The American Music Awards Monopolized My Evening

- Beyonce
How could you not do Ring The Alarm? I am so disappointed. I haven't ever heard this song "Irreplaceable" before. Now I know why. Yawn.

-Britney Spears presents an award
I prayed Britney wouldn't wear something horribly Housemother-Out-On-The-Town as she has been lately. But she did. And I will probably never have the opportunity, but I'm pretty sure I could do a better job of reading my lines than she did. All she had to say was "Hey y'all, let's give out an award. The nominees are..." and she somehow massacred it anyway.

-Pussycat Dolls
My "Guilty Pleasure to the 23rd Power" song. I can't not think of Nick Hexum when I see the singer Nicole ever since my friend alerted me to their dating history. Earlier during the Red Carpet interview, Ryan Seacrest asked the group if there was any animosity towards her in relation to her upcoming solo release. They all said no. At the end of this performance, one of the girls went Diva on everyone and overpowered the song. I guess we know which one lied to Ryan.

-Gap commercial featuring Common
If I had to describe this ad in one word, I'd say "pleasant." Common's smile makes my day.

-Snow Patrol
Here's what I heard when they played: "If I lay here whinyblahblahblah"

-Gwen Stefani
Oh cool she's...yodeling? And all her dancers are wearing haute-couture pajamas. Well alright. I'm starting to miss the Harajuku Girls. Gwen herself is sporting what appears to be a Bedazzled apron, while her platinum blonde hair is styled in a pageboy. It's like Michelle Pfieffer in Scarface meets Alice of the Brady Bunch. She's desperately trying to rap and I wish she would stop. This might be one of the worst songs I have ever heard.

-Jay Z
Like a breath of fresh air. 'JOVE!

-Gavin Rossdale and Chingy present an award
With the short hair, Gavin bears a striking resemblence to Liev Shrieber. But not in a good way. Were the Rossdales' stylists off this week for Thanksgiving or what?

-Flava Flav appears in a Kimmel bit
WTF. That's all I got for my comments on that. Just WTF.

-Paris Hilton
She looks like she aged about 10 years since the last time I saw her. I could probably write a whole blog on her and why I hate her so much, so I'll reserve the bulk of my comments about her as a person for that entry.

-Dave Grohl intro'ing Tenacious D
DaveGrohlDaveGrohlDaveGrohl. LOVE YOUUUU.

-Tenacious D
Yes. Now life is right again. This is where you belong Jack. Alongside Kyle. Not making out with Gwyneth. Not acting with a giant CGI ape. But on stage with Kyle. And apparently the Devil, who just came out of nowhere to try and punch you in the face (?!)

-Nicole Richie
People shouted to her that they loved her. That's a little much.

-Fall Out Boy
I'm not sure, but those look like two roaches on stage with them. That have nothing to do with anything as far as I can see.

-Sean Paul and Katherine McPhee present Rascal Flatts
Katherine's been in the industry, what, a year? She read her lines more naturally than Britney, whose got a ton of TV work and a film behind her. Look at me expecting natural talent to eminate from her. I'll stop that now.

-Rascal Flatts wins
But who cares because they just said Clay Aiken is coming up. And I feel the need to stick around to see what the boy does with his hair.

-Carmen Electra intro'ing Barry Manilow
She wins for best dress. But why is Barry on here? He's singing old songs. Not that I'm fiending for new stuff, but what is the point of this performance? I think I was so hypnotized by Carmen I wasn't even paying attention to what she was saying which probably contained the answers to my questions.

-Clay Aiken w/ Tori Spelling intro'ing John Mayer
So you can sleep tonight: Clay went with a feathered, parted-in-the-middle style.

And thus ends my night with another Awards show that affects my life...not at all.

11-05-06 Guns N' Roaches

BANDS:
Guns N' Roses


Papa Roach


Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row)


LOCATION:

Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, NJ


PRICE:
*sigh* around $95

CONCESSIONS:
I breezed by the food and merch so fast that I have no idea.

VIEW:
Front row, on the barricade. No pushing or shoving... it was wonderful.

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Since it was so cold out, I didn't want to risk getting sick so I waited till door time to get in line. When I saw the amount of people already there, I figured I could kiss front row goodbye. Surprisingly once inside, I didn't have any trouble getting up to the barricade.

I was psyched for this show because I liked everyone on the bill. Well. "Like" is a severe understatement. From about 1989-1992 I was completely obsessed with Gn'R and Skid Row, and Papa Roach own me. So yeah, I was happy about this tour.

ATTENDANCE:
I hate to say this, but pathetic. Apparently NJ isn't the hair metal capital we all thought it was, or this place would have been filled to the rafters. There were full-on deserted sections in the upper deck and the floor was so empty that when I took a bathroom break during Gn'R, I had zero trouble getting back up to the front.

AUDIENCE:
All ages, including a man with the biggest mullet I have ever seen. His hair was down to the middle of his back for crying out loud.

WARDROBE/STAGE SET:
Sebastian didn't have any visuals except the other bands' equipment. Papa Roach had their skull backdrop, while Guns N' Roses had a giant red and white mural of Chinese letters that probably spelled out "Keep dreaming and maybe one day Chinese Democracy will be released."

ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10= I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

Sebastian: 5
Papa Roach: 11
Guns N' Roses: 8

SETLIST (not in order):
Sebastian Bach:
Slave to the Grind
Monkey Business
Piece of Me
Here I Am
Big Guns
18 & Life
I Remember You
Youth Gone Wild
and around 3 solo songs I don't know

Papa Roach:
Dead Cell
Not Listening
She Loves Me Not
Getting Away With Murder
Time is Running Out
To Be Loved
Alive
Last Resort
Broken Home
Between Angels and Insects
Scars
Blood Brothers

Guns N' Roses:
Welcome to the Jungle
It's So Easy
Nighttrain
Out ta Get Me
Mr. Brownstone
Paradise City
My Michelle (with Sebastian)
Sweet Child O' Mine
Rocket Queen
Used to Love Her
November Rain
You Could Be Mine
Knockin' on Heaven's Door
Live and Let Die
Better and one or two other new songs
-plus instrumental solos

HIGHLIGHTS:
Sebastian sang "Here I Am", which was one of my favorite Skid Row songs ever. He looked good, at least better than I expected him to. I have seen him twice on his own besides this show. I was glad he didn't bust out into "Time Warp" and whatever song from Jekyll and Hyde like he did when I saw him at Irving Plaza a few years ago. I liked one of his new songs that was a ballad, though I forget the name. As far as vocals, he did pretty good. There were a couple of screams that fell short, but I didn't mind. Considering the hard living I'm sure he's done, he sounded decent. By the way, he's my all-time favorite vocalist next to Jacoby.

I was incredibly anxious for Papa Roach because like the summer show in Wisconsin, this was a metalhead crowd and I didn't know how well they would be received. They put on a great show as always, but the audience responded with mild cheering. After one of the songs, a kid started chanting "Guns...and... Roses" and in a kneejerk reaction, I told him I was going to kill him. He didn't hear me, but the father and son between us did and looked at me with concern. I don't know what possessed me to yell that, though I suspect being stressed out has something to do with my outburst. I was pretty excited to hear the new stuff and was particularly impressed by how good "To Be Loved" sounded live. I think they should've opened with that for this crowd. But they only have two more dates with them, so I doubt they'll be changing the setlist now, and especially at my suggestion. Coby went into the crowd for "Dead Cell" (opener) as well as for "Alive" and I think one other song but I can't remember which. The audience seemed to respond the most to "Between Angels and Insects."

For Guns N' Roses, it was pretty cool being first row for them and having Axl be about three feet in front of my face. By the way, I agree with the rumors that he had plastic surgery done. Nobody's cheekbones get higher with age. I also agree with recent show reviews that Axl's been in a very pleasant mood these days. Even when someone threw something on stage, he just calmly said "We really want to keep playing for you, but if you keep throwing things up here, we'll leave." I wondered who would be crazy enough to take their life into their hands by throwing stuff up there. Did they not see the St. Louis footage? Setlist highlights for me were Rocket Queen and Used to Love Her.

LOWLIGHTS:
I suppose you think I'm going to write about how much it sucked that Gn'R didn't hit the stage until 11:30 and didn't leave till 2am. But I fully expected this scenario, so I actually wasn't mad. The only disappointments were that the attendance was dismal and having to sit through the instrumental solos of which Bumblefoot's was the worst. It sounded like he was fumbling around on the guitar as if he'd never seen one before. Unless it's Eddie Van Halen shredding on "Eruption", I just don't have the interest in guitar solos. It also kind of irritated me that he played all of "Don't Cry" instead of hearing the whole band perform the song with Axl.

DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO-EXPLAIN):
If you're looking for a good time and time is not remotely of the essence to you, yes.

07-20-05 Springsteen

Before the concert date, an email was sent out by TicketMaster:

***************************************************************************************************************************************
Dear Ticket Purchasers
for the Bruce Springsteen concert, July 20, 7:30 p.m.

At the Artists request, please find below some important information about the
night of the show:

ARRIVE EARLY!
* Doors to the Arena will open at 6:00 p.m.
* All concession stands will close 10 minutes prior to the start of the show and remain closed for the duration of the show.
* All guests must be seated by the start of the first song.
* There will be no seating until the end of the third song. After that, there will be no seating during each song.

Also, please note the following:

* The show is solo/acoustic performance, set in a theatre style arrangement.
* NO cameras, video, or recording devices are permitted.a
* The artist requests that you do not bring Flowers/Gifts. If you do,they will not be admitted into the building.
* There will be no intermission.
* Curtains to the concourse will remain closed during the entire performance.
* Please turn off all mobile phones and pagers during the performance.

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

Well. This was a very unusual email to receive. I had never been told there were rules for going to a concert before. It suddenly felt as though I was being warned by Principal Springsteen before a middle school assembly to act accordingly or I'd receive detention. I shared the email with a friend who simply replied: "Well... he IS the BOSS."

On the way to the arena, I drove through at least three blocks worth of completely boarded up businesses. Bridgeport is in need of some serious help, or at least this neighborhood was. The few shops that were actually open had bars on the windows. So you can imagine how comfortable I was to be driving through the area alone. Needless to say, I was very happy to see civilization thriving when I finally arrived at the HarborYard Arena.

After security check, I walked through the gates and was handed a flier reminding me of the rules. Further enforcement in case you weren't listening the first time I guess. By the time 7:30 rolled around, we were all obediently in our seats as requested. However, Bruce was nowhere to be found. As I waited for the show to begin, I watched the poor souls who had pre-gamed on beer and food sprint out to the hallway restrooms to try to make it back before the first song started. For the rest of us under Bruce's control, we didn't move from our seats. I think we were afraid to. I mean, what if we missed the opening song or, God forbid, disturbed a precious second of the performance? No one wanted to find out what the consequences of invoking Bruce's wrath would be. The waiting and the fear that went with it felt like some kind of weird punishment for doing the right thing and eating dinner early so that we would be able to be seated by showtime.

Finally after 45 minutes of torture, he sauntered out at 8:15. Any nasty thoughts I had about Bruce and his tardiness were immediately replaced with "Woah. There he is." I have actually seen him live before (in 1999 during the 15 night stand at the Meadowlands). But as a music fan in general I always get goosebumps whenever I see living legends. The musicians whose songs stand the test of time, who can still draw a sizeable crowd, all the while maintaining their integrity, will always have my respect. Without question, Bruce falls into this category.

The show lasted a little over two hours. Bruce didn't just sit in his chair and strum an acoustic guitar the whole set, as that would have been quite boring. He incorporated other instruments such as the harmonica, piano and pump organ. For "Reason to Believe", he stomped on an electronic drum pad to keep the beat while he played harmonica and sang through a mic attachment that distorted his voice. This combination of effects gave a cool, drawn-out bluesy style, reminiscent of "Mannish Boy" by Muddy Waters, to a song that normally has a quicker, more upbeat feel to it.

As for the setlist, I'm only familiar with the songs I have heard on the radio or that were on the more popular albums. So as a result, there were times I found myself spacing out every once in awhile during the unfamiliar tunes. One of the most memorable was "Matamoros Banks", which is inspired by the inhumane immigration policy in the U.S. As Bruce pointed out, "There are people dying every day to get across our borders just to be able to clean our houses." It is about a Mexican trying to cross the Rio Bravo near Brownsville, Texas, and has a very original concept; from the song's lyrics: "Each year many die crossing the deserts, mountains, and rivers of our southern border in search of a better life. Here I follow the journey backwards, from the body at the river bottom, to the man walking across the desert towards the banks of the Rio Grande." Another standout for me was a cover of a beautiful, soaring song by a band called Suicide that repeated the line "Dream Baby Dream" played on the pump-organ.

In case you were wondering, there was a violation of the rules that took place. Being that it's Bruce, he's going to have lots of diehard fans that show up and chant his name like they would at any other of his shows. But the Boss is on some kind of weird ego trip, and is trying to create a serious ambience where yelling and fist-raising aren't welcome. As a result, most of the show was so quiet that there were times you could hear a pin drop. I give him credit though, because not many people in this world can command attention like that.

However, as much as Bruce and his people tried to pound the rules for attending this show into our heads before we even entered the arena, there were still a handful of fans that didn't listen. Some rebels in tonight's crowd couldn't control themselves and would bellow out "BRUUUUCE" during songs as if they were attending one of Bruce's rocked out shows with the E-Street Band. This did not go unnoticed by the man himself, who finally joked "I understand hooping and hollering is a form of self expression, but don't do it in the middle of the f***ing song." Later in the show when the guys repeated their violation, Bruce addressed them again: "Don't make me come out there and slap you. Because I will. AND I'll enjoy it! I'll have the people around you do it for me!" he laughed. As someone who is used to being able to go crazy and scream along to songs all I want, and in at least one case having been reprimanded for not clapping along, I found this to be a bit too much, even bordering on diva arrogance. But whatever. I forgive him. I mean I have to. He's the Boss.

Setlist:

1 Into the fire
2 Reason to Believe
3 Devils and dust
4 Empty sky
5 Long Time Coming
6 Highway 29
7 The promise
8 All that heaven will allow
9 The River
10 State Trooper
11 Nebraska
12 Maria's bed
13 Reno
14 Nothing man
15 Racing in the street
16 Lost in the flood
17 The rising
18 Spare Parts
19 Jesus was an only son
20 If I should fall
21 The Hitter
22 Matamoros banks
23 Ramrod
24 Bobby Jean
25 Land of hope and dreams
26 Promised land
27 Dream baby dream

09-19-05 Katrina Benefit- Chappelle sighting!

Monday night I went to a benefit for Hurricane Katrina. The lineup was:

Monday, 9/19, BB King Blues Club (42nd St.), $25 advance, 10pm:
DEAD PREZ * TALIB KWELI * Q-TIP * THE BEATNUTS * THE
X-ECUTIONERS * DAVID BANNER * REMY MARTIN * MEMPHIS
BLEEK * DJ ASSASSIN * & other Special Invited Guests
Dave Chapelle was there unannounced, Styles P, and the Last Poets were also there.

We got to the club around 10:30, and the place was barely full (capacity is 1000). I found this surprising, since there were a lot of well known rappers that would be appearing. The stage was setup very simple- just some turntables and that was about it. And frankly that was all that was needed as this was just going to be a raw, stripped down hip hop show to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Q-Tip was the emcee and DJ for the night, but didn't actually perform. He made some opening remarks that escalated into a ramble about the Hurricane that went on so long I eventually tuned out. After his speech, the Last Poets came out to vent about the disgraceful handling of the Hurricane survivors and read some of their poems. The standout piece was "America is a Terrorist." If I recall correctly, the last lines were "Evil uses Christianity to bring the world to its knees" followed by "You cannot kill what you can't see." I haven't been able to find the whole poem online, but if I do, I'll post it.

Next up was the Beatnuts. They got the crowd going by playing "Off the Books." Unfortunately, I'm Beatnut-ignorant so I can't really report details from the rest of the set. Look, I'm impressed with myself for even knowing THAT song.

After they were done, we went up to the bar to get our drink on at $9 A SHOT. Ridiculous. AND they didn't even have sugar to coat my lemon wedge for the Lemon Drop shots I had ordered. So basically I just drank shots of straight vodka with some lemon juice squeezed in it. Being a typical girl, I normally favor fruity drinks, so this was a little hard to take. But it helped me accomplish my goal of reaching a fantastic buzz, so I got over it.

While we were up at the bar, a man was on stage speaking to the crowd. But since we were talking amongst ourselves, we didn't hear what he was saying. Suddenly he freaked out and screamed "EXCUSE ME!!!" into the mic several times until the crowd shut up. He was yelling that his family was murdered recently (!) and ordered us to be quiet and say a prayer. That's what you call a showstopper. And a total buzzkill. But I am not going to apologize for socializing at the bar. After all, Q-Tip told us to have a good time, and that's all I was trying to do. I continued to drink as if nothing had happened and was back to feeling good in no time.

Saigon, known from the HBO show Entourage, was up next. I honestly had no clue he was a real rapper. A friend asked how long he's been around and I said "Not that long. Turtle like JUST discovered him."

When he finished, some Katrina survivors that were in attendance came up on stage to thank everyone. A man in his early 40s and a small boy came out to introduce two girls who had written a song about the craziness they just went through. The man said that they had been up on their roof up until 8 days before the concert and had gone 59 hours without food. The girls' names escape me, but they said they're going on tour soon, so hopefully they'll get some cash from their music to get back on their feet. Some of their lyrics talked about being locked in their attic for shelter for a few days in a row. I can't even picture dealing with that kind of scenario. But the real tearjerker moment was when the little boy enthusiastically shouted "I'm a New Orleans survivor!" and smiled. I almost lost myself in the moment and *gasp* expressed emotion in public. While the girls performed, he was running around dancing with them and even crowdsurfed, which was adorable. Imagine going through all that BS and still managing to find a way to enjoy life so soon after? I guess the lesson to be learned from them is that you can sit and feel sorry for yourself, or give thanks that you're alive and celebrate.

Next up was Talib Kweli. At this point, I was feeling very nice due to vodka and the weed-saturated air I was inhaling. I had never had an honest-to-goodness contact high before. Needless to say I wouldn't mind it happening again. As a result of this, Talib's performance is a blur. But I remember noticing that the crowd was at its largest during his set. The highlight for me was "Just ta Get By." I saw him open for the Beastie Boys and he was great, but I never went to check out his stuff. I guess I should.

After Talib was Memphis Bleek. At this point I was in a full-on haze. Apologies to Bleek fans, because I don't remember a damn thing except that he was wearing a really bright orange striped shirt. In fact Styles P's set was blurry as well. Now that it was closer to 1am, the crowd had begun to thin out, as people had to run to catch trains (the last ones depart around 1:30), or were leaving in order to get sleep for work. But thanks to liquor, sense of responsibility escaped me, so I stayed.

It was somewhere in this time frame that Dave Chappelle came out on stage to say a few words about the event. As my friend said: he should have just come out and said "Hi everyone. I'm not performing. Back to the rappers!" It was cool to see him, as he was one of the current hot topics in the press all year. However, it was slightly disappointing, since my primary reason for going to this event was because of the rumor that he'd perform. But I'll live. Nothing will ever top being at the taping for the Wayne Brady episode of his Comedy Central show anyway.

After a short set from the X-Ecutioners, Remy Martin (from "Lean Back" fame- bouncers don't check her, she just walks around the metal detectors) came out. She is a very intense woman. With really, um, interesting hairstyle choices: completely blonde bangs, and then long black hair with red highlights. But somehow it works for her. She did a lot of freestyle and did her part of "Lean Back" live as well as "Conceited."

Finally, emerging around 2:30am from a barrage of camera flashes sidestage came David Banner. Prior to this performance, all I knew of Banner was his quote that the Suge Knight shooting at Kanye West's VMA party was something that's normal at events with a lot of people. Um. Yeah. Not so much. By now, there were only maybe a little over a hundred people left in the club. It was like a house party at this point.

His set was basically 4 or 5 songs- none of which I can tell you because like a lot of the performers on this bill, I wasn't familiar with his work. In between songs, he would go on incredibly long rants, about the situation down south, the state of the US and George Bush, etc. The anger and dramatics had me totally riveted-it was almost like watching a meltdown of sorts. He said he was drunk. A damn energetic drunk from what I saw. He was running around the stage, twirling the open bottled water and chucking it at the few of us left at the show. He went into the crowd to do some songs, performing from the middle of the club. During a bit about how his people need the white people because there are actually some of them who do care, he affectionately grabbed this preppy looking white college kid by the head and talked directly in his face. He said "You! You and I have a special bond that you don't even know about right now", which cracked everyone up. Then he had the DJ play a clip of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for "the white people." If I can tangent for a moment, I have to say that I never liked that song. I never admitted it to anyone till this show. And now all of you know. But I digress. Anyhow, David's passion-fueled performance reminded me of Jacoby Shaddix. His set finally ended at about 3:30am.

I knew this was going to be a great show even though I didn't know more than one or two songs from each act. The one thing I did not expect was the emotions I'd be experiencing. I thought it would be an evening of dancing and drinking, maybe Chappelle will do some comedy, etc. But it ended up being a very moving night. Especially when the New Orleans survivors came out. That just blew me away.

I finally got home at 4:45am, fell asleep at about 5:15, had to get up at 9 for work, and it was worth it.

10-02-05 The Killers

LOCATION:
Jones Beach theater, Wantagh, NY (Long Island)
Front row


BANDS:
The Killers
British Sea Power

PRICE: $35.00 (sans Ticketbastard charges)


DETAILS OF EVENT:

CONCESSIONS: A pretzel twist was $4.75 and a bottle of water was $5. I was starving, but I'm also cheap. I went with the medium sized bag of M&Ms for $3.25, which cost more than a bag at the movie theater. Ridiculous. If it wasn't for my lack of energy due to hunger, the cashiers at Jones Beach would have experienced the brunt of my concessions-rage.

VIEW: My seat was AWESOME. The sections at the theater are angled to the stage (so that the further back you go, the wider the row). So even though I was in the last seat of the 4th row according to my ticket, I actually ended up being front row on the right side. I wasn't able to see the drummer, but I managed to get over it.

PRE-SHOW VIBE: Sinatra songs played over the loud speakers while the crew set up the stage. While I waited, I made small talk with a security guard about recent shows at the venue, and how to get to Amityville afterwards, where I was to meet a friend. I mentioned that the last time I was there was for No Doubt/Blink 182 and he said that was one of the best shows he's seen. He was particularly excited that Gwen had touched his head that night when she was prancing by his area of the stage. Around me, the big buzz pre-show was the Yankees game so everyone was rabidly checking their phones for scores and reporting to security any progress.

ATTENDANCE: I'm pretty sure it was almost sold out, which surprised me as this arena holds about 14,000 people. I didn't realize the Killers were so popular that they would fill the place to near-capacity. There were only a few empty seats at the tippity top. I've sat up there, and it SUCKS. Not even worth it unless you're such a diehard fan that you can't let one performance of your favorite band go by. They do have TV screens sidestage for the people up there. But it's still like watching the show from two city blocks away, so I have ruled out sitting in that section as an option for good.

AUDIENCE: A good mix of generations. The Killers are suitable for all ages.

WARDROBE: They were dressed as though they were going out for an evening at a trendy pub. Very much Early Brian Slade.

STAGE SET: Pretty basic-a couple of silver curtains, with a silver backdrop reading "The Killers." Brandon had a kick ass metallic keyboard setup. Other than that it was just the band. The light show was cool, especially during "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine."

SIDE NOTE: I purposefully arrived late, so I have no review of British Sea Power for you. Unless I like the opener already, or need to be up front for a general admission show, I don't bother getting there early. I try to time it so I don't have to sit through bands I don't know and feel forced to fake interest while they're playing. I suppose you could argue that I might be missing out on a great band without knowing it, but really I don't care.


ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

I give this show a 6. I was excited to see them live for the first time and got my standing-in-place-bounce on, but it was nowhere near an adrenaline high.


SETLIST:
Everything on the CD. They opened with "Jenny..." and closed with "All the Things That I've Done."


HIGHLIGHTS:
Brandon.

Good God. The joker smile wins me over yet again.

Ahem...back to the music...I'd say the highlight for me was "Everything Will Be Alright." I didn't think they'd play that so it was a nice surprise. I liked how they all were lined up frontstage playing their own keyboard for the song (except the guitarist who played his guitar not a keyboard). It gave me a flashback of 311's percussion bit they do during their own concerts. The digital sound effects in the song came across really nice live. The fact that they played the whole CD was a highlight as well. I think they had to because they only have one album and have to fill up at least an hour to justify being a headliner. Also they played "Moonage Daydream", a David Bowie cover.


LOWLIGHTS:
The crowd was just not that into it. I would describe it as "polite screaming." Meaning, after a song was over, there would be some cheering and applause, but it would immediately die down. This created small awkward pauses before the next song started. I'm used to shows where the crowd is damn near animalistic with their response and there is no shutting anyone up. I think some of it is because their stage presence is slightly lacking. They remind me of the Strokes or Oasis- they just kind of stand there. Brandon sporadically walked around, but he pretty much stuck to centerstage. He's no Jacoby Shaddix. Well, no one is. But my point is that the singer's energy is contagious and he is the one who has to connect with the crowd. And if he's just subdued, the crowd will be too. I think they're better suited to a smaller venue, not an arena this size. It's just too hard to reach everyone up in the rafters with the low-key nature of the band's show. Even Brandon announced "We're going to back to clubs after this" after looking out into the crowd and seeing the less than energetic response.

Also for me it was annoying that they played these 2 or 3 other songs I didn't even know. I think it has something to do with the fact that I downloaded their CD off iTunes, so I missed out on bonus tracks that weren't available. The night before, I was on cdzinc.com and saw an alternate version of Hot Fuss that had three other songs listed. I didn't get a chance to hear them prior to the show, but I'll assume these were the unfamiliar tunes. (EDIT: they were.)

DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes, if they play a club, or you can get close seats in an arena. I don't think I would have been as happy in the nosebleed seats. And it's not that I'm not capable- I had last row at Springsteen a few years ago and still rocked out and had a great time.

10-12-05 The Foo Review

LOCATION:
Harbor Yard Arena, Bridgeport, CT
Row E, sidestage




BANDS:
Foo Fighters
Weezer
Hot Hot Heat

PRICE: about $50


DETAILS OF EVENT:

CONCESSIONS: As usual, I arrived hungry. Got a hamburger clocking in at $5.50. I'm not even gonna front. It was damn good. Also got a bottle of water for $2.75.

VIEW: Awesome. Sidestage, but could see everything. I had an aisle seat and no one was in my way.

PRE-SHOW VIBE: Pretty relaxed crowd. The music over the speakers prior to the Foos was especially good. But all I remember is "Twisted Transistor" (Korn) and "B.O.B" (Outkast). I thought it was funny they played Korn. But at Korn, I thought it was funny they played Foo ("All My Life"). Maybe they have a secret friendship no one knows about. When they're ready, they'll tell us. Perhaps blog about it on MySpace.

ATTENDANCE: Less full than you'd think. Alllmost sold out.

AUDIENCE: All ages. Some parents were there as fans and/or chaperones.

WARDROBE: Very much like everyone just went out to a dive bar right before showtime.

STAGE SET: HHH and Weezer had basic black with their logo gigantic. Foo Fighters had frickin' laser beams Pink Floyd style, and big screens all over (see below photo of Dave).

ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

I give it an 11. Easily one of my top 10 favorite live shows. And this was only my second time seeing them.


SETLIST:
Foos:
In Your Honor
All My Life
My Hero
Best of You
Learn To Fly
Up In Arms
Times Like These
The One
Stacked Actors
DOA
This Is A Call
Breakout
Everlong
(encore break)
Cold Day In The Sun (dave on drums)
Monkey Wrench

Weezer:
opened with Hash Pipe, the rest isn't in order:
Say it Ain't So
My Name is Jonas
Buddy Holly
Photograph
Sweater Song
Dope Nose
Beverly Hills
We Are All On Drugs
This is Such a Pity
El Scorcho
Island in the Sun
Perfect Situation
Surf Wax America
they also covered "Big Me" since Foos don't play that on this tour
then maybe two others I didn't know (one was slow)

HHH: I only remember a song with the title "Nowhere" in it, and a song where he kept saying "Wash your dirty mouth". Sorry Shannon :(


HIGHLIGHTS:

Weezer: I forgot how much I liked them. I don't know how I've gone this long without purchasing at least one CD of theirs. Definitely psyched about "My Name is Jonas." "Say it Ain't So" got a pretty good reaction out of the crowd. It was a homestate show, as Rivers is from Storrs (UConn Land). "Island in the Sun" was cool, because Rivers showed up in the back of the arena and did it by himself on acoustic guitar. During the "Sweater Song", they pulled a kid out of the audience to play acoustic guitar. Though the kid seemed way too relaxed. Like at Green Day's shows the kids are sooo excited, whereas this kid got up there like he'd been playing with the band his whole life. Maybe he's just that cool. Who knows. Also kind of interesting, Rivers let other band members sing. The bassist sang "Dope Nose", the guitarist sang some slow-ish song (the pace reminded me of "Imagine" by Lennon), and the drummer sang "Photograph."


Foos:


Dave singing "In Your Honor" (at a different show).

Oh. My. GOD. As soon as I heard the opening chords of "In Your Honor" (the song playing on my profile page) I got major chills. That song was made to be the opening song for their set. Just brilliance. Then they just kept kicking my ass with every song they played. "Stacked Actors" was a pleasant surprise. I didn't think they'd play it, so I was psyched. Like the Roseland show a few years ago, Dave ran through the crowd. People went nuts, jumping the barricades to get to him in the back of the arena. "Everlong" was of course awesome. Dave came out and played alone (electric guitar) then right at the end where it builds up again, the rest of the band came out to finish out the song all rocked out. "Best of You" has a special meaning to me, so I loved that. It was also cool to see Taylor come out and sing. He played guitar on that song while Dave played drums. Dave randomly playing the opening riff to "Ain't Talkin' Bout Love" was cute (that's my favorite guitar riff of all time). I'm telling you though, as soon as Dave walks out, it's over. Done. You're in heaven watching a rock god in action. Like I always say- some people go to church, I have this.


LOWLIGHTS:
Nothing I can think of.


DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Hell yes. Even casual fans of both bands would love it. They've both been around so long that if you've watched MTV or listened to rock stations at all in the last ten years, you'd recognize the songs and be able to get into the show. As you can see from both setlists, it's pretty much their greatest hits.

10-22-05 Springsteen Round 2

LOCATION:

Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI
Section 229, row H (side stage, 2nd level)

BANDS:
Just the man himself. No backup guys or anything.

PRICE: $95 a ticket (includes Ticketbastard charges)


DETAILS OF EVENT:

CONCESSIONS: Hamburger was $5.50, bottle of soda I think was $3.75

VIEW: Good. He had TV screens for the people in the back, so when he was at the piano and his back was to us, we could still his face via the screen. Only weird complaint I have is I could see backstage and found it distracting seeing his tech tuning his guitars during the show. And I like to get a more front-view to get the whole feel of the set. But I guess better where I was then nosebleeds opposite the stage.

PRE-SHOW VIBE: The music played beforehand was very old school blues. Like the music that influenced Elvis, the Stones, Chuck Berry, etc. People arrived well after 7:30, even though the ticket said that was start time. I should mention that due to some medicine I had taken, I was asleep till he took the stage at 8pm. I was awoken to 14,000 people screaming and when I opened my eyes, the lights had already gone down and it was pitch black. So you can imagine the near heart attack I experienced.

ATTENDANCE: Sold out

AUDIENCE: Mostly people older than me. I'd say mostly a 40-60 crowd (?)

WARDROBE: Usual Bruce- jeans and shirt.

STAGE SET: The backdrop was basically long curtains and dramatic colored lights


ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

Hmm. I guess a 6. Keep in mind it's an acoustic show so it's already a given that I'm not gonna get crazy.


SETLIST:
From backstreets.com:

Idiot's Delight/Across the Border**/Devils & Dust/Lonesome Day/Long Time Comin'/For You*/You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)*/The River*/Reason to Believe/Nebraska/Part Man Part Monkey/All the Way Home/Reno/Valentine's Day*/Real World*/The Rising/Darkness on the Edge of Town/Jesus Was an Only Son*/Leah/The New Timer#/Matamoros Banks
Encore: Growin'*****/Atlantic City/Bobby Jean/The Promised Land/Dream Baby Dream**
*=piano
**=pump organ
*****=ukulele
#=autoharp

HIGHLIGHTS:
"Atlantic City." I was very excited to hear this. Also I really liked the song with the harmonica and floor drum. I THINK it's "Reason to Believe" only because I remember a lyric with "ditch" in it. I also love that "Dream Baby Dream" cover he does- it's just beautiful.


LOWLIGHTS:
I WISH I could see him do the acoustic version of "Born To Run" live. But we can't have it all.


DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes, if you're a hardcore Bruce fan or can at least appreciate his talents. Don't expect him to play radio hits.

11-29-05 KORN!

LOCATION:



Hammerstein Ballroom, NY NY (a block from MSG)
Lower balcony, second row (front row was for stupidass Clear Channel people)



BANDS:
KORN.


PRICE: $37 a ticket (before Ticketbastard charges)


DETAILS OF EVENT:

CONCESSIONS: No idea. Parking however was so expensive I don't even want to talk about it. Shannon knows how much it cost me. But I can't bear the thought of anyone else knowing my dirty shameful secrets. Like how badly I was financially raped because I was too lazy and frustrated with NYC traffic at rush hour to go to another lot (:(

VIEW: Awesome. Could see the whole stage, backstage hos, and the entire floor.

PRE-SHOW VIBE: Well. It was laid back where I was sitting. The floor was getting riled up because they taped this show for MTV2 (to air Sat. night at 9:30) and the camera guys were going around filming kids freaking out before the show. The floor liked chanting "F**K your seats" to us, but I just blankly stared at them and continued filling out my employee review form for work. I noticed that they played the Foo Fighters again before their show. Only now they played all of Disc 1 of In Your Honor. Foos have graduated from one song to being worthy of playing a whole album pre-show. Interesting. I swear to God these two bands have Best Friends Forever necklaces with eachother. But I digress.

ATTENDANCE: Pretty sure it was sold out.

AUDIENCE: A kid walked by wearing a "Shut up you f**king f**k" t-shirt. That pretty much sums it up.

WARDROBE: Jonathan- all black, hair is longer than ever, Fieldy-hair was long and straight (no braids!) wearing some kind of basketball jersey/jeans outfit, Munky- hair is super long now and was wearing some military kinda jacket ensemble, David-topless, muscled out... and I think maybe Tobin's been giving him hairstyling tips. Maybe at Claus Fest last year. Who knows.

STAGE SET: Hanging screens that displayed different things at different times- lyrics to the songs, or their faces, or graphics from the new album cover. Also a giant Lite-Brite-ish backdrop. And of course Jonathan had his mic stand (pictured above).


ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

10. Even from the balcony Jonathan's energy is contagious.


SETLIST:
Totally not in order:
Here to Stay (OK they opened with this)
Falling Away From Me
Somebody Someone
ADIDAS
Blind
Freak on a Leash
Got the Life
Shoots and Ladders/One
Brick in the Wall
Twist
Did My Time
Y'all Want A Single
Twisted Transistor
Liar, Come Undone, Hypocrite (all new)
Some random slow-ish song I actually don't know. It sounded like he was saying "Dirty little boy"??


HIGHLIGHTS:
Whenever the pit would go crazy. During one of the last songs (Blind? or Shoots and Ladders?) the entire floor was a pit. I love that. I love it from the balcony though. Last year I was on the floor and really wasn't that keen on doing that again. They sounded great- you don't even really miss Head to be honest. This was their first U.S. show without him. Jonathan acknowledged his absence and had the crowd applaud him and simply said "He had to go do his thing, and we're going to keep doing ours." Also a highlight- I can't help it- the damn bagpipes get me everytime. Then when they go into "One" by Metallica... *sigh* I <3>LOWLIGHTS:
The balconies (there are 3) weren't as into it as I'd like them to be. I like to rock out. God help any of you out there that attend a show with me. I do not sit still. I don't embarassingly freak out, but enough that I stood out amongst these stiffs. And I had Clear Channel people in front of me (it's a CC venue) who seemed more concerned with how much beer they could drink than the actual show. F you Clear Channel. Love, Howard. By the way, for two seconds I thought I saw High Pitch Eric. But it wasn't him. Also a side note, not really a lowlight: I find it impossible not to think of Robin when I hear "Y'All Want a Single."


DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
I'd say yes. Unless you're a nu-metal snob. Then move along...nothing to see here.


*BONUS QUESTION: Why didn't you try to meet them after? WTF?
Well. To begin with, I'm sick with a cold and when I got outside it was windy and rainy as hell (hydroplaned on the way home a couple times). Second, the parking lot that I will never park at again said that they close a half hour after the show is over. Third- they're doing an instore, and with all these days off from work I have left, I may just channel my inner 15 yr old and go try to meet them that way.


OK that's all for now!

02-11-06 A bottle of red...a bottle of white...

LOCATION:


Madison Square Garden, Section 311

BANDS:
Billy Joel

PRICE: Like... $100 or something (I forget)

DETAILS OF EVENT:

CONCESSIONS: The medium sized soda was $3.75. It was enough for me, Mom and Dad. I saw there was some chicken fingers meal for $8.95. There was also a couple of tables serving hard liquor & beer.

VIEW: Pretty good. We were in the middle of the side stage section. We could see the whole stage- and Alexa Joel. Because Billy pointed her out, not because we were stalking.

PRE-SHOW VIBE: Pretty chill.

ATTENDANCE: Sold out - the whole arena was filled, even behind the stage.

AUDIENCE: Lots of drunks at this show. Including one guy who kept taking his shirt off and standing on his seat pretending like he was the rockstar of section 312.

WARDROBE: Black blazer, shirt, pants (jeans?)

STAGE SET: In the round, but at one end of the arena. No pyro, curtains, graphics, etc. Just used colored lights to add drama to the show.


ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show
For me I'd say about a 4. But the arena I'd say 10.


SETLIST:

Almost every Billy Joel song I know. Not in order:

Stormfront
NY State of Mind
My Life
Movin' Out
Captain Jack
Piano Man
The Entertainer
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
Only the Good Die Young
She's Always A Woman
Big Shot
Zanzibar
You May Be Right
It's Still Rock and Roll To Me
All For Leyna
Miami 2017
Everybody Loves You Now
Allentown
Keeping the Faith
Big Man on Mulberry Street
Downeaster Alexa
River of Dreams
We Didn't Start the Fire
Sometimes a Fantasy
Highway to Hell (Yes. the AC/DC song)


HIGHLIGHTS:

Finally getting to see him live after waiting my whole life. Yes, I was headbanging to GN'R back in the day, but sometimes the mood calls for a little Piano Man- know what I'm sayin'?

"NY State of Mind"- I didn't know it was out the year I was born. For some reason that makes me love this song even more.

"Downeaster Alexa"- This song makes me think of the town I grew up in and I think it's one of the prettiest songs I've ever heard.

"Miami 2017"- this song makes me really emotional because I remember him doing it after 9/11. Since then it's taken on a whole new meaning for me.

"Only the Good Die Young"- one of my favorites

"Piano Man"- the whole arena sang a capella, which is always cool. I mean not one person sat there silent- EVERYONE was singing.

"Highway to Hell"- a crew guy came out and sang it dead-on and the crowd went crazy for it


LOWLIGHTS:

I didn't get really crazy into the show. Maybe because we were up sorta high? The music doesn't call for rocking out though. Also I kinda hoped he would have talked to the crowd more because he is pretty funny.


DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):

Yes if you love the pride and joy of Hicksville, NY that is Billy Joel. Looking at the setlist I realized he skipped a few big hits, namely Uptown Girl and Pressure. But I'm happy with what I got :)

03-05-06 Laaast niiight

BANDS:
The Strokes

Eagles of Death Metal opened

LOCATION:
Hammerstein Ballroom
Night 1: 3rd row center balcony of first mezzanine
Night 2: Two people from the barricade

PRICE:
$45-$50


DETAILS:

CONCESSIONS:
Shot of liquor was $5, beer was $5, a box of candy was $2. Coat check was $4. Parking was $11 on Night 1, but was $20 on Night 2.

VIEW:
Night 1: Perfect. I had a seat in the balcony and could see everything. Except when drunk bastards would randomly show up in the aisle, but they would get kicked out by security and then I had my view back.

Night 2: I had to strain my neck and catch views in between people's heads because I'm so freaking short. If I jumped I could see everything.

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Night 1: Pretty chill. The only music I remember being played over the speakers was the Clash. I just sat and listened to an old Howard Stern episode on my iPod while I waited for the bands to go on. The people around me seemed mostly focused on chugging as much beer as possible before the show.

Night 2: I was a little stressed because we got there later than I wanted so I didn't get barricade. I was mostly focused on trying to get a good view and assessing who I would be able to physically move should I need to. The people around me on the floor were mostly teenagers goofing around killing time.

ATTENDANCE:
Both nights were sold out completely

AUDIENCE:
Like looking at a fashion show. Lots of people who put way too much effort into looking good at a show where they were just gonna get sweaty and shoved around all night. Oh and Drew Barrymore was there at least on Night 1. She's dating Fabrizio (drummer).

WARDROBE:
Typical Strokes attire. Um I guess "East Village Hipster" should cover it.

STAGE SET:

Really cool. Fabrizio was elevated over everyone else. The light show was really cool.


ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show
Night 1: 7
Night 2: 9 (something cooler about being in the GA pit)


SETLIST:
(not in order)
Both nights:
Barely Legal
Someday
Alone Together
Last Night
Hard to Explain
Trying Your Luck
Take it or Leave It
The End Has No End
I Can't Win
You Only Live Once
Juicebox
Heart In A Cage
Razorblade
Vision of Division
Ask Me Anything
Red Light
NY City Cops
12:51
Reptilia
Ramones cover: Life is A Gas

Alternate songs:
Night 1:
Soma
The Modern Age

Night 2:
What Ever Happened?
Under Control (Har Mar Superstar came out and sang with Julian)


HIGHLIGHTS:
Well I actually enjoyed Eagles of Death Metal. I don't know where I got the idea that I didn't. I think they were on Conan once and I thought they were weird but that was like 2 years ago or something. Samantha Maloney (ex-Hole, Crue) plays drums for them now instead of Josh Homme. She was awesome to watch.
The sound was great for both bands. I was psyched for "The Modern Age" Wednesday night, and especially psyched for "What Ever Happened?" on Saturday because those are my two favorite songs by them. "New York City Cops" was a highlight as well.


LOWLIGHTS:
My only problem with the Strokes live is that they aren't very animated on stage. I guess I'm used to Papa Roach and the like working the whole stage. They just kind of stand there. But somehow it didn't bother me this time around.


DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes, but I wouldn't say it's worth it to spend any more than I did for this show. Because while they sound great and all, the live show isn't so impressive that I would say go see them for more than $50.

03-26-06 Blind is best played by surprise.

BANDS:

Korn
Mudvayne
Ten Years

LOCATION:
Mohegan Sun Arena, Sidestage, Row S

PRICE:
$45 (including Ticketbastard charges)


DETAILS:

CONCESSIONS:
The shirt I was interested in:

was $45 which was about what I paid for the ticket. Thus my interest flew out the window. Other shirts were in the $30 range.

VIEW:
Could see everything when the couple in front of me got the hell out of my way. Seriously. They were two drunkies who would yell in each other's ear, thus creating massive head block in front of me. So I'd move further down my row to see better since the guys next to me left. But then they'd shift positions so they'd be standing in front of me again. I was very close to giving them $1 to get out of my way and go get a room. I hated them.

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
I wasn't there before the show. I arrived during Mudvayne. But I didn't know it was Mudvayne. I thought they were 10 Years until they said "Give a round of applause to the Mudvayne crew". Then after a half second wondering why we should, I realized that the Skynyrd looking guy was the weirdo redfaced guy from that first video they put out awhile ago and that this in fact was Mudvayne. Which actually made me happy because I didn't care about 10 Years at all. The only music played during the break that I remember was Queens of the Stone Age songs, which due to their Dave Grohl connection, just furthers my theory that Foo Fighters and Korn are secret best friends. In between Mudvayne and Korn I read my Tucker Max book so I don't even know what was going on most of the time.

ATTENDANCE:
Sold out. Us Southern New Englanders sure do love our Nu-Metal.

AUDIENCE:
Mostly in their early 20s. There were a couple of hos that walked through the crowd and drew a lot of attention right before Korn went onstage. I guess because their boobs and asses were hanging out as they waved and blew kisses to guys. I don't know if I'm supposed to know who they are, or if they were just drunk dime-a-dozen Korn hos. I'll go with the latter.

WARDROBE:
Fieldy had a Raiders jersey on while his long Jesus hair flowed, David was topless for my viewing pleasure still sporting his Tobin hair, Munky wore some kinda Asian-influenced military wear, and Jonathan wore a black tank top and changed from his Adidas pants, to a black kilt, and at one point wore that long black robe dress thingy.

STAGE SET:
Screen that showed computer animated graphics mimicking the style of their album cover. If you go to Korn.com you can get a sense of the art direction. Sorta like F'd Up Alice In Wonderland. Like AIW wasn't f'd up enough already. Also worth noting is that they now have a backup band: A second drummer, a keyboardist, a guitarist, and another dude who plays random percussion/sound effects (like a giant metal sheet wtf). And the guys in the backup band all wear freaky animal masks the whole time. Um... ok.


ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

I give it an 8 1/2. Points deducted for the medley.


SETLIST:
(not in order)
It's On (opened with this)
Falling Away From Me
Somebody Someone
Freak on a Leash
Got the Life
Shoots and Ladders (went into a medley including ADIDAS, Thoughtless and Make Me Bad)
Twist
Twisted Transistor
Coming Undone
Counting On Me
Here to Stay
the new songs I don't know
Blind (last song)


HIGHLIGHTS:
My view and seeing them in a small arena, Jonathan and Fieldy going sick headbanging together during one song, the enthusiasm of the crowd (they even showed up for Mudvayne for crying out loud). Also "It's On" was a pleasant surprise.


LOWLIGHTS:
I was already kinda bummed because they did like 4 or 5 new songs I don't know since I really am not into the latest CD. So you can understand my joy when Jonathan came out with the bagpipes and the band went into Shoots and Ladders. The last few times I saw them play this song, they would go right into "Darkness...imprisoning me...all that I see...absolute horror" and finish out the song with "One" which would cause the crowd to go insane. But instead they go into an f'ing MEDLEY. Spread the word please: medleys are totally unacceptable if I am in the attending audience. One song I didn't know, then they threw in Make Me Bad, Thoughtless and A.D.I.D.A.S. WTF. As many times as I've seen them (I've lost count. 8? 9? I don't know.) I still look forward to A.D.I.D.A.S.!! For their last song they did "Blind." But Jonathan announced it in advance ("We have one last song. You know what it is. This is "Blind"). Doing that somehow took away from the excitement I would normally feel hearing David's intro in complete darkness, either as the opening song or the encore. I don't know how to explain my frustration. "Anti-climactic" I guess? As I put it to Shannon "Blind is best played by surprise."


DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes if you're a real Korn freak. If you're go looking to hear the older stuff, then no.

04-03-06 Now Get in the Pit and Try To Love Someone

BANDS:


Kid Rock
opener: Ty Stone

LOCATION:
Hammerstein Ballroom, NY, NY
Front row, 1st balcony

PRICE:
$58 (including Ticketbastard charges)

DETAILS:

CONCESSIONS:
I didn't really check out the merch or concessions of any kind. Parking was $20 again.

VIEW:
Best ever. No one in my way. Except when the dude next to me got busted (see below).

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Once again I brought my Tucker book to entertain me since I knew I'd be sitting for awhile till anyone took the stage. I had to wait at least an hour before Ty Stone showed up. As expected at a Kid Rock show, the crowd was loading up on beer beforehand.

ATTENDANCE:
I think it was sold out.

AUDIENCE:
I saw Kid Rock for the first time on the Devil Without a Cause tour in the fall of '99 (at Hammerstein). Back then his crowd was mostly younger than me- I'd say the majority were 14-18 year olds. However Friday's crowd was mostly my age or older. Obviously as his music progressed, the crowd has changed too. Also, at that first show I remember constant mosh pits. But at this show, there was only one pit that was attempted by 4 or 5 kids, and it was quickly stopped by someone well past the age of appreciating getting shoved violently for no particular reason.

WARDROBE:
Kid Rock's wardrobe can best be described as "Glammed Out Cowboy Pimp." He came out in a black and white fur coat with Kid Rock spelled out in rhinestones on the back. When he took it off, he had on a black cowboy outfit with that western style motif in rhinestones on the pants legs. He later changed into a tank top and jeans. He also wore his trademark hat (in black) most of the show.

STAGE SET:
Giant screen that showed the stage action and would sometimes switch to graphics or photos to accompany whatever song he was playing. And of COURSE he had his pole-dancing girls on and off throughout the course of the show.

ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

A solid 9. No bruises, since I went the lazy route and chose the balcony rather than the floor when I ordered my tickets.

SETLIST:
(not in order)
Where You At Rock (opened with this)
Bawitdaba
Cowboy
Devil Without a Cause
I Got One For Ya
Only God Knows Why
Forever
American Badass
You Never Met a ...
Picture
Feel Like Makin' Love
Jackson, Mississippi
Son of Detroit
My Name is ROCK (?) (the one where he says "you know my name is kiiid-rock-rock" if any of you know wtf I am talking about)
cover: Drift Away ("give me the beat boys and free my soul, I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away")
Another cover that I recognized but don't know the words at all so I can't even tell you what it was

HIGHLIGHTS:
I was psyched he played "Where You At Rock" because I didn't think he would. "Picture" sounded great with Stephanie (drummer) singing Sheryl's part. My view was great. His wardrobe somehow was a highlight for me. But if you know me at all, you know that I am easily distracted by anything with glitter on it. He played Only God Knows Why on the piano, which I thought was cool. Also I always love when they play Devil Without A Cause because I love Joe C's part (they play video of him from live shows while the track plays). I liked how they did it at the MSG show a couple years back when a huge mural of him dropped from the ceiling as his voice blared. Oh well. At least I got to see him once, which was at the Foxboro show with Korn/Metallica in 2001 (?). I remember our seats were way the hell in the back of the stadium (that's what I get for trusting someone else to get the tickets). When Joe C came out onstage, I shot up out of my seat and started screaming like a maniac while my section just stared at me like "What the..."

LOWLIGHTS:
The strippers. At least they were pretty this time, but good Lord they can't dance. I guess as long as they just writhe around in their white trashy bikinis no one cares. Except me for some reason. Also the guy next to me was annoying. I had heard about him as I walked into the venue actually. The security girl said to someone "A guy snuck a camera in through his neck brace." And who sits down next to me, but the neck brace guy. So he already had made himself known to security because he sat on the stairs, which they hate because of fire code stuff. Then he had words with the drunkie sitting next to him. THEN towards the end of the show, one of Kid Rock's guys shows up to ream him out for his camera. I guess he'd been not only taking stills, but taking video and somehow Kid's guy knew about him even though we were up in the balcony. Kid's guy yelled at him, then took his camera and deleted everything off of it. All the while, blocking my view of the part of the show where Kid runs around and plays every instrument on stage, including the turntables. That part was definitely a lowlight.

DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes. As you can see from the setlist, if you're a casual fan, you'll be able to get into the show as almost all the songs were on the radio/MTV on a regular basis.

05-19-06 You Ain't Got Nothing Better to Do...and I'm Bored.

BANDS:


Guns n' F**KING ROSES
opener: Bullet For My Valentine

LOCATION:
Hammerstein Ballroom, NY, NY
5th row, 1st balcony

PRICE:
$65-ish

DETAILS:

CONCESSIONS:
I didn't really check out the merch as the line was insane after the show. Parking was $11 again at my favorite lot.

VIEW:
Pretty good. The right side of the stage was slightly blocked because the VIP boxes were in my way.

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Well, while waiting in line a Ted Nugent wannabe got ticketed for drinking in public. I'd say more than half the people there were drunk. Which I find incredibly shocking. I mean who the hell drinks at a metal show.

Before Gn'R a DJ was spinning lots of music that created a total party vibe. Selections included "Do You Wanna Touch Me" by Joan Jett, "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, "Mother" by Danzig, "The Wizard" by Sabbath (which totally made me think of Sekel), and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. It was a set obviously tailored for those of us with even the slightest case of ADD, as none of the songs were played in full.

Lots of people were pissed that Gn'R was taking their sweet time coming out onstage, but I don't know why they acted all surprised. Hell, I went in there knowing there was a strong possibility Axl might not even show up! Eventually they came on at about 11pm.

ATTENDANCE:
Sold out and then some. I'm not sure I've ever seen Hammerstein that packed before.

AUDIENCE:
I was happy to finally go to a show where the majority of the audience was older than I was. There were a couple of celebrities I saw including Mickey Rourke, and Lenny Kravitz who was sitting with my boyfriend Fred Durst.

WARDROBE:
Axl wore what you see pictured above. Gone are the days of the football jersey/kilt ensemble. Thank goodness. And who could forget the hot pants? I tried. But 15 years later, the image is still burned in my brain. I do question one of the band members' plaid suit. But I understand he was in the Replacements, so maybe that explains it.

STAGE SET:
Not much going on except a giant screen. However there was tons of pyro which was cool. I don't remember seeing anyone at Hammerstein that used pyro this much.

ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

10. I'll just copy my reason from Kid Rock and paste it here because it's the same: No bruises, since I went the lazy route and chose the balcony rather than the floor when I ordered my tickets.

SETLIST:
(not in order)
What a treat for you- I already elaborated on my feelings about the setlist in a previously written email to friends, so here you go:

"Welcome to the Jungle" (opened with this): Hearing
that as the opening riff gives you the fucking chills


"It's So Easy": Scott does it great, but no one can do
it like Axl

"Nighttrain": When it started I was more excited to
hear this than I thought I would be. The beginning
sounded really majestic live.

"Mr. Brownstone": The opening drums sounded great. I
think I was the only one to recognize what song it was
before the guitar riff started, as there was basically silence
when it began, except for my lone "Yaaay!"

"Paradise City" (encore): Axl came in too late and
messed the band up for a second in the beginning but
they fixed it. I so wanted to do the "I've seen it all
a million times" hand gesture from the video but held
back. Axl totally did it though.

"My Michelle": Before this song, Axl did a whole speech
about how Sebastian Bach saved his life and it's because of him
he (Axl) is here now. Then Sebastian came out and sang
this with him and sounded and looked great. This was
like watching some childhood fantasy come true seeing
the two of them sing together. I once had tickets to
see a Gn'R/Skid Row show but they cancelled it :( But
now I feel complete.

"Sweet Child O' Mine": Never been a favorite, but
sounded great

"Rocket Queen": I was PSYCHED FOR THIS. I had seen
another site that said they didn't play this so I
didn't expect it. Axl intro'd this by saying
"Now...rolling on with the Oldies" and then the drums
started and I think I peed a little. Axl screwed up a
line though. He said "I'd hate to see you until the
bitter end" instead of "I'll be there standing until
the bitter end." Unless he meant to do that. I don't
know.

"Patience": Axl really f'd up the whistling in the
beginning so the whistle intro went on for awhile till
he got it right. They performed it a lot like how
they did on the American Music Awards back in '89
which brought back the memory of me sitting in front
of the TV completely in a trance. I used to have this
on tape, but because I didn't label the cassette, my
Dad taped over it and when I found out, I ran up to my
room and cried like a baby, not knowing that 16 years
later I'd be able to download it off the internet. A pic
from that very performance:


"November Rain": I actually got emotional during this.
Not because of the lyrics, but because I remembered
the first time I heard this song. It was on this
Thursday night show WCCC in Hartford had at 9pm where
they played rare GN'R stuff. That's how big they were
back then- they got a weekly show on a radio station
dedicated to them. The version I heard was just Axl on
a piano (not this other version that I have that has
backup vocals and acoustic guitar). At the time I only
knew the heavy Appetite stuff, (I don't even think
Gn'R Lies was out yet) so to hear them do something so
romantic and beautiful was really moving. Anyway, I
got all nostalgic and nearly weeped like a bitch. But
I held it together.

"Live and Let Die": Forgot about this song, but I
welcomed it.

"You Could Be Mine": I never liked this song. But
again, I welcomed it last night.

"Out ta Get Me": Interesting choice, of course sounded
good

3 guitar solos, including one between two of the three
guitarists where they did a rendition of Christina
Aguilera's "Beautiful." You read that right.

3 songs I didn't know, presumably new

HIGHLIGHTS:
-Axl showing up was a highlight. And Fred Durst. But that was a little bonus just for me.
-"Rocket Queen" for sure. Also the appearance by Sebastian was really cool and he sounded sooo good. And looked good too. Hello. Holly, Mel and Christina (and probably Rubby) - you know what I'm talking about. *hi-five*

LOWLIGHTS:
Not being able to sit on Fred Durst's lap for the performance. Just kidding. Not really. There weren't any major lowlights except at times I thought the band could've been a little tighter since they've had years to prepare for this tour. That being said, I think Bumblefoot just joined two weeks ago, so maybe I'm wrong. Who can keep up with all their drama. Not me. Also I would've liked to hear some stuff off of UYI 1&2 but seriously I can't really complain about the setlist you see above.

DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Hell yeah I do. Gn'F'n'R rules.

I saw this link on Metal Sludge if you wanna check out some footage from Friday's show:
November Rain
and another link I saw:
More Hammerstein
Not THAT great, but you get the idea.

Oh and shoutout to Eddie Trunk and website writer friend whose name I never caught.

06-18-06 Bow Down Before the One You Serve

BANDS:


Nine Inch Nails
openers were Bauhaus and Peaches

LOCATION:
Friday 6/16 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ


Saturday 6/17: Nikon at Jones Beach Theater, Wantagh, NY (Long Island)


PRICE:
About $67 after Ticketmaster charges

DETAILS:

CONCESSIONS:
I didn't buy anything at either place, but I noticed at PNC that funnel cake was $5.50. Parking was free at both venues. Which surprised me at PNC because normally they charge $30 for "Premier Parking", which means you can park closer to the door if you're richer than the rest of us who don't mind walking the extra five minutes. But I noticed the lot attendants sent us latecomers into the VIP lot, which I was totally cool with.

VIEW:
FRIDAY: Seat was 11th row center. I could see Trent when the two guys in front of me would stop swaying side to side or when they would sit down.

SATURDAY: Not sure of the exact row I was in, but maybe 20somethingth row (Orchestra G, row CC). I was actually alright with not being right up front because I wanted to get a better sense of the light show. However, I was more to the right of the stage, so I still didn't get the full sense. Oh well. Anyway, I could see everything. Except when the couple in front of of me decided to lean in and talk to each other about who knows what for a few minutes, or when they just HAD to hug during the slow songs and "Closer." Note to people who go to shows with me: don't start a full length conversation with me during a show. It's just as bad as talking during a movie. A comment here and there is fine. But if I was one of the two people in this couple, I would have just acted like I couldn't hear them and ignored them for the show.

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Friday was weird for me. I had class in the city all day and was dead tired from being up too late the night before, so I had to take a nap from 5-6pm. Waking up at dinner time is kind of surreal. Anyway, I had traffic both nights. Friday going to NJ wasn't as bad, but Good Lord going to Long Island SUCKKKKKED. It should have taken me about 1h 15min to get there, but it took 2 hours because I had the misfortune of driving in the neighborhood of the US Open Golf event right as it was letting out. I basically was in a parking lot on the Hutch for almost an hour. Then I was stuck on the Cross Island forever and I still don't know why. Frustrated, I went on a Stern Show Crazy Alice-style cursing spree about Long Island to myself ("F**K YOU US OPEN! F**K YOU HUTCHINSON PARKWAY! Hi Manhattan. F**K YOU CROSS ISLAND!"). Luckily I was actually catching the Stern replay on Sirius at the time, so that kept me from having a total meltdown.

As for the crowd itself, NJ was a little more livelier since they're all boozed up. If I am not mistaken, I don't think Jones Beach serves beer which apparently severely inhibits a crowd. You could drink in the parking lot, but the cops regularly patrol the lot so you have to be all stealthy if you want to tailgate.

I didn't see either opener, except a few seconds of Bauhaus at PNC. Seriously- I walked in, saw him sing the words "Bela Lugosi's Dead", take a bow, then flounce offstage with his flowing black cape. Then the house lights went up before I knew what hit me. I was entertaining the thought of going early to Jones Beach to see Peaches, but just said screw it and went late.

ATTENDANCE:
PNC seemed pretty full but not sold out (capacity of 17,500), and Jones Beach (capacity 14,000) was definitely not sold out. The upper decks were maybe 3/4 full.

AUDIENCE:
I guess I was expecting a lot of Goth types, but there really weren't many. Most people had my something-on-a-black-t-shirt-and-jeans fashion sense. I'd say the crowd was mostly my age or slightly older.

WARDROBE:
The band wore all black and Trent looked like he went to the Fashion School of Henry Rollins. I haven't seen him around lately, so his new look kind of caught me off guard.

BACK IN THE DAY:


NOW:


STAGE SET:
Industrial Disco. I don't know how else to describe it.


The iron rods were really utilized as a lighting display. The unit would rise and fall curtain-style at different times, so sometimes the band would be behind it, sometimes it would only be partially lowered, and sometimes it was totally raised. It's hard to describe in words, so visit this link: NIN at PNC which also contains crappy YouTube video from Friday night's show.

ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

FRIDAY: 10
I've always liked NIN but never got to see them live, so I just went for something to do with my night. Two songs in, I was already floored and decided to go Saturday night. The crowd was way into it and the energy was high-everyone clapping, dancing, jumping along with Trent, etc.

SATURDAY: 6
I wasn't as into it as the night before. I think it's just that Jones Beach is such a sprawling amphitheater that it is really hard to draw the crowd in and get them excited. Because of it's layout, PNC is a little more intimate even though the capacity is larger. I've noticed this with the last few shows I've seen at Jones Beach. I have heard it's because they don't serve alcohol, so the crowd isn't in a party mood. But I really think it's just the design. I've sat up in the nosebleed section and it's almost not even worth it because you're up so high that people on stage look like little dots. So I think that makes it really challenging for the performers to connect with them and create that community atmosphere.

SETLIST:
OK I'm not a NIN Superfan so I don't know all the names of the songs. Here's what I remember to the best of my ability:

You Know What You Are?
March of the Pigs
Sin
Terrible Lie
Something I Can Never Have
Wish
Suck
Hurt
Head Like a Hole
Down In It
Hand That Feeds
Closer
Only
Into the Void

There were maybe 4 or 5 other songs I didn't know including a cover of some Joy Division song.

HIGHLIGHTS:
"Sin" was awesome. Also, towards the end of "Closer" where normally it is just that repetitive beat, they mixed it up and went into the breakdown of "The Only Time" and then went back to "Closer". That was such a tease because "The Only Time" is my favorite song by them. I was totally psyched to hear "Suck" because it's pretty old and I didn't think they'd do that one. I don't even like "Down in It", but was a fan of the way they performed it live.

The sound was absolutely incredible (better at PNC), and the band was into every song. Trent's stage presence is such that I now have to put him up there in the Rock God category. He attacks every song with a vengeance. Even when he's dancing while playing the tambourine he looks scary cool. The futuristic light show might have been one of the best I've ever seen. Also, both shows were outdoors (I was covered at PNC though), and the weather was awesome. Both were perfect summer nights.

Trent barely spoke to the crowd at PNC, except thanking us for coming, how the stage setup was weird (not sure what he meant by that) and how it was a nice night. At Jones Beach he mentioned that he was grateful for all this because 5 years ago he wished he was dead (!) and how now he was really happy to finally have a band of really great friends.

LOWLIGHTS:
Jones Beach. *sigh* I'm really weird about this place. I will only go out here if it's a show I REALLY need to see since the crowd pretty much sucks and the commute out there is always ridiculous. For some reason, everyone on the f'ing planet has to drive out to Long Island every time I do. And this is really picky of me, but the wind is obnoxious to the point where it's distracting because I become focused on keeping the hair out of my face so I can see. Note to self: shave head before next Jones Beach show.

DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yes. Even though Jones Beach wasn't quite the adrenaline rush I had the night before in NJ, I'm glad I went both nights.

05-22-06 Angels and Airwaves and Me and Tom

BANDS:



Angels and Airwaves
opener (Mon/Tue in NYC): I Am The Avalanche
opener (Sat. in Boston): Damone

LOCATION:
Monday 5/15 and Tuesday 5/16: Bowery Ballroom, NYC
Saturday 5/20: Avalon Ballroom, Boston

PRICE:
$20ish

DETAILS:

CONCESSIONS:
T-shirts were about $20-$30 I think. I bought a hooded sweatshirt for $40. Soda at both places was $4.

VIEW:
MONDAY: Front row in front of Ryan. But due to a Jewfro and Ryan's mic stand, my view of Tom and Dave was obstructed. Also didn't see Atom at all because of the stage setup- the amps were in the way and he was buried between them because the stage was so small.

TUESDAY: Front row in front of Dave. View was great, though I still didn't see Atom. But I've made amends with that.

SATURDAY: On the side, slightly above the crowd, a few feet from the stage. Guess if I could see Atom. Did you guess "no"? Then you would be right.

PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Pretty chill-lots of people talking about the CD, wondering what they would play. I got there early before Monday and Tuesday's shows because I was determined not to be anywhere further away than their collective feet. Saturday I got there as the opening act started so who knows what it was like beforehand. I think it's safe to assume it was the same. I'd like to note that this is not in any way, shape, or form a violent crowd. I know this because a kid behind me kept shouting lame jokes at Tom, which I tolerated. But when he yelled "Tom- you're JESUS!" that was it for me. I turned around, gave him a dirty look of evil and said "Are you fucking kidding me?" and I didn't hear from him the rest of the show. If a little metal chick like me can dominate the average Emo boy with just a look and a quick cussing, then anyone can.

Going Saturday was a last minute thing. I decided to bid on a ticket at 1pm, won the auction at 1:30pm, left NY for Boston at 3 and got to the venue at 7:15 (doors were at 6). I was actually pretty calm when I got there because I just decided not to stress out about trying to get up front or missing the opening band. But I ended up seeing Damone and getting up close anyway, so that was pretty cool.

ATTENDANCE:
All three shows were sold out.

AUDIENCE:
I'd say pretty much 100 percent of the crowd was there because of Tom.

WARDROBE:
Standard emo haircuts for Tom and Dave, Buddy Holly glasses for Atom, and black eyeliner for Ryan.

STAGE SET:
Bowery was super squished, while they had more room at Avalon. They used a large backdrop with the logo and image of a plane, and for ambience added white flags (...?!)

ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX - 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10=I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

10. The songs sound so good live, plus I was excited to see Tom in such a small venue, considering the last time I saw him play was Jones Beach with Blink 182.

SETLIST:

Took this myself.

HIGHLIGHTS:
The fact they successfully re-created the amazing sound in person just like on the CD, that Tom sang everything on key (I've seen him off with Blink), front row, getting to meet them after...all three nights were very cool. Also, I liked both opening bands, which is pretty unusual for me. They're both on myspace if you care to check them out for yourself.

I'd say "Distraction" and "the War" were my favorites (also my favorites on the CD). I wasn't really a fan of "A Little Is" or "It Hurts" until after I saw them performed live. Tom also performed "Down" by Blink and "There Is" by Boxcar Racer by himself on electric guitar, and both sounded great. Also, Tom mentioned "Restart the..." was about the Blink 182 breakup.

LOWLIGHTS:
I wouldn't say it's a lowlight, but Tom's dancing is cause for concern.

DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Only if you're in the mood to celebrate life and love. Normally I am not. But Tom seems to have seduced me into appreciating both. At least for the hour they take the stage.

SPECIAL BONUS:
Pictures from Tuesday night's show! The random kids/girl in the pic are people who didn't have their camera so I took the pics for them and emailed them. God knows where they live or what their names are:
Angels and Airwaves-Bowery 5/16

11-03-06 Hail the King

Last night I went to a small bar to see a band called King Norris, led by one of my heroes Fred Norris. For anyone reading who doesn't have a clue who he is, he's part of the legendary cast of the Howard Stern Show. This group of people gets me through my work day and life in general. Sometime I'll have to write up an explanation as to why and how. Anyway, on to the review:



BAND:
King Norris

LOCATION:
Vertigo, Nyack, NY

PRICE:
$5 cover

CONCESSIONS:
I actually have no idea. This was a bar/restaurant, and I didn't check out the menu.

VIEW:
The setup is quite weird. It's two stories, and the stage is actually above the dining room. I went up to the second floor to be at eye level with the band. Otherwise, you have to look up to the stage balcony, where your view would pretty much be straight up their noses. Here are photos I took from the second floor lounge:




PRE-SHOW VIBE:
Since they've been on Sirius for the last year, their audience has definitely dwindled. I wasn't sure what percentage of them lived in the area and would come out to the show. I also wondered what kind of promotion they had, as now they have a much more limited audience than they did when they were on NYC's K-Rock. So I called ahead of time to see if I would have trouble getting in and they said I should be alright. Seeing Fred in person after listening to him on the radio for 10 years had me pretty excited and I wanted to make sure I could see the show, so that made me happy.

ATTENDANCE:
At it's peak, I think there were maybe 100-150 people there. It's hard to say, but it definitely wasn't packed.

AUDIENCE:
It seemed to me that the crowd was mostly made up of regular yuppie Friday night townspeople who weren't really aware of who they were watching.

WARDROBE/STAGE SET:
T-shirt and jeans, no stage set except the backdrop you see above. In front of the bassist was a table set up for the DJ who would take over during the band's break.

ARI RATING (ADRENALINE RUSH INDEX 1-10):
Frame of reference:
1= I sat in my chair motionless and felt no emotional connection
10= I walked out bruised and high off nothing but the energy of the show

For me, it was a 10 because it was Fred. If it was any other band, I'd say a 3. Definite headnodding, but most of my rush was fueled by the fact that I'm looking at one of my idols standing right in front of me.

SETLIST:
They would alternate between covers and original tunes. Covers included Roadhouse Blues, American Idiot, My Generation, and that ZZ Top song they used in the trailer for Demi Moore's Striptease. The originals were typical bluesy rock songs you'd hear from any other bar band.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Did I mention the fact he's a hero? I liked that the commute to the show was super short and that it was a small venue with a cover in the single digits. Ooh and I got free street parking. I forget how much convenience can add to the enjoyment of an evening. My normal concert routine usually involves battling traffic, paying astronomical parking fees and donating a portion of my paycheck to Ticketmaster. Not having to deal with all that for once was much appreciated.

LOWLIGHTS:
The audience. When the band took the stage, I expected a deafening roar. But what happened was just typical polite applause, with maybe one random "FRED!" while they were soundchecking . Later when Fred mentioned how he sang American Idiot as his choice for the show's recent karaoke contest, and ragged on Artie for basically talking his way through Mother (Pink Floyd?), I was literally the only one who gave any kind of audible reaction. It was then I realized I live in a bubble. A bubble where Howard Stern and crew are the center of my universe that my weekdays revolve around. But once I get out into the real world, I see they're just a radio show that left the public airwaves a year ago and King Norris is just a bar band with some guy that works with Howard.

I actually taped Fred's intro to American Idiot, but somehow it got deleted off my new camera that I am still learning how to deal with. Probably because the buttons are so tiny and sensitive that I trashed it without knowing it until I got home. Deleting the most memorable moment of the show? Major lowlight.

DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS SHOW? (YES/NO-EXPLAIN):
If you are a big Stern fan, sure. But otherwise it's nothing mindblowing that you have to see before you die.

BONUS POST-SHOW EXCITEMENT:
During their mid-set break the band hung out at the bar. I thought that since he is a god among men, naturally Fred would be mobbed, so I hung back and stalked him a little before I made my move. But people were paying more attention to the scene below where two girls were tearing up the dance floor with choreography that can only be described as Elaine Benes meets Justin Timberlake.

Encouraged by the lack of commotion, I went over to say hello to one of the coolest guys on the planet. Due to being starstruck, I didn't come up with anything too original to say, so I went to some go-to compliments: I thanked him for getting me through the day, that the cast is right about how fans listening can sense they're happier, and how the show is indeed much better now that it's on satellite. I said to tell Howard to go easy on Artie about Dana and he laughed and said "Oh we know, we've all been there at some point!" Although Fred's been painted as a mysterious psycho on air, he couldn't have been sweeter. Somewhat ungracefully, I ended the exchange by telling him that I'm glad that his band doesn't suck. He smiled and said thanks.


Here's some photos I took:






And some YouTube (sorry about the quality, I tried to fix it to no avail):