concert reviews
Concert reviews…
Wilco 8/10 @ Grand Opera House – Wilmington, DE Getting to the concert was an adventure. Wilmington has some sort of weird position on the meteorological map, where the city just gets smacked with every extreme weather pattern that hits the Northeast. I remember the 6 months I worked in Wilmington for MBNA, two tornadoes touched down near the city (interesting side note, the entire year I lived in Texas, zero tornadoes and two snowfalls). As we entered the city, there was a clear line of thunderstorms with green sky below – a demarcation between shitty weather and the end of the world kind of weather. The hail wasn’t the size of golfballs (as most like to say), it was the size of crappy marbles. Like if you received these marbles as a gift, you would feign gratitude but deep down inside… you’d be bummed.
The Grand is an incredible place to say the least. Extremely comfortable, lots of helpful staff all about, and extremely nice bathrooms. Views of the stage are all very clear and the sound is perfect. One of the really nice things about being in Wilmington (in addition to the reasonable of beer), as opposed to say Philly is parking is freely available on the street and close by too.
Wilco hit the stage and just took over with lyrically, one of my favorite songs, Sunken Treasure. The set list was incredible, save for the fact that nothing was played from Summerteeth (BUT, this does make a nice contrast for me personally, the last time I saw Wilco was in 1999 at the Midtown Music Festival in Atlanta when they were supporting that album). Standout songs from the night for me were Hotel Arizona (although Tweedy forgot the chords and had to restart 3 times!), Spiders (Kidsmoke), and I’m the Man Who Loves You (loved the accompaniment by the horn section).
Radiohead 8/12 @ Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
When you get old and don’t stop going to concerts that teenagers attend you see things that affirm your age, both good and bad. The lawn at the Susquehanna Bank Center was filled with beautiful kids smoking weed and getting shitfaced beyond belief. But in the bathrooms there were some of those beautiful kids throwing up and we also witnessed a beautiful kid walk smack right into a street sign (perhaps not so beautiful anymore).
The venue was easy enough to get to and even with a Camden Riversharks game scheduled at the same time, parking was easy. The view from the lawn was not great, I was thankful for the video screens (yeah, I know the age thing again) and once the sun went down, the view of the Philly skyline was awesome. Next trip to the Susquehanna Bank Center, I’ll fork over the extra $20 for a closer seat. Also I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention, my favorite battleship was right next to us.
To say that Radiohead was awesome would be a severe understatement. This was my first Radiohead show and I was floored by the performance. My eyes were mostly fixed (think of it as kind of recon for how he gets so many kick ass guitar tones and his other digital fuckery) on Johnny Greenwood, and my impression was that he tinkered often during live shows, but I was really impressed with how tasteful he was with his improvisational additions. The set list was insanely great (albeit, sans Fake Plastic Trees). The light show was pretty impressive, they got great mileage out of the long clear plastic tubes behind the band – lighting them up with Matrix-y green rain at one point.
- 10 Futuristic User Interfaces
- African Kings
- well said – (thanks Mel)
- Largest Condom in the World – (thanks Mel)
August 18th, 2008 at 9:41 am
So jealous I can’t even type….
August 18th, 2008 at 9:41 am
I really need to get to a concert. I miss seeing music live.
claudia’s last blog post..Blogging by Truth
August 18th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I haven’t been to a concert in years, but I remember feeling really old there. Not necessarily in a completely bad way, I have maturity now, but I sort of miss the young and dumb age too.
tori’s last blog post..This Is a Race, So Hurry
August 18th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
i really loved that link on the african kings. it fascinated me.
the world’s largest condom…well, that just scared the hell of me. can’t even imagine the creature it could be designed for. lol
lime’s last blog post..How Pathetic Am I?
August 18th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
In what crazy world is walking into a street sign, shit-faced, not a beautiful thing?
I’m not sure I want to inhabit that world, my friend. It would deny all I hold dear.
Jocelyn’s last blog post..
August 18th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
“When you get old and don’t stop going to concerts that teenagers attend you see things that affirm your age” rang a bell over here Van.
You see, I totally gave up on the concert/festival circuit.
No matter how great the band(s), I felt way too often like I had entered a timewarp zone: these kids could have been my children, they actually did throw up with dilated pupils and generally made me feel like I had inadvertently entered a “do not enter” no-go area.
I’m glad you still manage to enjoy a great concert, totally focusing on the awesome performance without being bothered by the crowd.
Peter’s last blog post..I’ll have a vibrator, a hot party and some lingerie: sex for sale in front of Antwerp City Hall
August 18th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Both sound like excellent shows! I know what you mean about going to shows as a slightly older person. Oy.
Chris’s last blog post..Back from the north country
August 18th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Hey, I think I need some marble schooling. I may have inadvertently disappointed my child…
August 19th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Ahhrg, wishing I’d been there!!
August 19th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
digital fuckery…may I borrow that please?
August 20th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Green with envy over here. GREEN.
August 26th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Sounds like a couple of great shows — my cousin’s husband went to the Radiohead show and agreed that it was awesome. I’m stoked as I’ll be going to my first show in ages – Grace Potter at the TLA – in October. Can’t wait.
Marty’s last blog post..Thought for the Day
January 6th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
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