March In Review

Inspired by my favorite author, who coincidentally wrote a book about music that I'll later be writing about I thought I would do a kind of month in review post on the last day of each month with a list of the top 10 bands I've listened to that month, all the CD's I've bought, all the concerts I attended, all the new concert tickets I've bought and a little bit about each of them.


Top 10 Bands Listened This Month:

1. Our Lady Peace
2. Bloc Party
3. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4. The Fray
5. Of Monsters and Men
6. Wakey!Wakey!
7. Stone Sour
8. Stray's Don't Sleep
9. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
10. Nine Inch Nails

What I listen to mostly occurs at work so what you see here is a mix of me trying to get lost inside my head during work, like with Our Lady Peace, and me just listening to something I enjoy that I don't really have to pay attention to like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.  This is also a reflection of some bands I am getting into again after being mostly a casual listener like Nine Inch Nails and Stone Sour, the latter of which I have tickets to and the former of which I hope goes on tour nearby this year.  Although I do have tickets to see Trent Reznor's other band.

New CD's Bought:
Passion Pit - Gossamer
Stone Stour - Audio Secrecy
Stone Sour - Stone Sour
Stone Sour - Come What(Ever) May
Stone Sour - House of Gold and Bones Part 1
Sigur Rós - ( )
Of Monsters and Men - My Head is an Animal
Nine Inch Nails - Further Down the Spiral
Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
The Black Keys - Magic Potion
How to destroy angels - Welcome Oblivion
Sound City - Real to Reel
Johnny Cash - American Recordings
Johnny Cash - American III: Solitary Man

Of this list, only two of them are fairly new releases, How to destroy angels and Sound City.  They were both released this month and are both quite amazing and effectively supergroup albums, especially the latter which is actually supergroups.  There will be reviews and analysis of both those albums coming eventually.


Concerts Attended:
Dropkick Murphy's at 9:30 Club
Finch at Fillmore Silver Spring
Shamrockfest at RFK Stadium
Sigur Rós at The Patriot Center

The best show I attended in March was Sigur Rós and the worst was Shamrockfest, I don't say anymore for now because I'll eventually write about them later.


Concert Tickets Bought:
Glen Hansard
Metric
Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson
Get the Led Out
O.A.R.
Sara Bareilles
Social Distortion
Sigur Rós
Stone Sour
Eagles
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Mayhem Festival
Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers
Pat Benatar, Cheap Trick
Josh Groban
John Mayer
Ryan Bingham

As far as concerts go, I picked up tickets for 17 shows this month.  There are a few that I think will be fun like Social Distortion, Ryan Bingham and the Alice Cooper/Marilyn Manson show.  On the other hand there are some shows that I am really excited for like Stone Sour in April and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in May.  The latter is in Manhattan at a theater so it should be a real treat and the tickets sold out instantly.


Concerts of April:
Stone Sour at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 11
Andrew McMahon at 9:30 Club on April 15
Rhett Miller at The Hamilton on April 18
What's Eating Gilbert at Jammin' Java on April 23
Sara Bareilles at 9:30 Club on April 25
How to destroy angels at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 30

Foo Fighters Album Reviews, Part 1

Anybody who knows me at all knows of my obsession with Foo Fighters.  There will probably be many posts on this blog that feature on many aspects of Foo Fighters including the two documentaries that they have been a part of as well as probable commentary on various other things that members of Foo Fighters and more specifically Dave Grohl have taken part.  This will serve as a review of the first two Foo Fighters albums.

Album Title: Foo Fighters

Release Date: July 4, 1995

Track list:

1. This is a Call
2. I'll Stick Around
3. Big Me
4. Alone + Easy Target
5. Good Grief
6. Floaty
7. Weenie Beenie
8. Oh, George
9. For all the Cows
10. X-Static
11. Wattershed
12. Exhausted

Foo Fighters original and self-titled debut album isn't really an album by a band.  It's actually an album by one man, Dave Grohl.  Except Greg Dulli playing a guest spot on X-Static, Dave Grohl recorded every instrument itself.  He even had the presence of mind to create his own label Roswell Records and then co-released the album with Capitol Records that way he would retain control of the songs himself. He really is a business/musical genius and it showed even back then.

To me this album really shows almost a transition from the grunge era with songs like I'll Stick Around and songs that to me sound almost like last vestiges of Dave Grohl's punk past This is  a Call.  The song also features a few rather playful songs including For All the Cows.  Overall I would say this is my second least favorite Foo Fighters album, but that's not really saying much as they are my favorite band.  What the album really shows to me is the immense talent that Dave Grohl has with being able to put together an album basically by himself that he never even intended to form a band from, a band that today is one of the biggest rock bands in the world.

Album Title: The Colour and Shape

Release Date: May 20, 1997

Track list:

1. Doll
2. Monkey Wrench
3. Hey, Johnny Park
4. My Poor Brain
5. Wind Up
6. Up in Arms
7. My Hero
8. See You
9. Enough Space
10. February Stars
11. Everlong
12. Walking After You
13. New Way Home

Foo Fighters sophomore album featured new band members Pat Smear and Nate Mendel.  The Colour and Shape is one of my favorite albums of all time featuring my favorite song of all time Everlong.  My friend Squirell once described it as the greatest love song ever written and I'd definitely agree with him.

The album opens up with the short but slow intro song Doll, which I view as kind of a welcome song before the fast and loud Monkey Wrench.  I used to love this song but after years of hearing it played over and over by Rock Band people its kind of hard for me to deal with but I still believe that the end verse of him screaming out is one of the best things Foo Fighters have ever recorded.  Hey, Johnny Park follows up the previous song in a similar fashion with a strong base to the song followed by a drop and into a final resolve.  It might be one of the least talked about Foo Fighter's song and as such probably what I would consider to be their hidden gem.  The album continues to move along with the loud guitar songs before moving into the slower and hero worshipping My Hero.  From there it moves into the fun See You followed by the screaming and amazing Enough Space which Dave Grohl himself has said he wrote to make the kids in the US jump instead of mosh.  It's a wonderfully loud song that in a lot of ways I feel set the tone for many Foo Fighters songs to come.   From there the album moves into February Stars a nice slow song which while it doesn't lose it's grungier loud guitar amazingness which almost works as a break before Everlong.  I don't really know how to explain Everlong.  It is my favorite song of all time, and a song with so much depth that after listening to it hundreds of times I'm not even sure I know everything that happens in it or even the true feeling of what the song means to me in anything other than the actual feeling I get, it provokes a feeling that I am not even able to verbally explain.  From there the album winds down with the slow song Walking After You and then finally finished off with the loud guitar heavy song New Way Home.  The Colour and Shape is one of the most important and defining albums of the '90s with Everlong as what I consider to be the most defining Foo Fighters song.  It's a near perfect album which just rocks it's way through 13 tracks and set Foo Fighters up as one of the greatest and longest thriving rock bands in the world.

Next time on album reviews: Foo Fighters, Part 2 featuring There is Nothing Left to Lose, One by One, and In Your Honor.

January 18, 2013: Rhett Miller

Concert Details:
Bands: Rhett Miller, Black Prairie
Location: Jammin' Java, Vienna, VA

Setlist: Includes a mix of Rhett Miller and Rhett Miller's band, the Old '97s songs.  

1. Lost Without You
2. Melt Show (Old '97s)
3. My Valentine
4. Sleepwalkin'
5. The Grand Theatre (Old '97s)
6. Buick City Complex (Old '97s)
7. I Need to Know Where I Stand
8. Barrier Reef (Old '97s)
9. This is What I Do
10. The Other Shoe (Old '97s)
11. Singular Girl
12. Out of Love
13. Doreen (Old '97s)
14. Stoned (Old '97s)
15. Question
16. The Summer Lie
17. Lonely Holiday (Old '97s)
18. Come Around
19. Big Brown Eyes (Old '97s)
20. Sweet Dreams
21. Every Night is Friday Night (Without You)
22. You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go (Bob Dylan cover)
23. Broadway (Old '97s) with Black Prairie
24. California Stars (Woodie Guthrie cover) with Black Prairie
25. Wreck of the Old '97 (Johnny Cash cover)  with Black Prairie
26. Our Love with Black Prairie

Encore:
27. The El

28. Timebomb (Old '97s)

So let's start with the opener.  Black Prairie is a five piece folk band featuring the dobro and bass players from the Portland based indie folk band The Decemberists.  They were a really fun band who played quite the myriad of instruments including the stroh violin (seen in the picture below), which has the sound of a violin with the feel of sound you would hear from a gramophone.  A seriously fun set and a band that I would see again in a similar type of venue.  They made it especially fun by closing with a cover of Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same.  

So Rhett Miller.  I hate to use this phrase, because I've used it before on this blog, but the man is the definition of a tour de force.  Rhett Miller is an singer-songwriter who in addition to having a slew of solo albums is also the lead singer of the alt-country the Old '97s, I'll have a little more on them later.  Rhett Miller first came to my attention like most of my music seems to, through TV.  The songs Question (Old '97s), Our Love, Come Around were all featured in early seasons of Scrubs.  I liked the songs a lot and as a result I ended up buying his album The Instigator.

Back to the show.  The first 22 song Rhett Miller played by himself mixing in his solo songs with Old '97s songs.  As a live performer Rhett Miller is clearly a pro, having been active since 1989.  It was just him and his guitar on the stage and we the audience wanted for nothing more.  He put more energy into the songs than I imagined him capable of, keeping it up the whole time.  Predictably for me my favorite songs of the first part of the set were Question, a song which I'm fairly certain is about a marriage proposal "someday somebodies gonna ask you, a question that you should say yes to once in your life", Come Around, which in some ways to me is an anthem to the fear of always being alone "I'm gonna be lonely for the rest of my life, unless you come around, so come around".  Another particular highlight was a Bob Dylan cover, the first of three covers which I think showed his clear connection to musical roots whether intentional or not, something that I think shows both self-awareness and a level of musical respect and integrity.

There wasn't a weak song in the first part of the set.  For what I'm calling the second part of the set, Black Prairie joined him on the stage (see the pictures below) for four songs including a cover of Johnny Cash's cover of the 1920's ballad Wreck of the Old '97 which is where the band gets its name, and Woodie Guthrie's California Stars.  The impromptu supergroup was quite a treat and I honestly cannot tell you if we were having more fun watching them play or if they were having more fun playing together.  The closing song of the second part of the set was Our Love, a song which is about love, both forbidden in his reference to Richard Wagner's love for Mathilde and not as forbidden with his reference of Kafka and letters he wrote to Melina.  It is a thoroughly entertaining song and I was fortunate enough to be sitting in the lobby during the sound check and was able to hear them play it earlier and watch it on the screens their.  Rhett Miller playing with this "back-up", for want of a better word, band was quite a treat I was not expecting.

For his encore he came out an opened his set with the fast and fun song The El, and finished up his fantastic 27 song set with another Old '97s song, but I would have loved another 27.  This was one of the move fun shows I have ever attended.  I wanted to see the Old '97s open for Drive-By Truckers on March 17 but that didn't work out.  Thankfully Rhett Miller is coming to The Hamilton in April and I've already got my ticket.  I think Rhett Miller no has one of the 5 coveted spots on my must-see list.

January 12, 2013: Bloc Party

Concert Details:
Bands: Bloc Party, IO Echo
Location: Rams Head Live, Baltimore, MD

Let's do away with pretense, at the time of this writing this is the best concert I have been to this year, and the second best concert I have ever attended, and for this one I'll do a song by song analysis of the show.  The enjoyment of the concert for me started hours before.  Walking by the doors to the venue while getting our tickets while speculating about what songs they might play, my friend Jeremy was hoping that we'd here Waiting for the 7:18 and just as we walked by we heard the opening bit on bells which sent him into a small fit of joy, something I can definitely understand.  Bloc party has a habit of playing at least one really old slow song in their set so we were speculating on what that could be, and I was hoping for Kreuzberg, something they didn't play that night, but I don't have any complaints.

The opener IO Echo was strange and easily forgettable, just last week I saw the name on a sign for another show and my friend who went to Bloc Party with me couldn't even remember who they were other than he had seen the name.  For this show, I'll do it song by song.
  
1. So He Begins to Lie

Like the last time I saw them they opened with just a basic beat playing for about a minute before the band came out to the loud and enthusiastic cheers of the crowd.  Kele Okereke (pictured above), who has one of my favorite voices in music, with an accent that does not get lost in his singing, belts out the first line getting the crowd immediately into the show.  The highlight is towards the end of the song when with one hand in the air he screams the title of the song, pausing between each word before the band goes into a loud short jam session followed by a short ending to the song.

2. Trojan Horse

Always one for talking to the crowd, something I love, Kele introduces the band and immediately dives right into Trojan Horse a good solid song but for an amazing set, one song that just didn't grab me like other, although part of that is the quality of the show, at almost any other show and compared to almost any other band it would have been the best thing played.

3. Hunting For Witches

Before the beginning of the song he addresses the crowd asking us to get the party started with them, which with the choice of a third song worked out well.  The chorus and the verses have a different beat and style which keeps the song going and it's something the crowd knows well.

4. Like Eating Glass

This song was something I enjoyed seeing on the setlist, especially since the last time I saw them they only played it because someone was holding a sign up in the crowd, so clearly they listen to their fans.  Another solid song and the shows moves forward, the whole time with me completely drawn into the show.

5. Octopus

Now was a particularly fun one, as it is a rather odd song to begin with, which starts with Kele handed away his guitar and dancing around on the stage, probably having even more fun than those of us in the crowd.  This song I particularly love if nothing more because of two things, I want to know who Mary Anna is that he sings about and because I'll randomly get texts from a friend of mine of the best line in the song "You've done lost your mind", which Kele sings out emphatically before going back into the chorus.

6. Real Talk

Another solid song, but to me not especially memorable.  Although the song did start with him debating about whether or not he should wear a Flyers hat that someone in the crowd through onto the stage.

7. Waiting for the 7:18

We heard the bell part which is one of the most distinct songs by them and the crowd immediately cheered all as excited as I was, but I doubt anyone more excited than Jeremy.  Bloc Party has a way of bringing emotion into songs and still keeping them loud and amazing live, it was one of the highlights of the show.

8. Song for Clay (Disappearing Here)

I don't know if this is my favorite moment of the show, but it's definitely up there.  Instead of opening the song with the recorded version, they opened it with a slow version of Kele's own song Tenderoni before he screamed out "C'mon Baltimore, show us what you got!" at which point they unleashed on us the intro to a truly amazing bit of playing which has one of my favorite lines in all of Bloc Party and one of my live concert moments towards the end where all the instruments drop out for a part of it and the crowd chants along with them "Because East London is a vampire, it sucks the joy right out of me, a truly, how we long for corruption in these golden years" before diving back into the song.

9.  Banquet

Without even skipping a beat they dive right into their song, Banquet, clearly a crowd favorite, and the show just keeps flowing on beautifully.

10. Coliseum

Another loud fast song, which they played unbelievably.

11. Children of the Future

With the tenth song, Bloc Party reward us with a new song, Children of the Future, a truly enjoyable song that I really look forward to hearing the studio version of, and something next time I look forward to being able to sing along with.

12. One More Chance

Another great song with a little bit of a different almost dance-like tone that is clearly designed to get the crowd to join in with him, which he really didn't need to do much work to get.

13. We Are Not Good People

"Alright Bloc Party, no fucking around, let's give it to them."  And boy they did.  The song highlights what Bloc Party might just do best, play unbelievably fast and loud with Kele singing so fast sometimes  it's almost like a punk show.  The song ended and they disappeared, just at a peak, going off at a perfect time to set up an encore.

Encore:

14. Signs
Coming out to a chant of "olay olay olay" from the crowd, they pulled in an old staple which was the perfect way to set it up, bring us in slow, which almost felt like a set up for the tour de force of the next song.

15. Ares
"As I was saying Baltimore, this is the second half of our performance, and if I was honest we were kind of going a little bit easy on you in the first half.  Hands up if you have a little bit of fight left inside of you.  Oh wow full house.  Well then Baltimore I hope you enjoy this."  The guitar, which almost sounds like sirens starts.  "You see this song, is a song for fighting to, so don't be a pussy and show us what you've got."  Like the last time I saw them, the crowd just exploded to this song, it's almost like they had the same intention that a band like Foo Fighters has with All My Life, no matter matter what is going on in that show, this song will rev the show up to a whole nother level.


16. This Modern Love
This may have been my favorite moment of the show.  "I know that you're not just fighters Baltimore, I know that you are lovers to, this is an old song, and it's a love song."  This is probably my second favorite Bloc Party song, the site address for this is taken from the opening verse.  With the opening chords of the song you can feel the energy that is left in us after a song like Ares spill out as emotions to the beauty of the song that had me jumping up and down like I did at shows when I was 16. 


17. Flux with We Found Love (Rihanna Cover) intro

This is where Kele claimed the final song came, even lying trying to lie to an audience member.  Bloc Party does something magical with this song.  To start, they open the song with a Rihanna cover and completely make it their own song, where if you didn't know the song previously you might instantly fall in love with it and believe it was theirs.  They then take a song that I generally am not a huge fan of it and still make it a seriously good time.

Encore 2: 

18. Sunday
Here's where they lie to us again and tell them they are gonna play one more, which we know immediately is not true.  Sunday is a beautiful song which those in the crowd in relationships use as a way to kind of sway or dance with their respective love ones, a song that makes us all there alone wish we had someone, which is quite a powerful thing to do with a song.  I found out later that in this spot a few nights later they played Kreuzberg, but I'm not complaining, it was an absolutely amazing show.

19. Helicopter
Ah, now this song.  The most bittersweet part of the show, because at this point you know it's the end.  But Bloc Party, goes out with a bang.  The song is fast, loud and leaves you exhausted but yet wanting the show to go on forever.  And instead of just walking off, when the song is over, the band gathers at the center of the stage and gives us a final well deserved bow, hopefully to return again soon.

So Bloc Party.  Wow, just wow.  I won't go into details just yet about their first show I saw, but suffice it to say it was the only concert I've been to that was better than this one to me.  I don't know if it's because the crowd is so into them that they are able to put on such a good show, like some kind of feedback between the crowd and the band or if it's just Bloc Party but they were unbelievably amazing.  I look forward to the next time they tour nearby, and if they do multiple shows within 100 miles I will do my best to go to every single one.



Current Concert List:

1. Tyler Hilton at the Hamilton on January 5
2. Yellowcard at the 930 Club on January 11
3. Bloc Party at Ram's Head Live on January 12
4. Rhett Miller at Jammin' Java on January 18
5. The Lumineers at DAR Constitution Hall on January 30
6. Reel Big Fish at Ram's Head Live on February 1
7. Wakey!Wakey! at Jammin' Java on February 2
8. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Ram's Head Live on February 4
9. Coheed and Cambria at 930 Club on February 5
10. Dropkick Murphys at 930 Club on March 10
11. Finch at Fillmore Silver Spring on March 14
12. Shamrockfest at RFK Stadium on March 16
13. Sigur Ros at Patrior Center on March 24
14. Stone Sour at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 11
15. Andrew McMahon at 930 Club on April 15
16. Rhett Miller at the Hamilton on April 18
17. What's Eating Gilbert at Jammin' Java on April 23
18. How to Destroy Angels at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 30
19. DC 101 Chili Cook-Off at RFK Stadium on May 4
20. Ryan Bingham at Birchmere on May 10
21. Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 11
22. Radio 104.5's Birthday Show at Susquehanna Bank Center on May 12
23. Alkaline Trio at Ram's Head Live on May 17
24. Paramore at Fillmore Silver Spring on May 18
25. Metric at Rams Head Live on June 7
26. Of Monsters and Men at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 11
27. Glen Hansard at 930 Club on June 16
28. Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and Gwar at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 17
29. Postal Service at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 18
30. Get the Led Out at Ram's Head Live on June 22
31. Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers at Wolf Trap on June 24
32. Heart and the Jason Bonham Experience at Jiffy Lube Live on June 25
33. She+Him at Wolf Trap on July 11
34. Fun. at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 20
35. Mayhem Festival at Jiffy Lube Live on July 24
36. The Lumineers at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 26
37. OAR at Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 1
38. Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake at M+T Bank Stadium on August 8
39. Huey Lewis and the News at Wolf Trap on August 13
40. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Wolf Trap on August 13
41. Josh Groban at Wolf Trap on August 16
42. Hot August Blues at Oregon Ridge Park on August 17
43. Pat Benatar and Cheap Trick at Wolf Trap on August 20
44. Colin Hay at Birchmere on October 5

January 11, 2012: Yellowcard

Concert Details:
Bands: Yellowcard, Youngblood, The Assembly Line
Location: 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

When I was finishing high school and for most of college I was big into pop punk and for want of a better term emo music.  One band that I listened to a lot was Yellowcard, and every once in a while, partially because it's nostalgic, and partially because I still genuinely like some of their music, I love the album Ocean Avenue, and I think that Southern Air is a pretty good album with a few great songs.

1. Awakening
2. Surface of the Sun
3. Way Away
4. Breathing
5. Rivertown Blues
6. Rough Landing, Holly
7. Light up the Sky
8. Five Becomes Four
9. Hang You Up
10. Here I am Alive
11. With You Around
12. Lights and Sounds
13. Only One
14. Southern Air

Encore:
15. Sing for Me
16. Believe
17. Ocean Avenue

The opening two bands were passable but not memorable, so I really don't have much to say about them.

Yellowcard opened their show with Awakening which was a great choice as it set the tone for the whole show.  The song opens a bit quiet and with basically just the lead singer on guitar and him singing almost flat in tone with emotion that builds slowly before it drops they, and in our case if I remember well just the crowd, shout "Awakening" and the sound drops just for half a second before the whole band turns in and they start jumping which was matched by the crowd who was immediately pulled into the show.

The next few songs kept the tempo up they had set especially with bringing in the two opening songs from their wildly loved Ocean Avenue which kept the crowd going.  I didn't recognize a few of the songs in the middle because they were not from album I was familiar with but even with that I was still into the show.  They closed the first part of their show with a song from the most recent album which gave us a high note while waiting for the expected encore.

The opening song for the encore was ok but didn't really grab me.  I think it was at this point but it might have been earlier when the lead singer hinted at that they would be doing another tour for something which I can only assume is a 10th Anniversary tour of Ocean Avenue.  The second to last song is my favorite Yellowcard song and one of my favorite songs, it's Yellowcard's tribute to the rescue workers of 9/11 and the singer sings of his thank you's to them along with how he realizes his luck in having his family, and it's a fast paced and uplifting song and a great song to play close to the end.  They closed the show with their most well known song, which although predictable was a lot of fun.  Needless to say I enjoyed every minute of the show and intend to be there if they do the 10th anniversary tour.

Current Concert List:

1. Tyler Hilton at the Hamilton on January 5
2. Yellowcard at the 930 Club on January 11
3. Bloc Party at Ram's Head Live on January 12
4. Rhett Miller at Jammin' Java on January 18
5. The Lumineers at DAR Constitution Hall on January 30
6. Reel Big Fish at Ram's Head Live on February 1
7. Wakey!Wakey! at Jammin' Java on February 2
8. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Ram's Head Live on February 4
9. Coheed and Cambria at 930 Club on February 5
10. Dropkick Murphys at 930 Club on March 10
11. Finch at Fillmore Silver Spring on March 14
12. Shamrockfest at RFK Stadium on March 16
13. Sigur Ros at Patrior Center on March 24
14. Stone Sour at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 11
15. Andrew McMahon at 930 Club on April 15
16. Rhett Miller at the Hamilton on April 18
17. What's Eating Gilbert at Jammin' Java on April 23
18. How to Destroy Angels at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 30
19. DC 101 Chili Cook-Off at RFK Stadium on May 4
20. Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 11
21. Radio 104.5's Birthday Show at Susquehanna Bank Center on May 12
22. Alkaline Trio at Ram's Head Live on May 17
23. Paramore at Fillmore Silver Spring on May 18
24. Metric at Rams Head Live on June 7
25. Of Monsters and Men at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 11
26. Glen Hansard at 930 Club on June 16
27. Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and Gwar at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 17
28. Postal Service at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 18
29. Get the Led Out at Ram's Head Live on June 22
30. Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers at Wolf Trap on June 24
31. She+Him at Wolf Trap on July 11
32. Fun. at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 20
33. The Lumineers at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 26
34. OAR at Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 1
35. Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake at M+T Bank Stadium on August 8
36. Huey Lewis and the News at Wolf Trap on August 13
37. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Wolf Trap on August 13
38. Josh Groban at Wolf Trap on August 16
39. Hot August Blues at Oregon Ridge Park on August 17
40. Pat Benatar and Cheap Trick at Wolf Trap on August 20
41. Colin Hay at Birchmere on October 5

January 5, 2013: Tyler Hilton

So this is the first of my posts where I will mix between reviewing the concerts I've been to this year and the concerts that I've been to before this year eventually reviewing every concert I've attended.  I would imagine the setup of this blog will change over time but for now I'll start each blog with the review of the concert I went to with a bit on the other artists present as well as the setlist if I have it with a highlight of the best songs.

Show Details:

Artists: Tyler Hilton, Teddy Geiger, Ryan Cabrera, and Rebecca Perl
Location: The Hamilton, Washington, DC





Setlist:
1. Sunset Blvd
2. Kicking My Heels
3. Jenny
4. Missing You (John Waite Cover)
5. Can't Stop Now
6. California
7. Ignition Remix (with Teddy Geiger, R. Kelly cover)
8. Ain't No Fooling Me
9. Loaded Gun

Tyler Hilton is a singer-songwriter who has kind of a folk or indie style.  I know who he is because I used to watch One Tree Hill.  I figured I should get that out of the way early on.  I watched One Tree Hill when it originally aired and still watch it, a lot of the music on this that I listen to I only heard about because of that show, and I am working on espousing the personal view of my musical hero that you shouldn't treat anything as a guilty pleasure, although he was talking about music but I think it applies, so there we are.

So let's start with the other artists.  The opener for the show was a very beautiful girl named Rebecca Perl, whose song Before I Fall I really enjoyed.  I bought her EP and met her, she was very nice and have listened the EP a few times and I hope she comes around again cause I'd see her as an opener or if she had her own show.

Teddy Geiger played second, I knew a little about him but I really enjoyed his performance.  I really like singer-songwriters, I think part of it is that their music often appears simple but I think there is a lot of depth there and when they perform, it's often just them and a guitar, or them and maybe another musician helping out so they have to be good at what they are doing because there is nothing there to distract or hide if they don't know what they are doing.  Overall I really enjoyed Teddy Geiger, and like Rebecca Perl I think I'd consider seeing him again.

Ryan Cabrera played last, but for want of personal symmetry I'll review his show before Tyler Hilton.  Ryan Cabrera had a decent show, although I found him to be the weakest of the three.  I think he's been around a little bit longer and there was just something lacking in his performance, or perhaps I was just distracted by the screaming girls in the front tables who were quite over the top.  The highlight of his show was his cover of The Tiger song from The Hangover.  Of the four he's the only one I wouldn't go see again on his own.

Tyler Hilton was the best of the performers there.  He talked just enough to keep the crowd entertained, acknowledged that many people were there because they knew him from One Tree Hill.  I think part of his love for that, and I say that because he basically said that, is because he was able to cover John Waite's song Missing You which was definitely his best song.  Being part of a small show like this with four artists his set list was only nine songs.  Teddy Geiger came out for a cover of Ignition (Remix) by R. Kelly with him which was fun, but changed the dynamic of the show.  Afterwards he went over to the merch table and took time to sign stuff for people and meet everyone.  I enjoyed meeting him and got him to sign a poster with a quote from the final episode of One Tree Hill which was cool.  I feel like it would be easy to maybe hate that he was in that and be bothered by people knowing him for it, but I felt like he enjoyed that because it opened up his fan base.  Overall, I would without question go and see him again and hope he tours again soon.


Current Concert List:

1. Tyler Hilton at the Hamilton on January 5
2. Yellowcard at the 930 Club on January 11
3. Bloc Party at Ram's Head Live on January 12
4. Rhett Miller at Jammin' Java on January 18
5. The Lumineers at DAR Constitution Hall on January 30
6. Reel Big Fish at Ram's Head Live on February 1
7. Wakey!Wakey! at Jammin' Java on February 2
8. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Ram's Head Live on February 4
9. Coheed and Cambria at 930 Club on February 5
10. Dropkick Murphys at 930 Club on March 10
11. Finch at Fillmore Silver Spring on March 14
12. Shamrockfest at RFK Stadium on March 16
13. Sigur Ros at Patrior Center on March 24
14. Stone Sour at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 11
15. Andrew McMahon at 930 Club on April 15
16. Rhett Miller at the Hamilton on April 18
17. What's Eating Gilbert at Jammin' Java on April 23
18. How to Destroy Angels at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 30
19. DC 101 Chili Cook-Off at RFK Stadium on May 4
20. Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 11
21. Radio 104.5's Birthday Show at Susquehanna Bank Center on May 12
22. Alkaline Trio at Ram's Head Live on May 17
23. Paramore at Fillmore Silver Spring on May 18
24. Metric at Rams Head Live on June 7
25. Of Monsters and Men at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 11
26. Glen Hansard at 930 Club on June 16
27. Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and Gwar at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 17
28. Postal Service at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 18
29. Get the Led Out at Ram's Head Live on June 22
30. Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers at Wolf Trap on June 24
31. She+Him at Wolf Trap on July 11
32. Fun. at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 20
33. The Lumineers at Merriweather Post Pavilion on July 26
34. OAR at Merriweather Post Pavilion on August 1
35. Jay-Z/Justin Timberlake at M+T Bank Stadium on August 8
36. Huey Lewis and the News at Wolf Trap on August 13
37. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Wolf Trap on August 13
38. Josh Groban at Wolf Trap on August 16
39. Hot August Blues at Oregon Ridge Park on August 17
40. Pat Benatar and Cheap Trick at Wolf Trap on August 20
41. Colin Hay at Birchmere on October 5