Eddie Vedder Jacksonville, FL 11/24/12

I don't know if there are a lot of bands that can have their lead singer sustain a solo show without the rest of them, but there's at least one.  Not that Eddie was completely void of his group, he did open with "Elderly Woman..." after all.  I've heard that one plenty but it never hurts to start with an all-inclusive sing-along.  Opener Glen Hansard set the tone of the evening with a typically personal all-out performance, straining his voice and leaving zero reserve to the audience of his emotion and dedication to his craft.  You could tell that just by the strum-worn holes in more than one of his guitars.  He even did a tune out in front of his mike, completely unplugged, and sang almost as loudly as his toned down speakers.  And then there was Eddie. Ukuleles, a loud-ass uke with guitar pick-ups, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and an organ filled the night with a some-what similar set up to the last solo show we saw him perform in Atlanta, several years ago, but with more backdrops and a faux camp fire to the side.  He sang songs from all his projects and many covers including a few of the opening bars of Pink Floyd's "Brain Damage."   Tragically, a similarity between the ATL show and this one was the fans hollering out ridiculous requests and other useless "woo's" to interrupt the between song banter and stories from his childhood.  One chick yelled out "Red Mosquito" and he said "Yeah, that's a good one.  I'll never play it, but that's a good one.  I'll need Mike McCready to pull that one off."  He also told us before jamming on "Betterman" that Pete Townshend told him that in spite of the melancholy lyrics, couples in the crowd still seemed to bond over the happy melody of the tune.  Glen joined him on several songs including another completely unplugged and un-miked number.  Not unlike PJ's Music Midtown show, Eddie just didn't seem to want to leave the stage and kept playing more and more songs including "Rockin' in the Free World" and finally ended the night with one he said he hadn't played before.  Cosmic.   As Letterman once said after Eddie performed on the Late Show, "If I had a voice like that, weeeell you could all just kiss my ass."  Have fun to those that are fortunate enough to see him tonight on the 25th.

Foxy Shazam 10/27/12

standing on his keyboards

Its always admirable to witness anyone completely leave all inhibitions, self-doubt, and fear behind and just... let... go.  What a feeling of relief that must bring.  Now multiply that by six members and add a little arrogance and you've got Foxy Shazam.  I saw them open for Slash a few months ago and couldn't resist them in a headlining position for the annual Brouhaha Halloween show at The Masquerade.  I've seen my share of bands and only The Hives come close to the showmanship of this group, and they're still two completely different animals.  These guys are totally off the wall.  Leader Eric Nally is a two ton force in a teeny 80 pound body.  His modest size must give him the ability to crash to his knees and pop right back up again dozens of times a show without injury, night after night.  At one point he asked us for a cigarette, then took 5 or 6 out of the dozens thrown at him, lit them all at once in his mouth, and then ate them.  I told you, off the friggin' wall.  And his maniacal band mates do their best to not be outdone, to boot.  But don't let the antics fool you.  With crass lyrics and somewhat feminine vocals, they are musically talented with an 80s hairband sound fused with modern metal and a tinge of soul.  I wasn't sure the seasoned floor of the Heaven portion of the venue could withstand the performance and the audience.  Always kinda worries me when I can feel the second story floor bounce beneath me.      

Sky White crowd surfing while playing his keyboards

GROUPLOVE 10/16/12

Silent Bob on bass?

Five people of like musical minds that found each other and seem to just have a blast.  If the band is having fun, the audience probably is, too.  They kept mentioning the good vibes they were feeling throughout the night, and they should claim a lot of credit for evoking such emotion.  Check out the song "Naked Kids", which they performed, and see if it doesn't make you want to hang out with your friends at the beach and forget about everything else.  They came out smiling and let themselves go, headbanging and thrashing to their tunes that don't sound like what you might think of when you think of headbanging.  But they are talented at it; I'd be surprised if they don't have a chiropractor touring with them.  Almost all the tunes off of their debut album, Never Trust a Happy Song, were played including "Betty's a Bombshell", "Don't Say Oh Well", and "Lovely Cup".  Even when they brought out the melancholy "Gold Coast" they knew to follow it with the previously mentioned "Naked Kids" to balance the mood.  Bassist Sean Gadd and lead singer Christian Zucconi switched roles for the fast-paced "Chloe" before eventually taking a break.  The encore started with a completely unplugged and un-miked acoustic version of "Cruel and Beautiful World", something they claimed they had never tried before.  It took some shushing of the crowd, but they made it happen.  It also included "Tongue Tied", which you've probably heard on a TV commercial (can't remember the product, a car I think) and ended the night with their most popular tune, "Colours". 

Thrashin

Sexy lead singer of opening band Ms Mr

The Australian Pink Floyd Show 10/13/12

I was 7 rows directly behind the seat I had for Jack White on Tuesday and was running late and missed the first couple of songs but got there just in time for "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun."  Not a horrible start, for the closest to the real thing that I will probably ever get to see, but a little disappointed with my own tardiness.  The Aussies played an eclectic set from the entire Floyd timeline including a handful I wasn't familiar with, which is always pretty cool.  I wouldn't say their production was quite as good as Roger's, but still very detailed including a great light show and some inflatables bouncing around.  During the beginning of "Wish You Were Here", six lasers stretched above each of the guitarists all the way to the back of the house that acted like the guitar strings they were plucking, moving when the corresponding note was being played.  Very creative.  The three sexy backing vocalists each took turns leading the wails in "Great Gig in the Sky" and nailed every note, in true siren fashion.  They came back from a break with the haunting come-hither notes on "Shine on You Crazy Diamond," one of my personal favs.  The group ended the night with "Comfortably Numb" but came back for a one song encore of "Run Like Hell."  Well done, mates!

Jack White 10/9/12

First ever front row seats!  Except for the extra special Fox Theatre pit seats in front of me.  Whatever...  My ticket said row A.  And for none other than Jack White, the only rock star that I can think of that has the potential to save the world, one night at a time.  Well, he did his damnedest to do it tonight, we'll just have to wait and see for the results.  I know I feel better.  His first solo album, Blunderbuss, is unlike anything I have ever heard with versatility at every turn.  Unique originality busting at the seams with every note.  But I'm a long time fan, as most of you know, so my opinion could be a little bias.  Extraordinary energy from Jack set the tone for the night and made the first set, that ended with "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" which he has been known to open shows with, seem like it only lasted 15 minutes.  Backed by an all female band, The Peacocks, throughout the night he barely slowed down to catch his breath.  The drummer was trying her best to out do him and he had to step over and calm her down a couple of times.  She was a total bad-ass.  I don't know where he found those ladies but I hope he keeps them on a short leash to hopefully perform with him again.  Mixed in were tunes from all his other bands, of which there are several, to fill the voids form only having one album to showcase.  "Hotel Yorba", "Top Yourself", "Steady, as She Goes", and "Blue Blood Blues" to name a few.  Jack jumped on the piano to show off his multi-instrumental talents for "I Guess I Should Go To Sleep" but warned us to not do so before hand.  No chance of that happening, even if I hadn't been right in front of the speakers.  He then woke anyone that dozed off by ripping up The White Stripes' "I'm Slowly Turning Into You."  The encore set consisted of several tunes starting with "Freedom at 21" and ended with "Carolina Drama" and "Seven Nation Army."  I didn't happen to stand next to him at any point but still an amazing night.  I hope this isn't the last solo project we hear from him.

Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three looked and sounded like they just walked off the set of O Brother, Where Art Though?  They mentioned that the first gig they ever played in Atlanta was at Fat Matt's Rib Shack.  Boys, you'll not find a venue with a better menu.  Wow, that was kind of lyrical on accident.

Music Midtown 9/22/12

We got there about half way through Luda's set and I have to admit, he had a much better rapport with the crowd than TI.  So, we weaved our way through the much denser crowd than the previous night to get closer to the closers, Pearl Jam.  But we had to stand through Florence + the Machine, first.  She eventually came out to the technical difficulties of a silent mic.  She was obviously a little frazzled from the misfire and once it started working she tried going backstage and coming out again, and again, something went wrong which flustered her further.  Once everything was operating correctly, she apologized, made some jokes and begged for a drink.  She had split stage presence, one minute she was thrashing with her fire red hair going everywhere, then she would be very still in these spiritual poses.  Never thought I would have seen her live, anyway.

After hours and hours of standing very close to a lot of people at once, the lights went out and it was all worth it.  Its been 9+ years since PJ has been in Atlanta.  I've enjoyed traveling to several different cities to see them since then, but damn, its about time they were back.  They revved on stage opening with "Why Go" and charged through many more before stopping to say hello.  Making up for lost time; I like it.  They jammed on plenty of hits, not surprising for a festival, but mixed in some deeper tracks for the devotees.  Eddie was only political once and it was all about voting, in general, and not about who to vote for, which was nice.  They slayed on "Do The Evolution" and "Amongst the Waves," a couple of my favorites, and just kept going until the curfew would eventually take precedent.  Eddie seemed like he really didn't want to leave.  He kept checking with someone on the side-stage to see how much time was left and kept adding more songs to take up every second they could.  The others had to strap their instruments back on a couple of times.  The last time he came out and said "We only have 2 minutes left so we're going to rush through this one!"  and played "Rockin' in the Free World" to end the night and abruptly fled the stage.  Loved the efficient use of time, boys!