May 4, 2013: DC 101 Chili Cook-Off

Concert Details:

Bands: Beware of Darkness, Capital Cities, Silversun Pickups, AWOLNATION, Soundgarden

Location: Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD

I've never had the opportunity to go to the DC101 Chili-Cook before, so I wasn't really certain what to expect from the show.  The first band that we heard was Beware of Darkness, but since we had just gotten there, I didn't really spend that much time paying attention as we were getting situated.

Roche introduced Capital Cities

Capital Cities

1. Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince Cover)
2. Chartreuse
3. Kangaroo Court
4. Farrah Fawcett Hair
5. Patience Gets Us Nowhere Fast
6. Center Stage
7. Stayin' Alive (Bee Gees cover)
8. I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo
9. Love Away
10. Safe and Sound
11. Holiday

Roche from DC101 came out to introduce Capital Cities.  They put on a thoroughly fun show especially for an event like this.  It's one thing to be able to play for a crowd that has bought tickets to just see you, but it is another to play at a festival with an early billing, and Capital Cities did a great job of it.  They are a fun ban for a festival because they are energetic and great to dance to, something needed for a band not as well known by the crowd.  Without a doubt a fun band to see live, and would be especially great at an outside summer show.

Elliot introducing Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups

1. Skin Graph
2. The Royal We
3. Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
4. Mean Spirits
5. The Pit
6. Panic Switch
7. Dots and Dashes (Enough Already)
8. Lazy Eye

The second band we watched Silversun Pickups was introduced by Elliot of Elliot in the Morning.  Silversun Pickups is a band that I have been interested in seeing for a while but it's never worked out.  I was really excited for their show and they were a great show, although they were not the best band of the day.  They had a great energy and was able to draw energy from and simultaneously provide energy to the crowd, which is something desperately needed in a festival.  They are well known enough that the crowd was able to follow a handful of their songs very closely.  Overall they were quite a fantastic show and I'd really like to see them again, preferably in a situation when they are the leading band.

 

Roche introducing AWOLNATION

1. Guilty Filthy Soul
2. People
3. Not Your Fault
4. Jump on My Shoulders
5. Thiskidsnotalright
6. Kill Your Heroes
7. Soul Wars
8. All I Need
9. Some Kind of Joke
10. Sail
11. Burn it Down

The third band we saw of the day was AWOLNATION.  I was expecting them to be a fairly enjoyable band who the crowd knew decently well.  Instead they were a wonderfully enjoyable band who the crowd knew intimately.  My only real complaint is that by encouraging crowd surfing, some of the time we were not able to completely pay attention to the band, and occasionally there were people who had no business crowd surfing, like a guy who weighed at least 250 to 300 pounds crowdsurfing.  They were a thoroughly exciting band who really knew how to control a crowd, especially during their big song Sail when the lead singer climbed up onto a surf board to crowdsurf.  AWOLNATION was a great band who I'd gladly see again, and who might be completely insane (in a good way) in a club setting, but they are a band you absolutely have to be standing during.

Soundgarden was the final band of the day and we barely stayed for five songs before leaving, so I'm not sure there is much else that needs to be said about their show.

6 Months In

January

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

February

1. Reel Big Fish at Ram's Head Live on February 1
2. Wakey!Wakey! at Jammin' Java on February 2
3. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals at Ram's Head Live on February 4
4. Coheed and Cambria at 930 Club on February 5

March

1. Dropkick Murphys at 930 Club on March 10
2. Finch at Fillmore Silver Spring on March 14
3. Sigur Ros at Patrior Center on March 24

April

1. Stone Sour at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 11
2. Andrew McMahon at 930 Club on April 15
3. Rhett Miller at the Hamilton on April 18
4. Sara Bareilles at 930 Club on April 25
5. How to Destroy Angels at Fillmore Silver Spring on April 30

May

1. DC 101 Chili Cook-Off at RFK Stadium on May 4
2. 30 Seconds to Mars at Sixth and I on May 8
3. Rick Springfield at Ram's Head Center Stage on May 9
4. Ryan Bingham at Birchmere on May 10
5. Sweetlife Festival at Merriweather Post Pavilion on May 11
6. Alkaline Trio at Ram's Head Live on May 17
7. Josh Radin at The Hamilton on May 18
8. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at Beacon Theater on May 25

June

1. Of Monsters and Men at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 11
2. Glen Hansard at 930 Club on June 16
3. Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, and Gwar at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 17
4. Postal Service at Merriweather Post Pavilion on June 18
5. The Rolling Stones at Verizon Center on June 24
6. Joseph Arthur at Ram's Head on Stage on June 26

Best Concert: Bloc Party

Worst Concert: Alkaline Trio

Biggest Surprise: Alice Cooper

Best Opener: My Name is You

Best New Band: Twenty One Pilots

June in Review

Top 10 Bands Listened This Month:

1. Jimmy Eat World
2. Joseph Arthur
3. Jack's Mannequin
4. Queens of the Stone Age
5. The Naked and the Famous
6. The Postal Service
7. Paramore
8. Metric
9. Taking Back Sunday
10. Death Cab for Cutie
11. Our Lady Peace
12. 30 Seconds to Mars

This list is a reflection mostly of new albums, with the top four artists all having albums that we released in the last month.

New CD's Bought:
Jimmy Eat World - Damages
Joseph Arthur - The Ballad of Boogie Christ
Joseph Arthur - Redemption's Son
Joseph Arthur - Redemption City
Jack's Mannequin - Live at Del Rey
Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork


Concerts Attended:
Of Monsters and Men - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Glen Hansard - 9:30 Club
Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson, GWAR - Merriweather Post Pavilion
The Postal Service - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Rolling Stones - Verizon Center
Joseph Arthur - Ram's Head Center Stage

This is a hard month to say which was the best show.  I'd say the best overall show was The Postal Service, but on average all of the shows were fantastic.  The only real issue with concerts this month was Marilyn Manson, who was kind of a let down.  My friend aptly described him as being in the fat Elvis stage.


Concert Tickets Bought:
Yellowcard
Plain White T's
Nine Inch Nails
Seu Jorge
Black Sabbath
Mackelmore and Ryan Lewis
Shinedown and Papa Roach


Concerts of April:
The Polyphonic Spree - Sixth and I
She & Him - Wolftrap
Paul McCartney - Nationals Stadium
Fun. - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Eagles - Verizon Center
Bob Dylan, My Morning Jacket, Wilco, Ryan Bingham - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Seu Jorge - Birchmere
Lumineers - Merriweather Post Pavilion
Plain White T's - 9:30 Club
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Ottobar

April 30, 2013: How to destroy angels

Concert Details:

Bands: How to destroy angels, Diiv

Location: Fillmore Silver Spring, Silver Spring, MD

Trent Reznor

1. The Wake-Up
2. Keep it Together
3. Parasite
4. And the Sky Began to Scream
5. Ice Age
6. The Believers
7. How Long?
8. Welcome Oblivion
9. BBB
10. The Space in Between
11. Fur-Lined
12. The Loops Closes
13. A Drowning

Encore: 

   14. On the Wing

   15. Strings and attractors

   16. We Fade Away

How to destroy angels is a band that consists of Trent Reznor, his wife Mariqueen Maandig, his long time collaborator and Nine Inch Nails producer Atticus Ross, graphic designer who has worked with Nine Inch Nails, Rob Sheridan, and Nine Inch Nails touring member Alessandro Cortini, but let me be clear, this was not a Nine Inch Nails show.

This show was as much about the music as it was about the theatrical aspect of the show.  At the beginning of the show the band stood behind a curtain of beads, the lights bouncing through them and illuminating the band.  There was almost a palpable fear in the audience that the curtain would never be pulled back and that we would never really see the band, almost as if the curtain was there because what we were seeing, hearing and feeling was only an illusion.

 I don't remember exactly when, but around the third song the curtain was pulled back and the lead singer, Mariqueen Maandig stepped forward to the front of the stage.  She has a wonderfully beautiful and at the same time haunting voice.  It would be hard to describe what type of music they play, but to me it feels like an necessary evolution of industrial rock of Nine Inch Nails crossed with folk music.

Mariqueen Maandig, lead singer of How To Destroy Angels

The haunting beauty of Mariqueen's voice was no more apparent than during Ice Age, when she summoned so much emotion in the song that she was brought to tears.

Another song worth pointing out was Welcome Oblivion which they used the curtain to emphasize the song.  The song itself almost sounds if she is singing from the bottom of a well and during the song she was clawing at the curtain as if she was trying to escape.  

The crowd, like myself, were there because of Trent Reznor.  I doubt many in the room would have picked up the album if he wasn't involved, even if he never plays the role of lead singer.  He never once stepped forward to sing on his own, and only played backup or co-singer, but he was very aware of the crowd being there to see him, and towards the end of the show finally addressed the show, thanking them for their support and introducing the band.

In addition to the music, as seen in the pictures, the show was very much about the visual, below are the rest of the pictures I took for the show that came out well.

 

This show was the reason I have begun bringing a camera to shows and the in hindsight I regret not bringing one to every other show I went to before this.  I don't know if I would see the band again but I would definitely be interesting in seeing any show that Trent Reznor was involved in, not just Nine Inch Nails.

April 25, 2013: Sara Bareilles

Concert Details:

Bands: Sara Bareilles

Location: 930 Club, Washington, DC

Setlist:

1. Love on the Rocks (Elton John Bennie and the Jets cover ending)
2. Love Song
3. Uncharterd
4. A Change is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke Cover)
5. Come Round Soon
6. Let the Rain
7. Basket Case
8. Beautiful Girl
9. Brave
10. Manhattan
11. Gravity

Encore:

   12. Sweet as Whole

   13. Once Upon Another Time

I was a fan of Sara Bareilles before this show, but after the show I am in love with Sara Bareilles, she was just phenomenal.  This was my first seated show at the 9:30 club, and the entire show consisted of just her and a piano or her and a guitar and nothing else, and it's all she needed to put on a truly memorable show.

This was her first show so she was clearly working through how she wanted to set it up and spent a lot of time telling stories between songs, so I don't know if that means she played less songs than she wanted to, but from the look of other set lists on the tour it was generally about the same number of songs.  In some ways she treated the show as a VH1 storytellers, her words, which I rather enjoyed as I think something is added to music when you know the origin of various songs.

She has a sharp wit and was hysterical in telling her stories and directly interacted with specific crowd members one three separate occasions.  The first time, a guy rushed up to the stage and asked her a question and she let him come up on stage and ask his boyfriend to marry him, much to the joy of the crowd.  The second time was rather amusing as someone had brought a giant standee head of hers which she brought up on stage and signed for them.  The final time was when a guy who had just brought back drinks from the bar and was talking loudly, she stopped playing, looked down at him and without animosity said "shut the fuck up" and continued on playing.  It was a small acoustic show, every single thing anyone said was audible.  After the song she pointed out that she didn't hold anything against the guy, he just needed to not talk.

So as for the music.  Sara Bareilles has a beautiful and powerful voice and for a venue that normally sees loud, deafening shows, it never once felt like anything was missing as if the venue had been built to carry her voice.  With each song she drew the crowd more and more in, eventually gaining complete control.  For a loud, fast rock show, this is a feat that I do not imagine is overly difficult as the dancing and screaming that come with a live show gets the crowd involved very quickly, but with an intimate show like this I would imagine the effort required to captivate the crowd is more as you have to serenade them and pull them into you.  I've been to many small acoustic shows, a handful this year, but this was unlike any other.  At those other shows you could constantly hear talking, or you could see people who were generally focused on anything but the show, but at this show, with the exception of the one guy, nobody was focused on anything but the show.

As I said, by the end of this show I was thoroughly in love with her, as I would imagine everyone else there was as well.  I'm almost obsessed with finding another show to see her at that I've considered driving the nine hours or so to Tennessee to see her.

April 18, 2013: Rhett Miller

Show Details:

Artists: Rhett Miller, Luke Brindley
Location: The Hamilton, Washington, DC

I had a copy of the setlist for this show but I have subsequently lost it but I still remember many of the highlights.

The opener for the show was Luke Brindley, the owner of Jammin' Java.  He continued the string of great openers I've experienced for singer songwriters this year and I bought his CD and talked to him a bit afterwards.  I wanted to go see his show at Jammin' Java in June but I had another event that night so I'll have to wait for another time to see him again.

Luke Brindley

This show was almost as good if not better than the Rhett Miller show I went to in January.  Rhett Miller was just coming off having throat issues and being on complete vocal shutdown so there was a little expectation that it would have an affect on the show, but he didn't let it.  It was the first time I've been to a mostly empty room at The Hamilton, although he played as if the room was completely full.

Rhett Miller

As when I saw him before, Rhett Miller played a long set, opening the show again with Lost Without You, and moved through his catalog hitting all his best, most energetic songs.  There is not much to say about this show that I didn't already say in my last post about the show.  The biggest highlight of the show was when he played Question.  He played half the song in French, which works out really really well.  Unlike last time he came out after the show and met the crowd for a bit and did a signing.  Again, another great show from Rhett Miller, and I'm really looking forward to when he tours again.

Meeting Rhett Miller

April 15, 2013: Andrew McMahon

Concert Details:

Bands: Andrew McMahon, Bayside

Location: 930 Club, Washington, DC

Setlist:

1. No Man is an Island (Jack's Mannequin)
2. Mixed Tape (Jack's Mannequin)
3. I Woke Up in a Car (Something Corporate)
4. She Paints Me Blue (Something Corporate)
5. Holiday from Real (Jack's Mannequin)
6. Watch the Sky (Something Corporate)
7. Synesthesia
8. Television (Jack's Mannequin)
9. Swim (Jack's Mannequin)
10. Punk Rock Princess (Something Corporate)
11. What Gets You Off (Jack's Mannequin)
12. Learn to Dance
13. The Astronaut (Something Corporate)
14. The Resolution (Jack's Mannequin)
15. Straw Dog (Something Corporate)
16. Dark Blue (Jack's Mannequin)
17. Bruised (Jack's Mannequin

Encore:

18. Konstantine (Something Corporate)

19. La La Lie (Jack's Mannequin)

I've been listening to Andrew McMahon in some form for almost ten years now starting at the beginning of college with Something Corporate and then Jack's Mannequin when they broke up and first saw Andrew McMahon live with Something Corporate in the Spring of 2005 when they came to my school.  I had tickets to see Jack's Mannequin in 2011 and didn't go, which i now regret, and then Jack's Mannequin officially ended.  Except, Jack's Mannequin was a band, if it even was really that, that really only ever needed Andrew McMahon to exist, and seeing as half of this show was Jack's Mannequin songs, it could have been called Jack's Mannequin and we wouldn't have known any different, except in this case they played a very large group of songs from the Something Corporate catalogue.

The show started off quietly, which was definitely a smart move, with No Man is an Island a wonderful song, possibly a bit of a ballad, that sounds a bit lamenting but I think is actually hopeful.  It was played almost as an intro walk on song, to warm us up and get us ready for Mixed Tape a loud fund song that provokes a rebellious emotion.  One thing about every song Andrew McMahon is involved with, at least in my opinion, they all have a specific emotion they are meant to evoke, which in some cases has changed over time, or with long songs, will change over the course of the song.

One wonderful thing about a sold out 9:30 Club show is that it's almost impossible to have a bad crowd, I say almost impossible because earlier this year I did experience one.  For a guy like Andrew McMahon, his crowd adores him and generally knows every word to every song, and less than half the way into Mixed Tape the crowd was completely in the show, singing along loudly.  Two Something Corporate songs followed that up, the second one She Paints Me Blue is a crowd favorite, and a personal favorite of mine, is played wonderfully.  It's a song, that in my mind is meant to evoke the hope and wonder of a new relationship.

After the two songs from Something Corporate, the show drifted into another Jack's Mannequin song  followed by a hopeful Something Corporate song before finally playing a new song, Synesthesia, which is a auto-biographical song that is now a lie.  Early parts of the song makes reference to his friends winning awards, his friends in this case being Fun., and that he never made a gold record.  Since writing the song, a Jack's Mannequin song, Dark Blue went gold, although unfortunately it took 8 years.

Two more Jack's Mannequin songs followed Synesthesia, Television and Swim.  The latter being a song about keeping going and at all times making sure to "just keep your head above, swim".  I don't know if it's true, but to me the song sounds like it came from a thought Andrew McMahon might have had while he was battling leukemia, something he would want other people to make sure they did, that you need to fight or in this case "swim for your life' and this was his song about contribution to "music that saves you".

A mix of more Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin songs followed before another Andrew McMahon song Learn to Dance which while also fun is not nearly as much fun as Synesthesia.  The final two songs of the main set were both Jack's Mannequin songs, one a dance song and one a song of defiance.  Dark Blue is the quintessential song to dance to at a concert.  The music video itself is even for a marathon dance contest.  Bruised was the perfect ending to an amazing first part of the set which was so packed that we weren't even given the chance to breathe, which in this case was a good thing.  

The first encore song, Konstantine, is the definition of a ballad and was the song that everyone their that night seemed to be waiting to hear.  It's a rather peculiar song as it was never even released in the United States until the greatest hits album until 2010 but has always been a fan favorite.  It's well known that Jack's Mannequin was always hesitant and would rarely play it because it's a very long song, but at a show like this you knew it had to come.  It's a lamenting song about a girl named Krystal, the K in Konstantine being substituted for the C in how Constantine is normally spelled because of the abnormal spelling of Crystal.  Honestly, for me, if had come out and played just that song and walked off the stage I would have been perfectly content, if that gives any indication of how amazing the song is live.

For the finale, he played La La Lie which seems to be his staple closing song, which worked great.  About halfway through the show he crowd surfed to the bar and took a shot, either of Jameson or Jägermeister, and crowd surfed back to the stage for the final part and easily one of the show.  As he dives back into the song the crowd sang loudly and audibly with him "and i've got friends" before a few more minutes of loud fun playing and the show ended.  

The show was perfect, and Andrew McMahon is an artist who I will go to see over and over again, next time being on August 1.

April 11, 2013: Stone Sour

Concert Details:

Bands: Dropkick Murphy's, Barroom Heroes

Location: 930 Club, Washington, DC

Setlist:

1. Gone Sovereign
2. Absolute Zero
3. Mission Statement
4. Hell & Consequences
5. Made of Scars
6. A Rumor of Skin
7. Reborn
8. Do Me a Favor
9. RU486
10. Say You'll Haunt Me
11. Bother (with intro of Alice in Chains' Nutshell)
12. Through Glass
13. The Travelers, Pt. 2
14. Last of the Real
15. 30/30-150

Stone Sour is a band that has been around for quite a while but was never really on my radar until this year.  The only reason I started listening to them was seeing that they were gonna be playing near by me so I picked up all of their albums and found a lot of stuff that I really enjoyed.

Before the band came out the crowd began chanting "Corey Corey Corey".  I learned very early on in the show that the cult of Corey Taylor is huge, which was both beneficial and detrimental to the show.  I will say first off that while the show was a really fun, it felt really mechanical as the setlist for every single show on this tour was identical with no room for the band to throw something special in.

The show opened strong with Gone Sovereign and proceeded moving back and forth fluidly between various Stone Sour albums.   The first part of the show was loud and fast culminating with one of my Stone Sour songs, RU486.  After that it moved into the slightly slower Say You'll Haunt Me before the band left the stage leaving Corey Taylor alone to play the haunting Bother featuring an intro of Alice in Chain's Nutshell.  For everything else of the show and how fun it was or how much the crowd got on my nerves, that song was unbelievable.  There is such a feeling of pain that Corey Taylor brings to the stage, a feeling of pain for yesterday and the pain caused by the fear for tomorrow.

From there, they moved onto another slow song Through Glass before ending the show fast and loud.  I would say it was a great overall show, there were just a few things that bothered me about it.  Corey Taylor is clearly very aware of his cult like status and would hold his hands out beckoning the crowd to continue to do so.  That being said, even with the bit of mechanical feel to the show, Stone Sour knows how to put on a fun, loud and energetic show that I came away from wanting to see them again as soon as I can.

March 24, 2013: Sigur Rós

Concert Details:

Bands: Sigur Rós

Location: Patriot Center

Setlist:

1. Yfirborð 
2. Ný Batterí 
3. Vaka
4. Hrafntinna 
5. Sæglópur 
6. Fljótavík 
7. E-bow 
8. Varúð 
9. Hoppípolla 
10. Með Blóðnasir 
11. Olsen Olsen 
12. Brennisteinn 

Encore:
   13. Popplagið 

Trying to explain what it's like to watch Sigur Rós live is as difficult as trying to explain what it feels like to look down from the top of a mountain at the setting sun as it fades and having someone who has never seen it before and have them truly understand you.

So first, a little background on Sigur Rós is needed.  They are a 3 piece icelandic dream-pop, if that is even the best word for it, band from Reykjavík, Iceland.  Their lead singer Jónsi does two things that are not found often in music.  The first is that he plays his guitar with a bow and the second is that he does not sing in a recognized language.  He sings in a language known as Hopelandic which is phonetically similar to Icelandic but whose importance lies in the sound and feeling of the words and not the words themselves.

The show began with the band behind a giant screen with lights projecting the shadows of them onto the screen itself.  The music brings with it a type of ethereal feeling that I really am at a loss for words to explain well.  Seeing as their music is not in any true language they are a band that a crowd really sings along with, but they are a band who keeps a crowd so mesmerized during their show that it really doesn't matter.  

As the second song Ný Batterí reached its climax, the curtain dropped in dramatic fashion revealing not only the three members of the band but their backup cadre including additional strings and horns.  With a show like Sigur Rós the visual experience is as much about the musical.  For the show, a large projector screen was put up behind them that displayed various images that were clearly there to bring out emotions even further than the songs did, and for someone who had floor tickets they did something even more.  I don't know if the effect was intentional, but knowing Sigur Rós, it would surprise me if it was.  During one part of the middle of the show, from the angle I was stood at, the effects on the screen made it appear as if the band was rising with the stage and would only refocus when I looked away.

The show was absolutely unbelievable and such an experience that even now, as I write this months later I'm still at a loss for words.  I almost didn't go to the show because I was only able to find seated tickets but at the last minute floor tickets opened up.  It's the type of show that I would have regretted missing, but I would have no way of knowing it when looking at a setlist or reading reviews.  Suffice it to say I will see them again, and am currently looking of ways to do so in the next few months.

March 14, 2013: Finch

Concert Details:

Bands: Finch, The Almost

Location: Fillmore Silver Spring

Setlist:

1. New Beginnings
2. Letters to You
3. Post Script
4. Grey Matter
5. Perfection Through Silence
6. Awake
7. Without You Here
8. Stay With Me
9. Project Mayhem
10. Untitled 
11. Three Simple Words
12. Ender

Encore:

13. Worms of the Earth

14. Waiting

15. New Kid

16. What it is to Burn

Finch is a band I've seen before.  Last time i saw them, it was opening for HIM, not exactly the right crowd for them.  This time it was different, everyone was there to see Finch.  Finch is a band that I've always enjoyed, well at least one album wroth.  What It Is Burn was a great album and this show was for the 10th anniversary of the album and the general assumption, and hope to an extent, was that that would be the only thing they played. The lead singer, although probably well into his 30's carried with him the energy of someone at the beginning of their career instead of deep into it.

The first part of the show is exactly what we wanted, the first twelve songs of the album straight through.  The crowd was very into the show, which is all the more impressive for a band that had the one popular album.  Overall it was a good first part of the show because the crowd knew every single song.

The big misstep the band took, at least in my opinion was for the encore playing a couple songs that were not on the album.  By playing those songs, they lost all of their momentum immediately.  Thankfully for them, their final song and title track is one of the most energetic on the album and with the opening chords they were able to light the spark of their momentum again with the simple scream opening of "She Burns".

While I had a good time, this is one band that I truly have no desire to see again as I don't believe that they have anything else to offer me.