Something Requisitely Witty and Urbane

12 in 12, So far...

Alright, I haven't exactly been able to see 1 concert a month, but I've done pretty well. Here's what I've gotten so far.

Social Distortion
The Shins (Vive Voce opened)
Bishop Allen (part of Dallas Music Fest)
Ted Leo (Love of Diagrams opened)
Bob Dylan (Jimmy Vaughn opened)
Styx/Foreigner/Def Leppard
Wilco (Dr. Dog opened)

That's six shows in nine months, which isn't bad considering I didn't really decide to do this until late February.

I'm going to go see Rilo Kiley in October, Tegan and Sara in November, and there's the New Pornographers sometime soon. That will be 9 shows. so, if I don't put another show in there somewhere, that's pretty damn close and I'd be happy with that.

(Edited to add that I just this morning saw that Ted Leo has added a new show in Denton in November, so I immediately bought tickets. So, add that to the list and it makes 10 shows).

Wilco @ Palladium Ballroom - Sept 14

I have this tendency that I've noticed over the course of this year, as I attempt to see one show a month. I really like the opening acts.

Listening to Dr. Dog, the opening act on Wilco's tour this year, I felt the same way I did when I heard Vive Voce (who opened for The Shins) or Love of Diagrams (who opened for Ted Leo). I felt like I caught a rising store before they rose. I felt like I'd caught the Beatles in Liverpool or Jefferson Airplane in San Francisco. I just caught the band that I'll be telling all my friends that they HAVE to hear and I'll get credit among a small group of acquaintances for finding the band before anyone else (which is like currency to me, if only in my mind).

Then the headlining act comes out, and I realize why those bands are opening for them. Because the headliners are really fucking good.

Not that there was anything wrong with Dr. Dog (Wilco-light with a heavy Abbey Road influence and three-part harmonies) and I'm looking for some music right now because I definitely want to hear more. But Wilco... Wilco...

"That's your invitation... sorry that it sucks."

This is what a rock-show should be.  They played for solidly 2 1/2 hours with two encores (the first of which they played 6 songs, the second they played 4). Jeff Tweedy exceeded my expectations as a front man. He was letter perfect the whole night. I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a moment where his voice wasn't spot on.

The lead guitar player was in-freaking-credible and Glen on the drums was great as well. Wilco excels in creating a sound of chaos but they are always controlling the chaos. They'll bring the chaos to a fever pitch and either just let it drop of the table, or they'll fade it into another hook that rocks harder than it normally would have because of their efforts.

Tweedy's banter is perfect too. You get the feeling seeing him (and through the documentary) that he's really kind of a shy guy who's pretty good with a lyric, really good with a melody and the combination has forced him to learn how to be comfortable in front of a crowded room ready to adore him. His reserved nature makes his good-natured joking with the audience seem that much more genuine.

"There's a rock cliche," he said, "where the band tells the audience to sing along. So, if you know the words, here's your chance. That's your invitation... sorry that it sucks."

Apparently there was an 8-year-old girl falling asleep up near the front (understandably... They'd been on stage for 2 hours by this point). Turns out it was her birthday and Tweedy gave her a Red Bull one of the crew gave him from off stage after leading the crowd in Happy Birthday.

They never let up. Even the slower-tempo numbers were intense. They played probably 5 tracks from the new album, Sky Blue Sky, about the same number from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but they also went back to AM and played some from that album. I thought about going through their discography and listing off as many tracks as I remember them playing, but it would be futile because they played so much.

In fact, I was driving home and listening to their double-live album, Kicking Television. As I was walking out of the show, I was thinking that it would be easier to list the songs they didn't play. Then I started listening to the first disc of the live album and of the 12 tracks on that first disc, maybe 4 of them got played in the show I saw. And that was in just half the recorded show. That's an impressive catalog.

Highlights of the night: Misunderstood (has to be their best live song), Jesus, Etc. (the song that made me a Wilco fan and the one he invited the crowd to sing), Either Way (from the new album and a song that sneaks up on you, even live), Impossible Germany (ibid, your honor), I Am Trying to Break Your Heart and a song from AM that I didn't recognize but that impressed me so much that it is now a priority to get that album (the only Wilco album I don't have).

I was a big Wilco fan going into this show. I'm a bigger fan now. Last night they turned me into a guy who will never, ever miss a show they put on when it comes to town. The best show I've seen this year in a landslide.

UPDATE: A commenter on my crosspost of this over at last.fm wrote this:            

      The Breakdown!!    

The last time It's Just That Simple was performed was 12 years ago in Nov. of '95 in St. Louis on the AM tour. It's NEVER been performed in Dallas before (though they did perform it twice in Austin that tour, both times at Liberty Lunch). To put that in perspective, there are kids who'd just been born and are now sixth-graders... you get the picture.

Too Far Apart from AM has been kind of a show regular of late, though they just added it to the setlist in August. They've done it in ten shows since then. But except for 4 shows in 2000, they hadn't really been doing that since the AM tour either. So for my money, yet another treat.

Song count by album - AM (2), Being There (Four! Count em! FOUR!), Summerteeth (Sadly, only 2), Mermaid Ave. (1), YHF (6), A Ghost is Born (3), Sky Blue Sky (7)

I've GOT to get AM.

UPDATE II: Here's the setlist and a couple of notes from another review.

   

Setlist

   

1. Shake It Off

2. A Shot In The Arm

3. Side With The Seeds

4. You Are My Face

5. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart

6. Pot Kettle Black

7. Handshake Drugs

8. Impossible Germany

9. It's Just That Simple

10. Misunderstood

11. Jesus, Etc.

12. Too Far Apart

13. Walken

14. I'm The Man Who Loves You

15. Poor Places

16. Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Encore 1:

17. Red-Eyed And Blue

18. I Got You (At The End Of The Century)

19. Hesitating Beauty

20. Hate It Here

21. I'm Always In Love

22. Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Encore 2:

23. Heavy Metal Drummer

24. Hummingbird

25. On And On And On

 

A high point midway through the set was "It's Just That Simple," a tune from AM that the band hadn't played since 1995. It featured bassist John Stirratt on guitar and lead vocals, while frontman Jeff Tweedy took bass duties for the first time since the Uncle Tupelo days. The song came off like a lost track from The Band's The Last Waltz and was dedicated to John's father, who was in the audience.

 

                       

 

Dylan

As street cred for calling yourself a fan of an artist goes, my dad has more than most regarding Bob Dylan (my name is Dylan, after all). But, it surprised me a bit to find out that, of all the concerts my dad had been to over the years, he'd never seen Dylan live.

So, when he asked me if I wanted to come up to Kansas City and see if Bob Dylan was still freewheelin' after all these years (as part of my attempt to see one concert a month this year) I was very, very excited to accept.

First let's talk about the venue: The Starlight Theater. Everytime I go to any kind of an event in another state, it always reminds me of just how much Dallas gets it wrong. I went to a baseball game at Jacob's Field in Cleveland and despite how nice The Ballpark in Arlington is, the nestled-in-downtown-walk-from-work-to-the-ballgame Jake is pretty spectacular. Likewise, the Starlight theater is the nicest outdoor amphitheater I've seen. What a great venue with an amazing comfortable feel and great sound. The only bad thing was some of our fellow concert-goers (especially one guy) who walked in front of us, making us stand up from our seats a minimum of 20 times during the show... that got annoying.

While we're on the subject, it was pretty interesting to see the cross-section of people that a guy like Bob Dylan brings out. There were certainly people who hadn't yet quite left the 60's behind (Pachuli was a player) but there was also the KU student who was just as into it. It was a setting where you just wouldn't surprised to see a father and his 28 year old son sitting next to each other.

As we were driving in, I asked my dad to pick one song that he'd want to hear. He thought about it (it's fun when I can genuinely stump my dad for a few minutes) and after a bit he said Just Like a Woman. I told him that mine would be Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again. So, it was kind of a nice moment when, halfway through the set he played Just Like a Woman and then immediately followed it up with Stuck inside of Mobile. We couldn't have done that if we'd tried. I can't explain how cool a moment that was.

Here's a surprise from the show: Dylan played guitar for only two songs. He started with a newer song that I didn't recognize, followed it up with Lay Lady Lay after which he put the guitar down and stepped over to the keyboard where he would remain the rest of the night.

Here's an unsurprise from the show: Bob Dylan can't sing. Not that he ever could, but I don't really have to be too much of a salesman to say that his voice has always "worked" for his music. These days, though, he can't even hold a note. The result was they took most of his songs and uptempo'd them a bit so he wouldn't have to hold any notes out. There was rarely anything resembling a melody, merely one note at the end of each line that would raise a bit after he growled out the previous words ("ComeinletmegiveyoushelterfromtheSTORM").

That's not to say that the music wasn't great, because it really, really was. The band was really great. They alternated between folk-rock to country sounds for most of the show, but when they kicked it into gear they were really very good. Songs like Highway 66 Revisited, Ballad of a Thin Man (which was the highlight of the night for me) and All Along the Watchtower (which they ended on, despite the plaintive wails of a guy two rows behind us who REALLY wanted to hear Forever Young -- The Last Waltz has been on cable a lot lately) absolutely rocked.

I wish I had some grand theme to tie this all together, like the merging of generations united around a common symbol or the former most relevant artist in a generation still able to speak to this generation. There isn't one. I mean, he's doing what he's does. He's a musician and he tours every year making money playing music. He charges $30-$40 bucks for a tee-shirt just like everyone else in the business. That wasn't disappointing at all -- I certainly expected it -- it's just the reality. He's commercial and has been for some time. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

But I was there. I saw Bob Dylan. And I saw him with my Dad, who was seeing him for the first time. In what could very easily be termed as a role-reversal, it was very cool to watch the show through his eyes. He was seeing this musician who he thought so much of growing up that he named his first born son after him. More than that, he was seeing him for the first time with that son. I'm really glad that I got to be there with him for it. It's a memory that I'll never forget.

And, he played the two songs we both wanted to hear. How cool is that?

Marry Our Daughter

This is disturbing and pretty funny. It's a website where people can sell their daughters "according to the biblical principle of arranged marriage and bride prices."

It goes to great lengths to clarify that most states let you marry 13-year-old girls with parental consent.

Surely this has to be a gag, right?

UPDATE: Thanks to my cousin, Robert, who emailed me this article in which the site is revealed to be a hoax.

Carter

For those familiar with the local music scene, Carter Albrecht, lead singer for the local band Sorta and a member of the New Bohemians, was shot and killed yesterday.

It's a bizarre story, and it sounds like Carter just sort of lost it. It's too bad. This was a guy who was loved in this city by anyone who knew anything about the local music scene. With the exception of maybe Tim DeLaughter, he was the biggest player in the Dallas scene in 15 or 20 years.