the Bennies, David Lovering, the Reid Paley Trio, Frank Black & the Catholics (11.23.02)

the Band: the Bennies, David Lovering, the Reid Paley Trio, Frank Black & the Catholics
the Date: Sat November 23, 2002
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

Holy Crap! I totally missed the opening acts including, the Bennies, the Reid Paley Trio, and David Lovering, who performed his magic/science show!! For those who know their Pixies history, Lovering was the band’s drummer. I heard his show was something between a mad scientist and performance art. Cool! I picked up a couple of cds for the Bennies and Reid Paley at the merch table, but I was still bummed to be so late.

Frank Black & the Catholics were amazing. Great show. I think I still enjoyed the time I saw them in Houston back in April a bit more, but this was a great show. They were supporting their two recent albums released simultaneously, Devil’s Workshop and Black Letter Days. My favorites of the evening were Cactus, Monkey Gone to Heaven, All My Ghosts, and 85 Weeks. It was a long set … awesome!

Full setlist: All the Tired Horses / Gouge Away / Freedom Rock / There Goes Nadine / How You Went So Far / Cactus / Men in Black / Black Letter Day / Steak n Sabre / Monkey Gone to Heaven / Bullet / Southbound Bevy / California Bound / Cold Heart of Stone / Manitoba / Whiskey in Your Shoes / Velvety / Hermaphroditos / I’ve Seen Your Picture / Horrible Day / All My Ghosts / Solid Gold // ENCORE // Farewell Blend / Valentina & Garuda / 85 Weeks / End of Miles / Dirty Old Town (Ewan MacColl cover)

Sitting here wishing on a cement floor
Just wishing that I had just something you wore . . .

Frank Black & the Catholics (04.22.02)

the Band: Frank Black & the Catholics
the Date: Mon April 22, 2002
the Venue: the Engine Room (Houston)

(Photo credit to someone on the internet)

Believe it or not, I’d never been to a Pixies show! I found myself in Houston for work (again) and Frank Black (a.k.a. Black Francis, a.k.a. Charles Thompson) was performing in a small club. I was a HUGE Pixies fan and to be honest, I blamed Charles for their demise (who else was to blame?). Nonetheless, I was interested in catching a Frank Black show. I figured, it would be the closest I would ever come to seeing the Pixies.

The show was nothing short of AMAZING! Frank looked and sounded great. The Catholics were then made up of David Phillips (guitarist), David McCaffery (bass), Eric Drew Feldman (keyboard), and Scott Boutier (drums). The set was a perfect mix of “Catholics” material, Frank’s solo albums, and Pixies tunes. The entire set was superb, but my favorites included Headache, Nimrod’s Son, Holiday Song, Gouge Away, and Monkey Gone to Heaven. The absolute highlight of the night was a long version of Where is My Mind? … my absolute favorite song of all time.

your head will collapse and you’ll ask yourself … where is my mind? . . .