Category: Music

Looking back, I hardly recognize the person who loved music this much and went to so many shows. I wrote these reviews to put eyes on these artists and to try to find a community of people who shared my passion.

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Concert Review: Chris Isaak @ Longwood Gardens (Philadelphia Area)

( #ChrisIsaak, #LongwoodGardens, #ConcertReview )

Opening Act: Marc Broussard
Main Event: Chris Isaak
Location: Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa (Philadelphia Area)
Date: Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

[Venue]

I have never been to Longwood Gardens before and wasn’t sure what to expect in regards to a rock and roll show; I discovered Longwood Gardens is a great place to see a concert. The grounds are beautiful, the staff is really nice, and there wasn’t a bad seat in the house (or botanical garden in this case). The concert stage was situated right in front of a big fountain which added a nice backdrop to the show.

[Opening Act]

My friends were very happy that Marc Broussard was listed as the opening act, so that amped up my expectations of this singer. Sadly, instead of the rough and rowdy blues act (that my friends had witnessed a few years ago), Marc focused on generic ballads (yawn).

The last song was a swampy blues number which was absolutely the best of the set. It’s a shame Broussard decided to leave his nuts backstage, because the guy is talented and has a great band, just lame material this time around.

[Chris Isaak]

Chris Isaak put on a fucking show tonight. The weather was hot and sticky, but that didn’t slow down this seasoned performer. Isaak walked on stage with a neon pink sequined jump suit: that’s hell of a statement to make in this heat.

The backing band was fantastic. All of these guys can play well and fill out the sound on the stage. Music aside, they all seem to have a really good time playing to the crowd and goofing around. Chris leaned on the whole band to to dance, shake, act as a 60’s soul back-up singers, and an “olde-time” church revival… let’s just say these cats were versitile.

Isaak immediately won the crowd over with his banter and high energy. He showed no fear in knocking out his trademark high notes several times per song. All of his popular tunes sounded note perfect (“Somebody’s Crying”, “Wicked Game”, “Forever Blue”, “Bad Bad Thing”). My favorite line of the night is when he remarked on the heat by saying “I am sweating more than a whore in church.” Damn right.

For the encore, Isaak decided to take his sweating up a notch by donning a mirrored suit (it had to weigh at least 30-40 lbs). He last few tunes were very high energy including a great rendition of the Roy Orbison classic “Pretty Woman” (he sounded exactly like Orbison). A fantastic show by a great performer; other musicians should go see Isaak and take notes – this is how you do rock and roll baby!

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Concert Review: Jack Johnson @ Camden Entertainment Center

( #JackJohnson, #Philadelphia, #Camden )

Main Event: Jack Johnson
Opening Act: G Love
Date: Sunday, July 11th 2010
Location: Camden, NJ (Susquehanna Bank Center)

[Opening Act]

I can’t say one thing about G Love because I completely missed his performance. My wife and I left our house at 6:00 PM for the 7:00 PM show (we live about 20 minutes from Camden). Everything was smooth until we got about 1/3 of mile to the Camden Entertainment Complex exit (5A); we were stuck there for the next 100 minutes. It took another 20 minutes to get forced into a $25 parking lot.

As you could imagine I was pretty pissed off getting into the concert, but thankfully I didn’t have to wait in line to get into the show.

[Main Event]

I have never seen the Camden Entertainment Complex (it’s called the Susquehanna bank center but this place changes names every 18 months, so screw it) so packed. The lawn area was an absolute sea of people (this show was definitely oversold). There was no room to put down blankets. This was one massive standing room only concert. In addition to the crowds, the PA for the lawn area was underpowered. You could hear the music, but not well (you don’t normally read me complaining a concert was too low).

Overall, Johnson sounded really good (like he always does). He put on an earnest yet laid back show. G Love came out to jam on a few songs (I was glad I got to see him play). Jack’s band was very good tonight; especially his multi-instrumentalist (mainly keyboard instruments). I don’t know the guy’s name, but he made slower songs like “Banana Pancakes” pop.

To be honest, we cut out at 11 PM because we were terrified of getting stuck for another two hours in Camden and it was so tight on the lawn that you couldn’t scratch your eye without elbowing somebody in the back. While I am a little annoyed at the concert conditions, Johnson is donating all profits from the tour to charity, so I felt good about my money going to good causes.

I keep saying it, but I really do think I am done with the big concert venue shows and any kind of open seating situation: they are expensive, the sound is usually not great, and there are ALWAYS a small group (or pockets) of people that ruin the show for everyone else.

Here’s hoping Johnson does a winter tour in small venues!

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CD Review: Hanson: Shout It Out

Allow me to start this review by asking you for forget I mentioned the name Hanson. I know you are all thinking “those little bastards who sang “MmmmBop”?” Yes, it is that Hanson, and that was a long time ago. In 2005, I read an article about the band surviving and thriving independently: producing their albums (working with musicians like Matthew Sweet), touring, and actually growing their support base. I purchased the album they were supporting at the time and was impressed with what I heard. It was still a little sugary for my taste, but I saw the bones of a great band that had been playing with each other their entire lives.

Flash forward to 2010 – Hanson is still independent and their music is continuously maturing. Their most recent effort called “Shout It Out” rests equally on foundations of soul and pop. The lead single “Thinkin’ ’bout something” has a pretty decent horn section running through most of the song. I feel like my interest in the band is finally paying off: last year singer Taylor fronted the super-group “Tinted Window” which was pretty fucking awesome (Bun E. Carlos on drums – yes!) and now “Shout It Out” sounds exactly like it should – three guys who are totally in each other’s heads laying down some tracks. It is tight and sounds good. I hear Hanson puts on a pretty good live show, I am not sure if I am willing to intermingle with their post-pubescent fan base, but I am not ruling it out either.

This video recreates one of the best scenes in Blues Brothers – can’t fault them for good taste

Update: I found a live performance of the song on Letterman…

You can purchase “Shout it Out” on Amazon

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Concert Review: Justin Currie @ The Tin Angel (Philadelphia, Pa)

Artist: Justin Currie (of Del Amitri)
Opening Act: Graham Colton
Location: The Tin Angel – Philadelphia, Pa
Date: Saturday, June 19th, 2010

[Venue]
The Tin Angel
20 South 2nd Street
Philadelphia, PA

The Tin Angel is a great place to see a musician. It’s small and intimate, so if you happen see a show with “popular act”, you are in for a real treat. There is a restaurant downstairs that is great, so it’s a good night out if you can snag a table.

[Opening Act: Graham Colton]
As we walked into the Tin Angel, my wife and I (unknowingly) had a brief, pleasant exchange with Graham Colton. He was quite polite and friendly (and I am sure the ladies will find him good looking). Colton’s music is easy on the ears; a respectable singer with a good sense of rhythm on the guitar. His singer-songwriter style leans towards poppy love songs; since he seems like such a genuinely nice guy, the music doesn’t come off as douchy.

Colton’s last song of his 30 minute set (which was about the death of a friend – I didn’t catch the name) was his most emotionally mature. I want to recommend Graham Colton to you, but I suspect if you have a penis the music won’t do much for you. With that said, Graham is the kind of guy that a college girl would love to take home and get the bed sheets dirty and not feel all shamed up about it the next day (just don’t mention his wife Helen).

Website: Graham Colton

[Main Event: Justin Currie]
Let me just get this out of the way: Justin Currie sounded incredible. Years of the rock star lifestyle has done nothing to damage or degrade his voice, if anything, it has improved with age. Currie was accompanied by a keyboard/accordion player named Pete and it looks like the two have been playing together for a while. The set list consisted of a nice blend of Del Amitri classics and his newer solo material. Currie took a significant amount of requests from the crowd including one from me “Don’t I look like the kind of guy you used to hate.” He forgot half the song since it was an obscure b-side, but seemed impressed someone in the US knew about it.

Currie changed up some classic Del Amitri tunes like “Not Where it’s at” since the band wasn’t backing him – the changes seemed natural and sounded excellent. Justin’s newer tunes seemed to utilize a milder version the “Neil Finn Solo Album” technique – having weird little electronic noises under the acoustic guitar – it worked well to fill out the sound without a full band. Since Currie took so many requests, the tempo of the show dragged a bit in the middle (most people requested slower songs), but like a pro he knew when to pick it back up. The show ended around 10:00 PM as Justin was asked to wrap it up for another act starting at 10:30 (nobody I ever heard of).

Justin Currie is one of the premire, yet overlooked (in the US) songwriters of the last 20 years and it was a real pleasure to be able to see him perform in an intimate venue. Tonight is his last tour date and it is in Washington, DC. If you are in the area, I highly recommend catching the show.

You can purchase Justin Currie’s “The Great War” at Amazon

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Concert Review: Wilco @ The Electric Factory (Philadelphia)

Website: WilcoWorld.net
Opening Act: N/A
Venue: The Electric Factory
Date: Saturday, April 10th, 2010
Last Wilco Review: Wilco: 7.10.2009 @ Delware

Let’s start this review by stating the obvious, I really like Wilco. The last (and first) time I saw them was in a minor league baseball stadium in Wilmington, DE. It was an excellent show, but it felt a little disconnected since it was such a big outdoor venue. When I received word about a show at the Electric Factory I jumped at the tickets. Normally I start a concert review with my thoughts on the opening act, but Wilco did not having an opener. Did I mention how much I love this band?

We attempted to get seats in the upper section of the Electric Factory but it was packed. On my way down I saw the security officer from my Cranberries review. We exchanged pleasantries and I went off to find a suitable place to stand. We found a nice spot off to the side next to another staircase.

Tweedy and company went on stage at 8:30 PM. No chatty introductions, just a quick hello and down to to the rock. They opened with “Wilco (the song)” and it became clear in those opening moments that while Wilco is Jeff Tweedy’s band, Nels Cline has become the whole show. Tweedy is certainly no slouch, churning out tune after tune (we left at the three hour mark), but Nels Cline was a sound monster the entire night.

After the third or fourth song, an older gentlemen in a red sweater and tan hat start to smoke up (weed) right on the staircase that we were all standing next to. I was kinda shocked he wasn’t trying to hide in the crowd a bit more; he was out in the open with his cheap skunk weed (and security was most definitely in force last night). The pot head was not the issue but I decided to call him “original sin” because as soon as that smoke hit the air, every degenerate loser in the place converged on the staircase next to us. A small group of middle aged women (that I am convinced didn’t even know the band) talked the entire night. Tweedy (politely) told the crowd to be quiet a few times, these women didn’t take the hint.

The band played just about every song I could think of including material from “Mermaid Ave” I love the current line up’s reinterpretation of older material (with Cline and drummer Glenn Kotche) as it sounds infinitely better: tighter, better fills, and of course more practiced.

At the 90 minute mark, the stage crew came out (with Wilco not taking a break) and added some lamps and mood lighting. The show shifted to softer, acoustically driven material. This is when the situation with the talking ladies came to a boiling point. One of the members of my group politely asked them to listen to the music and they balked. After some words exchanged, the loud mouths finally stifled themselves and we really set into a nice undisturbed grove. Going into the evening, I was secretly hoping they would play “Airline to Heaven” which I have heard only live tracks and I really like the work that Cline does on slide guitar. As we entered 150 minute mark, I didn’t think it was going to happen (because the music start to pick up the pace), but then “There’s an airline plane…” – I was now satisfied.

As I mentioned, at the three hour mark, we decided to go. I heard every song I wanted to hear and then some. The band sounded unbelievably great. I also want to mention Pat Sansone who is Wilco’s other guitarist and while he may be overshadowed by Cline, he is a tremendous guitar and keyboard player, I was watching this guy all night and he was working his ass off. If you haven’t seen the band play live via concert or the multitude of DVD’s that are available, you don’t know this band. I would tell you to go out and get tickets, but they are probably sold out. Go buy this