Saw Bob Dylan last night night in Berkeley. Quick and to the point: best Dylan show of the five I've seen to date (previous shows I've seen were summer of '97 at Great Woods in Mansfield, Mass. with Ani DiFranco; spring of 2005 at the Paramount Theater in Oakland with Merle Haggard; fall of 2007 at the Ryan Center in Kingston, RI with Elvis Costello; and this summer at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, CA with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp).
His voice was clear and strong (relative for this period of his career, anyway) and he sounded like he was really enjoying the set. Spent part of the time at the keyboard, part of the time on guitar and harmonica, and part of the time singing without an instrument. Opened with an old Jesus song from his born again days, played some sweet new arrangements for "Mama, You've Been On My Mind" and "Cold Irons Bound," got the crowd all riled up with that "you think I'm over the hill" line in "Spirit On The Water" (just like he did at the Ryan Center), and best of all... NO opening acts, just Bob, with Charlie Sexton back in the band on guitar, and a nice long set in the open air. Show was sold out. He plays again at the Greek tonight (though I won't be there...)
Set list:
Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking The Man In Me Beyond Here Lies Nothin' Mama, You've Been On My Mind Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum I Don't Believe You My Wife's Home Town Spirit On The Water Cold Irons Bound The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll Highway 61 Revisited I Feel A Change Coming On Thunder On The Mountain Ballad Of A Thin Man
ENCORE: Like A Rolling Stone Jolene All Along The Watchtower
June 29 came up all too fast. Any faster and I would have forgotten that I had a ticket to see Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood at Oakland’s Oracle Arena that night. Fast as it came though, the show itself lasted a good long while – close to three hours by my rough estimate.
I never had much of a huge interest in seeing a live Clapton show. I’ve always felt that there was very little about his music since his Derek & the Dominoes days that truly excited me. There were some good spots in his solo career since then – 461 Ocean Boulevard certainly has its moments (“Mainline Florida” and “Let it Grow” especially), Backless is a once-in-a-while guilty pleasure for the 8-track deck, and the laid back Reptile had just enough variety for me to make it my favorite solo Clapton record of the ones I’ve heard to date (and those sweet backing vocals from the Impressions certainly didn’t hurt). But overall, his career excited me far less than that of, say, Jeff Beck.
But the prospect of seeing Clapton with Steve Winwood, now that had me sold. Clapton seems to be most inspired when working alongside a peer (i.e. Duane Allman in the Dominoes, or as reports from Japan earlier this year confirmed, with fellow Yardbirds alumnus Jeff Beck). Teaming with Winwood worked well enough in Blind Faith in '69, so I couldn't imagine it not working in 2009. I was pretty much right.
Basically, I got everything I was expecting: a hearty dose of Blind Faith tunes (all of side one of their lone album, in fact), some Traffic tunes, the bluesier side of Clapton, and – best of all – a Clapton who was ripping solo after inspired solo all night. He was alternately slow and deliberate, a fleet-fingered show-off, a precise picker, and an infectious riff master. And Winwood was easily the evening's superior vocalist and Clapton's equal on keyboard, occasionally even sparring with Clapton on guitar when he wasn’t perched at either his organ or his piano.
Highlights: Forgot how cool that riff in “Had to Cry Today” is; “After Midnight” was slowed down to a more leisurely pace, though not quite as slow as the ‘87 Michelob version; Clapton and Winwood trading verses on “Presence of the Lord” and “Forever Man”; Winwood’s breathtaking solo rendition of “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys”; “Split Decision” emerged as a long-forgotten, lost gem from Winwood’s commercial peak in the ‘80s; and the spirited dual guitar jam at the conclusion of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” ended the show on a natural high… though as you can imagine, joints were being passed around.
[RANT: I wish the screaming lady next to me would have taken a toke of the joint being passed around in front of me, because she was just WAY too hyper. She was shrieking non-stop throughout the show, and ridiculously so. I mean, you know you’re drunk when you start complaining that Eric Clapton isn’t singing enough hits or saying anything about Michael Jackson. I think she nearly climaxed when he encored with “Cocaine.” And then she had the nerve to ask me what country I was from! Apparently, if I had answered something other than the United States, she would have wanted to sleep with me, but I like my landlord too much to bring home a woman who could drown out a fire alarm.]
Two more points worth mentioning: it wouldn’t be a Clapton show without some straight up blues, and there was plenty of that to go around. Those tunes (“Low Down,” “Sleeping in the Ground,” etc.) didn’t stick with me as well as the others, but they sure sounded great at the time. The best of these without a doubt, though, was Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile.” No, not the more well-known “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” that closes side 4 of Electric Ladyland, but the twice-as-long blues jam that closes side one of the original double LP. Winwood sang this one, but it was Clapton who intro’d the tune, singing along with the opening guitar melody: “I’m a voodoo chile / Lord knows I’m a voodoo chile.” It was at this very intro that it hit me: Winwood played organ on the original recording! Suffice to say, these guys did Hendrix proud.
Clapton couldn’t be bothered to say more than “hello!” and “thank you!” all night, but Winwood at least talked a bit to the audience before “Low Spark.” And still, the band wasn’t introduced, and since I didn’t do my research before the show, it didn’t quite register why the way the drummer was hitting his skins looked so familiar to me. It was because the guy was Abe Laboriel, Jr. – Paul McCartney’s drummer since 2001 (I've seen Paul eight times since 2002). Might be time for some glasses.
Thanks to ericclapton-online.com, we have not only a list of the band members, but also an audience-shot video of “Cocaine” from the show (posted by YouTube user taste4phree).
The band: Steve Winwood (vocals, piano, organ, electric guitar) Eric Clapton (electric and acoustic guitar, vocals) Chris Stainton (Keyboards) Willie Weeks (Bass) Abe Laboriel Jr. (Drums) Michelle John & Sharon White (Backing vocals)
The set list: Had to Cry Today Low Down After Midnight Presence of the Lord Sleeping in the Ground Glad Well Alright Too Bad Pearly Queen There’s a River Forever Man The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys Driftin’ How Long Layla Can’t Find My Way Home Split Decision Voodoo Chile
I hadn’t been to the Greek Theatre in Berkeley until this summer, even though I’ve lived in the Bay area four years now. Steely Dan’s set last Saturday was the third show at the Greek I’ve attended this summer, after Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and R.E.M. last month. This was also the third time I’ve seen Steely Dan – saw them also in 2003 and in 1994. They say three is a perfect number…
Anyway, what do you get at a Steely Dan show other than perfection? Walter Becker and Donald Fagen are renowned for creating perfect sounding records, and their concerts are no different. I suppose it can sound boring if you see them too many times, but going nine years or five years between shows keeps it fresh. In this instance, besides pristine sound, playing, arrangements, etc., we got a fun opener in the Joey DeFrancesco trio. He plays the Hammond B3 like nobody’s business, and since Jimmy Smith is gone, Joey’s the modern day torch bearer for the B3’s place in jazz. The set length was just right, the two keyboards and drums trio setting worked surprisingly well (the second keyboardist, Pat Bianchi, kept his volume just a bit lower than Joey’s and complemented him tastefully), and Joey’s tongue-in-cheek reworking of “Got My Mojo Workin’” left us in an upbeat mood, and ready for Becker and Fagen to go all crabby on us.
Actually, Becker himself proved to be a funny guy as well later in the evening.
Here’s how it went down:
The band, sans Becker and Fagen and the backup singers, started the set with a two-song, unedited instrumental medley, so we could have sung along if we liked, but I think I was the only one who attempted that. First up was Everyone’s Gone to the Movies, in a funky arrangement with the melody played on muted trumpet, and a sweet baritone sax solo. This led straight into The Fez, with a cool horn arrangement overtaking the song’s signature keyboard part, and some guitar and alto sax solos. A short drum solo bridged it over to The Royal Scam and a stately opening trumpet solo. It was at this point that out come Becker, Fagen, and two female singers with huge afros. They sounded awesome, and when they were introduced later in the evening, it became very clear why that was so.
Fagen looks like a balding old man who kind of enjoys being old, smirking his way through the years because he can still sing most of his songs in the same key that was comfortable for him when he was younger. Yay to that. Another drum solo fades the song down (are we sensing a pattern here?) and another segue into…
I Got The News. They were digging deep into their catalog early on, and they just kept on digging! Another drum segue and then…
Showbiz Kids, in a completely different arrangement, much improved over the studio version. A new theme was played to a lightweight James Brown beat, an extra chord was played for the ‘Show business kids makin’ movies of themselves’ line, and then another new chord was added for Becker’s guitar solo. The studio version of “Showbiz Kids” is one of the most boring and disappointing songs in the Steely Dan catalog (musically anyway; lyrics are another story); live, it’s totally redeemed. And after the song’s closing theme, the segue-fest finally ends so Fagen can speak to us. He cheekily proclaimed that “the Think Fast Steely Dan orchestra” would be “playing songs from various stages of our magnificent career,” and he actually wasn’t kidding on that count – every Steely Dan studio album was represented by at least one song (the first three albums and their two recent reunion albums) and as many as five (that honor went to Aja, not surprisingly).
When they played Everything You Did (in a reggae version for a new twist), the line in this jealous lover song that goes “I’m gonna a get a gun / shoot the mother down” reminded me of a story that my guitar teacher told me of a run-in with Becker in a parking lot in New York that sounded awfully similar to the story told in this song. Could it be…?
Two Against Nature was next, and it really breathed with real drums instead of whatever was done with the beat on the studio version. This is another song that I never really cared for in its studio version, but live, Fagen was in the groove, Becker’s solo swung too – it was yet another improvement, with an awesome ‘solo’ spot from the backup singers.
Hey Nineteen was the first hit that we heard in the set. Having seen Steely Dan in the Boston metro area the last two times, it was weird not hearing a huge applause for the “sweet things from Boston” lyric. But hearing Becker riffing on that bit about taking your beloved home and getting her drunk before the ‘Cuervo Gold’ bit was even funnier than when I heard it before. Maybe that’s because Fagen did it last time. Fagen is the voice of Steely Dan when he sings, but Becker just seems more like a naturally engaging storyteller when he speaks.
Godwhacker was the representation for 2003’s Everything Must Go. The breakdown each time on the ‘be very very quiet’ part was a clever touch, and the blues-derived changes set up the bari, tenor, trumpet trombone solos really well.
Fagen then pulled out the disco-fied The New Frontier from his first solo album, which was a good lead-in to the equally faux-funky Glamour Profession. Then came Gaucho in a different key, which seemed strange at first until Becker started singing it instead of Fagen.
At this point, the drum solo bookend pattern that was present at the beginning of the show gave way to a new one. Fagen played a dreamy electric piano solo that led into Home at Last. Then he laid back and let the backup singers take the lead on Parker’s Band. Charlie Parker was pictured on the screen behind the band, but incredibly, there was no sax solo at the end! How can you play a tribute to Charlie Parker and not have your band’s sax player blow a little solo on the alto? Small complaint overall, but still!
When Black Friday started, with its exaggerated shuffle beat, we knew the end was getting near. Fagen returned to his electric piano for another brief solo before the next song, Josie, which sounded like it might have been brought down a half step. Aja, however, was definitely in its original key, and was a high point of the evening.
“It sounds like the ‘60s!” said Becker, as that familiar Motown beat started up and the backup singers teased with a bit of the Supremes’ Love is Like an Itching in my Heart before Becker introduced the band over the band’s vamp. Why were those singers so good? Their names told me everything I needed to know: Cynthia Mizell and Tawatha Agee!! Cynthia sang alongside Lisa Fischer with the Rolling Stones during their Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour of 1989-90. And Tawatha was the lead singer in Mtume from ’77 till ’86. I always loved her singing on those Mtume records, especially the very first one from ’77, Kiss This World Goodbye, with “Love Lock” and “The Closer I Get To You” (which James Mtume co-wrote with Reggie Lucas for Roberta Flack). But most folks probably recognize her as the lead voice on Mtume's biggest hit, "Juicy Fruit." Here's the video, but alas, no afro (it was the '80s, boo):
Peg and Kid Charlamagne closed the main set… and when they came back for the encore, it was a somber Third World Man that preceded Fagen’s last electric piano mini-solo of the evening. They took us out with Do It Again, and Becker and Fagen walked out to an instrumental as the band kept playing; strangely, the audience started walking out too, before the band even finished! Weirdness.
That’s right, no “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” no “Reeling in the Years,” no “Deacon Blues,” no “Bodhisattva.” It was a fan’s set, for sure, and a thoroughly satisfying one.
Stevie’s back on the road, and I was there last Saturday, at the Shoreline, this time with four others. As he did last year, he’s billing these shows as “A Wonder Summer’s Night” and he’s playing straight through the evening with no opening act. Huge band, lots of percussion, and this time he even brought his 6 year old son Kailand to play a little bit of drums towards the end of the evening. The kid was probably the only person in the entire venue who didn’t have a huge grin on his face. Did he not want to be there? Does he take drumming that seriously? Does he not like Stevie’s music? Was he mad at his dad? Who knows… the rest of us were very happy to be there.
Casually strolling out in the early evening light with daughter and backing vocalist Asiha Morris guiding him to his perch, Stevie opened the show with some positive remarks about Barack Obama and, when he got the band started, four songs in a row off Hotter Than July. Talk about digging deep! “As If You Read My Mind” and “Did I Hear You Say You Love Me?” were two of the songs I least expected to hear, and like most of the night’s performances, they were note perfect. Even with this four pack, Innervisions was still the best represented album of the night, with five songs (“Visions,” “Living For the City,” “Golden Lady,” “Higher Ground” and “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing”).
The talk box came out again, as it did last year, after some fun call and response with the audience. This time he only used it for one fun cover tune – the Stylistics’ “People Make the World Go Round,” and it was a pretty complete version too.
Biggest surprise of the evening: a full performance, with band member solo spots, of Chick Corea’s “Spain” (as heard on the second Return to Forever album, Light as a Feather). [Though Lee Hildebrand's piece for the San Francisco Chronicle identified this tune as Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez," in reality, Hildebrand only identified the intro to "Spain," which Corea lifted from Rodrigo's piece. The rest of the tune is Corea's].
Songs missed: would have been nice to hear something off A Time 2 Love. He actually announced “So What the Fuss” at the end of the night, but played “Superstition” instead and called it an evening. Not a bad trade-off, but still.
Most polite audience moment: the crowd actually hushed to listen to Aisha sing a jazzy rendition of “I’m Gonna Laugh You Out of My Life,” and good thing – she wasn’t always easy to hear. Good singing voice, definitely has her dad’s genes.
Most welcome diversion from the hits: we were treated to a new song called “Keep Fooling Yourself Baby Girl,” from the forthcoming album Through the Eyes of Wonder. There’s nothing like hearing a legend who refuses to rest on his laurels. Even though it wasn’t the most memorable tune (can’t remember the melody for the life of me), it certainly sounded catchy at the time and was modeled in classic Stevie fashion. Can’t wait to hear the rest of the album!
Most annoying abbreviation of a song: Stevie performed acceptably abbreviated versions of “Isn’t She Lovely” (I wonder if Aisha ever gets sick of hearing this song?) and “I Just Called to Say I Love You” (1 verse and two choruses do just fine), but when he stopped the band after his harmonica solo during “For Once in My Life” and declared “that’s enough of that,” man, that was nothing short of mean!
Bottom line: the man is still 100% dynamite, a national treasure. Go see him! If everybody could experience Stevie Wonder live, the makers of Prozac would surely go out of business.
Set list:
As If You Read My Mind Master Blaster (Jammin’) Did I Hear You Say You Love Me? All I Do Knocks Me Off My Feet Audience jam/People Make The World Go Round Higher Ground Spain Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing Visions Living For The City Golden Lady Creepin’ Keep Fooling Yourself Baby Girl I’m Gonna Laugh You Out Of My Life (Aisha Morris) Isn’t She Lovely (2 verses) Ribbon In The Sky Overjoyed My Cherie Amour Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours Sir Duke I Wish Do I Do I Just Called To Say I Love You (1 verse, two choruses) For Once In My Life (stopped after harmonica solo) Uptight (Everything’s Alright) Superstition
I almost didn't go to see Plant and Krauss. I had a late afternoon party to attend, for which I was a key component in both the planning and entertainment, so I couldn't exactly predict if I'd even be able to make it to Berkeley in time for the show. Plus it was sold out. But as luck would have it, I was able to not only get to the Greek just in time, I also scored what appeared to be the lone single ticket sold outside the venue by an unassuming old dude with white hair who parted with it at face value.
I had the welcoming screams of the Greek crowd and Plant & Krauss' opening number, "Rich Woman," as the soundtrack to my entrance and journey to my viewing location. Once I was settled, I saw on the stage a simple set-up with a total of seven musicians: Jay Bellerose on drums, Dennis Crouch on bass, Buddy Miller on guitar, multi-instrumentalist Stuart Duncan (fiddle, mandolin, ukulele, guitar), bandleader/guitarist/vocalist T Bone Burnett, and of course, the show's two stars.
Thanks to Jon Cummings' Popdose Review of the Plant & Krauss show earlier in the week at L.A.'s Greek Theatre, I was kicking myself for not having followed my impulsive idea to fly down south for the show. Fortunately, my last-minute attendance at Berkeley was not among the kind of non-plussed crowd that Cummings experienced. They were pretty chill, but the group of three whose prime viewing space I crashed really seemed to be enjoying the mostly country-bluegrass-Americana set with tinges of gospel. The dudes behind me were really digging Krauss' good looks (as was I), though really, her stunning, pitch perfect vocals would have been enough to satisfy me. And when I say stunning, I mean I really felt paralyzed by the beauty of Krauss' voice on "Trampled Rose." I mean, WOW. And down below my perch, hippie girls were gingerly dancing to the more upbeat numbers in the set. I wasn't hearing any grumbling about the lack of Zep tunes or rock n' roll in general. This crowd seemed to know exactly what they were in for, and loved it.
Plant's presence at the show was maybe a bit less than I expected. I knew that Krauss had some solo space, which was great, but when T Bone sang a couple of songs without Plant or Krauss, that's when the extraneous conversation around me was at its peak. If anything, I attribute this portion of the show to Plant & Krauss' appreciation for the fact that T Bone himself is a modern day master of his craft, and if it weren't for his masterminding of the whole project, we wouldn't even been seeing this show. Or listening to the brilliant Raising Sand album, one of last year's best album releases overall in my humble opinion. Shame that the Zep reunion at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute concert overshadowed it completely in the press.
But back to the show... I haven't checked back against the record, but most if not all of Raising Sand was performed, along with some other covers and a few old nuggets from Plant's distant past that elicited the greatest response of the evening: a bluegrass rendition of "Black Dog," straight readings of "Black Country Woman" and "The Battle of Evermore" (with accompaniment from Krauss that, for my money, bettered Sandy Denny's performance on the original Zeppelin recording), and an awesome rustic recast of Plant's solo hit "In The Mood" done as a medley with the old English folk ballad "Matty Groves."
Even though Plant is clearly immersing himself in the music and going with the flow, he couldn't help but have the strongest stage presence due to his old rock god moves. He was shaking and dancing throughout the evening, having a ball and inspiring others who weren't planted in seats to do the same. He only occasionally let out some rockin' wails that recalled his past, notably on "Nothin'", which earned him some applause that was almost as loud as what the Zep tunes garnered.
I walked away having heard all my favorites from Raising Sand -- "Gone, Gone, Gone," "Killing the Blues," "Please Read the Letter," and "Your Long Journey" -- and feeling only mild disappointment. Why? Well, the show was so good, and I was so transfixed the entire evening, that I failed to engage the hot blond next to me. She was afraid to hop the fence at the edge of the lawn seating area to join her friends, and only joined them after I encouraged her to follow my lead. Man, if only the show sucked as much as some of the observations in Cummings' Popdose Review and comments on Shay Quillan's San Jose Mercury News blog suggest, I might have gotten my head together to ask for her number. Damn you Robert Plant! Damn you Alison Krauss! Come back soon, and try to suck just a little bit more next time.
A couple weekends ago, I had the pleasure of seeing R.E.M. for the first time at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Missed the two openers (Modest Mouse and the National), but wasn't peeved. After all, I had seen Modest Mouse play a short set once before and didn't feel like being teased again. Next time I see them, it will be in a headlining slot, playing a full set.
Anyway, I noted that R.E.M.'s audience seemed oddly detached and sedate throughout most of the set, and not just during the 7 or 8 new songs from this year's Accelerate (which is excellent, by the way -- it rocks, but modestly, unlike '94's overrated Monster). Nobody really made much in the way of noise till they pulled out the big guns: "Losing My Religion," "Man On the Moon," "Orange Crush," etc. No "It's the End of the World as We Know It," fortunately. I never really got into that one. "Ignoreland" was a pleasant surprise, and one of my favorites of the evening, along with "Man Sized Wreath." Better still, I walked away having been introduced to one excellent song I hadn't heard before that I particularly enjoyed ("I've Been High," from 2001's Reveal).
For a band that is kind of "legendary" at this stage of their career, they are doing an excellent job of maintaining their signature sound, and still emanating a bit of freshness and youthful vigor. Stipe is still in fine voice and modestly charming as a front man, Buck and Mills still play as if they're enjoying themselves, and only one other guy (Scott McCaughey) augments the core quartet (with touring drummer Bill Rieflin). They're lean, not very showy, very solid, well worth seeing.
A superior, more detailed overview of the evening can be found at The Concert Blog.
L-R: Greg Dulli, Mark Lanegan;Photo by Julie Bernstein
It becomes increasingly difficult to get large groups together to go out and enjoy a concert, as many of the big names for which our friends share a common love have been pricing us out of the market. I don’t recall a time since perhaps back in college when I was part of a group as large as seven to attend a concert together (and I think the group might have actually been five or six). It might have been a Neil Young show. That’s the one I remember most clearly, and in fact, the Afghan Whigs were set to play first, followed by Jewel. I was a little miffed that we couldn’t get it together to arrive on time for the Whigs, and we missed their set. Fortunately I’d be able to make up for it next time they came to town, and nearly every time Greg Dulli has played within driving distance.
Which brings me to this past Saturday night. A group of seven! I’m still pretty high about it. It was myself, my friend, co-worker and band-mate Julie (taking photos that evening), my ex-girlfriend (but a friend first and always) Jennifer and her friend Alex, my co-worker Derek and his brother, and my friend and band-mate Mike. All of us shared either a curiosity or strong devotion to Greg Dulli and/or Mark Lanegan, who kicked off their first tour as the Gutter Twins here in San Francisco on Saturday night as part of the annual Noise Pop festival.
I’ve had my review copy of Saturnalia playing constantly since receiving it in the mail, and I’m already feeling that it will probably end up as my pick for album of the year. It’ll be a tough one for anyone to top.
Lanegan had been a part of previous tours with Dulli’s Twilight Singers band, but he would only appear on stage occasionally. It was one of those occasions during the last Twilight Singers gig in San Francisco, back in ’06, when the music was elevated to a status one could call ‘magical’ or ‘transcendent’ or whatever your preferred term. Lanegan took his place at the microphone and sang an obscure Massive Attack song called “Live With Me” that only those who picked up the Collected best-of that summer would have known. Fortunately, the Lanegan-sung version was recorded for posterity in the studio and appeared on the Twilight Singers A Stitch in Time EP last year. It was effectively a preview of things to come, and it is now a part of the Gutter Twins’ live set.
Besides Lanegan on vocals and Dulli on vocals, guitar and keys, the band consisted of: Dave Rosser, guitar and vocals; Scott Ford, bass and vocals; Jeff Klein, guitar, keys and vocals, and Cully Symington, drums.
Lanegan and Dulli both remained on stage the entire time, and there wasn’t a single song where either one was silent vocally. When Lanegan was singing lead on a song, Dulli would have some background parts to sing, and vice versa. And on occasion they would trade leads, as on “I Was in Love with You.” This is the one song on Saturnalia where Lanegan is not present, but on stage, he sings most of the leads and Dulli takes some of it later. The best shared leads were saved for the encore, however – the old Twilight Singers tune “Papillon” found Dulli inserting a line from Steve Miller’s “The Joker” (in an apparent acknowledgement of his smoking on stage in a city where smoking indoors in public places is illegal), followed by Lanegan inserting a line from the even older Screaming Trees chestnut “Shadow of the Season.”
Uniquely interpreted covers are always a part of any show Dulli plays, so we got the aforementioned “Live With Me” along with a Lanegan-sung cover of Jose Gonzalez’ “Down the Line,” with Lanegan extracting all the blues out of the song that his gravelly voice can muster.
The entirety of Saturnalia was performed, with few words spoken between songs. Lanegan is typically silent between songs on stage, or as Mike put it, he’s “all business.” Some of this vibe has rubbed off on Dulli, who used to be far more talkative with the audience. But all that means is more music. And given the shorter set times with a total of four bands performing that night, the twenty-song set split between new songs, solo Lanegan tunes and Twilight Singers material was quite generous. And satisfying.
Set List:
The Stations God’s Children The Body Live With Me Seven Stories Underground All Misery / Flowers Idle Hands Circle the Fringes Bete Noire I Was in Love with You Down the Line Who Will Lead Us Each to Each Front Street
Encore: The River Rise Papillon/The Joker/Shadow of the Season No Easy Action King Only Methamphetamine Blues Number Nine
Saturnalia is out today on Sub Pop, as a CD, mp3 download and double 180-gram vinyl LP (which itself includes a coupon for a free mp3 download of the whole album).
It wasn't the Peter Gabriel-fronted lineup, but Genesis still played a mostly excellent set in San Jose on Tuesday night. Rode down there with Julie and a couple of her friends, ate a typically overpriced meal inside the venue, and didn't have to wait long past the 8pm start time for the band to take the stage.
Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford were joined by the touring members who had been with them since the late '70s - drummer Chester Thompson and guitarist Daryl Stuermer. Phil and Chester were drumming together on separate kits for a good chunk of the night, and that's exactly how the show started. They opened with an instrumental intro based on "Behind The Lines" and "Duke's End" from the 1980 album Duke, and with the way the lights were cast, I actually couldn't tell who was on which drum kit. Both Chester and Phil are bald, and the lights made it difficult to tell which guy was black and which guy was white. But when Phil stepped down from the stage right kit to take the microphone on "Turn It On Again," suddenly Chester's darker complexion stood out.
"Turn It On Again" sounded a bit sluggish (due in no part to Phil's pudgy belly, mind you), and like most of the vocal tunes in the set, was taken down to a lower key to make it easier for Phil to sing. I got used to it after a while, but it was a shame Phil wasn't hitting as many high notes as he used to.
After a couple more big pop hits, they dug into the first of several longer prog highlights from the '70s. "In The Cage" started out sounding kind of sparse and the audience seemed not all that enthused, but by the time the band had kicked up the intensity halfway through the song, and then segued into an instrumental slice of the odd-metered "The Cinema Show" and concluded the extra long medley with "Afterglow," we were hearing some of the loudest applause of the evening so far.
Next thing I witnessed was a first for me. Phil sat on a stool to sing the suitable-for-the-dentist-chair ballad "Hold On My Heart," a song that was probably best left for one of his solo records. Apparently a good chunk of the audience agreed, because this was the first time I had ever witnessed a mass exodus to the bathrooms during a performance of a top 40 hit at any concert I've ever attended. "Follow You, Follow Me" received a much warmer reception. It's a slight little ditty, but there's something attractive about it. Perhaps the fact that it was born organically, out of a jam, is what has given it some appeal over the years. Not only that, it was the only song played where Phil was drumming and singing at the same time, which is always a fascinating thing to watch, especially for those of us who can barely coordinate one foot with two hands behind a kit, never mind the other foot and vocals too.
Other highlights: The "Firth of Fifth" instrumental featured Daryl on lead guitar, segueing into a crowd-pleasing rendition of "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)." This tune was about as close as the Peter Gabriel era got to a pop hit, and it works very well in an arena setting with Phil making it all his own.
"Ripples" was a nice surprise thrown into the set, though Darryl's guitar could have been turned up.
The drum duet between Chester and Phil started out with the two of them banging away on what appeared to be a tall stool. They gradually moved away from the stool and onto their respective kits without missing a beat. Here's a youtube clip from the show, just over a minute long, capturing the transition:
The duet crashed head on into "Los Endos," yet another '70s instrumental. This one pretty much contained all the most memorable musical themes from the A Trick Of The Tail album, and it came alive on stage in a way that the record never did.
They really piled on some prime old material, and it was all received quite well and played even better. They could have dropped some of the '80s hits and I'm sure few would have minded. Though I must admit, even though "Throwing It All Away" is one of their less interesting pop songs (yet another that would have been better kept for a Phil solo album), the video screen behind the band during this song was a kick to watch. Cameras would zoom in on various people in the audience, and it was a matter of a second or two before the person would notice his or her image up on the screen. Every person spotlighted seemed to delight in the attention. I kept waiting for someone to cover their face in embarrassment, but no luck - everyone was a star and enjoyed it.
Set list:
Duke's Intro (Behind The Lines) Turn It On Again No Son Of Mine Land Of Confusion In The Cage / The Cinema Show / Duke's Travels / Afterglow Hold On My Heart Home By The Sea / Second Home By The Sea Follow You, Follow Me Firth Of Fifth / I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) Mama Ripples Throwing It All Away Domino Drum Duet Los Endos Tonight, Tonight, Tonight Invisible Touch
After I booked this too-short trip back east to visit family, it was announced that Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello would be performing at my alma mater the night after my arrival. Talk about perfect timing! In attendance were Doug and both of my parents - this being the first time all four of us attended a show together. My mother had taken me and Doug to see Keith Richards back in '93, but my father has rarely been to concerts with me. I can count on one hand, probably, all the concerts he has seen with me and my mother. Let's see... Chicago, the Moody Blues, Engelbert Humperdinck, Paul McCartney, and this one. Yup, just checked, I still have five fingers on each hand.
In short, it was a mixed bag. First, the positives:
Parking for this venue was just a very short walk across the street, and it was very easy getting in and almost as easy getting out. It's only an 8,000 seater, so that helped. It also wasn't completely sold out, so that helped too.
Amos Lee opened. He has been Dylan's default opening act for the past several years. He's not remarkable, but he's not annoying either. Just a good, solid musician with a hard working rootsy band, sounding a shade like Levon Helm at times. It's easy to hear why Dylan likes him so much, and both times I've seen him open for Dylan, the audience was warm and accepting.
Costello was the absolute highlight of the night. It was just the man alone, switching between three different guitars throughout the course of his 11-song set. He walked out dressed in black, smiling and in great spirits. His full, well-toned voice was in perfect shape for most of the night, and he occasionally stepped away from the mic to create an echo effect in "The River In Reverse." Towards the end of this tune, he started singing John Lennon's "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier, Mama, I Don't Wanna Die" and, as is his style, got the audience to sing along (although they didn't all get the cadence and it sounded jumbled). He did this again when he turned "Radio Sweetheart" into a full medley with Van Morrison's classic "Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)" - it was a perfect sing-along and it went off without a hitch.
The only real flaws of Costello's set were "Less Than Zero," which didn't really work all that well as a solo piece, and a new song co-written with Roseanne Cash that he debuted. Calling it simply "Song with Rose" since he hadn't titled it yet, the song wasn't all that memorable, didn't have much of a hook to speak of. Maybe it'll be another classic with some fine tuning, but thumbs up for trotting out something new.
The biggest surprise for me was hearing "Veronica." Even though this was his biggest hit (and his only number one single), he rarely plays it these days. What's more, it was played in a completely different key and sounded completely fresh. Probably for both of these reasons it earned him the first of about four standing ovations (he also got them for "The River In Reverse," "Radio Sweetheart," and of course after the last song). Ending with "The Scarlet Tide," he received his guaranteed mid-song applause when he sang the Bush-directed lyric, "admit you lied / and bring the boys back home." It's a genuine folk song, one of the most affecting songs he has written (actually co-written, with fellow "Coward brother" T-Bone Burnett) and has turned up frequently in his sets since its release on 2004's The Delivery Man.
With a voice like Costello's, having Dylan close the night was a bit anticlimactic. Not that Dylan's songs were any less remarkable, or his band overpowering or tasteless. Quite the contrary - Dylan played a well-chosen set of old and new classics, and his band is as tight as ever.
It's no secret that Dylan isn't a great singer, and anyone who buys a ticket to his concerts knows and expects that he is going to sound ragged. But this time, he sounded downright bored and sick of some of his old tunes. It was as if he could care less about even trying to emit discernible human tones on most of his old songs, especially on the first three - "Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "Watching The River Flow." He rushed through the lyrics, jumbling syllables together like a chain-smoking bullfrog with Tourette's syndrome. He'd then take a long pause to make up the time before finishing each line, in what sounded like a willful insult to musical cadence and (of course) melody. And yet... Doug and I found ourselves not pissed, but laughing. Quite frequently. "I think he's taking the piss out of people," Doug observed. Perhaps.
He may have just been bored too. For, by the time Dylan got around to singing some of the tunes off his latest album, last year's Modern Times (he played five of the album's ten songs), he was finally starting to reach for some notes, the mid-line pauses weren't so long, and one could actually make out some melodies.
One song where the spooky tone of his nearly destroyed voice worked especially well was "Ain't Talkin'" - he wrote this one with a melody very suitable for his limited range, and the many dark verses are exactly the kind of material that fit the world-weary personality responsible for early, winding epics like "Desolation Row." Every lyric was brought into sharp relief by his delivery, especially lines like "I'm tryin' to love my neighbor and do good unto others / But oh mother, things ain't going so well" and the closing couplet: "Heart burnin', still yearnin' / In the last outback at the world's end." You'd think he was resigned to the imminent end of time being just around the corner, and who knows, maybe it is.
But even a miserable Bob Dylan won't leave his audience feeling depressed, and "Summer Days" is exactly the antidote for the effects of his downer material. This tune, from 2001's Love and Theft, has become a latter-day classic thanks to its frequent appearances in Dylan's set lists since its release. It's the only song from the album that he performed on Saturday, and its jubilant rockabilly swing is nothing short of an instant party.
After a haunting, always relevant "Masters of War," Dylan encored with the "Summer Days" follow-up "Thunder on the Mountain" (from Modern Times) and the crowd-pleasing "All Along The Watchtower," modeled after the more-famous Jimi Hendrix cover, showing that Dylan clearly isn't above adopting another legend's improvement of one of his own songs.
But truly, we had to laugh. After all, the context in which we were hearing these performances was so cynically designed, I'm sure Dylan himself must be laughing too. It was the taped brass fanfare that signaled the start of the show, and the voice announcing Dylan as the "voice of the '60s counterculture, who disappeared in the '80s, subsequently found Jesus, and has returned with his strongest work starting in the late '90s" or something to that effect... I mean, these kinds of labels and hero-worship were exactly the kind of thing Dylan rejected and rebelled against for so many years. And in that context, coupled with hearing how ungodly he sounds today, how could one not laugh?
Clearly, Dylan has a (somewhat warped) sense of humor. And he's laughing all the way to the bank. Who else can "sing" like he does and get away with it? And it's not like he can't still sing clear melodies - his a capella rendition of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" offered on one of his recent XM "Theme Time Radio Hour" broadcasts proved it. He just chooses to croak. And we choose to show up. It's quite the arrangement, and it makes for some interesting theater. That's why we dig Dylan, not just because he wrote some amazing songs and captured the mood of a grand, historic moment in time.
Elvis Costello's set-list: The Angels Want to Wear My Red Shoes Either Side of the Same Town Veronica The River In Reverse "Song with Rose" Less Than Zero Alison (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding From Sulfur to Sugar Cane Radio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said The Scarlet Tide
Bob Dylan's set-list: Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat Don't Think Twice, It's Alright Watching The River Flow The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll Rollin' And Tumblin' The Ballad of Hollis Brown Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again Spirit On The Water Things Have Changed Workingman's Blues #2 Highway 61 Revisited Ain't Talkin' Summer Days Masters of War
Encore: Thunder On The Mountain All Along The Watchtower
Another 13 days gone by… I’d rather forget they even happened. Except for last Sunday – Stevie Wonder was up in Concord, stopping by on his first full tour in 17 years. I was there, with my good friend and co-worker Julie. And as anyone who knows Stevie’s music can tell you, it’s full of good vibes. The man himself is just overflowing with genuine positivity. And he gave us loads of it, all directly to us, with us, and for us.
Stevie had his daughter Aisha Morris at his side as he walked out to center stage. Before he began the actual concert, he told us about the effect his mother’s death had on him last year, and how he nearly canceled all appearances he had lined up. But he went ahead with an appearance he had at a wedding in Hawaii, and carrying on in his strong, bull-headed fashion, he’s out there now telling all of us ‘thank you’ for listening and for essentially giving his mother a much better life than she would have had otherwise. It was a personal, heartfelt introduction, in which he concluded by saying we’ll remember the night as a night we all spent together. And he was serious – he’d really involve us in the performance.
And then, he solemnly and softly began the show, after making it through some sound problems on his microphone during his opening talk to us, with “Love’s In Need Of Love Today.” Starting off accompanied only by his piano, Stevie was joined by Aisha on backing vocals in the first chorus, and then gradually the rest of the band joined in – one drummer, two percussionists (one on either side of the drummer), two guitarists, a bassist, another keyboard player, and a total of three backing vocalists (including Aisha).
From here, we got three songs in a row – the first three in order, in fact – from Innervisions, which is my personal favorite of Stevie’s albums. “Too High” was especially well done, sounding almost exactly like the recording, right down to the tempo and keyboard tones. “Visions” was arranged a little differently – electric piano was prominent along with acoustic guitar, and Stevie nearly doubled it in length as he extended the coda into a full-on preach against the violence we’re inflicting upon each other across the globe. He had us join him in chanting “stop it!” And then, “Living For The City” came next and got the biggest response from the crowd up to that point, being that it was the first big hit of the night that he played.
From here, the mood lightened considerably as “Master Blaster” came next. There’s no better way to get people moving than with a pure party song paying homage to Bob Marley. But it got even better – before returning to Innervions again for that album’s biggest hit, “Higher Ground,” Stevie proceeded to lead the band through a lengthy jam in which he played some funky clavinet, and then… the talk box came out. Stevie had been using it well before Peter Frampton made it famous, and I think we had all forgotten about Pete after Stevie jammed on “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” into almost all of “I Heard It Through The Grapevine.” And then, he vocalized the rhythm for the band and gave us a verse and chorus of “Billie Jean” in which he faked the words. But even fake words sound cool on the talk box.
The intensity level came down a bit after “Higher Ground,” with the beautiful, mid-tempo piano-based ballad “Golden Lady,” again from Innervisions. This segued into a solo piano and vocal medley of “Can’t Imagine Love Without You,” “Too Shy To Say” and “You And I.” It was the mushy moment of the show, the one that was for the lovers who were already smitten by the appearance of the rising moon up above us. The rest of the band rejoined Stevie for “Overjoyed,” and then Stevie had to take a quick break to refresh his throat. He sounded a little hoarse during his introductory speech, but his voice was clear as ever when he sang. He explained to us, and had us cracking up as he did, that the “nasty” tasting stuff he was drinking to coat his throat (or “th’oat” as he told us, reminiscing along the way about his mother and father used to say it) consisted of cider vinegar and honey. He gulped it down, the percussionists jammed on for a bit, and then, on into…
“Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing” would be the last of the six tunes he pulled from Innervisions. The only other album so heavily represented was Songs In The Key Of Life, and at this point I actually expected to hear that album’s “Another Star” based on the percussion rhythms I was hearing. But that would actually come later.
It was back to party time again with “Boogie On Reggae Woman” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours.” At the conclusion of the latter, Stevie joked about how it could have been a country song and proceeded to mess around with country-sounding arrangements that came off almost like Ray Charles. And then he even played and sang, quite beautifully, a little bit of Charlie Rich’s big early ‘70s pop-country crossover hit “The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.”
From here out, the order of the songs is a little fuzzy to me. But I know we got to hear a flawless “All I Do,” and got another funny story about a girl Stevie was dating who barely registered a reaction to a song he wrote for her. They broke up, but he got “My Cherie Amour” out of it. We were led through some call and response, which actually might have preceded “My Cherie Amour.” And there was a super funky jam on “Superstition” which folded in Parliament’s “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker” at the end, which again, had the audience singing along. We got “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.” And we got the three big hits off Songs In the Key Of Life – “I Wish,” “Sir Duke” and “Isn’t She Lovely.” Aisha was standing by her father’s side on the latter, and gave him a big hig – this is her song, the one Stevie wrote for her when she was just a baby, and in fact she is the baby you hear at the beginning of the recording.
“Do I Do” showed up towards the end, which if I’m remembering correctly, was the song where Stevie got behind a drum kit towards the end for a little duet with the band’s regular drummer. He’s more known for his harmonica and piano playing, but Stevie is actually a fine drummer, and sounds better now than he ever did.
As the show wound up, we all helped Stevie on a stripped down arrangement of “Part Time Lover” in which the guys sang Stevie’s rhythmic vocal part, the girls sang the synth hook, and Stevie sang the leads and played piano. And we all shouted along the title throughout. It’s kind of a corny song, but this group participatory arrangement was pretty awesome. “I Just Called To Say I Love You” was played in a truncated version, and then I believe this was the point where we finally got to hear another new-ish song, “So What The Fuss,” from 2005’s A Time 2 Love. He had us all clapping along on it, before the song I was expecting to hear earlier in the set – “Another Star” – finally closed us out.
I probably speak for more than just myself when I say that I left the show feeling a lot better than when I went in, and not just because I heard so many of my favorite Stevie Wonder songs. The guy really knows how to engage an audience and make them feel like joyful participants. And though he preaches love a lot, he means it, and it comes across as completely genuine and meaningful. He chose the right time to get back out there and show us some love, and truly, there are few pop performers who can do it as well as he can, with as many amazing songs as he has. Thank you, Stevie. You got me smilin’ again!
Songs performed (not necessarily in order):
Love’s In Need Of Love Today Too High Visions Living For The City Master Blaster (Jammin’) Clavinet/Talk Box Jam (with Mary Had A Little Lamb, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Billie Jean) Higher Ground Golden Lady Ribbon In The Sky Can’t Imagine Love Without You Too Shy To Say You And I Overjoyed (voice tip – cider vinegar & honey) Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing Boogie On Reggae Woman Signed, Sealed, Delivered Country renditions/The Most Beautiful Girl In The World All I Do My Cherie Amour Sir Duke I Wish Superstition/Tear The Roof Off You Are The Sunshine Of My Life Isn’t She Lovely Do I Do Part Time Lover I Just Called To Say I Love You So What The Fuss Another Star
Ah, vacation... if only I could have them more often! I just got back from an extended weekend in Las Vegas, where my girlfriend and I got a little burned in the desert sun, lounged by the pool for a bit, and watched movies with her mother. It was a true getaway for me, aside from some brief checking of email and a call to my father for father's day. I turned down a writing assignment for Performer Magazine and slacked on practicing guitar for the upcoming workshop performance, and it was both necessary and worthwhile. I feel refreshed and ready to be productive again. Now, if this feeling can last at least as long as the vacation itself, we may have a minor miracle here.
I probably have reason to believe that it could last longer. After all, the Police did finally patch up their differences after more than 20 years apart to get their current tour together, so I guess anything is possible. It's a tour I didn't expect to happen, yet there I was, in Las Vegas, witnessing Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland performing together as The Police at the MGM Grand on Friday night. And there I was, watching them with my girlfriend's mother -- this was her mother's day gift, as her daughter had seen them once already with me the previous Wednesday. We were seated behind the stage, with a clear view of the audience in the front rows, as well as the band's backsides. All the big hits were played, though most of them were played in fresh interpretations, some more radical than others. "Wrapped Around Your Finger" was a particular highlight, with Stewart playing a wide array of exotic percussion, and Andy adding little melodic guitar accent to follow Sting's vocals in the chorus. Andy's solo in the jammed-out "When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around" was probably my favorite moment of the whole show. Best of all, it was just the three of them -- no background singers, no extra musicians. They really should have been playing in small theaters and clubs for the best effect, but considering the amount of people who want to see them, and considering it's amazing this tour is even happening, I really can't complain.
The next night I was back at MGM with my girlfriend for Roger Waters' performance of The Dark Side Of The Moon. Different crowd (far more smokers, both of the pot and tobacco varieties), different band configurations (Roger retained two guitarists, a keyboard player, sax, three background singers, and a drummer), much heavier subject matter... and even though the music of the Police is much more concise and pop oriented, I found that it was Roger's cynical "Perfect Sense" that couldn't get out of my brain: "And the Germans killed the Jews / And the Jews killed the Arabs / And the Arabs killed the hostages / And that is the news". Which just about sums up 2007, as it summed up 1992. It threatens to overpower the memory of the graffiti-covered pig that was sent out to float above the audience, and the welcome addition of "Sheep" to Roger's set list, the new song "Leaving Beirut" that simultaneously related Roger's experiences traveling through Lebanon as a teenager and chastised the U.S. for its approach to foreign relations in the Middle East... oh, and The Dark Side Of The Moon! It was a great performance, and I think it came off better than the Water-less Floyd's version on their final tour. But it really should have been Waters, Gilmour, Mason and Wright playing it together. Their Live8 reunion gave us some hope that maybe it could happen someday. But again, I can't complain. Waters gives us our money's worth -- a two-part set with a 15-minutes break and no opening act, lasting more than two hours. And $30 less than the Police!
Next show I expect to attend will be my own. There won't be any flying pigs, unfortunately.
By day, I look after the publicity office for a major university. After-hours, I indulge in my passions: playing guitar, writing about music for blogs and print publications, eating, and singing at the local karaoke bar, among other things. I am also continuing to learn more about the web as I look to the future, where I eventually see my love of music, writing and the web combining into some sort of sustainable, harmonious union.
Saw Bob Dylan last night night in Berkeley. Quick and to the point: best Dylan show of the five I've seen to date (previous shows I've seen were summer of '97 at Great Woods in Mansfield, Mass. with Ani DiFranco; spring of 2005 at the Paramount Theater in Oakland with Merle Haggard; fall of 2007 at the Ryan Center in Kingston, RI with Elvis Costello; and this summer at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, CA with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp).
