@JosePistola opening #SanchoPistola’s in Fishtown
I am really happy to hear my favorite bar in #philly @JosePistolas is expanding. The love for this crew is clear in every bit of press I read about them. Well deserved.
Sancho Pistola’s location is the short-lived Bubba’s Texas BBQ at the corner of Girard Avenue and Leopard Street (19 W. Girard Ave., between Frankford Avenue and Front Street).
( @wilco, @theavettbros )
Opening Act: Dr. Dog
Venue: Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
Date: Saturday, July 21st, 2012
NOTE: I didn’t take any pictures of video because it just seems kind of stupid to take crappy grainy pictures or poor quality audio. So I will post some quality videos I find on the net so you get the idea.
[Dr. Dog]
Website: DrDogMusic.com
Dr. Dog is a Philadelphia based band that I got turned on to a few years ago. I thought they were good band but honestly never really gave their albums much thought after that first spin. That was a mistake. This band thrives playing on stage. Their material totally popped in the live setting – it was dynamic and LOUD (my chest was thumping during the entire set). I was impressed with their set, but I do wish they could have stepped up the on-stage banter for their hometown audience (but I suspect they had extremely limited time on stage with the other acts).
[The Avett Brothers]
Website: TheAvettBrothers.com
Frequent readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of The Avett Brothers. These guys have been touring non-stop for the last few years and are still pumping out excellent material. The band’s live shows are what makes them special: they have a excellent work ethic and they bust their asses on stage. This was the fifth time I have seen the band and they still exceed my expectations (they are not resting on their success).
The band played for about 90 minutes and they were bouncing around the entire time. I am not going to run down the entire set list, but they hit all of the fan favorites with a nice mix of all of their albums. They closed the set with “Kick Drum Heart” but did an epic southern rock style jam at the end which was an interesting (and welcome) new element to their live show.
I honestly feel that The Avett Brothers are the best live act in the country right now. Go see them if you have the chance.
Previous Avett Brother Reviews:
[Wilco]
Website: WilcoWorld.net
It took about 40 minutes for the stage crew to move the Avett’s equipment and set up Wilco’s stage. They had these pieces of fabric hanging down in long knots (like 20-30 foot lengths) – they were on the stage the entire night and I was wondering what they were for. Turns out the band had images projected on the ropes for a very cool effect during their set.
Jeff Tweedy was not in a mellow mood, the band came out on the stage ready to singe faces. The first 6 songs were very loud. I honestly don’t know what the opening song was – wait checking the internet – “Art of Almost” – I am not sure if there was an actual melody to that tune, just sound. Hell of a way to wake up the audience. I appreciated the rocked out/artistic set because it was an excellent contrast to the Avetts.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay the entire concert because we had a baby to go home to (this was our first time leaving him with a sitter). Fun Side Note: There was a couple that brought their two young children to the show sitting right in front of us, they made it half-way through the Avett’s set before they left. Note to self: Resist the temptation to take son to concert until he is potty trained. We cut out during “Hate It Here” which was sad, but I appreciate the band coming to the Philadelphia area and putting a damn fine effort on stage.
Previous Wilco Reviews:
Happy New Year friends! 2011 is slipping through our fingers and I find myself trying to conjure words to summarize what that means to me. I am going to be honest with you, I am struggling with this year’s love note. Not due to any dark feelings, in fact, just the opposite. I have been feeling pretty calm this past week, which is good for the blood pressure, but bad for writing clever things.
[Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes]
Even though times are tough and there is a bit of uncertainty regarding the future, it seems like my friends and family made it out of 2011 in one piece. It is easy to turn sour watching your 401k shrink, the value of your house decline, and services you depend on disappear. But all things considered, the Philadelphia area is breeding grounds for plucky people that take all this shit in stride and figure out how to get through it.
It is hard to focus on the negatives when I look around and see all these kids that I mention every year growing up strong and smart. The world is hard, but I am glad to see my people have their priorities straight. As far as my priorities go, I will be in good company with a baby on the way. I am not going to turn this post into “my child is going to change my life…bla bla bla” because anybody with a kid knows that as fact (a fact I have been told a million times along with “get your sleep now.”).
Jangled nerves and worry have subsided and I am looking forward to becoming a parent. Fundamentally, I really hope I don’t suck as a dad (that is not me fishing for kind words btw, just consider that line a karmic message in a bottle). It is a funny thing writing about the baby because I haven’t done it much and thanks to the holidays I am burned out on active baby conversation. I do want to mention that I feel bad about the news getting out late to certain friends. I guess people really do use social media to keep in touch (oops)…
All that being said, the quiet has been a blessing. Babies tend to bring out lots of opinions, all those voices talking at the same time can be overpowering. That brings me into a nice transition…
[Thank You]
If you have been reading these little year ends, you know that I view this section as a loaded gun… time to point and shoot. Here is hoping I don’t get a bullet in the foot:
Thanks to my wife. Outside of making this whole baby thing happen, she gets me. My odd sense of humor, my “in your face” method of dealing with…everything, my musical taste (very important in this house). Compatibility makes life so much better.
Speaking of the babies, when we told our parents, we asked them to keep it quiet for a few weeks until we got solid news from the doctors. My father-in-law was so excited, he had to tell someone… so he told his barber. That little story sort of made it all real to me. Also thank you Mr. D for making me look like I know how to pick out a bottle of wine.
I really don’t know how else to say this… I want to thank my mom for not being up our asses. My mom is at the ready to help Allison and I at a moments notice. But she never second guesses our decisions about anything. She offers her personal perspective or experience and leaves it at that. There is grace in accepting (and enjoying) your children as adults. I can thank her for a million things that she does for us, but this is the thing I appreciate the most.
I need to thank Verizon. They have made it possible for my father and I to communicate at a frequency that I did not think possible two years ago. Here is the best part… I am the bastard. If I haven’t seen or talked to my dad during the week, I get the call. “Sonny Boy, where have you been!?!” For a man that is fairly indifferent to just about everything, it is good to know that he cares.
Thank you to Tony Bombardi, the master detective – I love you, your family and your mini adventures that often lead right back to the starting point. Whenever I do freak out about this kid, I think “what would Tony do” and then you usually end up calling me anyway.
So I just went back and carved out a huge section thanking friends. This is what I am going to say instead: to the people that I talk to regularly – the people who call me to talk about music, house stuff, gear, zombies – you know who you are. I love you guys (and gals). If it were not for you, I would probably lock myself in my house and take all the phones off the hook (fine – take the batteries out of my cell phone – damn you nerds!). There are dozens of people I should mention, but nobody wants to read two pages of thanks (and then probably, rightfully, wondering why you are not on the list).
[Looking Forward]
There are times in my life, and if you know me I am sure you have been caught in this, when I want to hold everyone I know close to me. Then once that exercise becomes (inevitably) futile, I will retreat, ignoring everyone, and rethink my position. I have been in retreat mode the last few months. I have been thinking about what is right for me and my growing family. And right now I think change is good.
Instead of some grand statement of how to make yourself better in 2012, or jumping on some soapbox about the state of the world, I hope you – my friends, family, and readers – find happiness or something that smells like it.
May 2012 become whatever you want it to be.
Opening Act: Jessica Lea Mayfield
Date: Saturday, December 2nd, 2011
Location: Academy of Music – Philadelphia, Pa
This is the second time I have seen Mr. Adams this year. My wife and I took a trip to California two months ago when it was unclear if Ryan was going to do a tour of the East Coast, not that I am complaining, any excuse to go to California is a good one. You can check my review of the California show right here.
When I found out that Ryan was playing the Academy, I was excited. It is a place that lends itself to good concert behavior and the acoustics are fantastic. Just to get it out of the way, everything about the venue was great last night and I am always glad to see a show there.
[Opening Act: Jessica Lea Mayfield]
My friend Jack commented on how great her guitar sounded last night (really good tone). I wanted to make sure that I started off with a compliment before I got into any kind of critique. I don’t want to be overly harsh, but Mayfield’s songs all sounded similar and had a similar theme which took away from the performance (until the last song where she mixed it up a bit with little yip).
Mayfield has a nice voice and certainly wasn’t intimidated by the Philadelphia crowd, but she would do herself a service by introducing faster tempo songs about anything other than bad boyfriends, I really think she would shine with a band or at least another person on stage to banter with.
[Main Event]
Ryan came out and went right to business. The Philadelphia crowd was much more vocal than the California audience (no shock there), but at least my wife and I were not sitting in front of a group of drunk girls. Ryan definitely mixed up the set list between shows (yes, he did play “Come Pick Me Up”, now we can all shut up about it).
He knocked out excellent renditions of “Sylvia Plath”, “Dear Chicago” and “English Girls Approximately”, but the whole show was outstanding and (not to repeat myself) a love note to the fans. I thought his banter in California was great, but he turned it up a notch in Philadelphia. Adams went on this whole riff about Ghost Hunters when his guitars went out of tune and then connected it into making fun of loud audience members (you know there is always that one dude who has to be heard).
Adams left the stage and quickly came back out for an encore. He was going to play another 30 minutes but his main set went long and the teamsters shut him down. He managed to knock out a surprisingly earnest rendition of Ratt’s “Round and Round”.
Another fantastic show by one of the best song writers in the business.
Opening Act(s): Dawes, M. Ward
Date: Friday, June 10th, 2011
Location: MANN Music Center, Philadelphia, Pa
Website: Bright Eyes
[Venue]
I am always happy to see a concert at the MANN. The acoustics are excellent, the setting is clean and interesting, and it isn’t a hassle to get there. I purchased balcony seats for the concert—I didn’t even know the MANN had a balcony (even as we walked in), the architecture hides it really well, which is pretty cool. Once we got up there, I was in love. The sections were small with only two seat rows—so I did not have to sit next to annoying people. The people in my section were quiet and respectful all night, very good crowd. My only complaint was the heat and there wasn’t much that could be done for that.
[Opening Acts]
Act #1: Dawes
I never heard of Dawes before this show, so as they started their set with a slower song, I was quick to dismiss them and pull out my smart phone. But I started hearing the guitar player (and singer) start to toss in these interesting transitions and that got my attention. As their set continued, they built up the pace and I started to get impressed. The guitarist has a lot of talent and the entire band has a good sound dynamic (and sensibilities). I really liked their set and I want to hear more from them.
Act #2: M. Ward
M. Ward came out a few minutes after Dawes. Ward is a frequent collaborator of Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk) and is probably known for his band “She and Him” with Zooey Deschanel. He immediately started into an instrumental piece which was upbeat and established his talent on the guitar. The next 30 minutes were very slow, sad songs that all built off a similar minor chord base and strum pattern. In a small, air-conditioned club this would be something that I could absorb, but in the heat, it just put me to sleep. At the end of the set, he invited Dawes out to back him and it sounded really good. I wish he brought a band with him for the whole set.
[Bright Eyes]
I did not expect a rock concert from Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes. Perhaps a few rocked out tunes mixed into a largely acoustic set, but the opposite happened. Oberst came out with firsts swinging leaning heavily on material from his new album and it was… awesome. Instead of putting the crowd to sleep like Ward before him, the band was LOUD. There were two drummers, two keyboard players, a guitarist (not Oberst), and a bass player – this group commanded attention.
All of the songs sounded fleshed out. After the first four, the band settled back into a mini-acoustic set where Conor played familiar tunes like “Four Winds” and “Lua” and then brought the band back out to fire up the crowd again. The tempo felt very intentional which alludes a control over the crowd reactions that is impressive.
I really enjoyed the concert: great crowd, great venue, great seats. I am continually impressed by Oberst’s versatility (acoustic, rock, electronica, and country). Oberst has been called the new Dylan too many times to count, but I think might have a new title to content with: Rock Star.
