3/26/22: Jawbreaker/Jawbox/Team Dresch

Getting to hear Jawbreaker's Dear You LP played in full was unreal.

After seeing the recent tweet by Marx I have a whole new appreciation for him. Spoilierized as it is somewhat political.

Proper comments by Richard Marx do not change the shittiness of his music. Just like super crazy Eric Carmen is a total nutbag but damn those Raspberries albums were good.

Can finally cross this one off my bucket list: The Go-Go's. It was a close call, I seriously debated eating my ticket because I was wary about a 75 mile drive through Southern California rush hour traffic in the rain, but it stayed dry enough for me to be there when the doors opened. Fantastic show, wish Gina was drumming but Clem Burke did fill in admirably. If I had to nitpick, I'd complain that they only played two songs off of Talk Show, their best album, while playing Beauty and the Beat in its entirety if I'm not mistaken. And of course I got to see everyone's phones. The girl in front of me did not put her phone down once the entire show. Right before We Got the Beat, Jane told everyone to put their phones away, and that lasted for about the first verse at the most.

Anyway, I'm no Chrisedge but I did snap this one in between songs:

I was there, and got right up front.


(And of course I taped WGTB)

Just saw Chevelle and KORN. It was a good show and KORN sounded really good after all these years.

By the way, there was a write-up in Variety about the Go-Go's show that Chrisedge and I attended on Monday. One thing I was unaware of is that they sold way more tickets than that venue can reasonably hold, and a lot of people were relegated to watching the show from video monitors in the lobby. I was oblivious to this (I'm sure Chrisedge was too as he was obviously even closer to the stage than I was) as I just walked in, staked out my spot on the main floor, and awaited the show. But they did mention it was probably the smallest venue on the tour and the closest anyone will ever come to seeing the Go-Go's in their club days again, so I'm glad I made the trek up north. This really looks like it was one of those "damn, I wish I'd gone to that" shows, except for once I actually went to it.

Glad you guys enjoyed the show. I am probably going to miss this one, but I've seen them plenty over the years. Glad you got a chance, and a good one at that.
But it's a shame Gina wasn't playing. Did she make an appearance on-stage like she did in SF?

Nope, she didn't come out if she was there.

I had no issue getting up close, even late (30 min before show) because it's packed in the aisles, and as soon as we got through that, the floor upclose was kinda empty and not as crowded.

4/2/22: Spinebreaker/Scalp/Sunami/Slowbleed/Extinguish/Outta Pocket

^ Last two bands messed with the alliteration of that bill and they shouldn't have been allowed to play.

They all played a set? How long was that show?
And I assume that's all in a club, standing?

Jawbreaker.. At the Wiltern.

Not really my type of band, but went with the mrs and some friends, they all thought they phoned it in.

They all played a set and yes, it was at a small bar/club inside of a bowling alley.

If I remember correctly, it started at 8:00p and ended around 11:30-11:45p.

Creator-Destructor Records was celebrating 13+ years as a record label, so they had two days worth of shows showcasing a chunk of their roster.

Saw Buddy Guy a few nights ago. Really good show, especially considering he's 85. Still plays well and was having a lot of fun. No real surprises, since he's been playing essentially the same show for the last 10 years at least, but the whole thing felt fresh. He really connects with the audience too. He went out into the crowd like he always does, but he's stopped going up the stairs and going through the balcony seats. Hardly surprising. He's definitely not being dragged out on stage in a shambles to make money for someone else like BB King was.

Opening act was Colin James (not the Men at Work guy), who I never heard of but has apparently been at it since the late 80's. By the numbers blues but a solid performer. He came out and played with Buddy at the end of the show and the two sounded really good together.

At 85 it's unlikely I'll see him again, but I was surprised to see him touring again now, so anything is possible I guess.

One other thing, I saw very few people using their phone cameras during the show. Yes, the crowd skewed older since it's a blues show, but it was refreshing to see people enjoying the show instead of documenting it. Cameras were abundant when he went into the crowd, but that's to be expected.

I don't really like concerts but I just saw The Swell Season a few weeks ago - I like them and my wife is a superfan. It was a great show!

Saw Journey and Toto last night. Really good show. Great crowd for both bands. They still need to tone down Neil's guitar. Hard to hear Arnel sometimes. You could hear him, but was muddy at times with Neil shredding.

Saw Bob Mould solo electric last Saturday night. Amazing and one of the best voices of his generation...

I hate sound guys who seem to think that faders can only be turned up. Bet ya anything they kept turning up Arnel's mic and the thought of turning everyone else down never occurred to them.

Casbah? Love that place, thought about going but I was a little tapped out from two shows the previous weekend and RSD coming up. I see Bob still slings his guitar as low as possible without hitting the floor.

Buddy gives an amazing show but as you say it's pretty much the same set and patter with the crowd. I saw him in NH last year I have tickets for two shows of his coming up, June at the Hampton Beach Casino and in August he is playing a blues fest with Kingfish and Kenny Wayne Shepard in RI. He is a powerhouse touring and I'm a little bummed as he is playing a double bill with John Hiatt this summer but not coming near me for that arm of the tour. Would love to see that bill.

I took a break for a while from his shows but my perspective on such things has changed over the last couple of years. I'd rather celebrate someone and enjoy the ride as opposed to nitpicking.

Interesting article that just popped up about Arnels vocals.
https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jo...ter-than-ever/

4/9/22: Black Fucking Cancer/Oneiric Eclipse/Slege

2022-04-09: Micky Dolenz (Cincinnati).

He's doing a bandmates celebration tour. I go back a long way as a Monkees fan, and it was good to hear some tunes I've never heard live. Good tribute show. He's still sounding and moving pretty good.

Busy weekend. Small festival in Lowell MA called The Town & The City (after Jack Kerouac, who is from Lowell). Saw a bunch of acts, including Tanya Donnelly & Gail Greenwood (Belly), Bill Janovitz (Buffalo Tom, Aaron and The Lord (members of Sheila Devine), Eileen Rose and Rich Gilbert (Human Sexual Response), Robyn Hitchcock, Jon Langford (Mekons/Waco Brothers) and a bunch more. All for $50 for a 2-day pass!

And tonight was the always entertaining Colin Hay.

Fingers crossed, hoping to see Tedeschi-Trucks this week, playing a benefit show in a small theater....