Day 235: It seems like everyone that I know has been to more concerts than I have. I know that is not really true, but sometimes it feels like it is. But when I really sit down and think about it, I have seen several of my favorite bands live, and almost every time it was riotously fun. So, I thought that I would spend the next several days exploring this theme. For today's selection, we have to go all the way back to the Fall of 1994 during my Freshman year at MSU. The local radio station in Lansing (92.1 The Edge) was hosting an "October Fest" somewhere in Lansing, and I hatched a plan to go and meet up with Leo and Ryan Knott. I had just met this girl named Jennifer at MSU, and she wanted to go as well, so I think we somehow got on a CATA bus and wound up at the little street festival. It wasn't really a date per se, but it was the first time that Jen and I really spent any time together. The event has fairly low-key actually, but there were a few minor acts playing on a stage in the street. I remember seeing the band Stabbing Westward play, but the headlining act was The Lightning Seeds. As the afternoon turned into early evening, the band played their set, which was cool, and the crowd then started to disperse. A few minutes later, the band came back and said, ""hey, you guys want to hear some more?"" I guess they expected to play an encore even if the crowd thought that they were already done for the evening. One of the songs they played during that encore was today's song, the lovely electronica pop love song "Pure." Eventually Jen and I met up with Ryan and Leo (AKA, our ride back to the dorms), we dropped Jen back at the dorms, and then Leo and I spent a few hours playing Dungeons and Dragons at Ryan's place. But, as I think back, that was the day/night when Jen and I really got to know each other. So today, as we celebrate 17 years of marriage, I just wanted to say: Jen, I love you. Pure and Simple. Every time.
05/24/2015
Day 236: I am not sure exactly how old I was at the time, but at some point in either late elementary school or early middle school we ran across re-runs of the 1960s pseudo Beatles parody TV show / band known as the Monkees. It had just the perfect mix of zany weirdness and some actually-not-too-bad music that I found was quite compelling and entertaining. For a while there, I think I even considered the Monkees to be my favorite band. At some point in Middle School, the Monkees seemed to be having a bit of a revival (which based on Wikipedia seems to be due to their 20th anniversary in 1986) and we found out that they would be playing a concert at the Ionia Free Fair. Somehow, I assume Dawn convinced my Dad that they should go and that Jenni and I should go too. Just to make the whole experience just that much more awesome, the opening act was Weird Al Yankovic. For an 11-year old, it was epic. Heck, it would be epic now. As luck would have it, the Monkees happened to play on that particular night one of my favorite songs of theirs, the lesser-known "Your Auntie Grizelda." The song was notable mostly because it was the only song that I knew of sung by the group underdog Peter Tork and it is above average on the weirdness scale. As I recall, Tork performed the song with gusto in concert, even once jumping onto a speaker. What can I say? I have always loved an underdog.
05/25/2015
Day 237: If I remember correctly, the first "real" band that I saw live was Depeche Mode. I imagine that they toured for the album Violator in 1990, but I was a bit too young to go see them at that time, so I had to wait until their 1993 (and not as good) album Songs of Faith and Devotion. I think the concert must have taken place in the summer of 1993, and I wound up going with Mark and Jovon to the show at Pine Knob. I did not necessarily get out too much in those days, so it was kind of a big deal. Pine Knob was the magical place in my mind where all these cool bands came to play, and on that summer afternoon and evening, I finally was there. Oddly, the band Stabbing Westward also opened for Depeche Mode that year (and they were OK), but there was also a 2nd opening act: Primal Scream. They were terrible. I was impatient. I am sure by the end I was yelling for them to get off the stage (which they certainly could not hear from my lawn seats). But finally, the moment arrived. One of my favorite bands took the stage, and I was there to see it live. It was awesome. I enjoyed the show so much that after the first set when Depeche Mode left the stage, I yelled down to lead singer Dave Gahan (with love, of course), "WE'RE NOT DONE WITH YOU YET, YOU SKINNY BASTARD!!!" (True story. Jovon will vouch for this.) Now, I wish I cold say for sure which song they opened with, etc. but I really can't remember. However, I do remember that they played today's song, "Never Let Me Down Again" from the 1987 album "Music For The Masses," and it remains one of my favorite DM songs to this day.
05/26/2015
Day 238: As I mentioned back in January, when I arrived on MSU's campus in the Fall of 1994, I had already heard of the band The Verve Pipe, but I frankly didn't know much about them. Then one day, I got word that they were going to be playing a show at the MSU Auditorium, and I figured, why not go see them. I bought two tickets and managed to convince Lissa to go with me, but I must admit, I did not really have that high of expectations. I think that my concern was that it often takes me a few listens to really get into a band, and I often will get a little bored at a concert when I am not that familiar with the catalog of songs that are being performed. But, on that particular night, The Verve Pipe opened the show with today's song, "Ark Of The Envious," and even though it was not familiar, I was instantly hooked. The entire show was fantastic. As time went on, there would be more Verve Pipe shows at the Aud, and every time the group I brought with me was a little larger. By the time their 1996 breakthrough album "Villains" hit the streets, their show at the Aud was a pretty hot ticket. When the band took the stage, the first thing Brian Vander Ark said was, "It's good to be home." It was special. It felt like being a part of something big and important. Many years later after their brief stardom faded, The Verve Pipe started playing small shows again in the mid-Michigan area, and one of them happened to be at the Brighton Performing Arts Center on the same stage where Jen and I had played several concerts with the Livingston County Concert Band. Jen and I bought the very cheap tickets and braved a near blizzard to make the show with only about a hundred or so intrepid fans. It was still a great time and brought back a lot of great memories. We even got a chance to talk to Brian Vander Ark in the hallway, and I made sure to mention the first time I saw them back in 1994. At four times, I am quite sure The Verve Pipe is the band that I have seen play live the most time. and it all started with today's song.
05/27/2015
Day 239: Growing up in a small town meant there were not too many chances to go see bands live. I suppose that a lot of bands played in various venues in Detroit during my High School days, but I simply was not that adventurous back then, and I still thought the Mason was kind of the big city. Anything bigger just seemed overwhelming. But, once I arrived at MSU, I realized that sometimes the bands come to you. In 1995, most likely, the Irish rock band The Cranberries paid a visit to the Breslin Center, and instead of needed to make the drive from Stockbridge to parts unknown, I simply had to walk across Munn field to see the show. At the time, The Cranberries were kind of a big deal with their hit single "Zombie," and the show was a lot of fun to go to, but I cannot say that I think their music has really aged that well. I don't think that I have listened to any of their albums in quite some time. But, since they were one of the first few bands that I did see live, I would like to highlight today my favorite song from them and I song that I distinctly remember them playing on that particular day, the third single from their 1993 debut album, "Everyone Else is Doing It, Why Can't We:" "Sunday." Sure, songs like "Zombie" and "Linger" were fun for a little while, but this song is just a lovely little love song. That is enough to still mystify me.
05/28/2015
Day 240: Back in the early days of this project, I talked about the tremendous anticipation I made for R.E.M.'s release of the 1991 album "Out of Time." As much as I loved that album, R.E.M. did not tour for it, which was a tremendous disappointment for my High School aged self. In 1992, R.E.M. released "Automatic For the People," but alas, there was also no tour. But in 1994, R.E.M. released another album, "Monster," and once they announced that there would also be a tour, I developed a Monster-sized obsession with seeing them live. On the day that the tickets went on sale for the show at the Palace, I waited in line at the local Wherehouse Records with a rather large group of like-minded fans. The store staff decided that they would hand out raffle tickets to decide the order in which people would be allowed to buy the actual tickets. Fortunately, the Good Lord smiled upon me that day and I actually won the chance to buy the first tickets! So, a few minutes later, I walked proudly out of the store with the maximum allotment of 8 magical concert tickets. I was stoked. I was perhaps a bit too stoked. Over the next few days, I was a bit of a-hole to my friends as the power of holding the tickets and deciding who would have the privilege of buying them from me went to my head. But, very fortunately (and I mean this) I got called out by Abigail and eventually settled down. When the day of the concert finally came, R.E.M. finally took the stage, and opened with today's song, "I Don't Sleep, I Dream," which I always felt was a Hidden Gem on the Monster album. Michael Stipe even played a few chords on a guitar. It was literally a life-long bucket list item coming true. I was in Near Wild Heaven.
05/29/2015
Day 241: It turned out that all of my hand wringing about not being able to get R.E.M. concert tickets was a bit unfounded. They actually wound up playing two shows in Detroit in the summer of 1995, and then more amazingly, they actually scheduled a show at the Breslin Center in September of the same year. Even though I had just seen them play a few months before, I made sure to get tickets for the East Lansing show. While the R.E.M. concert was certainly awesome, I remember that particular concert more because of the band that opened for R.E.M. on that fall evening. That band happened to by a little act that had just completed their second album. They called themselves Radiohead. Now, I was a little familiar with the band due to their single "Creep" from their debut album a few years before, but in all honesty, I was not impressed. I thought Creep was just a weak novelty rock song, and I had not heard much from their 2nd album yet. Add to the fact that I usually don't like opening acts much anyway (mostly due to lack of familiarity) and my expectations were not high. But, I always try to get to concerts on time, so I saw Radiohead play their entire set. That night, to my surprise, I became a Radiohead fan, which I remain to this day. One reason why was due to today's song, a Hidden Gem off from their 1995 album "The Bends" called "My Iron Lung." The song just has that compelling combination of slow and soft and fast and hard along with that funky little guitar line. It was just a few weeks later, I imagine, that I was in Wherehouse Records off campus when I heard the song again on the speakers and made the decision to buy the CD. 20 years and 6 CDs later, I keep buying them.
05/30/2015
Day 242: I believe that it was also in the late summer or fall of 1995 that I had yet another new concert going experience. By this time, I was also a pretty big fan of the British band Catherine Wheel, and I got wind that they were going to be playing a show at Saint Andrew's Hall in downtown Detroit. I managed to get tickets with Mark and Eric (if I remember correctly) and we drove down to Detroit for the show. I had never really spent any time at all down in the D before, so just being there was at first a pretty intimidating experience for this country boy. But we made it downtown and were ready to rock out. However, once we got there, there was a sign informing us of some sort of scheduling problem such that the show had been postponed to the following weekend. There was some sort of fill-in band playing, and we stayed and watched that for a while, but went home feeling a bit disappointed. The following weekend, we did it all again, only this time, we got to see Catherine Wheel play. it was my first time to be down on the floor in a smaller club type of setting where the band is only 20-40 ft away, and it was a blast. I think that I even witnessed my first honest-to-goodness mosh pit. The musical highlight was when the band played a roughly 10-minute version of today's song, "Black Metallic," from their 1992 debut album "Ferment." The (slightly) shorter album version of the song is a slow burn, shoegazer, hard rock masterpiece of the early 1990s, and it was a real privilege to see it played live. I will always love Saint Andrew's Hall as a venue because of that awesome show.
05/31/2015
Day 243: By the time that I got settled in as a student at MSU and started going to some concerts, I developed a bit of a mental bucket list of bands that I wanted to see live. At the top of my hit list were my original Top 4 bands of R.E.M., The Smiths (Morrissey), The Cure, and Depeche Mode. I was able to scratch off DM, and R.E.M., the Smiths had broken up long ago, so The Cure quickly became my #1 target. Much like R.E.M., however, it seemed like it took forever for their next tour to come around. To add insult to injury, when The Cure last toured in 1992, their stop in Auburn Hills was actually recorded and became a concert album "Show," as well as a concert video of the same name. I probably could have gotten tickets and a ride back in 1992, but I didn't and I basically missed out on a slice of music history. Fortunately, in 1996, The Cure finally released their next studio album, "Wild Mood Swings," which did involve a tour, which I greedily snapped up tickets for as soon as I possibly could. It was awesome to see finally see The Cure live, but let's be honest, "Wild Mood Swings," is not the strongest of the band's albums, so a lot of the songs played were... just OK. There were notable exceptions, however, the most important of which was today song, the 1980 classic "A Forest." The album version is a fantastic slice of the gothic rock sound that made the early days of The Cure so special. On this particular night, Robert Smith decided to play something like a 10-15 minute version of the song that was flat out hypnotic. I think that I read somewhere that The Cure had only done this version of the song once or twice before, so I feel like a got a little redemption from missing the Wish tour years before.
06/01/2015
Day 244: When Jen and I arrived down in Lafayette, we were pretty busy with grad school and really didn't have that much time for concert going. Furthermore, Lafayette did not exactly have the most happening music scene (no offense to Michael Kelsey and the Clayton Miller Band... you guys are alright). But, Jen and I did discover the folk rock singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco while at Purdue, and we had the chance to see her live twice while down in Indiana. The first show that we attended was down in Bloomington (the one and only time I have been on IU's campus) and it was a tremendous show. However, at that time, I think we really owned one or two of Ani's albums, so I can't say that I remember any particular song from that show. The second time we saw her was in Indianapolis a year or so later and by that time, our collection of her CDs had greatly expanded. This was also a great show, but certainly a more subdued one, as she had hurt her leg and/or foot recently and essentially was on crutches. But, one new song from that night really stuck out for me, today's song, "Evolve" which would later be released on a 2003 album of the same name. Ironically, while the show in Bloomington was less memorable due to my lack of familiarity with the DiFranco catalog, I remembered "Evolve" mostly because it was a rare song from the Indy that I did not recognize. The song epitomizes a great Ani DiFranco song for me, as it is essentially an angry woman reciting poetry with the help of an acoustic guitar that is being played half like a stringed instrument and half like it's percussion. Some might call it evolutionary.
06/02/2015
Day 245: As the 21st century started to take hold, Jen and I joined the real world of employment, I had pretty much figured that my concert going days had pretty much passed. I wasn't that interested in new bands, and my old favorites didn't really seem to be touring that much anyway, so I kind of forgot about even looking to see if bands that I liked were even touring. But, from time to time, I would still come across shows that were certainly worth going to. In 2005, after a five year hiatus, Michael Penn released his 5th studio album, "Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947." Jen and I quickly bought the album, but better yet, we heard a radio ad advertising that Penn would be playing a show at The Ark in downtown Ann Arbor in late September right around my birthday. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. It was the first time that Jen or I had ever been to The Ark, and we were surprised at how intimate the experience was to see one of our favorite artists in such a small venue. Penn put on a spectacular show that featured the world's shortest encore delay (he literally walked off stage, turned around and came directly back to the mic.), and a lovely rendition of today song, "Long Way Down." I am not sure if this was part of his standard act or not, but on that particular evening, he started and stopped the opening acoustic riffs 3-4 times in order to get the tuning of the guitar just perfect... and it was. Along the way we were treated to one of the songs that really sold me on Penn in the first place with lyrics like, "if I wear apathy crown, don't call me highness, because it's a long way down." Apathy was certainly the furthest thing from my mind.
06/03/2015
Day 246: As I started to become more adventurous with music during the Toyota Renaissance, that sense of adventure didn't really extend to going to see new bands pay live. But there was one exception to the rule, thanks to Bonnie and her husband Alex. They turned Jen, Andy, Steph, and I onto one of their favorite bands, the "Gypsy Punk" act know as Gogol Bordello. The band was set to do a show in Detroit, and despite the relative lack of familiarity with the group, we all got tickets. But, Bonnie was looking after us, as she put together a mix CD of their "greatest hits" such that we would be better prepared to enjoy the concert. Since I have always struggled a bit with concerts where I am not that familiar with the songs, it was extremely helpful. So, when the band played today's song, "Start Wearing Purple." I could almost sing along: "All your sanity and wits, they will all vanish. I promise, it's just a matter of time."
06/04/2015
Day 247: I have pretty much always been a pretty huge fan of They Might Be Giants, but they are not the type of band that will play large, well publicized concerts. I seem to remember going several years and only hearing about their shows after that had already happened. Fortunately, roughly in 2009, Jen and I discovered that they would be playing a show down in Detroit at Saint Andrews Hall, and I knew that we had to get tickets. To make it even better, they were touring for their education concept album "Here Comes Science." Our geek-o-meters were pretty much pegged. So, jean donned her NYC World's Fair t-shirt, I donned my "heavy metal" t-shirt, and we headed down to the D. I had fond memories of my last visit to Saint Andrews 15 years before, and it was cool to be able to share it anew with the love of my life. When TMBG finally took the stage, they opened with today's song, "Meet The Elements." I had not yet purchased the Science album yet, and so it was my first time hearing it. I just about flipped out with happiness. The smile never left my face for the remainder of the evening.
06/05/2015
Day 248: It is kind of ironic: I seldom like opening acts, but I almost never arrive at a concert late enough to miss them. But one night, I gambled a little bit. Jen and got tickets with Andy and Amanda to go see the Counting Crows at Caesar's Palace in Windsor's, but on the night of the concert, I had scheduled a TV Meeting at work that extended a bit into the evening. So, I knew that I would be a little bit late, but I figured it didn't matter if I was a little late for the opening act. Well, as it turns out, the Counting Crows decided to structure the shows on this particular tour a little differently. Instead of having the two opening acts play sets and then be done. All three acts took turns throughout the evening. They called it the 3-ring circus. When I finally arrived and learned that I had missed a couple of Counting Crows songs, I was a bit irritated at the Universe ("I am late for ONE concert....") I was too nervous to ask anyone for about half the show, I kept waiting and worrying that I had missed the performance of today's song, the classic, "Mr. Jones." Fortunately, they played it about 2/3 of the way in, well after I had arrived. I could finally confirm in person that yes, Mr. Duritz, you are going to be a big star.
06/06/2015
Day 249: I saw Depeche Mode play live in High School, and I caught The Cure and R.E.M. while at MSU, but the final member of my original Top 4, The Smiths had broken up long before I even knew who they were. For a while, I thought that this would remain a permanent hole in my bucket list. But, in 2009, I discovered that former Smiths front man Morrissey was touring for his new album "Years of Refusal." To make our lives just that much easier, he was even coming to the State Theatre in Ann Arbor. Jen and I snatched up tickets, and I was finally able to complete my original four grand slam. I had not been in the State Theatre in years and it was a lovely place to see a concert. Morrissey played a lot of old favorites on that night, but perhaps the song that I anticipated hearing the most was today's song, "English Blood, Irish Heart" from his 2004 album "You Are the Quarry." It is my favorite song of his in the last 20 years. The good news is that he did play the song live that night. The bad news is that I spent much of it arguing with some intoxicated women about which row her seat was located in. Picture it: "Irish blood, English heart. This I'm made of... Is this row 17? No!... There is no one on earth I'm afraid of... Are you sure it's not row 17? NOOOO!!!!!" Grrrr.
06/07/2015
Day 250: As I look back on things, I think Jen and I went to several concerts in 2009. As I remember, for a while I was getting weekly e-mails from Ticketmaster and that served as a reminder of shows that were coming to town. I think that may be how we discovered that The Pixies were staging a 20-year anniversary tour for the classic 1989 album "Doolittle." I never fully appreciated the Pixies when they were touring originally, so this seemed was a truly special opportunity. This time, the concert was held in downtown Detroit at the Fox Theatre. The concept of the concert was brilliantly simple. The Pixies simply played all the songs from that amazing album from top to bottom in order. So, of course, you knew that they were going to play today's song, "Here Comes Your Man," and if you were really paying attention, you knew that it would be the 5th song of the set. And so it was. When it came to finally seeing the Pixies play live, "there [was] a wait so long (so long, so long,)" but eventually there came my band. It was worth the wait.
06/08/2015
Day 251: The Pixies were not the only act to put on a 20th anniversary concert tour. In 2011, while Jen was just slightly pregnant with Evy, I heard on the radio that Matthew Sweet was going to be putting on a show at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his 1991 album "Girlfriend," the title track of which just happens to be today's song of the day. Jen and I had never been to the Blind Pig and so it seems like a great chance to have some fun before we had an infant to take care of. The show itself was a lot of fun in a low key kind of way. If nothing else, I was surprised by how few people were there. As a result, though, it was like seeing someone play a concert in your friends very large basement. The best part of the show was after he played the first three songs including "Girlfriend", Matthew commented, "this is the point of the show where I realize that this album was a bit front-load." (Sad, but true). Oh well, he soldiered on a made through till "Nothing Lasts," and even had time for an encore. All-in-all, the evening was 100% fun to spend with my girl (and my little girl to be).
Even though Matthew thought the record was a bit front-loaded, there were still a couple of really solid, underappreciated track on "Girlfriend," like Track 8, "I Thought I Knew You." Frankly, I think that there are a lot of Hidden Gems on albums. They may have never made it onto the radio waves, but that doesn't mean that they aren't great songs. And so, I will close this chapter on my concert going adventures and open a new chapter explorer those pieces of buried musical treasure.
No comments:
Post a Comment