was terrible, and they played too many lackluster new songs.

All that said, Ben Folds Five did not earn the D+ Guster did.  It had three main advantages:

1.  I was physically present inside the venue the entire time.  That’s always important.

2.  They played four classic songs I had never heard live before: “Brick,” “Army,” “Fred Jones Part 2,” and “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces.”               

3.  They had a bra wreath!  For “Here Come The Bras,” they brought out this elaborate, stage-size mega-wreath composed entirely of bras!!  They kept themselves surrounded by these bras for the rest of the set, and blamed the whole thing on the main band: “Thank you, Barenaked Ladies, for this tour, and for displaying all your conquests on stage…”

Grade: B-             
 

135 – Guster – Tuesday, July 30, 2013 – Prospect Park Bandshell – Brooklyn, NY

This concert, which brought together Guster, Ben Folds Five, and Barenaked Ladies, showed the limits of any opening band.  At their solo concerts, Guster have proven themselves outstanding performers.  I have left their concerts feeling moved my by their music, entertained by their antics, and energized by their rabid fanbase. 

The problem for Guster at this Brooklyn show, though, was that they were an opening band.  It seemed like a lot of the crowd did not know them or did not come to the show primarily for them.  They also had little time to build up rapport between songs because they were restricted to such short sets.  This “Opening Band Problem” is nothing new.  Modest Mouse and The President of the United States of America were actually better than the main band and better than they were on the albums, but every other opening band I’ve been to has not worked.  They always seem destined to be second best.  What made Guster’s failure different was they put on a grade-A concert last time!

Opening band issues were compounded by the fact that I heard 3/4 of the show from outside the arena!  Prospect Park Bandshell made the bizarre decision to only open one entrance for their 7,000-person venue.  So everyone walked to the entrance…to find they had to take a single-file line fifteen minutes in the other direction!  “Come Downstairs and Say Hello” is a deeply moving song; it’s less so when it’s barely audible four football fields away!  Oh well, I’ll have to find solace in the fact that they played “Barrel of a Gun” for the first time in a while, “This Could All Be Yours” is still unstoppable, and they will be much better next time I see them.

Grade: D+

 

134 – Beyonce – Thursday, July 25, 2013 – Wells Fargo Arena – Philadelphia, PA

If you love listening to Beyonce, you would love this Philadelphia show.  Even if you’re like me, though, someone who has a strong bias against R+B dance tracks, I think you’d still enjoy the show.  Beyonce’s voice, her song selection, her stage production, and the high-energy full-capacity crowd made it hard for anyone not to have a good time.
   
Here are some highlights:

--- Whoa, the first song is starting with POUNDING.  She’s coming out as an ice queen on a castle background as the arena SHAKES.  Is this Pantera or Metallica?  That's seriously what the intro music sounds like.  Oooh, here comes the firrrre – laced with white!  All she does is shimmy her shoulders, and it feels electric.  When she starts singing the first song, “Girls,” it’s a solid call-and-response, but the spectacle was by far the best part.

--- “My first [solo arena] tour: I've dreamed of this since I've been a little girl….This is my favorite part of the show because I get to hear you all sing.”  Awww. 

--- “A little sweat never hurt nobody / get me bodied” – clever.  I like this line as well: “We got the swag sauce / she drippin' Swagu.”  The way she says “a di-va is a female version of a hust-la” never fails. 

--- Oh god, not the Sean Paul one – i.e. “Baby Boy.”  At least it has an unknown Arabian vibe to it – and the background dancers seem to multiply each verse!

--- I do not in fact have my “Freakum Dress” on, but thanks to the visual and beat, I find it the most exciting song so far.

--- I like how short the songs are; it allows for a lot of variety.  I love how everyone at the show seems to know every word of everything.

--- The best mood track so far is “1 + 1”: emphatic piano, mega wind machine, cooing interlude, and whoa, she just flew across the arena!!

--- She clearly thought a lot about song order.  Each of the final six songs build on each other: “Irreplaceable,” “Love on Top,” “Survivor,” “Crazy,” and “Single Ladies.”  Love the huge kaleidoscopes and cloud cannons during “Crazy.” 

--- Final surprise, during the encore: Jay-Z jumps up on stage!  She had no clue!

Grade: A-

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-