Your Last Concert (or two)

June 30, 2012, July 1, 2012, Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy WI, Phish.

I survived another Phish event. Sound and lights were excellent.

The great unwashed crowd were their usual boorish selves. Seemed like their were less dreads than in the past. The usual ticket passing schemes were in full force.

This show ended a two week road trip. 14 shows in June. I'm glad to have a few days off. I am conditioned to work a 12 hour shift in brutal heat.
 
ScramMan2 said:
June 25, 2012, Ravinia Festival in IL, Esperanza Spaulding.

2011 Grammy award winner as best new group was in fine form. Did almost a two hour set. Meet and greet afterwards. This was one of the best so far this season. Very good crowd. Well behaved, they came to hear the music. Not chat with each other and talk on their cell phones.
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Would love to see her live...
 
stoutblock said:
Would love to see her live...
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It was a very good show. She's a tiny person with lots of talent.

What was odd about her show is the tour wanted a six minute hold on letting patrons into the venue during the first song. About a 6 minute delay. Warning, be there before the scheduled start time. She introduces her band, and sets the mood for what you're going to enjoy.
 
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OJNeg said:
TKO Records is a great record store too. It would be my favorite record store in Orange County if it wasn't for Factory Records in Costa Mesa.
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Agreed, every time I go to an store performance i thank Mark for bringing some culture to us punk rock heathens.

Factory Dave has a great store going too, he is an interesting guy, love his Boba Phat alter ego.

I mostly hang out at Vinyl Solution, the guy that works there on Saturday afternoon/evening is a music encyclopedia, he has introduced me to lots of great music over the years.
 
Chris Robinson Brotherhood (CRB) last night at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA was sublime. I'm still high from this show and don't ever want it to wear off.

On many levels, perhaps the best rock show I've ever attended. 100 percent focused on the music. Neal Casal (guitar) runs a Gibson Les Paul through a Vox amp and gets the sweetest tone w/ serious Jerry Garcia nuance.

CRB are like Goats Head Soup Stones w/ their wah-wah Rhodes piano mixed with the Flying Burrrito Brothers, Grateful Dead, and buckets of LSD. The bass player didn't open his lidded eyes until the second set, but he and the funky drummer laid down a serious foundation for some excellent rock/spacey jams, punctuated by keyboard wizardry channeling Physical Grafitti Led Zep and even some ABB.

I purchased their new CD, Big Moon Ritual, and a poster signed by the artist. Support your local freaks, man.

Ken
 
Probably would have been the Average White Band, and The Machine. AWB were also the first concert I ever went to, back in 1980, when I was 11.

Both bands are a must-see if they ever come to your area.

Lee.
 
Every Thursday and Sunday we go to outdoor concerts at the local state park. They are free and you just bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy. Last week we saw a group called Absolutely Fab, which is a Beatles cover band. This is the big draw of the summer with an average attendance of 2500 to 3000. This is perfect for us and the price is right.
 
KeninDC said:
Chris Robinson Brotherhood (CRB) last night at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA was sublime. I'm still high from this show and don't ever want it to wear off.

On many levels, perhaps the best rock show I've ever attended. 100 percent focused on the music. Neal Casal (guitar) runs a Gibson Les Paul through a Vox amp and gets the sweetest tone w/ serious Jerry Garcia nuance.

CRB are like Goats Head Soup Stones w/ their wah-wah Rhodes piano mixed with the Flying Burrrito Brothers, Grateful Dead, and buckets of LSD. The bass player didn't open his lidded eyes until the second set, but he and the funky drummer laid down a serious foundation for some excellent rock/spacey jams, punctuated by keyboard wizardry channeling Physical Grafitti Led Zep and even some ABB.

I purchased their new CD, Big Moon Ritual, and a poster signed by the artist. Support your local freaks, man.

Ken
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There ya go, man, good music is still out there, and sweetest when heard live (preferably in a bar, over the summer. We have these week-long outdoor concert venues that really suck). And yes, Robinson has something we like, beyond old Stones/Faces r&r.
 
Hey Scram, Buffett at Tinley Park was pretty close to the usual. They set things up with a bit less room hoping to discourage tailgating but the Parrotheads adjusted. I didn't see any problems with the security folks, everyone was getting along. The one thing that I really noticed was a severe lack of porta facilities. Overall I prefer Alpine Valley for the entire experience but 3 extra hours of driving makes it a tough call for next year.

The show itself was great. He did a Lionel Ritchie song this time (All Night Long) which was really cool.
 
RayW said:
Hey Scram, Buffett at Tinley Park was pretty close to the usual. They set things up with a bit less room hoping to discourage tailgating but the Parrotheads adjusted. I didn't see any problems with the security folks, everyone was getting along. The one thing that I really noticed was a severe lack of porta facilities. Overall I prefer Alpine Valley for the entire experience but 3 extra hours of driving makes it a tough call for next year.

The show itself was great. He did a Lionel Ritchie song this time (All Night Long) which was really cool.
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Glad you enjoyed the show. JB will be the next show I work at Alpine on Aug 25th.

DMB was sold out last night. I've never seen that many folks jammed into Alpine before. The last JB show I worked was in 2010, that was close to last night, but didn't seem as bad.
 
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July 6, 2012 & July 7, 2012, Alpine Valley Music Theater, East Troy WI

Brandi Carlisle
Dave Matthews Band

I survived the heat, and the huge crowds were fairly docile. If you want to see a show where you get your moneys worth check out DMB. 3 hours and 7 minutes on Saturday, lots of new material from an album due in September. 3 and 1/2 hours last night, of mostly hits. There is a fine if a band plays past 11:30. DMB pre-pays it.

Check out the setlists here if you like. http://road.davematthewsband.com/SetlistsDir/setlist.asp
 
KeninDC said:
Chris Robinson Brotherhood (CRB) last night at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA was sublime. I'm still high from this show and don't ever want it to wear off.

On many levels, perhaps the best rock show I've ever attended. 100 percent focused on the music. Neal Casal (guitar) runs a Gibson Les Paul through a Vox amp and gets the sweetest tone w/ serious Jerry Garcia nuance.

CRB are like Goats Head Soup Stones w/ their wah-wah Rhodes piano mixed with the Flying Burrrito Brothers, Grateful Dead, and buckets of LSD. The bass player didn't open his lidded eyes until the second set, but he and the funky drummer laid down a serious foundation for some excellent rock/spacey jams, punctuated by keyboard wizardry channeling Physical Grafitti Led Zep and even some ABB.

I purchased their new CD, Big Moon Ritual, and a poster signed by the artist. Support your local freaks, man.

Ken
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I hear they ripped it in Milwaukee when they were here. Thanks for confirming I missed a good one.
 
July 9, 2012, Ravinia Festival, Highland Park IL, Santana

Catch this tour if you can. He is hooking up with the Allman Brothers soon.

Over 2.5 hours of jamming. Classics and new tunes off Shape Shifter. He has a huge backing band. With horn section.

He brought in his own lights and sound. Other groups usually use the house system. This was the second stop in his current Shape Shifter summer tour. Interesting that the first 3 shows are all sellouts.
 
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