Archive for the ‘Concert Reviews’ Category

Show Reviews (01-16,17 2010)

Concert Reviews, Jam Band, Rock, Singer-Songwriter | Posted by admin January 20th, 2010

So this post is something I thought I would start to do on my facebook but I think I am gonna try it out here for a while. These will usually be just a review from the show(s) and probably won’t (unless I am really fast) have links to any concert downloads. Those will be linked in the RRR posts. So here are my reviews:

Saturday 16th Nefarious Jones and Below Blackstar at ToST:
Below Blackstar started off the night and did a great job. They have a very rock/alternative sound and I really enjoyed it. I hope I get the chance to see them again. This was my third time seeing Nefarious Jones and I am starting to like them more and more. They played some great covers like Phish’s “Back on the Train” and Camper Van Beethoven’s “Take The Skinheads Bowling”, while playing great original songs like “Top Secret!” and “Slide”.

Sunday 17th Howie Day and Serena Ryder at The Crocodile:
Serena Ryder shocked me. I heard one song of hers before the show and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It turns out she is awesome live and has a great voice and stage presence. Howie Day’s set was one of the best sets I have seen of his if not the best. I am an old school fan of his starting back in 2001 when I saw him open for Vertical Horizon. Of course at the time I didn’t know who he was but I found out about him and got huge into his music. Then around the time he got big with his hit “Collide”, I started to listen to his less and less (it wasn’t cause he was popular, I just was into other music). When his new album “Sound the Alarm” came out last year, I started to get back into him. That album has some great songs and reminds me of some old school Howie but at the same time shows how much he has matured. The set from this night was a solo acoustic set and I was so happy just to see him onstage with just his acoustic guitar and pedals. He played many of his old songs like “Bunnies”, “Ghost” and “She Says” while playing some of the new songs “Be There” and “Weightless”.

njones2010-01-16 hday2010-01-17

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Son Volt and Cowboy Junkies – 2009-07-22

Alt Country, Bittorrent, Concert Reviews, LlaMA | Posted by admin September 18th, 2009

Very nice mellow show at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Great sometimes to get out and see mellow music compared to the hip hop and nerdy stuff that I normally see. The Cowboy Junkies recording has been posted on the live music archive here while the Son Volt set is up on bt.etree.org here. Here is the source info followed by the setlists for both:

Taper: Jarod Watson (alienbobz@gmail.com)
Source: 4 Mic Matrix > Busman Hybrid Mod Edirol R-4 (24/48)
Channels 1 & 2 (W Mod): MBHO 603/KA200N (A-B)
Channels 3 & 4 (T Mod): Studio Projects LSD2 (Blumlein)
Mic Location: FOB, 25′ from stage, stand at 11′, mics aimed at left stack
Lineage: R4 > Adobe Audition v2.0 > r8brain v1.9 > CD Wave v1.95.1 > FLAC

Son Volt Setlist:

The Picture
Down to the Wire
Dust of Daylight
Highways and Cigarettes
When the Wheels Don’t Move
Ten Second News
Dynamite
Pushed Too Far
No Turning Back
Big Sur
Feel Free
Windfall
The Search
Bandages & Scars
Afterglow 61
Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way *

Notes:

* Waylon Jennings cover

Cowboy Junkies setlist:

Crescent Moon
A Common Disaster
I Don’t Get It
Hold on to Me
Sing in My Meadow
Blackeyed Man
Hunted
Working on a Building
Don’t Let It Bring You Down *
Murder Tonight in the Trailer Park

Notes:

* Neil Young cover; Dedicated to Nancy (Nanz) on her 60th birthday

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Flowmotion, Das Vibenbass, Clinton Fearon – 2007-06-29

Concert Reviews, Jam Band, Jazz, LlaMA, Reggae | Posted by admin July 19th, 2007

This is what I refer to as the “second chance” show. All of these bands I have seen more than once and for some reason or another I decided just to not listen to them anymore. In the case of Das Vibenbass, I pretty much wasn’t in the mood for there music for about a year. I really enjoyed Das Vibenbass from the first time I saw them at Tost back on 03/21/05 up until the last show I saw of theirs at Consolidated Works on 07/14/06, but after getting involved with other local acts, I eventually fell off the wheel (in a sense). It wasn’t until earlier this year that I got back in the mood for them. Unfortunately, their shows always conflicted with my other shows. I was planning on going to the show in March at the Triple Door but I didn’t get my upgraded recorder back in time for the show. It wasn’t until I saw this gig that I really wanted to go to see them again. I was hesitant at first because the other two acts Clinton Fearon and Flowmotion were both the type of bands that I saw many times but never really pulled me in. I eventually decided that I would see these bands just to see if my mood changed.

Clinton Fearon opened the night up with a good solo acoustic reggae set. Clinton is an amazing musician, but I have never ever have been into reggae. I enjoy all forms of music, but Reggae, County and Rap never pull me in. I think for Reggae and Country it is the accents that drive me away from it. For Rap (just in case you are curious), I find that most of them are untalented “musicians”. Some of the old school rappers like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and others are good, but I just can’t stand most of the modern rappers. Das Vibenbass played a beautiful jazz set. One of the songs that I really liked was “Film Noir” off of their new album “Fodakis”. Flowmotion finished the night. This band failed again to pull me into their music. I remember that the last time I saw them, I really like the fact that there percussionist used a vibraphone for some of their songs, and I did like that he used it again for this show, but everything else just wasn’t working for me. I honestly haven’t been able to figure out why I can’t get into them. I do enjoy jam bands like Phish and String Cheese Incident, but it could be that these guys just don’t match up those two bands. Maybe I will figure out the real reason sooner or later, but for now I am not going to any of their shows for a really long time. I plan to see Das Vibenbass again eventually (as soon as their shows stop colliding with my other shows :P ), and I am pretty sure I will catch another Clinton Fearon set.

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5 shows in a week (6-18 to 6-24)

Alt Country, Concert Reviews, Indie Rock, Jam Band, Rock, Singer-Songwriter | Posted by admin July 19th, 2007

So this is the first time (that I can at least recall) where I have seen 5 shows in one week. I try every once and a while to see 3 shows in a row, and I usually give myself a week off after that, but this was a lot more harder to do than that usually is. Though, in the end, it was totally worth it. Here is the way my week full of great music went:

Monday (The Special Purpose – Rendezvous Jewelbox Theater):

It is always great to see a two set Special Purpose show, especially at the Rendezvous. If you haven’t been to the Rendezvous, it is a “hole in the wall” venue that eventually had a bar and dining room added to it. It seats about 50 people so it always has an intimate feeling. Plus the room is setup for natural sound (usually the only thing hooked up to the PA is the vocals), so I have always been able to pull great recordings. The Special Purpose did a great show. They debuted two songs, a Tim “Phatty Fatty Dong” Symons original called “Cheetah” and covered “Air” by Talking Heads.

Tuesday (Fall City – High Dive):

It has been about 3 months since I have seen a Fall City show. They always play a great classic rock show. They played a lot of songs that I have heard in the past, but they also debuted some new ones, which is great to see. This was my first time truly video taping them (I have used their camcorders in the past for two of there shows) and I am presently surprised with the outcome.

Wednesday:

Work. Home. Sleep.

Thursday (Rocky Votolato & Night Canopy – The Triple Door):

It is always nice to go to a show and not worry about taping. I really wanted to tape this show. In fact, I was going to try to get my friend Rachel who knows Rocky to try to get the ok to tape, but alas we both decided that it would be best just to enjoy the show. This was my first time going to a show at the Triple Door. I have heard so many great things about this place and I pictured it as a big version of Jazzbones (a small restaurant/live music venue in Tacoma). My mental visual was a lot different as far as looks, but it was the size that I was expecting. The sound there is awesome and they had wonderful selection of Asian food (I was expecting the normal burger and fries setup).

Both bands performed really well. It was my first time seeing Night Canopy, and I wasn’t disappointed. Rocky played an great set which included a lot of the songs off of the new album “The Brag and Cuss” and older songs like “Makers”, “Cell Mates/Mix Tapes” and his rendition of “Plastic Jesus”.

Friday & Saturday (1st Annual Skokomish Valley Music Festival):

This was first two day concert festival that I have taped at (I did see a String Cheese Incident festival down at Horning’s Hideout in Oregon, but I didn’t tape), and I definitely had a great time. I met a lot of great people and enjoyed some great music. The festival took place at the Skokomish Valley Grange Hall in Shelton. Shelton is a little farm town about 30 minutes from Olympia. The Grange Hall is a really small place that used to be a school. The sound is great for such a small area. The first night had three acts. Sideways Reign played first and they really impressed me. I would say one of the best acts of the festival. Heliotroupe played second and did a good job. High Ceiling finished off the night with an amazing set. Unfortunately, my battery died during their set and I decided to just hit the sack (most due to being tired and aggravated).

The second day started off good. I woke up around 9 (I always wake up early) and went out for some food. When I got back I decided to park my car closer to friends, Moe & Jason. When I came up to say hi to them, I meet Danae Dean and her boyfriend Scott. I mentioned to her that I was recording the show and she asked if I could record her and I said I would. Danae went one around 2 PM and did a good, mellow acoustic set. She has a really nice voice and her guitar playing is great too. She was joined by a harmonica player for the last two songs of the set. I decided to keep the tape rolling for the rest of the bands while I hanged outside with my friends. I caught tidbits of each of these bands (in order): No Meddle Ground, Aeolin, Twice Baked and The Sweatshop Band. No Meddle Ground and Twice Baked both did a bad job, IMO. No Meddle Ground sounded ok in some parts, but most the time they seemed completely out of sync. Twice Baked were good musicians but all of their songs were dedicated to weed. One or two songs about weed are ok but after a while it just gets annoying. When I walked in on Aeolin’s set, I heard a dead-on cover of Dave Matthews Band’s “Typical Situation”. I am a huge Dave Matthews Band fan (even though I prefer to listen to nerdcore and electronica lately) and it was great seeing a band actually doing a great cover. They ended their set with the DMB version of “All Along the Watchtower”. The Sweatshop band also played a great set. High Ceiling came up after The Sweatshop Band and played an excellent set. The Special Purpose played after them and did a very nice funk set. They were joined by Gabe Olsen of High Ceiling on percussion for a few songs. For the last set, John and Chris from The Special Purpose joined Trail and others from High Ceiling for a group called “The High Purpose”. Jason from Aelion played percussion for most then have the set, then Gabe took over for the rest. They ended about 5 in the morning. The set was all improv and instrumental and all of the players did a great job jamming with each other.

Sunday

Woke up around 9. Left about 10:30 and got home about noon. Tried to blog but was too tired. Definitely the greatest week in a really long time and I would do it again.

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Pocket Change, Water Babies, Dig the Particulars, & Joe Gould’s Secret – 2007-06-08

Concert Reviews, Downloads, Hip-Hop, Jazz, LlaMA, Rock, Youtube | Posted by admin June 28th, 2007

I love many things about taping, but one of things I hate the most is the weird fans/concert goers that I meet at the shows. This show has one example of such occurrence. During the first act, Joe Gould’s Secret, I noticed the fan that I am going to talk about. At the time, he was just relaxed and not bugging me or anyone else. During Dig the Particulars’ set, his attitude changed a little bit (more than likely due to alcohol). I was filming their set and he came over a few times to dance around me and even peek over my shoulder to see what I was capturing. I pretty much just ignored him and let him do his thing.

It was during the Water Babies set when everything changed. After they finished their first song, this guy went on stage acting like he owned the venue and tried to kick the band off the stage. Jason (the trumpet player) handled him well and told him to give them a chance. About the third song into the set, the guy came over to one of my microphones located on-stage and decided to “play” with it (he moved it around to face the crowd). I abruptly stopped him and moved it back towards the band and gave him the gesture that he shouldn’t be doing that. About a few minutes later he did it again. This time I talked to him about it. I tried to tell the guy he should not be playing with it. He wanted to know who owned it and I said that I did. He said he just wanted to play with it. I tried to tell him that I using it record but he didn’t seem to grasp that. Eventually my friend Aaron moved in and took him away from the stage to the bar. For a bit everything went OK. Towards the end of the set this guy showed up one more time. He tried to get on stage again but Jason just kicked him off this time. He decided to sit on the steps to the stage and lean his right arm on the chair that happened to have my recording bag. He had a very firm grasp on the chair and I had to watch him like a hawk just to make sure he didn’t knock over anything. Eventually, security came over and told him to leave but he wouldn’t budge. It took three security guards to pry him from the steps and kick him out the door. For the rest of the night everything went good.

As far as the music, all of the bands did a great job. The show was hosted by Kyle “KOZ” of nadamucho. Joe Gould’s Secret had a folk, almost jam band sound with a spice of hip-hop. Dig the Particulars did a great rock set. Both the Water Babies and Pocket Change played awesome jazz sets. I would definitely like to record all of the bands again (of course, I hardly miss a Dig the Particulars show so they really don’t count). The Dig the Particulars set should be up on the archive soon and the rest will end up here.

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Optimus Rhyme, Tall Birds, & TV Coahran – 2007-06-07

Concert Reviews, LlaMA, Nerdcore, Rock | Posted by admin June 18th, 2007

Good show. The show benefited Noise for the Needy. I pretty much went to this show to see Optimus Rhyme (they have to started to become one of my favorite Seattle bands). TV Coahran started off the night. Pretty good set. Reminded me of a cross between Man Man and Modest Mouse. The PA for his set seemed a little bit messed up though. Don’t know if it just the room or his setup, but something didn’t sound right (he did use a good amount of pedals). Tall Birds put on a great rock set. Just pure in-your-face Rock ‘n Roll. Optimus Rhyme played third (The Cops also played, but I left after Optimus played). I ran video for their set, but it turned out pretty dark. The audio for the Optimus Rhyme set should be up on the live music archive soon and I will post the other two sets on request.

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The Special Purpose and High Ceiling – 2007-05-19

Concert Reviews, Jam Band, LlaMA | Posted by admin June 6th, 2007

I love seeing these two together. This was my second time seeing them together and they just play awesome with each other. Like the last show, I came to this really jacked up on caffeine, but I really wanted to see this show. High Ceiling came up first and did a kick ass set. They get better and better each time I see them. The Special Purpose played a funk-tastic 2 hour set. The recordings for both bands sound super sweet. I ran on stage with my MBHO split omnis and the LSD2 in the center. I also ran video for this but it is dark in some points. Audio for both sets will eventually be posted on the Live Music Archive and the videos will end up on either youtube, google videos, and/or stage6.divx.com.

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The Retrofits and Dig the Particulars – 2007-05-18

Concert Reviews, LlaMA, Pop, Rock | Posted by admin June 6th, 2007

I pretty much came to this show juiced up on energy drinks (I was still tired from the night before) and only wanted to tape the opener, Dig the Particulars, because I try to catch them in Seattle as much as I can. When I arrived for the show, Eli Jayson from DTP came over and told me that the middle band, The Retrofits, wanted me to tape their set too so I thought “what the hell” and ran for their set too. I also thought about taping the last band, Emila, but there was already a guy recording for them with a multi-track setup and I was pretty much done by the time The Retrofits were done.

This was my fourteenth Dig the Particulars show and it was awesome. They always put on a great show and I never get tired of seeing them live. The Retrofits put on a good show. A bit too poppy for me (I am still going through my Nerdcore Hip-Hop & Electronica phase) but I would see them again. Both of the recordings sound great. I also ran video for DTP’s set, which has been posted on youtube. Some of my favorites are posted below:

The audio also has been posted on the Live Music Archive, located here. The Retrofits recording has been tracked out and will be posted here shortly.

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The Mother Hips and Hiss Golden Messenger – 2007-05-17

Alt Country, Concert Reviews, Downloads | Posted by admin June 6th, 2007

Great mellow alt-country ish show. I haven’t ever seen either band (I was supposed to see The Mother Hips over a year ago and I ended up getting sick during the concert and only recorded the opener). The first band for the night, Hiss Golden Messenger was joined by a few of the people from The Mother Hips and had a alt-country sound but also jammed out their music (most of the alt-country band I had seen don’t seem to jam). The Mother Hips played an awesome set. Like usual, it took me a while to get into the music, but I was really starting to enjoy it about half way into the set. I definitely have to catch them again the next time they come this way.

For the recording, I ran my MBHO’s Cards NOS and ran from the board. The board recording really sucks. Mostly drums and vocals. I also ran my new video camcorder (Sony DCR-HC96) for the first time, but I mostly just got the right side of the stage and a lot of people blocking my camera. The Mother Hips show has been tracked out by friend, Ryan NeRoy, but I should have it available soon (probably end up bittorrenting it on etree). The Hiss Golden Messenger show has been posted (thanks goes to Michael Roeder for the setlist help).

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Happy Ending & Garrison Frost – 2007-05-02

Concert Reviews, Rock | Posted by admin May 9th, 2007

This was pretty much a filler show for me. To explain, I sometimes go to shows just because I know that the band(s) are cool with taping just so I can know what they are like live (I hardly ever try to judge a band just by their studio tracks). I went for the opening act Garrison Frost because the drummer, Devin Anderson, who is also the drummer for one of my favorite local bands, Dig the Particulars, asked me to come and tape him. He originally asked about 2 months ago but I was not able to attend the show at the time. I did listen to the studio cuts during that time and I thought they sounded good. Their live show was ten times better. Very good almost indie rock sound. I hate to draw comparisons, but the lead singer almost sounds like the lead singer from Rush but about an octave lower. I definitely want to catch them again.

I decided to stay for the middle act, Happy Ending, just to see what they were like. At first I thought they were going to be a totally different band (the name screams hippie jam band to me), but they ended up being pure hard rock. Not like I hate hard rock or anything, I just don’t think I was in the mood to see that type of music. I liked the first few songs, but after a while I felt done for the night. I decided to keep the tape rolling though and left before the main act, Cellar Door, started setting up for their set.

The recording sounds sweet. Did my usually combination (HO’s NOS W/LSD2 Blumien T). The Garrison Frost recording will end up here soon or later. I will do the Happy Ending show on request.

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