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+

292 -- Alanis Morissette -- Saturday, June 29, 2024 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

--- Alanis walks out on stage. Here comes the applause! Oh, wait, it’s a dog...

--- “One Hand in My Pocket”: *slightly* bigger reaction than for Joan Jett… Love the harmonica section!!

--- “A Man” includes on the screen harrowing stats about continued violence towards women. Good for her.

--- “Reasons I Drink” leaves me without a buzz.

--- She starts to play guitar on “Hands Clean” — nice!

--- Solid dark vibes but very little to connect with.

--- Crowd returns for “Hand Over Feet.” Woo, harmonica’s back too!

--- “You Learn”: Aww at all the audience singalongs!!

--- Angie has a CrossFit competition in the morning, so she has to leave a bit early. It’d be ironic, in the Alanis sense, if she started playing “Ironic” right as she left. “That’d be Perfect,” Angie quips. Clever!!

--- Angie: “I forgot about these songs!” As soon as we sit down, Alanis launches into favorites, so time to sit…

--- Alanis just spun an ice-skater circle for a solid minute!!!

--- “Rest”: the best pure vocal of the night!!! I dig it as a ballad and because it probably means a high-energy rocker next. In a moment of actual irony, I realize it’s the song I was most awake for! Angie: “That was beautiful.”

--- “Mary Jane”: even better — she held out that note forever!!! I wonder if she starred in Jagged Little Pill, the Broadway musical.

--- She plays the flute. Who knew?

--- “Ironic”: the first verse was sung by an eight-year-old on stage!!!! The whole thing was an unexpected rush.

--- “All I Really Want,” a Jagged track, pumps them up. Love the harmonica-guitar battle at the end of the next one.

--- Do not love that she did not personalize a single thing the entire night. She oughta know better. That said…

--- “You Oughta Know” RIPPED!!!!! Merriweather’s wall shook — and Merriweather doesn’t even have walls. Awww at the awesome woman in front of me motioning to me to fist bump — for a mighty fist bump at that. So satisfying.

--- Lol at her skipping off for the encore.

--- Wow, “Uninvited” is a completely different triumph. Piercing, spare, and ends with another literal spin?!?!? Evanescence, but better.

--- Awww, I take back part of what I said about the personalizing since has thankful tweets from fans to loved ones in the background during “Thank U.”

Grade: B+

291 -- Joan Jett -- Saturday, June 29, 2024 -- Merriweather Post Pavilion -- Columbia, MD

--- Surprise… In a rare last-minute decision, Angie joins me for the Joan Jett / Alanis Morissette concert! 

--- Angie appreciates the Columbia Central Library parking lot secret. As at Hozier, the Merriweather crowd is packed, yet barely anyone is parked at the library, one hill away from the entrance! I appreciate Angie’s water bottle in the heat. I’m shocked Merriweather allows people to bring bottles. I’d assume one would be $89, to match the temperature. They wait for us to walk in to start the show…

--- “Victim ofCircumstance,” “Cherry Bomb,” “Do You Wanna Touch Me,” and “You Drive Me Wild” don’t drive me wild, but they’re solid.

--- “If You’re Blue,” a new single, is top so far — more breezy and upbeat.

--- Love that Jett includes that she got her musical start in Rockville, where she lived from 8 to 13! Wish I could understand almost anything else she said, as the microphone (or her lack of enunciation) seemed to swallow every other word.

--- “Different” basically sounds the same as the opening numbers — until a mini electric riff at the end, which was cool.

--- Clive Davis’ apparent cousin on the keyboard explains that they couldn’t get a record deal for years with a female guitarist as their lead. Hence the song “Fake Friends.”

--- Angie informs me Joan Jett is 65! So, compared to Bruce Springsteen (74), Paul McCartney (82), and first-time lead actress June Squibb (94), a spring chicken!

--- “Androgynous” has intriguing queer lyrics! Wish they weren’t lost in Mumble Land…

--- “Everyday People” (AKA the song from the Toyota commercial) is my favorite so far. Catchy rhythm and instrumental the middle — woo.

--- The crowd gets (justifiably) loud for “I Love Rock and Roll” — it’s fun!

--- “Crimson and Clover”: What?!?! My mind is blown as the best part of one of the my 100 favorite songs, Jimmy Eat World’s “A Praise Chorus,” was stolen from Tommy James and the Shondelles.

--- “I Hate Myself ForLoving You”: strong crowd song.

--- “Bad Reputation” makes me bounce and bounce and bounce. So many great Danny Ibanez Freaks and Geeks memories!!!

Grade: B/B+