August 2nd, 2022 - Bands

Hey there,  

For today's installment, gonna recap the bands I've seen this season sso far.  This is pretty much for me, and those that want to know what's what musically.

 Hector Tellez Jr. 5/8/22.

This was supposed to be my second show in the States.  Was on my way to see the English Beat the night I arrived, and was halfway downtown on the bus to see them when jet lag and shitty travel food hit me and I got off wanting to throw up.

I didn't know anything about Hector Tellez Jr, but the show listing said he was a Cuban guitar phenom who got associated with Peter Buck and Barret Martin, who are two icons of music that I like and they produced his first record that was due to come out.  This show was a warm-up for a tour of Cuba that they said was cancelled cause of some dispute in Cuba that I can't remember.  The show was also in the smaller room of the new and improved Crocodile, so that also had an appeal.

I got there and the place is empty.  It didn't get any more crowded at showtime and the audience consisted of 8 friends/family of Hector, me and a couple of other old burnouts.  The show was good...Hector's brand of rock and roll was perfectly fine but have not been scouring the bins for that new disc (or hitting search on Spotify).  Peter Buck was quite good though.

Vieux Farka Toure 5/10/22 @ Jazz Alley

A buddy had an extra so I was fortunate to tag along.  Jazz Alley is a venue I want to like, but it is all seated at tables with little room to move and I like to stand, so that clouds my judgment. He was a great guitar player and I found myself focused on his percussionist that banged on a gourd much of the night.  Excellent rock in that north African style, but I personally find it boring after a while.

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio 5/13/22 @ Jazz Alley 

Also at Jazz Alley.  We had a better table this night but still...let me put on my boogie-oogie shoes.  I will go see Delvon Lamar Organ Trio again.   Big chunky organ playing the funky soul, but the real gem in this band is the guitarist as he plays all the licks.  The dynamic between organ and guitar was superb and am looking forward to the night we can get all sweaty together.

Fontaines D.C. 5/14/2022 @ Showbox SoDo

Wasn't gonna go to this, but some friends were going already, and Peter Buck recommended it the last weekend (we had no one else to talk to the night of Hector Tellez), so I grabbed a ticket.  They're a popular Irish band, but I liked them anyway.   I haven't played them much since, but I am in love with a song off their new record called A Lucid Dream.  Met up with some friend's friends who were Irish after the show for a beer.  They seemed OK, but I still don't trust the Irish.

Mudhoney/Meat Puppets 5/22/2022 @ Great American Music Hall 

My nephew got married on May 21st, so was looking around the Bay Area for shows.  After I had my plane ticket to the States, the Korean band I love (Say Sue Me) announced a show the day before I was supposed to arrive, so changed my flight and such to come in a day early.  Sadly, they cancelled due to some Covid reason. But I still had an amazing double bill in SF of Mudhoney and the Meat Puppets.  We got there on time to see Mudhoney.  I've seen them many times and they are a bit sludgy for my taste, but we're there for the Meats and Mudhoney are still great if not in my wheelhouse .

Afer Mudhoney finishes, the Meats drummer comes out and says that between soundcheck and now, two Meats caught the Covid so no show from them.  Damn...  This show was at the legendary Great American Music Hall and had never been to that venue.  It was very cool and was a bonus to see something there.

Calexico 6/5/22 @ Neptune Theatre

Am going slightly out of order on this one.  An amazing band at a great venue.  They just put out a new record that is quite good.  What shocked me here was that it was maybe half full?  Great for us as we could be wherever we wanted, which was a bonus on this evening as Babydoll was in town and persuaded her to join.  Calexico is also a band that I knew Betty would enjoy, so getting her out for a show is a rare treat, and being able to be in my favorite spot in an uncrowded way so the girls could come up the front was cool.  Also, a colleague from the Taiwan baseball program was in town and she and her mom (who is my age) came along too.  A funny and unusual group, and Calexico delivered a Latin inspired set of professional rock and roll  

Midnight Oil 6/4/2022 @ Fox Theatre

OK...it is gonna be hard to beat these next two.  The night before Calexico, I flew to SF to see Midnight Oil at the Fox Theatre in Oakland.

No secret that I'm a die hard Oils fan dating back to '83.  Still the best show I've ever seen was them at The Bayou in Georgetown in 1984 and they have always been a great live act.  They are touring behind a new record, their first in 20 years and it is not only better than it has any right to be, but think it excellent.  Peter Garrett is 68 years old and they lost their longtime bassist last year, so they have said that this is their final tour as Midnight Oil.  Many people, especially me, would raise an eyebrow and think that they would be back to cash in, but  these guys are as forthright as they make 'em and would not miss them on any tour anyway.

This was one of those perfect nights.  My SF concert buddy (and brother-in-law) grabbed a damn fine burrito in Palo Alto before we made the long drive to Oakland.  We left early anticipating traffic, but there was none...a small miracle.  We are in Oakland early...so what to do.  Across the street was a cool looking building in art deco style, and in it was the Kon Tiki bar.  Classic tiki bar decor, angry lesbians serving strong drinks, and a playlist of the coolest tracks from 1982 on the stereo.  I was curious about the origin of the building and asked the bartender when it was built...she said she wasn't sure, but "it was either before or after 1926".  Classic.

The Oils you ask?  Fucking amazing.  I'm obviously not objective, but they were tight and loud and perfect in every way.  One of those nights that it all falls into place.  

This tour was limited and they were playing every three nights.  I just missed them in Vancouver BC and had to decide between the SF show and one in LA three nights later.  I said I picked SF cause it is a little easier with my brother in law and all, but the real reason for picking SF was that if they were great, I could still go to LA.  I was looking at flights while walking back to the car.

Midnight Oil 6/7/2022 @ Hollywood Palladium

Fortunately, I have a concert buddy in LA too so flew in the afternoon of the show.  Again...we managed to encounter light traffic and had time for a drink and some spicy pork fried rice and crispy cauliflower at the legendary Formosa Cafe in Hollywood pre-show.  

As for the show itself, it was at the also legendary Hollywood Palladium.  Everyone has played there and I have seen so many unbelievable gigs at that place.  Ones that come to mind include The Clash/English Beat followed two weeks later by English Beat/Bangles(who were known as the Bangs at that time), also Keith Richards (w/Waddy Wachtel on guitar), The Pixies and a Sonic Youth/Nirvana show that was phenomenal.  And Midnight Oil there a couple times too.

Both shows were great but give this one the nod as the set list was slightly better for my taste.  Such an amazing band and so unlike anything else.  Really gonna miss the anticipation of seeing those guys again.  

 And as this is Los Angeles, the obligatory bacon wrapped hot dog post-game.

Avery Cochrane 6/15/22 @ Cafe Racer

Who?  Avery is the daughter of some good friends (the ones mentioned in the previous NYU baseball story), and she has the music bug.  She is devoting a lot of time and effort into it and just put out an EP.  I can't lie about much, and what I think about music is something that elicits a strong opinion.  Her EP was not made for me.  But her show was quite good.  The guitar player that is helping her produce her music is a dynamic entertainer (he is a driving force in the band King Youngblood).

Ween 7/1/22 @ Marymoor Park

What to say?  Dean Ween is one of the all time great guitarists and Ween play it all, super tight and give you value for your money.  Their show was just short of 3 hours.  The knees held up well, but it was my feet that got tired and tapped out for the encore.  They have so many songs and they played some of my faves.  I didn't get Mutilated Lips or Reggaejunkiejew...but they did do a lovely Squelch the Weasel.

Amyl & The Sniffers 7/5/22 @ Paradiso Grote Zaal (Amsterdam)

Betty and I went to Amsterdam and in looking at the concert calendar for the week we were traveled, there were some choices.  Could have seen the Stones, but my traveling partners were decidedly unenthused preferring death over spending $300 to see them.  Tom Jones was also in town...at a 17,000 seat arena.  No thanks...funny Tom Jones story that I'll share in the Amsterdam write up.  The logical choice of shows to see was Amyl and the Sniffers.  Went solo cause Betty would have despised it.  Show was at the Paradiso, which is an 19th century church converted into a entertainment venue in 1965.  Pretty cool.

Love going to shows not in my hometown(s) to get a feel for how the other half live.  The crowd looked similar...a bit taller as the Dutch are said to be the tallest people on Earth...and settled into my usual spot.  AatS are pretty hardcore so the floor erupted in a show long mosh pit, half of which were ladies.  They beat me up pretty good.

The band was super tight and was shredding from start to finish.  Everyone knew all the words and sang their hearts out, until they played a cover of Cold Chisel's Bow River.  Aren't many outside of Australia that now that band/song, so I got my chance to know more than the locals.

The crowd did a thing there that I found unusual and super shitty,  They love their beer and people (men and women) would go get two beers, slosh and spill them back to the edge of the pit, then pound 7/8's of the beers and then chuck the last 8th and the cup into the moshers before diving in themselves.  I was covered in Heineken down to my socks. 

Horsegirl 7/16/22 @ Neumos (w/Dummy)

Came across this band last year and liked them immediately.  They are three women from Chicago...two are rising sophomores at the New School in NYC and the third is an incoming freshman at NYU...so like 18-19 years old.  They met in their teens and shared a love of bands like Pavement, Yo La Tengo and the lo-fi music from 80's New Zealand.  Hey, I share a love of that stuff too.  They put out their first record earlier this summer and are touring the world before school starts again.  I was supposed to be out of town for this show but events allowed me to attend.

And am so glad I did cause they were great.  They made a proper racket and seemed wise beyond their years.  And I have tickets to see them in Montreal on August 6th.  Yea Me!

The LA band Dummy opened and they were much noisier than on record.  The guitar player in that band bears some watching.

Karate 7/20/22 @ Madame Lou's (w/Rebecca Gates)

Jazz inspired skronk from the 90's out touring for the first time in 20 years.   I liked 'em more when they leaned heavier on the skronk than the jazz.  Perfectly fine but the jazz thing bores me so I bailed out about 3/4 of the way through.  Opening was Rebecca Gates.  Was  a fan of the Spinanes and even though I blanch at the sound of the singer/songwriter show, she kept in interesting

Daikaiju 7/23/22 @ Figurehead Brewing

Holy shit.  One of my concert buddies (that lives in Texas) reached out and said I need to see these guys.  Looked it up and they are three dudes from Alabama that wear kabuki masks and wreak havoc.  They don't go by their real names, but rather go by Ace-Man, Blast-Man and Secret-Man.  The show was in the beer garden of a brewery that none of us had ever heard of before...very DIY .

The music was surf/metal/punk and the theatrics started slow, with the guitar player jumping on picnic tables, but it soon descended into total nuttiness.  The guitar player stood on the drumkit while the drummer lit the cymbals on fire, and then without missing a lick, they had the audience hold all of the drumkit over their heads, and then lifted the drummer up to play.  At the end, they gave their instruments to audience members who then banged on them for another 20 minutes.  Who doesn't love a good gimmick

So that will be part I of summer music series.  I leave October 17 and have identified another 10 or so shows to see.  Next one will be seeing Horsegirl again in Montreal next Saturday.  Giddy-up