Category: Original Content

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Concert Review: Feist (4.23.2008)

I had the chance to catch Feist at the Academy of Music on 4.23.2008. I thought Feist was good going into the concert, now I think she is great; a true artist. Simply put, she has become a better musician and artist since she released her last album “The Reminder”.

Before I get to the main event, I will say that her opening act Hayden played his own special brand of “kill yourself” music for 55 minutes… Horrid. I will say that he seemed like a nice guy, and had good stage presence, but his songs were pure drudge – I was counting the minutes until he was off stage.

After the stage crew did their jobs (I have never seen a stage crew take so long to set up a drum set – Damn Canadian Teamsters!), Feist took the stage. Leslie Feist is the daughter of Canadian artist Harold Feist, so I was expecting something visual, but she exceeded my expectations. The show incorporated two people doing interesting visuals using an overhead projector, and the opening song featured Feist behind a screen so you could only see her silhouette, which complimented the overhead presentation.

Feist’s performance was excellent.

She took elements of her records, fleshed them out and expanded them. Her four piece back up band was outstanding… bright and tight. Like Liam Finn, Feist employed a audio capture and looping device so she can add her own vocal layers during the performance, she used it well and it enhanced the experience.

I could go on about how much I liked the show, but you get the hint. Another great aspect of the event was the venue. The Academy of Music was beautiful, comfortable, and classy. Great place to see a concert. If you get a chance to see Feist, do it, you won’t regret it.

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Concert Review: Crowded House @ the MANN

In my early college years, it was a guarantee that a Crowded House or Neil Finn CD wouldn’t be too far away from me; they were and remain one of my favorite bands. Most people would remember them for their big hit in the 80’s “Don’t Dream its Over”. America may have forgotten about Crowded House, but the rest of the world continued to enjoy their brilliant output for many years. In 1997 they called it quits seemingly for good. Neil Finn went on to make two excellent solo albums and did a few projects with his brother Tim Finn as well. Last year, Paul Hester passed away and Neil and the boys got back together for a handful of benefits that ballooned into a new record and tour; tonight I got to see for myself what makes Crowded House one of the best bands of our time.

The evening started off by Finn’s son Liam who has been putting together a career for himself as a solo artist and with the band Betchadupa. The younger Finn steals a page from Howie Day by utilizing looping effects to make his solo performance sound fuller. I would be lying if I didn’t say that Liam sounds just like his old man vocally, but has a brasher, younger sound (without totally forgoing his father’s melodic sensibilities and ability to write interesting analogies). Finn switched between guitar, drums, and a variety of electronic devices during each of the songs – the kid definitely worked for his paycheck. Overall I was impressed with his performance: He bantered with the crowded with ease (something more seasoned performers have issues with), his loopingmulti-instrument approach was a treat to see, and he didn’t squander my pre-good will since I was pumped to see his dad play.

Pete Yorn quickly followed Finn and played a quick set. Yorn has lost a lot of credibility in my book for his last album which I found to be simply terrible. He opened with a song from that album, so I decided it was good time to buy Liam’s CD and take a piss. When I came back I was amused to find a totally zoned out lady in her late 40’s doing the “white girl dance” (reference: Chappelle Show episode with John Mayer – Click here to see it ). I could not take my eyes off this train wreck and then her two buddies came over to join her (they were from Pittsburg BTW – I hope they read this). To be fair to Pete, he sounded good but his band was stepping on each other a bit (I thought he had too many musicians on stage – 2 guitar players, himself (playing guitar), a bass player, and a drummer). He ended his set strong with “Life on the Chain”, “Strange Condition”, and a Neil Diamond cover (the name escape me at this late hour).

After a long wait, Crowded House finally took the stage immediately going into “Locked Out” which charged up the already excited crowd. Afterwards Neil retold a story about Nick (Seymour – Bass) being locked out his hotel room last night in Philly. The banter between Neil and Nick was outstanding throughout the evening. I was pleasantly surprised to see Liam Finn playing acoustic guitar in the background. I am not going to rifle through the entire set list, but they played all the classics and they knocked them out of the park. I was especially pleased with “Distant Sun”, “Recurring Dream”, and “Pineapple Head”.

The band’s performance was definitely enhanced by the fantastic MANN music center. This was my first time at the theater and this is hands down the best music venue I have been to in the Philadelphia area. You can actually get decent food, the atmosphere is pleasant and clean, the acoustics in the theater are excellent, and the stage allows the band members to move into the audience. It was an absolute joy to see a show there.

If you read this and still don’t know who Crowded House is, do yourself a favor and pick up an album I suggest “Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House” for beginners and “Woodface” once you get to know them). If you do remember Crowded House but for “Don’t Dream its Over” and “Something So Strong”, do yourself a favor and checkout their other albums. Crowded House was and is a fantastic band that never got their proper dues in America, see them live if you have the chance, they won’t disappoint.

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Review: Ryan Adams at the TLA (Philadelphia)

Recent interviews with Ryan Adams had me excited, it seems that the alt-country “bad boy” has been clean and sober for the last year. Normally I honestly wouldn’t care – Rock’n’Roll means drugs – but Mr. Adams has burned me before. The last time he played in Philadelphia he was angry and paranoid getting into several verbal skirmishes with the audience (telling one guy he wasn’t going to get laid was actually pretty funny but distracting none the less). He eventually walked off stage. Now almost two years later I wondered if buying a ticket to a Ryan Adams show would be worth the money, the answer was a resounding yes.

One thing that I really enjoyed was the lack of opening act. Sometimes you win, most times you lose, so I was glad the night started with Ryan & the Cardinals and ended that way. Of course he came out 35 minutes late, but I didn’t expect him to be on time. Adams set the stage up similar to his most recent tonight show performance, all the musicians were seated and the boys were presented in a straight line with the drummer at center. With the band sitting on their asses and me being on the floor, it was hard to see the band, but I honestly didn’t care considering they were just sitting down.

The first few songs of the night started off slow and had me a bit worried, but then it all came together. Adams and company steered clear of their most popular songs (New York, New York, Come Pick Me Up, To be Young, Stars Go Blue) instead favoring his country western-esque material such as Magnolia Mountain, Beautiful Sorta, some tracks from his new album, and some reworked songs from Demolition (Dear Chicago was a crowd pleaser).

There were a few elements of the show that did fall short. The gentleman working the boards was not on his game, the audio sounded hollow and tinny. When Adams spoke to the audience (which is a miracle in itself) it was almost impossible to hear it. The concert ended around 11:30 PM and since Ryan got up around 9:30, I was a little disappointed that the show didn’t go on a little longer. I was looking forward to hearing Let it Ride and Winding Wheel with the 7 piece band – but it was not meant to be.

Overall, the band sounded great, Ryan was looking happy and healthy, and Ryan managed to go an entire show without getting into a fight with someone in the audience. Do I consider that money well spent? You bet your ass.