SDSU

Pearl Jam 5/3/22

After over a two year delay (show was originally scheduled for 4/13/20) the day had finally arrived for me to see Pearl Jam for only the second time ever, which still blows my mind with as many shows I go to plus the fact that I grew up in Washington state, but to be fair there was this weird unspoken childish thing back in the day that if you liked Nirvana you could not also like Pearl Jam. My second Pearl Jam sighting was pale in comparison to my buddy PM who held onto our tickets that he purchased through the Ten Club to see Pearl Jam for the 51st time! 


We arrived just in time to grab a couple beverages and make our way to the seats before Ed came out and treated the early attendees to a solo acoustic performance of Warren Zevon’s “Keep Me In Your Heart” before introducing Josh Klinghoffer as the opening act then disappearing. Klinghoffer played some dissonant type stuff and had an unexpected higher pitched singing voice that absolutely nailed “Take My Breath Away” from the Top Gun soundtrack. He also introduced me to the baritone guitar, which is downright embarrassing for someone who also plays guitar (though not even 1% of how good this guy plays).  


Our seats were good because we were near the soundboard but not as good as I would have expected the Ten Club to dole out to a longtime member. They were definitely better than the last time I saw Pearl Jam at this exact same venue since this time I was actually in front of the band instead of sitting behind them like last time. In fact the stark stage setup was identical to that other time in 2006 with only minimal lights, two screens to show action from the stage and people sitting behind the stage (they also turned around and played one song to the people back there just like last time). This is a band that does not need anything but the power of song and I am fairly certain the electricity from the crowd would have been enough to power the electronics in the building. Many of the band members have a San Diego connection which made this opening night of the tour that much more special not only for the crowd but surely the band themselves as well. Ed took time to point out his mother, his guitar teacher and Bill Walton in the crowd, which now makes for two shows I have been to with Bill Walton!


The once new album Gigaton was now two years old but 2/3 of it was so seamlessly integrated into their set that it felt like an old friend, especially “Superblood Wolfmoon” that would not be out of place on one of the first albums. “Porch” was the last song played before the encore break and what Mike McCready did during that song was nothing short of obscene in the best of ways. He is so much of a BEAST that even after they came back from the break Ed said, “He looks a little sunburned but that was just his face next to the amp that was shooting out flames.” Classic. Just like the bottle of wine Ed downed during the show and playing “Alive” as the closer, which felt like it had a little more meaning after these last couple years.


SETLIST: Oceans, Retrograde, Never Destination, Corduroy, Dance of the Clairvoyants, Amongst the Waves, Even Flow, Who Ever Said, Quick Escape, Long Road, Given to Fly, Superblood Wolfmoon, Daughter, Seven O’Clock, Jeremy, Porch, Lightning Bolt, Better Man, Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, River Cross, Footsteps, Once, Alive

Tool 1/12/20

Tool ticket 1:12:20

Bob was the one that was able to secure tickets for the show two nights prior to this and when he did was also able to get two tickets for the Sunday show. His wife expressed interest in possibly going so in the name of spreading joy to the world I agreed to forgo my ticket for her if she chose to go but in the end she passed. Unbeknownst to me he had not even told her that he bought tickets for the Sunday show so he did not know if he was going to make it until the last minute. By the time we figured it all out we were walking in just as “Fear Inoculum” was starting and had to kick someone out of our seats. We did have slightly better seats for this show but they could not be classified as premium seats by any stretch of the imagination so it was funny to walk in on someone trying to snake our seats.

Since it was a Sunday we decided not to drink at all for this show (don’t fret dear reader I still had a couple gummies) so I was able to notice a few more details than I recalled from the Friday show. The first thing I noticed is that people get really cranky about standing in their seat space instead of sitting down in their seat. For some reason people think you cannot hear them when they are talking right behind you but then again maybe they were talking louder than normal to make sure they were being heard. Bottom line this is not your fucking living room so if you don’t want to stand then maybe you should pony up extra dough to sit somewhere else or shut up and deal with it.

The next thing I noticed is that Maynard seems to be coming out of his shell a little more lately. Two nights ago he had come down from his platform but tonight Maynard hung out on the drum riser for a moment then was later seen on top of a speaker cabinet being pushed across the front of the stage and finally briskly walking from one side of the front of the stage to the other at the very end as he was saying farewell. I was also attuned enough to notice that he embellished some of his vocal lines throughout the night.

Tonight I noticed the exact moment that the “fishing wire curtains” peeled back was during “Parabola” to reveal a naked band – not naked in the sense that they were not wearing clothes but just more exposed. This was met with a roar of approval from the crowd. Those same “fishing wire curtains” closed them back in for an INTERMISSION of about 12 minutes with a projected countdown timer and all right after “Forty Six & 2 (this happened at the Friday show as well but I had forgotten).

The only difference in the setlist from two nights prior was the inclusion of “The Pot” and “Part of Me.” At this point anything from Opiate seems otherworldly since it is a short blast of pure rock fury vs. a crazy extended musical journey. People were not as cool on this night with keeping their phones out of their hands but despite this Maynard once again proclaimed that it was ok to openly carry during “Stinkfist,” which turned into an extended jam near the end right when you thought they were mere seconds from being done. This to me was a good summation of Tool: right when you think they are about to disappear they remind the world that they were never really gone. They also remind the world that we need them more than ever.

SETLIST: Fear Inoculum, AEnema, The Pot, Parabol, Parabola, Pneuma, Schism, Jambi, Vicarious, Part of Me, Forty Six & 2, Chocolate Chip Trip, Invincible, Stinkfist

Tool 1/10/20

Tool Viejas

I guess it was only fitting that the first concert for me of the new decade was Tool.  It was also fitting that a couple days before this show I randomly ended up driving behind a car with a custom license plate that said “Schism” as I was listening to Tool.

Schism

After going through hell to get tickets right when they went on sale (eff you Ticketmaster) Bob was able to secure four seats together not far behind the mixer board. After Bob and I met up with Kyle and Chris for a quick beer at Eureka! we met up with Wayne to make our way in (Chris had a seat on the floor) after I had a couple “cookies” for dessert.

I had just seen Tool at Aftershock less than three months before this but was excited at the possibility of them stretching out a little more since this was their own headlining show. It ended up being a very similar setlist as Aftershock but they threw in a partial cover of Rush’s “A Passage to Bangkok” due to the sad announcement earlier in the day that Rush’s legendary drum god Neil Peart had passed away from brain cancer at the age of 67. After a particularly vicious “Forty Six & 2” and intermission they paid tribute again by projecting a picture of Danny and Neil behind the drum kit as Danny was performing “Chocolate Chip Trip.” Finally as they walked off the stage “2112” blasted through the sound system. R.I.P. Doctor.

No Tool show would be complete without crazy visuals and this show utilized what I can only call fishing wire curtains in front of the band for a majority of the show to project trippy landscapes onto. Maynard uncharacteristically came down towards the front at one point and seemed to be in a good mood. Right before AEnema he quipped “San Diego is pretty close to L.A.” before a round of “boos” quickly came back at him. Tool has a very strict no phone policy and threatened removal if caught using your phone but everyone seemed to be ok with being in the moment. Possibly since everyone behaved Maynard then announced right before “Stinkfist” that it was now ok to get out your phones for the last song.

SETLIST: Fear Inoculum, AEnema, Parabol, Parabola, Pneuma, Schism, A Passage to Bangkok, Jambi, Vicarious, Descending, Forty Six & 2, Chocolate Chip Trip, Invincible, Stinkfist

Tool 1:10:20

Fleetwood Mac 12/8/18

Fleetwood Mac 2018

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

A Perfect Circle 4/11/17

APC2017

The devil was out with Bob and I as this was my sixth time seeing A Perfect Circle, I had not seen them since the last time me and Bob saw them at the same venue six years before this and 4 + 1 + 1 = 6…Spooky! In all seriousness a lot had changed in six years such as the SDSU campus being upgraded, but one thing that had not changed was A Perfect Circle’s discography. There was no new album they were touring behind. Apparently they hope to have a new album out by the end of the year and this tour was to be the catalyst to motivate the band to get it done. Then again that is hearsay and may be wishful thinking on my end.

As per usual Bob and I could care less about the opening band so once we arrived we went in search of beer, which much to our dismay has apparently all but disappeared from the SDSU campus. The only place to get beer was from a single window inside the gates of the actual outdoor venue. As we found out rather quickly there were two lines going to the same window stretched out to either side and wrapped back around. Long story short we waited in line for about 45 minutes and had still not reached the front when the familiar opening of “The Hollow” started up. As much as we like beer we decided that we quite possibly would not be getting any for another 15 to 20 minutes so we abandoned ship and found our seats to make sure not to miss the band we came to see. The band also implemented a very strict no cell phone/camera policy that was being heavily enforced but we did manage to sneak a couple decent pictures from our seats.

Even though the rhythm section of the band (or at least the touring band) had changed, the sheer power and beauty of the songs performed live had not. The songs seemed to have a new relevance to today’s America combined with a timeless quality that all great songs have. Maynard appeared to be in good spirits, cracking jokes about the recent United Airlines debacle. Billy’s guitar prowess was a sight to behold and he sang more than I remember him singing in the past. James Iha got his turn on the microphone between songs and was awkwardly funny. “Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums” which is essentially a reworked version of “Pet” literally shook the earth. I was pleasantly surprised with the number of their softer songs they performed and even more surprised that “Judith” was not played. The only glimpse of new material we got was “Feathers,” a slower piano driven number that they closed the show with.

SETLIST: The Package, The Hollow, The Noose, Weak and Powerless, Rose, Imagine (John Lennon), Thinking of You, By and Down, Thomas, Peace, Love and Understanding, Magdalena, Vanishing, Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums, Orestes, A Stranger, Blue, The Outsider, Gravity, Feathers