The Long Cut ...we'll get there eventually

Cute and Paste

First off, I want to thank everyone who gave their opinion on the name-your-own-price Paste magazine offer. The consensus was that somewhere between $5 and $10 was pretty reasonable, so I went about halfway between those two numbers and sent in my an amount equal to my birth date (you'll have to figure that one out on your own).

These posts of mine about the 'XPN free-at-noon concerts have lately been falling into the "better-late-than-never" timespan, especially when I have more than a week between the concerts.

Not last Friday, but the Friday before that - October 26 - I went out to 'XPN to see Nellie McKay for free. I mentioned McKay's latest album, Obligatory Villagers, in my most recent "weekly" RIYL post (which - whoops - was over a month ago!) and the disc has only grown on me more since than.

McKay's songwriting is so sharp that it's easy to forget just how talented a musician she is. In concert, though, it's hard to miss - especially if you happen to be sitting about three feet from her like I was. She walks out on stage carrying a big stack of music books looking like some demure high schooler at a recital - and than goes and plays like a piano virtuoso, all the while singing those sharp lyrics of hers.

And speaking of lyrics, as sweet and innocent as she may look, McKay's latest release has a well-deserved "explicit lyrics" warning sticker on it, and it applies to most of the disc's songs. Somehow, though, so made it thought the broadcast-live-on-NPR show without needing to be beeped (not that those God-hating, youth-corrupting, amoral, commie-pinko public radio hippies would have censored her anyway) which was kind of a shame, since my favorite songs from the new disc are also some of the saltiest. Oh, well, it was still a fun (but way too short) show.

Some photos here, NPR archive there.

Spunky Kingston

I can't say that last Friday's WXPN Free-at-Noon artist was someone on my must-see-live list, or even an artist whose music I think about that much, but the instant I found out that Toots and the Maytals were playing, I knew I had to be there.

You might not know it from how I look and dress, but I'm not a huge reggae fan. I've never fully got the whole Bob Marley adoration thing. I've tried. I've even tried Ziggy Marley. Nothing. I just don't think that reggae by itself is very interesting.

But mix it up with a little ska and rock and rhythm & blues and whatever else and now you've got my interest. This might sound lame, but my education in Jamaican music started with the Clash's punk-flavored interpretations and has worked backward from there, so I expect a little more than just the laid-back beats. Toots Hibbert and his band deliver much more than laid-back beats.

I can't say that Toots sounded great in concert, since the sound system seemed a bit weak down at the World Cafe Live (or at least from where I was standing), but he did put on quite a show. You would never guess that Mr. Hibbert is almost 62(!) years old. The guy moves around the stage like he's still in his twenties. He reminded me of a Jamaican (and, you know, still alive) James Brown, without the big ego. Without any ego at all, really.

Toots has a new disc out, but he played plenty of older hits - like "Funky Kingston" and "54-46, That's My Number." And he and the band played for a relatively long time for a free noontime concert - almost an hour.

My spot right next to the stage was great when I got to be one of the lucky few to shake Toots' hand as he wrapped up his set, but it wasn't that great a spot for taking pictures. For most of the concert Toots was blocked from my view by his backup singers (who were, oddly enough, placed up front) but he did come to the edge of the stage every once in a while so I did get a few shots, which I've posted over at Flickr. I just can't say I'm real happy with how they came out. As always, NPR has archived their broadcast of the show, which came out just fine.

Next week: Nellie McKay.

Just Because I'm Up To My Neck In Gravel Doesn't Mean I Should Be Taken For Granite

Hey there! Still here, still alive. The patio project is going well, if not a bit (a lot a bit) slower than expected. I keep meaning to post some in-process pictures (or - hold on the you hats - some video), but any photo post would have to include a few shots of the blood blisters the project has produced, and I don't think anyone wants to see that. Or at least I know the Missus never seems to want to see that.

So, no, I haven't been blogging lately. Or running. Or taking a lot of pictures. Or reading. Or attending free concerts.

Ah, but way back on September 21, before I missed two free-at-noon concerts (by some guys named Loudon Wainwright III and Steve Earle) I did get to see the A-Sides, pour libre.

I'm a big fan of the A-Sides, and not just because they're from Philly (though that's part of it, too). I like how the band takes the pure pop of the 60's and twists it into their own unique sound. Their new disc, Silver Storms, has a stronger, more trippy sound than their debut, and shows off both their musical knowledge and their musical ability. All of the songs on the disc end up morphing into a mix of guitars and drums that never sounds tacked-on or show-offy (that is too a word). In fact, while not every song works perfectly, the album as a whole flows very nicely from song to song.

So I was real excited to see them live and real surprised to see a small crowd waiting to get into the concert, which was a real shame. 'XPN is good to local bands, but the A-Sides still don't get much airplay. The small crowd (and the fact that it was a mid-day concert) seemed to take some of the spark away from the band. But it was still a pretty good show. NPR has it archived here, and I've got some pictures from it here.

This Friday it's funky Kingston's own Toots and the Maytals. I don't know if Toots has a new disc coming out or what, but I can't pass up seeing him live.

Great Chicano Fire

My year-end top tens last December didn't include a "best concerts" category but there's no doubt that if they did, Alejandro Escovedo would have been pretty high on it. I saw him for the first time at an 'XPN free-at-noon back in June '06 and he just blew me, and the whole the room, away. Escovedo looks kind of meek and has written a whole bunch of beautiful, gentle songs, so it was kind of surprising to see him and his band rip into some serious rock and roll music.

Well, he was back in the area earlier this month to wrap up Camden County's free summer concert series at the Dell in nearby Haddon Heights, NJ. Even in a breezy and relaxed outdoor setting, Escovedo was still his usual intense self. Watching him move around the stage - sort of "visiting" (and jamming with) one of the band members any time he didn't need to be at the microphone - you got the idea that he wanted to pull the best performance possible from each of the people playing up there with him. And the musicians he tours with were up for the challenge. Even the violinist and cellist jammed pretty hard when they had to.

Escovedo played a bunch of songs he hadn't played back when I last saw him. One of his biggest songs, relatively speaking, is "Castanets." That song somehow ended up on Dubya's iPod, and for a while there Escovedo wouldn't play it live because of that. But now that Bush is on his way out (and the Austinite Escovedo isn't real happy about him coming back to Texas when he does finally leave the While House) the song is back on his playlist. He also dedicated the beautiful "Sensitive Boy" to his brother and did a couple of covers as an encore, ending with an incredible take on the Stone's "Beast of Burden" that you probably could have heard three towns over.

I had my camera with me and took some shots. Usually when I go to a free-at-noon concert I also link to the NPR archive of the show, but this show wasn't broadcast on 'XPN (though they were a sponsor). However, I did a little googling and found out that someone did indeed record the show and they've posted it to the live music section of the Internet Archive, and it sounds like it was recorded right off the soundboard. Go here to hear it - it's streaming and it's available for free download.

Can You Dig It? I Knew That You Could.

Oh, the digging, the digging... it just never stops.

Real quick though, I just wanted to point out that I've posted photos from both the August 24 Josh Ritter Free-at-Noon concert and the August 31 Uncle Earl Free-at-Noon concert over at my Flickr page.

I mentioned the Josh Ritter concert in a RIYL post a couple weeks ago, but I have to add that it was the best concert I've seen at 'XPN so far this year. Ritter's moved from folk troubadour to a more rocking sound and it's pretty obvious that he's having a ball with the new stuff (in a lot of my pictures it looks like his eyes are closed, but that was just from him smiling the whole friggin' concert). His songwriting skills are still as strong as they've ever been and the new songs sound fantastic.

Ritter mentioned during the concert that he played "The River" at a Carnegie Hall Springsteen tribute (and got to meet the Boss), so when he came back out on stage at our concert for a solo acoustic encore - while everyone else called for him to play "Kathleen" (his best-known song from his folk era) - I jokingly called out, "play the River!," which got a big laugh from the crowd. And then he actually played "The River!" How 'bout that? And just after Ritter solemnly sang the Springsteen line, "down to the river, my baby and I," a baby in the audience gave a perfectly-timed little cry. Damn kid showed me up.

NPR has the show (sans encore) archived here. My photos are here.

Uncle Earl is a four-piece (plus an extra touring member) bluegrass band. I have never heard them ever get air time on 'XPN (or anywhere else), but I'm always up for some good bluegrass. And this was good, authentic bluegrass music. It was old-timey, but it wasn't treated as some kind of dusty artifact. It was played with a lot of energy and made the place feel like some Kentucky honky-tonk bar (a honky-tonk bar filled with public-radio-loving yuppies, but still).

The four women who make up Uncle Earl all seem to come at bluegrass from different angles - Alison Krauss sweetness to good ol' boy girl rollickin' - but they all meshed together very well. An unexpected treat that was a lot of fun, and it'll probably be the only time I'll ever see clogs (as in "clog dancing") used as a musical instrument in concert.

Their myspace page is here, NPR's archive is here, my photos are here.

I still have some Alejandro Escovedo (who was 'XPN's best free show last year) concert photos to process from a Camden County park concert last week. He's still unbelievably good live. More on that concert when I get more time.

[Did you get the post title reference? I knew that you would.]

Three For Free

Lots of free concerts lately!

A week ago Wednesday it was Kim Richey at the Dell in Haddon Heights, NJ. For some reason I was expecting a solo show but, as you can see from the photo, she brought a full band with her. For a hot and humid night Kim and the band played a pretty energetic show. Lots of new stuff from  Chinese Boxes  and a few older songs, too. Opening act Carsie Blanton was all smiles and girlish charm, a combination of sweet innocence and singsong vocals that fit her songwriting style perfectly. Carsie's got a myspace page (as does Kim Richey) and I've got some photos from the show at my flickr page.

Two days later, it was another Friday Free-at-Noon concert at WXPN, with Brooklyn's Joan as Policewoman opening up for Crowded House.

The nonsensically-named Joan as Policewoman (I'm pretty sure she's not a real policewoman) is singer-songwriter Joan Wasser backed by a drummer and bass player. Wasser sounds a bit like Cat Power with a punkier edge. She put on quite a show, with her gold lamé shirt and dramatic head flips. Not quite what the Crowded House crowd goes for, but I thought she sounded pretty good.

As is the custom during the two-act Free-at-Noon shows, the first act was interviewed while the roadies set the stage for the second act. This usually takes about three minutes, but for some reason Crowded House's guys took about ten. This caused a bit of confusion since the show was being broadcast live on NPR while the drawn-out interview with Joan Wasser was going in circles. When the band finally did come out they didn't seem like they were taking the show very seriously, but they were having a good time and soon enough the audience was laughing along with them and their slow set-up was pretty much forgotten (maybe not by the host of the show, who looked like she wanted to kill someone - probably someone from New Zealand). Neil Finn warned that he wasn't going to sing anything with high notes (so no "Don't Dream It's Over"), but the four songs they did play sounded just fine.

My Flickr set here, NPR archive here.

Today I was back at 'XPN for another two-fer free concert, this time it was Neko Case opening for Rufus Wainwright. I would have been happier with a full show of Neko, but Rufus was pretty good, too. Neko hasn't had a new album since last year's Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and three of her four songs came from that disc, which was just fine by me. I just wish I got to hear her for more than than twelve minutes.

Rufus played three songs from his new disc, Release the Stars, and brought out his half-sister Lucy Roche (daughter of Suzzie Roche of the Roches) to help sing a pretty decent version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (I still don't think anyone does it better than Cohen himself). He came back out after the broadcast was over and played probably my favorite song of his, "California," as an encore.

Rufus and Neko had a strict no-photography rule in effect, so all I've got for you is the NPR archive of the show.

Sisters, Oh Mercy

It's late, the Phillies just lost, I needed to get an emergency pulpotomy this afternoon (which should hold me over until I can get a pulpectomy next week), I got about four hours of sleep last night because I had an icepack plastered to my face, and I just found out today that Boston blogs harder than Philly - so I'm going to keep this short:

Last Friday's WXPN Free-at-Noon concert featured Tegan & Sara, the Canadian twin sisters whose new album The Con gets better with each listening. They played to a full house ('XPN always calls it a "sell-out crowd," but I don't see how a free concert can "sell" out) and rocked hard and loud.

They played a lot of their new stuff and a couple of old songs and had plenty of pretty funny (and often pretty flaky) banter. NPR has the concert archived (though their website doesn't list everything they played), and I've got some photos from the show.

Tomorrow's free concert, another "sell-out," is Crowded House, with Joan as Police Woman opening, which should be pretty good. But next week's show - Rufus Wainwright and Neko Case - should be pretty great. I would suggest you get your free tickets for that one now, before they sell out run out.

Guitar And Driver

Last Friday's WXPN Free-at-Noon concert's headliner was actress-turned-musician Minnie Driver, but the stars of the show were musicians-turned-actors Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová (who perform as "the Swell Season").

Hansard, of the Irish band the Frames, and Czech singer and pianist Irglová are the stars of the new independent movie Once. Driver, of course, has been in major motion pictures like Grosse Point Blank and Good Will Hunting (as well as several other movies where the title isn't a play on words). She also, um, sings.

I don't want to be too harsh on Ms. Driver. She can sing, and she's not too too bad at it - other than a monotonous stab at Stevie Wonder's "Master Blaster" she didn't embarrass herself. I just didn't leave the concert feeling like I just had to have her new disc. Judging by the long line at her table after the show, a lot of concert-goers did - though buying her disc also meant getting to meet a real-live Hollywood actress, so that could have had something to do with the unusually brisk sales. Driver was also quite charming during her mid-concert interview (though she needs to drop her totally-fake British accent).

Oddly enough, during Hansard and Irglová's interview they mentioned that the director of Once said he was looking for musicians who acted, not actors who sang (sorry, Minnie). If these two can act as well as they perform music, and it looks like they can, than the movie should do pretty well. Hansard wrote the film's songs (before being cast in the lead) and had already recorded an album with Irglová before doing the soundtrack. Irglová's soft harmonies nicely compliment Hansard's emotional, Cat Stevens-like vocals.

They also, apparently, have become a real-life couple since the playing a couple in their film - though that was kind of obvious in concert from the goo-goo eyes they were making at each other (actually, it was kind of sweet to see the way they were interacting - it's just that I'm a cynical old man, so I have to make fun of it).

I've got a bunch of pictures of the happy couple over at my Flickr page, but my view of Minnie was usually blocked by her band's equipment so I've only got a couple shots of her. NPR, as they do every week, has archived the concert at their website.

Whopping Spree

I feel like the Long Cut's becoming all-concert-photos-all-the-time, but there was no way that I was going to leave my camera home for the Polyphonic Spree Free-at-Noon concert I saw a couple of Fridays ago. Usually these concerts give you three or four subjects to shoot, but the Spree provided twenty-four of them (twenty-five if you count opening act Mark Olson - twenty-six if you count Megan Hickey of the Last Town Chorus, who accompanied Olson).

When I wrote about the Polyphonic Spree's newest album, The Fragile Army, a few weeks ago, I referred to their "strange cult-like choir shtick" and mentioned how their songs have a tendency to all start sounding the same after while, but in concert it all works. The band comes across as genuine - more theater than shtick (if that makes any sense - yes, it's an act, but that doesn't mean that they're not into what they're playing) - and their constant enthusiasm on stage keeps you interested in their songs longer than you might have been just listening to them on your CD player. The Spree were obviously made for live shows, and their always-smiling and appropriately-named leader Tim DeLaughter drove that home with a few pleas to buy the new disc so that the band could continue to stay on the road (I can't imagine just how much it must cost to keep this band touring).

The concert was a lot of fun - half Electric Light Orchestra, half Up With People - and I would recommend it to anyone, even if you're not all that crazy about the music.

The mild Olson, formerly of the Jayhawks, was an odd choice to have open for such a dynamic group (I have a feeling he just happened to be available to stop into 'XPN that day), and he only played four songs (including one oldie from his former band). It would have been great for him to have his own Free-at-Noon concert, but he did a good job filling the little time he was given.

NPR's stream of the concert is here, my photo set is here. About half the Polyphonic Spree pictures were taken while the band was setting up which, as you can imagine, took quite a while.

Solid Wood

Always on the lookout for concert tickets that are in my price range (i.e. free), I'm try to take full advantage of my county's free summer concert series. Actually, they have a few free summer series going at once, but the one in the town one over from me features mostly folk and folk-rock artists. They often get some really good artists on their way up and sometimes even get some (relatively) bigger names to come into town (last year I saw Graham Parker there, and the year before that they got Marshall Crenshaw to come down to play). And the concerts are on a little outside stage carved into a dell, complete with a little stream running behind it.

Last Wednesday night, the nine-year-old and I went out to see the Wood Brothers. About a year ago a coworker of mine gave me the brothers' debut album, Ways Not to Lose, to listen to. This year he pretty much demanded that I go see them when they came to town (I was already planning on going anyway).

Oliver Wood does most of the singing and most of the songwriting. He also plays a mean guitar, despite his mild-mannered disposition (he was very kind to a little girl who decided she would watch the show from right on the stage). Christopher Wood (he of Medeski Martin & Wood) plays stand up bass and a little harmonica and provides the back up vocals. It's a pretty bare-bones little operation they run, but they make the most of it. Their sound is rooted in the blues but there's a lot more going on there, too. Someone said it pretty well over at Wikipedia (no, seriously, someone actually wrote an accurate wiki for once):

[T]he songs... possess a timeless quality: Their bedrock melodies and astutely observed stories sound instantly archetypal. There are echoes of country blues, Appalachian bluegrass, and New Orleans R&B. Oliver’s inimitable vocals—yearning, rueful, jubilant—are set within expressive yet economical arrangements created by his own impressionistic (electric and National steel-bodied) guitar riffs [and] Chris’ nimble, note-bending bass lines.

Great stuff, and their album is just as impressive. You can download a bunch of songs from their website, but you can download the disc's single right here: "One More Day" [mp3]. And the Free-at-Noon concert they did last year (how'd I miss that?) is archived over at NPR.

And, of course, I took some photos while I was there (they're not the greatest shots - outdoor nighttime concerts aren't the easiest things in the world to shoot).

Tiger Beat

Earlier this week, I read a shot-by-shot analysis of the last five minutes of the Sopranos final episode. One of the less-popular post-blackout theories - that it was the show's viewers who got whacked - was dismissed by the post's author with a quick, "That’s cute. But the show was about Tony, not us."

I would say the same thing to anyone who thought that Ryan Adams performed for them at last Friday's WXPN Free-at-Noon concert. Cute, but the show was about Ryan, not us.

The stage was lit only from the back, so that for most of the show all the audience saw was Ryan's silhouette (in fact, the entire room was kept in the dark from the time we stumbled in until the time we stumbled out). Ryan and his band, the Cardinals, were set up not in an arc but in a semi-circle, so that they were practically playing for each other. The crowd laughed at all of Ryan's jokes, but most seemed to be told for the band's benefit. And I think Ryan spent more time talking to a stagehand while trying to get a proper can of Coke (the first wasn't cold enough, the second was in a cup and not the requested can) than he did talking to the audience.

So yeah, Ryan Adams can be a jerk. But he's a funny and charming jerk. And a seriously talented musician. Ryan puts out a lot of music - sometimes two or three albums a year - and isn't afraid to try different styles. He sometimes seems to just throw everything out there to see what sticks, but a good amount of it does indeed stick. He first hit the scene fronting Whiskeytown, which was often derided as a weak Uncle Tupelo wannabe, then went solo and put out his own alt-country work as well as some rock, pop, honky-tonk, and even some mope-rock (he does a version of Oasis's "Wonderwall" that might just be better than the original).

His upcoming disc, Easy Tiger seems to go back to his country-tinged roots, though slower, more somber, and more radio friendly (Sheryl Crow - ugh - even appears on its first single). For me, not many of the album's songs have much staying power, but the disc also strikes me as something that might grow on me - like the two years it took for me (and perhaps a handful of other fans) to appreciate his Love is Hell EPs.

While the Cardinals went for the classic rock-tour-casual look, Ryan went for a nightclub vibe with the coat, the loosened necktie, and the Ray Bans. Between his get-up, the soft lights, and the mournful piano that accompanied him, Ryan was very much reminding me of a slightly-countrified Rufus Wainwright. But he sounded great, pleased the crowd (intentionally or not) by playing some of his older stuff, and was kind enough to stick around for a few more songs after the radio feed signed off. So maybe he isn't too much of a jerk after all. Though you might not want to ask the guy who had to keep bringing him sodas (of which Ryan ended up taking a total of about three sips) what he thought of him.

This week's free show is former Mott The Hoople frontman Ian Hunter. I'm going to take a pass on that one, but I've already got my ticket for next week's free Polyphonic Spree show. How could I possibly turn down a chance to see a spectacle like that? I can't wait to see how they fit everyone on the World Cafe Live's relatively tiny stage.

By the way, that grainy photo up there is the only one I could salvage from the show, due to the darkness (and it took about an hour of photoshopping just to make that one somewhat presentable). I found pictures of the show from fellow South Jerseyian Serena - who must have been standing right next to me but still somehow managed to get plenty of great shots - on her flickr page.

NPR, as always, has achieved a stream of the concert at their website.

Update: MuchMusic is streaming Mr. Adams' new disc at their website. [Muchmusic, by the way is the Canadian equivalent to the MTV - back when MTV played music. When the (future) missus was going to college up in North Jersey (back in the early 90's) her college's cable system was about 90% Canadian channels for some reason (I would guess that it was much cheaper than regular cable). Anyway, we spent a lot of time watching MuchMusic which, in accordance with the Canadian Content rules, made sure that 35% of the videos they played were by Canadian artist and, boy howdy, you had better have loved Sarah McLachlan and Bryan Adams (and yes, I'm pretty sure Ryan Adams hates that Bryan Adams ever went into the music business - even more than most of us do). Watching Canadian cable was cool during the Winter Olympics, though. You know, I'm thinking this little addendum probably should have been it's own post.]

A Superior Show

I'm still crazy busy at work, but WXPN's keeps having some pretty hard-to-resist acts at their Friday Free-at-Noon shows lately, so I keep going.

Two Fridays ago it was the Great Lake Swimmers. This Canadian band's latest album,  Ongiara, is definitely what some folks would call a "grower" - it might not do much for you at first, but it grows on you after a while. Luckily, that's not the case in when they're in concert (especially since they only played for 35 minutes), where their sound instantly grabs your attention.

Singer Tony Dekker is the low-key leader of a low-key band, but that doesn't mean that their music is restrained - he's backed by some pretty talented musicians playing some very interesting music. The music's just a bit quieter is all. And that just serves to highlight Dekker's crisp vocals and strong lyrics.

I was surprised that the relatively-unknown band drew a pretty respectable-sized crowd for the lunchtime concert. I'm sure that for a lot of the folks there it was their first time hearing the Great Lake Swimmers, but from the way that the band kept the audience's attention I'd be willing to bet that quite a few of them came away impressed. I was already impressed with the band before I got there, so I was just happy that they played a good mix of old and new songs.

As always, NPR has posted the concert at their site, and I've got a few photos at my flickr page.

Meet Me In The Middle Of The Day

Last Friday I went to my first WXPN Free-at-Noon concert since, let me think, February. Wow. Since seeing Son Volt back then, either I've been too busy to go or the free act hasn't interested me that much. To 'XPN's credit, it's been more the former than the latter.

Anyway, last Friday it was folk troubadour Steve Forbert. Forbert was one of those guys, along with Springsteen and John Prine, tagged in the early 70's as being "the Next Dylan." Springsteen, of course, went on to be so successful that a few young singers have now been saddled with the "Next Springsteen" tag, and Prine has been doing quite alright since rejuvenating his career with a couple brilliant discs during the 90's. Forbert, however, doesn't get the attention these other guys get. He's one of those singers who are almost always described as "you know, that guy who sang that song..."

Well, way back when, Forbert was that guy who sang those songs "Goin' Down to Laurel" and "Romeo's Tune" (you'd know it if you heard it, goes like this - "Meet me in the middle of the day, let me hear you say everything's okay, bring me southern kisses from your room..."). He's had a couple other minor hits ("What Kinda Guy am I", "You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play"), but mostly you don't hear much of him anymore.

That's a shame, because the guy puts on a really good live show. You don't realize the intensity of his songs until you hear them live. On the radio they're all sweetness and folk, but the verses are usually broken up by heavier guitar and harmonica sound. He just kind of sneaks those parts in there. They're harder to miss when he's playing live since he puts on a pretty intense show, even for a free noontime crowd (which explains why all the pictures I took of him are a little shaky).

He and his band (who all look their age, while Forbert still looks about thirty) played a few of the old crowd-pleasers, but he also played a few songs from his new disc and they sounded pretty strong. The guy doesn't deviate much from the style that first got him noticed back in the 70's, but he doesn't sound dated, either.

NPR is streaming the Forbert show here, and my small Flickr photo set is here.

This week the Free at Noon show is the Great Lake Swimmers, whose new album I talked up here a few weeks ago. The disc's quietness made it a little tough to get into at first, but since then I've listened to it quite a bit and it has really grown on me. I'm looking forward to seeing them live.

Local Time

Regular readers of this blog might see my posts about all the WXPN Free-at-Noon shows that I've attended and think that I'm some cheapskate that only goes to free Friday afternoon concerts. This simply isn't true. Just this week I attended a WXPN-hosted Philly Local concert. Sure, it was still a free show, but it was on a Tuesday night, not a Friday afternoon. Big difference.

The night started off with Sharon Little and Scott Sax. Little is a strange mix of bluesy folk singer and jazzy torch singer, and Sax's backing guitar moved between the two styles right along with her. I had never heard this duo before - and they both seemed very talented - but the attempt to combine two very different styles sounded disjointed and just didn't work for me.

Next up was long-time 'XPN favorite John Flynn. Flynn is folk singer born ten or twenty years too late. He writes songs about politics and the current state of the world that are devoid of any cynical irony at a time when that's just not done anymore. Perhaps some coffeehouse folkies also attempt this, but John's the real deal and he was very good. He's also quite funny, and the ladies in the audience seemed to like looking at him.

After Flynn was the band I came to see, the Swimmers. It seems like I've been waiting forever for their first album to be released (now expected in May), but I've had a few of their mp3s for a while now and they've been streaming their album on their website since Christmas-time, and I can not imagine these guys (and gal) not making it big. They write great songs full of catchy hooks that just transcend anything else that's out right now. And now I know that they're also great live. I brought my brother with me to this show primarily to hear the Swimmers, and he was extremely impressed. I think they're going to have that effect on a lot of folks.

Following the Swimmers (or maybe right before?) was a surprise visit by a South Jersey singer who has already gotten quite a bit of national notice, Amos Lee. I remember seeing Lee open for someone at a little neighborhood concert in the next town over a few years ago, but that was before he signed with Blue Note and put out a couple of critically-acclaimed albums. It was also before he started hanging out with folks like Norah Jones. I've never been all that impressed with Lee, but I have to admit that he sounded very good Tuesday night. He looked very confident and comfortable on stage, and that made him sound much more mature and authentic then I remember him being last time I saw him.

Hail Social was the night's headliner. The band's second album, Modern Love & Death, was released that very day but if they were excited about that it certainly didn't show in their performance. They looked like they were just going though the motions, and their music sounded like it was doing the same. They weren't bad, but they we're offering anything that hasn't already been done several times over. There didn't seem to be any chemistry between the band members, nor was there any interaction with the crowd. Coming on so soon after the very energetic and happy-to-be-there Swimmers didn't help their act much either, and so my brother and I decided to beat the traffic after the third song.

Photos from the show are posted over at my Flickr page. WXPN plans on having the next Philly Local show sometime in June.

High Voltage

This week's WXPN Free-at-Noon concert was Uncle Tupelo offshoot Son Volt.

After a strong debut, Son Volt put out a few very good records that didn't differ very much in their sound. The band's creativity seemed to hit a plateau (albeit a very high plateau) and they kind of got lost in the shadow of that other Uncle Tupelo spinoff, Wilco.

With 2005's Okemah And The Melody Of Riot, however, Farrar pumped some new life into the band and got people talking about them again. Judging from this concert (and samples from their upcoming release that you can hear at their website) Son Volt's energy seems to have gone up yet another level. Farrar has found a way to expand his alt-county sound while at the same time staying true to his Uncle Tupelo era Americana roots.

A quick (eight nine songs crammed into about thirty minutes, plus a couple off-the-air encores) but impressive concert.

More shots from the concert over at my photoblog.

Update: I forgot to mention that, as always with the Free-at-Noon shows, a stream of this concert is available at NPR's website.

Verve Griffin

Another Friday, another 'XPN Free-at-Noon concert. This week it was Maine singer-songwriter Patty Griffin. When I got to World Cafe Live, I was a little surprised to see that Griffin pulled in a full house for the concert. Not that she isn't talented enough to draw a crowd, but she's never really gotten the attention she deserves.

That should change with her new album, Children Running Through. In the past, Griffin's been willing to try all kinds of musical styles - soul, folk, jazz, rock, country - and sounded comfortable with each of them. From what I heard at the concert, her new stuff has a little taste of everything and an overall sound that's fuller than anything I've ever heard from her.

Griffin played quieter songs on the piano and some harder hitting songs on guitar. Her backing band complimented her very well, resulting at times in a sound that seemed to swirl around the room. Hard to explain, but it sounded just great. Patty also brought a lot of energy to the show. For a woman who looks like she weighs about eighty pounds, she plays a mean guitar. And she's got such a strong voice.

As always, NPR has the concert at their website. I only took a few shots - we weren't supposed to take any, but towards the end people started whipping out cameras and Patty didn't seem to mind, so I snuck a few. Shhh....

Thanks For The Boogie Ride

Yesterday's lunch was spent at the Tin Angel here in Philadelphia. WXPN was hosting another of their "Free-At-Noon" concerts and this time instead of me having to go out to them, they brought the concert to me. The Tin Angel is a tiny second-floor club in the Old City section of Philly, about a half mile from my office. It was wicked cold on Friday but the noontime artist, Erin McKeown, was well worth the trouble.

McKeown has a new album, Sing You Sinners, that's full of bluesy, jazzy, swingy songs from the first half of the last century (some standards like "Paper Moon" and some not-so-standards, like the song I took for the title of this post). It's hard to explain her unique interpretation of these songs, but you definitely wouldn't call it polished. She described it as going for something so carefree and reckless that it sounded like it was "thrown down a flight of stairs" (or something like that). It was a cool, confident and loose sound that seemed made for being played in tiny clubs, and McKeown and her bandmates put on a super performance. McKeown's voice is strong, but so is her guitar playing. Her attitude and ability reminded me of Stray Cats-era Brian Setzer, back when he was still cool.

Her enthusiasm and energy made for a real fun show. I'm not sure the full effect comes through away from the club, but there's a good review of McKeown's Friday night show in the Inqy, and the noontime show is available at NPR's website. Also, I've got a dozen photos from the show over at the Ipso.

Rook 'Em, Dando

Went to another 'XPN Free-at-Noon concert today, and it was another double-bill, where they squeeze two bands into a 35-minute concert.

Today it was the Lemonheads' (and highly unpredictable) Evan Dando and the Montreal band the Dears. Dando was scheduled to open for the Dears with a solo acoustic set. Right before the concert, when a couple of DJ's come out and demand more cowbell lots of clapping (we're going out LIVE on the ra-dee-ooo, folks!), they said (with a roll of their eyes) that Evan was still on the NJ Turnpike and the Dears would play first.

The Dears came out and played pretty unremarkable rock-and-roll - not bad, but not great either. Apparently they're big in Canada.

Dando came out after that, all scraggy-like, and started playing. Started with "The Outdoor Type" which was a nice surprise, and with only a "it's too early to sing" went right into "Being Around." Then it was the single from the new Lemonheads', "No Backbone" right into "My Idea."

Then he walked out. He played for exactly nine minutes (I timed it when I played the concert back on NPR's site). Nine minutes. It was a lot of fun for those nine minutes, but c'mon - I don't think anyone was there for the Dears, okay? Play a little more than nine minutes.

Nine. Minutes.

Rooked. Bad.

[Wasn't even allowed to take pictures.]

See-Worthy

I got to see Starsailor at the WXPN Free-At-Noon a week ago (you can hear a recording of the concert at that link) and have posted a few photos on my flickr site. They're not the greatest photos - I wasn't very good at taking concert photos even before I lost my camera, using the missus' camera only makes it tougher.

Starsailor is often compared to Coldplay and Coldplay is the band that everyone knows and Starsailor is one of those "they're big overseas" bands. Still, I've always preferred Starsailor - their music seems to have a little more pep and a lot more variety than Coldplay's. Their latest album moves away from that Chris Martin sound, with a couple of tunes that sound closer to Oasis.

Unfortunately, the short concert started with four songs by Sailsailor's opening act, Peter Walker. I've heard a few songs from Walker and they're pretty good (you can hear a couple of them at his website), but they didn't work too well live.

Murphy's set only left time for five songs from Starsailor (four of which were broadcast and one was just for us). These noontime concerts only last 45-minutes, trying to squeeze two acts into such a short time doesn't give you much time to enjoy either of them. Starsailor did get in a great set, just too short of one.

Click here for the photo set.

Bop Life

The guilt of leaving your family while away on business for a week can make a Dad do some crazy things. Today's crazy thing was taking the nine-year-old and his friend to an in-store mini-concert by the hot new band, the Jonas Brothers.

The Brothers Jonas are a harmless boy band out of Jersey who seem to have more talent than most of the artists on Radio Disney. Think Hanson with (harmless) attitude. Teenie-bopper fare that the boys can get into too.

It was on Radio Disney that my boy found out that the brothers would be playing at the King of Prussia mall today. In what was obviously a sleep-deprived-weakened moment, I said I'd take him. When his friend came over our house he ended up coming along too. Forty minutes and a bridge toll later, we were there.

We got to the store about twenty minutes early and it was already packed - 99.94% of it with girls. Screaming girls. Screeching girls. I've all seen the old reels of girls screaming and swooning over the Beatles, but I had no idea this sort of thing still happened. And the Jonas Brothers aren't exactly the Beatles. Or even the Monkees.

Their album only came out last week and somehow they already have girls in love with them (and not just any girls, either - girls with the highest pitched voices I've ever heard - feedback-like voices). I can't figure out how these girls have even had time to figure out who the cutest brother is (consensus seemed to be Joseph with Nick a close second, or maybe that was Kevin they were most crazy about, I was having trouble keeping track with my eardrums bleeding and all).

You could tell that the nine-year-old was expecting a better boy/girl ratio - he looked embarrassed at first - but once the band came out, he got into it. He even wanted to wait around for the meet-and-greet but there were at least 300 girls ahead of him, and they seemed to still have some screaming to do. A post-concert trip to Friendly's eased the disappointment of going home sans-autograph.

Next up is some quality time with the four-year-old. I'm almost afraid to ask what he's going to want me to do. Is there a boy band for the preschool set? I wouldn't be surprised at all if there was.

A Crackerjack Performance

As planned, we went out to see Cracker play a free noontime concert on Friday - and I've got the blurry picture to prove it.

That's David Lowery, lead singer for Cracker (and for Camper Van Beethoven, too) and in this shot he's answering a question during the interview section of the concert.

Like the CVB concert I saw back in '05, the Cracker concert was pretty loud. The missus and the boys picked me up at work and we all headed over to WXPN early enough to get right up next to the stage. Probably a little too close to the stage - the four-year-old (who's been battling swimmer's ear) and I ended up moving to the back of the room about half-way through.

The band played for about forty minutes and split the setlist evenly between old favorites and new stuff. The new stuff, from their just-released Greenland, was instantly catchy and very much in the spirit of early Cracker.

At the missus' urging, we picked up a copy of the new disc on the way out. We couldn't stick around for the meet-and-greet to get it signed (I had to get back to work), but we've been listening to the cd and it sounds pretty good - all four of us already have our favorites and have been humming them all weekend.

My favorite shot from the concert was a little sign on the easel that was holding up Lowery's laptop (are Apple ones called laptops?), which I guess he was using for help with some not-yet-memorized lyrics. It's actually a Camper-related sticker, but I still think it's pretty funny. [Click on the image to enlarge and turn your monitor over to read it right-side-up.]

The Part Of "Crazed Fan" Will Be Played By Mark, The Role Of "Unsuspecting Rock Star" Will Be Played By Graham Parker

Proof that I actually did hang out with Graham Parker Wednesday night:

If Graham hasn't already applied for that restraining order, he surely will after seeing this picture. I'm usually not that demented looking, honest.

Today it's another free concert with the family - Cracker is playing a 'XPN Free-At-Noon show. This will be the second time I've seen David Lowery at a noontime concert, the (then) three-year-old and I caught Camper Van Beethoven back in June of 2005.

I'm pretty sure I can still legally get within 500 feet of Mr. Lowery.

Parker In The Park

The whole family (and about 300 other people) came out to the Dell in Haddon Heights last night to see the great Graham Parker. An incredible show from one of the godfathers of New Wave (right up there with Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson). He played alone, half-acoustic/half-electric, and really had the crowd into it - even though I would guess that half of them had never heard of him before last night (most people just like seeing free concerts in the park).

This was the first time I'd ever seen GP and wasn't sure what to expect from him twenty-five years past his most popular period (though even back then he never really reached the level of popularity that he deserved), but he's still a great performer and a great storyteller. Though his music is better suited for a pub setting, he did alright in an outdoor/family setting (and in a dry town, too!).

I think he'd already adjusted his act to compensate for his age (at 55, he's no longer an "angry young man") and playing without the support of a backing band, and now comes off a bit like a British Bob Dylan. He even joked about once being called the next Dylan when he was just starting out, but he sounds more like Dylan now than ever before. Parker's got gray hair now and looks a bit worn down from living the rock-n-roll life but his voice, like his guitar playing, was still strong.

He also joked about old age making him forget his older songs, but the set was split pretty evenly between his old stuff ("White Honey," "Fool's Gold," "Don't Ask Me Questions," "Discovering Japan") and his newer stuff (including songs from an upcoming album).

Through a friend of a friend of my brother  - who actually toured and recorded with Parker - I got to hang out with GP after the show. I got to hang out with a real-live rock musician who has recorded real-live albums - albums I've been listening to since I was about ten years old - and I didn't even make a fool of myself! A pretty cool ending to a very cool night.

Damn Good Times

As planned, the eight-year-old and I headed out to WXPN today for yet another Free-At-Noon concert. This time it was They Might Be Giants, so it was no surprise that the place was packed.

'XPN warns you in advance that they overbook the place and to get to the station early to guarantee getting in. That proved a little tough for me and the boy since he was coming straight from the summer rec program. After some moves straight out of Baretta (some fancy parallel parking, running through a parking lot, hopping a fence and running down an alley) we got in and got pretty close, though all the way to the side of the stage.

The current and former Philadelphia blogging community was well represented - we saw Scott, Luna, and Becky. Later on I finally got to meet Inquirer blogging favorite MamaQ (aka Amy) from Citizen Mom, who was there volunteering for 'XPN and came up and introduced herself.

The concert was a little odd since it was only 45 minutes long and included a bunch of songs the Johns (Flansburgh and Linnell) seemed to be trying out before putting them on their next album. They still had enough time to throw in a few older favorites. Flans even provided a quick smackdown on Dubya's policies, both domestic and foreign, which was cool. It was a lot of fun, just way too short. Not even time for a post-concert meet-and-greet. Oh, well.

NPR's posted the concert here, along with a few photos. They asked that no one take photos, so my camera stayed in the backpack. The NPR photos (including the one in this post) were taken by an XPN employee.

Pared del Sonido

Last Friday I went to WXPN's Free-At-Noon Alejandro Escovedo concert and manohman was it good.

Escovedo came up in the same Slash Records class as Los Lobos and X and just like those bands you can never pin his music down. He's done So-Cal punk, Tex-Mex, roots rock, folk, Americana, you name it. For me he's been one of those artists who long ago should have become part of my music collection, but somehow still isn't.

His latest album, The Boxing Mirror, was produced by John Cale, so I wasn't surprised to see both a cellist and violinist on stage Friday. What did surprise me was just how hard Escovedo and his six-piece band rocked for the first half of the mini-concert. It was a sound that just hit you like a truck - absolutely amazing all-out rock and roll. Escovado's constant smile showed that he still loves to play this stuff, 35 years after his career started.

For the second half of the show Escovedo switched to an acoustic guitar and the viola and violin were used to support some beautiful Chicano-influenced ballads. While the music was quieter, the sound of band remained strong.

One of the best XPN concerts I've ever been to.

While it doesn't completely capture the full mood of the show, NPR is streaming this concert on its website, and I've posted some pictures over on the photoblog.

Loss And Gaines

How we spent our Wednesday night (click to enlarge):

A sad end to the baseball season... followed by a surprisingly good Jeffrey Gaines concert.

[Photos taken with the missus' Nikon Coolpix L4 - which we're still trying to figure out.]

It's A Free World (Party), Baby

Some pictures from last Friday's WXPN Free-At-Noon concert. The artists were Allison Moorer & World Party. Instead of the usual World Cafe Live venue, it was held outside at Penn's Landing. And it rained, and rained, and rained. The clouds and rain made it hard to get any really good shots, but here they are anyway (click to enlarge):

First up was Allison Moorer, who is the sister of Shelby Lynne and wife to Steve Earle.

I wasn't real familiar with Moorer, but she was pretty good. She's got a very strong voice that reminded me a little of early Bonnie Raitt.

I felt kind of bad for Moorer, because the DJ kept asking her about her more famous family members. The woman's a great artist in her own right and I thought it was rude for them to... OH MY GOD that's Steve Earle!!!

He even played a song with her.

After that came World Party. Karl Wallinger was backed up by a fiddler and another guitarist. He only played four songs, but they were all well-known ones from WP's earlier albums, which was cool.

Karl smiled the whole time. He seemed to be having a lot of fun despite the pouring rain. Of course he was, he was under cover.

After the concert my brother treated me to lunch at Eulogy, a bar/restaurant famous for its eight-page beer list. I went with an Arrogant Bastard. No, not my brother, the ale.

And then the sun decided to come out.

Making The Cut: The Best Concerts of 2005

[In an attempt to take some of the stress out of providing quality blog content through the holiday season, I have decided to end the year with several best-of posts, collected under the title "Making the Cut" (get it? - hey, coming up with clever post titles is the most stressful part of owning a blog).]

I didn't see a whole lot of concerts in 2005, (well, seven's a lot for me, but not for most music fans). There really weren't any stinkers, so I'll list them all - starting with the best.

01. Wilco, outdoor concert, Penn's Landing Festival Pier, 06.23.05

Wilco is now a six-piece band, and they have the various instruments and the talent to reproduce any sound. The result was a wall of sound behind frontman Tweedy, whose voice, thanks to the excellent sound, never got lost in all the music.

02. My Morning Jacket, opening for Wilco, Penn's Landing Festival Pier, 06.23.05

The reverb on their albums creates such an ethereal, while still rocking, sound, that I wondered how their music would work in concert, too. Well, they just came out and rocked. And rocked and rocked and rocked.

03. They Might Be Giants, outdoor concert, Penn's Landing Great Plaza, 07.23.05

John Linell made several comments about his need to squint. My favorite: "We'll be playing and squinting for about another 45 minutes."

04. My Morning Jacket, free noon-time concert, TLA, 10.14.05

The lunchtime My Morning Jacket concert rocked, as expected.

05. Citizen Cope, free noon-time concert, World Cafe Live, 04.15.05

Cope has a funked-up talking-blues kind of thing going on. Imagine if instead of going electric, Dylan went funk. That's kind of what Citizen Cope sounds like.

06. Ivy, free noon-time concert, World Cafe Live, 03.11.05

I think Ivy’s music highlights Schlesinger and Chase’s talents over the singing ability of Durand. It’s a beautiful voice, but after a while my mind heard it more as a background to the music rather than the other way around.

07. Camper Van Beethoven, free noon-time concert with the three-year-old, World Cafe Live, 06.17.05

[I didn't blog this, but it was a lot of fun.]

Even with all those free noon-time concerts, there were about a half-dozen more that I wanted to go to but couldn't. Daggone Friday meetings. Plus next year I want to take my sons to more of the free outdoor concerts.

A Really Big Show

Click the above picture to see my photo album from the excellent They Might Be Giants concert the seven eight-year old and I went to on Saturday. I saw Scott of Blankbaby fame, and even got the shot of John Flansburgh he wasn't able to get. Tony from Mere Cat was also there, but I didn't get to see him. It was fairly crowded.

It was a great concert - great music, perfect weather, a slight breeze coming off the Delaware, jerks standing in front of us... okay, it was a great concert after the jerks moved on.

And the eight-year old loved it. I do believe we're going to have to see the Giants every time they come to town.

What?!? What?!?

Just got back from the very cool, AND VERY LOUD, Wilco/My Morning Jacket concert out on Penn's Landing on the Delaware.

Need time to get my thoughts together about the show.

Need sleep.

Answer: Bank Park & Cope

Question: What are "Citizens"? Alex.

Two new photo albums on the sidebar over there. No, the other side. Down a bit. A little more. There.

The Citizen Cope concert was another WXPN Free-At-Noon concert last Friday. Packed house and they took all the tables and chairs out. Not cool when it's a lunch-time concert and you don't have anywhere to eat your box lunch. Luckily the balcony still had tables. I ended up staying in the balcony to watch the concert, which explains why the pictures didn't come out as nice as I would have liked. That and the fact that Citizen Cope (aka Clarence Greenwood) wouldn't stop moving and I didn't want to use my flash. Photos here.

The concert itself was great. Cope reminds me a lot of Philly's own G. Love. Actually, Cope's backing band reminded me a lot of G. Love's band, Special Sauce, but Cope wasn't as r & b-ish as G. Love. Cope has a funked-up talking-blues kind of thing going on. Imagine if instead of going electric, Dylan went funk. That's kind of what Citizen Cope sounds like.

I already posted about the Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park. Kind of hard to take good shots in something as big as a ball park, and I was too interested in the game to take a lot of shots. Hey, I love taking pictures but not as much as watching baseball! Photos here.

Ornamental Ivy

I finally got around to creating a photo album of pictures I took at the Ivy concert at WXPN. Click here to open the album.

Ivy League

Friday I took the El from my job in Old City out to 30th Street Station for a free lunchtime concert at the University of Pennsylvania’s Adult -Alternative public radio station, WXPN. It’s a short walk from the station to ‘XPN’s studios, but you never know when a truck might come crashing onto the sidewalk and flip over. ‘XPN has been hosting these Free-At-Noon (“F.A.N.”) concerts for a couple months now, but Friday’s was the first time I attended one.

The band performing this lunchtime was Ivy. Ivy is a trio fronted by Parisian Dominique Durand. Durand is backed by her husband Andy Chase and Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger. The only thing I knew about Ivy before seeing them was the Schlesinger connection, and that’s what made me want to see them live. It turns out that Ivy has been around longer than Fountains of Wayne and has built up a pretty big alt-music fan base of its own.

The sounds of Ivy and Fountains of Wayne are literally as different as night and day. Fountains of Wayne specializes in goofy sunny power pop songs while Ivy’s music has a sultry, airy, after-hours sound. What both bands share, outstanding musical and songwriting talent, is no doubt due in large part to Schlesinger’s influence. Those who know Fountains of Wayne only from their hit "Stacy’s Mom" might not know it, but their albums are musically all over the map and their lyrics are sharp and funny without ever getting overly obnoxious. Schlesinger reminds me a lot of Beck, in that he wears his musical influences on his sleeve but at the same time tries to expand on their sound rather than just imitating it.

Where Fountains of Wayne’s sharp lyrics might not make you notice the musical talent behind them, I think Ivy’s music highlights Schlesinger and Chase’s talents over the singing ability of Durand. Durand’s voice reminded me of Tracy Thorn (of Everything But the Girl) and Beth Orton, except that there was no change in it from song to song, no fluctuations to make it interesting. It’s a beautiful voice, but after a while my mind heard it more as a background to the music rather than the other way around. In defense of Durand, seeing her at a break in my workday while eating a brown bag lunch probably wasn’t the right venue to fully appreciate her sultry voice. On the way out I picked up their current CD In the Clear, so hopefully I will have a chance to hear her in a more proper setting.

I took my camera with me to the concert (and an after-concert tour of ‘XPN’s new digs). I hope to create a photo album of some of the shots soon. This Friday’s Free-At-Noon concert features the Old Crow Medicine Show, who’s song “Wagon Wheel” has gotten a lot of play on ‘XPN. I’d love to go to that one too, but I’ll be stuck at a meeting in Trenton. Woo-Hoo!

Update (03.21.05): My Ivy photo album is up.

Meeting Across the River

The missus and I were among the 18,000 attending the R.E.M./Springsteen Vote for Change concert last Friday (although we had better seats than about 17,500 of them). While I am already firmly for the "progressive" movement that MoveOn promotes, I felt it was important for me to be there to show my support for the cause. Aw, who am I kidding, I was there for the music. As much as I love what MoveOn’s been doing, I don’t wouldn’t have gone if it had been Pearl Jam/Death Cab for Cutie playing (luckily they were out in Reading).

I have been a Bruce fan for thirty of my thirty-six years. I marvel at the fact that, at the time of our wedding, my wife had lived in Jersey all her life and didn’t like the Boss. I thought there was a state law against that. Come to think of it, I’m amazed that I knew that she didn’t like Springsteen and I still married her. 30 years of following Bruce, hanging on his every lyric, never driving downashore without his music, and yet I had never seen him live.

With R.E.M. on the bill, my wife was just fine seeing Bruce. To her credit, she has warmed up somewhat to Bruce recently, first with "Streets of Philadelphia," then that awful Jerry Maguire "Secret Garden" remix. She bought the Rising for me and ended up listening to it more than I did. But forget trying to get her to like "Rosalita," let alone Nebraska. I think she feared the Bruuuuuuce groupies like I fear Deadheads. And Phishheads. And Parrotheads. And Cheeseheads. So I give her credit, she was a trooper. It’s staggering what she will endure to see R.E.M. yet again. I, on the other hand, have been cool to R.E.M.’s live shows lately. I thought that their tours supporting Reveal and In Time lacked excitement. To me it seems like the boys’ hearts aren't in it anymore. Even a sub-par R.E.M. concert beats most bands on their best night, but I was there to see Bruce.

So, Friday night, I put on my John Kerry shirt and we cross the river and get to the Center relatively quick considering there’s a Phillies game going on. As we’re pulling into the parking lot we see some Bush/Cheney signs and, unbelievably, Springsteen protesters. These jokers are spending their Friday night telling us that they are upset that Bruce expresses his opinion in concert. If the guy holding the "30-Year Boss Fan for Bush" sign was really surprised to find out that Springsteen was against trickle-down economics than he must be buying Springsteen CD’s just to hear Patty Scialfa’s tambourine playing, because he certainly wasn’t listening to the lyrics.

We go our seats, which are thisclose to the stage. Don’t ask how we got them, we just did. Springsteen and Michael Stipe come out. After Bruce lays down the rules (No Bruuuuucing - You Bruuuuuce, You Die) they say a little about MoveOn, let the crowd know that the night is more about rocking than preaching, and introduce the pride of Nebraska, Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst was actually pretty good. Very confident for a young guy playing in front of a crowd not use to having to wait for their Bruce. A real throwback protest singer. But dude, you don't have to scream everything. And get a haircut, how can you see with all that hair in your eyes? Jeez, kids today.

After Bright Eyes, Bruce came back out to introduce R.E.M. They put on the same kind of show they did at Temple last year. Their insistence on stopping after every song kills any chance at creating momentum. I'm also afraid that they will insist on playing "Bad Day" and "Animal" on every tour from now on. These songs will never be more than warmed-over outtakes. Bright spots included opening with "The One I Love", the rarely heard "Begin the Begin" and "World Leader Pretend," and Bruce coming out to join the band for a "Man on the Moon" finale. Rather than watch Michael Stipe, who has got to drop the bizarre "We are R.E.M. and this is what we do" line, I concentrated on Peter Buck and Mike Mills. They are really the stars of the recent R.E.M. albums and it was very cool to watch them at work. It may seem that I don't like R.E.M. anymore, but it's just that I hold them to a pretty high standard.

Finally Springsteen came out with a twelve-string in his hands and an electric guitar strapped to his back. He went into a grinding solo of "the Star-Spangled Banner." From there he went right into "Born in the USA," reclaiming it back from those who wrongly have used it as a conservative rallying cry. From there it just never stopped. Highlights included three of my favorites - "Lost in the Flood," "Badlands," and "Johnny 99." John Fogerty came out midway to play "Centerfield", "Fortunate Son" (perfect for the theme of the night), Bruce's "The Promised Land," and "Deja Vu" - Fogerty's new political single. Fogerty looked like he was having a ball. Of course, John hasn't played in front of 18,000 in quite a while. Stipe came back out for a great duet of "Because the Night" (Michael Stipe has said he grew up listening to Patti Smith, so I'm sure he knew the words by heart.) and Mills and Buck joined the E Street Band to create a wall of guitars for "Born to Run." Springsteen and Fogerty did a killer "Proud Mary" and everyone (including Bright Eyes) came out for a rollicking "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" and "People Have the Power."

Bruce and the band were everything I had expected. Bruce is just non-stop showman, which is not news, but he is also completely unselfish with the spotlight. When John Fogerty and Michael Stipe came out Bruce stepped back and let them shine. That was cool. As for Bruce's "lecture," it was a 3-minute "P.S.A." that was completely in line with what he has been singing about for years. If you want to hear what he said, it's available here. As I expected, he ended up saying more with his songs than his words. Just an incredible night. My wife didn't come out more of a Springsteen fan, but she definitely understood the fanaticism of Springsteen fans better. And her wonderful husband bought her a cool new t-shirt. I came out an even bigger Springsteen fan.

The Promised Land

I'm still trying to collect my thoughts on the REM/Springsteen concert. For now, why not check out what the missus thought of it.