On the sixth day of Gheorghemas:
Big Gheorghe gave to me…
Six old and new musical experiences
Five roadsters you can and should buy right now
FORE! An overdue update on LIV & the PGA Tour
Three Ways of Coping
Stories from two three strokes
And much needed hip-mo-bili-ty
Music is what cures the soul, at least for me.The ability to go put a record on the old turntable (or fire up Spotify) and just mellow out after a stressful day or week is my usual form of therapy these days. This year I got to check out 13 shows.
As most of you know I have an eclectic taste in music. Six of the shows had something different going for them than the other ones, except for the Swedish death metal band I took my son and a few of his friends to.
Started the year off with seeing Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at Radio City Music Hall with some Lammies (Zman, Juan Carlos, AReed) and a friend of AReed’s. The friend did something I had not witnessed at a show before. When we got to our seats he took off his sandals and did not put them back on until the end of the show. He repeatedly went to grab beers and hit the restroom during the show in his socks. But whatever floats your boat. First time seeing Isbell. Great show with great friends.
The next two shows brought back memories of one of my favorite shows from our college days, Primus and Fishbone at the Boat House. Two different shows this year but each show had a bonus. First up was Primus playing with A Perfect Circle and Pussifer. Awesome show where the bands would play 4 song sets and then switch to the next band. This repeated three times. The stage had all three drum kits setup on an elevated stage with lounge seating for the other bands to hang out and listen while the other bands played. Primus still has the goods. If you look closely at center stage you can see Les Claypool wearing a pig mask playing upright bass for the final song where all three bands were on stage together.
Second show was Fishbone opening for Madness. I did not have this show on my radar but you know who did, Whit. He happened to be in town for a day or two and thankfully dragged me out to see the show. It is always great to hang out with Whit. Show was good. Madness was on point and can still bring it. There was this musical interlude before the encore.
Funny thing is the family already had plans to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in VA Beach for our son's 16th birthday. Why RHCPs? Son’s favorite guitarist happens to be the man in the band. Fun fact, I first saw them back in 1989. Never thought a child of mine would want to see the same band I saw 35 years before. And based on the bands use of drugs, never thought they would make it that long.
Since the show was in VA Beach I knew I would see Whit prior to this show. But it was great to have E and him join us, although sitting in the parking lot for an hour to get out of the lot was painful. Two shows with Whit! RHCPs still sound good 35 years later.
Next show was a change up from the usual rock, punk, funk wheelhouse of mine. I went full bluegrass and took a flyer on Billy Strings. His band was not a typical band setup, he played without a drummer and the drumming beat was not missed. Great show, great long jams. You got to go and see him if you get the chance.
My son has been spoiled when it comes to seeing concerts. He has seen bands at big venues or festivals. I kept trying to get him to go see shows at smaller venues but always got the teenager “I am too cool to go to a show with the old man” push back. I finally got him committed to two small venue shows.One pushed to next year (J Mascis aka Dinosaur Jr. fame) and the other is a post-punk band from Leeds, Yard Act. I had been wanting to see them after the first album but missed the chance.
I had no idea what to expect but the 7 piece band delivered in the cozy 500 person venue. They were loud and full of high energy. It is not too often you see back-up singers dance in unison as part of a post-punk band. But it worked and got him to see the light on how awesome small venue concerts can be.
The last show of note I will bore you with was MJ Lenderman & the Wind. If you like dad rock with some pedal steel guitar and extended versions of the songs, then jump on board. Hell, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked it their third best album of the year. Another small venue show that rocked.The extended jams scratched my jam band itch while still giving off the indie rock vibes. It might be hard to see him in a small venue going forward but worth a flyer if you have the time. It will be interesting to see what happens with his primary gig with the band Wednesday, another indie emo darling.
Back to that Swedish death metal band, Opeth. I have never seen a death metal band, so I wanted to see how bad the GA section would be. Turns out the upper balcony GA section at the venue only had seats and everyone sat through the whole show. Not very death metal to me.
Maybe we need to have a G:TB concert outing. Someone pick a show. Or just go see a local show. It is good therapy. At least for this guy.
Merry Gheorghemas!
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17 comments:
the annual tradition of squeaky making up bands. love it.
wow-- primus, fishbone, chili peppers . . . a walk down memory lane. pussifer?
Awesome slate of shows, Squeaky, great post, and it was killer hanging with you at a couple of them. You’re an excellent concert buddy. You tend to know facts about the artists that I don’t, you enjoy the tunes with a smile on your face, and you never block my view.
I, on the other hand,…
if we drop a post a day between now and the end of the year (calendar year, not gheorghian year - that's governed by whitney's day 12 posting whims) we can exceed 200 posts for the year for the first time since 2021.
No reason not to
I know loads of facts about obscure musical artists, most of 'em dead.
I caught some great shows this year, in the star city and on my trip to new orleans in march.
Stimulator Jones Orchestra was a highlight. I saw Cyril Aimee in that same room in February. She's a good jazz singer, and the show I saw was her with a usual piano player and a bassist and drummer who'd never played together before. Those dudes locked in and turned in one of the best jazz shows I've seen. Good music rules.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DCPtXO1vAr6/?img_index=1
I tried to put this link in my comment, but it didn't work. A few clips from Stimulator Jones Orchestra show.
doug gottlieb's coaching career seems to be off to a bright start
your tribe putting its unblemished home record on the line this evening against spidey. tight game nearing the half.
nice bowl win for the dukes. happy for my wife. and the danimal.
Rootsy, I got to check out Simulator Jones. Looks like a good time.
The Puscifer, A Perfect Circle and Primus show was billed as Sessanta which was a show to celebrate Maynard James Keenan's 60th birthday. He is the singer from Tool. He is also in Puscifer and A Perfect Circle as well.
squeak just made up an entire tour.
tribe wins! suck it, spidey.
Tribe! Tribe! TribeTribeTribe!
I am officially on vacation for the rest of 2024 (though I am taking a few meetings while off over the next week). And then I’m off to Austin for work on 1/5. Not gonna be a bad few weeks.
This is an impressive list. I can't believe it's been almost a year since we saw Isbell. We need to get more shows on the docket in 2025.
Jealous, Mark. Sounds pretty awesome.
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