I did this when I started my MySpace blog and figured it was time for an update/repost of my favorite song or relevant songs.
I'd still rather have some kind of gathering concert, rent out the old Perry Gym or some other hall, than an actual funeral, like the Concert for George, though I don't know how many of friends are musically talented. Just make it a big old party and a good time. And it'd still be better than an actual funeral, especially when it costs $20-30,000 to die. Fucking unbelievable. Put me on a stick in the front yard and let the vultures claw me up. Or better yet, go the Gram Parsons route and somebody steal the body and set it on fire.
But here's the songs I'd like played/performed. Mostly favorites and favorite artists, but some darker relevant ones tossed in. I always think of the funeral scene in The Big Chill, where they preform the departed's favorite hymn, You Can't Always Get What You Want.
The last two would have to be Knockin' on Heaven's Door and The Weight.
Positively 4th Street, When I Paint My Masterpiece, Like A Rolling Stone, Knockin' On Heaven's Door- Bob Dylan
The Weight, I Shall Be Released- The Band
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way?- Waylon Jennings
Poor, Poor Pitiful Me- Warren Zevon
House of Gold- Hank Williams
Lola- The Kinks
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For- U2
I'm One, Long Live Rock, Substitute - The Who
Don't Cry No Tears, Harvest- Neil Young
Against the Wind- Bob Seger
Wide River to Cross- Buddy Miller
And something for sure by Jamey Johnson and Shooter Jennings. And I'll probably be adding to this list ad nauseum...
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
9th Street After 8 PM; Robert Earl Keen 9/14 Concert Review
How is it the Blue Note seems to have better free shows than paying shows? It's been two years since I've been to show there, but last year they had Chuck Berry playing outside for free and Jimmie Vaughan last month. So, when they announced that Robert Earl Keen was going to be playing the final free outdoor concert of the year, me and Zane made plans to go.
Of course you can never plan anything with him. And he came down with a cold and didn't want to do anything. Typical. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to go or not then. I saw that it was moved indoors because of the cold and earlier rain of the day and said I might as well do something, I lobbied to get this as my day off instead of Friday...
And my fun getting there issue, was getting five miles down the road and realizing I left my cell phone charging at home. So, after returning home, I also remembered to pick up my dad's camera. And I think I only managed to save one photo I took and only got a minute or so worth of video because the cards full. Now if I can only figure out to get the video's off there...
The Doors opened at 6 and show started at 7. I got there about half an hour before and it wasn't very full and honestly didn't get much til closer to 8 when Robert Earl Keen too the stage. I didn't feel like standing alone for awhile, so I took a seat in the balcony(Which are some of the most cramped seats for anyone short or tall. Thankfully I was able to stretch out longways...) And I think they had free beer, according to the guys behind me, so my brother missed out...
Deke Dickerson was the opening act, who was a Columbia native before moving elsewhere. He recounted the last time he played at the Blue Note was opening for Steppenwolf and couldn't hardly move due to Steppenwolf's keyboard player having a mountain of keys.
It was just him, a standup bass player and drummer, and they all switched instruments multiple times. Their style of music, I would classify as 1950's in general, sounding rockabilly, vintage country and Texas Swing of the era. They did a Johnny Cash cover and There Stands the Glass made famous by Webb Pierce. And a hilarious original called Misshapen Hillbilly Gal.
They were loud and it was actually pretty good. They played for 45 minutes but packed a bunch of songs in, not drawing them out too much. They did some some theatrics with the switching around, but they kept it entertaining.
Within 15 minutes they pretty much had everything changed over and the main act came out. I'm not super familiar with Keen, I just like some of his main songs and got turned onto him a little by my brother. So, I was probably with most of the people waiting to hear the Road Goes on Forever. I'm not sure about titles, I'm pretty sure he opened with the Rose Hotel, but i remember the 4th, 8th and 9th songs he played were pretty good.
Keen's came out in a hat and sports jacket, looking like some combination of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. And his movements while playing guitar suggested a little Neil Young as well...
His band was good, but seemed to draw too much away from Keen, who after the tenth song, preformed a couple of numbers by himself including a spoken word/singing about being from College Station. It was ripe for booing as he mentioned he want to Texas A&M, the school who has gained the most recent scorn from the Big 12 for whoring itself out to the SEC, then playing Merry Christmas From the Family. I wish the show would have featured more solo Keen or at least lighter sound from the band.
But anyways after this the show seemed to pick up, several tracks from his new album were good, I Gotta Go and the the title track Ready for Confetti. He also played Copenhagen with another song about New Braunfuels in the middle and Gringo Honeymoon. And there was a hilarious song, maybe titled He's an Asshole, that he said they've never recorded and never will.
He finished up and came back out for an 2 song encore, with The Road Goes on Forever as the last song, which he played sped up and had a lengthy jam at the end. They then left the stage, but with quickly returned and played a surprising cover of You Can't Always Get What You Want, in slower blues style. It wasn't too bad.
Overall it wasn't bad, hey it was a free concert. I wished he would have played the Man Behind the Drums, his tribute song to Levon Helm and featured more storytelling/solo songs. Other than the storytelling song, he didn't have too much of a rapport with the audience. Though he did say, "Thanks," after almost every song. And he did get the crowd to sing along to some of the parts. And I wish I would have listened to a few more of his songs to have gotten more familiar with them, than I did...
More to come if a set list turns up or I can recall more later.
Of course you can never plan anything with him. And he came down with a cold and didn't want to do anything. Typical. I was trying to decide whether I wanted to go or not then. I saw that it was moved indoors because of the cold and earlier rain of the day and said I might as well do something, I lobbied to get this as my day off instead of Friday...
And my fun getting there issue, was getting five miles down the road and realizing I left my cell phone charging at home. So, after returning home, I also remembered to pick up my dad's camera. And I think I only managed to save one photo I took and only got a minute or so worth of video because the cards full. Now if I can only figure out to get the video's off there...
The Doors opened at 6 and show started at 7. I got there about half an hour before and it wasn't very full and honestly didn't get much til closer to 8 when Robert Earl Keen too the stage. I didn't feel like standing alone for awhile, so I took a seat in the balcony(Which are some of the most cramped seats for anyone short or tall. Thankfully I was able to stretch out longways...) And I think they had free beer, according to the guys behind me, so my brother missed out...
Deke Dickerson was the opening act, who was a Columbia native before moving elsewhere. He recounted the last time he played at the Blue Note was opening for Steppenwolf and couldn't hardly move due to Steppenwolf's keyboard player having a mountain of keys.
It was just him, a standup bass player and drummer, and they all switched instruments multiple times. Their style of music, I would classify as 1950's in general, sounding rockabilly, vintage country and Texas Swing of the era. They did a Johnny Cash cover and There Stands the Glass made famous by Webb Pierce. And a hilarious original called Misshapen Hillbilly Gal.
They were loud and it was actually pretty good. They played for 45 minutes but packed a bunch of songs in, not drawing them out too much. They did some some theatrics with the switching around, but they kept it entertaining.
Within 15 minutes they pretty much had everything changed over and the main act came out. I'm not super familiar with Keen, I just like some of his main songs and got turned onto him a little by my brother. So, I was probably with most of the people waiting to hear the Road Goes on Forever. I'm not sure about titles, I'm pretty sure he opened with the Rose Hotel, but i remember the 4th, 8th and 9th songs he played were pretty good.
Keen's came out in a hat and sports jacket, looking like some combination of Bob Dylan and Tom Waits. And his movements while playing guitar suggested a little Neil Young as well...
His band was good, but seemed to draw too much away from Keen, who after the tenth song, preformed a couple of numbers by himself including a spoken word/singing about being from College Station. It was ripe for booing as he mentioned he want to Texas A&M, the school who has gained the most recent scorn from the Big 12 for whoring itself out to the SEC, then playing Merry Christmas From the Family. I wish the show would have featured more solo Keen or at least lighter sound from the band.
But anyways after this the show seemed to pick up, several tracks from his new album were good, I Gotta Go and the the title track Ready for Confetti. He also played Copenhagen with another song about New Braunfuels in the middle and Gringo Honeymoon. And there was a hilarious song, maybe titled He's an Asshole, that he said they've never recorded and never will.
He finished up and came back out for an 2 song encore, with The Road Goes on Forever as the last song, which he played sped up and had a lengthy jam at the end. They then left the stage, but with quickly returned and played a surprising cover of You Can't Always Get What You Want, in slower blues style. It wasn't too bad.
Overall it wasn't bad, hey it was a free concert. I wished he would have played the Man Behind the Drums, his tribute song to Levon Helm and featured more storytelling/solo songs. Other than the storytelling song, he didn't have too much of a rapport with the audience. Though he did say, "Thanks," after almost every song. And he did get the crowd to sing along to some of the parts. And I wish I would have listened to a few more of his songs to have gotten more familiar with them, than I did...
More to come if a set list turns up or I can recall more later.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Sunday, A Bloody Hot Sunday; 7/17 U2 at Busch Stadium Concert Review
This was a no-brainer for me, a chance to see the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band. (Yes, I realize the Stones are still alive and kicking, but since 1987 or so U2 has been the one to hold this title. Or a better title I guess would be the World's Most Popular Band.) I guess I'm glad Bono hurt his back last year and had to reschedule shows and they added St. Louis. Otherwise I wouldn't have seen them.
And it was held in beautiful Busch Stadium, the first time I've ever been in the new one. The "Claw" stage that looked like a spaceship, is so big and tall(over 150 feet) that it couldn't have fit into the Edward Jones Dome, like most of the other shows on the U2 360° Tour have been in football or soccer stadiums worldwide. Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City would have been the likely choice I thought. More seats more money. Or even Faurot Field in Columbia could have gotten more people. Heck they played in Norman Oklahoma and East Lansing Michigan...
This was the first stadium show I've ever been too. But I bought general admission field tickets because a) it was cheaper and b) closer than most of the other seats, unless I wanted to sit in the upper decks.The gates opened at 5 and thanks to my brother dicking around we didn't get there until 5:30 or so, but thankfully the heat scared away a lot of people. We didn't get into the inner part closest to the stage, but were about 8 "rows" back from the access ramp.
And the heat was torture. One good thing was they let us bring in water or soda, so we could stay hydrated without paying the astronomical prices. It was 92° when we got there and the sun blaring at our backs. Thankfully by around time Interpol, got around to playing at 7:30(supposed to start at 7:00) the sun was behind the stands.
Interpol came out, with one member dressed in a full suit in this heat, and played nine songs over 40 minutes or so. Probably the heat, and the fact I've never heard anything of theirs, I wasn't that impressed, except for how quick they were done. The lead singer looked like 1990's Brad Pitt, with a mullet and he sounded like Michael Stipe...
Then came the set-change, which took over an hour. The neatest part was watching the 3 camera operators on each of the claw legs get hoisted up. Finally the speakers started playing David Bowie's A Space Oddity, and the band came out. They had the fans going with the two opening songs rocking, but as soon as the Edge hit the distinctive opening tones and notes of Mysterious Ways it sent the crowd into a frenzy. The first four songs were from Achtung Baby, I would guess being as it's the 20 year anniversary of the album...
Set List
Even Better Than The Real Thing
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Until The End Of The World
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For> Many Rivers To Cross
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day > Space Oddity
Elevation
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight > Discothèque > Life During Wartime > Psycho Killer
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On
One
Hallelujah > Where The Streets Have No Name
------------
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender
The highlight for me was seeing my favorite song of theirs I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Bono had the crowd sing some of the lines in the first verse and choruses. During the song, it got me caught up in the moment, forgetting that I was stuck at an outdoor concert in the middle of summer. Plus it was cool being able to look up and over and see the Arch. If I was more centered or more on the right side, I guess they would've been in the background.
Before, the song Bono made mention of how long they've been at this and thanked the audience for being with them all these years. "Adam (Clayton, bassist) still believes being in a band is a great way to meet girls.... And it is." He joked about Larry Mullen the drummer, still being upset at the band not being named after and lauded the Edge as the greatest guitar player of his generation. And for Bono himself, "...As for me, I'm a man of simple means: 200 trucks, 400 tons of equipment, is all I need..."
He also mentioned that they'd been in St. Louis before 30 years ago, where they played at Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus, which the Post had reprinted an review of earlier this year. He read the set list for that night which was humorous in that the first three songs, were repeated as the last three songs in the encore. He also mentioned several time the lights being on in the Hilton and that the people needed to get to sleep over there.
Other highlights were seeing another personal favorite the Batman Forever soundtrack song Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. And they played all of their hits, or the ones I wanted to hear. Pride (In the Name of Love) was another standout for me that seemed to get the crowd into it. The only real absent song was ,New Year's Day (Angel of Harlem, Desire, All Because of You, Stuck in A Moment, if you want to get picky), but I could live without hearing it.
They used a video of astronaut Mark Kelly(Gabrielle Giffords husband) setting up Beautiful Day and I liked the wise segue of playing a bit of A Space Oddity, which related perfect to the couple.
The stage and video screen were used. They had to ramps to the outer catwalk, that were moved several times, that brought Bono and the Edge close and taken back. And the video screen was brought down like "a space ship getting ready to lift off," during the later part of the main set and trapping the band at one point
And Bono kept the politicalnesss out of it for the most part. He mentioned a bit about Aung San Suu Kyi and democracy in Burma and gave a shout out to Amnesty International. He even joked before telling the audience to keep the people of Joplin in our hearts and prayers, that "... I want to think before I talk. I don't always do that...," before Moment of Surrender, a song which seemed anti-climatic and took the wind out of the sails. The group left the stage to Rocket Man playing over the loudspeaker.
The Edge, is the master of getting tones and sounds out of his guitars. He naturally did the guitar switch after virtually every song, but listening to U2's songs it's easy to see why, they almost all have different sonics and they generally kept the same sounds that the recorded versions have. And in It Might Get Loud, he says 'he tries to play as few notes as possible.' So, what he does with foot pedals, synths or whatever, is amazing.
The worst part was the people. There was almost a fight ten feet in front of us. Some guy was fucked up on something and tried starting something with a huge guy(I think the guy could have taken him and his two friends). Then having to listen to hipster/hippie chicks talking with their friends and having their friends come up and help block my view. I didn't mind them dancing or enjoying the show. And a woman in front of us passed out about halfway through U2's set. How do you pay money for tickets, then pay shitloads more for beer and have fun like that? Guess I'm just a conservative.
On the plus side of people, there was something that even made me crack a smile, watching couple young kids sitting of their parents/grandparents shoulders next to me, smiling and clapping along to the music.
There was no major surprises, nothing much different from previous set lists(which I hadn't looked at except for South American dates earlier this year), but U2 is able to conjure up enough magic to make it feel like you're watching something special. Maybe that's why they are the greatest rock and roll band in the world. One of the best I've been too...
Post Dispatch review
and Riverfront Times review
And a write up on the U2 site
And it was held in beautiful Busch Stadium, the first time I've ever been in the new one. The "Claw" stage that looked like a spaceship, is so big and tall(over 150 feet) that it couldn't have fit into the Edward Jones Dome, like most of the other shows on the U2 360° Tour have been in football or soccer stadiums worldwide. Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City would have been the likely choice I thought. More seats more money. Or even Faurot Field in Columbia could have gotten more people. Heck they played in Norman Oklahoma and East Lansing Michigan...
This was the first stadium show I've ever been too. But I bought general admission field tickets because a) it was cheaper and b) closer than most of the other seats, unless I wanted to sit in the upper decks.The gates opened at 5 and thanks to my brother dicking around we didn't get there until 5:30 or so, but thankfully the heat scared away a lot of people. We didn't get into the inner part closest to the stage, but were about 8 "rows" back from the access ramp.
And the heat was torture. One good thing was they let us bring in water or soda, so we could stay hydrated without paying the astronomical prices. It was 92° when we got there and the sun blaring at our backs. Thankfully by around time Interpol, got around to playing at 7:30(supposed to start at 7:00) the sun was behind the stands.
Interpol came out, with one member dressed in a full suit in this heat, and played nine songs over 40 minutes or so. Probably the heat, and the fact I've never heard anything of theirs, I wasn't that impressed, except for how quick they were done. The lead singer looked like 1990's Brad Pitt, with a mullet and he sounded like Michael Stipe...
Then came the set-change, which took over an hour. The neatest part was watching the 3 camera operators on each of the claw legs get hoisted up. Finally the speakers started playing David Bowie's A Space Oddity, and the band came out. They had the fans going with the two opening songs rocking, but as soon as the Edge hit the distinctive opening tones and notes of Mysterious Ways it sent the crowd into a frenzy. The first four songs were from Achtung Baby, I would guess being as it's the 20 year anniversary of the album...
Set List
Even Better Than The Real Thing
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
Until The End Of The World
I Will Follow
Get On Your Boots
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For> Many Rivers To Cross
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Beautiful Day > Space Oddity
Elevation
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Miss Sarajevo
Zooropa
City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight > Discothèque > Life During Wartime > Psycho Killer
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Scarlet
Walk On
One
Hallelujah > Where The Streets Have No Name
------------
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
With Or Without You
Moment of Surrender
The highlight for me was seeing my favorite song of theirs I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. Bono had the crowd sing some of the lines in the first verse and choruses. During the song, it got me caught up in the moment, forgetting that I was stuck at an outdoor concert in the middle of summer. Plus it was cool being able to look up and over and see the Arch. If I was more centered or more on the right side, I guess they would've been in the background.
Before, the song Bono made mention of how long they've been at this and thanked the audience for being with them all these years. "Adam (Clayton, bassist) still believes being in a band is a great way to meet girls.... And it is." He joked about Larry Mullen the drummer, still being upset at the band not being named after and lauded the Edge as the greatest guitar player of his generation. And for Bono himself, "...As for me, I'm a man of simple means: 200 trucks, 400 tons of equipment, is all I need..."
He also mentioned that they'd been in St. Louis before 30 years ago, where they played at Graham Chapel on the Washington University campus, which the Post had reprinted an review of earlier this year. He read the set list for that night which was humorous in that the first three songs, were repeated as the last three songs in the encore. He also mentioned several time the lights being on in the Hilton and that the people needed to get to sleep over there.
Other highlights were seeing another personal favorite the Batman Forever soundtrack song Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. And they played all of their hits, or the ones I wanted to hear. Pride (In the Name of Love) was another standout for me that seemed to get the crowd into it. The only real absent song was ,New Year's Day (Angel of Harlem, Desire, All Because of You, Stuck in A Moment, if you want to get picky), but I could live without hearing it.
They used a video of astronaut Mark Kelly(Gabrielle Giffords husband) setting up Beautiful Day and I liked the wise segue of playing a bit of A Space Oddity, which related perfect to the couple.
The stage and video screen were used. They had to ramps to the outer catwalk, that were moved several times, that brought Bono and the Edge close and taken back. And the video screen was brought down like "a space ship getting ready to lift off," during the later part of the main set and trapping the band at one point
And Bono kept the politicalnesss out of it for the most part. He mentioned a bit about Aung San Suu Kyi and democracy in Burma and gave a shout out to Amnesty International. He even joked before telling the audience to keep the people of Joplin in our hearts and prayers, that "... I want to think before I talk. I don't always do that...," before Moment of Surrender, a song which seemed anti-climatic and took the wind out of the sails. The group left the stage to Rocket Man playing over the loudspeaker.
The Edge, is the master of getting tones and sounds out of his guitars. He naturally did the guitar switch after virtually every song, but listening to U2's songs it's easy to see why, they almost all have different sonics and they generally kept the same sounds that the recorded versions have. And in It Might Get Loud, he says 'he tries to play as few notes as possible.' So, what he does with foot pedals, synths or whatever, is amazing.
The worst part was the people. There was almost a fight ten feet in front of us. Some guy was fucked up on something and tried starting something with a huge guy(I think the guy could have taken him and his two friends). Then having to listen to hipster/hippie chicks talking with their friends and having their friends come up and help block my view. I didn't mind them dancing or enjoying the show. And a woman in front of us passed out about halfway through U2's set. How do you pay money for tickets, then pay shitloads more for beer and have fun like that? Guess I'm just a conservative.
On the plus side of people, there was something that even made me crack a smile, watching couple young kids sitting of their parents/grandparents shoulders next to me, smiling and clapping along to the music.
There was no major surprises, nothing much different from previous set lists(which I hadn't looked at except for South American dates earlier this year), but U2 is able to conjure up enough magic to make it feel like you're watching something special. Maybe that's why they are the greatest rock and roll band in the world. One of the best I've been too...
Post Dispatch review
and Riverfront Times review
And a write up on the U2 site
Sunday, June 19, 2011
St. Louis Friday Night; 6/17 Brad Paisley Concert Review
My mom has always gently chided me to go and see Brad Paisley again(We'd seen him at Mizzou Arena in December 2006) in concert with her and I've never wanted to waste one of my vacation days to do so. Lo and behold my off day this week was on Friday the 17th, the same day his H20 II Tour was coming to Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis and she decided she wanted to go.
We arrived there around 4:30 and could hear Blake Shelton doing his soundcheck singing Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down, while all the lawn seat people were lining up waiting to get their spots. The gates opened at 4, due to the fact that Paisley had all sorts of water themed activities to partake in as well, as a smaller stage with three acts playing, which was the only reason we arrived that early.
Eden's Edge, a bluegrass/gospel tinged pop country act was the first one to hit the stage. They played seven songs. I guess their best known song was called Amen, which has just hit the Top 40 Country chart. They were enjoyable and played an interesting cover of something. I can't recall at the moment...EDIT: They played covers of Hey, Soul Sister and Boondocks, if i remember correctly.
Next up was Sunny Sweeney, the one I was most interested in seeing. Best known for her song, From A Table Away and I'd heard a few of her other songs. She has a really nice voice and little bit of rowdy attitude, which matches her band's sound. It was a good mix, as the guitarist was rocking pretty hard, but you could hear the steel player and the fiddler at times. The fiddler as I thought I recognized was mid-Missouri's own Jake Clayton. She had another good tune, Everyone Else Can Kiss My Ass ?. If I Could, Staying's Worse Than Leaving and Drink Myself Single were other songs. She played eight songs total and I was really impressed with her...
Finally was the JaneDear Girls, best known for their song Wildflower. They have more of a pop country sound in the vein of Taylor Swift and have the teenage girl sounding voices though too. I think they played seven songs, including covers of Goodbye Earl, and She's Country. Their band looked like some kind of hybrid of styles and they did a bunch of hopping around. The funniest part was during the first song, the blonde of the duo, who were both wearing four-inch heels was coming down from a riser in front of the drums, fell down and about busted her face...
Then with about 40 minutes until the acts hit the main stage, we went and found our seats. They were about 30 some rows back straightaway center, not bad, but if I would have waited until Friday, could have got some about 20 rows back... One thing I noticed was that there were black people in the audience, which I don't think I've ever seen at a country show. Heck that was more than I've seen at Springsteen's show!...
Jerrod Niemann came out first before 7:30 I believe and did roughly a seven song, half an hour set. To me he was a Scott Bakula look alike and had a frat boy party country sound, with several songs about drinking. One was a humorous story about college and waking up with a professor. He also preformed a cover of Steive Ray Vaughan's Pride and Joy, Good Ride Cowboy which he wrote with Garth Brooks and left with his song Lover, Lover a cover of You Don't Treat Me No Good. But he was a pretty good entertainer and I was surprised I enjoyed his set.
After a 15 minute set change, Mr. Miranda Lambert, oops... I mean Blake Shelton came up. He played an 11 song set four about 5o minutes. Overall I was disappointed in his part. He started off fine with All About Tonight and Some Beach getting the crowd going. He then went into a story about the different kinds of music his family all listened too, preforming a medley of Play That Funky Music White Boy/Centerfold/My Prerogative before jumping into Kiss My Country Ass. Then he shifted into some of his ballads, right in a row, which drew a lot of energy out of the show, none of which I can really recall. Toward the end he played Austin and his current single Honey Bee, then Hillbilly Bone and closed with Ol' Red. And he also seemed to play up the country and redneck angles, delivering the same diatribes he probably does at every show, which of course the crowd eats up. And sounding like my old man, he didn't play The Baby, Playboys of the Southwestern World, Nobody But Me or The More I Drink... Or maybe he's ready for a longer slot or his own headlining gig...
Set List
All About Tonight
Some Beach
Play That Funky Music/Centerfold/My Prerogative
Kiss My Country Ass
Who Are You When I'm Not Looking
She Wouldn't Be Gone
Home
Austin
Honey Bee
Hillbilly Bone
Ol' Red
Finally, at around 9:20 the lights dimmed and and a video version of Brad Paisley started singing This Is Country Music, before the real Brad came from somewhere off to the side or back of the seats and made his way to the stage opening with Mud on the Tires. He kept the energy going early and I got one early favorite with Ticks, that wasn't out yet when I'd see him in Columbia. At the very stat his voice sounded very squeaky and the bass was very loud in the mix. He ended up playing 22 songs for around 100 minutes.
Set List
Mud on the Tires
Welcome to the Future
Ticks
Working on a Tan
She's My Everything
Celebrity
Don't Drink the Water
Country Boy Can Survive>I'm Still a Guy
Waitin' on a Woman
When I Get Where I'm Going
The World
Camouflage
Letter to Me
I'm Gonna Miss Her
This is Country Music
Eastwood (Instrumental)
Online
American Saturday Night
Then
Water
---------
Old Alabama
Alcohol
He had a nice mix of hits, album cuts of his current album which were enjoyable and songs I hadn't seen before. I think the only I was disappointed he didn't play was Whiskey Lullaby, which he probably didn't do because he didn't have a female singer on the main bill to sing the female part. Though I guess he could have pulled Sweeney or one of the the girls from the earlier groups....
Highlights for me were the aforementioned Ticks, American Saturday Night, and his current single Old Alabama which I kept waiting and waiting for...Another highlight was Don't Drink the Water, which Blake Shelton came back out and reprised his role on vocals from the album version. This is usually the crap I hate, where one of the previous artists comes back out and they star acts like its a surprise. But here I enjoyed it and like I said it's actually Shelton who does the song with him on the record...
About midway through on Letter to Me and half of I'm Gonna Miss Her, he made his way to the makeshift stage about 10 rows in front of us. He gave the same spiel he did on the live version of the song on his Hits Alive! album about doing songs for the people in the back and that's as close as he used to get going to concerts..The fact he was 10 rows away was a nice bonus, but the fact that I was 10 rows away and couldn't get a good picture with my camera, either tells me I need to learn to take better ones or it's time to get a new phone...
I agree with the Post Dispatch review, in that he seems to rely too much on videos and images, and it takes away from his performance. Paisley is a hell of a guitar player, showing his chops and muscle on the first few numbers. But a lot of it gets lost with all of the distractions...
The bad parts? It seemed like a lot of paint by numbers, same show/dialogue, different city, where it seemed a little to effortless. And during When I Get Where I'm Going, he used the same gimmick he did five years ago, showing pictures of dead and recently deceased celebs, playing the emotion card(But for the record I don't mind the 9/11 pics and solider pics at the very end). And to be fair country concerts/artists set themselves up for all this crap, repeating the same verbatim at most shows. But if the fans wouldn't lap it up, they wouldn't have to do the same dumb them down moves and speeches... Sorry, just the cynical nature...
2nd aside on the subject, I can't stand it when artists play one of their duet songs and they use video of who performed the it on record. He did on Old Alabama, but he's far from the only act that does this. Why is it monkey see, monkey do with the country concert industry?...
And one more aside, can they break themselves away from the three tier act concerts? It's the same old formula, up and comer does their 20 min, then a mid range star or up and coming headliner gets the 50 min set and finally the main act, which to be fair is the only one people really care about. Audiences are too polite though these days, in the old days opening acts better be good or they'd boo you off the stage....
During the finale Alcohol, he brought out a makeshift bar, and a giant headed Brad Paisley mascot as well as all the other performers from throughout the day.
Paisley even with some of my gripes, put on a good concert, played what I wanted to see and for seeing all the acts I did, he was well worth the ticket price. And after a few years and another ten good songs, I'd go see him again.
The worst part was the leaving the parking lot. We wound up waiting 40 minutes before we finally got out. Thankfully most acts I want to see play elsewhere...
We arrived there around 4:30 and could hear Blake Shelton doing his soundcheck singing Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down, while all the lawn seat people were lining up waiting to get their spots. The gates opened at 4, due to the fact that Paisley had all sorts of water themed activities to partake in as well, as a smaller stage with three acts playing, which was the only reason we arrived that early.
Eden's Edge, a bluegrass/gospel tinged pop country act was the first one to hit the stage. They played seven songs. I guess their best known song was called Amen, which has just hit the Top 40 Country chart. They were enjoyable and played an interesting cover of something. I can't recall at the moment...EDIT: They played covers of Hey, Soul Sister and Boondocks, if i remember correctly.
Next up was Sunny Sweeney, the one I was most interested in seeing. Best known for her song, From A Table Away and I'd heard a few of her other songs. She has a really nice voice and little bit of rowdy attitude, which matches her band's sound. It was a good mix, as the guitarist was rocking pretty hard, but you could hear the steel player and the fiddler at times. The fiddler as I thought I recognized was mid-Missouri's own Jake Clayton. She had another good tune, Everyone Else Can Kiss My Ass ?. If I Could, Staying's Worse Than Leaving and Drink Myself Single were other songs. She played eight songs total and I was really impressed with her...
Finally was the JaneDear Girls, best known for their song Wildflower. They have more of a pop country sound in the vein of Taylor Swift and have the teenage girl sounding voices though too. I think they played seven songs, including covers of Goodbye Earl, and She's Country. Their band looked like some kind of hybrid of styles and they did a bunch of hopping around. The funniest part was during the first song, the blonde of the duo, who were both wearing four-inch heels was coming down from a riser in front of the drums, fell down and about busted her face...
Then with about 40 minutes until the acts hit the main stage, we went and found our seats. They were about 30 some rows back straightaway center, not bad, but if I would have waited until Friday, could have got some about 20 rows back... One thing I noticed was that there were black people in the audience, which I don't think I've ever seen at a country show. Heck that was more than I've seen at Springsteen's show!...
Jerrod Niemann came out first before 7:30 I believe and did roughly a seven song, half an hour set. To me he was a Scott Bakula look alike and had a frat boy party country sound, with several songs about drinking. One was a humorous story about college and waking up with a professor. He also preformed a cover of Steive Ray Vaughan's Pride and Joy, Good Ride Cowboy which he wrote with Garth Brooks and left with his song Lover, Lover a cover of You Don't Treat Me No Good. But he was a pretty good entertainer and I was surprised I enjoyed his set.
After a 15 minute set change, Mr. Miranda Lambert, oops... I mean Blake Shelton came up. He played an 11 song set four about 5o minutes. Overall I was disappointed in his part. He started off fine with All About Tonight and Some Beach getting the crowd going. He then went into a story about the different kinds of music his family all listened too, preforming a medley of Play That Funky Music White Boy/Centerfold/My Prerogative before jumping into Kiss My Country Ass. Then he shifted into some of his ballads, right in a row, which drew a lot of energy out of the show, none of which I can really recall. Toward the end he played Austin and his current single Honey Bee, then Hillbilly Bone and closed with Ol' Red. And he also seemed to play up the country and redneck angles, delivering the same diatribes he probably does at every show, which of course the crowd eats up. And sounding like my old man, he didn't play The Baby, Playboys of the Southwestern World, Nobody But Me or The More I Drink... Or maybe he's ready for a longer slot or his own headlining gig...
Set List
All About Tonight
Some Beach
Play That Funky Music/Centerfold/My Prerogative
Kiss My Country Ass
Who Are You When I'm Not Looking
She Wouldn't Be Gone
Home
Austin
Honey Bee
Hillbilly Bone
Ol' Red
Finally, at around 9:20 the lights dimmed and and a video version of Brad Paisley started singing This Is Country Music, before the real Brad came from somewhere off to the side or back of the seats and made his way to the stage opening with Mud on the Tires. He kept the energy going early and I got one early favorite with Ticks, that wasn't out yet when I'd see him in Columbia. At the very stat his voice sounded very squeaky and the bass was very loud in the mix. He ended up playing 22 songs for around 100 minutes.
Set List
Mud on the Tires
Welcome to the Future
Ticks
Working on a Tan
She's My Everything
Celebrity
Don't Drink the Water
Country Boy Can Survive>I'm Still a Guy
Waitin' on a Woman
When I Get Where I'm Going
The World
Camouflage
Letter to Me
I'm Gonna Miss Her
This is Country Music
Eastwood (Instrumental)
Online
American Saturday Night
Then
Water
---------
Old Alabama
Alcohol
He had a nice mix of hits, album cuts of his current album which were enjoyable and songs I hadn't seen before. I think the only I was disappointed he didn't play was Whiskey Lullaby, which he probably didn't do because he didn't have a female singer on the main bill to sing the female part. Though I guess he could have pulled Sweeney or one of the the girls from the earlier groups....
Highlights for me were the aforementioned Ticks, American Saturday Night, and his current single Old Alabama which I kept waiting and waiting for...Another highlight was Don't Drink the Water, which Blake Shelton came back out and reprised his role on vocals from the album version. This is usually the crap I hate, where one of the previous artists comes back out and they star acts like its a surprise. But here I enjoyed it and like I said it's actually Shelton who does the song with him on the record...
About midway through on Letter to Me and half of I'm Gonna Miss Her, he made his way to the makeshift stage about 10 rows in front of us. He gave the same spiel he did on the live version of the song on his Hits Alive! album about doing songs for the people in the back and that's as close as he used to get going to concerts..The fact he was 10 rows away was a nice bonus, but the fact that I was 10 rows away and couldn't get a good picture with my camera, either tells me I need to learn to take better ones or it's time to get a new phone...
I agree with the Post Dispatch review, in that he seems to rely too much on videos and images, and it takes away from his performance. Paisley is a hell of a guitar player, showing his chops and muscle on the first few numbers. But a lot of it gets lost with all of the distractions...
The bad parts? It seemed like a lot of paint by numbers, same show/dialogue, different city, where it seemed a little to effortless. And during When I Get Where I'm Going, he used the same gimmick he did five years ago, showing pictures of dead and recently deceased celebs, playing the emotion card(But for the record I don't mind the 9/11 pics and solider pics at the very end). And to be fair country concerts/artists set themselves up for all this crap, repeating the same verbatim at most shows. But if the fans wouldn't lap it up, they wouldn't have to do the same dumb them down moves and speeches... Sorry, just the cynical nature...
2nd aside on the subject, I can't stand it when artists play one of their duet songs and they use video of who performed the it on record. He did on Old Alabama, but he's far from the only act that does this. Why is it monkey see, monkey do with the country concert industry?...
And one more aside, can they break themselves away from the three tier act concerts? It's the same old formula, up and comer does their 20 min, then a mid range star or up and coming headliner gets the 50 min set and finally the main act, which to be fair is the only one people really care about. Audiences are too polite though these days, in the old days opening acts better be good or they'd boo you off the stage....
During the finale Alcohol, he brought out a makeshift bar, and a giant headed Brad Paisley mascot as well as all the other performers from throughout the day.
Paisley even with some of my gripes, put on a good concert, played what I wanted to see and for seeing all the acts I did, he was well worth the ticket price. And after a few years and another ten good songs, I'd go see him again.
The worst part was the leaving the parking lot. We wound up waiting 40 minutes before we finally got out. Thankfully most acts I want to see play elsewhere...
Monday, June 6, 2011
Top 10 Favorite Dylan Songs
I did my version of the 10 Greatest Dylan songs a few entries ago, so I figured I'd do my 10 Favorite Dylan Songs.
1. Positively 4th Street- The haunting organ driving the melody and vitriolic Dylan lyrics makes me like this song. Plus it's the ultimate put down song, who hasn't known someone (or to be fair been this person themselves) they'd like to tell words like these to? " Do you take me for such a fool, to think I’d make contact, with the one who tries to hide what he don’t know to begin with?..." Priceless
2. When I Paint My Masterpiece- Well, no surprise this one's on here judging from the title of the blog... There's a whimsical quality and air to this tune presumably about the quirks of artistry and being on the road. Though I've always gotta change the lyrics to "...in the land of Pepsi Cola."
3. Like A Rolling Stone- Like it's sibling song at #1 on my list, it's part of "the same one-sided" argument," complete with the country sounding organ that adds so much to the texture of the song . One of the greatest rock songs ever and every time it comes on the radio, it gets cranked up.
4. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere- A complete 180 from the thin wild mercury sound of 1966 Dylan, this Americana tune was the part of the legendary Basement Tapes made with the Band. Simple lyrics to fit the rhyme, nothing radical, just a footprint for what direction the Band would go into and where Dylan would be the next few years.
5. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You- Another simple love song, I read somebody call "a throwaway love song." I agree, but it's a very good one and not to mention he's backed by killer Nashville pros on the studio version.
6. Knockin' On Heaven's Door- Another greatest hit, and still in his country sounding period(Notice a bunch of them on this list?). Even greater when you see the context of it in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, with Slim Pickens heading to watch the sunset...
7. To Ramona- Some of Dylan's best poetry and and a love song to a girl that he fears will "turn into a meaningless ring," at the end. And this is probably higher too, because I love the Flying Burritos version of it as well...
8. Tweeter and the Monkey Man- You gotta love this song from his Wilbury days. There are obvious Springsteen song references and just the style of the story seems like a wink to the Boss. Not to mention the gender changing throughout of the main characters. Bob at some of his funniest...
9. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues- Another Highway 61 Revisited era song(which if you can't tell is my other favorite Dylan period). I like the hazed out imagery and "Sweet Melinda, they call her the goddess of gloom," who couldn't love that? Well, by the end Dylan did and had to get back to New York City...
10. Forever Young- It's a jaunty feel good song that gives a timeless wish for Bob's children, that everyone should strive for. Never lose the desire to learn, be happy and do what you want with your life.
1. Positively 4th Street- The haunting organ driving the melody and vitriolic Dylan lyrics makes me like this song. Plus it's the ultimate put down song, who hasn't known someone (or to be fair been this person themselves) they'd like to tell words like these to? " Do you take me for such a fool, to think I’d make contact, with the one who tries to hide what he don’t know to begin with?..." Priceless
2. When I Paint My Masterpiece- Well, no surprise this one's on here judging from the title of the blog... There's a whimsical quality and air to this tune presumably about the quirks of artistry and being on the road. Though I've always gotta change the lyrics to "...in the land of Pepsi Cola."
3. Like A Rolling Stone- Like it's sibling song at #1 on my list, it's part of "the same one-sided" argument," complete with the country sounding organ that adds so much to the texture of the song . One of the greatest rock songs ever and every time it comes on the radio, it gets cranked up.
4. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere- A complete 180 from the thin wild mercury sound of 1966 Dylan, this Americana tune was the part of the legendary Basement Tapes made with the Band. Simple lyrics to fit the rhyme, nothing radical, just a footprint for what direction the Band would go into and where Dylan would be the next few years.
5. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You- Another simple love song, I read somebody call "a throwaway love song." I agree, but it's a very good one and not to mention he's backed by killer Nashville pros on the studio version.
6. Knockin' On Heaven's Door- Another greatest hit, and still in his country sounding period(Notice a bunch of them on this list?). Even greater when you see the context of it in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, with Slim Pickens heading to watch the sunset...
7. To Ramona- Some of Dylan's best poetry and and a love song to a girl that he fears will "turn into a meaningless ring," at the end. And this is probably higher too, because I love the Flying Burritos version of it as well...
8. Tweeter and the Monkey Man- You gotta love this song from his Wilbury days. There are obvious Springsteen song references and just the style of the story seems like a wink to the Boss. Not to mention the gender changing throughout of the main characters. Bob at some of his funniest...
9. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues- Another Highway 61 Revisited era song(which if you can't tell is my other favorite Dylan period). I like the hazed out imagery and "Sweet Melinda, they call her the goddess of gloom," who couldn't love that? Well, by the end Dylan did and had to get back to New York City...
10. Forever Young- It's a jaunty feel good song that gives a timeless wish for Bob's children, that everyone should strive for. Never lose the desire to learn, be happy and do what you want with your life.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Top 10 Greatest Dylan Songs
Rolling Stone recently did their Top 70 Bob Dylan songs in honor of Bob's 70th birthday. They did a fair job, but Blowin' in the Wind at number 20. Yeah, right... Here's my take, on the combination of most popular, most influencing, and well best overall.
1. Like A Rolling Stone- Well, they got the first one right. And I'd hope so, based on the name of the magazine and arguably the greatest rock song ever, it's for sure in the Top 5. This combination of blues, rock and structure, changed the nature of what a pop song was. The opening snare drum was Dylan bursting further into the rock and roll conscience of America, changing everything, again.
2. Blowin' in the Wind- You could argue this is his greatest song by the fact that it will be relevant as long as there are still people on the planet...
3. Mr. Tambourine Man- This is Dylan the poet. "Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand, Vanished from my hand." The majesty and the magic in the rhymes, make this song, it's beautiful without music. And who or what is he singing about? Who knows, another part of it's beauty and poetry.
4. All Along the Watchtower- Dylan's most played live song. This song and lyrics sound like it's setting is straight out of the Book of Revelation and the end of days. And you can take it several ways. The verses and the song is told in reverse with the first verse being the end of the tale, or that we're left hanging at the end of the song with "two riders approaching..."
5. Subterranean Homesick Blues- It's probably most famous for being a proto-music video from the film Don't Look Back, with Dylan holding the lyrics to the song on various cue cards, which has aped a bunch of times. Again it's another example of Dylan combing the blues and rock(with a heavy Chuck Berry influence as well from Too Much Monkey Business) , at a super-charged pace of lyrics being spat out, as well as being his first electric song.
6. Positively 4th Street- My personal favorite, the ultimate put down song. Often called "Dylan at his most vitriolic," who hasn't felt this way about somebody (and honestly probably been that way themselves towards people)? That backing organ song helps pace the songs mood and anger. "You say you lost your faith, But that’s not where it’s at. You had no faith to lose And you know it." Masterful...
7. Tangled Up in Blue- Another example of masterful storytelling, mixing in Dylan's own personal feelings of a relationship going down. Like Watchtower, this song doesn't follow a linear pattern or really the same narrator, but ones who faced similar problems. I doubt there there were too many topless joints, when the dealing of slaves was going on. But then again, we just might be assuming it's referring to African Americans and maybe it is a linear story from point A to Z...
8. Desolation Row- Another example of is he just trying to fit the rhyme scheme and come up with surreal juxtapositions, or have the names of all these wacky characters been changed? "The Phantom of the Opera, a perfect image of a priest, they’re spoonfeeding Casanova, To get him to feel more assured, Then they’ll kill him with self-confidence, After poisoning him with words..." Probably a bit of both, but I doubt Bob will ever talk...
9. Mississippi- The best of example of Bob's later works. Here is Bob writing about life and experiences in his mid-50's and pushing 60. Lyrically it's up there with his earlier output. The "older voice" he wrote in as a 22 year old, though wouldn't have the life experiences though...
10 . Rainy Day Women #12 and 35- Yeah, yeah, the party anthem(but blues based in sound) where "Everybody Must Get Stoned!" and Dylan was pretty hopped up on amphetamines at the time. But is just a simple song about getting stoned on drugs? Or is it about getting literally getting stoned to death? Is there some reference to the bible and/or some significance with the numbers 12 and 35? With Bob things are seldom black and white or direct..
1. Like A Rolling Stone- Well, they got the first one right. And I'd hope so, based on the name of the magazine and arguably the greatest rock song ever, it's for sure in the Top 5. This combination of blues, rock and structure, changed the nature of what a pop song was. The opening snare drum was Dylan bursting further into the rock and roll conscience of America, changing everything, again.
2. Blowin' in the Wind- You could argue this is his greatest song by the fact that it will be relevant as long as there are still people on the planet...
3. Mr. Tambourine Man- This is Dylan the poet. "Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand, Vanished from my hand." The majesty and the magic in the rhymes, make this song, it's beautiful without music. And who or what is he singing about? Who knows, another part of it's beauty and poetry.
4. All Along the Watchtower- Dylan's most played live song. This song and lyrics sound like it's setting is straight out of the Book of Revelation and the end of days. And you can take it several ways. The verses and the song is told in reverse with the first verse being the end of the tale, or that we're left hanging at the end of the song with "two riders approaching..."
5. Subterranean Homesick Blues- It's probably most famous for being a proto-music video from the film Don't Look Back, with Dylan holding the lyrics to the song on various cue cards, which has aped a bunch of times. Again it's another example of Dylan combing the blues and rock(with a heavy Chuck Berry influence as well from Too Much Monkey Business) , at a super-charged pace of lyrics being spat out, as well as being his first electric song.
6. Positively 4th Street- My personal favorite, the ultimate put down song. Often called "Dylan at his most vitriolic," who hasn't felt this way about somebody (and honestly probably been that way themselves towards people)? That backing organ song helps pace the songs mood and anger. "You say you lost your faith, But that’s not where it’s at. You had no faith to lose And you know it." Masterful...
7. Tangled Up in Blue- Another example of masterful storytelling, mixing in Dylan's own personal feelings of a relationship going down. Like Watchtower, this song doesn't follow a linear pattern or really the same narrator, but ones who faced similar problems. I doubt there there were too many topless joints, when the dealing of slaves was going on. But then again, we just might be assuming it's referring to African Americans and maybe it is a linear story from point A to Z...
8. Desolation Row- Another example of is he just trying to fit the rhyme scheme and come up with surreal juxtapositions, or have the names of all these wacky characters been changed? "The Phantom of the Opera, a perfect image of a priest, they’re spoonfeeding Casanova, To get him to feel more assured, Then they’ll kill him with self-confidence, After poisoning him with words..." Probably a bit of both, but I doubt Bob will ever talk...
9. Mississippi- The best of example of Bob's later works. Here is Bob writing about life and experiences in his mid-50's and pushing 60. Lyrically it's up there with his earlier output. The "older voice" he wrote in as a 22 year old, though wouldn't have the life experiences though...
10 . Rainy Day Women #12 and 35- Yeah, yeah, the party anthem(but blues based in sound) where "Everybody Must Get Stoned!" and Dylan was pretty hopped up on amphetamines at the time. But is just a simple song about getting stoned on drugs? Or is it about getting literally getting stoned to death? Is there some reference to the bible and/or some significance with the numbers 12 and 35? With Bob things are seldom black and white or direct..
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Is It the Clothes That Get the Title?...
I guess history was made when a cross dressing high school student got voted Prom Queen, after being voted for by his(her?) classmates. But is this saying King and Queen need to be based on clothes and gender roles? So would a female not wearing a dress, not be eligible, or say could a heterosexual male in a suit run for Queen title just because he wanted to?
And I thought high school politics were silly before. Then again, it's no wonder I skipped going to both my proms all together...
And I thought high school politics were silly before. Then again, it's no wonder I skipped going to both my proms all together...
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