Post Show Banter >>>>

challanged wrote:
Sax player was outstanding,

She stole the show. Really great.

Back to back DC and Baltimore Van Hunt solo shows were great.

Julian, wrote:

challanged wrote:
Sax player was outstanding,

She stole the show. Really great.

We really are meshing here Jules. Feels good.

Agreed on Bryan Ferry. You know, I saw the Roxy Music reunion in 2001, and I'd still say the last 2 Bryan Ferry tours I've seen are infinitely better. I think Roxy has as solid a discography as any legendary band. Any number of bands would KILL to have put out classic LPs like For Your Pleasure, Country Life, Siren, and the debut. That being said, Avalon was the LP that introduced me to Roxy and I think it was their gorgeous and maybe slightly anti-climactic conclusion when you know what the rest of their records are like. But that being said, it's still one of the ones I listen to most. I thought the song "Avalon" was just perfect. But there were so many highlights. Though they didn't play "Tara", on the last tour this was a highlight, especially if you like the sax player (I just call her Uma because she reminds me of Uma Thurman): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auvmY7LEOHk

Ferry was indeed a very good show. Wife was surprised to "find out" that I listen to music like that. Only seems to remember the stuff she hates  ::)

Beck, Cage, Spoon, Bean.

TL;DR

Impossible Burger
Lights
Fire
Songs
Evacuation/Water Inflitration

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Was an interesting night at MPP Thursday night for a 4 act bill on weeknight.

We had 2nd row seated-pit tickets and FWB VIP deck passes. This made it really easy to come and go from our seats to get food, drink and WC. Also, got some great close-up pics of Beck/Matt from Cage when they came over close to our seats. @jdgconcertgramz on instagram.

Sunflower Bean went on at 6pm. The parking lot for which I had a pass was set to open at 6pm, so I reserved a spot in an earlier-opening lot and headed over to MPP, parked and walked over in time to catch the show. They played for maybe 25 minutes? I like SB, saw them at WTMD event, and now this. I would like to see a headlining (DC9 or equivalent?) show.

Why does this show carry 4 bands when it could probably be Beck and Cage and still sell 92% of the seats?


After a short break, Spoon played at 6:40. 11 song set included John Lennon cover (Isolation). My girlfriend loves Spoon as do I. Joe thinks that they are boring.

After Spoon, we got food: the aforementioned Impossible Burger and a Pizza. Both were way better than expected.  While we were eating up there on the VIP deck, a staffer offered everyone happy-endings came around and warned us that lightning was headed our way and to stay alert.

We left the VIP in time to catch Cage's 3rd song. The stage was on fire. Actual fire. This band tours with a 3-tier stage, elaborate lights, pyrotechnics and a wonderfully unhinged front-man. The songs are catchy (though a little same-same sounding to me), but the show is insane. Masks (including but not limited to phantom of the opera type and fencing/beek-keeper type) hats, duct tape, and more. He basically wore 6 costumes onstage, and peeled them off one by one. But after a few songs the singer re-announced the lightning threat and said that they would play one more song and then clear out for awhile.

At around 8:35pm they finished their 7th song, and then walked off and an MPP staffer came out and made the evacuation announcement. All lawn and skylawn had to go to their cars. By that time the rain was pouring down and lightning and thunder were continuous. The staffer said that they would allow folks from the lawns back into the pavillion at 9:15pm.

The rain got so bad that most people on the sides and near the rear of the pavillion got soaked.  Water cascaded down the steps into the pit area. Water pooled, and the crew warned us pit-folk to stay out of the standing water due to electrical equipment potentially zapping us.

The pavillion folk were doing the wave and singing the 7 nation army chant, and generally being well-behaved.

By around 9:10 the crew was soundchecking Cage's guitars, and i think that they resumed around 9:20. They played 9 more songs. There were crazy lights, lasers, intense fogmachine, more fire on stage, more costume changes and janky dancing.

At the last song the singer (by now dressed only in old-school gym shorts, flesh-colored leggings, and sneakers) finished the song by wading into the crowd and traversing the pavillion and onto the lawn and then back into the pavillion while the Queen song (We are the Champions) played. That was around 10pm.

After that Beck took forever to come out, and started his set at around 10:35pm with Loser. His set was fine, mostly songs I really like, some cool lights, screens, mirrored beach-balls distributed in the crowd, but honestly, I was very tired and stressed from the rain/lightning event, the heat, and a long-week. I thought he would play for around 1/2 hour because of what I thought was an ironclad 11pm curfew (and that would have been fine for me), but he played until 11:35pm, ending with intense confetti-canon (right after we fled the pit to get a head-start on getting our cars).

I did see a lot of the IMP management team (no-seth), and everyone seemed fine, happy, no sullen-ness on display.

I recommend the Impossible Burger for sure.

Tame Impala

Twas very good. Best light show I've seen at Anthem.  High-fived Kevin on the way out.

StoneTheCrow wrote:
Tame Impala

Twas very good. Best light show I've seen at Anthem.  High-fived Kevin on the way out.

Agreed. Attended both shows. Lights were something else. Kevin had a cold last night which may have hindered the vocal performance somewhat but I still thought they were outstanding.

yah, great light show….much better than the last time I saw them.  I believe that was at the Black Cat?? 

Friday's Ted Leo & RX show was great and fun and included Ted presiding over a wedding from the stage and then going into "Walking to Do" as the couple's first dance.  Control Top were a solid opener.

Saturday's Alejandro Escovedo house show was really a terrific night of songs and stories. I had only surface-level knowledge of AE, and had seen him once or twice. This guy has lived quite a life, and is like a music-industry Zelig - with stories of the punk days, to the Austin scene, to playing with Springsteen here and there.

I am taking an extended break.
No more shows for me until Wednesday.

challanged wrote:
Saturday's Alejandro Escovedo house show was really a terrific night of songs and stories. I had only surface-level knowledge of AE, and had seen him once or twice. This guy has lived quite a life, and is like a music-industry Zelig - with stories of the punk days, to the Austin scene, to playing with Springsteen here and there.

Cool,  did he mention his band Rank and File and the cow-punk aesthetic in the 80's?  Grand band.  Fortunate to catch them and many of that ilk at the old 9:30.

challanged wrote:
I am taking an extended break.
No more shows for me until Wednesday.

Andrew Luck retired and now this. All my heroes are dead.

This Wednesday doesn't count as extended break…

challanged wrote:

I am taking an extended break.
No more shows for me until Wednesday.

Bagley wrote:

challanged wrote:
Saturday's Alejandro Escovedo house show was really a terrific night of songs and stories. I had only surface-level knowledge of AE, and had seen him once or twice. This guy has lived quite a life, and is like a music-industry Zelig - with stories of the punk days, to the Austin scene, to playing with Springsteen here and there.

Cool,  did he mention his band Rank and File and the cow-punk aesthetic in the 80's?  Grand band.  Fortunate to catch them and many of that ilk at the old 9:30.

Yes.

Vas wrote:
This Wednesday doesn't count as extended break…

challanged wrote:

I am taking an extended break.
No more shows for me until Wednesday.

The show at Metro Gallery tonight would be good as well.

Anyone else go to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard? that was one wild and fun ride.

Bagley wrote:

challanged wrote:
Saturday's Alejandro Escovedo house show was really a terrific night of songs and stories. I had only surface-level knowledge of AE, and had seen him once or twice. This guy has lived quite a life, and is like a music-industry Zelig - with stories of the punk days, to the Austin scene, to playing with Springsteen here and there.

Cool,  did he mention his band Rank and File and the cow-punk aesthetic in the 80's?  Grand band.  Fortunate to catch them and many of that ilk at the old 9:30.

Did he mention the time he did an in-store back in the late 90s (?) at DCCD in Adams-Morgan, when only me, a friend, and the store employees bothered to show up

Space wrote:

Bagley wrote:

challanged wrote:
Saturday's Alejandro Escovedo house show was really a terrific night of songs and stories. I had only surface-level knowledge of AE, and had seen him once or twice. This guy has lived quite a life, and is like a music-industry Zelig - with stories of the punk days, to the Austin scene, to playing with Springsteen here and there.

Cool,  did he mention his band Rank and File and the cow-punk aesthetic in the 80's?  Grand band.  Fortunate to catch them and many of that ilk at the old 9:30.

Did he mention the time he did an in-store back in the late 90s (?) at DCCD in Adams-Morgan, when only me, a friend, and the store employees bothered to show up

That was a cool store. I remember seeing Sahara Hotnights doing an in-store there. Was that the same store that moved to Clarendon (top of the hill across from the Metro) then Falls Church (little strip mall) then disappeared?

dyecraig wrote:

Space wrote:

Bagley wrote:

challanged wrote:
Saturday's Alejandro Escovedo house show was really a terrific night of songs and stories. I had only surface-level knowledge of AE, and had seen him once or twice. This guy has lived quite a life, and is like a music-industry Zelig - with stories of the punk days, to the Austin scene, to playing with Springsteen here and there.

Cool,  did he mention his band Rank and File and the cow-punk aesthetic in the 80's?  Grand band.  Fortunate to catch them and many of that ilk at the old 9:30.

Did he mention the time he did an in-store back in the late 90s (?) at DCCD in Adams-Morgan, when only me, a friend, and the store employees bothered to show up

That was a cool store. I remember seeing Sahara Hotnights doing an in-store there. Was that the same store that moved to Clarendon (top of the hill across from the Metro) then Falls Church (little strip mall) then disappeared?

I *think* you're thinking of CD Cellar, though I'm not 100%. See this article for details.

http://bandwidth.wamu.org/for-virginia-record-store-cd-cellar-no-downside-in-big-changes/