Willy Mason, Centro-Matic, My Morning Jacket (09.16.04)

the Band: Willy Mason, Centro-Matic, My Morning Jacket
the Date: Thursday September16, 2004
the Venue: Engine Room (Houston)

(Photo credit to Clifford Layne and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/85736546@N00/)

It was just before the weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Luck for us, a few of the bands playing ACL came down to Houston for a quick show.

Willy Mason opened. He was chill.

Centro-Matic was next. I had never heard of this band before, but once they started playing, I became an instant fan. Centro-Matic is out of Denton, Texas and consists of Will Johnson (vocals/guitar), Matt Pence (drums), Scott Danborn (piano/violin), and Mark Hedman (bass). They put on an awesome show. Will Johnson had this rich, smoky toned voice that was just amazing. This was alt-country at its finest. My favorite tune of theirs was Love You Just the Same.  I picked up a short stack of their CDs at the merch table.

(Photo credit to Susan Malmrose and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/whenigodeaf/)

My Morning Jacket was the headliner. The band, made up of Jim James (vocals/guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Broemel (guitar), and Bo Koster (keyboard), is out of Louisville, Kentucky. I had heard of My Morning Jacket and even had one of their CDs, Acoustic Citsuoca. Even then, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to experience. I was absolutely blown away. I really enjoyed seeing hairball, Jim James, wearing a blazer (a.k.a. his morning jacket) and just rocking the hell out of the Engine Room.

There were a few songs, Golden, Death Is the Easy Way, and Bermuda Highway, where the lead singer from Centro-Matic, Will Johnson (with a can of beer in his hand and a trucker cap on his head), came out to join Jim James. The duo’s fuzzed-out harmonies were truly something to see. This was the perfect combination and my favorite moments of the night. What an incredible night of Southern Rock n’ Roll!

(Photo credit to Susan Malmrose and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/whenigodeaf/)

Full setlist (not from this show, but from a show around this time … sorry, best I could do): How Could I Know (Oxen) / Just One Thing / It Beats 4 U / Lowdown / The Way That He Sings / Golden (w/Will Johnson) / Death Is the Easy Way (w/Will Johnson) / Bermuda Highway (w/Will Johnson) / How Do You Know / One Big Holiday / Strangulation / Dancefloors / Mahgeetah / ENCORE / Cobra / Steam Engine / Run Thru


Oh, don’t carve me out, don’t let your silly dreams
Fall in between the crack of the bed and the wall …

the Futureheads, the Delays, Franz Ferdinand (09.15.04)

the Band: the Futureheads, the Delays, Franz Ferdinand
the Date: Wednesday September 15, 2004
the Venue: Verizon Wireless Theater (Houston)

(Photo credit to Andrew Kendall and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/andrewkendall/)

If it’s not Scottish it’s CRAP!

The Futureheads opened. They’re an English indie-band, consisting of Ross Millard (vocals/guitar), Barry Hyde (vocals/guitar), David Craig (bass), and Dave Hyde (drums). They were great - very tight, fun songs. I really liked their tune Decent Days & Nights.

Then, the Delays played. They’re another English band, consisting of brothers Greg (vocals/ guitar) and Aaron Gilbert (keyboard/vocals), Colin Fox (bass/vocals) and Rowly (drums). Greg’s falsetto vocals, were kind of cool, but unfortunately their show did not have the same energy as the other two bands. Still … I picked up a couple CDs when I grabbed another beer during their set.

Franz Ferdinand was the main attraction. This Scottish band, made up of Alex Kapranos (vocals/guitar), Bob Hardy (bass), Nick McCarthy (guitar/vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums/vocals), put on an amazing show! Franz Ferdinand knew exactly how to wake up the crowd again. Dressed in super-tight shirts and pants, the slender quartet kicked it off with the fiery Cheating On You, which they followed with essentially the entirety of their self-titled album.

(Photo credit to Sarah Roberts and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/sarahrobertsphoto/)

Franz Ferdinand were so fantastic live. I danced the entire concert - about an hour. My favorite tunes of the evening were Cheating on You, 40’, Take Me Out, Jacqueline, Come on Home, and This Fire.  All in all, it was a great night of music from across the pond.

Full setlist: Cheating on You / 40’ / Tell Her Tonight / Auf Achse / Take Me Out / Jacqueline / This Boy / Come on Home / Van Tango / The Dark of the Matinée / Your Diary / Michael / Darts of Pleasure / ENCORE / Shopping for Blood / Love and Destroy / This Fire


So if you’re lonely, you know I’m here waiting for you …

the Whips, the Living End, Jet, the Vines (03.15.04)

the Band: the Whips, the Living End, Jet, the Vines
the Date: Monday March 15, 2004
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

(Photo credit to Ziv Kruger and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/zeeev/)

It was the Aussie Invasion Tour, a trio of rock bands from the land down under playing the 9:30 Club.

Before we got to the Aussies, first up for a short set was the Whips, a local DC group (and, the only non-Aussie band). They had the tough job of warming up for the imports. Ripping through a quick 40 minute set, these guys did a great job.

Next up was The Living End. I hadn’t heard of them before, but apparently they have a pretty good fan base. It was cool to see a three-piece punk band with an upright bass. These guys rocked out hitting some fan favorites such as Save the Day and From Here on In. A group in the tradition of good ole punk, they were a fitting intro for the other Aussie bands.

Jet was next. Comprised of Cameron Muncey (guitar), Mark Wilson (bass), and brothers Nic (vocals/guitar) and Chris Cester (drums), this band was getting tons and tons of media hype. I mean, the commercial playing their tune, Are You Gonna Be My Girl? almost convinced me to buy an iPod! They completely rocked. Of course, their hits, Are You Gonna Be My Girl? and Cold Hard Bitch had the crowd screaming for more. Their hour-plus set flew by much too quickly. The band seemed genuinely excited to be playing as well and really into the tour as they came out on the balcony to watch both the Living End and the Vines. Nice!

(Photo credit to Joel Levy and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/joelstedylevy/)

The Vines closed out the night as the headliners. The band consists of Craig Nicholls (vocals/guitar), Patrick Matthews (bass), Hamish Rosser (drums), and Ryan Griffiths (guitar). I’ve been a fan of this band since the release of their debut album, Highly Evolved. They ripped through an hour plus set list of their tunes. Most of the songs came from their newest album, Winning Days, but they played older tunes too. My favorites included Autumn Shade, Outtathaway!, Mary Jane, Ride, Get Free (of course), and Winning Days.


The winning days are gone because I know just where I’m seeing . . .

the Sounds, the Strokes (03.09.04)

the Band: the Sounds, the Strokes
the Date: Tuesday March 9, 2004
the Venue: Nation (DC)

(Photo credit to Rachel Goldstar and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/rachelgoldstar/)

The Sounds opened. They are a Swedish rock band … kind of reminded me of Blondie. Their front gal, Maja Ivarsson (vocals), is backed by solid band consisting of Felix Rodriguez (guitar), Jesper Anderberg (keyboards), Johan Bengtsson (bass), and Fredrik Nilsson (drums). They were great.

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

The Strokes were kicking off a tour in support of their sophomore album, Room On Fire. Since I first saw these guys back in 2002, I’ve been a big fan and had been looking forward to this show. These New Yorkers, Julian Casablancas (vocals), Albert Hammond, Jr. (guitar), Nick Valensi (guitar), Nikolai Fraiture (bass), and Fabrizio Moretti (drums), put on a great show.

Whether it was the energetic crowd (unusual for DC) or because they were kicking off a new tour, the Strokes were really into the audience and into their music. There was a lot of interaction between front-man, Julian (who’s typically stoic), and the crowd … at one point he was taking requests. Julian even went so far as to leave the stage during The Modern Age, climbing halfway into the crowd directly in front to be greeted by fans eager to touch the singer. By the song’s end, he was fully immersed in the crowd. The Strokes played a long amazing set, introduced several false endings, and did not return for an encore. That’s okay though, cuz we all left completely satisfied. Awesome!

Full setlist (not for this show, but for a show around this time … sorry, best I can do): The End Has No End / Under Control / Automatic Stop / You Talk Way Too Much / Someday / The Way It Is / 12:51 / New York City Cops / Hard To Explain / Trying Your Luck / Soma / The Modern Age / Meet Me In The Bathroom / I Can’t Win / Reptilia / Last Nite / Alone, Together / What Ever Happened? / When It Started / Barely Legal / Is This It? / Take It Or Leave It


I wanna be forgotten
And I don’t wanna be reminded . . .

Weird War, the National, the Walkmen (02.26.04)

the Band: Weird War, the National, the Walkmen
the Date: Thursday February 26, 2004
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

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

Weird War was the opening act. I completely missed their set, but heard great things from the other concert-goers. Dang!

The National was next. They were great. Aside from the lead singer, Matt Berninger, the band is composed of two sets of brothers, Aaron (guitar) and Bryce Dessner (guitar) and Scott (bass), and Bryan Devendorf (drums). I really liked their show and regretted not hitting the merch table to pick up new CDs … I love picking up new CDs!

The Walkmen was the main attraction. New York claims them (they live there after all), but DC is where all five of the Walkmen were raised and first rocked. The band, made up of Hamilton Leithauser (vocals/guitar),Walter Martin (organ/bass), Paul Maroon (guitar), Matt Barrick (drums), and Peter Bauer (orga/ bass), is just fantastic. Hamilton belts out banshee vocals while the band rocks out fractured rhythms. Awesome!

Ever since I caught their show at the Black Cat last August, I’ve been a HUGE fan and I couldn’t wait to see the Walkmen again. I loved both their first album, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone, and their second released earlier this month, Bows & Arrows. Despite some sound issues (Hamilton’s microphone didn’t work for the first two songs!), this was a great show. My favorite tunes of the evening were Blizzard of ‘96, Wake Up, We’ve Been Had, My Old Man, Thinking of a Dream I Had, and Little House of Savages.

Full setlist (not from this show but from one around this time, sorry this is the best I can do): What's In It For Me / The Rat / Wake Up / Rue The Day / 138th Street / Thinking of a Dream I Had / We've Been Had / New Year's Eve / Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone / Revenge Wears No Wristwatch / Bows and Arrows / Little House Of Savages / My Old Man


I’m waiting on a subway line …

the Aquarium, Beauty Pill, the Dismemberment Plan (09.01.03)

the Band: the Aquarium, Beauty Pill, the Dismemberment Plan
the Date: Monday Sep 1, 2003
the Venue: 9:30 Club (DC)

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

It was Labor Day. Summer was officially over, but there was one night of great music yet to be had.

The Aquarium opened. They were cool. I missed part of their set.

Then Beauty Pill came on. This band is from D.C. and is made up of Chad Clark (vocals/guitar), Rachel Burke (vocals/wurlitzer), Ryan Nelson (drums), Basla Andolsun (bass), and Drew Doucette (guitar). I really liked them. I picked up a couple of their E.P.’s at the merch table.

The Dismemberment Plan was the headliner. D-Plan is another indie rock band from D.C. The band members include Eric Axelson (bass), Jason Caddell (guitar), Joe Easley (drums), and Travis Morrison (vocals/guitar). Back in January, the band announced that they were breaking up. They then went about the country on a farewell tour and they just got back from a quick tour in Japan. This night was their final show, closing out their ten year career. Fittingly, they chose to say goodbye in D.C., at the 9:30 club to a sold-out house of fans. It was awesome. They played an extra-long set and there was a lot of back and forth banter between the crowd and the band that was fun. The band had a ton of energy and clearly was having a great time. They played a fantastic set, closing out with a great version of OK, Joke’s Over and ending the encore with Memory Machine. NICE!

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

Full setlist (not from this show, but from one around this time … sorry this is the best I can do): Do the Standing Still / Following Through / Sentimental Man / Academy Award / The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich / The Ice of Boston / The First Anniversary of Your Last Phone Call / That’s Where the Party Started / What Do You Want Me to Say? / The City / 8 ½ Minutes / Come Home / Gyroscope / Onward, Fat Girl / Ellen & Ben / You Are Invited / A Life of Possibilities / Back & Forth / One Too Many Blows to the Head / ENCORE / OK, Joke’s Over / Time Bomb / Memory Machine

You are invited by anyone to do anything
You are invited for all time . . .

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Radiohead (08.20.03)

the Band: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Radiohead
the Date: Wednesday August 20, 2003
the Venue: Merriweather Post Pavilion (Columbia, MD)

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

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks was the opening act. They were cool. I missed part of their set.

This was the first time I’d ever seen Radiohead in concert and it was AMAZING! The band consists of Thom Yorke (lvocals/guitar/piano), Jonny Greenwood (guitar/keyboard), Ed O'Brien (guitar), Colin Greenwood (bass), and Phil Selway (drums). I really got into them in college and must have played The Bends a million times.

Everything they played was fantastic and they chose a great setlist. Naturally, they played lots of tracks from Hail to the Thief such as 2+2=5, Sit Down Stand Up, Sail to the Moon, Go To Sleep, Where I End and You Begin, We Suck Young Blood, There There, I Will, Myxomatosis, and Wolf at the Door. Yikes, that was almost the whole album! They played a few classics from Amnesiac (Pyramid Song, You and Whose Army, and Dollars and Cents) and Kid A (Everything in Its Right Place, The National Anthem, How to Disappear Completely, and Idioteque). They also played some great O.K. Computer tunes(Airbag, Paranoid Android, and No Surprises). Man, they did all of these so well! And from The Bends they only played only Just, but that is one amazing tune. Surprisingly, they even played Creep from Pablo Honey. Nice!

All in all, the music was the closest to perfect any human could ever make. Each band member is really, really good at what he does. I still can’t believe that they were making such beautiful sound right in front of my eyes totally live! When they finished the second encore with Everything in Its Right Place, and as everyone slowly made their way off stage, Johnny remained, jamming out on his odd collection of self-designed musical devices, until he too made his way off, letting the magic of the beat carry the audience home. Awesome!

The complete setlist: The Gloaming / 2+2=5 / Sit Down, Stand Up / Where I End and You Begin / Airbag / Pyramid Song / Paranoid Android / A Wolf at the Door / Sail to the Moon / You and Whose Army? / There There / Go to Sleep / Dollars & Cents / We Suck Young Blood / Idioteque / Creep / The National Anthem / ENCORE 1 / I Will / Myxomatosis / Just / How to Disappear Completely / ENCORE 2 / No Surprises / Everything In Its Right Place

Delicious, delicious, delicious (Thom’s opening words to the crowd) . . .

Rockmaster General, French Kicks, the Walkmen (08.08.03)

the Band: Rockmaster General, French Kicks, the Walkmen
the Date: Friday August 8, 2003
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to David Loomer and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/kidneybingos/)

Rockmaster General was the opening act. They are a local DC band. I completely missed their set.

French Kicks were next. They were great. The French Kicks are Nick Stumpf (vocal/drums), Lawrence Stumpf (bass), Matthew Stinchcomb (vocal/guitar), and Josh Wise (vocal/ guitar). All but Josh grew up in DC … so even though the band got together in New York, they are kind of a DC band.  I really liked their tune Wrong Side and picked up a couple of their CDs at the merch table.

The Walkmen were the main attraction. The band, made up of Hamilton Leithauser (vocals/guitar),Walter Martin (organ/bass), Paul Maroon (guitar), Matt Barrick (drums), and Peter Bauer (orga/ bass), are all natives of the DC area and have known one another and made music together since childhood (Walter and Hamilton are cousins). Walter, Paul and Matt were in a New York band called Jonathan Fire*Eater while Hamilton and Peter were in a DC band called the Recoys. Each band had a relatively short existence before the boys formed the Walkmen. So long story short, these guys are hometown boys too!

I was really looking forward to seeing these guys. I love their album Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone. This was a great show. My favorite tunes of the evening were Blizzard of ‘96, Wake Up, and We’ve Been Had (used extensively in a Saturn commercial - still love the song though).


Sometimes I’m just happy I’m older …

Kid Koala, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals (06.22.03)

the Band: Kid Koala, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
the Date: Sunday June 22, 2003
the Venue: Bull Run Regional Park (Centreville, VA)

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

Kid Koala opened the show. I totally missed that performance. Oops. I arrived just before Jack Johnson came on stage. He was the co-headliner and the performer that drew me to the show. This Hawaiian-born, surfer-musician was great. Laid back, chill … just enough hippie-jam band to make me dance in a field in the middle of the Northern Virginia countryside. The setlist was a great mix of tunes from both Brushfire Fairytales and On and On. My favorites were Times Like These, Flake, and Bubble Toes (with Marley’s Stir It Up mixed in).

(Photo credit to Ben Harper’s website)

Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals were the main attraction. Ben Harper is the California-born singer-songwriter who helped Jack Johnson get his start. Mr. Harper and the Innocent Criminals, made up of Juan Nelson, Leon Mobley, Oliver Charles, Jason Yates, and Nicky P., were AMAZING! I really didn’t know much about Ben Harper, but this show made me an instant fan. I even picked up my first few Ben Harper CDs at the merch table. Ben and the gang played selections from their recent album, Diamonds on the Inside, as well as tunes from their previous material. My personal favorites were Excuse Me Mr., Burn One Down, Diamonds On the Inside and of course Faded (with Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love mixed in). Absolutely unbelievable show!

Full setlist for Jack Johnson: Times Like These / Plastic Jesus – Fall Line / Cupid / We’re Going To Be Friends / Losing Hope / A Pirate Looks at 40 (Jimmy Buffett cover) / It’s All Understood / Drink the Water / Mediocre Bad Guys / Sexi Plexi / Middle Man / Posters / Poor Taylor / Tomorrow Morning / Bubble Toes – Stir It Up (Bob Marley cover) – Bubble Toes / Wasting Time / Further On Down the Road – Ramble On (Led Zeppelin cover) – Further On Down the Road / Flake / The Horizon Has Been Defeated / Holes to Heaven / Trenchtown Rock (Bob Marley cover) – Garden Grove / Inaudible Melodies / Mudfootball / Rodeo Clowns

Full setlist for Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals: Bring on the Funk / Excuse Me Mr. / Brown Eyed Blues / Temporary Remedy / Ground On Down / Sexual Healing (Marvin Gaye cover) / The Woman In You / Steal My Kisses / Diamonds on the Inside / So High So Low / Burn One Down / With My Own Two Hands – War (Bob Marley cover) / ENCORE 1 / Walk Away / Waiting on an Angel / I Shall Not Walk Alone / High Tide or Low Tide (w/Jack Johnson) / ENCORE 2 / Faded – Whole Lotta Love (Led Zeppelin cover)

‘Cause I’m gonna burn one down . . .

Metropolitan, el Guapo, the Dismemberment Plan (05.28.03)

the Band: Metropolitan, el Guapo, the Dismemberment Plan
the Date: Wednesday May 28, 2003
the Venue: Black Cat (DC)

(Photo credit to Andrew Winn and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/andrewwinn/)

This was a benefit show for Fort Reno. Metropolitan and el Guapo were the opening acts. I missed them, but picked up a couple of Metropolitan CDs at the merch table. Nice stuff … a little bummed I missed them. Note, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists were supposed to open, but Ted was having some voice problems and had to cancel … Metropolitan filled in.

The Dismemberment Plan was the main attraction. D-Plan is an indie rock band from D.C. The band members include Eric Axelson (bass), Jason Caddell (guitar), Joe Easley (drums), and Travis Morrison (vocals and guitar). I caught them almost a year ago in Houston and they rocked. This show was even better. The band was on their last tour after announcing their break-up in January. For this hometown crowd, D-Plan played a super-long set about 100% determined by requests from the audience. It was awesome! My favorite tunes were What Do You Want Me to Say?, Time Bomb, You Are Invited, and Back and Forth.

Full setlist: What Do You Want Me to Say? / Time Bomb / The Face of the Earth / The City / Do the Standing Still / Ellen and Ben / You Are Invited / Girl O’Clock / The Dismemberment Plan Gets Rich / Gyroscope / Tonight We Mean It / Following Through / The Ice of Boston / Close To Me / Bra / That’s When the Party Started / Soon To Be Ex-Quaker / Life of Possibilities / OK, Joke’s Over / ENCORE / Rusty / Back and Forth

What do you want me to say?
What do you want me to do?
To let you know that I do mean it …