2018

Fleetwood Mac 12/8/18

In early April on the verge of announcing a highly anticipated tour it was revealed that Fleetwood Mac parted ways with Lindsey Buckingham and he would be “replaced” by Neil Finn of Crowded House and Mike Campbell of the Heartbreakers. This was extremely disappointing because Lindsey Buckingham is a monster guitar player, great voice and the songwriter responsible for many of the Fleetwood Mac songs I love. Even this huge loss could not keep Ingrid and I from attending because Fleetwood Mac had been on Ingrid’s bucket list for quite some time, they still had the great Stevie Nicks and they decided to come through San Diego ON A SATURDAY. We ended up scoring four tickets through a co-worker from an American Express presale and decided to take Ingrid’s dad and his wife with us as a birthday present. Ingrid’s father does not condone drinking in the manner that we like to so this meant no drinking for us but on the bright side also meant no hangover to deal with the next day.

A couple days before the show Ingrid’s dad informed her that he would not be able to go after all but his wife was still in and would be bringing her daughter along instead. Since I could not drink (I was driving) I instead ate half a gummy bear just to get a little in the zone but remain undetected. When we arrived at our seats I noticed that one of the seats had a puddle of beer in it that matched the exact same color as the beer one of the two ladies standing above us was holding. Neither of the ladies would look at us even after I looked at Ingrid and said very loudly “HOLD ON. I’LL GO GET SOME NAPKINS TO CLEAN THIS UP.” Much to the surprise of nobody one of the same “clumsy” ladies behind us later spilled beer on my head. To top it all off on the beer front the co-worker that helped us get the tickets ended up sitting directly across the aisle from us and later brought me a beer that I had to politely decline.

The absence of Lindsey Buckingham lowered my expectations quite a bit, especially since I had been so blown away the last time I saw Fleetwood Mac, but I could tell from the very beginning of this show when they played “The Chain” that it was going to be a good one. The sound was very full with 11 people in the band comprised of original members Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, veterans Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie, newcomers Neil Finn and Mike Campbell as well as an additional percussionist, keyboardist, guitarist and two female backup singers.

Lindsey Buckingham left some big shoes to fill but Neil Finn did an admirable job filling in for his vocals and some of the guitar work. I assumed they would just skip the songs that were predominantly sung by Lindsey like “Second Hand News” and “Monday Morning” but those songs were simply too big to ignore and Neil’s vocal timbre had enough similarities to make it work. I think in the spirit of celebrating a “new band” they brought back some Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac tunes with “Tell Me All the Things You Do,” “Oh Well” sang by Mike Campbell and “Black Magic Woman,” which I thought was a Santana song before this concert. I also thought it was pretty cool of the Mac to let Neil incorporate a solo version of “Don’t Dream It’s Over” from his Crowded House days into the show.

Another key cog to filling Lindsey Buckingham’s void was the guitarist Mike Campbell. This guy was amazing in the Heartbreakers and left my jaw on the floor more than a couple times on this particular evening. The hobo chic look he has adopted also worked well to emphasize that this guy is a total rock star and total pro.

Lindsey Buckingham could never truly be replaced. The two aforementioned gentlemen did an outstanding job in filling in the depleted lineup but the real person that filled in the most was Christine McVie, who was ironically the only person missing from the from the most commercially successful lineup of Fleetwood Mac the one other time I saw them back in May of 2009. What this meant was that although I did not get to see Lindsey Buckingham do “Never Going Back Again,” “Big Love” or “Tusk,” I did get to see Christine McVie do “Little Lies,” “Say You Love Me,” “Everywhere,” “Hold Me,” “You Make Loving Fun” and “Don’t Stop.” Fair trade.

The inimitable Stevie Nicks has still got it and as evidenced by the loudest applause of the evening during band intros people worship her. “Landslide” with just her singing and Neil playing guitar was damn near perfect as were her vocals on “Gold Dust Woman.” She did get a little emotional for a very cool Tom Petty tribute at the end of the show as she sang, “Free Fallin’,” which made the moment that much more beautiful.

Mick Fleetwood is an animal. He did what felt like a 10-minute drum solo and was interacting with the crowd the entire time he did this. The crazy visuals on the screen behind him that made me feel like I was on LSD almost matched his crazy eyes and even crazier energy that he kept up for the entire concert. At the end of the show he came to the front of the stage and announced, “The Mac is back!” Had I not just witnessed a hell of a two-hour run I may not have believed it a couple hours earlier but after they knocked my socks off I can wholeheartedly concur that indeed THE MAC IS BACK.

AFTERWARD: Parking in any “beehive” type structure is always a nightmare to exit in these situations but thankfully after not moving for close to 10 minutes sitting in the line to get out I remembered an alternate way out of the parking structure which ended up saving us what I am sure was at least 45 minutes. I guess that education I paid for at San Diego State University paid off after all!

SETLIST: The Chain, Little Lies, Dreams, Second Hand News, Say You Love Me, Black Magic Woman, Everywhere, Rhiannon, Tell Me All the Things You Do, World Turning, Gypsy, Oh Well, Don’t Dream It’s Over, Landslide, Hold Me, Monday Morning, You Make Loving Fun, Gold Dust Woman, Go Your Own Way, Free Fallin’, Don’t Stop

Dia De Los Deftones 11/3/18

I did not think I would be attending the first annual Dia De Los Deftones since tickets were $80, the only band on the bill I actually cared about was Deftones and I had just seen them three weeks earlier in Sacramento. Larry was trying to get me to buy one of the four tickets he purchased but I just could not justify the $80 even though it was a rare Saturday concert.

As the day wore on I learned that Bob was also going and I decided to try to snag a last minute discounted ticket online. StubHub and Craigslist both failed me but then I remembered the OfferUp app. The concert started at three o’clock and by this time it was about seven and there were only two posts still up and they were both trying to sell the print-at-home style tickets. I do not trust this type of ticket since someone can just print multiple copies of the same ticket but I rationed that OfferUp is a little more upscale than Craigslist with seller ratings and whatnot. I offered $20 and the seller agreed…but I had to go pick it up. This was a red flag of sorts because if it was a printout of a digital ticket then why could it not be emailed to me? The meeting spot was close enough so I figured what the hell? After having to do multiple transactions at the 7/11 to get the $20 cash I needed ($10 is the maximum cash out per transaction) I made my way to a sketchy neighborhood to meet a complete stranger. Instead of “Veronica” I was met by a small statured man who asked me if I wanted both tickets that he had for $20. This put my mind at ease that he was not trying to rip me off but you never know. I hightailed it home, ate a couple gummies and jumped into a Lyft to make my way downtown.

When I arrived I immediately purchased a beer and tried to find my friends. The stage setup was very different than past shows I had seen at Petco Park. A stage was set up outside of the stadium proper in the little kids practice field/”lawn” seats which made for a very small crowd. Now it made sense why there were not very many tickets available. Either way I found the guys immediately and had enough time to shoot the shit and grab another beer before Deftones came on and come on did they ever!

They opened with “Root” and then just kept the pedal to the floor with a blistering setlist choice and equally fierce performance. We had a perfect vantage point of the stage and enough room to move around without being sardined by other people. Stephen Carpenter was embracing the Dia De Los Muertos theme with the face makeup and a glow in the dark guitar. Even though my neck and shoulders were super sore due to my thrashing around I am so glad I came because Deftones kicked my ass and I may or may not have been a little fuzzy when I saw them in Sacramento…

SETLIST: Root, Teething, Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), My Own Summer (Shove It), Rosemary, Swerve City, You’ve Seen the Butcher, Diamond Eyes, Sextape, Knife Prty, Change (In the House of Flies), Rocket Skates, Minerva, Bored, Engine No. 9, Headup

*Quality photos credited to Alex Matthews

Aftershock 10/14/18

To nobody’s surprise I woke up still a little drunk from the day before this morning. After getting our shit together we walked down the road to our staple Buffalo Wild Wings to watch some football and get some beer and food. After we were nice and sauced on $5 pitchers we made a pit stop at a local dispensary for edibles on the way to the show.

We made it just in time to catch Seether, who was badass as per usual. Their newest album Poison the Parish came out in May of 2017 but for some reason I had not picked it up yet so was unfamiliar with the two songs they played from the album but I did like the songs. Note to self: pick up the album.

To our delight we did not have to leave this stage for the next band we wanted to see which was Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators. Slash was melting faces like it was 1987. I never really went down the rabbit hole of Slash solo material so most of the set was unfamiliar but hearing “Nightrain” made the whole set worthwhile.

I had just saw Incubus exactly a month earlier at Kaaboo. I think they played exactly the same set but that was just fine by me.

Alice In Chains had just released Rainier Fog less than two months before this and played a short but intense set.

AIC

This is when another night starts to get fuzzy again as Marvin and I got separated from the other two. We managed to make it to see System of a Down, which I am always pumped to see. They had not released new material in nearly 13 years at the time of this concert but we all keep lining up because they are incredible live.

At this point Mr. or Mrs. Reader you are probably asking yourself (again) why I continue to spend a lot of money to just get trashed and not remember everything. For the answer we need look no further than the wise words of Wooderson: L-I-V-I-N.

Aftershock 10/13/18

So we had taken a couple years off since our last Aftershock but it was time to get the band back together…with the exceptions of Joe and Marvin. Joe just flat out said he was not going to make it but Marvin, being the sneaky fuck that he is sometimes known to be, kept us hanging. We decided that two days of nonstop drinking would be enough for us so instead of showing up early Bob and I booked a flight leaving San Diego at 6:20 am the day of, which means we had to be heading towards the airport by 5. I thought Bob was joking about having a beer once he parked at my place at 4:30 but apparently he was not…

Fast-forward a couple hours after having breakfast at our hotel and stocking up on beer at the Total Wine down the street we were now awaiting Ken’s arrival. Marvin finally text us that he was not going to make it but I thought him and Ken were in cahoots due to some very suspicious text messages. It turns out they were not, so after a little more drinking all three of us hopped into a Lyft and headed for the show.

This year’s Aftershock was moved back to Discovery Park where we attended our first Aftershock (it was at Gibson Ranch the last time we went). The layout was a little more spacious from that first time, which was a good thing because apparently this was the first time that Aftershock ever sold out.

We showed up in time to catch Hyro the Hero, which reminded me an awful lot of Rage Against the Machine and I do not mean that in a bad way. It was about 80 degrees outside in direct sunlight but it was worth enduring.

Hyro

What I really wanted to see was the Vinnie Paul All Star Tribute. Hellyeah was supposed to play Aftershock but decided not to after Vinnie Paul unexpectedly passed away on June 22nd. SiriusXM deejay Jose Mangin helped organize a performance anchored by Vinnie’s ex-Hellyeah bandmate Kyle Sanders on the bass and Pepe Clarke of Kyng on the drums. Other than that it was a rotating cast of characters that started off the fun with Damage Plan’s “Save Me,” followed by Pantera’s “Becoming” with Stephen Carpenter, “Mouth For War” with members of Gwar, “A New Level” with the freshly shave-headed Jose Mangin on vocals and “Walk” featuring Jonathan Davis and Sully. The thrill of seeing these songs again in a live setting was oh so badass and I am pretty sure this is what all but blew my voice out for the next several days.

To be completely honest this is where things started to get a little fuzzy. After getting some food together we of course all got separated from each other. I remember being completely confused watching Jonathan Davis because I thought he was going to do a DJ set but instead had a full on band with a bass player that was getting after it. I later found out he had released a solo album at the end of May called Black Labyrinth.

The next three bands were all welcome sights and sounds but nothing in particular stuck out about any of the performances (probably because I was a drunk ass). The first of these was 311, who had released two new albums, Stereolithic and Mosaic, since I had last seen them five years prior. The next was Godsmack who were touring for When Legends Rise that was just released back in April and the last of the evening was Deftones, whose newest release was still Gore that was released back in 2016 but I hadn’t seen them since the last Aftershock I attended in 2015.

The night was far from over after the last notes rang from the Deftones amps as my phone battery had died and therefore I had no way to get back to our hotel that was about 10 miles away. I anticipated a dead battery so I brought an external charger but what I did not anticipate was losing the cord that connected the external charger to my phone! After awhile I found a couple that reluctantly let me use their cord just long enough to get my phone powered on to request a Lyft and get back to the hotel. Once I arrived I found Marvin sitting on the couch. I had a feeling he would make it but since he did not tell anyone he was coming he spent all day by himself and then finagled his way into our room since he did not have a key to get in. I should have went to bed at this point but I was still drunk and was not about to squander away an opportunity to drink more with one of my oldest friends.

Kaaboo 9/14/18

Attending all three days of Kaaboo the previous year was a little too much standing in the sun, drinking and spending a shit ton of money so Ingrid and I decided to cut it down to just one of the days this year. Based on the lineup of Everclear, Incubus, Blondie and Foo Fighters the day that was decided upon was Friday. Unfortunately Ingrid had to bail out at the last minute and sell her ticket due to an impromptu bachelorette party in Vegas.

The Charter Bus worked out well last year so I decided to do that again instead of paying for a surge priced Uber or staying sober and driving. After sucking down a tall boy of Bud Light on the way, our bus rounded the last corner to the Del Mar Fairgrounds to reveal a line of people trying to get in that nearly stretched to that intersection. I could not believe what I was seeing but thankfully there was a far shorter line near the bus drop off point because Everclear was set to kick off the festival about 10 minutes later. Even that line was moving slowly but moments later a festival worker announced that there was a line specifically for people without a bag that was empty. It is baffling to me that an expensive festival that expected 40,000 people could be so disorganized but what can you do?

I got in just in time to grab a cold 16-ounce Corona for $13 as Everclear took the stage around 2 pm. I had not seen Everclear for 17 years and had all but stopped paying attention to any new Everclear material since So Much For the Afterglow so I did not know what to expect. What I got was a band that passed as Everclear but did not go as full force as they could have with the songs at their disposal. I loved that nearly their whole set was songs from Sparkle and Fade and So Much For the Afterglow and it was great to hear those songs live again (especially “Heroin Girl”) but despite Art Alexakis’ best efforts the songs still sounded slightly lackluster. Maybe it was just impossible to impress me because of that time I saw them tear the roof off the place when they opened for Filter about two months before they hit it big with “Santa Monica” back in the day.

Near the end of the Everclear set I met up with Larry and basically just kept drinking and wandering around until Larry’s wife Christi showed up because the next band I wanted to see was Incubus and they were not on until just after 6. We went to watch comedian Tom Papa and quickly realized it was more of a plug for bread baking then it was a comedy show so we caught a little of The Zombies set before more drinking and wandering around ensued.

Close to the time Incubus was to go on I was reminded that every time there are too many people in one spot the woman’s bathroom line is always crazy and there are always a few brave women willing to go into the men’s bathroom. One particular pair of younger girls in front of us were not going into the bathroom to use the toilet but rather to go do some coke with a 70 year old billionaire. After we exited the bathroom Christi and Larry started chatting with them and the gold digging vibe was making me sick to my stomach so I ended up basically ditching them and standing by myself for Incubus because Kyle had come in later and found Larry and Calvin and Jane never returned my text.

This was to be my seventh time seeing Incubus but I had not seen them for nine years. Their newest effort was the album 8 that was released a year earlier but other than “No Fun” they stuck to older songs and treated us to a one/two punch of “Calgone” and a great cover of “Need You Tonight” by INXS. I feel like Incubus made the most of their limited time and age was not about to slow them down. Not that they are old by any means but they were still sounding fantastic playing the shit out of their songs with passion and enthusiasm after all these years.

SETLIST: Privilege, Anna Molly, Meglomaniac, A Kiss to Send Us Off, Circles, Pardon Me, No Fun, Love Hurts, Calgone, Need You Tonight (INXS), Are You In?, Nice to Know You, Wish You Were Here, Drive, A Crow Left of the Murder

Next up was Blondie. Even though there are only five Blondie songs I really like I was excited to see them because I had never seen them before. After getting a round of applause for basically telling some jerk chick trying to cut in front of everyone in the beer line to fuck off I got to see a 73 year old Debbie Harry do her thing. She was still pretty spry but something was just missing for me from the band as a whole. I got to see “One Way or Another,” “Rapture,” and “Call Me,” but had to get my ass to the other stage to see Foo Fighters so I missed “Heart of Glass” and “The Tide Is High.” At least I got to see someone playing the keytar before I left.

Once I made my way to where the Foo Fighters were playing I ran into Christi and Sierra. Larry, Kyle and Sierra’s boyfriend had gone to get beers so I just waited there and watched the Foo with that group. This was my eighth time seeing Foo Fighters but this time was not like the last time I saw them a year earlier at a festival made up of strictly rock and roll bands that they headlined. This was a diverse group of bands gathered so they knew their audience and filled the limited set time with mostly hits. To be fair they do have a lot of hits. Regardless of this a Foo show is always packed with energy and surprises. Taylor’s drum riser literally started rising during a drum solo tacked onto the end of “My Hero” that lead into him singing “Sunday Rain.” The most rocking song I got out of them was “The Sky Is a Neighborhood” but the most fun moments started near the end when Dave sang Van Halen’s “Jump” over the music of “Imagine” by John Lennon. It matched up surprisingly well. After that we got a little “Hey Ho, Let’s Go” from the Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” followed by a full on cover of Queen’s “Under Pressure” with Dave climbing behind the drum kit to let Taylor come out front and sing after he proclaimed, “Here’s one Vanilla Ice stole from Queen and we’re taking it back.” Those moments made the whole day worthwhile.

SETLIST: All My Life, Learn to Fly, The Pretender, The Sky Is a Neighborhood, These Days, Walk, My Hero, Sunday Rain, Another One Bites the Dust/Imagine/Jump/Blitzkrieg Bop, Under Pressure, Monkey Wrench, Best of You, Everlong

Smashing Pumpkins 9/1/18

Smashing Pumpkins reuniting will all the original members except for D’Arcy playing strictly songs from their first five albums? Yes, please! The last time I saw Smashing Pumpkins was about 11 years before this when they were promoting the Zeitgeist album without James Iha. That time was alright but the older stuff did not sound quite as thick without James.

After a little pre-funk at the bar down the street Ingrid, her friend Laney, her friend Laney’s friend Dick and I made our way to the venue and ended up getting there slightly late. We had no interest in the opening band and unfortunately misjudged the timing but thankfully only really missed “Disarm.”

Upon arrival I immediately was overtaken by familiar sounds of “Rocket” and was relieved that Billy Corgan’s voice had not lost that magic. What the fuck he was wearing was a different story. He appeared to be wearing a long silver skirt with some sort of gladiator type sandals with silver socks underneath. He could have been wearing a tutu for all I care but it was at the very least noteworthy.

About this time my “cookie” had reached peak effect and I was in hog heaven. A brilliant cover of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” was just around the corner and I think Bowie would have approved. While we are on the topic of covers let me just say this is the only time I can remember any band I have seen cover “Stairway to Heaven” and it was off the charts. The main guitar riff was replaced with piano but otherwise a very faithful rendition that left many jaws on the floor of the Aztec Arena.

For this “Shiny and Oh So Bright” tour they retained the services of extra guitarist Jeff Schroeder, which freed Billy Corgan up on many songs to get in touch with his inner showman or sit down at the piano. This was a fantastic production full of gems being shown on the mammoth video screens that were serving as a backdrop to the stage. I had a feeling that I would be hearing one of my favorite songs “Soma” at some point in the evening and I was right. To me that song perfectly sums up what I like about Smashing Pumpkins, which much like Black Sabbath is the soft and the heavy. Other standout moments for me were “Zero,” “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans,” and “Thirty-Three.” People for the most part were present and not on their phones for the nearly three hour set but to be fair most of us in attendance probably did not have our first cell phone until way after becoming fans of this band. Having James Iha back in the lineup made all the difference in the world and it was pure magic to see him and Billy make sweet music together again.

SETLIST: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Disarm, Rocket, Siva, Rhinoceros, Space Oddity, Drown, Zero, The Everlasting Gaze, Stand Inside Your Love, Thirty-Three, Eye, Soma, Blew Away, For Martha, To Sheila, Mayonaise, Porcelina of the Vast Oceans, Landslide, Tonight, Tonight, Stairway to Heaven, Cherub Rock, 1979, Ava Adore, Try, Try, Try, The Beginning Is the End is the Beginning, Hummer, Today, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, Muzzle, Solara, Baby Mine

Parkway Drive 8/30/18

Bob caught wind of a crazy Australian band called Parkway Drive on Sirius XM’s Octane channel and suggested I check them out. I am not sure which of their songs I heard first but they definitely sounded like something that was worth further inspection.

This was the first show I had been to at Soma for about eight years and once Bob and I arrived I could not help but notice the larger security presence all around, although this could have been due to the heavier nature of the bands playing. It was a far cry from being able to walk in the back door like Marvin and I used to do. I had also forgotten what a sweatbox Soma is. When we entered to see the last half of August Burns Red I was quickly reminded that there is zero ventilation in that place so you are going to sweat even if you decide to watch the show in a stationary position.

Parkway Drive was touring for their sixth album Reverence that was released on May 4^th and this was the opening night of the tour. Right after I randomly ran into the gal that cuts my hair the house sound system started playing quite the warmup of singalong 80’s songs such as Mr. Mister’s “Kyrie,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer,” which I thought was a very funny tongue-in-cheek move for such a heavy band.

Once the band came out the crowd went absolutely apeshit. Usually a small mosh pit will erupt near the front of the stage but for Parkway Drive the mosh pit went front to back. It was full on meathead madness with more than one person cruising around throwing haymakers. I was completely sober and not entirely familiar with the songs so it was interesting trying to hold the position I was in. Some idiot kept finding water bottles and windmilling them over his head so I was soaked in no time but to be fair I was already gross from sweating and it did feel kind of good.

Frontman Winston McCall did a great job of well, being a frontman. He was able to continually whip the crowd into a frenzy with just a few choice words and commanded the stage like that was exactly where he was supposed to be. The dual guitar attack of Luke Kilpatrick and Jeff Ling fed well off of one another and the rhythm section of Jia O’Connor and Ben Gordon held down the fort. The songs are very accessible. I don’t want to say predictable breaks but rather something akin to following along with the bouncing ball onscreen. Digestible. All I know is that Parkway Drive made a new fan that night.

SETLIST: Wishing Wells, Prey, Carrion, Vice Grip, Dedicated, Boneyards, Cemetery Bloom, The Void, Idols and Anchors, Dead Man’s Chest, Karma, Absolute Power, Wild Eyes, Crushed, Bottom Feeder

Jack White 8/21/18

I never saw Jack White perform as a solo artist and in fact had not seen him in any way, shape or form for 10 years when I last saw him with the Raconteurs. When he announced he was swinging by San Diego in support of the five month old wonderfully weird album Boarding House Reach I knew I would be attending, just not the details. The details ended up being buying a last minute ticket from Larry and going by myself. Larry ended up having to travel for work and my friends Calvin and Jane that were there had apparently bought tickets during the presale.

This was the first show I have been to that utilized something called Yondr, which is essentially an opaque pouch you were forced to lock your phone in upon arrival so you could not use it unless you went outside to a specific “phone zone.” I have been saying for awhile now to anyone willing to listen that the way to get everyone to put their phones away at concerts was for the artists to hire a professional videographer/photographer and make the videos and pictures available to everyone that had attended. Why would you take some shitty video if you knew you could get professional quality videos? Why not just include it in the price of the ticket? I would pay extra for this and I am sure I am not the only one. This is what I envisioned was going to happen since the show ticket came with a disclaimer that said “our official tour photographer will be posting photos and videos after the show at jackwhiteiii.com…repost our photos and videos as much as you want.” So far the only thing posted on his website are some photos but zero videos. Good idea but the execution part still needs some work.

I only had a digital ticket on my phone and did not memorize my seat before locking my phone into the Yondr pouch so I just took a seat in the vicinity of where I knew my seat was. I did not think this would be an issue since there were many open seats (not sold out) and I was literally sitting at the top rear of the arena, but when people started filling in the open spots they were adamant on sitting in their assigned seat. By this point the cookie I ate was in full effect so I am glad I stuck to water at the show because the no phone zone started to get weird sitting by myself stoned out of my mind wondering if I was in the right seat.

There was no opening band advertised so I thought this paranoia would soon wash away at 8 pm when the lights went out and the show started but we all got tricked. The show did start at 8 pm but instead of Jack White we got a guitarist named William Tyler who played by himself. He was a great guitar player but in a live setting bigger than a coffee shop it did not translate song after song. It could have been the cookie but it seemed like he played forever. What was especially funny to me is that he had these elaborate song titles for songs with no words, just him playing guitar.

The time had finally come for Jack White and he was well worth the wait. His band consisted of two males playing keyboards, one male playing bass and one very hard hitting female drummer. The most impressive part of this journey is that they were improvising the setlist. Jack would just kind of wave his hand, shoot them a look or play a small part of something to get them on the same page and they were off. His guitar sounded fantastic and made the songs sound so much heavier live, especially “A Martyr for My Love for You,” “I’m Slowly Turning Into You,” “Steady As She Goes,” “Sixteen Saltines” and my personal favorite “Hello Operator.” Jack White is an innovator, a guitar god and musical genius. I am pretty sure I made the right decision to come alone rather than not come at all.

SETLIST: Over and Over and Over, Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground, Lazaretto, Corporation, Cannon, Respect Commander, Hotel Yorba, Love Interruption, Battle Cry, Get in the Mind Shaft, Trash Tongue Talker, A Martyr for My Love for You, I Cut Like a Buffalo, Humoresque, Hello Operator, Just One Drink, I’m Slowly Turning Into You, Steady As She Goes, Sixteen Saltines, Connected By Love, Seven Nation Army

Jack-White-Boarding-House-Reach-artwork-1

Weezer 8/11/18

Despite all of the negative things I could rant about when it comes to Ticketmaster and Live Nation it is cool that for most shows you can choose the exact seat you want to purchase from the website. Several months before this show my buddies PM and Don that I used to work with text me which seats they bought and I was able to buy the open seat literally right next to theirs due to this feature.

After not being able to agree on a plan for meeting up with PM and Don beforehand I decided to ride down with Bob, his son, Larry, Christi, their two kids and the two Norwegians they were with, who had all decided to get lawn tickets at the last minute. Once we grabbed a quick bite at some weird place close by called Canada Steak Burger that was much more Greek than Canada, a quick beer and “cookie” (just me) everyone I came with went in and I met up with PM and Don in the parking lot before we went in.

I do not really know any Sleigh Bells songs but due to my fondness/fascination of bands with only two members I did kind of want to see them so I was a little bummed this did not happen. By the time we got through security, took a leak and grabbed a beer we made it to our assigned seats on the 200 level with enough time to watch the last half of the Pixies set. This is a nutty band that I also do not know a whole lot of outside of their song “Where Is My Mind?” but I do respect the influence they had on several “Alternative” bands that I love. It was cool to recognize Paz Lenchantin that I knew from A Perfect Circle holding down bass duties.

The last time I saw Weezer it was what I considered a somewhat half-baked performance about a year before this at Kaaboo. Not this time. This was my sixth time seeing Weezer overall and since that last show they had released the album Pacific Daydream, but more importantly had recently re-entered the Zeitgeist with their cover of Toto’s “Africa.” Apparently a 14-year-old girl started a Twitter account for the sole purpose of coaxing Weezer into covering the song. They first trolled her by covering Toto’s “Rosanna” (badass) and then finally gave in to “Africa.” It is not like Weezer has not been pumping out albums forever, but their return to relevance combined with the fact that this was the second to last date of the tour seemed to re-energize them back to the levels I had come to expect. We had good seats, the kinks (if there ever were any) had been worked out of their set and their normal stage setup boasted some upgrades. They essentially opened with a replication of the Arnold’s Diner setup from the “Buddy Holly” video as they played the song live and then slowly shed that in favor of a garage looking setup for “In the Garage.” Eventually it was onward to their winged W logo to full on fire and sparks raining down from the top of the stage. Rivers played “Island In the Sun” from a “boat” that was being pushed around between the stage and the first row of seats. A very entertaining set from a very talented band that knows how to keep things interesting.

SETLIST: Buddy Holly, Beverly Hills, Pork and Beans, Undone – The Sweater Song, Hash Pipe, Perfect Situation, My Name is Jonas, El Scorcho, In the Garage, The Good Life, Happy Together, Keep Fishin’, Island in the Sun, Take On Me, Burndt Jamb, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To, Feels Like Summer, Africa, Pink Triangle, Say It Ain’t So/Paranoid

Stevie Wonder 8/3/18

It all started in July when I was scrolling through Facebook and came across an ad for the five dates Stevie Wonder would be playing in Las Vegas during the month of August. I did not remember ever seeing Stevie Wonder touring near me so I took a screen shot as a reminder to mention it to Ingrid. I remembered later that night on our way to dinner and her response was an ecstatic “We are going! He is a bucket list concert for me!” I did not take her totally serious until we returned home and she bought tickets and booked a hotel!

I am not exactly sure when or how I first heard Stevie Wonder but in all fairness I have never lived under a rock and his music is not only timeless but also universally liked by all types of people. This man is a legend through and through. I can say with certainty that the first song of his that truly grabbed me was “Superstitious.” That song creeps into my bones and makes me start dancing every time I hear it and I am not what anyone would describe as a dancer.

Due to scheduling conflicts we ended up getting tickets to the first performance and the day had come. Despite proclaiming that we would never drive to Vegas again after about a 10 hour ride home when we went to see Soundgarden years before, here we were driving to Vegas to pinch a few pennies on our spontaneous trip. We left San Diego at 11:30 am sharp and did not end up getting to Vegas and checked into our hotel room until 6 pm, which turned out to be perfect because it gave us a solid hour before we had to hop into a Lyft to make our way to the Park Theater. Apparently the whole Park MGM was a fully renovated/recently reopened Monte Carlo. Thankfully our Lyft driver knew this because we were about to get dropped off at the MGM and wander around aimlessly for who knows how long before we figured out we were in the wrong place.

I did not realize Stevie Wonder’s blindness was so severe that he would need assistance walking across the stage until I saw it with my own eyes. His band consisted of a DJ, two horn players, two drummers, three female backup singers, a bassist and a guitarist and they crushed it. Everyone in the crowd was up and dancing the whole time and it was just a good vibe all around. I would have been satisfied just hearing “Superstition,” “I Wish,” and “Sir Duke” but he played those and so many more. At one point he mesmerized me by playing from where I was standing what looked like a paper scroll. After some research I found out it’s called a harpejji, which in his own description is “somewhere between a keyboard and a guitar” with 16 strings. This man has brought great joy to the world and his music will continue to spread that joy for him long after he is gone. I am beyond thrilled that I got the chance to witness it live while he was still here.

Rock N Roll Recollections

Fuzzy recollections of bands that rocked my world