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!

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.

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.