Against Me! FEA and Tim Barry
 

Excellent show at The lost Horizon over the weekend. I only took like four pictures because I'm trying to be present when I go out and I'm never sure about the phone/camera in those situations. Against Me! is a pretty well known punk act. They've made the decision to play NC despite having a trans lead because she does not want to punish her people. It makes sense as Springsteen has broad appeal when he gives an FU it sticks and makes a point. Anyway this is a solid band if you like the genre. They have great rapport with the audience which was pretty entertaining as well and a safe place for gay (place alphabet here) kids. They are a 4 piece in concert but here is a cut from elsewhere.


FEA was a fun punk band from Texas. Their singer has some Debra Harry in her voice and a tendency towards bloody stage falls. Little Griff felt solidarity with the lady drummer. The only dude in the band was on guitar put on an excellent show with the bassist.


Tim Barry would seem like an odd choice to travel with these folks but his wiki page says he used to perform with a couple different Richmond based punk bands. He had a prison song, a train hopping song, and a protest song about VCU paving the graves of slaves who staged an insurrection. He was very passionate and charmingly stage frightened. Great voice. The Upstate New York punk crowd got nervous when he started to get political but they warmed up when they figured out a guy with that accent could still be with them politically.

:)

So, one night while watching some killer videos, I got to wondering...just how many concerts have I seen, and, more to the point...which bands? How many times?

I know you didn't ask, but I'm going to share this list with you anyway. I am either sorry, or you are welcome.

The Buckinghams
Gary Lewis and the Playboys
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
Pearl Bailey
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels
Bloodrock (x2)
Grand Funk Railroad
The Henry Mancini Orchestra
Wayne Newton
Liberace
Steeleye Span
Jethro Tull (x2)
Emerson Lake and Palmer (x3)
Yes (x4)
The Moody Blues
Genesis (x3)
The Who (x4)
Fanny
King Crimson
It's a Beautiful Day
Robin Trower
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (x2)
Steve Martin
John Lloyd
Kansas (x3)
Arlo Guthrie (x2)
Leo Kottke (x2)
Golden Earring
Sugarloaf
Blue Oyster Cult
Black Oak Arkansas
Brewer and Shipley
Frank Zappa
ZZ Top
The Charlie Daniels Band
Gentle Giant
Foghat
Steely Dan
Three Dog Night
Edgar Winter Group
Leon Russell
Fleetwood Mac
Little Feat
Triumvirat
BB King
Eric Johnson
Joe Pass
Charles Mingus
Chick Corea (x2)
Gary Burton (x2)
Asleep at the Wheel
Steve Miller
John Fogerty
Little River Band
Brewer and Shipley (x3)
Wishbone Ash
Jimmy Spheeris (x3)
Ozark Mountain Daredevils (x2)
Ted Nugent (sorry)
The Allman Brothers
Gino Vanelli
Billy Joel (x2)
Elton John (x2)
Ambrosia
Dr Hook and the Medicine Show (x3)
Rare Earth
JJ Cale
Bob Seeger
Harry Chapin (x3)
Peter Gabriel
Phil Collins
Earth, Wind and Fire
Eric Clapton (x2)
Sting
The Police
Concrete Blonde
The Pretenders
The Northwest All Stars (Steve Cropper, Billy Preston, Felix Cavaliere, Mark Farner, Mark Rivera, Ray Cooper, and an incredible female bass player whose name I can't remember)
Henry Gross (x2)
The Sutherland Brothers and Quiver
Pat Metheny (x5)
James Cotton
Jean Luc Ponty
Paul Thorne
Mark Pender (trumpet player with Conan O'Brien's band and former HS classmate) (x2)
The Rainmakers (KC's arguably most successful rock band) (x a lot)
The Beach Boys (x3)
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Crosby and Nash
Jessie Colin Young
Melissa Etheridge (x2)
Richard Thompson (x5)
The Marshall Tucker Band
Pink Floyd (x2)
REO Speedwagon
Tori Amos
Elvis Costello
Trans Siberian Orchestra
Merle Haggard
Jeff Beck
Jefferson Starship
Robert Plant and Jimmy Page
The Black Crowes
Webb Wilder
Chuck Berry
Bruce Springsteen (x2)
Boz Scaggs (x2)
David Bowie
Doc Severinson with Johnny Carson
Tina Turner (x2)
Warren Zevon (x2)
Live
The Spin Doctors
Donovan
Pat Benatar
Heart
Journey (before Steve Perry joined)
Lacuna Coil
Meat Loaf
Rush (x2)
Carlos Santana
James Taylor
Alanis Morrisette
Sarah McLachlan
Chuck Mangione
The English Beat
Stevie Winwood/Jim Capaldi as Traffic
America
KC and the Sunshine Band
Jimmy's Chicken Shack
The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Firefall
Pure Prairie League
Head East
John Hiatt
Todd Rundgren
Kentucky Headhunters (amazing concert)
BB King
Weather Report
Barry Manilow
Dave Koz
Dave Albin
The Mamas and Papas (John/Denny/Spanky McFarland/McKenzie Phillips iteration)
The Alan Parsons Live Project
The Sweet
The Tannahill Weavers
Sly Digs
Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman

I apologize for not being clever enough to use the expedient of searching for "Concerts" before starting a new thread on this, so here it is, in it's proper place.


So...I got to take my mind off of the woeful state of our nation for a couple of hours last night. My friend Brenda and I saw Anderson, Rabin, Wakeman performing the music of Yes last night at the staggeringly awesome Fox Theater in St Louis. To say that it was a peak experience is to downplay the awesomeness considerably.

The Fox Theater itself is a historic and beautiful example of the early days of film palace excess. It is a huge venue, seating 4,500...a perfect size for acts such as ARW, who, being less than any full version of Yes (no longer possible with the death of Chris Squire last year), will no longer fill an arena. However, the opulence and history of the place makes it virtually a destination in and of itself. Trust me when I say that have *never* peed anywhere nicer.

Among the best amenities were the live theater organ performance serenading arrivals in the stunning lobby, and the thoroughly accommodating, polite, friendly and cheerful staff of ushers. There's even an elevator operator and a doorman - in full doorman dress uniform regalia - who held the door open for us, welcomed us to The Fox, and bade us have a good evening.

The performance itself will long be present in my memory. I was almost immediately transported to another plane, existing as eyes and ears only, absorbing the often otherworldly music of one of Progressive Rock's pinnacle acts...or a reasonable chunk of it, anyway. My primary reason for wanting to see this ensemble was that I am unlikely to have another opportunity to see the remarkable Rick Wakeman play huge banks of synthesizers while clad in his gold lame trousers, sweater, flowing gold cape, and straight long blonde hair.

As have many of us of advancing years, Mr. Wakeman has grown a bit of a paunch and is a bit more full of face - but his prodigious skills at the keyboards are undiminished. I am particularly enamoured of his mastery of the venerable Minimoog synthesizer, of which he is said to own *nine*. He uses two on this tour due to the frequency of their presence in the music of Yes, each needing to be played along with other keyboards in different locations at different times. Wakeman's style is distinctive and very much classically based, and any iteration of Yes in which he was not present was the poorer for it, IMHO. However, he completely nailed the Rabin-era Yes hits, even though Geoff Downes did those original honors.

At age 72, Jon Anderson still appears slightly elven, but he moves with the same flowing grace, sings with the same high register that any fan of Yes would recall. He apologized for having a cold and the likelihood that he would miss a few notes here and there, but they were very few, as it turned out. Given that there was a time not long ago when it was feared he would not sing again, his voice was able and capable. As frontman, he kept the patter very brief, allowing the maximum amount of music to be presented, something everyone seemed to appreciate a great deal. The crowd was most gratified when he invoked the memory of Yes' appearance at the now defunct Kiel Auditorium in 1970.

It can be reasonably argued that, had not Trevor Rabin come to Yes when he did, Yes might have wasted away into one of those bands that...well...wastes away. Instead, his presence gave a new and more vigorous, contemporary sound to the remaining roots of the classic band lineup (Anderson, Squire, White), and eventually led to a mass reunion of both major iterations of the band for an album entitled "Union" (not a great album) and a subsequent same-titled tour (a *great* tour). Since Wakeman did not play on "90125" and "Big Generator", the fact that they played so well together - numerous note for note parallel runs in various songs were a highlight of the night - is further tribute to the greatness of these artists. According to Wikipedia, this tour is the consummation of a project begun in 2010, and it has borne beautiful fruits.

While the above mentioned trio are the names and faces of this current effort, it could not be successful without the gentlemen who are sitting in for Bill Bruford/Alan White and the late Chris Squire. Lee Pomeroy, playing a pair of stunning - and sonically necessary to recreate the classic Yes sound - Rickenbacker basses, is a virtuoso player, not only replicating Squire's performances when necessary, but also bringing an energy and creativity all his own to the project. Drummer Lou Molino III may well be the tightest percussionist I have ever heard, bordering on human metronome...if the metronome was able to both tick sedately and buzz madly, depending on the need. Solid, expressive play coupled with an amazingly good drum mix put a perfect underpinning to the glory that soared above it.

Was this show superior to any classic Yes lineup shows I've seen in the past? No. However, as a thing judged upon it's own merits, it was glorious...mesmerizing...both familiar and new at the same time.

All in all, a brilliant alternative to dwelling upon politics.

Have you ever seen anyone famous? :rolleyes:

I've seen them twice! I had to wait 21 years for the first one, which was "Extended Suites", selections from Rage for Order, American Soldier, and something else non-Mindcrime. Every previous attempt I'd made since 1988 was foiled by lack of one of three things: money, transportation, or free time. I'd have $$ and be off work but unable to find anyone going, or I'd have friends going and either be broke or have to work. In 2007 I tried for like 4 days to win tickets and failed; closest I got was caller 7 of 10. The second time was their 30th anniversary tour--also their last; as I recall the singer flipped out during the South American leg of the tour and pulled a knife on the rest of the band. They squabbled about the name for a few years, but nobody seems to be doing much with it now. Still, the 30th anniversary show was AWESOME. They could have added ONE song to the show to make me like it more than I did. ONE. :D And I have LOTS of pictures of both shows.

For me, it's a concert if there's a stage, a performer who sings or plays an instrument, and someone at the door making sure you have a ticket, your ID, or that the place doesn't end up violating fire codes and crowd control. :D

When they played up at the college amphitheater in Missoula a few years back, half the slope of Mount Sentinel (actual small mountain right behind the college, has a big white M on the side) was covered in college students and semi-reformed hippies with flasks and binoculars. Sound carries REALLY well at this elevation! I didn't go because I'm just not a huge Stones fan, but it made the news.

RIP, Mr. Cohen. He died age 82 like yesterday...what a loss to the American arts community.

TREVOR RABIN IS FAMOUS. And awesome.

I took a huge break from concertgoing...like 1995 to 2009. Back in "the day", which for me was the last of the 80s and early in the 90s, I was all about the hair metal. As best I can recall, the pre-break list is something like:

The Scorpions at the Tacoma Dome, can't remember if it was 92 or 91 but they were straight up goddamn amazing.

AC/DC at Seattle Center, either 91 or 92--all I'm sure of is these 2 shows were not the same year.

Mr Big was one of the Scorpions' opening acts.
So was Great White, making the 3rd time out of 4 I've seen them. They were worth it back then, but my recent habit of checking how bands are doing NOW via the magic of YouTube tells me they're not any more.
LA Guns opened for AC/DC, and I managed to wind up seeing them a total of 4 times. The last one, in like 1994, was AWFUL. The lead singer was sloppy-ass drunk and almost got punched by a roadie he tried to drag up to a mike in mid-song.
Alice Cooper on his Trashes The World tour. In a 2000-seat hellhole in Salem, Oregon. Couldn't nod or turn my head for like 3 days afterward.
Faster Pussycat, with a couple other bands I don't remember. I do remember the show started an hour and a half late and all 3 bands blamed each other for the delays. My first husband, who had the reach of a damn orangutan, stole me a drumstick that had technically fallen behind the no-admittance ropes. I still have it.
Dangerous Toys
Danger Danger, during which they did a cover and apparently me and my best friend, all squashed up against the riot wall until some very nice college athletes decided to MAKE us some dancin' room, were the only ones who knew the words. The singer dragged every band member but the drummer over to show them the two chicks who knew all the words to Jimmy Buffett's 'Why Don't We Get Drunk And Screw'. No, we did not get backstage passes.
Bonham, the band formed by Jason "Son of John" Bonham. SO MUCH AWESOME. Too bad the singer died in like 1996.
The Cult, for whom Bonham was opening. Before Ian Astbury cut off all his hair. Again, couldn't nod for like 3 days.

Oh, yeah, and there was that time my best friend (see the Danger Danger entry above) won tickets to the Dr. Feelgood Tour, a/k/a the last time Motley Crue was worth a damn.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch.

Post-break, I've now seen:

Robin Trower twice. If you do not know who he is, check the albums For Earth Below, Day of the Eagle, Bridge of Sighs, and Long Misty Days. I waited, seriously, 33 years to see this man live and OMG was he worth it. He's both precise and joyful in his playing, and I chewed my parents out rudely for not taking me with them to the 12K-seat Memorial Coliseum in Portland in 1976. When I was like 5.
Queensryche twice--see an earlier post.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo. If you get a chance, GO SEE THEM. Even if you've never heard of them. They're incredible, and since I asked super nice and was very respectful, they let me touch the Grammy Award that was touring with them at the time. :D Always makes my list of the most amazing things I've gotten to touch/hold. At the end of the set they invited anyone who wanted to come up on stage and learn some Zulu dance moves (they're all ethnically Zulu), and although I hid behind a stage curtain I did dance myself into an actual asthma attack. Totally worth it.
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy!!! In, get this, a 140-seat high school drama department. These guys are the KINGS of American swing and have played for at least 3 in-office Presidents of the US. You don't have to love swing to find yourself groovin to their cover of "Minnie the Moocher"! I told them they were one of the best Christmas presents I'd ever gotten and the trumpet player looked like he was gonna cry.
Alice Cooper, again, with Rob Zombie on the Gruesome Twosome leg of Alice's Theater of Death tour about 6 years back. We drove 350 miles each way, in a gale-force side wind all the way to Billings. Alice was worth it. Rob was not.
The Reverend Horton Heat, think we made 2 of the 3 shows we had tix for but missed the last one cuz the only available driver came down with the flu super bad :(. If you're unfamiliar with The Rev, the easiest way I've come up with to describe him is "If Weird Al had a drunk uncle from Texas, it would be The Rev." He and his bassist, Jimbo, are AMAZING. They do the coolest stunts (like when Jimbo lays his upright bass on its side and Rev hops up ON IT; it's specially reinforced for this). I have him, and a few others on this list, on my new Twitter account so I can find out about upcoming shows.

Oh, and on the way home from Cooper/Zombie, we were literally chased halfway across Montana by a goddamn BLIZZARD.

In MAY.

Now here's my question: who, whether you've seen them before or not, would you pay the ticket price to go see in the future?

1. Weird Al. I've missed him by 2 weeks. Twice. Once he played the Western Washington State Fair right after I moved to Montana, and last year he played Portland square in between my July and August visits to the area.
2. Robin Trower. Always. I will never, ever forget standing in front of that giant speaker/amp stack feeling the bassline from "Too Rolling Stoned" walk up and down my sternum. I love that feeling.
3. Jeff Beck. He's on my Twitter because I WILL see him live if I can. If you're not familiar with him, find a copy of his latest album, 'Loud Hailer'. While you listen to it, keep in mind the guitarist you're hearing is 72 years old. He plays from a MUCH younger heart! If you think you've heard of him but can't remember where, it might be because when Jimmy Page left the Yardbirds in 1965 (yes, that says nineteen sixty-five) to found Led Zeppelin with Plant & Bonham, he recommended a young guitarist named Jeff Beck to take his place just as Page had replaced goddamn CLAPTON in the Yardbirds.
4. Ladysmith Black Mambazo
5. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
6. The Rev, of course.