If ever there was a concert miracle I had one tonight at the Rolling Stones at the Honda Center. A crew of people I went with all went in on the $85 dollar ticket raffle the Stones are running. Essentially they place pairs of two randomly throughout the stadium from the nosebleeds to the tongue pit. Our group ended up in the nose bleeds in two separate sections. In an attempt to all stay together we tried to discuss with the ushers a way to get "upgraded." In the last hour before the show we heard that there was someone near our section handing out tickets. By the time we got there they had finished handing them out, HOWEVER, one of our crew happened to see someone she knew, AND THEY HOOKED US UP!!! We ended up just off the floor about 30 feet from the edge of the tongue pit. I can not sufficiently explain how excited I was to see the band. The phrase perma-grin comes to mind.
The Rolling Stones
As my regular readers know I have a list of the bands to see before they die. A sort of bucket list for bands as it were. Recently, I became a bit alarmed that the Stones were celebrating their "50 and counting tour" and decided it was finally time to see them. While enjoying the show, it occurred to me that a child conceived at the concert would be at retirement age able to claim an association with a band that was founded 120 years before.
That said, Mick Jagger was prancing around the stage like an anorexic teenager. If it weren't for the advantage of being close enough to see wrinkles you would have thought you were watching a show from 40 years ago. Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts were a bit less animated, but they still have their musical chops.
Mick Jagger
One of my all time favorite Stones albums is "Let it Bleed," and I think they must have gotten my note, because they played over half the songs from it! In truth, I suspect it was just because Mick Taylor was guesting with them!
Mick Taylor With the Current Rolling Stones Lineup
Didn't seem Taylor and Wood had any animosity or rivalry on stage. They were just on big happy band rocking out and getting mad bank from the ticket sales. "Honky Tonk Women" and "Midnight Rambler" were pulled off without a hitch. "You Got the Silver" was pretty solid but Wood had a bit of an issue on the slide parts.
"Gimmie Shelter" was the female back up singer's chance to shine, prancing around on stage singing with Mick only to be stuck in the backup singer spot the rest of the night. The USC Thornton Chamber Choir shared the stage for "You Can't Always Get What You Want" as well as a surprise French horn player for the intro.
The Rolling Stones
Usually when I bring a camera to the show, the lighting is crap I have to push the ISO way too high and the photos come out dark and grainy. This was not the case. In addition to the elaborate (and mysteriously disappearing) lips from the beginning of the show and the tongue pit, the stage was awash with rapidly changing colors and spotlights. So while my photos were not taken right at the stage, they are some of the better looking ones I have shot in a while.
Dave Grohl wth The Rolling Stones
So far every show they have done has had a local guest. For us it was Dave Grohl! He sang a verse and played guitar on "Bitch." At this time I should mention that my concert neighbors not recognizing one of the most famous musicians from two pivotal bands of the grunge generation, leaned over to ask who it was. I started chatting with them in the gap before the next song and discovered they had bought $40 counterfeit tix, then bought "cheap" nosebleed seats at the door and by some miracle got upgraded. I wish I had taken a photo of the counterfeit tix. They were way off from the original coloring. Considering it's a Ticketmaster event you think they would have tried harder at the duping. In any case, I was blown away by the fact that they spent the entire night SITTING with people standing all around them. What's the point of getting upgraded if you aren't going to watch the show???
The band played so many famous songs it's probably best just to look at a set list. Songs that really stuck in my head are "Wild Horses," "Friend of the Devil" (probably for the crazy poofy jacket Mick wore), and "Paint it Black."
Mick Jagger
All in all a fantastic show. Amazing music, amazing visuals, and an amazing performance even with their getting on in years (unlike Dylan). With that I will leave you with a few more great photos from the show!
Unlike many band superfans, I tend not to go see a group I've seen within a few years of having seen them. I decided to check out Hey Marseilles again because I only saw them play half a set and was wondering what would happen when they had their own showcase.
Tonight, it was a bad case of larengitis that happened. I should have known something was up when half the band was huddled in the corner post soundcheck for like 10 minutes actively discussing something. Shortly thereafter Matt Bishop walked out, and rasped out an appology that he would not be singing in a voice that could have passed for Tom Waits.
Typically in cases like this, the band would not go on, but it seems to have suddenly snuck up on them to close to showtime. Thus, the band went on sans vocals as interestingly no one else in the band saw it fit to sing themselves. The one point of the night with vocals was when the crowd belted out the chorus for their hit "Rio" more enthusiastically than usual to fill the void.
It was nice to appreciate what the rest of Hey Marseilles does as they are all particuarly talented at their instrument of choice. The guys soloed more and improvised on existing parts more, something I hope they continue to do when they're back to 100%.
The band played as long as they could without vox, then eventually had to stop. Slowly they trickled off stage until it was just eg, cello, violin and keys.
Then uncerimoniously, they walked off stage. Clearly they all felt bad about the situation, and gave free downloads of the new album and signed posters to whomever wanted one. Nice touch, just wish they would have put the word out before the show so people knew what they were getting into.
Hopefully next time that happens, they'll be known enough to do a fun night of Hey Marseilles karaoke.
Buke and Gase are non-standard fare for the Acoustic Hodgepodge blog, but their unique sound and instrumentation drew me in.
Buke and Gase (formerly Buke and Gass) are named after their unique instruments. Buke (as played by Arone Dyer) stands for ??? Best I can tell its a similar form factor to a metal terz guitar, guitalele or tenor dobro (sans resonator) with a new neck to hold six strings. The tuning is some form of open chord that I am not 100% sure what it is. Gase (as played by Aron Sanchez) is a guitar bass hybrid. It appears to have the 4 strings of a bass and the two lowest strings of a guitar. Typically when you see 5/6 string base guitars they are going lower rather than higher. Gase was formally referred to in type as Gass but I suspect too many people mispronounced it.
The combination of the two is a fantastic energetic sound, that layers well. At least, I suppose it does live based on youtube clips I've heard. There was a big sound flaw that delayed their set over half an hour. While this was going on, Dyer came out and played a wonderful solo number, but admittedly was uncomfortable continuing without her gase. That, unfortunately, was the only song I heard clearly for the rest of the night.
Arone Dyer
Something the reader might now know about the Acoustic Hodgepodge is that I work in audio. I've recorded and mixed bands, worked in live sound and done various things in the pro/consumer audio world for over a decade. So when the sound is bad or something is wrong I have to fight the urge not to step in to help debug. When Sanchez started having sound issues, they really should have stepped back and taken the logical approach to subbing cables/ microphones and jacks. It would have saved a lot of time. In the end they ran a cable from backstage. From that point the change in sound setup resulted in the gase overwhelming everything else. The vox and buke were just gone. There was even one song that all you could hear was the gase DRONING ON ONE FUCKING NOTE.
Aron Sanchez
At the end of the night I decided to be fair and give the sound engineers a chance. I took out my hearing protection (very flat just a few dB down above 5-6kHz relative to the low end) and walked to the back near where they were. The mix was a bit better, and you could hear the buke and vox more, but the gase was still overpowering. I realized that part of their issue was that the gase was just too fucking loud on stage. Even Dyer said she didn't want to hear Sanchez at all in her monitors. But enough about sound...
I stuck around for most of the set because I really wanted to see these guys and because, well they're fun to watch. The two clearly play off each other. Exchanging glances, making faces and expressing how they think they're doing. Clearly two friends making happy noise. Their sound is quite frenetic. The kick drum that Sanchez plays agressively drives sound. Combine that with the tambourine Dyer stomps on to fill in the cymbals/snare and they don't even really need a drummer (which is good because they don't have one). There's an intensity in the vox and plenty of effects I'd like to talk about, but I really couldn't hear her very well where I was.
To summarize, very intriguing band but a sideways show resulted in disappointment. I get it, it happens, but hopefully the next time I catch them their sound will be locked down.
For readers new to this blog, I should mention, lately I have been a bit obsessed with the banjo and all music that contains it. Whether it be Pete Seeger, Bela Fleck, Guster, Kermit the Frog or Trampled by Turtles. As such I was delighted when the TBT mgmt allowed me to shoot some photos at their show.
Dave Carroll
Of all the niche areas of blugrass, I have to say speedgrass is a new one. Speed infers punk rockers picking up pennies and grass folksy acoustic instruments. The reality of it is plaid shirted fans jumping and moshing to banjo solos, lots of fantastic beards and good looking women with jobs (not my phrase). It was nice too see all the OC hippies come out of the woodwork again, if only for an evening.
Ryan Young
TBT, doesn't just play fast however though. What makes a good show is balancing speed with slow, happy with sad and light with dark. Coincidentally the majority of the dark happened during the three songs I had to shoot in the pit. I did get a few good photos though.
Dave Simonett
There was just something about this band that made them feel organic. As if they all started playing together just for the hell of it and just happened to strike it lucky. Even though Dave Simonett is the lead singer, it really seemed each was an equal member of the band. Even their stage layout implied that with all five evenly spaced in a row with their own little spot on stage for amp and instruments.
To close the show, TBT played a fantastic rendition of Where is My Mind. Unfortunately I had been tipped off about their cover of it before the show so it wasn't the mind blowing supprise it could have been. Pretty cool with the crowd singing the oohs though.
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% Side Note: HoneyHoney
While the headliner of the show was Trampled by Turtles, HoneyHoney was impressive. Their records were a bit overproduced "meh," but live they were great. Very much enjoyed their blend of country folk and rock. Suzanne Santo's stage personality was fairly adorable as well, but when she was singing it was nothing but soulful country.
Suzanne Santo
With her pipes, HoneyHoney could easily go commercial pop country and be huge, so you have to respect them for keeping it real.
It's rare, but every so often a genuine band from LA emerges completely organically. Miner is a band that keeps it in the family. Husband and wife front the band with siblings and cousins backing. Their demo EP (of which I highly recommend picking up a copy) is actually independently funded. Their next full release will likely happen when a label snatches them up. There were a few guys in suits looking completely out of place there tonight so I am sure that will be happening soon.
While I know that musicians always cringe when compared in a description I would place this band somewhere in between the Lumineers, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and a band who's name eludes me. Their set was only around 40 minutes, and still in that short amount of time they played a cover. Although it was a very good cover who's name I don't recall. Seemingly they must still be in the process of writing and getting more material ready to perform. That said, they did still prove tonight that they have songs beyond those released on YouTube.
The band was somewhat lower energy than you might expect given their songs. On their last song Hey Love, they started to get into it a bit more. You could see Justin Miner almost tripping over his instrument cable while excitedly dancing as if it was something new to him. Tonight's show gave the feeling they are still figuring out the live thing together and that as they grow, they are only going to be even more fun to watch.
One thing that I think says a lot was that even though Miner was the opener, the crowd mostly dissipated in the front and surrounded the band after they played. This left almost no one near the stage for the headliner. I'd heard they were local, but it's nice to see an actual local scene around a band in a tough market like this. I think yet again this was a case of a show where the wrong band opened. I've just never seen such a dramatic example of it.
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% Side Note:
My only complaint? Their website is hard to find on search. Try typing Miner into google (until recently nothing), Miner the band (only press), this is Miner (the only thing that finds them). They may want to optimize their embedded tags on their website a bit more or expand the name to something like Miner Threat... oh wait...
In a strange occurance tonight, Seawolf opened for Hey Marseilles after they left the stage. It's unusual for a headliner to play before the opener, sure enough, but that's what happened.
Often when you hear songs live, they are stripped down, missing some of the more essential intricate elements. Fortunately, Hey Marseilles travels large. There are at least six guys in the band, most of whom are musical slashes playing whatever is needed for a particular song. This means that the full sound you hear on the album you get live too!
Philip Kobernik
They played some songs from their upcoming second album, sadly I did not write the names down (as I was running around with a camera). It looks like they will maintain the feel of the first album with a slightly more electric sound. For those of you anxiously holding fists full of dollars to buy it, the release date appears to be February 2013... assuming the Mayans are wrong that is.
Hey Marseilles and Friends
When they played "Rio," they brought out everyone who was hiding backstage to help with hand percussion, backing vox, clapping, etc. Their entrances were staggered which added a nice build into the song, until at very last Alex Brown Church walked out.
Hey Marseilles and Friends
I thought at this point that the band had peaked and they would be done for the night, but strangely they continued for one more sans guests. This was fortunate though because the intesity they picked up during the previous song continued through.
Philip Kobernik
It was clear that the band was less known to the audience than Seawolf, but as they played they won the them over. As the audience got more excited the band in tern became more energetic in their performance. Honestly, its unfortunate they finished when they did. I think another 20 minutes and they would have really been kicking. Alas, such is the short set. Hopefully the next time they come to town, Seawolf will be opening for them before them!
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* Side Note:
Seawolf also played, and I really wanted to like them. I respect them, but I just haven't been able to get excited about their music. A few photos follow for anyone interested:
Spoiler Alert: If you are still planning on seeing the Book of Mormon you may want to avoid this post. Continue at your own discretion.
Never before has female circumcision, dying of dysentery or having aids been so funny. It's difficult to walk that line between offense and hilarity, but it's something Trey and Matt have done for years. The best part of the musical was the windup. For the first few scenes it really felt like a happy go lucky musical if for no other purpose than to lull the "musical crowd" into a confidence and then hit them over the head with it when they got to Africa.
Amazingly excepting intentional exaggeration, they stuck to the facts of Mormon Church. Clearly they were laying into them a bit about said secret Mormon plates and other things, but nothing worse than what they already had. With all this ribbing going on, the Mormon church took it quite well. In fact, they bought 3 full page adds in the playbill.
I am absolutely in love with Trey Parker's composition skills. Melodies, layers, and comedy built together. As with the South Park movie, during the first half he put together all the musical themes together in a montage of overlaying melodies where each character was discussing their motivations. The lyrics of most of the songs were very South Park like. Raunchy numbers about dysentery and fuck you god, were well received. Sadly, my favorite song from their Joseph Smith episode (Joseph Smith wrote the book of Mormon dum dum dum dum dum).
The Book of Mormon
Given it's the traveling cast I was still very impressed with their voices and ability to project their character's to the audience. They did an especially great job casting "neutrogena" or whatever her name was. She may have been the best of the bunch. The male lead appeared to have a bit of an issue breaking, but did a great job covering by pulling them into the part.
Before the show I was talking to a friend and she mentioned she had heard mixed reviews. Some people loved it, others were horribly offended. I really do have to say, if at this point you go and don't know what you're getting in to, that's your own fault. In any case, our seats were kind of towards the back, so I kept an eye out to see if anyone would walk out. Not surprisingly, everyone stayed.
To sum up, good show, raunchy, offensive, funny and it beats the hell out of "Cannibal the Musical."
