Damone, Further Seems Forever, the Juliana Theory, the Ataris (04.28.03)

the Band: Damone, Further Seems Forever, the Juliana Theory, the Ataris
the Date: Monday April 28, 2003
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

(Photo credit to Lai and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/ltu/)

Damone opened. They are a Boston band consisting of Noelle (vocals/guitar), Dave Pino (guitar), Vazquez (bass), and Dustin Hengst (drums). They put on a nice rock show. I picked up their E.P. at the merch table.

Then came Further Seems Forever. These guys, Jason Gleason (vocals), Josh Colbert (guitar), Derick Cordoba (guitar), Chad Neptune (bass), and Steve Kleisath (drums), put on a great show.  I can't say I'm a huge fan, but it was entertaining.

Next up, the Juliana Theory played a great show. The Juliana Theory is Brett Detar (vocals/guitar), Chad Alan (bass), Joshua Fielder (guitar), Josh Kosker (guitar), and Josh Walters (drums). I was a little familiar with this band as I had picked up their 2001 E.P., Music From Another Room, some time ago while cruising the music stacks of Cactus Records in Houston. I liked the E.P. and really enjoyed seeing them live.

The headliners were the Ataris. The Ataris are made up of Kris Roe (vocals/guitar), John Collura (guitar), Mike Davenport (bass), and Chris Knapp (drums). They were touring to support the release of their recent album, So Long, Astoria. They put on a great show. They’re not really my thing (a little too pop-rock), but frontman, Kris Roe, is from Indiana, so I felt obliged to see this show.

Full setlist (not from this show, but from a show around this time … best I could do): Unopened Letter to the World / 1.15.96 / IOU One Galaxy / So Long, Astoria / I Won’t Spend Another Night Alone / Between You and Me / In This Diary / Your Boyfriend Sucks / Make It Last / Summer Wind Was Always Our Song / The Boys of Summer (Don Henley cover) / All You Can Ever Learn Is What You Already Know / ENCORE / The Saddest Song / Teenage Riot / San Dimas High School Rules / Astro Zombie

If I die tomorrow
Will this song live on forever? …

the Flaming Lips (04.20.03)

the Band: the Flaming Lips
the Date: Sunday April 6, 2003
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

Ridiculous! Fun! Amazing show! It was rock theater at its quirkiest! It was the Flaming Lips!

The Flaming Lips, consisting of Wayne Coyne (vocals/guitar), Michael Ivins (bass), Steven Drozd (drums/guitar/keyboard), and Kliph Scurlock (drums), is a rock band out of Oklahoma. To call the performance by the Flaming Lips at the 9:30 Club a concert is like calling the Mona Lisa simply a painting. This was an event that felt like the rock’n’roll equivalent of a revival meeting. There was video playing nonstop on a giant screen behind the band, giant balloons bouncing among the crowd, confetti cannons, crowd surfing inside a giant plastic bubble, fans in animal costumes danced on the stage, weird hand-puppets that made you feel uncomfortable, smoke and lights filled the air … it was one bizarre circus!

The Wayne and the boys were touring to promote their recent album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, so much of the set pulled from that album, but there were a lot of tunes from the Soft Bulletin album as well. They even got the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to some of the attendees! My favorite tunes of the evening were Race for the Prize, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1, Do You Realize??, Waitin’ for a Superman, She Don’t Use Jelly (an oldy-but-a-goody), and my new favorite, Thank You Jack White (For the Fiber Optic Jesus that You Gave Me). The most memorable part of the evening was seeing Wayne crowd surfing inside a giant plastic bubble … INSANE!

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

Full setlist: Race for the Prize / Fight Test / Thank You Jack White (For the Fiber-Optic Jesus that You Gave Me) / The Gash / Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1 / Lighting Strikes the Postman / In the Morning of the Magicians / Happy Birthday / She Don’t Use Jelly / Do You Realize?? / Waitin’ for a Superman / A Spoonful Weighs a Ton / ENCORE / What Is the Light? / The Observer


Do you realize that happiness makes you cry? . . .

Portastatic, Yo La Tengo (04.19.03)

the Band: Portastatic, Yo La Tengo
the Date: Saturday April 19, 2003
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

(Photo credit to Sam and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/sammich/)

Portastatic opened. This is the solo project of Mac McGaughan (formerly of Superchunk). Missed them … er, I mean him.

Yo La Tengo, consisting of Ira Kaplan (guitar/vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums/vocals), and James McNew (bass/vocals), has been around since the dawn of alternative music (i.e., the early 80’s). They were touring to promote the release of their tenth album, Summer Sun. I fell asleep during this show. I mean, I literally dozed off and almost dropped my beer. Gasp! Sorry, gang, this is just not my thing.

Full setlist (not from this show, but from a show around this time … best I could do): Beach Party Tonight / Georgia vs. Yo La Tengo / How to Make a Baby Elephant Float / From a Motel 6 / Madeline / Winter A-Go-Go / Season of the Shark / Today is the Day / Tiny Birds / Don’t Have to Be So Sad / Little Eyes / Autumn Sweater / Moonrock Mambo / Deeper into Movies / I Heard You Looking / Nuclear War (Sun Ra cover)/ Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House / You Can Have it All / Griselda / Time Fades Away (Neil Young cover)

the Music, the Vines (04.15.03)

the Band: the Music, the Vines
the Date: Tuesday April 15, 2003
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

The Music (that’s the name of the band) was the opening act. They were cool. I missed part of their set but I picked up one of their CDs at the merch table.

The Vines were the main attraction. They are an Australian alt-rock band consisting of Craig Nicholls (vocals, guitar), Patrick Matthews (vocals, bass), Ryan Griffiths (guitar), and Hamish Rosser (drums). They were obviously supporting their debut album, Highly Evolved. The set was fun and I danced around a bit. I especially liked Get Free, Outtathaway! and the band’s take on Ms. Jackson, a hallmark of rap duo Outkast.

I’m sorry, Ms. Jackson, I am for real . . .

Ex-Models, Yeah Yeah Yeahs (04.06.03)

the Band: Ex-Models, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
the Date: Sunday April 6, 2003
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to Peter and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/peter_skinnywolves/)

I missed the ex-Models completely. Oops.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, consisting of Karen O (vocals), Nick Zinner (guitar), and Brian Chase (drums), are the quintessential minimalist, lo-fi, New York indie band. They were awesome and perfectly suited for the intimate Black Cat.

Karen O was outrageous! Songs like Date with the Night and Rich although great on the recent album, Fever to Tell, seem to gain new life as Karen danced her way through them. Describing Karen as energetic barely does justice to what she actually achieves on stage. It’s like watching a punk rock superhero as she whizzes from corner to corner; crawling, leaping, high-kicking. Everyone in the crowd fell head over heels in love with her, myself included.

My favorites of the night were Date with the Night, Y Control, Our Time, and of course the big hit, Maps.

Full setlist (not from this show, but from a show around this time … sorry, best I could do): Shake It / Kiss Kiss / Cold Light / Date with the Night / Bang / Rich / Art Star / Mystery Girl / Man / Black Tongue / Y Control / Maps / ENCORE / Blow Hard / Miles Away / Our Time


Wait, they don’t love you like I love you . . .