All the Pete Yorn you can handle

Ah, where to begin? I have just spent a fantabulous two days saturated with all the Pete Yorn I can handle (although yes, I’d go for more). Two in-store appearances packed with acoustic rarities, two fantastic concerts with the full repertoire of songs, and a one fine interview for y’all – an insight into the mind of the man behind the music.

Pete Yorn is an authentic, quality singer-songwriter (slash drummer, slash guitarist, slash multi-instrumentalist) with heartfelt passion for his music. This 32-year-old from Jersey combines raw urgency with melodic beauty, and I think that he is currently making and performing some of the best music of his career. If you can catch some of the remaining tour dates or in-stores, I urge you to do so. Many of the shows are sold out, but beg borrow and steal, baby.

If you have not yet read my massive post on Pete Yorn from a few months ago (or are unfamiliar with him), you must do so immediately. Full stop. The coolest thing to happen to me in recent memory is discovering on Monday night that Pete Yorn himself has previously read that very post on my very own little blog (and apparently the version of “Knew Enough To Know Nothing At All” that I have on there is a remix with Velvet Underground loops, not the original). Huh. Sweet beard of Zeus.

After some shuffling of schedules Monday night out on the open-air patio of the Walnut Room in Denver with Pete, we finally found some time to sit down together on Tuesday afternoon up in Boulder on a couch backstage at the Fox Theatre and chat a bit about what he has been up to. What I saw revealed was a rather pensive (but funny) musician with a lot of interesting things to say while he rubbed his guitar-string calloused fingertips.
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Pete Yorn Interview, July 25, 2006
Fox Theatre, Boulder, Colorado

So, tell me about your new album Nightcrawler. What is the musical progression or evolution from your two previous records, Musicforthemorningafter and Day I Forgot, to the new Nightcrawler?

It’s a completely different record than either of the other two records. The natural progression for me is just being older, living more, experiencing more. Right from the first song on Nightcrawler (“Vampyre”), it’s definitely a darker tone than what I’ve set with other records, but there’s a lot of bright spots on there too. But I mean, with any record if you just listen to the first song and think that’s what the whole record is going to sound like, you’d be missing a lot, it’s a pretty diverse. And I work on the order of the songs to make a flow that I like, so yeah, that’s something that’s important to me.

The vibe during the recording was everything from free-and-easy to real pain in the ass. We recorded something like fifty songs for Nightcrawler, so it was hard for me to pick. I have that problem with every record, its always hard for me to pick what’s gonna make it and what’s not gonna make it. I try to put together a group of songs that’s gonna fit well together, ones that kind of enhance each other. I started recording songs for Nightcrawler at the end of 2003, beginning of 2004, so it’s been a few years in the making, lots of songs recorded.

Were the Westerns EP songs recorded during the Nightcrawler sessions? Or do you look at that as a separate project?

A bunch of those songs were done & recorded in Jersey. Some of that stuff was like the first stuff I did when I got inspired to record again, and it always just stayed with me. Then I kinda went and started doin’ the other stuff, but then when it was time to put the record together I was like, “Man, I really want that [Westerns] stuff to get out there.” It just has an innocence to it, to my ear anyway, that I like. Westerns just feels a little more rootsy to me than Nightcrawler.

And the Dixie Chicks got involved because I was writing songs with them for their record, and we were friends through that. Then, they came out to L.A. to do their record with Rick Rubin, and that’s where I was recording at the time, so I asked them to come . . . I thought they would just be perfect for those songs.

Do you think there is more freedom in doing an EP than a full-length album because perhaps there aren’t the same commerical pressures with an EP?

Hmmmm. No. That’s never why I do it anyway, so I mean – maybe other people are pressured to market it. But I just want to put forward music that I am into, music that I want to play, that captures a good vibe. So whether its Westerns or Nightcrawler, it’s the same approach.

You opened for Bon Jovi in 2003 . . .

Yeah (laughs)…

And you’ve played hundreds of shows, both large and small. Is there one that stands out in your mind as being particularly memorable?

Yeah, uh . . . last night in Denver? I always remember my last show the most vividly. But they’re all different in their own way. It’s weird with me, like sometimes I’ll be havin’ a bad time during the show, and then I get offstage and everyone thinks it’s like the greatest show we’ve ever played. Then there’ll be times when we’ll be having the best time on stage and everyone’s like, “Eh, it was just alright …” So my perception of a good time might be different than what’s going on in front, but I try to make every show stand out in its own way.

What excites you about music today?

I listen to mostly older stuff. I haven’t really been listening to much new stuff at all. It’s like I do so much music that it’s all I do, so I haven’t been listening to music that much. I kind of like to take a break from it on my downtime. So like, driving around I listen to talk radio.

Can you list any of your top desert island discs?

Oh man, it changes a lot.
London Calling I love, always have, still do. Sounds great.
The Stones — Sticky Fingers, Let it Bleed, Exile On Main Street. I like the Stones a lot.
Uh, Beach Boys, Pet Sounds

What was the first song you remember learning? Either on drums or guitar, since I know you do both.

On drums I remember learning “Dance The Night Away” by Van Halen when I was like nine. On guitar, like at 12 or 13, I learned maybe like “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” or something. Those first chords. And I remember learning bass lines, like I could play “Smoke On The Water” or Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun” (sings tune). But then I learned chords and I remember that Poison song was two chords, it was like G and C, so it was easy. And I told my mom that I wrote it (laughs).

You’ve performed a variety of interesting covers, from Mark James’ “Suspicious Minds” to Beach Boys to The Smiths. How do you pick covers? Are there just songs that you can see through to the core of it and know it conveys something for you?

Hmmm, well sometimes lyrically something will really hit home, like “Oh, I wish I said that” and then you’ll want to sing it. Like with [The Smiths'] “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out,” I’ve always loved that song so much. It’s kind of dark imagery in it, but the other night somewhere I did [Warren Zevon's] “Splendid Isolation” into “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out” and lyrically they are such strong statements, they’re like polar opposites. Like one’s this too-super-cynical guy who just wants to be alone and be a hermit, and then on the other side of someone who is so lonesome they just want to go out and don’t even care if they crash and die next to the person — they are so desperate for contact. And I never realized that until I sang them both back to back, I was like “holy shit.” Then I see the parallels in a lot of my own songs, when I’ll go into a song and then the next song for some reason will pop into my head as a polar opposites.

Are there any songs that you think would be cool to cover that you haven’t done yet?

“Unsatisfied” by Paul Westerberg – The Replacements. Definitely.

I always appreciate the interesting layers of percussion that you use in all of your songs, and I know that your roots are as a drummer. When it comes to songwriting, what comes first in your mind? Do you ever think of the drum portion first and then go into the melody or the lyric?

Yeah, “Strange Condition” was a drumbeat, it was just like (“slap, pat, tap tap, pat” on his knees) and I was like, “I like that beat, I’m gonna write a song to that.” Um, “Committed” was a drumbeat. Committed was actually the drumbeat to “Surrender” by Cheap Trick, exactly. I mean, literally, it was The Drums from Surrender — we got the tracks of Bun E. Carlos playing it, just the drum track, and Surrender is a great song, great rhythm, great tempo, and I just threw it down and wrote Committed – just played into it. Someone emailed me saying that they heard Bun E. Carlos on XM Radio or something the other day — or maybe it was Sirius or something – and he was saying, “Oh yeah, I played drums on ‘Committed’ with Pete Yorn,” even though it was just his drum disc. Well, it IS him, but it wasn’t like he was there. I was surprised he even knew about it. In the credits I did put Bun E. Carlos on it. But it is as it is.

So you do work from those different perspectives when you’re writing songs . . .

Yeah, like, “Black” I wrote on the bass, it’s just a bass line — you know, like (imitates bass line) — and immediately that drumbeat just came right in (slaps his knees in time). But yeah, a lot of stuff starts from that bass and rhythm.

You played a gorgeous version of Bandstand In The Sky last night, and I know that you’ve said that was written the day Jeff Buckley died.

Yeah, I wrote that when I heard the news. I didn’t know him, but it just popped out. I’m a fan of Grace. I remember the first time I heard it, I was in school still, college. I ‘member this friend of mine was a film major and asked me to be in his student film and I was like, “Alright, sure.” And I remember we were filming at a gas station and I had to just sit in the car and throw a tennis ball at the dashboard and catch it, for like, hours. It took them forever to set up the shot, they were just learning how to use all the stuff and nothing would work. So I’m just sitting in the car for hours and I remember just playing “Last Goodbye” on repeat. Just over and over and over and over again, loving that song, and loving the whole record.

[Pauses] . . . But just having a night with that. It would end and I’d start it again.

The last song on Nightcrawler is a studio version of “Bandstand.” It’s kind of slow, mid-tempo. It’s a cool version.

You’ve had a lot of songs on movie soundtracks in the past few years. Do you have anything new coming up?

Yeah, I just did a, uh, Paul Westerberg song. He scored this new animated movie that’s coming out called Open Season, and they called me and asked me to sing one of the songs, so I recorded it and sang it. In the movie there’s an orchestrated version, then I recorded one for the soundtrack, like my own version. The song is called “I Belong,” and I think it comes out September 29th.

One last thing – speaking of movies; How in the world did you end up playing bongo drums on the Anchorman video for “Afternoon Delight”?

(Laughs) Yeah, how did that come about?
Um, my friend recorded the song for them, for “Afternoon Delight,” my buddy Doc. And he called me one day and he was like, “Dude, they need people to be in this video they’re shooting!” and I was like, “What is it?’ and he’s like “It’s fuckin’ Will Ferrell in Anchorman!” and I was like “No shit, really? Hell yeah, let’s do it!” I had nothing to do, so I headed down and they slapped some big old moustache on me and a turtleneck. Actually if you notice, I’m not playing with my hands, I’m playing with mallets! I’m playing mallets on the bongo, it’s really . . . silly.

[Commence laughing, general thanking, and farewells as we realize the time and Pete heads off to his in-store; you know, poor form to be late to those]

Additional photos from Dave Ventimiglia, taken at Blueberry Hill in St. Louis, 7/1/06.
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Now I’ve amassed such a collection of songs & video from the last two days that it is hard to filter (hence the exercise in complete excess which follows shortly). The live shows were absolutely amazing; Pete is backed by an excellent band that knows their shiz — they are cohesive and tight, but they also are having a good time (the proof is right here).

I have picked out some of my favorites from the two shows here (caveat — I taped it again myself so don’t expect excellent audio, just a document of the occasion that is listenable, except maybe for the warbling girls next to me):

FOUR HIGHLIGHTS FROM DENVER
Crystal Village
This song is absolutely anthemic in concert, an elevating experience. Listen to the crowd sing along. “Take my hand, come with me, I see the lights so brightly. And we fall as if we never really mattered.”

Good Advice
A rocker off the Westerns EP, full of lyrics about showin’ the world you can dance. Even if you can’t. Bassist Sid Jordan manages to thrum out the hip-shakin’ bass line, sing harmonies throughout the show, and all without taking the cigarette out of his mouth. It’s a gift, really.

There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths cover)
I had never really listened to these lyrics before Pete played it because I was not a goth kid in high school (you know the two camps, goth or rock?) but now I am glad to have it in my musical knowledge because it is so evocative & urgent.

Bandstand In The Sky
I can’t express how breathless I was when he announced this song, since it was written about Jeff Buckley and I had just been thinking as I drove up to the concert how much I would love to hear this live. Stunning.

THREE HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOULDER
A Girl Like You
One of the things I had said to Pete the night before was that I had missed the inclusion of “Girl Like You” (after which he asked if I had green eyes, but I didn’t get the lyrical reference until about an hour later when I was driving home and I had a smack-the-forehead moment). This is such a perfect little song.

For Nancy (‘Cos It Already Is)
This song rocks hard live, and watching drummer Mal Cross furiously cut loose at the end just exhausted me in one of the best ways possible.

Lose You
The opening piano notes of this song just hang in the air with such a sense of anticipation, it almost knocked the wind out of me. Another absolute gem. Joe Kennedy rocks on the piano.

IN-STORE PERFORMANCES
Then I will post the complete sets for both in-store performances, since the audio quality is better on these and the songs are generally pretty rare.

Denver, Twist ‘N’ Shout
July 24, 2006
1. Knew Enough To Know Nothing At All
2. James in Liverpool(very rare, not played in years)
3. Hunter Green
4. Golden Road (off the new Westerns EP, great video coming)
5. Search Your Heart (another new one, possible b-side)

Boulder, Bart’s Records
July 25, 2006
1. Splendid Isolation (Warren Zevon cover)
2. Baby I’m Gone (yeah!)
3. I Feel Good Again (Junior Kimbrough cover)
4. June (Pete refers to this as one of his favorite songs)
5. Alive (from the new album Nightcrawler)

COMPLETE SETS
Finally, I also uploaded and zipped the full shows:

7/25/06 at the Walnut Room, Denver (setlist here)
7/26/06 at the Fox Theatre, Boulder (setlist here)

And if by some absolute anomaly you are still not sated, videos will come once I can beat YouTube into some sort of submission.

And happy birthday today, Pete. Keep on rockin’ that goood music.

Seeing visions of falling up somehow: Pearl Jam & Tom Petty in Denver, 7/2/06

Any doubts as to whether Pearl Jam can still be a tight, intense, vital live band after 15+ years together is eradicated every time they play a set like last night. Although it was shorter than my ideal setlist would be (more on that later), I thought they were in fine form and just as passionate and musically relevant as ever.

So, eh, my seats were okay last night:

That’s me (in the red) chatting up the guard, our seats are directly to my right. I was in the THIRD ROW, right in the center. Section BBB, Row C, Seats 1 & 2. Yeah, the Ten Club fanclub takes care of their old fans. I was absolutely tickled pink, and the nice thing about this kind of seating is that the other people in my row were all similar long-term fans/freaks and we had a lot in common to discuss about shows we’ve seen.

After parking in a garage in nearby downtown and thinking, “Ah, we’ll just walk over to the arena after dinner,” it starts POURING RAIN. And not just any rain: Colorado Summer Rain, which is denser and wetter than your luxury showerhead. It was kind of funny to have to run through it to get to the show. After a few blocks you just kind of give up, laugh, and enjoy the moment while getting soaked. Then the Nazi-door-guards (who took their jobs VERY seriously, thankyouverymuch) had us wait outside at the venue as well, so by the time we got to our seats, we were pretty much soaked to the skin. Could have bought a $45 tour t-shirt to change into, but didn’t want to bleed any more cash than the $200 we’d already spent on the tickets.

But the nice thing about this dual bill was that Pearl Jam suddenly just APPEARED, with no opening band to enjoy passively while actually just waiting for my guys to take the stage. And it was so, so good when that moment arrived.

By this point in my life, I feel like Pearl Jam is almost family. Even though I don’t know them, I feel like I’ve known them for 12 years, through a good portion of my life. Seeing Mike McCready pogo-ing up and down holding his Flying-V guitar, Jeff Ament athletically contorting through every note of his basslines, Vedder gripping the microphone with his wild eyes and toothy grimaces, Stone Gossard mouthing a stream of words to himself and marching his way through his blistering guitar work, with Matt Cameron in the back holding it all together with his absolutely scorching drums: The smile on my face was broader than anything. I felt a deep sense of goodness permeating me to see my guys back together in fine form, just mere feet away from me.

SETLIST
2006-07-02, Denver, Colorado, Pepsi Center
Main set: World Wide Suicide, Severed Hand, Hail Hail, Do The Evolution, Given To Fly, Even Flow, Present Tense, Jeremy, Army Reserve, Daughter, Bee Girl, Corduroy, Better Man, Black
Encore 1: Comatose, Bu$hleaguer, Alive, So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star

I thought they absolutely shredded the stage, opening with a quartet of absolute ragers. Our new digital camera which is BEYOND RAD (thanks Steve!) also takes VIDEO CLIPS. The camera would only hold about 5 minutes of video, so my deepest apologies that only one of these clips is full & complete. I know to start a song and then have me cut off in the middle, well – to use a locker room expression – it kind of leaves you with figurative blue balls. Yikes. But the videos are impressionistic; I wanted to give you the feel, the bird’s eye view from last night and I guess this accomplishes that. You lucky ducks:

World Wide Suicide

Do The Evolution (longest video, absolutely ROCKIN)

Bee Girl! Ed and Jeff inserted this little playful gem right into the center of the set, completely unexpectedly. It’s from early in their career, a ditty dedicated to that rotund little girl in the bee costume from the Blind Melon “No Rain” video & album cover and almost never played. What a treat. I have almost all of it (not the first line, I wasn’t quick enough with the little buttons) here on video:

Corduroy is such a fabulous song to sing along to at the top of your lungs at a live show, I was very pleased that they included it (“The waiting drove me mad / You’re finally here and I’m a mess”). Hail, Hail peeled paint (when they launched into that opening riff, I got chills) and Comatose was scathingly good. Army Reserve was a surprise, especially the heartfelt dedication in which Ed thanked all the soliders serving overseas and omitted any snarky political comments (although I suppose he made up for it in Bu$hleaguer).

PJ keyboardist Boom Gaspar didn’t play last night due to a funeral he was attending, so Benmont Tench from The Heartbreakers filled in for him on Corduroy and Black. He added some really rich piano filler to Black, it made it stand out for me in a way that it usually doesn’t. (And after the show we were walking to our car and I found myself face to face with him through the glass of a hotel bar window. I stopped, smiled, and gave him two thumbs up. Hey, I never claimed to be cool on-the-spot.)

For the last song, So You Wanna Be A Rock N Roll Star, Pearl Jam was joined by Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell. This was a great song to see since it has only been played three times live EVER by Pearl Jam, the first being the November 6, 1995 show in San Diego that I was at! Although at that time I remember them doing it more hauntingly and acoustic, whereas last night R’N'R Star was a rocker. Very, very cool.

Then into the second portion of the show. Tom Petty plays the rhinestone cowboy thing to a sort of odd perfection. I’d never seen him live before, and honestly the first thing I noticed was that his silky bangs and locks were better layered and blow-dried than mine. I wonder if he deep conditions? Although the man is undoubtedly a rock legend (The Heartbreakers are celebrating their 30th year together this year), I can’t shake his physical similarity to that grouchy female high school English teacher whose class you always wanted to skip. The guard I was chatting with told me that he has lots of groupies which he entertains, so I spent a good portion of his set wondering why on God’s green earth that was so.

Petty’s portion of the concert was fun, a singalong for more songs than I thought I knew. I’ve never seen him live before, and it was a fun journey through his catalog, covers (including The Yardbirds and a song from his collaborations with the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys), and even his new stuff. He played Saving Grace which has serious parallels to Chris Isaak’s “Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing” and will be on the new Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers release Highway Companion (July 25). I think that is the perfect name for a Tom Petty CD, since his music seems most suited to a long roadtrip to me (thanks, Tom Cruise!).

Once Petty got going with his own unique laid-back brand of showmanship and the big screens started flashing behind him, I quite enjoyed myself, although inside I was secretly biding the minutes until Vedder decided to join him. And join him he did, for a mid-set performance of The Waiting (video clip below) and an hugely good-natured and smile-filled duet for the last song of the night, American Girl – which left me with another ear-to-ear grin on my face as we filed out.

As for the concert overall, it was kind of a strange pairing, since I think both the rabid Pearl Jam fans as well as the rabid Tom Petty fans would have each liked to have seen their heroes in unadulterated form for the full 2 1/2 hours, rather than having to take a shortened set of whomever you came to see for $100. I suppose some disappointment is inevitable for the hardcore fans of each artist when they pair up for a double bill like this, and I have to say that the setlist was not what I had hoped for. It’s hard for me to see stage time wasted on what I feel are trite and overplayed songs like Jeremy and Black, Betterman and Daughter, even though those songs were greeted with some of the loudest cheers of the night.

I try to see it from the other half of the crowd’s perspective: I’ll admit that the highlights of the Petty set for me were the radio hits, the Mary Jane’s Last Dance, the You Don’t Know How It Feels, even the Free Fallin’. So conversely I know Pearl Jam has to roll through their standards. It’s just that in such a short set (only 18 songs) I selfishly wanted to hear more depth and variety, and especially more stuff off the new album (no Marker in the Sand, no Parachutes). It’s not a complaint towards Pearl Jam, just my own wishful thinking.

Newspaper reviews: This one got it right. My own paper drilled out a banal, shallow piece of drivel here.

I am glad I went and it left me thirsty for more, plotting pipe-dream schemes for how I could get out to the West Coast to see another show on this tour (stow away in an airplane wheelwell, anyone?). Ah, if only.

Cheers.

Brandi Carlile & The Fray: Denver 6/24/06

My first experience with the CityLights Pavilion last night was a favorable one. True story: I notice the stunning close-up view of the Denver skyline (about a mile from the venue) when I turn around and look out from the stage area. I turn to my friend Andrea and say, “Wow! Look at the view of the city lights- . . . aaaand that must be why they call it CityLights Pavilion.” Not the sharpest pencil in the box sometimes.

It was apparently a sold-out show, based largely on the frat-boy and 12-year-old ticket-buying bloc. There were some pretty people there. The Fray is just alright for me. I would like to support them because this was a homecoming concert of sorts for them – several members are from Denver – but they don’t DO IT for me. I guess they are pretty melodic and rocking, though, and the Coldplay comparison is definitely unavoidable.

My enjoyment of the show was only slightly marred (actually, perhaps enhanced) by the blonde thirty-something lady in front of us who was apparently auditioning for the Whitesnake! Live! Raw! Loud! concert video (or maybe the music video for a new remix of “Total Eclipse of the Heart”). She pulled out all the stripper dance moves as the concert unfolded. She gyrated. There were pelvic thrusts and slow winds down to the ground and back up (where’s a damn pole when you need it). There was the “hand-to-the-forehead” move (like, “I can’t believe you just stuck a dollar in my g-string!”), the various wrist flippery (it’s all in the wrist). It was a show unto itself. Kind of out of place at what was, essentially, a rock show but at least she seemed to be enjoying herself. And all of us around her enjoyed it too. Some people were even taking pictures.

Stripper dance lesson aside, the highlight of the show for me, by far, was Brandi Carlile, who was the opening act. I came to the show to see her and I was not disappointed. Seeing her in a larger venue rocked. This gal is going places – all she has to do is pick up her guitar and open her mouth and the crowd just stops and listens to the passion and strength in her voice. Brandi played with her full band again this time, including a cellist (which I loved). She rocked through several of the best songs on her album (“What Can I Say,” “Throw It All Away”), some original songs which are not on the album (“My Story”), and a few superb covers (“Creep” and “Folsom Prison Blues,” as well as her show-stopper finale of “Hallelujah”).

I wanted to see more of her. She is playing in Boulder tonight, a headlining show at the Fox, but I can’t make it. I hope perhaps you can if you live in the area. I know I talk about her a lot, but she is worth every word that I write in publicity. Buy her album, and check out some of my previous posts about her (here, here, here and here) to download or stream some live performances.

Creep (Radiohead cover) – Brandi Carlile
(from last night’s show, poor sound quality, but just for the curious)

Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash cover) – Brandi Carlile
(from last night’s show as well)

Throw It All Away – Brandi Carlile
(an excellent live version of this song, from 12/7/05 in Chicago)

Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen via Jeff Buckley cover) – Brandi Carlile
(also from 12/7/05 Chicago)

Live in Concert (or, the fine art of preserving your musical credibility by keeping your shirt on)

I got to see Live in concert on Friday night in Denver, at the Paramount Theatre (which is a very cool venue, but I have to say the Paramount in Oakland will always be my first love!).

My sister and I were saying that we are kind of glad that many folks seem to have forgotten about Live (the venue was rather intimate, at only about 1500 people) because I still think they rock as hard as some of the bigger names from the ’90s, like Pearl Jam, with some great quality songs and a unmistakable soaring voice from lead singer Ed Kowalcyzk.

Live has a new CD coming out in June (or already out for you non-USAers), Songs From Black Mountain. They performed several songs off of it, and overall it seems like a strong return to melodic/anthemic form from their albums past (my two favorite are Throwing Copper and The Distance To Here) after forays into the world of rap-rock with albums like V (“Deep Enough” was a debacle I never want to see repeated: “Does he run it deep enough – yeah – to take you there?” Thanks, Ed, for your compassion for my well-being.)

As they worked their way through some of their older songs, I was reminded of how much I love them and how much I listened to them in high school. Here were some of the highlights from the setlist:

Iris (off Throwing Copper, my sister rightly commented that this song is the audio equivalent of a heart attack)

Mirror Song (from Mental Jewelry, their 1991 debut)

Heaven (this is really a great song, the closest you’ll get to church at a rock concert, with lyrics that I think are undeniably true. From 2003′s Birds of Pray.)

They Stood Up For Love (This was one of the best songs off of The Distance To Here)

Run To The Water (they did NOT play this one, but we kept wishing they would, so I will throw it on here as wishful thinking. Also from The Distance To Here)

And new ones from Songs From Black Mountain:

Mystery (a striking song, which they will apparently be playing on the American Idol finale tomorrow night) and Wings

(to hear “The River,” which I love, see this post)

Now about the title of this post. The most disturbing aspect of the show, for me, was lead singer Ed Kowalcyzk‘s over-the-top sexual posturing, swaggering, crotch-gesturing, and general badass-act. This is a far cry from the wispy, sensitive unibrow man who we first met in 1991. Yes, okay, you’re fairly cut and sweaty. That does not mean I want to see your navel as you sing “Show me your love…” I found Ed to be a distraction from the music, ESPECIALLY at the end when he actually removed his fitted tank top and performed the last song and both encores shirtless, often while thrusting his crotch in my general direction.

Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin’ about. My sister made the observation that his nipples were tiny, and looked like they were drawn on with a felt tip marker. So then I just couldn’t stop looking at them and it was just all bad. Bad, bad, I tell you.

But the music itself was stellar.

Some pics thanks to Brian and Viki.

“Ryan Adams: No Quality Control and Can’t Edit Himself, Part 18″

So I made the journey to San Francisco and back and my head is still spinning. In town for less than 24 hours, I spent twice as much time seeing Ryan than I did sleeping. What a lucky gal.

Thursday night I got to see Ryan Adams for the first time and it was different, perhaps, than I expected – a lot more “free form?” – but pretty dang phenomenal. The Palace of Fine Arts was a fantastic place to see a show, I’d never been there before. It was an intimate venue and Ryan was in chatty form. I hear that Wednesday night was variable quality (as Ryan said Thursday, “Look, it’s no secret that I’m, like, doing that great tightrope walk between suck and maybe good…”). I thought Thursday was rambling but good.

I loved the solo acoustic interpretations, and a fine, fine setlist. And, yes, it was mostly true what my new pal Nathan said, “You’ll probably find all the chatter endearing.” The overall feel was a mix of sitting in Ryan’s living room and listening to some sort of stream-of-consciousness interview.

Interesting comment from someone over on the Ryan Adams Archive site, which the more I read over, the more I think is a valid point: “The upside, if you were in the mood for it, was a very personal / intimate hangin’ out with Ryan thing where we (the audience) were both therapist and entertainer for him – as well as being entertained by him. The downside was that we got too few songs and very few sung without interruptions of patter or joking that somewhat broke or (imho) belittled the emotional intensity & spell of the piece. Came away wanting to worship him and slap him upside the head at the same time. You are probably thinking ‘what else is new?’. I know most of our heroes have feet of clay – the artistic cauldron – inspired madness and all that – I just wish he would respect his own gifts more and honor this amazing music that comes through him.”

I was able to record the Palace of Fine Arts show, so you can hear it too. I was pretty impressed at how the sound quality turned out for just being recorded on a little $60 digital voice recorder thingie. (Maybe I am impressed because my audio-technology-knowhow falls somewhere on the scale between that of a box of dirt and pet gerbil). Hence it is far from perfect quality, but for those of you that were there, you can relive the set, and for those that weren’t, you can hear all the chatter and two new songs (and the occasional guffaw that I let out, even though I tried to keep my mouth shut. I have a hard time with that. Just ignore me and my friends’ chatter. Sincere apologies.)

Oh, so we’ll call this “Set One:”

PALACE OF FINE ARTS SET (Zip file link at end of setlist)
Brown Sugar & Why Do They Leave? (forgot to break this into two tracks)
Sweet Lil Gal (23rd and 1st)
Banter 1 & 2
Strawberry Wine
Banter 3 & 4 & 5 & 6 (I kept starting recording, thinking a song was coming. But nope.)
Don’t Get Sentimental On Me (new)
Blue Hotel (new)
“I Want It That Way” (Ryan is fixin to join the Backstreet Boys if this whole solo thing doesn’t work out)
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Banter 7
*break*
New York, New York
Come Pick Me Up
Rescue Blues
Banter 8
Magnolia Mountain
Banter 9 & 10
(teaser) Oh My Sweet Carolina? In My Time Of Need?
Solitaire (w/ Jesse Malin)
Peaceful Valley

DOWNLOAD THE ZIP FILE OF RYAN ADAMS, PALACE OF FINE ARTS

Following the Palace of Fine Arts show, my friend Julia and I jetted on over to 12 Galaxies club. After stashing our cars in an alley by her apartment, we walked hastily to the club, nervous and excited because Ryan was playing a “Set Two” with Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead. A mere $5 cover, all going to charity (supporting the cause of organ donation – they can have mine, not sure if they want my liver).

I hear everyone (who was over 21) who was waiting outside got in, which was great because there was a massive line and I wasn’t sure if all the cool kids in the back made it in for an incredible show.

I was maybe the 15th person in the door, and headed right to the front. I was literally about 5 feet from Ryan when he came on stage. It was an absolutely amazing vantage point, to see every scowl and chord and smile and interaction on stage.

Ryan seemed like a completely different person for Set Two – engaged, on fire, sharp, musically adventurous, and basically just enjoying himself – and loving the music. He and Phil even kissed once, ain’t that sweet.

I am far from being a Dead fan, but of all the times I wish I had known a lyric, this was it: Ryan blanks on a verse to one of the Dead songs and leans down front to me and asks “Do you know it?” holding out his hand to me. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . nope. Damn. But later on when he forgot one of his own lyrics, he asked again, and this time my fabulous cohorts jumped up to the plate with the needed memory jog, and he carried on with the verse. So fun what can happen in such an intimate little place.

The version of “Cold Roses” was INSANELY jamming, I was mesmerized by the opening riff and how intricate the guitar fingerwork was. And by “Shakedown on 9th Street,” we were all pretty much hoarse from yelling along. “Luuucy, lucy my gal….” “What Sin” was so stretched out into these mega-jams that I almost didn’t recognize it. And “I Still Miss Someone” was jammy, electric and rockin like I have never heard it before; I think Johnny Cash would have just shook his head, but probably appreciated the passion behind it.

12 Galaxies Setlist (“Set Two”)
Not Fade Away
Dark Star
Help On The Way
Magnolia Mountain
He’s Gone
Stella Blue
What Sin Replaces Love
Wharf Rat > Not Fade Away

Encore:
Dire Wolf
A Kiss Before I Go
Dire Wolf (cut off)
China Cat (instrumental, cut off)
Cold Roses
Shakedown on 9th Street
Not Fade Away
Eyes
I Still Miss Someone
Cold Roses

I don’t have anything from the second set, I was dancing too much to record (and fending off weird Deadheads who kept sweating on me).

Video clips from the 12 Galaxies set:
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

We were discussing amongst ourselves in the audience who the kickass drummer was, sporting the Nirvana t-shirt, watching the guys for cues of where they were going in the jam. The story of how local San Franciscan drummer Chad Tasky got the gig with these two is a fan’s dream come true:

“i was at the ryan adams solo shows this past wednesday and thursday at the palace of fine arts in san francisco. my buddy robie and i are hanging out backstage when ryan shows up and says that he needs a drum kit so that his producer jamie can sit in on drums during the encore along with phil lesh - who is also scheduled to play during the encore. i graciously offer to rent them a set of my drums for the show, then race down to pick them up. ryan played… then ryan, phil, and jamie played the encore… then i went home.

upon arriving the next evening to watch the show then pick up my drums – i’m informed there’s been a secret benefit show scheduled for after the show at a small club in the mission district called 12 galaxies, and that i’ve been chosen to play drums. having the imaginary courage that i needed, i proceeded to play to a sold-out crowd with ryan, phil and a guitar-tech named harry for over two hours. the setlist was filled with dead songs ands ryan’s songs – which i did my best to pretend to know. what a crazy night. check out video and photos from the show.”

Man alive.

The whole night was so sweaty and rocking and mindblowingly fun that I felt like I needed to roll over and have a cigarette afterwards. And I don’t even smoke.

But it was that satisfying.

Thanks to Sherry for some of the pics (and loaning me her camera so I could take a few of these) and Sharif, who rocks. Also, check out this savage set of pictures on Flickr (and if you look at the one below, that is SO my arm on the left side of the shot. I am a geek, I know).

Seeing David Gray’s spit and sweat

David Gray was amazing last night. My sister Kristy and I got to the lecture hall in the Denver Convention Center last night with our tickets in-hand. These were a birthday present from my sis last August, but then the show was canceled in October, so this was the rescheduled date. We walked in to the ushers, who ush us on our way, pointing to the front section. This was delightful, that they told us to keep moving closer. They keep ushing us forward ’til one blazered chap tells us that our seats are, indeed, in the FIRST ROW. Right in the center. Thank you Ticketmaster! I didn’t know Ticketmaster loved me so much. What a great late birthday present! I haven’t been in the first row of a huge show like that since Pearl Jam in 1995 in San Diego. We kept looking at each other and laughing in disbelief that we were so close!

David Gray absolutely gouges me; his beautiful playing on both piano and guitar, the way he pours his soul into he music (which you can really see up close – he feels it with his whole body), and that *voice,* both the lower register for the verses and then that sweet, affected, honest higher tenor for the emphasis and soaring parts. It was sheerly fabulous. I lack words (yet I keep trying).

And yep, that setlist includes both a Bob Dylan cover (One Too Many Mornings) AND a Tim Buckley cover immediately following (Song to the Siren, which was haunting in its ethereal beauty). I was in heaven. Ain’t No Love (read the lyrics on his site – gorgeous) and Lately were also both show-stopping, as well as one entitled Shine. And as many times as I’ve heard Please Forgive Me, it remains such an amazing song; it could be one of my top ten. I love the lyric, “feels like lightning runnin’ through my veins every time I look at you.”

I was really hoping for Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (possibly my favorite song he sings, although I was shocked – shocked! – recently to find out that it is a Soft Cell tune), but no such luck. It’s okay, I really couldn’t have absorbed any more.

AUDIO FROM THE NIGHT [via]:

Alive (new) – David Gray
One Too Many Mornings (Dylan cover) – David Gray
Song To The Siren (Tim Buckley) – David Gray
Far From Here (new song) – David Gray

VIDEO: Simon also took some video of the recent show in Cinci:

Video 1 – Video 2 – Video 3

By the way, these cell-phone pics are all I have to regale you with. Not the best quality, but kind of avant-garde artsy, no? I finally figured how to get them off my phone and it wasn’t as hard as I thought! They were just getting stuck in my spam filter.

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Oh, and speaking of good shows, if I were in the San Francisco Bay Area tonight, I would be tempted to head on out to Hotel Utah and enjoy me some Newcastle while partaking in a good show with two local band favorites. Santa Clara University’s own favorite good-time band The Otters are playing with 735 Institution at rad historic venue the Hotel Utah Saloon tonight at 9pm:

“Perhaps the most underrated SF institution, the Hotel Utah has outlasted DJ-bar mania, dive-bar revival and every other nightlife trend to hit the city. Since its doors opened in 1908, the hip factor has never been part of the Utah’s organic M.O. This classic saloon showcases 20th-century novelties like a walk-in wooden phone booth, old-fashioned, inner-lit streetlamps and hand-carved mahogany bar back. The Utah packs in a casual and virtually ageless crowd.”

It’s only $6, so if you are one of my readers from Santa Clara, Stanford, San Fran, Palo Alto, San Jose, Oakland, etc. etc. etc., head on over. The Otters are preparing a rockin’ little acoustic set with some original tunes, and I hear there may also be a sexy little number by the Rolling Stones thrown in the mix.

Ooh, bring on that harmonica.

I just want to play on my panpipes. I just want to drink me some wine.

What a quirky evening of joy it is to spend a few hours with Cake. Seeing them live is always a treat, what with the crowd providing the background vocals, the dry acerbic wit of singer John McCrea (a true showman), the prominent percussion and thumping bass grooves.

Plus, I got to see the Fillmore Denver, which tries to be as cool as Fillmore San Francisco, but of course cannot. But don’t hold it against Fillmore Denver which is just a baby venue which will grow in stature and favor with the people. One excellent thing that Fillmore Denver has in common with Fillmore San Fran is the plentitude of concert photographs from the performers who have graced their halls over the years. I realized as I stood there just how happy it makes me to look at those photos. For years growing up every time I went to the Fillmore SF I would always look at the photos. I always look at the pictures first before reading the caption to see how many I know. When I feel that flash of recognition from their faces, rather than from reading their names, the songs and the music all comes to me in a rush and I remember great shows I’ve been at with these folks. I always feel surrounded by friends when I see photos of all that superb musical history in action.

And it may be late and I may have been drinking, but if I was the boss of concerts, let me tell you a little thing or two about how it would be. I would only invite very small people. Short folks who would never obstruct my view. If you tall folks insisted on coming we would have a special section for you. Tonight it was ridiculous. I said on many occasions, “Self, could more tall people stand in front of you?” It was like, hey, you’re 6’3″? 6’4″? Could you stand in front of Heather? That would be super.

Ray LaMontagne non-album tracks

Ray LaMontagne was one of my favorite artists discovered in 2004. I assume many of you have heard of him, being of the excellent-musical-taste variety that you obviously are, but if you haven’t – his debut album Trouble is superb from the first track (Trouble) to the last (the gorgeously sad All The Wild Horses).

Trouble is a standout debut album from one of the most promising new voices in music lately. The album was produced by Ethan Johns, who has also worked with Ryan Adams, Leona Naess, Brendan Benson, Kings of Leon and The Jayhawks. Johns also plays drum, bass, and piano on the release. It is a folk-soul masterpiece.

Even more exceptional than the album, however, is seeing him perform live. I saw him at The Fillmore in San Francisco on April 6, 2005 and was completely, jaw-droppingly blown away. This skinny guy comes walking out on stage, looking as uncomfortable as all get out. Big beard. Quiet voice. Hiding behind his guitar. I almost thought he was going to bolt.

But then he opens his mouth and begins to play.

He has this vulnerable, raspy, velvety, pure voice. He absolutely pours his soul into his music, which is always the most inspiring things you can see in a live show. He feels each word and resonates with each chord.

Here are two non-album tracks that I remember vividly from the show I was at. Both of the recordings are on the quiet side (but not unlistenable by any means), so you may have to turn up the old headphones to maximum. I guarantee it is worth it.

Still Can’t Feel The Gin
I love the lyric, “The jukebox was jumpin’ all over those rhythm and blues. She lets down her hair, just as I’m kickin’ off my shoes.” The way he sang this song, you felt the longing.

Can I Stay?
He ended with this song. The venue went still, as if we were all transfixed in the moment, like you could almost feel the song hanging there above our heads. The spotlight shone on him, with the dust motes swirling in the heavy air. Absolutely beautiful song. I almost felt like I couldn’t breathe.

[update: these links are dead but you can find these songs and many more here]