Can't compare

Last Friday I saw Cut Copy at the Riviera in Chicago. I came away from the show mildly disappointed, wondering if it was because of the performance or if it was because of a concert I had seen less than a week before: LCD Soundsystem's final show ever. I have a feeling that any show after LCD's masterpiece at Madison Square Garden in New York would have been a letdown.

I'll get back to the Cut Copy show, but first, the LCD finale. The first thing I want to mention is how surprised I was with the size of MSG. It was a lot smaller than I had always pictured it in my mind. Definitely smaller than the United Center here in Chicago. I had seats in the 200 level, with a head-on view of the stage. So I basically had a view of all of the fans packed into the venue, and I'll say there weren't too many sitting in their seats.

As for the show itself, it didn't disappoint. I had peeked at setlists from the week leading up to the show, and it was pretty similar. Three sets -- the first starting with "Dance Yrself Clean" and the third starting with "Us v. Them." (Side note: the version of "Us v. Them," complete with gigantic disco ball, was sick, as always.) Sandwiched in between was a second set consisting of LCD's lesser-known 45:33 (with a "Sound of Silver" thrown in the mix). I was unfamiliar with this portion, but still enjoyed it.

A highlight of the show was obviously the appearance of Arcade Fire during "North American Scum." It was a huge surprise, and even though that song is not one of my favorites, I thought it was a really neat moment. After "North American Scum," James Murphy talked about how it was one of their most well-known songs, and that they were going to play a song that probably nobody had heard of before. According to setlists I've seen, it was "Bye Bye Bayou," an Alan Vega cover. After this song, they followed up with "You Wanted A Hit," which I thought ended this string of songs perfectly. It features the line: "You wanted a hit, but that's not what we do."


So after this show, which would probably have to be the best arena show I've ever seen, I took in Cut Copy six days later back home in Chicago. They came out firing, playing a majority of their high-energy songs early in the set. This surprised me, leaving me to wonder what they would save for the end. And it ended up being a legitimate question because the second half of the show tailed off.

I like the group's new album Zonoscope, but it didn't really mesh well with the In Ghost Colours songs on stage. I wasn't shocked by this, as I remember thinking the "new" songs Cut Copy played last year at Lollapalooza were pretty lackluster.

Cut Copy came out for two encores, stating the Chicago crowd was the best crowd of the tour (not sure how genuine it was, although the crowd was going nuts). But even with the extra encore, the show clocked in at just over an hour, which was a bit disappointing.

So now I'm left wondering if I would've liked the show better if I hadn't seen one of my all-time great shows a few days previous. It just couldn't compare.

LCD Soundsystem at Metro, 5/26/2010

It was a packed house last Wednesday at the Metro in Chicago for LCD Soundsystem. James Murphy and co. made the crowd wait it out for a bit before taking the stage, but once they did, it was one big party.

LCD opened with one of my favorites from their Sound of Silver album, "Us v Them." I like this tune as an opener, as it sets the tone for a high-energy set and gets the crowd into the show right off the bat. When the bass kicked in and the disco ball started spinning, I had a good feeling this would be a great show.

Heading into the show, I was anticipating hearing mostly newer songs, with a heavy dose from LCD's recently released This is Happening. However, they only played four songs from that album -- "Drunk Girls," "Pow Pow," "All I Want," and "I Can Change." Of the four, I'd say "Pow Pow" was my favorite, but as a whole, I thought the new material didn't match the older stuff. It wasn't terrible, but I feel like the new songs could use a little work to smooth out some of the rough edges.

The songs from the group's first two albums sounded great, and the crowd seemed most into "All My Friends" and "Daft Punk is Playing at My House." Other highlights of the show, for me, included an extended version of "Yeah" (along with a kick-ass light show), "Someone Great," and "Losing My Edge."

The closing song of the encore -- "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down" -- left me a little disappointed. For one, I don't really like the song. Also, in general, I don't like when bands close with slow songs. I like things to go out with a bang. Something like "One Touch" or "Home" off the new album would have been better, I think. But I can't really complain. The show, as a whole, was really excellent. Can't wait to see them again at Pitchfork this summer.

Setlist:

1. Us v Them
2. Drunk Girls
3. Yr City's a Sucker
4. Pow Pow
5. Daft Punk is Playing at My House
6. All I Want
7. All My Friends
8. I Can Change
9. Tribulations
10. Movement
11. Yeah (Crass version)

Encore:
12. Someone Great
13. Losing My Edge
14. New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down

Portugal. The Man - Schubas

Last Saturday was a day I was looking forward to for some time and it did not disappoint. Finally we were able to see Portugal. The Man at a small venue -- Schubas on Belmont and Southport. They had a hell of a performance at Lollapalooza in front of a much larger crowd, so I could not wait to see them at Schubas. Since they were playing to their core fans, I definitely felt a difference in music style. They seemed to experiment a bit more with their sound while still sounding tight. John Gourley came on stage of course with the patented hooded sweatshirt and his usual small talk in front of the sold-out crowd. They started the concert off in a way that would make any jam band proud. Portugal also pulled out some out-of-the-blue transitions to MGMT and Three Dog Night. They had a pretty good mix of songs from their four albums, which I was thrilled to hear. By the end, the four members from Alaska went through their set flawlessly and then came back on stage for the encore and rocked out to"Chicago" from their first album "Waiter: You Vultures!" It seemed to be a perfect way to come back from an encore. Overall the show had a ton of energy and emitted soul, rock, and psychedelic influences. I thought they really impressed the Chicago crowd.

The band afterwords hung around and took some pictures with us, which you don't see every day. Thanks for the great concert, Portual. The Man!

Below is a video from the sold-out show on Sunday at Schubas performing "1989" and "Our Way."

PEARL JAM AT THE UNITED CENTER

The greatest rock band of my generation, Pearl Jam, played the United Center last Sunday and Monday. I attended the Sunday night show. Seeing Pearl Jam four times in my life, I can say that they are without a doubt one of the best touring acts you could pay money for. Playing for 2 1/2 hrs and covering 27 songs in their set, they did not disappoint.

They have a new album coming out, Backspacer, and like many huge acts nowadays they are going it alone without a major record label to promote it. A single, "The Fixer," is being played on the radio and in my opinion is one of the happiest songs Eddie has written in years. Without Ex-President Bush to complain about, the show was focused on the music and less on the political banter that was so common in the past decade. As Eddie sings in the new single, “When something’s gone, I wanna fight to get it back again.” It seems like he has come full circle and can now calm down and focus on the music once again. The new stuff is really fast, and really heavy, reminiscent of their earlier days.

At the beginning of the second encore Eddie dedicated a cover of Neil Young's “The Needle and the Damage Done” to Michael Jackson and talked about growing up in Evanston listening to the Jackson 5. He then went into "Rats" with tenacity which blew me away, as I have been waiting for them to play that rarity for years now. ( Thanks!)

The night closed out with the perfect, and what I think might be best closing song any band could ever play, Yellow Ledbetter. Eddie watched, smoking a cig, as Mike McCready played the song out into the Star Spangled Banner. Once again, Pearl Jam is always worth every penny.

SET LIST

1 Long Road

2 Corduroy

3 Why Go

4 God’s Dice

5 Dissident

6 Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town

7 Sad

8 The Fixer

9 Given to Fly

10 Happy Birthday/Come Back

11 Even Flow

12 Save You

13 In Hiding

14 Man of the Hour

15 Insignificance

16 Got Some

17 Spin the Black Circle

First Encore

18 Love Reign O’er Me (Who cover)

19 Life Wasted

20 The Real Me (Who cover)

21 Alive

Second Encore

22 The Needle and the Damage Done (Neil Young cover)

23 Rats

24 Supersonic

25 Smile

26 Rearviewmirror

27 Yellow Ledbetter

Lollapalooza recap

Leading up to the festival, Lollapalooza 2009 didn't appear to have the headliners of past years. And while this proved to be true, the midlevel acts certainly held their weight, making for a great three days. Here are some of my thoughts:


Day 1:

The rain had already started by the time I walked through the gates around 12:15. I was pleased to see a much shorter line for three-day wristbands. Last year's wait pushed an hour, but I was able to walk right in this time. First up was Manchester Orchestra. At one point, lead singer Andy Hull remarked that it was the most people ever together in one place enjoying their music. I don't think the large crowd affected the group's performance negatively, though. It looked like they were having a great time on stage throughout their solid set.

Next, I caught Amazing Baby on the Citi stage. I was half-expecting this band to disappoint me. After really getting into their debut album, Rewild, I was eager to see how it would transfer to the live setting. I'd have to say it sounded pretty damn good. The lead singer, however, needs to practice his microphone twirling -- or just stop doing it.

After a strong set by Heartless Bastards and an interesting performance by STS9, I navigated through some lake-size puddles to the Playstation stage to catch the last half of Fleet Foxes. As always, they were really good. Vocals were dead-on, just like the other times I've seen them. My only complaint was that I didn't hear them play anything new. I've basically heard identical setlists all three times I've seen them.

To finish off Friday, I saw Andrew Bird and Kings of Leon. Andrew Bird was a treat, and KOL was WHO I THOUGHT THEY WERE. They actually started off with 5 or 6 old songs, which was nice. But then once the newer stuff started trickling in, the show started to go downhill.


Day 2:

I was most looking forward to Saturday, but it ended up being kind of disappointing. Joe Pug took the BMI stage (which was awesomely in the shade) with a full band. This gave his music more of a country feel than I was expecting. It wasn't a bad set, but it just wasn't want I anticipated.

Gomez played to a sun-beaten crowd. I had never seen them before, and I enjoyed it -- especially their excellent version of Led Zeppelin's "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp." That's probably my favorite Zeppelin song, so it put a smile on my face.

Saturday night, I was pumped to see TV on the Radio. Unfortunately from where I was standing they did not sound good at all. When they went into "Golden Age" early in their set, I didn't recognize it for a good minute. I'm not sure if it's the wind or what, but it seems like the Budweiser stage has the most issues with sound.

A bit dejected, I told myself Animal Collective wouldn't let me down. For a year now, I've been talking up their outstanding performance at Pitchfork 2008. I figured Saturday night at Lolla would be a perfect opportunity to recapture that magic. However, Animal Collective decided to waste about 40 minutes of their 1-hour set. Instead of pumping people up with a song like "Peacebone," they meandered through an extended "Daily Routine." The set did eventually pick up, when they played "Fireworks" into "Brothersport." But with all the time they wasted in the middle, they were unable to bring "Brothersport" to a close before Tool took the stage at 8:00 sharp, drowning out Animal Collective.

I'm probably not the right person on Claptrapped to write a review of Tool. I will say that I enjoyed them, and that I think they were probably the best headliner of the festival. But I wish I could have seen the band better. The stage's screens played videos, rather than footage of the band. For such a "mysterious" band, I was hoping to get a better look at them.


Day 3:

Sunday was my favorite day by far -- and I had thought beforehand that it would be the worst day. Things started out with a rocking performance by Portugal. The Man. They effectively built up intensity to the point of all-out fist pumping. I was very impressed and look forward to seeing them again sometime.

The next highlight of the day -- and possibly the best performance of the festival -- was Dan Deacon. Accompanied onstage by the Dan Deacon "ensemble" (comprising four synthesizer players, three drummers, and a mallet section) and, later, a full marching band, Deacon (pictured right) got the crowd jumping, dancing, and smiling at will. His songs build and build, all over crazy, distorted vocals. Deacon orchestrated crowd participation unlike anything I had ever seen. He instructed the crowd to start a giant conga line -- something I would never think would work, as well as a large circle, where one of his crew members led the crowd in an interesting interpretive dance. The dance culminated with him launching empty water bottles into the air. Soon the entire crowd was doing the same -- all in time with the beat of the music. (Check out this video to see what the hell I'm talking about.)

After solid performances from Passion Pit and Dan Auerbach, I was really looking forward to Band of Horses. Lou Reed, who was playing on the Budweiser stage -- across from where Band of Horses would be going on -- started 15 minutes late, so that pushed BOH's start time back 15 minutes. I was pretty annoyed, figuring Jane's Addiction would end BOH's set early since they were the "headliner." But when Jane's took the stage at 8:30, BOH lead singer Ben Bridwell shouted they would "blow that shit out!" The crowd went crazy, and BOH finished off an amazing performance. They played every song I wanted to hear, plus one new song. It was a perfect ending for Lollapalooza for me.

PHISH AT TOYOTA PARK 8/11/09

The boys from Vermont made an unusual appearance on the South Side last night over at Toyota Park. I had never seen a show at the home of the Chicago Fire until last night. All in all I was pleasantly surprised with the venue. The parking lot scene was relaxed and easy to navigate. “Look for the pirate flag” is what I was told and within 2 minutes of entering the lot I had found my crew. There were no security guards rushing you in, no cops giving you the eye, only naïve neighbors from the north telling you how great Wisconsin is and how Illinois is ‘beneath’ them. Hardy Har Har Har. Inside the soccer stadium it was clean, spacious, and there couldn’t have been more perfect weather for a concert. The only problem was a lack of video screens for those in the bleachers and not on the field.

Phish has a new album coming out in September, 'Joy'. Their eleventh studio album, and first in five years. They have been showcasing a lot of new material on this summer tour. They opened with one of those new songs, “Kill Devil Falls”, a song I can definitely get behind. Trey has a sick solo in it, reminiscent of the one he does in “Birds of a Feather”, and this song gets the crowd dancing (something newer Phish songs off Round Room or Undermind failed to do). Phish also debuted a song called “Windy City”, one in which Trey declared they had to wait to play until they got to our town. It was a little slow to fully grasp in one listen, but still pretty cool they now have a song about Chi-town. I just hope they know the name comes from our politicians and not our weather. Yuk yuk yuk.

After a first set filled with mostly new stuff Phish broke out some stellar crowd favorites in the second set and the show was saved. The Led Zeppelin like riff in “Carini” was the highlight of the show. There was a giant banner being held in the stands to the left of the stage reading, “ Carini Me! I’m 30 Today”. It seems like the foursome has been taking a lot of requests this tour. The seldom played song is about a stage crew member who once tackled a naked dude who was bum rushing the stage. After that they calmed the crowd down with a groovy, “Gotta Jiboo” and “Theme from the Bottom”. Then they hit us with an astonishing 3 pack of heavy songs, “Wilson”, “2001”, and a personal favorite of mine “Chalkdust Torture”. The second set closed with Trey, Mike, and Fishman walking off the stage leaving Page to a piano solo of “The Squirming Coil”. Chills ran up my arm. Running out of time, I suspect, Phish only had time for one encore. But when you get “Loving Cup”, you can’t complain.

Phish really seems to be enjoying themselves this time around. They may not sound as tight as shows from the late 90's, but they are coming together. The newer stuff is promising, sans "Time Turns Elastic", and a younger generation is finally getting to experience them live. I am just happy they are touring again, as summers just didn't seem the same without getting a few nights in with the Phab 4. Still the best live band alive today.

Download the show

Pics from the show

Secret Machines @ Metro

The Secret Machines can do a couple things really, really well. To start, drummer Josh Garza pumps his bass drum louder than anyone this side of John Bonham. This lays the foundation for a majority of the Machines’ tunes. To accompany this beast on drums, lead singer Brandon Curtis produces some serious grooves on bass. These two together create a truly unique sound that contains dark, eerie and pulsing elements.

Oh, and they’re really loud.

The three-member band took the stage Oct. 24 at Metro in Chicago with white wires stretched behind them. The wires were arranged to give the impression of a 3-D shape that enclosed the band. The shape reminded me of the cover of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The stage and crowd was very dark. Curtis was cast in shadow for the entire night, which added to the atmosphere.

The Machines opened with “Dreaming of Dreaming,” the song the band released shortly before their latest album came out. The song doesn’t appear on the album, but it certainly feels like it could have been on there. It features the patented huge drums and bass groove combo, with guitars providing spacey bridges.

Before the show I was wondering what the setlist would be like. Secret Machines released their self-titled album Oct. 12 –- their first in 2 ½ years. The band went through a lineup change after the release of “Ten Silver Drops,” when guitarist Benjamin Curtis (brother of Brandon) left the group. So I was interested in how many of the old songs they would play.

My question was somewhat answered with the second song, when they busted out “Nowhere Again,” the main single from their first album, “Now Here is Nowhere.” The remainder of the set had a few songs from this album sprinkled throughout, but mostly they stuck with songs off the new album.

Not until the encore did they play anything from “Ten Silver Drops,” before closing with a much-anticipated “First Wave Intact.”

The drums and bass, creepy lighting, and plain-old loud rock made for an enjoyable night. However, I have to say I was quite disappointed with the Machines’ new guitar player, Phil Karnats. He messed up a lot of the old songs, and I didn’t think he brought much to the new songs. Karnats was definitely taking a back seat to the other two, and it’s possible that this was by design. And on top of everything, his backing vocals were awful. Half the time you couldn’t hear him, and the times he could be heard, he was singing way out of key. I don’t know if he couldn’t hear his monitor or what. Hopefully the band will eventually be able to iron out these problems in the future.

Overall, a great show from a very entertaining (and loud!!) band.