White Rabbits, Interpol (11.03.10)

the Band: White Rabbits, Interpol
the Date: Wednesday November 3, 2010
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to Kyle Gustafson)

White Rabbits opened. They were amazing. White Rabbits is a six-piece indie rock band based in Brooklyn. The members are Alexander Even (guitar, vocals), Brian Betancourt (bass), Matthew Clark (drums, additional percussion), Jamie Levinson (drums), Gregory Roberts (vocals, guitar), and Stephen Patterson (vocals, piano). They played a lot of tunes from their recent album, It’s Frightening (produced by Spoon’s Britt Daniel - I saw White Rabbits open for Spoon back in 2008). This was a perfect opener for the night … I knew it was going to be a great night of music.

(Photo credit to Kyle Gustafson)

Interpol was the main event! They were awesome!

Interpol is an indie post-punk rock band out of New York. I’ve seen them a few times before and they’ve always amazed. This time around they were without Carlos D (he left the band earlier this year). The current line-up consisted of Paul Banks (vocals, guitar), Daniel Kessler (guitar, vocals), Sam Fogarino (drums), David Pajo (bass), and Brandon Curtis (keyboard, vocals). I think Brandon Curtis is only a member during the tour … he’s also in the band The Secret Machines, another great band.

The set all four of their studio albums, Turn on the Bright Lights, Antics, Our Love to Admire, and their recent, self-titled release, Interpol. From the very start, Interpol put on a great show with tons of energy, especially Daniel who danced with his guitar the entire night. There were so many great tunes, but my favorites were Say Hello to the Angels, Narc, PDA, Lights, Evil, and the final encore song, Slow Hands. Without question, the highlight of the night was their new song, Lights, which sounded fantastic and Paul’s most powerful performance of the night. Just superb!

(Photo credit to Kyle Gustafson)

Full setlist: Success / Say Hello to the Angels / Narc / Hands Away / Summer Well / Rest my Chemistry / PDA / C’mere / Untitled / Barricade / Take You on a Cruise / Lights / Evil / Try On / Not Even Jail / ENCORE / The Lighthouse / Length of Love / Slow Hands

you make me want to pick up a guitar
and celebrate the myriad ways that I love you …

Justin Jones, Guster (10.23.10)

the Band: Justin Jones, Guster
the Date: Saturday October 23, 2010
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to Elizabeth S and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/rearviewphotos/)

Justin Jones opened. He’s a solo, singer/song-writer. We had seen this guy before - back in 2007 when he played at a clothing store in Georgetown (kind of weird, but kind of cool too). He’s got a nice sound. Nice way to start out the night.

Guster was the headliner. They were simply awesome. The band now consists of Ryan Miller (vocals/guitar), Adam Gardner (vocals/guitar), Brian Rosenworcel (drums), Luke Reynolds (bass), and “Scooter” Laubacher (drums). Luke is the recent addition since, Joe Pisapia left the band earlier this year to tour with K.D. Lang with whom he had been writing songs. Luke was great and a welcome addition. The crowd was chanting “Luuuuuuuuke” throughout the night.

I have been a Guster fan for years now and have seen them many times. They never fail to please the crowd. This show did not disappoint. It was a fun, upbeat, and energetic show. We really had a blast.

The setlist consisted of a great mix of good ol’ fan favorites and newer tunes from Easy Wonderful, the band’s recent release. My favorites of the night were Barrel of a Gun (including the Guster fan tradition of counting down with their fingers … 4, 3, 2, 1), This Could All Be Yours, Satellite, Happier, Either Way (this is just a beautiful song), Airport Song (where Guster fans shouted “so dirty” and threw ping pong balls onstage at the appropriate moments), and Hang On.

Before the first encore, they successfully coaxed the audience to get “the wave” going around the concert hall as if we were in a football stadium … while this was happening Luke played an impromptu version of Wipeout. Hilarious!

Guster closed the night by walking out into the middle of the crowd playing an acoustic version of Jesus on the Radio. I heard that following this, they ran around the outside of the venue playing additional songs unplugged while fans chased them around … but we missed this because we just left after JOTR.

(Photo credit to the Aardvark and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/ardvaark/)

Full setlist: The Captain / Architects & Engineers / Barrel of a Gun / This Could All Be Yours / Demons / Beginning of the End / Satellite / Do You Love Me? / That’s No Way to Get to Heaven / Bad, Bad World / Backyard Play / Come Downstairs and Say Hello / What You Call Love / Amsterdam / Either Way / Happier / G Major / Airport Song / ENCORE 1 / Wipeout (cover) / Careful / Manifest Destiny / Hang On/My Life (cover) / ENCORE 2 / Jesus on the Radio

you were almost kind
you were almost true
don’t let me see that other side of you …

the Morning Benders, the Black Keys (07.26.10)

the Band: the Morning Benders, the Black Keys
the Date: Monday July 26, 2010
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to Chris Svetlik)

The Morning Benders opened. They were cool. We were surprised they were able to stay out so late on a school night … I mean, these guys seriously have baby faces. They were cool though. I really liked the tune they closed with, Excuses.

(Photo credit to Kyle Gustafson)

The Black Keys were simply amazing. Dan Auerbach (vocals/guitar) and Patrick Carney (drums) are from Akron, Ohio. The blues-inspired, low-fi, modern-rock duo are one of the BEST live acts around.

Much of the first half of the show focused on the older stuff. Awesome! Then, they were joined by a bassist and keyboardist for the newer tunes off the band’s newest album, Brothers. Double-awesome! These Ohio boys did not hold back. Patrick’s performance was flawless. He absolutely destroyed the drum kit and by the end of the night was completely drenched with sweat. Dan’s gritty guitar playing along with his bluesy howling and wailing were simply amazing. All in all, the show was a great mix of tunes and an impressive display of the band’s expansive talent.

My favorites of the night were Girl Is On My Mind, Stack Shot Billy, Strange Times, Chop and Change, Tighten Up, Your Touch, and Till I Get My Way.

(Photo credit to Kyle Gustafson)

Full setlist: Thickfreakness / Girl Is on My Mind / 10 A.M. Automatic / The Breaks / Stack Shot Billy / Busted / Everywhere I Go / Strange Times / Same Old Thing / Everlasting Light / Next Girl / Chop and Change / Howlin’ for You / Tighten Up / She’s Long Gone / Ten Cent Pistol / Your Touch / I Got Mine / ENCORE / Too Afraid to Love You / Sinister Kid / Till I Get My Way

Try to ignore, try to unwind
She is on my mind …

Jay Reatard, Pixies (11.30.09 & 12.01.09)

the Band: Jay Reatard, Pixies
the Date: Monday-Tuesday, November 30 & December 1, 2009
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to Erica Bruce and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/betweenloveandlike/)

Two full nights of my favorite band of all time, the Pixies!

This tour was to mark the 20th anniversary of their best-selling album Doolittle. The Pixies are Frank Black (a.k.a. Black Francis, a.k.a. Charles Thompson; vocals/guitar), Kim Deal (a.k.a. Mrs. John Murphy, a.k.a. Tammy Ampersand; vocals/bass), Joey Santiago (guitar), and David Lovering (drums). They are in a word, PERFECT. They started each night with the Doolittle B-Sides including Weird at My School, Bailey’s Walk, and one of my favorites, Manta Ray. The die-hard fans, like myself, loved it, but when they started into the official album with Debaser, the entire crowd absolutely lost their shit. It was magical.

Back in high school, I must have played Doolittle ten million times. Now twenty years later, I’m listening to the Pixies play the entire album LIVE! What an amazing experience. On a side-note, earlier this year, the entire Doolittle album became available on Rock Band and I will admit that I immediately downloaded these tunes and have been prepping myself just for this occasion. Wave of Mutilation, Here Comes Your Man, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Crackity Jones, Hey, and Gouge Away … I mean the whole freakin’ album was played! The whole freakin’ show was unbelievable!

(Photo credit to Clint JCL and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/clintjcl/)

Each night they delivered two encores, including the UK Surf version of Wave of Mutilation, Gigantic, Into the White, and my all-time-favorite song, Where Is My Mind? And, depending on the night, they also played Nimrod's Son, Caribou, Vamos, Isla de Encanta, and Broken Face. We all left happy, ears ringing. The Pixies are dead, long live the Pixies!
 
I should also note that Jay Reatard opened both nights.  Kind of a mess, but I could see how the Pixies liked 'em.

Full setlist for November 30: Dancing the Manta Ray / Weird at My School / Bailey’s Walk / Manta Ray / Debaser / Tame / Wave of Mutilation / I Bleed / Here Comes Your Man / Dead / Monkey Gone to Heaven / Mr. Grieves / Crackity Jones / La La Love You / No. 13 Baby / There Goes My Gun / Hey / Silver / Gouge Away / ENCORE 1/ Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf version) / Into the White / ENCORE 2 / Where is My Mind? / Gigantic / Caribou / Nimrod’s Son

Full setlist for December 1: Dancing the Manta Ray / Weird at My School / Bailey’s Walk / Manta Ray / Debaser / Tame / Wave of Mutilation / I Bleed / Here Comes Your Man / Dead / Monkey Gone to Heaven / Mr. Grieves / Crackity Jones / La La Love You / No. 13 Baby / There Goes My Gun / Hey / Silver / Gouge Away / ENCORE 1/ Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf version) / Into the White / ENCORE 2 / Isla de Encanta / Broken Face / Something Against You / Vamos / Where Is My Mind? / Gigantic

HEY!  Been trying to meet you ...

the Whigs, We Are Scientists, Kings of Leon (11.10.08)

the Band: the Whigs, We Are Scientists, Kings of Leon
the Date: Mon November 10, 2008
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to Shantel Mitchell and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/faithdesired/)

The Whigs were the first band. I totally missed their show. Bummer! I heard they were great.

Second on the bill was We Are Scientists. Despite the ambivalent response from the typical D.C. stay-in-your seat crowd, they put on a great set. I knew I liked them from seeing them a few years ago at the Black Cat. My favorite was Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt … of course.

(Photo credit to Shantel Mitchell and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/faithdesired/)

Kings of Leon was the main attraction. The band consists of three brothers, Anthony “Caleb” Followill (vocals, guitar), Ivan “Nathan” Followill, and Michael “Jared” Followill (bass), and a cousin, Cameron “Matthew” Followill (guitar). I’ve seen them many times before and they are one of my favorite Rock ‘n Roll bands. They did not disappoint this night, these Tennessee boys were amazing! They were promoting their latest release, Only by the Night, but their set spanned all four of their albums. My favorites of the night were Closer, Taper Jean Girl, Milk, Use Somebody, On Call, Slow Night, So Long, Knocked Up, and Charmer.

Full setlist for Kings of Leon: Closer / Crawl / My Party / Razz / Molly’s Chambers / Taper Jean Girl / King of the Rodeo / Sex On Fire / Fans / Revelry / Milk / Four Kicks / The Bucket / McFearless / Use Somebody / On Call / Cold Desert / Slow Night, So Long / ENCORE / Knocked Up / Manhattan / Charmer / Black Thumbnail

I ain’t too proud to say that’s how I’m made ...

 

My Morning Jacket (09.03.08)

the Band: My Morning Jacket
the Date: Wed September 3, 2008
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to Shantel Mitchell and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/faithdesired/)

The show marketed as “An Evening with My Morning Jacket” was just that, an entire evening with the main attraction. That was a nice change from the traditional show. I knew that I could concentrate solely on Jim James and the boys from start to finish. I would not have to watch an opener (that I’d probably never heard of) and then wait about twenty minutes while they switch out the instruments. Now I don’t have anything against sitting through the traditional opening act. In fact, I find myself discovering new music through watching the opening bands. That’s exactly how I found out about Centro-Matic … they opened for My Morning Jacket a few years back. Now, I’m a big Centro-Matic fan.

The band hails from Louisville, Kentucky and comprises Jim James (vocals, guitar), Tom “Two-Tone Tommy” Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Broemel (guitar, vocals), and Bo Koster (keyboard, vocals). My Morning Jacket, or MMJ for those of us who celebrate the brevity of the blog, has a unique sound that ranges from their alt-country rock roots, full of guitar with heavy reverb (think Neil Young) to more experimental rock full of keyboards (think Prince). They are an amazing band to see live in an open air setting, like Bonnaroo or Lollapalooza.

Anyways, the Evening with My Morning Jacket was good … not great. The show was over 2.5 hours! So they deserve my praise for that alone, but to be honest, this wasn’t my favorite MMJ show of all time. Though I really like these guys, I’m just not a huge fan of their latest release Evil Urges. Many of the night’s tunes came from that album. I mean, they played nearly that entire album. Thankfully, they played tons of other songs too including some of my favorites, Off the Record, Anytime, Golden, Gideon, Lay Low and, of course, One Big Holiday. It’s also worth noting that they played Cobra, a rare tune off of the band’s Chocolate & Ice EP … that’s like a 20 minute song!

(Photo credit to Shantel Mitchell and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/faithdesired/)

Full setlist: Evil Urges / Anytime / Off the Record / Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 1 / Two Halves / Golden / Thank You Too! / I'm Amazed / The Way That He Sings / Sec Walkin / War Begun / Phone Went West / Cobra / Librarian / Dondante / Gideon / Lay Low / Steam Engine // Wordless Chorus / Highly Suspicious / Smokin from Shootin / Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Part 2 / Run Thru / One Big Holiday

if we holler loud and make our way
we’d all live one big holiday ...

the Bennies, the Datsuns, Pixies (12.07.04)

the Band: the Bennies, the Datsuns, Pixies
the Date: Tuesday December 7, 2004
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

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

This night, I went to heaven … and met the Pixies. The band consists of Frank Black (a.k.a. Black Francis, a.k.a. Charles Thompson; vocals/guitar), Kim Deal (a.k.a. Mrs. John Murphy; vocals/bass), Joey Santiago (guitar), and David Lovering (drums). They were fantastic!

The Pixies are my absolute, all-time favorite band … EVER! When I was in high school and college, these guys were hitting their prime. Though I never got the chance to see them perform, the Pixies defined my taste in music. I was a HUGE fan. Then in early 1993, the band abruptly broke up (I’ll skip the part about Kim and Charles not getting along and the infamous fax heard round the indie world). I was crushed, but my love for the Pixies remained true. As they say, “It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never heard the Pixies at all”

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

Anyways, fast forward nearly twelve years and I find myself seeing the Pixies in concert! This was the first of a two-night stint in DC’s DAR Constitution Hall. I was only able to score tickets to one of the two nights, but that’s okay because it was still a dream come true. The Bennies opened and they were followed by the Datsuns. They were both great, but I was really distracted anticipating the Pixies. Finally, they came on stage and the crowd went nutz! They started with a slowed down version of In Heaven, which was magical, and then proceeded to give the sellout crowd what they came to hear. The set was chock full of note perfect versions of all of my favorites including, Wave of Mutilation, Nimrod’s Son, Here Comes Your Man, Debaser, Caribou, Vamos, Gigantic, and my all-time favorite song, Where Is My Mind? (with which they closed the evening). It was simply amazing.

Even considering their long hiatus, the Pixies did not disappoint. Frank had definitely retained his ability to seamlessly turn from a sweet melody to an all out, guttural scream. Kim played the bass flawlessly with her sweet backing vocals occasionally popping in. Joey and Dave were absolutely on fire. There was one moment, during Vamos, when Dave tossed Joey a drumstick which then Joey incorporated into an incredible guitar solo. Wow!

I left the night knowing that I had just seen the greatest band of all time. I cannot wait until their next show.

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

Full setlist: In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song) / Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf) / Winterlong (Neil Young cover) / Nimrod’s Son / The Holiday Song / Here Comes Your Man / Broken Face / Subbacultcha / Cactus / No. 13 Baby / Monkey Gone to Heaven / Velouria / Is She Weird / Debaser / U-Mass / Gouge Away / Crackity Jones / Something Against You / Isla De Encanta / Hey / Caribou / Broken Face / Head On (Jesus and Mary Chain cover) / Tame / Vamos / Gigantic / Where Is My Mind?

In Heaven, everything is fine …

Mooney Suzuki, Jimmy Fallon, the Strokes (11.26.02)

the Band: Mooney Suzuki, Jimmy Fallon, the Strokes
the Date: Tue November 26, 2002
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

Mooney Suzuki was the first opener. I totally missed this set. Bummer!

Then Jimmy Fallon performed … yes, the guy from Saturday Night Live. He just sang a bunch of songs in a super-high pitch, wearing white pajamas. I chuckled at the first tune, but then the rest of his set was just annoying. Not sure why he was touring with these bands.

Then, the Strokes finally took the stage. They started with Last Nite and the crowd went nuts. The show was fun. The band seemed a little tired of playing the same tunes. They were way more energetic when I saw them in Houston back in January. Still yet, it was a good show.

Full setlist: Last Nite / The Way It Is / I Can't Win / Is This It? / Hard to Explain / New York City Cops / Ze Newie / The Modern Age / You Talk Way Too Much / Someday / Alone, Together / Trying Your Luck / Meet Me in the Bathroom / Barely Legal / Soma / Take It or Leave It

on top of this I ain’t ever gonna understand . . .

Guster, John Mayer (09.03.02)

the Band: Guster, John Mayer
the Date: Tue September 3, 2002
the Venue: DAR Constitution Hall (DC)

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

I was more interested in seeing Guster than John Mayer, but let’s be honest … I am a closet John Mayer fan. Both performances were entertaining. I was drawn to the Guster show, but that may have been because the crowd was overwhelmingly teenage girls who were there to see John Mayer … a part of me just didn’t want to connect with that group.

Anyways, this was the first time I had seen Guster after enjoying their CDs. The band, Adam Gardner (vocals, guitar), Ryan Miller (vocals, guitar) and Brian Rosenworcel (drums), really put on a great show. I’m just amazed that Brian played the drums entirely with taped-up fingers. Ouch!

My favorites from Guster were Happier, Barrel of a Gun, Airport Song, and Fa Fa.

My favorites from John Mayer were Why Georgia, My Stupid Mouth, Your Body Is a Wonderland, and Neon. Yeah, they’re all kind of sappy. Oh yeah, and his cover, or rather tease, of the Pearl Jam tune, Yellow Ledbetter, was pretty cool too.

Full setlist for Guster: What You Wish For / Happier / New Song 2 / Great Escape (Brian’s bday rap) / Mona Lisa / Demons / Homecoming King / Either Way / Barrel of a Gun / I Spy / Airport Song / Center of Attention / Fa Fa

Full setlist for John Mayer: No Such Thing / Why Georgia / Back 2 You / City Love / Covered in the Rain / King of Pain >Intro intro >83 / (JM keyboard solo) Lenny > Man on the Side > Yellow Ledbetter (Pearl Jam cover) > Man on the Side / Love Song for No One / My Stupid Mouth / This Will All Make Perfect Sense Someday / Your Body is a Wonderland / 3 x 5 / Neon

goddamn you movie star
can’t you just stay a minute more? . . .