We’re almost to the point in my life where I started writing concert reviews where I will have documentation of most concerts I attended. But for now I’ll rev up the old memory banks to see what shows I’ve seen. In case you’re as compulsive as me click here for a link to part 1 and click here for a link to part 2 and finally click here for part 3. Away we go…
81. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – September 18, 2007 – Troubadour, Los Angeles.
82. Frank Black – October 15, 2007 – Safari Sam’s, Los Angeles – Thank goodness for FrankBlack.net or I’d never remember the dates of all these Frank Black concerts I went to.
83. The Moody Blues – March 11, 2008 – Nokia Theatre, Los Angeles.
84. Cold War Kids – August 23, 2008 – Sunset Junction, Los Angeles.
85. The Breeders – November 17, 2008 – The Wiltern.
86. Modest Mouse – February 24, 2009 – Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles.
87. The Dodos – August 8, 2009 – J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
88. Frank Black – August 11, 2009 – The Mint, Los Angeles – We have now reached the first concert that I wrote about and still have records of. You can read my thoughts by clicking here. If clicking is too much trouble for you, here is what I wrote:
“It was just Frank Black and his guitar. From time to time he bantered with the audience. Frank recognized his asides were second rate and apologized for no anecdotes coming to mind.
My friend Anthony and I have an inside joke that during the band’s downtime Frank and Kim Deal engage in pie eating contests. This dwindles into us doing imitations of Frank Black eating pie.
We joked amongst ourselves that he should talk about pie. But maybe we did say it loudly because then he did in fact start talking about pie.
“I was in Kansas and the waitress asked us if we’d like dessert. We asked if she had pie. She said, ‘We have buttloads of pie’.” For him the punchline was that the waitress used the word, buttloads. For us it was the fact that this round, hairless man somehow has a magical, musical portal into our minds.”
89. Pixies – November 4, 2009 – Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles- By now you can tell I’m a Pixies and Pixies affiliated band fanatic. I love the Pixies so much I bought a bootleg t-shirt of the band outside the gig which I still have to this day. Unfortunately whoever crafted the shirt didn’t have a proofreader. They write the cities on this Doolittle tour as Demver, Colorado and Washinton D.C.. After all these years it adds to the charm.
90. Otto Von Schirach – December ?, 2009 – The White Room, Miami – I’d seen my friend from high school perform his crazy show many times. This was the first time I wrote about it. Was a great, chaotic, show.
91. Paul McCartney – March 30, 2010 – Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles. This was the night I got over my stigma of seeing my classic rock heroes play live. I guess I feared the geriatric versions of these great rock and rollers would tarnish their music. But most of these old timers are amazing. None more so than Macca who I wrote, “blasted out Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which evolved into the final medley from Abbey Road. “And in the end the love you make is equal to the love you take.” Everyone in the crowd was hoarse from singing along for over two and a half hours, but found the spirit to yelp out those final words. And on the way out we had enough voice to keep singing away from the venue.
92. Pavement – April 15, 2010 – Fox Theater, Pomona – I’d been waiting a decade to see Pavement play live again. Was happy to drive 37 miles east of LA to see one of their first reunion shows. Amazing 30 song set. Here’s what I wrote, “The power of music was undeniable. Space and time be damned a bond was created between me and this girl and probably hundreds of other in the crowd as we sung along to every verse in their catalog. It didn’t matter if you first heard their music on a car stereo on the Pacific Coast Highway or a dorm room in the Midwest. Those guitars set to alternate tunings hit you right in that nostalgic part of your heart.”
93. Coachella – April 18, 2010 – My buddy Justin said he could get us into Coachella for free so on the spur of the moment on a Sunday we drove out to the desert even though we both had to teach the next day. Pavement (again), Gorillaz, Spoon. We drove back to LA in the early morning hours. We stopped at a rest stop to close our eyes at about 2 am, next thing I knew it was 5:30. We somehow made it back in time to teach our classes. Here’s what I wrote back then, “I soaked in the polo field with a million hipsters drugged and sunburnt out of their minds. As I leaned against the tree I saw a familiar face. It was the waist high alternative icon, Beck, with his flunkies and toddler son who all wore the same haircut.”
94. MGMT – July 16, 2010 – Greek Theatre, Los Angeles.
95. Pavement, Sonic Youth – September 30, 2010 – Los Angeles, CA. Two of my favorite ever bands playing in a venue much too big for them. a fitting last concert for me to see to close out my California years. Here’s what I wrote back in the day, “Due to noise ordinances Pavement played an abbreviated set. All their weird songs skipped over for their semi-hits. A sixty year old man was loving it, dancing in his flowered shirt with his woman of a similar age. But what finally got me involved wasn’t a song, it was a joke. The drummer announced, “This next song is ‘Rattled By The Rush’”. Then lead singer, Stephen Malkmus, one of the wittiest lyricists of the twentieth century said, “We’re going to dedicate this song to Matt Leinert.” Unless you’re a football fan you wouldn’t get it, but half the crowd did.”
96. Metric – December 1, 2010 – sands of Miami Beach.
97. Interpol – April 29, 2011 – Fillmore, Miami Beach
98. Blackstar – September 27, 2011 – Fillmore, Miami Beach.
99. Ladytron – October 15, 2011 – Grand Central, Miami.
100. Glass Candy – January 21, 2012 – Grand Central, Miami.
101. Wilco – May 15, 2012 – Fillmore, Miami Beach.
102. The Dandy Warhols – October ? 2012 – Portland – While visiting my friend in Oregon got to be treated to seeing one of my fave bands playing down the street from his house at some benefit against putting fluoride in Portland’s water supply.
Starring Pablo Chiste 