I am going to see "Ghost" on November 15th with one of the twins. The best reason I can give anyone for having children is that there will come a day when they introduce you to fun new metal bands that otherwise you would never hear about. I have been watching videos to get myself just a bit more knowledge of their songs. My new bucket list includes being a guest ghoul on one of their shows.
Saw Twenty-one Pilots in Tampa last night. 70% of the audience were awkward 12-17 year old girls. But, that show was awesome. Those two dudes killed it. Very good artistic design for the show, too.
Their singer/songwriter Tobias Forge has some of the most hilarious between-songs banter this side of Steel Panther. They’re funny and their songs are awesome and catchy like good 80’s pop music. The first mainstream black metal band.
They're a fucking very interesting band... it's like they're influenced by 100 different artists from 100 different genres and then they just fuse it all together in a way that works. They're kind of like all-dressed potato chips.
Yes. I tried to explain to somebody what they sound like. I was like, well . . . um . . . take Imagine Dragons and Eminem and let them have a baby. But, sprinkle in some influences of Ben Folds, Fall Out Boy and Cold Play, and maybe their Dads' Rush and U2 albums were played a lot. Then play all that live with two guys.
You're gonna have a blast. I went last night and the audience age spanned from 4/5 years old to the 60-65 year old behind me. Great show.
My son and I actually wound up going to the same concert as GTE last night. Our seats were not quite as good, but the show was fantastic. The Nameless Ghouls are a really tight and professional band and were given their moments to shine during the night. As GTE stated the audience age was all over the place and I think that added to night. If you like heavy rock to metal go see this band. Next time they come to America, you are going to be going to venues ten times the size they are playing this tour.
Just got tickets to see Iron Maiden again next July. I know it's a long way off, but I'm really excited about this.
https://ironmaiden.com/tours/legacy-of-the-beast-tour-2019-2019 There are two dates in Toronto in August.
Kurt Vile & the Violators I will again review the concerts that I went to this year at the end of the year, but since he is still touring I am going to encourage everyone to go see Kurt Vile. He and his band blew away my expectations. I think that Vile used a different guitar for every song and even played the banjo on a couple of others. His other guitarist was phenomenal, as was the drummer and his other bandmate, who switched between guitar, bass and keyboard. They are not the very exciting showmen, as they don't talk much between songs and don't move around a lot on stage, but they mostly killed it on their instruments. The only bad thing was that their live rendition of "Pretty Pimpin," which is probably his best known song and that they played as the first song of the encore, was oddly not very good. Still, go see them.
Got tickets for the retitled Rock on the Range successor "Sonic Temple." Shit the non headliner line up does nothing for me but Foo Fighters, System of a Down, and The Prodigy make it worth it alone.
End of year concert reviews: Spoiler 13. Chvrches Of the artists who I saw this year that I had not seen previously they were probably the one who I was most excited about, but this was not a very good show. I think that it probably had more to do with the venue, though. It was at the Tabernacle, which I’ve generally found not to have great acoustics, although I have seen a few shows there that were good. I hope to catch them again at some point at a different venue. 6/10 12. Alice in Chains I saw them at the Coca-Cola Roxy back in May, which is a fairly new venue (about 2 years old) that is very nice but is another one that I’ve found not to have very good sound. It was hard to hear the vocals over the instruments, so it was a little bit of a letdown from the first time that I saw them 2 years ago (which was oddly one of the very few good shows that I’ve seen at the Tabernacle). 7/10 11. Big Thief I saw them for the first time last year at a bar venue, and it was an amazing show. This time it was just not the same, though I can’t help but think that they graduating from a bar to a small venue (which was pretty full) took away from the magic. Adrianne was much less emotional this time around, which I guess is good, but it was still a little bit of a disappointment. 7.5/10 10. Ghost I actually went to see them based on the recommendations that I saw on this message board. Elton John’s farewell show was happening here on the same night, and I had really wanted to go to that, but I opted for the much less expensive ticket. I wasn’t familiar with them previously, but they put on a great show. Thank you for the recommendation, everyone! 8/10 9. Dweezil Zappa Plays Frank Zappa This was my fourth time seeing them, and it has become an annual/semi-annual event that I really look forward to and hope will continue in the future. His band was mostly the same since I saw him previously at the beginning of 2017, except that one of the lead vocalists, David Luther, was replaced by Adam Minkoff. Dweezil called this “the best incarnation of the band,” but I actually thought that Minkoff was a downgrade from Luther. Moreover, this was probably my least favorite setlist that I have seen the band perform. It was cool to see them play “Peaches en Regalia” for the first time, but I don’t know how they could justify leaving off “Muffin Man,” “Montana,” and “Inca Roads.” But it was still a fun show, and Minkoff is still at least a huge improvement over Ben Thomas (who was the band’s only lead vocalist when I first saw them, in 2015)! 8/10 8. Lauryn Hill I knew this was going to be a gamble, and I thought for sure that I was going to regret it when she postponed the show from August to October (and outright canceled a few of her other shows), but I couldn’t pass up the chance to see the 20th anniversary show of her one (amazing) solo album. By some miracle she showed up on time and put on a fantastic show. It was also a beautiful autumn night at an outdoor venue, 2 days before my birthday, so that made it even better. I should add that the girl who was sitting next to me allegedly pick pocketed the guy who was sitting on her opposite side and then took off after they got into it with some of the ushers, so I guess that I was even luckier. 8/10 7. Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks Pavement might be the quintessential example of a band that is loved by people whose musical tastes I generally respect but I have never seen the appeal of myself. I do, however, like much of Malkmus’s other work (Face the Truth is one of my favorite albums ever), so I decided to make the drive to Athens to see him. I wouldn’t say that he is a brilliant live performer, but it was a solid show that I was happy featured a few of the songs off of the aforementioned album. 8/10 6. The Decemberists I saw them twice this year, once in Pomona, CA, and once here in Atlanta. I used the Pomona show as an excuse to take a trip and visit California for the first time when I really needed a vacation and my second favorite vocalist, Eleanor Friedberger, was opening for them. They weren’t as good as when I saw them last year, but they once again put on two very good shows. 8.5/10 5. Bob Seger I was originally supposed to see him in October of last year, but he had to postpone this show and some others because of back problems. But he finally made it last night as part of his farewell tour, and it ended up being an excellent show that featured pretty much all of his big hits. I was worried about how his voice would sound, but he and the Silver Bullet Band were great from start to finish. 8.5/10 4. Kurt Vile & the Violators Kurt Vile has a few songs that I really like but I have never considered myself to be a huge fan. I have always considered him to be a good guitarist, but I listen to him more for the lyrics and vocals--sort of like Neil Young and Bob Dylan, who he has appropriately been compared to. But I have a newfound appreciation of his guitar work after seeing this show. He and his band weren’t the most exciting to watch from an entertainment perspective, but they all killed it on their instruments. 9/10 3. Janelle Monae I caught her on the second night of a back-to-back at the Tabernacle. It was probably the most high energy and purely entertaining show that I have ever been to, and she sounded great as well. I hope to see her again in the future. 9/10 2. Phish I saw them on the second day of a three-day set. This was my second time seeing them, and it was even better than the first. Listening to their studio albums doesn’t do a whole lot for me, but their live shows are something else. I was in the pit this time, and like the last time when I had a seat it was the most fun atmosphere that I have ever experienced at a concert. The band was once again terrific, and even though they change up their setlist every single time I don’t think that they could ever disappoint. 9.5/10 1. Jenny Lewis I saw my favorite singer three times in the span of four days—in Knoxville, Asheville, and Athens. Not all of her shows that I have seen have been great, but she was amazing all three times. This time around she had Jason Boesel, her former bandmate from Rilo Kiley, playing drums for her. Moreover, the show in Asheville was at the Orange Peel, where I saw her for the first time ever, so those two things made this run of shows even more special. I have my tickets to see her in Nashville in March and here in Atlanta in April, so I’m hoping for more of the same. Also, I met a nice lady at the Athens show who was also at the other two plus the music festival in Kentucky that she played at on the other day that I did not see her, so it was cool to meet someone who outdid me and it made it four shows in four days (I have no desire to go to a music festival in Kentucky, even for Jenny)! 9.5/10
VetAid - veterans fundraiser featuring Joe Walsh, James Taylor, Don Henley, Chris Stapleton, and Ringo fucking Starr. And some girl band from LA called HAIM I think. Tickets were $40 and i only bought them for Stapleton. He played his hits and sounds fantastic live - I was happy with that. I couldn’t pick Walsh and Taylor out of a line up, and I’m only a meh eagles fan. 50% of the alive Beatles being there was a total surprise and y’all wtf is that guy ON because he was bouncing around and MOVING at 78. Good show. Drew Carrey emceed and I remember him being way funnier. Fleetwood Mac - total surprise concert and we were less than a basketball court from the stage. They’re old - and it shows because they have frequent breaks and play the sets so everyone gets to rest their voice in turn. But it’s Fleetwood goddamn Mac. They played their hits and a tribute to Tom Petty. Excellent show
Because I’m white, and because it was their first time in Nashville in ten years since the closing of Starwood Ampitheatre, I went and saw Dave Matthews Band at Bridgestone Arena. First time seeing him since 2002, and it was a great show. The violin player is gone due to some allegations of sexual assault, but the band added a keyboard player who adds so much more energy - and plus the violin parts on a keyboard (which means they’re in tune). I haven’t been huge into DMB for 15 years - have the albums since then but don’t have them committed to memory. The songs I didn’t know well were good jams, and the ones I did know were great. All in all, a fun time going to a show as a married adult, that I had last seen as a high school senior.
Anybody going to this? It looks awesome. I was considering doing Friday at least, but VIP is sold out.
Julia Jacklin She's an Austalian indie/ folk rock singer whose voice sounds very similar to Adrianne Lenker's (the lead singer of Big Thief). I saw her last night and it was one of my top ten, maybe even top five favorite live performances that I have seen. Check out her tour dates and go see her when she comes to your city. You will not regret it.