What BANDS are you seeing?

Last thursday we opened with our band for Eddie and the Hot Rods at their show in Madrid and I was amazed. They sound really well and even though they look pretty old, they still sound very powerful and have lots of feeling. You could really see they were enjoying themselves. I especially liked the singer whose voice is still in great shape and had amazing energy (he was jumping and dancing all through the concert) and the older guitar player whose style is more about feeling than virtuosity (I can't stand virtuosity for the sake of it... scale up, scale down... bah...) I'd recommend anyone that likes any kind of rock music to see them live if you've got a chance.

Wow, Eddie and the Hotrods are something else. I last saw them about a year and a half ago at a small club in Brooklyn and there was hardly anyone there! They didn't seem bummed though, and ripped through an amazing set. What's the name of your band?

Burning Spear kinda sucked. They should have kept the show in Brooklyn. It's just not the same vibe with all the Battery Park City highrises in the background and yuppies everywhere. Not to mention the fun murdering park cops who kept confiscating peoples beer and spliffs. GBH played on Friday and I had to work and couldn't go. Saw them last time they came around and it was fun, but I heard it was awesome the other night.

jay718 wrote:

Wow, Eddie and the Hotrods are something else. I last saw them about a year and a half ago at a small club in Brooklyn and there was hardly anyone there! They didn't seem bummed though, and ripped through an amazing set. What's the name of your band?

Eddie & the Hot Rods were amazing, and it was a shame there were just about 100 people there (about 1/3rd of what this venue can pack). It seems less people are coming to concerts lately and in this particular venue, there have been some great bands playing but not many people coming which is such a shame... I don't know... to me live music is where you can actually appreciate a band, and I try to go to every concert I can but I guess most people would rather go to pubs and spend all their money on alcohol instead (because those places are packed!)

My band is called The Foreign Characters, we are a trio (I sing and play guitar/harmonica and then there's bass and drums). We play a mix of garage/psychodelic/folk with a bit of punk... we've got a myspace page with some videos and recordings...

Saw the Dex Romweber Duo (Dex was in Flat Duo Jets) in New Haven last night. Couldn't have been anymore than 10 people in the room, which is bad for legends like Dex, awesome for fans. He's a hell of a guitar player, and his sister Sarah was absolutely fantastic on the drums. Ended up staying quite awhile after the show, just sitting outside and talking with Dex. For well over an hour we talked about the music scene, his falling out with his former Flat Duo Jets bandmate, starting wars, women, and a ton of other shit. It was a night for the personal recordbooks.

Next Thursday I'll be hitting up the Social Distortion show. My enthusiasm for Mike Ness and Co has cooled over the past decade, but I never was able to catch their live shows despite frequent attempts. So after 20 years, I'll have this concert checked off the list.

I'm actually pretty stoked to see Lucero opening and have a passing interest in Frank Turner on the undercard.

Should be a fun night.

Probably going to see Killing Joke in December. They were pretty good last time around. Suicidal Tendemcies are playing Sunday with DRI and Underdog, but I'm on the fence. Could either be a giggle or a huge bummer. Re-living your youth can be a real mixed bag. Another Sheer Terror reunions coming up at the end of the month and The Unsane are playing soon as well. Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs are allegedly coming back through in December also. She always puts on a great show. One of the best gigs I ever saw was thee Headcoats and thee Headcoatees at Coney Island High in the late 90's. This bands way different from that stuff with much more of an old timey country feel, but she's a rocker through and through.

Saturday, my second favorite live band is turning up in Atlanta--The Dresden Dolls. Their concerts are half cabaret act, half freakshow. They book a bunch of crazy local acts with an MC, and some...stuff. Last time, the absolute show-stopper was a burlesque act with a drag queen doing a medley of civil war songs that was absolutely jaw-dropping like it had been choreographed by David Lynch.

That said, the best band to see live is Pere Ubu. Mostly because they are Pere Ubu.

Bastard. They played NY on Halloween and I was gonna go, but I had to run down to DC for a family emergency. Missed my son dressed as a skunk in the neighborhood Halloween parade as well. Sadatay.

Jay,

Hope things are going better.

I understand Greg Lee (Hepcat) will be performing with The Slackers at their Dec 18th show in Brooklyn.

Sounds worth checking out.

Probably going to see Killing Joke in December.

Jay, were you at the '08 shows in NYC, the ones where they did the S/T album and "What's This For?" I was there...the sound in the venue was HORRIBLE but god damn, they were awesome. I've only seen them three times (twice in NYC)...the other time was in 1994, and it was like an entirely different band back then. This time, they were just VICIOUS.

They were pretty good last time around. Suicidal Tendemcies are playing Sunday with DRI and Underdog, but I'm on the fence.

HOLY SHIT man, how could you NOT go to this? ST hasn't cut a good record since "HOw Will I Laugh" and D.R.I. is just about as non-relevant today as a band can get...but sakes alive, that would be like my dream bill if I were 14. I've seen both bands over the years, definitely worthwhile. One of my formative concert experiences was Suicidal Tendencies in '89. I had never really been to a small club hardcore/metal show. I thought I was going to be killed. This is back in the day when shit was SERIOUS too.

Grinderman, Nick Cave's side band, was here last week...I didn't go. Kinda regret it, but I'm not crazy about the Grinderman records.

Yeah I was at the show the first night (I think) in '08. I think we spoke about it here. Didn't make it to either of those shows this time around. Between the missus and I we had three deaths in the family in the past month and an extremely sick little boy at home, so no extracurricular activities for either of us unfortunately. Cro Mags were added to the Suicidal show too. Heard it was amazing. Missed Sheer Terror Sunday night as well, but Paul alluded to me that there'd be more shows in the future. Did see Easy Action, JOhn from Negative Approach's new band. Pretty good show and a great guy. We wound up drinking into the wee hours.

I'm bummed I missed the Mags set, not so much care about ST/DRI.

I saw a friends band who sound nothing like them do a cover set of all Satisfaction era Hatebreed last week. I thought it was gonna be cheesy, and it was, but I still had a fucking blast. I kicked a dude clear across the room while screaming I'm filled with hate. Felt like a wild youth again. Then woke up with a way sore back hahaha

I also realized that I'm crossing over into the scary old (by core standards) dude who only comes out to shows once in a while and smashes people. Kind of a dick move, but I'm glad to be doing my part in retaining the vibe of scaryness/thrilling danger that made going to shows when I was a kid so fun.

My girlfriend has been scoring free tickets to small local venues lately, because she loves seeing live music. Although she and I have taste in music that overlaps heavily, there are some differences. The last couple of shows, I've enjoyed the opening bands more than the headliner. So I enjoyed seeing Young the Giant (despite the name), but not Marina & the Diamonds. And I enjoyed seeing the Hurricane Bells, but not K.T. Tunstall. She liked all four acts.

I'd like to get more proactive and buy tickets for a show that we will both enjoy, but the small venues can sell out quick here. There is a Decemberist show coming up early next year, but it's on a weeknight and we don't know her class schedule for that semester yet.

Old 97's at the Recher Theatre in Towson... next tuesday.

-M

MattLoter wrote:

I'm bummed I missed the Mags set, not so much care about ST/DRI.
quote]

That's because you're a Hatebreed loving youngun...

I also realized that I'm crossing over into the scary old (by core standards) dude who only comes out to shows once in a while and smashes people. Kind of a dick move, but I'm glad to be doing my part in retaining the vibe of scaryness/thrilling danger that made going to shows when I was a kid so fun.

...who's getting older and fatter. Welcome to the old big belly crew of hardcore! I threw my back out at a negative approach show a few years back going nuts up front. Had a blast that night though!