Elton John - Live at Toyota Center in Houston, 3/28/13

 

Elton John is one of those acts that I just had to see while he is still touring and going strong. His catalog is the definition of classic piano-based rock, his songs have weaved their way into the fabric of American music, and he still receives rave reviews for his live show despite his ripe age of 66. Elton's Thursday night show in Houston was the only Texas date to be announced, so I didn't think twice about the 340-mile round-trip drive to the show on a weeknight. It was completely worth every penny and ounce of exhaustion.

The 'Madman Across the Water' hit the stage ten minutes after 8pm, and he barely stopped for a drink of water until he finished impressing Houston after nearly three hours of non-stop hits. Elton's voice has grown deeper over the years, and he's not quite as visually dynamic as you might see in some of his television performances from the 70s. None of this matters.

In fact, the argument could be made that Elton's current vocals are stronger and better suited to his songs than ever before. His nimble piano playing demonstrated that he's not slowing down or letting his age get the best of him (at least 25% of the shots on the big screens were close-ups of Elton's fingers), and his flawless band and four female backup singers provided further support in the energy department.

The Houston crowd showed Elton a lot of love in between songs, but I've never been to an arena concert where I felt the majority of the crowd was as uninterested in having a good time as at this show. There's something seriously wrong when Elton John and his band are jamming out to 'Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting' and only one out of every ten people on the arena floor is standing up and/or singing along. Chalk it up to aging boomers perhaps, but seriously, do they not have enough energy to stand up for more than an hour? I honestly felt bad for Elton. He deserves so much more from his fans.

Setlist:

1. The Bitch Is Back
2. Bennie and the Jets
3. Grey Seal
4. Levon
5. Tiny Dancer
6. Holiday Inn
7. Believe
8. Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
9. Philadelphia Freedom
10. Candle in the Wind
11. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
12. Rocket Man 
13. Hey Ahab
14. I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues
15. Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
16. Take Me to the Pilot
17. All The Young Girls Love Alice
18. Sad Songs (Say So Much)
19. Daniel
20. Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
21. The One
22. Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me
23. I'm Still Standing
24. Crocodile Rock
25. Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
    
    Encore:
26. Your Song

Green Day @ SXSW, ACL Live 3/15/13

Green Day has been through a lot lately. Drugs, alcohol, in-concert breakdowns, rehab...but you can read about that elsewhere. This post is about their comeback show at SXSW Music on March 15th at ACL Live in Austin after 6 months off, and it turned out to be a hugely successful and triumphant return for the band.

The high-energy vibe in the venue was visible as opening band Stickup Kid got the crowd pumped up for the main course. By the time Billie Joe Armstrong hit the stage with Green Day, I was happy to be safely in a front mezzanine seat, because the general admission floor immediately turned into a frenzied bouncehouse. I've been to dozens of shows at ACL Live, and this was the first mosh pit (actually, more than one) I've seen there.

The band opened with "99 Revolutions" and kept the knob turned up to 10 for most of the two-hour show. From start to finish, Billie and company had the crowd in the palms of their hands, eating up every moment - and Billie was beaming the entire time, clearly ecstatic to be back in business. He was also extremely playful with the crowd, blasting them with a water pistol, t-shirts, and toilet paper. To be honest, many of their songs start to sound very similar after a while, and they don't deviate from a few basic templates. I wouldn't really call any member of Green Day particularly impressive with their instrument. But this show made it clear to me precisely what makes Green Day special; it's definitely their ability to engage, pump, and energize a crowd nonstop. My concert partner deemed it his favorite show of the year so far. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the crowd felt that way, too.

Sound City Players at SXSW - Final Performance, Live at Stubb's, 3/14/13

Other than Prince, this year's official main SXSW Music attraction was Dave Grohl. The former drummer of Nirvana and leader of Foo Fighters, Grohl was invited to give the keynote speech during the Music portion of SXSW, joining such rock icons as Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant, and Smokey Robinson. Not only did Grohl give a great speech, but he also brought his most recent music project, Sound City Players, to an exclusive show at Stubb's that featured Grohl on guitar and drums for over 3 hours as he paid tribute to music history. The show included seven sets that each showcased one or more musicians in a roller coaster of genres.

This was definitely a special show: the Sound City Players project is probably short-lived and has only included a handful of performances in small venues. The SXSW show is likely the last one, according to Rolling Stone. 

Starting the show off with an engaging performance by The Meat Puppets was an excellent choice by Grohl, as the aging rockers included in their set the several songs of theirs that were featured in Nirvana's unbelievable Unplugged performance, such as 'Lake of Fire'. It was a good night to arrive early, because both The Meat Puppets and Sound City Players started their sets around 30 minutes earlier than had been announced on the schedule, leading to a much earlier finish time (midnight) than we expected (2 am) - always a nice surprise on a weeknight of a multi-day festival.

Grohl came out and gave a short introduction into the purpose of the show, which was inspired by the Sound City documentary he produced that details the history of the famous California recording studio, before launching into a rocking set with Alain Johannes of Queens of the Stone Age with some killer guitar solos.

The obvious highlight of the show came sooner than expected, as Stevie Nicks' set was moved from its prior position as the final set to the second slot of the show, surprising more than a few huge fans who were really there to see her. I'll be the first to admit I am a huge Nicks fan, so I'm biased here, but her mere presence seemed to take the show to another level. Her hit-filled set produced the most sing-alongs, including a beautiful duet of the classic duet 'Stop Draggin' My Heart Around' with Grohl on Petty's part, and a show-stopping, full band blowout of 'Gold Dust Woman' to finish her set.

Anticipated sets by John Fogerty and Rick Springfield met the mark, but did not deliver much of anything particularly memorable, other than a 2 minute guitar solo by Fogerty and a solid 'Proud Mary'. The strangest performances of the night featured Lee Ving of Fear, which may not have been the best fit for this crowd, though I suppose you could say he pulled off what he set out to accomplish.

Major props to Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters for his flawless drum work across the evening, and even letting himself be pulled in to a duet of Cheap Trick's hit 'I Want You to Want Me', with Corey Taylor of Slipknot (with Rick Nielsen on guitar, of course). This alone explains the "cool" factor that transcended the entire show. And the ribbon that tied it all together was the pure joy Grohl was experiencing on that stage with all of his guests.

Muse @ Toyota Center in Houston, 3/12/13

Muse's tour supporting their most recent album, The 2nd Law, has been mostly a success to this point. During a tour of a couple dozen European markets in the winter, Muse announced they would be bringing the tour to North American shores in 2013, to much excitement from their fans.

The shows have been earning rave reviews, not only for the band's incredible stage with a moving and constantly contorting "pyramid" of LED panels, but also for their spectacular musicianship, showmanship, and energy. They brought it all to Toyota Center in Houston last Tuesday, March 12, 2013 to what seemed to be a nearly sold out crowd. The floor was packed full of devotees who would show their love for their band with an all-out sing-along to Time is Running Out.

This was my second Muse show, as I was about 50 feet from the stage for their 2010 headlining set at Austin City Limits Festival. While that show featured perhaps a stronger connection with the crowd, this tour proved that Muse is truly a global class act when it comes to shiny, pretty things on stage. Guitars were lit up with LEDs. Lyrics flashed across lead singer Matthew Bellamy's sunglasses at one point, reminiscent of a stock ticker. These are things you don't see every day. It's frankly impossible to be bored at a Muse concert. Just wait 30 seconds and something interesting will light up, implode, or shoot out of a cannon.

That being said, they've earned their fair share of criticism for the direction the band has taken with the last two albums. Playing with direct references to Queen-like bravado (United States of Eurasia), classical music (Exogenesis: Symphony), and oh-so-of-the-moment dubstep (The 2nd Law: Unsustainable), Muse continues to question its own sound, while at the same time defining and pushing it further into something unique. Perhaps it's the fusion of all their influences that will continue to make the band interesting in the years ahead. Regardless, any Muse song translates better live in concert, whether we're talking about an old classic, a rarity, or a new wordless abstract piece. They've learned to walk a very fine line of performance grandiosity and clearly-visible talent.

Mary J Blige @ Moody Theater, 2/27/13

Mary J Blige. The mere mention of her name brings many things to mind. She was a popular radio presence 10-20 years ago, at times. She had a hard early life involving a runaway father and sexual abuse. She's frequently included in all-star tributes to other artists on television. But most of all, she's arguably the last great soul/R&B diva. And Mary put that diva-tude on full display at the Moody Theater at ACL Live last Wednesday, Feb. 27th.

Right from the start, Mary kicked things off with high energy. Taking the stage in an all-white outfit and black knee-high boots, Mary was all over the stage for the entire night, and the crowd ate up every moment. An early 'Family Affair' got almost everyone singing along with Mary, something she ate up for most of the night. At one point, she showed off her pipes by slowing things down and singing while sitting still for a couple songs.

However, it's Mary's ability to fuse her innate performer magnetism with true emotion full of sorrow, heartache, challenge, and regret, that makes her a special artist. Standing just feet in front of Mary, I found myself constantly trying to stop smiling in sheer joy of what I was witnessing, and display a connection with the emotion she was laying out all over the stage. At times, she looked like she was about to break into tears. But then the song would end, the crowd would go absolutely mad, and she'd be beaming once again.

At an abrupt 75 minutes, including a one-song encore, the show was a dazzling display of talent, if a bit too compacted. I guarantee that everyone left the building that evening fully impressed, though.

Radiohead @ Moody Theater - Austin City Limits Taping, 3/6/12

Besides winning the actual lottery, the ACL Blog lottery for a pair of tickets to see the Radiohead taping that the program has been trying to book for years was the hottest gamble in town for Austinites last week. One of the most in-demand bands on the planet, but touring rarely, Radiohead has sold out huge arenas globally on their current tour, making this 2,700-capacity show a treat for all invited (the band's show at the Frank Erwin Center the next evening sold out in mere minutes). 19,000 people entered online for only 1,000 spots on the space-available taping guest list. Shockingly, not only was I one of the few lucky ones whom the gods decided to smile upon this fateful evening, but three of my closest friends also won pairs of seats to the taping.

Making sure to show up right on time to ensure our entrance to the Wednesday, March 6th taping, we hovered around the studio doors, and once open, briskly skirted over to secure a group of 5 seats together about 10 feet from stage right. We couldn't believe our good fortune in claiming these seats, as the floor became packed to capacity. Usually the balconies are closed off for ACL tapings and capacity is limited to 800, but the entire venue was opened up and filled for Radiohead. And the crowd was into it from start to finish, noticeably surprising even the well-loved band members.

The show was everything we expected, and more. Frontman Thom Yorke turned the ACL studio into his personal rhythm test garage, and he couldn't look more like a wise shaman than when rocking a pair of maracas with his hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and eyes closed as if connecting to some sort of existential rock universe that only he has access to. Some other reviewers have commented that the show was a bit disjointed and imperfect, but they were probably just too far away from the stage to be able to connect to the intricate work being done by the band, who may have appeared disengaged from a distance. I can assure these doubters that the band was incredibly connected for most of the evening, and our entire group was blown away by the musicianship and tightness of Radiohead's band members. The twin-bald-headed-white-man drum set-up was almost too funny, but there was no laughing at the talent on display and electricity between the pair.

For a band that constantly strives for perfection in only its own eyes, it was clear that they were using the taping format to their advantage, stopping and re-starting a song halfway through because Yorke was displeased with his guitar work. Nobody minded hearing it twice. While this crowd did not experience the beautiful stage design and constantly-moving screens built for the rest of Radiohead's arena tour, I doubt anyone cared about that either. The setlist focused on tracks from 'The King of Limbs' and 'In Rainbows', and the crowd did get a few old goodies, such as rarely played 'Orgy' and 'Myxomatosis', before the band finished up with 'Paranoid Android' during a singular encore. The theater screamed for a second encore (probably aware this is standard practice at Radiohead arena shows), but the band did not return as the studio lights came on and people began to file out. Most people could not conduct coherent conversations in the hours immediately following the show due to the level of musical nirvana reached.

The taping will air as part of the fall 2012 season of Austin City Limits on PBS.

Free Press Summer Fest Lineup Out Monday 3/5

After weeks of delay, the Free Press Summer Fest (June 2-3 in Houston) lineup will finally be announced tomorrow, Monday, March 5th at an unannounced time. More importantly, while pre-sale tickets are currently $45 for a 2-day pass, you can score one for a steal if you feel like waking up when a limited amount of tickets go on sale for just $15 at 5 a.m. on Monday. They will probably go up to $60 after the lineup is released later in the day.

The Houston, TX festival planners posted on Facebook that the lineup would be "coming soon" on February 4th, but weeks went by with only the news that Major Lazer will be one of the headliners (whose performance at FFF Fest 2011 managed to explode and implode my brain at the same time). Also leaked are appearances by Two Door Cinema Club and Maps & Atlases. Word is that the festival team was waiting to make the big announcement due to working on booking someone "BIG". This could be huge; from the fest's humble beginnings in 2009, it has grown exponentially in an extremely short amount of time - probably helped by a combination of the continuing popularity of music festivals and a bit of Austin-envy. But Summer Fest is no joke - Weezer, Cut Copy, Ween, Beirut, Yeasayer, Chromeo, and Big Boi were just a few of the major acts to grace this festival last year, and The Flaming Lips and Girl Talk headlined in 2010. Keep an eye out for an update on the lineup.

KXT's 'Summer Cut' Fest Rocks Dallas June 1st

The Flaming Lips are coming back! For anyone who missed their appearance at Houston's 2010 Free Press Summer Fest, as well as their Sunday pre-headliner slot at the 2010 ACL Festival (which I missed in favor of Band of Horses, a decision I do not regret), KXT's announcement of a one-Friday-night-only festival drew some excitement this week.

The June 1st 'Happy Funtime Fest' is produced by Live Nation and presented by KXT 91.7, a local Dallas radio station that switched over from Christian radio to the Adult Alternative format in 2009. For a city that doesn't really have a festival to match Free Press or ACL, this is "kind of a big deal" for Dallas. Oddly, the festival is being hosted at Gexa Energy Pavilion (Starplex/Superpages.com/Smirnoff), a large outdoor amphitheater in Fair Park featuring covered pavilion seats and a sloped, uncovered lawn. I've heard that the acts will be split between the main stage (The Flaming Lips, St. Vincent, Fitz & The Tantrums, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) and a side stage with some of the less popular and local acts. Who knows if KXT is still planning on adding anyone major to the line-up, but my guess is no. Out of the line-up, the only band I have previously seen live is Fitz & The Tantrums, and it was a top 3 ACL show for me in 2011. The Flaming Lips may decide to do a special performance of one of their classic albums, or Dark Side of the Moon, or go more current with their material...only time will tell.

The fest kicks off at 5 p.m. and will go until 10 or 11 p.m. at night. 1000 lawn seats went on sale for $11.34 ($9.17 before fees) Saturday at noon, and there are still more than 50 available, so pick them up at this price before they go up to $27.58. There are also still plenty of pavilion seats available for $75 incl. fees. Tickets are available at LiveNation.com. There are overhead fans in the pavilion and who knows how hot it will be...but my friends want to dance on the lawn. Decisions, decisions. And of course, Free Press Summer Fest 2012 is the Saturday and Sunday immediately following Summer Cut, so maybe it will just have to be a festival-filled weekend full of music and driving across the state.

The Civil Wars @ Moody Theater - Austin City Limits Taping, 2/29/12

'Critic's darling' is a term thrown around quite a bit, but no music act of the last year embodies the spirit of the term better than The Civil Wars. Their debut album Barton Hollow, released just one year ago, peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200. Fresh off their double Grammy win for 'Best Country Duo/Group Performance' and 'Best Folk Album' (and an unconscionable snub for a 'Best New Artist' nomination), the duo brought their classic blend of folk musings, pop-tinged harmonies, and singer-songwriter honesty to the Moody Theater for the opening of the 2012 Austin City Limits taping season on Wednesday, February 29th. After playing a sold-out show at the Paramount just last month, Austin was more than happy to offer a warm welcome back to The Civil Wars.

Joy Williams of The Civil Wars lets her passion out at
Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia on August 16, 2010.

Always at the mercy of the ACL blog ticket lottery gods, I was not one of the lucky winners, but fortunately a few of my friends made the guest list. One of them graciously met me downtown so that I could be their +1, despite their own inability to attend. I am forever grateful to said friend, because this was a spectacular show (there was a smile plastered across my face for most of the concert).

A musical pairing that seems almost too good to be true, Joy Williams and John Paul White sing about the highs and lows of marriage, and for a few moments you wonder if they are married to one another and are using this as some sort of twisted couple's therapy. Not the case - both are married to other people, and not only does John Paul have four children of his own, Joy got the crowd chuckling when she mentioned her new-found role as a 'human bakery'. This explains her positively beaming demeanor, but she was gorgeous and slender in a flowing, layered black dress, even showing some skin in the back.

The setlist centered around tracks from Barton Hollow along with a few covers and a couple new songs. Upon starting into 'I've Got This Friend', Joy joked this was the pair's "one and only happy song." John Paul reminisced about waiting for Austin City Limits to come on TV as a child (as it was on one of the only channels...), and both performers made it clear they were extremely thankful to be a part of the 35+ year tradition, seemingly blown away by the crowd's adoration. They also described their first meeting in a songwriting session in 2008, and how it was a pure music connection from the start. The first song they wrote together that day ended up on the album. And while John Paul mentioned growing up surrounded by bluegrass, folk, and Americana (which elicited cheers from the crowd), Joy half-jokingly admitted having a completely different musical background, growing up listening to radio-friendly pop "in California". Yet, somehow the pair found a way to bring their two styles together into one seamless combination of eerie perfection that can only be found in the rare live setting.

The comfort the pair demonstrates on-stage is reassuring, considering it's just the two of them and a guitar; although Joy did play piano on two songs, she is clearly at her best when free of any instruments, letting her body move and vocal fluctuations vary with the mood of the moment. It's easy to lose yourself watching her, and occasionally you forget that John Paul is on the stage. He provides an essential and constant backdrop to Joy's voice that just makes the whole thing 'work'. 

The audience held on to every note as if it were the last they would ever hear. You could hear a pin drop in the studio in-between Joy's breaths, but once each song ended, the audience erupted into appreciation for the experience. After leaving the stage, a rousing and unending cheer for more brought the duo back out for an encore, featuring slow-burning covers of 'Billie Jean' and Smashing Pumpkins song 'Disarm.' When the lights came up, every single person in that studio of 800 knew they were smart not to miss this one.