The Black Keys Charlotte, NC 3/24/12

With Arctic Monkeys... that's what we call a two-fer!  I saw these guys back in '07, I think, thanks to my buddy Jolly that had an extra ticket and brought me along to see the extremely British band.  By that I mean their accents are extraordinarily thick.  These guys make Mick & Keef seem like they were born and raised in Topeka.  Leader Alex Turner can't hide the accent even when he sings.  I think that was part of the problem; the between-song banter was undecipherable, which led to confusion from the crowd and  frustration for the band, which didn't garner an encore set, and they left the stage in a huff.  An odd pairing with The Black Keys must have humbled them as an opening act, because they seemed to be in much better of a mood.  They were once predicted to be the next huge band out of the UK, but their popularity fizzled fairly quickly, in the US anyway.  I still dig on 'em.  They played a decently long set, including their big hit "I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor" and off the recent album, Suck It And See, "Brick by Brick" and "Don't Sit Down 'Cause I Moved Your Chair" but no "Perhaps Vampires is a Bit Strong But..." from Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

On to the Rust Belt Rockers.  The Keys opened the night with "Howlin' For You" and didn't let up.  They played a handful of tunes with the touring band and then got down to just the duo for some older jams including "Girl Is on My Mind" from my personal fav, Rubber Factory.  They ended the main set with "Tighten Up", their first smash single, and then "Lonely Boy", the song with a riff that somehow seems to bungee off the neck of his guitar, from the new collection, El Camino (that title is close to my heart, it being my first vehicle and my Dad's all-time favorite).  The combination of the Keys and producer Danger Mouse (one half of the group Gnarls Barkley with Cee-Lo Green) is undeniably successful.  He produced Attack and Release, their fifth album that put them on the map, then followed that with just the a fore mentioned single "Tighten Up" from Brothers, which shined a blinding light on their ability.  So, the most logical step would be to have him produce the latest set, El Camino, which led to the single "Gold on the Ceiling" being the theme behind this years NCAA basketball tournament.  I, however, might consider the new one a bit over-produced, but maybe D M's background-synth influence helps mellow out the rawness (that I, personally, can sink my teeth into) in order to cast a broader net for more fans.  Who can blame them?  If you don't have fans, how can you live the rock star lifestyle even actors and athletes envy?  The encore started with Dan Auerbach bustin out his best falsetto for "Everlasting Light" (thought about you, Trey.  I can't help but think of Claudio, too).  With a dazzling light show, throughout the night, they bid us farewell.  Hopefully, they'll be back to Atlanta before the years' end and I won't have to drive so far.  But, who am I kiddin, I love this shit!

 

Jack White Chattanooga, TN 3/10/12

Jack White hasn't released his debut solo album yet, so I was not expecting to know most of the set list, figuring it would be all new stuff with some deep covers that I'd probably not heard before.  Wrong.  He played mostly White Stripes material like the show opening "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground," "Hotel Yorba," and "My Doorbell."  Backed by an all female band, he just ripped us apart.  At one point he and his violinist were trading licks and kickin ass.  They also played The Raconteurs' "Top Yourself" and The Dead Weather's "I Cut Like a Buffalo," from his two other bands.  I think he's taken over the title of "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business" since the demise of James Brown.  It wouldn't have surprised me if he pulled out a little "Portland, Oregon" from the Loretta Lynn album, Van Lear Rose, of which he produced and performed, but no dice.  I believe they jammed for about an hour and a half, but it felt like ten minutes.  Towards the end of the night he pulled out "Pretty Good Looking (For a Girl)" off of my favorite WS album, De Stijl.  Then it was time for "Ball and Biscuit" and he blew the doors off the joint.  We (the whole crowd) couldn't help but to start screaming cheers that was almost as loud as the squealing guitar during the slayed solo.  According to the guy behind us, he closed the night with a cover of Leadbelly's "Goodnight Irene."  There's your deep track.  I wasn't so fortunate to have him bump into me this time, but I think I prefer him on stage, anyway.

During these recent, tragic times, I needed to step back and get away for a bit.  Who better to help me through than Jack.  I encourage everyone to find something in this world  that makes you feel so good that every hair on your body stands on end, as if you're being poked by needles from the inside out, but in a good way.  For me, as you can tell, its live music.  Concerts have gotten me through the roughest of times when hopelessness invades your soul and you believe there's no way out.  Find that "thing" and embrace it, because without it, life can easily seem frivolous.

RIP Cullen

Tesla 2/22/12

I'm willing to bet most of you are saying, "Who?"  Then I guess most of you weren't arguably lucky enough to have an older sibling that was a teenager during the heart of 80s hair metal.  I used to watch my brother play Van Halen's "Jump" on his keyboard when I was five and thought I was observing God, personified.  I only knew four songs that they played, and three of them were covers.  The opening song morphed into Grateful Dead's "Truckin'" and a few unrecognized tunes later, they pulled out Zeppelin's "Thank You."  The boys looked a little haggard after all these years and lead singer Jeff Keith's peculiar mannerisms made him seem pretty tweeked out, meth-mouth and all.  He has maintained his raspy voice and the other fellas can still pick with the best of them as they proved in this all acoustic show.  They started pretty slow but built a little steam later on after jamming on some older tunes.  The famous ballad "Love Song" closed out the main set and their popular cover of Five Man Electrical Band's "Signs" ended the night.  Musically, the band sounded pretty good, but guitarist Frank Hannon's between song banter seemed scripted, as if they said the same things every night on the tour.  He even briefly started a cheesy wave in the small venue.  How novel.  Bands from the Reagan era do draw some interesting crowds that make for stellar people-watching.  We repeatedly saw this one guy in an Aerosmith hockey jersey drunkenly wandering around looking to talk to whom ever would listen.  Never approached us, though, thank goodness.

The Kills 2/1/12

So, I'm standing right in front of the sound area at Masquerade, listening to the opening bands, leaning on the rails when my hottie friend Ashley Parker walks by and I bump her to get her attention.  I could tell by her demeanor that something magical had happened to her, other than seeing me, of course.  We hug and she exclaims that she just shook hands with Jack White who was apparently right behind me in the caged off sound post.  But, he was gone after someone started taking pics of him and forced him backstage.  She was beside herself with the biggest eyes and smile I've ever seen.  I try to calm her down as we chat and watch the rest of the opening performance and then get in line for some drinks.  As it turns out, she knows the bartender, along with 20% of the rest of the crowd, who is more interested in talking to people and nearly ignoring those of us actually in line.  I had to turn around and watch the first two songs The Kills played while waiting on her to acknowledge my existence.  Her only redeeming quality was that she wasn't wearing a bra and evidently, was a little chilly, God bless her.  Those were the only tips involved in our interaction, I assure you.  I then, finally, get my Newcastle and find my spot to witness lead singer of the duo, Alison Mosshart (also of The Dead Weather with Jack White).  I saw these guys open for The Raconteurs back in 2008, so I knew I was in for a treat.  Whatever "it" is that rock stars have, she's got it two fold and just rocks the shit.  She takes the stage with her pink and black mop of hair, usually in her face, and magnetizes the attention of the crowd to her petite, 80 pound frame and fearless attitude.  She would thrash in the exact same manner to an empty room.  Chick leaders of rock bands are a risky gamble, which makes her stage presence all the more incredible.  They play "Baby Says" off the new album Blood Pressures when I notice in my "riphs" a guy drinking wine straight out of the bottle.  I'll be damned if it wasn't Jack White, in the crowd, right next to me.  I almost puked.  I didn't want to bother him like the last person that sent him backstage, but I kept sneaking peeks when I could.  It was like a bird had landed on my shoulder and the last thing I wanted to do was bust out some jumping-jacks (no pun intended).  He did move to the other side of the crowd, briefly, and when he came back over, he stumbled on my big-ass left foot!  I knew these size 15s would pay off some day.  He quickly apologized and I think I said "Its cool, man" but who the Hell knows what I actually muttered.  A little later he went to put his arm around the girl he was with and bumped the beer I was holding.  He turned around and apologized again and we put each others hand on the others shoulder for a moment.  "I think it moved."  If you think that sounds gay as shit, then you just don't get "it."  It was as close to a religious experience as I'll probably ever have.  Just after that, Ashley comes back from the ladies room and tries to get me to come up closer with her many friends.  I told her I was good and pointed at Jack.  It startled her so much she jumped and burst out loud "Oh!"  He stood and watched them next to us for at least 4 songs including a cover of Patsy Cline's "Crazy."  Perhaps you didn't hear me:  I stood next to Godliness for 4 OR 5 FRIGGIN' SONGS!!!  Eventually, some jack-ass realized who was standing there and talked his ear off until he, again, retreated backstage.  The show could have ended right then.  Hell, the world could have ended right then.  (If you're unaware of who Jack White is (not Lacey's Dad), then you could probably substitute Bono or somebody.  Although if it had been him standing there, I would have tried to crop-dust his punk ass.)  Luckily, it didn't, and we watched The Kills perform a slowed down, sluggish version of the catchiest tune on the new album, "Nail In My Coffin," that still sounded great.  They came back from the encore break and did "The Last Goodbye" which showcases Alison's vocal talents followed by a couple more, of with which I was unfamiliar.  If this show was a preview of the rest of the concert year, I don't give a damn what the Mayans say, 2012 is lookin' up!

Manchester Orchestra 11/23/11

"I'VE GOT THAT ROCK AND THAT ROLL!" we all chanted during the second tune of the night, "April Fool."  Energy was high, thanks partially to openers The Dear Hunter and Cage the Elephant.  I hadn't really heard much by The Dear Hunter but I got their groove and they had some tasty licks.  I know I poo-pooed on Cage the last time I saw them and I'm still not convinced of their future longevity.  But Matt Shultz is an undeniable front-man.  I could barely peel my eyes away from the skinny little egotistical punk skipping around the stage (see youtube clip below, have to wait until the end to see what I mean).  His incoherent vocals are still questionable for a live show, but he enjoys a good stage dive.  On the third one, he was held by just his feet and stood up straight above the crowd which was pretty cool (check pic below, kinda hard to tell he's not standing on stage).
    

So, back to Man O.  I just saw them at Music Midtown, but I had to check 'em out when they were headlining a gig.  It's been a while since I have found a band that has a way of playing soft, yet eerie, melodies that spiral to the darkest depths of the soul in the blink of an eye.  "I've Got Friends" is a fair example of pop melody that is offset with dark lyrics, strained vocals, and sudden guitar thrash.  Man, its fun to sing along with live, too.  Especially when everyone in the house harmonizes.  "Pensacola" is another good one to unify voices.  Except for one drunk chick that had many miscues and a shrieking, off-key voice that garnered her quite a bit of heckling.  Sadly, we could only really hear her during the toned down portions of songs that never became loud.  There's one in every crowd, I guess.  The only thing she didn't do was holler out "Freebird."  It's alright, I barely remember the first time I got a hold of some brown liquor, either.

The Raconteurs 11/13/11

Who says you have to have a new album to go on tour?  Not Jack White.  He and his boys know they can bring the sold-out body heat to the Tabernacle mid-November, even after a bummer of a Falcons game.  They busted on stage with probably my personal favorite "Consoler of the Lonely" and didn't let up for a second.  The modestly dressed crew, containing a skinnier Brendan Benson with longer, curled locks; a less stoic than usual Jack Lawrence; and a heat wave emitting Patrick Keeler on drums know how to bring it upside your head without a lot of flash and theatrics.  Its all about the RAWK with them, people.  They can do a brass-less "Switch and the Spur" and a banjo-less "Top Yourself" and still kick you in the teeth.  But at the same time, they also know they can't do "Old Enough" without a bad-ass fiddler violently sawing the strings and stabbing the air with his bow.  "Blue Veins" ended the main set with JW attacking his guitar with hurricane veracity and evoked an instinctual mid-solo applause from a crowd so unified with his energy that I believe we all forgot where we were, but it didn't matter.  We didn't need or want to be anywhere else.  There wasn't anywhere else.  The rest of the world disappeared and I, for one, have never been more elated to be lost in the cosmos with a building full of fans.  That's the effect a band should strive for every show.  Leave a pint of blood on that stage or don't even bother.  Being in charming company instead of going it alone, like I had originally planned, probably didn't hurt either.  At the end of the song, he tried to give away his guitar to a lucky fan in the front row but a roadie wrestled it away from the many hands holding on to the axe (check video link below).  Had it been me, wild horses couldn't have dragged it out of my death grip.  The encore consisted of "Salute Your Solution," the hooky first single by the boys "Steady, As She Goes," and the powerfully melancholy "Carolina Drama" respectively.  Bring on the next album and tour, fellas.  I'm already ready.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W89IVbBwmi4&feature=feedu

Chris Robinson Brotherhood 11/12/11

I guess an optimist would say that Center Stage was half-full.  Chris and company just couldn't seem to fill the place, but I guess that happens.  The first set was OK, I'm not familiar with his solo stuff but they did throw in a Crowes cover of "Appaloosa."  If I overheard correctly, the entire set list was scattered, or littered, with Grateful Dead tunes.  Wouldn't know, never could get into those guys.  So that gives you an idea of what sound was like all evening.  The second set, after at least a half hour intermission, was really jammy and I damn near left early.  But then they roped me in with a couple more Crowes numbers, including "I Aint Hiding."  Not that that was the reason I went, I wasn't expecting to hear any.  It was at this time I really began to become aware of and annoyed by this guy next to me who apparently thought it would be a good idea to have a first date at a friggin rock show.  He's telling this chick, very loudly, all about his family and I even heard him say his grandparents were in a concentration camp.  Now, far be it for me to make light of the Jewish plight, but this Gentile would have preferred to hear a little more music and a little less family tragedy at that moment.  That's the beauty of a general admission show; one can move around to a spot that isn't next to someone who thinks they're at a random bar listening to house music and not have to go to jail for smacking the Hell out of them.  I hate to go against one of the founding members of one of my favorite bands, but if I had it to do over again, I would have probably gone and seen The Australian Pink Floyd Show that was right down the street at the Fox.  Tickets went on sale for Chris before they announced they were coming to Atlanta.  Damn those double booked days.