Show Review: Coheed and Cambria @ Myrtle Beach 8/09/08

On Saturday I went to see Coheed and Cambria at the House of Blues with my friends Erin and Maggie (Stephen - whom I saw Dave Matthews with - was supposed to go but shit came up). The three of us will be seeing the Black Keys later in October, possibly with my friend Matt whom I saw Radiohead with earlier in May. As with Dave Matthews, I've never really listened to Coheed, but even less so Coheed. I had the intention of listening to their catalogue before we went to the show, but I was too lazy to do it. Thankfully, Maggie hadn't listened to them much, either. Coheed is Erin's favorite band, so we went.

The band Russian Circles opened at 8:00. They were alright, I've never heard an instrumental metal band before, so it was interesting. The crowd ate it up, so goody for them. If you're a fan of the Sword you should check them out. The sound is similar, but of course, no words.

The House of Blues is fairly small, so we obviously had a great view. With Radiohead and Dave Matthews, I could see them, but they were tiny. Claudio Sanchez was maybe a hundred feet away from me. Probably would have hit me harder if I was a huge fan, but I'm sure Erin was ecstatic. The show was actually pretty good, and it went by very quickly, even though they played for nearly two hours. I'm not a heavy metal fan, but they had some progressive and pop sensibilities to them, so I was thoroughly entertained. Some will criticize Sanchez on the way he plays guitar, because he plays fast, a trait of metal guitar players. Still, it was fairly impressive.

8/09/08 House of Blues at Myrtle Beach, SC

First set: No World For Tomorrow, Gravemakers, Ten Speed, AFHA, The Suffering, Everything Evil>The Trooper>Devil in Jersey City, Feathers, Blood Red Summer, The Running Free, In Keeping Secrets

Encore: Welcome Home, The Final Cut

The setlist was impressive, and the best song was "Welcome Home," where Sanchez pulled out a double-neck Gibson and went nuts. "The Final Cut" was also interesting, featuring a very space-rock type feel. It was good up until the ten minute drum solo. I'd have to listen to Coheed's catalogue before I'd go see them again, but apparently our show was the last one before their epic sets in New York and LA where they'll be playing everything they've done thus far. Unfortunately the House of Blues doesn't allow cameras, so again we don't have any pictures. If you were there or have been to any of Coheed's concerts this year, let me know how you liked it!

Coheed and Cambria Myrtle Beach 8/09/08 - Road Blog

12:20 We stop at a Sheetz to put gas in the car, Erin nearly fills up using diesel. We order some nasty food from inside, my order takes about three years to make.

12:45 Pit stop at the Kinko's down the street so I can print out my ticket. I'm an idiot and forgot to do it in the office the day before. Have to pay a few bucks to use the internet and such. Erin and Maggie want to check their Facebook accounts.

1:14 Discussion of pet peeves arises. I tell the story of people I went to high school with, most notably the girl who always laughed at inside jokes that she did not understand, and another chick who "absorbed" things when she grabbed them. I demonstrate with a pack of cheese nips.

1:30 I ask Maggie what kind of music she listens to. Besides Phil Collins and Genesis, turns out she listens to a lot of modern British stuff. She likes the Arctic Monkeys, and I inform her about the Last Shadow Puppets and the Rascals.

1:40 "No Diggity" by Blackstreet comes on the radio. Erin and Maggie rock out accordingly. Somehow Prince and David Bowie enter the conversation, and I ask them why women are fascinated by them, especially Prince. Apparently being a huge rock god and standing at about five feet tall is hot.

1:45 Creed comes on the radio and we all laugh hysterically. I do my Scott Stapp impersonation.

1:56 I have to break the news to Maggie that Forrest Gump had AIDS, as did little Forrest. Erin says "Walker told me I have AIDS."

2:03 Erin and Maggie decide to take photos of themselves. They hold the camera out the window and the moonroof. "They're our MySpace pics!" they say. I doubt either of them even have a MySpace. We put on Consolers of the Lonely by the Raconteurs

2:07 We mock M. Night Shyamalan's movies.

2:20 I find a pair of Homer Simpson slippers in the back. Erin tells me that when you put them on, it looks like Homer is giving head to your leg.

2:27 We pass two billboards, one reads, "Don't read billboards? YOU JUST DID!" and the other is an advertisement for the U.S.S. North Carolina. Apparently seniors get a discount of one dollar. "But I served on this ship!" "Whatever, it's still only a dollar off, old man."

2:48 Erin and Maggie talk about their hatred of children and friends that have children.

2:54 We put in a mix CD. First song is "One Week" by Barenaked Ladies.

Mix CD Playlist:
1. Barenaked Ladies - One Week
2. My Morning Jacket - Highly Suspicious
3. Death Cab For Cutie - No Sunlight
4. Feist - I Feel It All
5. The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations
6. Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor
7. M.I.A. - Paper Planes
8. The Raconteurs - Intimate Secretary
9. MGMT - Time to Pretend
10. Death Cab For Cutie - Cath...
11. Beck - Loser
12. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
13. My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
14. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away
15. MGMT - The Youth

3:11 "Anal bum cover," "The rapist," "Condom thing," "Jap anus relations," and other celebrity Jeopardy references. Erin then talks about Journey and the album cover that shows their bulges.

3:20 Stop at a gas station/Subway to get drinks and pee. Yes, we peed and then drank more.

3:39 We leave and start heading down the highway. Erin realizes that she's in first gear.

4:13 We pass by a colossal amount of mini golf courses. Erin is outraged at some of the themes the courses use, most notably one that makes light of plane wrecks. I mock her by being offended by a dinosaur-themed course. Why? The dinosaurs are all dead.

4:29 We find the House of Blues. Erin takes a photograph.

4:43 Stop at Logan's for dinner. We prepare for Coheed by ordering the Porterhouse 20oz raw and a bucket of blood.

6:00 We get in line and the doors open at 7:00. There is a weird guy in front of us who keeps staring and is trying to be part of our oh-so-funny conversations.

7:00 Doors open.

7:12 We finally get inside. We struggle to find a place to stand. Weird guy follows us up the stairs. We stand on the main floor on the stairs and have a really good view. Weird guy is off to the far side so we can keep an eye on his movements.

8:00 The opener, Russian Circles, comes out (on the stage, not of the closet).

9:00 Coheed starts to play and everyone goes nuts. There's a small Asian chick in front of us with her boyfriend and they never stop making out. There is a large sweaty chick next to me who can't sing.

Set List:
No World For Tomorrow (Epic intro with lights)
Gravemakers
Ten Speed
AFHA
The Suffering
Everything Evil>The Trooper>Devil in Jersey City
Feathers
Blood Red Summer
The Running Free
In Keeping Secrets

Encore:
Welcome Home (Claudio comes out with a white Gibson EDS-1275)
The Final Cut (Lasts nearly half an hour, fairly awesome)

10:44 Show ends and we head out. Looks like people enjoyed it but might be drained due to a ten minute drum solo on the last song.

11:01 Heading out of the parking lot. We see a car that has the words "Show Tits" duct taped on the door. Maggie takes a photograph and one of the guys talks to her through a megaphone.

11:16 On the road. We eventually stop at a gas station to fill up. The rest of the night is spent in deep conversation interspersed with dick jokes. Narrow Stairs plays the entire ride back.

Show Review - Dave Matthews Band @ Walnut Creek 7/02/08

Last night I was fortunate enough to get to see the Dave Matthews Band live in Raleigh at Walnut Creek. My friend (also named Stephen) is a big fan, and since I've been bugging him and a few other friends to see the Black Keys, we all decided to go to shows that the others wanted to see. We'll be seeing Coheed and Cambria at Myrtle Beach in August, the Black Keys in October, and possibly Matisyahu as well. While searching Ticketmaster for all sorts of shows we might be interested in, I came across the Dave Matthews Band. I told Stephen, and he was all for it. Our plan originally was to sneak in wearing uniforms like the folks who worked there (Stephen worked for them for seven years), but we found out once we got there that they had been bought by Livenation, and thus the uniforms had changed. We walked around, debating about what to do, and eventually snagged two reflector vest thingies out of a truck and planned to wear those. But, Stephen ran into one of the dudes he worked with, and he told him that the concert actually hadn't sold out and that there were still plenty of lawn tickets available. However, I had told Stephen from the beginning that I was too poor to buy a ticket, so he was nice enough to pick it up for me (honestly, I wouldn't have been able to pay rent had I bought a $45 ticket). I'd never been to a DMB concert before, nor I had I listened to his music much. I've heard plenty of it, but I've never sat down with an album and spent time with it. Needless to say, the show was absolutely amazing.

7/02/08 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh, NC

First Set: Seek Up, So Damn Lucky, Corn Bread, Granny, Crush, Sledgehammer, #41, Pantala Naga Pampa>Rapunzel, The Space Between, Dancing Nancies, The Idea of You, Smooth Rider, Everyday, Louisiana Bayou

Encore: Gravedigger, Tripping Billies

Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera. I kinda sorta kick myself for not doing it now, but all is well, the show was two-and-a-half hours long, in which time I probably wouldn't have taken more than five pics. They all came out with a bang, and the intensity didn't for once die down. All the members impressed me, for all are true masters of their craft.

Tim Reynolds was one of the highlights of the show. He has played with DMB on and off for many years. Tim was able to make his guitar plead for mercy, especially when he played slide. He took it beyond the frets, practically to where he was picking the notes. Tinsley also put on a great show, beating the hell out of that fiddle on every song he could. He shined, along with Stefan Lessard, on “Louisiana Bayou,” one of the last songs of the night.

Jeff Coffin from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones was also an amazing spectacle. Coffin was filling in for LeRoi Moore, who was in an ATV accident earlier this year. In fact, before Dave decided to start the encore, he had the entire audience chant “We want LeRoi!” Even though Moore was absent, Coffin was a superb replacement. Matthews, Lessard, and Coffin all jammed together on the fantastic “#41,” where Coffin went into an amazing solo with Lessard and Matthews right next to him, all of them bouncing up and down and having a genuinely good time.

That was the feeling that the entire night had; a genuine sense of fun. All the members were smiling at each other, and Dave was caught several times dancing around the stage and just enjoying life. As for everyone on the lawn, they were all drunk and smoking cigs, shouting out the lyrics as they fell over each other. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be sure to go to another one soon.

If you were there or have been to any of Dave’s concerts this year, please drop a line and leave your story! I’d love to read it, as well as see any pictures/watch any videos you might have of it.

Show Review: Radiohead @ Charlotte 5/09/08

Radiohead is a band that I'd been dying to see live. In my first semester at college I re-discovered the Radiohead catalogue. I, like so many others, went through a phase where I obsessively listened to OK Computer. I was delighted when in mid-2007 it was announced that Radiohead would be releasing In Rainbows. Almost instantly it became my favorite Radiohead album, and even today I still think it is their best work. So then in the spring of 2008 their tour dates were announced. I told my friend Matt that he was going with me to see Radiohead, and he said "Yeah, okay." Seeing Radiohead was the first real concert that I'd ever been to, and I know it'll be hard to top.

5/09/08 Verizon Wireless Ampitheatre at Charlotte, NC

First Set: All I Need, There There, Airbag, 15 Step, Nude, Sail to the Moon, Weird Fishes/Arpeggi, Myxomatosis, Idioteque, Morning Bell, Videotape, Optimistic, Where I End and You Begin, You and Whose Army?, Everything in Its Right Place, Bangers & Mash, Bodysnatchers

First Encore: Go Slowly, Talk Show Host, Exit Music, Planet Telex, House of Cards

Second Encore: Paranoid Android, Reckoner

The opener was a band called Liars, and apparently Radiohead - and Thom Yorke in particular - are big fans. They also happen to be critically acclaimed, but I can safely say that Matt and I, along with the rest of the audience, were fairly unimpressed. Their "light show" was also pretty pathetic. If Clinic had opened for them, I would have been cheering like an idiot.

When Radiohead came out, everyone went nuts. Their light show was incredible (look at some pics here). After "All I Need," Thom ran up to the mic while changing his guitar and shouted "Hi!" The crowd of 20,000 roared. Although the entire set was great, their most impressive work was with their newest material. Phil Selway in particular put on a great show, whose drumwork on In Rainbows I feel goes fairly unnoticed. The show is really something that needs to be experienced, as trying to describe it is fruitless. The highlights included "All I Need," "Airbag," "Sail to the Moon (which was dedicated to the good people of North Carolina)," "Weird Fishes," "Videotape..." Why the hell am I doing this? The entire show was awesome.