Great Googly Moogly

Well, the Christmas season has started and I rang it in by seeing Dweezil Zappa at the Pageant on the current version of the Zappa Plays Zappa tour. Okay, so it's not exactly Christmassy but the band did play "Yellow Snow" and that's close enough for rock and roll, right?

I enjoyed the show quite a lot. I went in with no real expectations, just hoping that it wouldn't be "Dweezil exploits his dead father" for two and a half hours. Fortunately this wasn't the case. The music was treated with respect (and it does deserve respect), played faithfully yet playfully with room left for a little spontaneity here and there.

Frank Zappa is known for being weird, and writing songs with goofy lyrics which can be pure silliness, vicious satire, or pure filth. This is only scratching the surface. Musically, Frank was a genius. His instrumentals are quite complex, often giving each musician the chance to shine and yet still having memorable melodies, despite the turn on a dime nature of his compositions. They combine avant-garde jazz, blues and rock and roll in a way that no one before or since has managed. These songs were plentiful in the show (mostly second half) and emphasized not only the quality of the music but also Dweezil and the band.

As for the other stuff, y'know, with words, the entire "Apostrophe (') album was played which includes the aforementioned "Yellow Snow", a trip to "St. Alphonso's Pancake Breakfast" and a dissertation on that dreaded condition of "Stinkfoot". Also played was an off the cuff and (like totally) perfect version of "Valley Girl", an audience participation dance party to the tune of "Keep It Greasy", and of course, "Titties And Beer". Therein lies the secret of Frank Zappa's music. Silly, sophomoric humor mixed with high art. Brilliant, but an acquired taste...and not for the easily offended or anyone under 18.

The coolest part of the show however were the times when they played a video of Frank singing a vocal or playing his guitar and piped it through the P.A, so father and son could play together. Could have been cheesy but it was kind of sweet in its own way.

So, all in all a good time. Kinda hard to get into the Christmas music after that though.

Rush in STL

"So this is where that pigeon thing happened, right? Well I just want to let you know...No matter how many pigeons shit on him (gestures towards Alex) we're not gonna stop.-Geddy Lee 8/22/10 St. Louis MO.


Last night I went to the Rush concert here in St. Louis with my brother Derek and good friend Tim. Also found out another old friend Jim was there too, he called me tonight to see if I'd gone and we caught up a bit which was nice. Anyway, this was my 11th rush show and, though not my favorite, certainly among the best.

In an unusual move, the band is touring without a new CD, although they did play two new songs to whet the appetite of the loyal fan base for next year's new release. So with little new material to focus on, Rush freed themselves up to play whatever they wanted from their 30+years in the business. The tour's name and concept is "The Time Machine", a clever way to mix songs of the present past and future into an entertaining package.

As always, the band were firing on all cylinders last night, proving themselves to be consummate musicians, and making it all look easy. Geddy Lee (bassist, keyboards and vocalist) was in top form. Though his voice is beginning to show its age (can't quite hit all those high notes anymore), it is still quite strong, and his skills as a player are still phenomenal. A very energetic performance from Geddy as well. And then, of course, there is the man widely believed to be the greatest drummer in the world, Neil Peart. Even on a night when Neil's not 100% he's still better than just about anybody else out there. This is arguably the best rhythm section in all of rock (only Baker/Bruce and Entwhistle/Moon come anywhere close).

This leaves the other member of the band, Alex Lifeson is often overshadowed by his band mates, making him one of the most underrated guitarists ever. Alex isn't your standard shredder, but he plays with a lot of heart, and is more about feel and texture than multiple rapid notes. However, when he does let loose it's absolutely fantastic, as anyone who witnessed his solo on show ender "Working Man" last night will confirm.

As for the show, the focus was on Rush's most popular album "Moving Pictures" which they performed front to back. Every song on that record can be considered a classic (even the ones I'm not crazy about). Though for me, the real treats were in the first set when the band played little heard and overlooked gems "Presto", one of my personal faves, and "Marathon". It was also nice to see some songs return to the set that had been given a rest for the past few tours like "Time Stand Siill", "Closer To The Heart" and "Stick It Out". I did think the first set could have flowed a little better, but the songs were all good ones, so no real complaint there.

Visually, this tour is stunning as always. They may have gotten rid of the lasers but the lights, pyro, fire and video all added their own special magic to the evening. Speaking of video, these pieces are getting more and more involved and elaborate each tour. Rush have used video projections for years, but now with two sets a night, they are taking full advantage of the medium. They are even going so far as to make goofy little movies starring the band as different characters, giving the boys a chance to ham it up a little. Sure, it;s kinda silly and they could probably do away with them and play another song or two. But these silly movies make the evening a little more special, and tend to make the audience feel more connected to the band-and that connection is what this whole music thing's about right?

Other than a few sound problems first set (overly tinny, a few slight drop outs) this show was about as close to perfect as you can get. Rush is still one of the best bands going. Can't wait for the new CD and the 2011 tour.

P.S.- To those expecting a dedication post, I'll cover it next time.
-Dave

Kings Of Lame

So by now most everyone knows about the debacle over the weekend at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Kings Of Leon performed three songs of their set and abruptly walked off stage. The official reason given was that the band felt the conditions were too unsanitary to continue. Apparently there are currently pigeons living up in the rafters and one of them pooped in the bass player's mouth. Maybe the bird just thought the band sucked, I don't know. But I do know a lame excuse when I hear one. I call shenanigans.

First of all, I've never seen any other band stop a show on account of bird poop. If you play outside, you take that risk. You risk bugs flying into your mouth, right? So it's not a big leap to bird poop. And it's not like this is the first person who's had this happen. Most famously, Cyndi Lauper got a mouthful at an outdoor show...and she kept singing. She finished the show. So the bass player from KOL gets hit and can't continue? What, no Listerine backstage? Wash it out, man up and get back out there.

Oh, and stop blaming the venue. Hey, it's my home venue and I hate it as much as anyone. Yet I don't blame them for nature. They can only do so much to control the birds, it's illegal in most places to spread poison or shoot 'em, so the venue has to do what it can in other ways. Blaming the venue for pigeons is just as dumb as blaming them for wind, rain, or temperature change. Hey, if the concert was cancelled due to rain, because equipment was shorting out and the risk of being electrocuted was high, most people wouldn't complain. But that's not what this is.

Another possible reason sighted for the cancellation was the heat. You remember I mentioned the stifling heat a week before in Chicago at the Iron Maiden concert. Apparently it was the same story here, as on the very same night Mike Campbell from Tom Petty's band suffered heat related illness. He is reported to have played the last three songs of the main set sitting down. There was a rather long pause in the show, and Petty himself came out to tell the crowd that Campbell was ill but to hand in there and they'd try to do some more. Ten minutes later, Campbell, Petty and company came back out for what was by all accounts a high energy rocking encore. So, um, I'm guessing the heat wasn't it.

So I've deduced two things from this whole situation. Neither of these excuses hold much water. Granted, no-one wants to be pooped on, and I certainly wouldn't wish it on anyone, but c'mon. This sounds to me like a band who didn't want to put on a show that night so they found an excuse not to perform. Very W. Axl Rose, but that's not a compliment. This also illustrates how lame rock fans have become...when Axl walked off stage there were riots, now people just wait for their refund...but that's a different story.

The other logical conclusion is that Kings Of Leon are a bunch of wussies. Dudes, Cyndi Lauper and Tom Petty's guitar player are both tougher than you. That is so not cool, and I like those two artists. But come on, you're one of the biggest rock band out there. Earn it. Look, I enjoyed the latest KOL album, and liked their first two even more, Aha Shake Heartbreak particularly. So I've got no real problem with them musically (they could be a little less dirty, but whatever).

I just think that a rock band should act like one. You've embarrassed yourself here guys, by acting like Diva rock stars instead of the dirty, groove laden, sex and party rockers you've made yourself out to be. You've killed the image. The music stinks of grit and sweat...but this act stinks of dishonesty. And that smells worse than pigeon poop any day.

Wow, I didn't even go to this show and I'm this ticked off about it. I also spent way too much time on it, I was going to touch on a few more things in this post, but I guess they'll wait for next time. See you all soon.

Birthday Weekend

This post is a little late, but this is the first chance I've had to sit and type.

Last weekend was my birthday weekend. The celebration was two fold.

Saturday night we had the entire family (both sides) out to the house for some grilled meats, cake, ice cream and good old fashioned family bonding. So basically we ate a lot and passed babies around. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, which is a nice compliment for yours truly. It was made known that I'm saving up for an ipod itouch, and donations would be appreciated. The gifts received were generous. Also got a graphic novel from my sister in law Elizabeth which I haven't read yet but will review here as soon as I get it done.

Then on Sunday (my actual birthday), I went on a road trip to Chicago with my brother to see the mighty Iron Maiden in concert. I've been a fan of the band since I was in 5th grade, 1983. My first Maiden concert was in 1988 (how'd that take so long?) and they are one of those bands that I'll see any chance I get, and I will buy any new release of theirs with no hesitation. Actually, I will buy pretty much anything with the words "Iron" and "Maiden" on it. Over the years I've had at least 12 t-shirts, multiple posters, at least 2 hats, a wallet, a jacket, buttons, books, and of course all of their albums on LP, cassette, CD and I even a downloaded song (something I almost never do). Iron Maiden is one of those bands that inspire fierce loyalty in their fans. Either you get it or you don't and it's okay if you don't. It just adds to our enjoyment.

So to see one of my all time favorite bands on my birthday was pretty cool. Although the weather was really hot. I mean, like, unbearably so, and I like hot Summer days. I don't even mind humidity...but this was just nuts. It was hot and sticky in the late afternoon/early evening, and when the sun went down, it got worse. As much as I love Maiden, about halfway through the show I just wanted to sit down and stop for a while. I couldn't help but notice that the band took slightly longer breaks in between songs as well, which meant singer Bruce Dickinson got to ramble on about whatever the hell it was he was talking about, I'm still not sure. I think the guys just needed to cool off for a few minutes.

The heat did nothing to decrease the performances, however. The band has just as much power and passion as they've ever had. In fact, I believe they sound better now than ever. These guys are full of energy as well. Dickinson, for example, is 51 and leaps about the stage, jumping all over the ramps and risers with an energy that rivals that of entertainers in their twenties. Steve Harris (bass) was all over the stage as well, and the rest of the band were all on top of their game.

Many have commented that the set list for this tour is too heavy on the newer material. Granted, it would have been great to hear some more of the classics, but the newer material is still top notch, and when delivered as well as it was, it's hard to argue with the decision. As with any band, every fan has songs they want to hear, and if I had my druthers I probably would have dropped two or three for some older songs as well. But I give credit to the band for sticking to their guns and doing sop much new stuff. Again, lots of old school fans are complaining, but as a fellow fan, I can't in good conscience do the same. I still follow the band, and am familiar with all the songs, because that's what a fan does. Otherwise, you're just a poser, and there's no room in my world for that.

One other brief point (too late!), the fan base for Iron Maiden seems to be getting steadily younger. I noticed lots of young teenagers at the show, at least 10 of them in the rows behind and in front of us. Youngsters rocking out next to receding hairlines and beer guts. That's pretty cool.

As for the rest of the trip, we stayed at a fairly nice Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Tinley Park. We ate at Rosie's diner just outside of Mokena Il. and had some really good hot dogs in a cool little neighborhood diner. The pickle made the dog. On the way back we saw pigs in a truck, an antique mall with a bunch of crazy crap on the lawn (pink elephant + spaceship = awesome), and laughed out loud about the Senator Paul Simon Freeway sign-it has a bow tie! A little rain and a little construction, but we made good time.

So, all in all, a great weekend. I got a little dehydrated at the show, my feet hurt for two days and I came home tired but it was all worth it. Thanks to everyone who came to the party. Thanks to my brother Derek for coming along. Big thanks to Valerie for letting me go and staying back with the twins. You're the best.

Up The Irons!

P.S.: Also on the bill was prog-metal band Dream Theater. One of my favorites from the early 90's, I stopped following them around 2003 or so, because I felt the material was getting weaker. Really good set though, makes me think I should check out some of what I missed.

Blue Tattoo Update

As of last night, Blue Tattoo is down one member, and its future in question.

Chris Teague left the band, citing financial/family issues and informing us that he would not have the ability to commit the time needed to be a full functioning member of the band. To his credit, he told us to our faces, which is how all business dealings should go down. We parted as friends, after all, I've known the guy for about fifteen years now and we've always been friends. We've had very few arguments along the way, and relatively minor ones at that (including the band meeting last week) and I will remain in touch with him band or no band.

Now, this leaves the rest of us with the question of what to do now. We have gone on hiatus to sort of figure things out. Are we going to look for another guitar player (one with virtually no ego like Chris--good luck on that). Do we forge ahead as a trio? Should Derek, Johnny and I call it a day and move on to other projects? We'll see.

Either way, Derek and I will continue to work together in one form or another. He's going to have some solo shows coming up and I might play bass for him. The one thing I'm sure of is that the songs we've written won't go away. Assuming we continue with another version of Blue Tattoo they'll obviously be used there, or maybe the songs will turn up in a new project. One way or another, they're too good not to use-especially the newer songs that Blue Tattoo haven't worked up yet.

So that's where we are. Big bummer about the CD not coming out now, bigger bummer about Chris. But it gives us a chance to sit back and think about it for a while. And possibly a chance to start over-or take a new direction. One door closes, one opens, all that stuff. Stay tuned for details.

Sometimes You Blog About It

Sometimes being in a band isn't always what you think it will be. Sometimes you go along thinking that you're all working towards a common goal, and that everyone is committed to said goal the same way you are yourself.

Sometimes you're wrong.

Sometimes you find out that your band mates see things completely differently than you do. Sometimes you discover that the goals are different and that the methods to reach them are at odds with your own. Sometimes you discover you're all doing the same things for different reasons.

Sometimes you realize that the communication in the band is lacking. And sometimes you realize that you're just as guilty of the communication problems as the others. Which is probably what led to all the other problems in the first place.

Sometimes you have to fight it out. Sometimes things get a little heated and friends raise voices when they shouldn't and people take things personally. Sometimes you have to offer an apology if things got a little out of hand.

Sometimes a compromise has to be reached. Sometimes, of course, the compromise feels more like a sacrifice and a sell-out. But then sometimes that's what you have to do for the band.

*************************************************************************************

Sometimes you get tired of the idea you had to keep typing the word sometimes.

Anyway, that's where we are with the band as I see it. We had to hash out a lot of things last night, but we got through it without being too shitty to one another. I'm not happy that our CD won't be coming out and is put on indefinite hold, but we have a new plan of attack.

We are still a band, and a good one. Measures are going to be taken to raise our profile here in the next year, and we are hopeful that things will turn out for the best.

So at the end of the day a new course has been mapped out, and we're focused on making 2010 a good one for Blue Tattoo. More news to come.

Have Yourself A Groovy Little Christmas

Hi. My name's Dave and I'm a Christmas Music addict. I'm not proud of it, but I am. Eleven months out of the year I'm a musical elitist, focusing on rock and roll (all types), outlaw country and whatever else comes my way that's got some integrity to it. But round about the end of November I spaz out and get lost in fa-la-la-la-la-la land. Fortunately my wife does the same thing so we're all good over here at the Brink household.

Between the two of us, Valerie and I have amassed roughly 40 different Christmas CDs, and we're not done yet. Of course, some get played more than others as we each have our favorites. Which got me thinking...what are my all time favorite Christmas songs? An almost impossible question, as there are only a handful I don't like. Besides, favorites change year to year.

So I can't make a list of favorites (not an honest one anyway) but I can make a playlist. Now, I've made many Christmas comps over the years, most of which have the same title mentioned above. I'm not doing one this year (just did some last year and I need more new stuff to choose from until I do another), but if I were to make one tonight here's what it would be.

1.Step Into Christmas-Elton John
2.It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year-Andy Williams
3.Holly Jolly Christmas-Burl Ives
4.Sleigh Ride-The Ronettes
5.Silent Night-Elvin Bishop
6.Please Come Home For Christmas-Pat Benatar
7.Fairytale Of New York-The Pogues w/Christy MacColl
8.Christmas Is Coming-The Payolas
9.It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas-Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters
10.Jingle Bells-Frank Sinatra
11.Home For The Holidays-Perry Como
12.God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen-Th' Legendary Shack Shakers
13.Here Comes Santa Claus-The Mills Bothers
14.Run, Run Rudolph-Dave Edmunds
15.Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)-The Alarm
16.I'll Be Home For Christmas-Aimee Mann
17.Silver Bells-Dean Martin
18.O Come All Ye Faithful-Nat King Cole
19.Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas-Robert Goulet
20.The Christmas Song-Tony Bennett

And put that sucker on repeat.

I know, there's lots of cool stuff I missed. And I used some odd versions there, but I stand by them all. Y'know now that I think about it, these might be my favorites. Well, at least for right now. I guess I could've put some more country songs on "Pretty Paper" springs to mind...and one of those Rev. Horton Heat songs would be cool...maybe The Kinks...okay see, that's how it works. I could do this for hours. So let's just leave it how it is for now, okay? There's always next year.

Feliz Navidad!

Damn, forgot that one too.

Halloween Songs

I promised a Halloween movie post tonight, but scheduling conflicts have made it impossible to view some of the movies I planned on blogging about and I want to do this properly (even if it shows up in November!). So as a substitute, here's my idea for a Halloween playlist along with a few words about the selections. I'm doing it as I go along but I think it'll be fun.

DAVE'S HALLOWEEN PLAYLIST 2009

1. Science Fiction/Double Feature-The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack
-How else would it start? Fun mood-setter, and more socially acceptable than Sweet Transvestite.

2. The Number Of The Beast-Iron Maiden
-A classic song. Contrary to popular belief the band are not devil worshipers, they just throw in a little dark stuff in from time to time along with their history and literature based songs.

3. Welcome To My Nightmare-Alice Cooper
-The master of Shock Rock with one of his signature songs, and a quintessential tune for All Hallows Eve.

4. Halloween-Misfits
-The premier horror rock/punk band. Almost any song would do (Ghoul's Night Out and Skulls come into mind), as it's all required Halloween listening.

5. Fire-The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown
-Alice's predecessor. Freaky song, especially that intro.

6. Boris The Spider-The Who
-Creepy crawly. Also funny. Dig that voice from Entwhistle. Cool.

7. A Ghost To Most-Drive By Truckers
-Okay, so it's got nothing to do with scary, but there are ghosts and skeletons mentioned. Besides, any chance to get some DBT into a playlist.

8. The Legend Of Wooley Swamp-Charlie Daniels Band
-More of a true horror story than Devil Went Down To Georgia, but that one is certainly an acceptable alternate.

9. The Man Comes Around-Johnny Cash
-What's scarier than the Apocalypse and final judgement?

10. Night Prowler-AC/DC
-The scariest character on the Highway To Hell.

11. Nasty-The Damned
-A celebration of scary movies, and it was on The Young Ones T.V. show. Awesome.

12. My Girl Wants To Be A Zombie-The Briefs
-More great pop punk, and it's the only Zombie song I can think of that's not by Rob Zombie. Wow, that's a weird sentence.

13. Murder By Numbers-The Police
-Inside the mind of a killer. Surprisingly dark stuff.

14. Black Sabbath-Black Sabbath
-Genuinely creepy song, don't listen late at night with the lights off.

Okay, I think that's enough. There are certainly more I could list here but I think that's a good little mix of fun and slightly scary stuff. Maybe we'll do this again next year and I'll actually think it through next time.

And yes, I know that Monster Mash isn't listed. Too easy...and I'm sick of it before I even hear it. Sorry. Have fun with it if you gotta, but I'll stick to what's above. And Midnight Rambler by The Rolling Stones. That should've been on there too.

Bands I've Seen Live

Okay, so my brother totally sniped me and printed a list of bands he's seen. I had been working on my own list for a while now, completely without knowing that Derek was doing the same thing. So not to be outdone I present my list of bands I've seen live. I've tried to include only national artists (obscure some of them, but national!), and bands that I remember clearly seeing. I know I've forgotten a few, and there are some bands not on here because I can't actually remember if I saw them or not-now that's a guy who goes to too many concerts! Many of these artists I've seen multiple times. Some I've only seen as headliners, some as openers, some at festivals. A few of them I've been drug to kicking and screaming...but for the most part I've gone to by choice...and overall I've had a really good time!!!

The List:

AC/DC
10,000 Maniacs
Aerosmith
Alabama Thunderpussy
Alice Cooper
Alice In Chains
Allman Brothers
Anthrax
April Wine
B*Witched
Bachman Turner Overdrive
Bad Brains
Bad English
Bare Jr.
Betty Blowtorch
Big Head Todd & The Monsters
Billy Joel
Black Crowes
Blues Traveller
Bob Seger
Bon Jovi
Bongzilla
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Charlie Daniels Band
Cheap Trick
Cinderella
Corrosion Of Conformity
Damn Yankees
Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds
David Bowie
Def Leppard
Dio
Dog's Eye View
Dokken
Doobie Brothers
Dream Theater
Drive By Truckers
Drivin N' Cryin'
Dropkick Murphys
Eddie Spaghetti
Elton John
Enuff Z'Nuff
Eric Johnson
Ernie Isley & The Jam Band
Fates Warning
Fear Factory
Fight
George Jones
Georgia Satellites
Gin Blossoms
Glenn Tillbrook
Glimmer
Great White
Gretchen Wilson
Hayes Carll
Hank Williams III
High On Fire
Hurricane
Iggy Pop
INXS
Iron Maiden
Jackyl
James Taylor
Jamey Johnson
Jason Mraz
Joe Cocker
John (Cougar) Mellencamp- under both names
John Fogerty
Johnny Lang
Judas Priest
Kenny Wayne Sheppard
KISS
Lars Fredericksen & The Bastards
Little Jimmy King
Living Colour
Los Infernos
Loverboy
Lynrd Skynrd
Mastodon
Metallica
Monster Magnet
Motorhead
Mr. Big
Murder By Death
Murray Hammond
Nasville Pussy
Neil Young
Night Ranger
Nine Inch Nails
Old 97's
Page/Plant
Pearl Jam
Pink Floyd
Power Of County
Power Station
Primus
Puddle Of Mudd
Queensryche
REO Speedwagon
Reverend Horton Heat
Rolling Stones
Roxette
Rush
Ryan Bingham & The Dead Horses
Sammy Hagar
Scorpions
Sheryl Crow
Soul Asylum
Spice Girls
Spin Doctors
Spineshank
Stray Cats
Supagroup
Supersuckers
Swampass
Testament
The Commodores
The Damned
The Eyeliners
The Hacienda Brothers
The Immortal Lee County Killers
The Lost
The Marshall Tucker Band
The Pretenders
The Tragically Hip
The Who
Tower Of Power
U2
Unband
Union
Van Halen
Vince Neil
Whitesnake
Widespread Panic
Wilco
Will Dailey
Willie Nelson
Yes
Yngwe Malmsteen
ZZ Top

Farm Aid

Farm Aid was yesterday. As with most festival type gigs there were ups and downs, but all in all it was a good experience, and I'd like to think we did a little good for the cause (I think Valerie said that the T.V. news said it raised a million dollars, but I don't know if that's official).

Here's a bunch of random thoughts from the show.

The Good:

-Wilco put on the most surprising set of the evening for me. I've never been a fan of theirs, a few songs here and there but nothing that got me too excited. After hearing their set though, I may have to take a closer look.

-Nobody got booed. Sometimes at these events the artists go on tirades that start off about farming and then get political. John Mellencamp and Neil Young have both been booed from the stage before. Nice to see them both stay on topic, though a little disappointed that they didn't rile up the neo-cons, prudes and squares. (Why do people go see artists who are very vocal about their opinions if they don't agree with them? Do they want to get mad? Are they that clueless? I've never understood that.) However, that wasn't why we were there and they both stayed on topic so fair play to them.

-Speaking of Mellencamp, his set was great. Bookended by hits with a few new songs and a rather challenging acoustic number in the middle. Exactly what a festival gig should be. I've always been a closet fan of his, and now I can officially go public (still don't like "Hurts So Good " though).

-Didn't hate Gretchen Wilson.

-Thought the earlier bands made the most of their limited time and may actually check out some stuff by Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses and Will Dailey.

-Neil Young did a country set, and I'd actually heard some of those songs. Nice set.

-Willie Nelson rules. Even with a set that was clearly off the cuff the guy delivers.

-Apparently my brother and I were on channel 4 news in a crowd shot. So that's cool.

The Bad:

-Verizon Wireless Amphitheater St. Louis still sucks. It's much better than it used to be, but still not good. The show started at 1:00. We got there before the doors opened at 12:30, and stood in line for over an hour to get in, missing the first three acts. Don't you think somebody there would have the sense to realize that a sold out show with lawn seating (where people bring backpacks and blankets that need to be checked) would require an earlier door time?

-Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews. Both completely boring and terrible. I thought very briefly(and foolishly) that Matthews might deliver a decent acoustic set and that maybe I just didn't like the sound of the band. Nope, still sucked. And Jason Mraz sucked harder. as I've always said, never trust a soccer mom when it comes to music.

-Didn't hate Gretchen Wilson. She was actually fairly entertaining. Not good, but entertaining. And not country music either. Writing songs about rednecks (and being completely stereotypical while doing it), singing with a slight accent and throwing in a little twang doesn't make your songs country. It's pop with a rock/country sheen on it. You can't open with the main riff to "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and call yourself country. You can't be taken seriously either, but that's beside the point. She also included an instrumental version of "The Star Spangled Banner" in her show. It's pure pandering to the lowest common denominator and it's insulting to Hendrix and America. Other than that her set was okay.

-The idiot behind us who kept yelling out inane comments all night, and yelling at people in front to sit down. I got into it a little with him because of how rude he was. His arguments were that he paid for a seat and wanted to sit. He claimed not to like the same behavior at sporting events too. Well, first of all, sports are entirely different than a concert. In games you only stand when something good happens and points are scored, so I'll concede that prolonged standing is rude in that situation. But a concert is a different animal. You do what the crowd does. If I'm at an arena show and the crowd as a whole decides to sit all night and only stand after certain songs and during the encore, then fine, in that case the two or three people who insist in standing are wrong. However, if we all decide to stand and there are a few cranks who get pissy about it, I don't care about them at all.

True concert goers know the score. We go to see our favorite bands not because we just like a good tune, but because we feel a connection to the music/artist. It's part of our lives. As such, standing/dancing/headbanging/air guitaring is a logical and natural reaction. Also, it's been my experience that once the crowd starts standing and getting into the show the band on stage begins to give a better performance. I've seen many shows where the band has chastised the audience for not standing. A rock concert is supposed to make you feel good and be a form of release. So no-one should be upset by people standing and enjoying themselves. If someone stands up in front of you, move your head so you can see. Even better, get up and join in. You just might enjoy it.

-Billy Joe Shaver apparently missed his plane or something and didn't go on when he was supposed to. It's okay, things happen, but it was disappointing. It also led to major pauses in the show as the event still needed to stick to specific times for the Direct TV broadcast. Shaver wound up getting in late and Willie Nelson brought him out during his set for a few songs, so it worked out all right in the end.

-All the people who left once it started getting late (as if 10:00 was late for a concert) and colder (as if we didn't know it'd be upper 50's in October in St. Louis). It's stupid to leave a ten hour festival with one act to go, and disrespectful to boot. You morons walked out on a friggin' legend. Shame on you. Willie deserves better. Prob'ly a bunch of Dave Matthews fans. You know, idiots.


The Funny

Quotes from the stage:

"This song goes out to...well, y'all know who you are."
-Ernie Eisley

"This is our second appearance at Farm Aid. Or as my band calls it, Willie Aid."
-Jamey Johnson

"With all due respect to Gretchen Wilson, is there anybody here who's not a redneck?" (Lots of applause)
-Jeff Tweedy (Wilco)

"I change my guitar after every song and then play the same thing. It's the same, but it sounds different. Showbiz."
-Dave Matthews

Quote from some random girl:

"Who's the douche bag in the hat?" Said loudly to, and as she passed by, Jason Mraz.

So, a decent day at the ol' amphitheater. Got to hear some good music and see some legends perform. The good stuff outweighed the bad making Farm aid a worthwhile experience, and one I'd repeat if the opportunity came up again.

Traveling Music

In a few days we leave for another vacation in the Smoky Mountains. As per usual, I am in charge of the music for our trip. This year I'm not bringing many CDs with me as I've decided to just use the ipod. I know, I've complained about the ipod ruining the music industry (which may or may not be a bad thing depending on how you look at it) for years, and I still maintain the sound quality is sub-par. However, my ipod is loaded from CDs I already own, and I only bought it to use on road trips because it's much easier and neater than bringing 30 compact discs with me.

Anyway, in preparation for this trip I cleared the ipod and started fresh by downloading a crapload of stuff into my itunes, making lots of playlists and downloading the playlists into my ipod. That process was harder than just loading up a bunch of songs and letting it go, but it did make me be a little more selective about the songs. I had to keep in mind that it's not just for me this time (hence the absence of most of my punk and metal collection) and so I put on some things specifically for Valerie. Don't get me wrong, I had to approve all choices of artist and I got to pick which songs were used, but I still compromised quite a bit for someone who's such a music Nazi.

So for those interested, here's a list of all the artists that will be keeping us company on our road trip(in alphabetical order as listed on the ipod). I had intended on publishing the playlists themselves, but this project has taken much longer than anticipated, so this will have to do.

Alice Cooper, Alice In Chains, American Hi-Fi, Audioslave, The Band, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Billy Squier, Bruce Springsteen, Buddy Holly, The Buzzcocks, The Cars, Charlie Daniels Band, Cheap Trick, Chely Wright, Chickenfoot, The Clash, Corinne Bailey Rae, Cracker, Creedence Clearwater Revival, David Bowie, The Derailers, The Drams, Drive-By Truckers, The Eagles, Ella Fitzgerald, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Faith Hill, Foo Fighters, Frank Sinatra, The Fratellis, The Gaslight Anthem, Genesis, George Harrison, George Jones, Gin Blossoms, The Go-Gos. The Goo Goo Dolls, Hacienda Brothers, Hank Williams, Hank Williams III, Hayes Carll, Huey Lewis and The News (go ahead, lie and tell me you don't love it), INXS, The Jayhawks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Joe Cocker, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, Julianne Hough, Kaiser Chiefs, Kings Of Leon, The Kinks, KT Tunstall, Lee Ann Womack, Live, Merle Haggard, Mr. Big, Old 97's, Pat Benatar, Pearl Jam, Pixies, Queen, R.E.M., The Ramones, Reverend Horton Heat, The Rolling Stones, Rush, Sara Evans, Sheryl Crow, Shooter Jennings, The Smithereens, Soul Asylum, Soundgarden, Squeeze, Steely Dan, Stone Temple Pilots, Stray Cats, Superdrag, Supersuckers, T. Rex, Tift Merritt, Tinted Windows, The Toadies, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Traveling Wilburys, U2, Van Halen, Waylon Jennings, The Who, and Willie Nelson.

Once again, the alphabetical listings are as they appear on the ipod. Wow. You'd think the geniuses over at Apple would have at least sixth grade English skills. Oh well.

Now go make your own mix.

Geeking out BIG time

As a rock fan, you tend to geek out over your favorite bands. This happens at all stages of fandom from the pre-adolescent who first "gets it" to the lifer who still checks out the new stuff well into middle age and beyond. Somewhere in the middle some of your old favorites long thought gone begin reforming. Sometimes it's a quick cash-in, sometimes it's genuine. Sometimes the music is good, sometimes not so much. Either way, the initial announcement sends the fan into a geeked-out state of excitement that he feels he must share with everyone, and then defend when everybody else wonders why the hell he cares and why would he want those guys to come back in the first place. That's where I am, so here we go.

The original line-up of MR. BIG has reunited.

Okay, everyone who snickered and sang an off key satirical version of To Be With You can cram it up their cram-hole. As with many other bands of their era, Mr. Big was unfairly labeled as a "band for chicks" and lumped in with hair bands because of that song. The reality is that that song only represents one side of the band, and it was never intended as a single. Some DJ in Nebraska started playing it and one thing led to another, next thing you know it's a number one.

Anyone who was paying attention knew what Mr. Big was really about...well crafted, diverse songs performed by first rate musicians. Each album contained many different styles from what
I refer to as riff-o-rama rock songs (Addicted To That Rush, Colorado Bulldog, Daddy, Brother, Lover, Little Boy), bluesy/groove based songs (Alive And Kickin', Price You Gotta Pay, Jane Doe), interesting covers (30 Days In The Hole, Mr. Big), unique pop rockers (Green tinted Sixties Mind, Take Cover), and, yeah okay, their fair share of ballads. When compared to most bands who only do one, maybe two styles of songs that's a treasure trove of material. It wasn't all great, but it was always interesting and fun to listen to.

As for the musicianship, all ya really gotta do is listen past the surface. Paul Gilbert is widely considered a guitar virtuoso, although an under rated one. Beyond being technically proficient he plays with a lot of melody and feel, far more than your average shredder. Pat Torpey is a solid time keeper, able to pound out a steady 4/4 as well as a nice groove. Anyone who toured with both Robert Plant and Belinda Carslile has to be versatile and knowledgeable don'tcha think? Eric Martin's vocals were always set apart from most lead singers, as he has a raspy, blues/soul based voice that is highly effective when applied to hard rock music and quite affecting on the ballads. Sure, he kinda looked like a girl at one stage but with the subsequent hair cut that's been fixed. Mostly. And last but about as far removed from least as you can get is Billy Sheehan on the bass. Ask just about anybody and they'll tell you about his technical abilities. I think he does get a little carried away sometimes in his instrumental recordings, but put him the context of a real honest to goodness rock band filled with people of the same caliber and the man's gold. Apart from playing bass solos in songs (ones that are actually listenable and make sense at that), Billy put lots of cool little licks into the back round of songs to reward the discriminating listener. Put that all together and they could rival any band of the time, and a lot of today's bands too.

From 1989-1997 that was the case and then Gilbert left the band due to personal and creative conflicts. The guys soldiered on for two releases with Ritchie Kotzen on guitar. His style seemed to fit pretty well, but the overall guitar tone was lacking the bite of Paul Gilbert, and the material didn't have the same fire. There were some good moments to be sure, but as is usually the case in these situations, it just wasn't the same.

Over the years, the individual members worked on and off with each other, including billy and Paul's involvement in the Who tribute "The Amazing Journey" also featuring Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy and Extreme's Gary Cherone. After different members playing together on and off for a while, someone involved with the Rocklahoma Festival tried to scam the band members into reuniting at their event. Didn't happen, but it did get everyone thinking, and now the band is back.

Time will tell if they can keep this all together, or if it will all go up in smoke. So far, only a tour of Asia has been confirmed, with almost all dates selling out-The Budokan tickets were gone in fifteen minutes!-and a live DVD is to be recorded from the Budokan show. A tour of Europe and the U.S. is said to be in the works. New material is possible, but the guys are taking things one step at a time.

So that's my current geek out moment, complete with my reasons for liking the band and a brief history lesson to catch everyone up. Of course I don't expect everyone else to be as excited as I am about this news as Mr. Big's popularity in this country was short lived due to the whole grunge thing and the fact that the band was so misunderstood. But for those of us who did follow the band and have kept a soft spot for them, this is great news and we're all pretty excited about things right about now. I'm going to dig out some of my live imports (told you I was a fan), and listen to them loudly in my car for the next few days. If you've got some old Mr. Big stuff lying around, or you have a reliable download service, I'd encourage taking a listen. It might just hold up, or at least be refreshing to hear again.

Gig Report 1-17-09

Blue Tattoo had our first official gig Saturday night at The Chapel. As far as first gigs go, I think it was a good one.

The Chapel is a venue for the arts that not only hosts concerts by local bands on the weekends, but also theater and art galleries. Very cool venue. It's connected to an old Presbyterian church, and really is a chapel (or at least it used to be.) As a result it's a very unique place to see a show, intimate, yet with a massive ceiling and official church architecture. The management go out of their way to treat the bands well, something all too often missing from local venues. Now, there are a few negatives. First of all, it's hard to find, and many people got lost trying to find the place. Also, they don't have a liquor licence so they give the patrons two free drinks, but since they can't sell any liquor it's a two drink maximum which came as a surprise. Due to the size of the room there are some sound issues, but almost every club has issues of its own, so not a big concern. Still, with all that in mind it's a great little place, kind of a private oasis for the local arts community. I enjoyed being there a lot.

As for our set, I believe it was a success. as with any gig, there were some small glitches here and there. Someone broke a string, somebody hit a bad note, couldn't hear as well as we'd like, etc., etc. Most of that stuff is nit picky musician shit that the majority of the audience won't notice at all. And after seeing the video of the gig (thanks Valerie!) almost all of those little moments are barely noticeable. My personal worst flub was that during "Bitterman" my fingers got ahead of me and I actually had to stop playing for a few seconds to straighten things out. Fortunately, we missed that on the video (thanks again, honey!). The only real noticeable error was during our cover song, "Suffragette City", there was a miscommunication somewhere and we blew the timing on the break in the song. As I said at the time, that's the live show. Anything can happen. Besides, Chris, Derek and I were all sick so I think we pulled it off quite well.

I had fun on stage, and as far as I can tell the rest of the guys did too. More importantly, the audience had fun. That's what it's all about for me. I mean, yeah, I want people to pay attention to the music and the message of the songs, but it's gotta be fun first and foremost. Let's face it, if you're in a band or at a show and you're not enjoying yourself, what's the point?

The band we opened for, The Fishpaws, were good too. Kinda laid back, kinda twangy rock, which I like, and nice guys too boot. Always good to play with another band who aren't ego-whores. I liked their sound, and any band that does a Ramones cover and a Neil Young cover in the same set is okay by me. Go on to myspace and check 'em out.

Okay, that's enough ramblin'. Big thanks to everybody who showed up, and those who wanted to as well. See you next time.

Old 97's Review

I went to Twangfest on Friday night with my brother Derek to see the Old 97's. Good show. For those of you who don't know, Twangfest is a yearly fest here in St. Louis featuring mostly alt. country bands that stretches over four nights and multiple clubs throughout the city. It draws in both local and national acts that range from country rock to Americana to singer songwriter types. I've never done the full fest, but I have gone to a night here and there, and have always enjoyed it.

Anyhoo, I had a few things to do around the house on Friday, so we got to the concert a little late (completely missing a band called I Love Math which seems appropriate because I hate math). Miles Of Wire were on stage when we arrived, who I believe are local. Didn't see much of their set, but I liked what I heard. The next act was some dude from Texas called Hayes Carll. I really liked his set. I'd definitely recommend checking him out if you like artists such as Steve Earle, Townes Van Zant, Rodney Crowell, etc. I liked it so much I picked up his CD at the merch table and have been listening to it since.

The headliners were, of course, Old 97's. They put on a good show. I think I may have gone in with a somewhat inaccurate expectation, as I've heard that their gigs were sweat-soaked barnstormers for years. So I expected a bit more of an out and out rocker with a few of the mid tempo songs thrown in. Actually the set was more balanced than that, with quite a few slower songs, but that's okay, it was really good, just not what I expected.

The musicianship was top notch. Philip Peeples, the drummer (who does the theme from Endless Summer), does a lot of that cross handed drumming stuff which looks so cool and I love. Guitar player Ken Bethea is very energetic and fun to watch. Murray Hammond has an interesting thumb based technique for playing bass that is part John Entwistle, part Johnny Cash. Also, his songs are among the best in the band's catalog. Murray rules. Which leaves us with front man Rhett Miller. He's the skinny cute guy in the band, and probably ten years younger than his band mates. Picture Michael Kelso fronting a band and you're there. Some of his hip shaking and half-assed windmills were a little silly, but so is Mick Jagger's stage stuff so whatever.

My only complaint, and it's a small one, was the length of the show. At almost 2/12 hours, I felt it was a little long to headline a festival type show (even if I didn't see all of the acts.) Hey, I'm all about getting your money's worth, and as far as that goes, they delivered. It's just that with all the slower and mid tempo stuff they did, the show dragged a little from time to time and I left feeling tired. Not tired in an exhausted way like a Motorhead or Drive By truckers show, but sleepy tired. Still, the good stuff well outweighed the bad. I'd see them again, but maybe in a few years, not every time they come in.

Wow, that was long and rambly. I'd planned to go into some stuff about my band, Blue Tattoo, and a couple of other things but I've already been typing too long and I'm not sure anybody's still reading anyway. So I'll check in with all that soon, and a Willie nelson concert review next weekend (a little less wordy I hope).

Bye.

Chris Gaffney, R.I.P.

I've been kinda wrapped up in my own little world here lately so I missed the news on this one. Chris Gaffney, singer/songwriter/guitar and accordion (!) player for one of my favorite bands, The Hacienda Brothers died on April 16, 2008 from liver cancer. You know how sometimes a death of someone you don't really know just blindsides you? I had that. I didn't know Mr. Gaffney, but I did meet him a few times. Let me give you the story.

A couple of years ago Valerie and I took a trip to Nashville for a week, my second trip, her first. If you haven't been, it's a pretty cool town. Yeah, liking country music is a plus, but you could probably enjoy yourself even if you only tolerate country. Anyhoo, one night after a plate of the best ribs in the universe at Jack's we were trying to decide which bar to go to and hear some music. I can't remember for the life of me which one we went to but it was on BBroadway a few doors down from Jacks. The sign on the door said "Tonight: Hacienda Brothers. Free." Okay, works for me.

We came in as the band was doing a sound check, got our beers, and wondered why more people weren't in the free bar. after a song or two, Gaffney pointed to our table and asked if the vocals were okay. I gave him the thumbs up, and he said "Alright, we'll start then." By the third song I was blown away. By the ninth song (and a few more beers), I was drunkenly calling my friends back home on my cell to make them listen. The set was a mix of originals and covers, every one a winner. For some reason we had to leave early that night, and I had a brief chat with the band before we left, telling them how much I enjoyed it. When I asked if they had a CD available Chris said "Naw, we're recording it. Got a t-shirt. I guess you can't play that for people though." I laughed, we shook hands and I made my exit.

Fast forward one year, The Hacienda Bros. self titled CD came out. It was a lot more mellow than the show I saw, but still great. The slogan "Western Soul" was applied to it and it fit, but the emphasis was on the Western part. The next year the second CD "What's Wrong With Right?" was released and this time there was much more of the soul element. I must admit that I didn't like it as much but it still had a lot to like on it. I remained a fan.

In 2007 Th Haciendas did a show at Off Broadway in south St. Louis. Naturally Valerie and I went, and although the band didn't come on until almost midnight, we had a blast. Once again I spoke with some of the guys in the group, about seeing them in Nashville and the music. Nice guys all around, especially Mr. Gaffney and Dan Gonzales (great guitar player, formerly of the Paladins).

So here we are in 2008. I just happened to visit the Bros. website and boom, there it is. I just thought it was sad, because they're such a great band, and he struck me as such a good guy. Also, I was looking forward to the new disc, I have a feeling that the balance of Western Soul is about to be struck. It comes out in June, so we'll see. I was hoping it would be the one that brought them from cult status and critical faves into a larger audience. Now it can be little more than a cap on a too short run.

Apart from The Hacienda Brothers, Chris Gaffney also had a solo career with his band, Chris Gaffney and the Cold Hard Facts (Porter Wagoner reference, maybe?), and he played with Dave Alvin and Lucinda Williams. Until his death I was not aware of this work...looks like I've got some stuff to seek out. Right now I'm going over to the Hacienda's site and buying the limited edition live CD (which I've been meaning to for a long time), and maybe another T-shirt. I'd recommend you do too.

Thanks for reading this and letting me ramble. Oh, and Chris, thanks for the tunes.