4th Concert of 2008 - Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos

Ah spontaneity. The best kind of evening. I was driving home on a Friday evening, with no plans, thinking that I would just at home by my lonesome and work on the sweater that’s not going anywhere. And then a text message from Jenn changes all that.

“I have an extra ticket to a show. Wanna go?”

And I called her and said yes. Without even knowing who we were going to see. I just thought it would be fun to get out of the house, and I always have a fantastic time with Jenn, even if we’re just hanging out with my mother and watching television.

We started the evening at Fly Bar, managing to get there early enough to still catch the happy hour specials (half price pizzas! Yummy ones!). They’re a wine and beer place, and man, do they have a lot of beers. Delicious looking beers. My O’douls was so very sad looking. I can’t wait for June.

Heading over to the Independent, we realized we were early. Like, really early. Like, one of the first 15 people in the place early. But that also meant we got a coveted seat on the platform area, which we camped out on all night. Evidently we are old now, because I very much enjoyed being able to see the band without standing up. After the knee wreckage of the Dresden Dolls, it was nice.

I was very impressed with the first band up. Salt and Samovar is a New York band with just the right amount of revival and twang. I was a little confused by the keyboardist/back up singer, as she kept almost drowning out the lead vocals at times. Luckily she has a beautiful voice, but it was still distracting. I bought their CD (and t-shirt, they were having a deal where you could get both for $20), and it’s good, but I think I liked them live better. There’s an energy that’s missing in the recording.

And then the second act. Oh Nelly. I’m going to use the old adage “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything.” Let’s just say that it really brought the energy of the whole place down, and I’m not sure why he wasn’t on first, because he really couldn’t follow S’n'S. A warning to all you guys with guitars and no other band: don’t try to shush the audience if you’ve already lost them. It just annoys them. Get them back by being awesome.

Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s were not entirely what I had expected. I had heard their name bandied about for awhile, but never actually heard their music. I think I automatically think that band with AND in them implies jazz or swing. How did I get this idea? At any rate, their music is pleasing but a bit out there. It was certainly better than staying home and crocheting.

3rd Concert of 2008: Dresden Dolls!

What would I do without Jeremy? He seems to be my concert connection this year. I’m so glad he called and told me about this show (and offered me a ticket). A bit later, our friend Kenneth also purchased a ticket. A week after that, I pointed the show out to my mother* and she got a ticket as well.

So on the 18th, we headed over to the Fillmore to see them rock out. I have to say, I appreciate bands that have good taste in openers. The event was MC’d by a local magician, who also used to host the underground absinthe parties that I never made it to. Sigh. He was very funny and charming, and I had never heard an audience so quiet and respectful during a one-man act.

The musical opener was a sister act** called Vermillion Lies, who were downright AMAZING. They’re out of Oakland, and I highly recommend them. They’re talented, funny, charming and cute. I considered buying the CD, but I’m pretty sure this is the kind of band that’s considerably better live. SEE THEM.

I saw the Dresden Dolls once a few years ago, and was totally blown away by how much beautiful noise just two people could make. I was not disappointed this time, either. They had a variety of guests, including East Bay Ray from the Dead Kennedys, but most of the time was just Amanda and Brian rocking out. I would say the most interesting point of the evening was the cover of “Fight for your right to party” by the Beastie Boys.

Of course, since I am out of concert practice, I ended up with sore knees and back, but it was totally worth it

* My mother is probably more of a fan than the three of us combined.
** It made me wish my sister and I worked together that well.

2nd Concert of 2008: Geographer

Geographer!, originally uploaded by maceelaine.

On April 9th, after a delicious meal at Esperpento, Jenn and I headed over to 12 Galaxies to see Geographer play. Jenn used to work with the lead singer, and knew that I’d be into their sound. And she was totally right. Their sound was tight and mellow, with just the right amount of build up and release. I’m having a hard time putting their music into words, but I can say for sure that a good number of my friends would like it.

I was doubly impressed with their fans - young hipsters who earnestly liked the music and danced with abandon. It’s really nice to see people care less about being cool and more into enjoying something great.

Geographer will be playing Annie’s in June - you’ll see me there!

1st Concert of 2008: Foo Fighters

On February 2nd, instead of celebrating my good friend Jeremy’s birthday, I barted over to Oakland to see the Foo Fighters rock Oracle Arena.

We were late; this was remarkable, because usually I’m the person who wants to get there well before the first act comes on, to settle in and see if maybe I’ll hear a new band to obsess over. But people were late (not me, for once!), and dinner took forever, and then we had to wait for Bart, and then… THEN! We had to fight through the crowd that was leaving the Coliseum, pumped up on MONSTER TRUCK RALLY. It certainly didn’t help that it was pouring, and we were completely drenched when we arrived. (By the way, Oracle now has a policy against umbrellas, so leave it home or in the car.)

As we walked in, we could hear the opening strains of The Pretender, causing panic in one of my companions (who is quite the fan). We entered the Arena, and walked down, down, down, down. Turns out we were in the seventh row from the floor. Now, before that sounds amazing, there was an entire basketball court between us and the stage. And we had only missed one song.

I’m not sure if it was the rushing, or arriving late, or the rain, but I just wasn’t feeling excited. I didn’t feel the flush of hearing live music, or the collective energy that builds with the crowd. The sound seemed off. I seemed off. I started to worry that maybe I was getting too old for arena shows. That is had been too long since my last show, and that live music wasn’t as wonderful as I remembered it being.

Then, a smaller stage dropped from the ceiling, at the end of a runway that Dave Grohl had been running up and down. There was a smaller setup: a tiny drum kit, an electric piano, and an unusual number of microphones. And it was about 50 feet from our seats. The band came down and did a set of semi-acoustic songs, and it completely blew me away. The extra microphones were so Dave Grohl could wander around and do the show partially in the round.

Eventually they returned to the larger stage and went back to the hard rocking, but it was considerably better this time. I thought it was just me, but after the show my companion agreed. He thought perhaps they had re-adjusted the sound on the large stage. But really, I had stopped caring. My love of live music had returned.

(Set list can be found here.)