CONCERT REVIEW: Ride at the Paradise Rock Club, Boston, MA October 3, 2015

***all of the photos in this post (except for one, noted below) were taken by me...please DO NOT use without my permission!***

Ride have been one of my favorite bands since my friend Carsten introduced me to them around 1999/2000, but since they'd broken up in 1995 I never had the chance to see them live...until this past weekend. As I'd mentioned a while back, I finally got to see them in concert at the Paradise in Boston. What was even better was that I had a chance to go with Carsten, who I hadn't seen in a while and is one of my close friends going back to our days in graduate school. The concert gave us a chance to catch up and also gave me a chance to go back home to New England and Boston, which I miss terribly and where I haven't been in almost a year. 

The stage before the show began.

The concert was on a Saturday night, so when I finished work on Friday, I got in my car to drive to my parents' house in Massachusetts. It had been raining lightly all day which shouldn't have been a problem, but it slowed traffic down enough that by the time I got close to New York City it was the middle of rush hour. Eight hours later, a drive that should have only taken me five hours was over and I finally arrived at my their house, exhausted and starving. The next day was spent visiting with them before I drove to the Boston suburbs to meet Carsten at his house mid-afternoon. We drove into the city, checked in at a cool hotel (called Verb) where Carsten had booked us some rooms (since it would be a late night and we were going to have a few drinks over the course of the evening), and then walked down the street to have dinner and catch up at an excellent BBQ place. [Before moving on, I want to mention the hotel quickly: Verb is a rock music-themed hotel literally right next to Fenway Park in the Kenmore Square area of Boston. The place is decorated really cool with vintage stuff, loads of records and posters, and even a guitar and some amps in the lobby (I was tempted to pick it up and play but didn't know if I was allowed to or if it was just for show). A really neat place and somewhere I'd definitely go stay at again not only for the ambiance and vibe, but also the fantastic location in the city. Plus, you literally could walk twenty feet out the door and you're right up against Fenway Park!] We had our dinner and then made the long walk down Commonwealth Avenue toward the Paradise. As we walked in the blustery early evening, the wind was really whipping as we discussed all of the previous concerts each of us had seen at the Paradise. It's one of the venues I like the most in Boston and I've seen some great shows there, although while we were walking I realized I hadn't been there since 2003 when I saw Supergrass on back-to-back nights. I knew it had been renovated since then so I was interested in seeing how it looked inside now. Also, the week before I'd managed to get us on the guest list for the band's afterparty thrown by Creation Records, so we were really looking forward to that as well. 

We got to the Paradise a little before 8pm (which was when the doors were due to open) and lined up to get inside. After entering, we decided to sit in the lounge area to have a drink and catch up some more. I'll confess I was pretty damn rock and roll here as I pounded glass after glass, probably four in all, of...water! Yeah, I was dying of thirst for some reason and just stuck to good old H2O...real rock and roll, don't you think? We actually ended up staying in there chatting during the opening band, who were the Besnard Lakes from Montreal. I think it's the first time I've ever skipped out on an opening band; usually when I get to a club, I get right to the front of the stage and stay there the entire time. Anyway, we had a lot to catch up on so the conversation was definitely worth missing them, without question. After they finished, we made our way into the club area and were able to get a spot maybe fifteen or twenty feet from the stage, a bit left of center. Unfortunately, for much of the show (as you'll see in the photos I took), a support pole was in our line of sight and blocked Loz and Andy from view unless they moved around a bit. However, as the show went on and people in front of us kept leaving to get drinks, we managed to get closer and a bit more toward center such that for the last third of the show, we had an unobstructed view of everyone on stage. When Ride were ready to come on, the lights went down and some droning/feedback sounds played over the PA for a few minutes to build the excitement up before they sauntered out and waved at us, to huge cheers from the capacity crowd.  The set list is below.

Set list:

Leave Them All Behind

Like a Daydream
Chrome Waves
Seagull
Sennen
OX4
Mouse Trap
Cool Your Boots
Black Nite Crash
Time of Her Time
Dreams Burn Down
Taste
Vapour Trail
Drive Blind

Encore:

Today
Chelsea Girl

As you can see, the bulk of the set was made up of songs from their two classic albums Nowhere and Going Blank Again. In fact, all of their releases were represented (even their last album, Tarantula!) except for Carnival of Light. I was a bit bummed since, unlike many Ride fans, I love CoL and I think songs like "Moonlight Medicine" and "I Don't Know Where It Comes From" would have sounded great live. BUT, there is no way I'm complaining...I mean, look at the set list!  When the opening organ notes of "Leave Them All Behind" played over the PA, Carsten and I looked at each and nodded before they tore into it. We just knew it was going to be a killer gig. [Another aside: I had been warned by a couple of friends who had seen Ride on this tour that they played at ear-splitting volume. Knowing this, I took earplugs with me as I love music far too much to risk damaging my hearing so that I can't enjoy it later in life. However, from the opening note, the sound was loud but perfectly balanced and comfortable, and I didn't end up needing earplugs at all. Other than Andy's vocals being slightly low in the mix, the sound was great and I had absolutely no ringing in my ears immediately after the concert or the next day. For a club show, that might have been the best sound mix I'd ever heard]. Back to the music, they tore into one song after another, with some highlights being "Black Nite Crash" from the much-maligned Tarantula, "OX4," "Sennen," which they mentioned hadn't been played on the tour yet and which was requested by the Besnard Lakes, and a ridiculous version of "Drive Blind" that closed the set and included almost five full minutes of a feedback and drum freak-out in the middle that whipped the crowd into a frenzy before they exploded back into the song. The encores were a really beautiful version of "Today" (with Mark playing bass and Steve making the almost violin-sounding noises on his bass) and a great power-pop "Chelsea Girl." As for the band themselves, they played with an intensity and joy that was infectious to those of us in the crowd...lots of smiling and nodding at each other, even if they didn't interact much onstage; whether this is how they've always been or whether it's a way to keep the tensions that broke them up in 1995 at bay during this reunion, I don't know, but it's something Carsten and I both noticed. Mark Gardener took the bulk of the lead vocals and played the more rhythm/complimentary guitar parts while Andy Bell played more lead guitar (including lots of tasty electric 12-string) and sang lead on a several songs. When they harmonized together, though, it was magical...THAT sound we all knew and loved. They both also mentioned that this was their first show in Boston in twenty years at the same club and asked who had seen them there back then...several hands went up. In fact, there weren't too many people that looked to be under 25 or 30 there...it was mainly made up of fans who were old enough to be Ride fans who either saw them in the 1990s or never got the chance to. Steve Queralt stayed mainly in the background but supplied that rock solid, booming, smooth bass that he's known for, while Loz Colbert was just a whirling dervish on the drums. Not only was his playing incredible but my eyes were constantly drawn to him such that I spent much of the gig watching him in awe as he worked his away around his drumkit and back again. Overall, the show was just fantastic, with an almost-perfect set list, killer performances, a crowd that was into it and appreciative (including an older guy who was REALLY into it and kept yelling for "Kaleidoscope" between songs, to which Mark said "there's always someone yelling for a song we're never gonna play!"), and a band who seemed to really enjoy the entire experience. As soon as the show ended, Loz stood up behind his kit and took a panorama of the crowd on his phone...he later tweeted it out and I managed to find myself in it (see below)...very cool!

Photo by Loz Colbert...there I am!

After the show, we made our way back to the lounge for the afterparty in the Paradise's front lounge. We hung out in there for a long time, chatting and having a couple of drinks (gin and tonic for me this time...a bit more rock and roll). The band came in and milled around and we ended up being sat no more than a foot or two from Andy Bell, Loz Colbert, and Mark Gardener. However, neither of us ended up talking to them much and even though I would have loved to have gotten a picture taken with them, I passed. I didn't want to be "that guy" going up them saying "hey man, I love you guys! I'm a huge fan! Can you sign this? Can I get a picture?" There were a LOT of "those guys" in the room doing that (and to be fair, a lot who were much cooler and laid back who just chatted with them and got a picture taken). The guys looked to be in a good mood but were understandably tired, at least visibly, and I just felt guilty that I would've been bothering them. We didn't see Steve Queralt in there but he did show up apparently as there were a few photos I saw online later where he was in there. Around 2am, which is an hour neither Carsten or I are used to staying up until since we both have jobs and kids, we decided to call it a night and took a cab back to the hotel. Next morning, it was driving back home and saying our goodbyes before I drove back to my parents to meet up with another friend for lunch before making the drive back to Pennsylvania, on which I listened to all of Ride's albums. The entire experience was great: seeing Ride, catching up with a couple of old friends, visiting with my parents, getting a chance to go back home to New England and Boston...I can check another favorite band off of my bucket list and I'll have memories of the entire weekend for as long as I live.

Mark and Andy's guitarsenal...I was drooling over these, especially the three Rickenbackers!

(As always, I'm trying to get a recording of the show since I collect tapes of concerts I've been to. So far, no luck. If anyone out there is reading this and has a copy or knows where I can find one, please contact me to let me know...thanks!)

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Concert Memories: Gorillaz at Agganis Arena, Boston, MA October 6, 2010

Before the show...

***Please note that all photos on this post were taken by me and I'd appreciate it if you didn't use them without my permission. Thanks! ***

As I mentioned in the first post of this series, one of the reasons I started writing about the numerous concerts I've seen over the years is my belief that every one of them has an interesting story behind it. Whether it's something minor or something major, no matter the magnitude, something memorable happened around each show I've been to. This next one is no exception! In 2010, I was fortunate enough to see Gorillaz, the "side project' from Blur frontman Damon Albarn that somehow ended up being a commercial and critical smash here in the USA in a way his main band, Blur, have never been. Gorillaz have recorded three albums, but they never played many live shows. To support their self-titled debut album in 2001, they played a handful of shows behind a screen onto which the animations were projected. To support 2005's Demon Days album, they played a few more shows silhouetted entirely behind a screen. However, when it came time to support 2010's Plastic Beach, Damon finally put together a big band and took it out on a proper worldwide tour. Being a huge Blur and Damon fan, I knew I had to try and see a show on the tour but didn't know if I'd actually be able to make one. Then, a series of events played out that went from fortuitous to bizarre to a bummer before it all worked out in the end. Before I get to all of that, first I'd like to reproduce the review of the concert I wrote for the now-defunct Audio Perv website. 

“'Blur are better.'

Anyone who knows me well would expect me to conclude this review with those three words…I’ve been a massive fan of Damon Albarn’s “other band” for 15 years and always considered Gorillaz to be his solo side project and nothing more. But after seeing Gorillaz rock out the Agganis Arena in Boston last night touring in support of their third album Plastic Beach, I’ll have to reevaluate that sentiment later on in this review. For those not in the know, Albarn, the genius behind Gorillaz, is a multi-talented songwriter, vocalist, keyboard/guitar player who originally rose to fame in the 1990s as the frontman for legendary British rock band Blur…since 2000, he’s been the musical soul behind the three mega-selling Gorillaz albums, partnering with Jamie Hewlett, who is the brains behind the visual presentation. 

My ticket stub from the show; there's a story behind it...

The concert began with openers N.E.R.D., who this reviewer was not familiar with at all, although the crowd of mostly college kids seemed to know every word. Songs I did pick out were Party People, Rock Star, and Lapdance. They also announced they were playing some new songs from their upcoming album, to be released “sometime in November.” Their mix of hip-hop and R&B singing was fairly interesting although as someone who isn’t a fan of those genres, I spent most of the set waiting for it to be over. However, they performed well…I did enjoy their vocal harmonies, as well as the incredible drumming by their two drummers.

 
Finally, around 9pm, Gorillaz took the stage in front of a massive video screen and large multicolored-lit letters spelling out their name. Decked out in pirate and sailor gear (hats, striped shirts, naval jackets, eyepatches) they fit right in with the theme of the upcoming show. Albarn himself, not needing any costume due to his incredible charisma and stage presence, dressed simply in a red and black striped top, black jeans, and sneakers. The set began with an extended instrumental intro before a video of Snoop Dogg synced to the rest of the band welcomed everyone to the “World of the Plastic Beach.” For the next 100 minutes, Gorillaz weaved their way through about as perfect a set list as you could ask for, playing songs from all three of their albums, including the “hits” like Clint Eastwood, DARE, Feel Good, Inc., Stylo, and 19-2000. Highlights for me included Last Living Souls, O Green World, Kids with Guns (which contained an awesome extended jam at the end), and long and excellent versions of Empire Ants and Glitter Freeze. The ending encores of Don’t Get Lost in Heaven, which segued into Demon Days, was suitably epic and sent the crowd home on a blissful high.

 

The Gorillaz band itself was excellent, highlighted by Damon Albarn’s incredible vocals and keyboards. Paul Simonon (bass) and Mick Jones (guitar), both of The Clash, were fantastic, and they were augmented by another keyboard player, two phenomenal drummers, backing singers, a string septet, and for some songs, a Middle Eastern quintet. While various animations and videos played behind them, this band wove intricate soundscapes and rocked out as tight and as hard as any band that’s out there. Joining them at various points in the set were Bobby Womack (Stylo, Cloud of Unknowing), Snoop Dogg (via video on Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach), De La Soul (Superfast Jellyfish and Feel Good, Inc.), Little Dragon (Empire Ants, To Binge), Bashy and Kano (White Flag, Clint Eastwood), and Shaun Ryder (via video on DARE). After Phases I and II, during which the live performances of the first two albums (Gorillaz and Demon Days) involved the band playing behind screens or in shadows while the animations took center stage, the live show is now centered on the band itself, out there for all to see.

 

And what can be said about Albarn himself? One of the most talented musicians of the last 20 years, he was as dynamic a frontman last night as he was in his Blur days, jumping and dancing around the stage while delivering vocals that ranged from soft and heartfelt to strident and powerful, and everything in between. Although he did mention Boston was one of the first places he ever came to in the USA (back in 1991), he wasn’t very talkative, certainly not as much as he is when playing with Blur (and as someone who has seen Blur and listened to over 200 of their live recordings, it was very obvious to me). The man was all business on tonight, although you could tell he was genuinely happy to be there doing what he was doing onstage.

 

One thing I noticed was that the crowd for the Gorillaz was much more age diverse than that for N.E.R.D., with 50 and 60 year olds dancing alongside teenagers and college kids (and even some young children). Mostly, however, it was a mix of every age in between. The crowd as a whole was a bit static and lame, especially close to the stage, which was rather surprising. No such problems a bit further away, where I was sitting…everyone was dancing and singing along with enthusiasm.

 
On a cold and rainy night that was anything but enjoyable outside, Gorillaz delivered one of the best concerts in recent memory for this reviewer. To return to the statement that opened this review, are Blur better? Yes and no. Blur will always be Albarn’s “main” band (at least to me), the one he’s best known for and the one that will always be my favorite. But in my mind, Gorillaz is no longer just his side project. They’re a legitimate band in their own right who are just as good and just as exciting. Gorillaz is as good as Blur.

 
Go see Gorillaz live if you can…you won’t be sorry" 

As you can see, I thought the show was great even though I was a bit skeptical going into it. I was definitely a fan of Gorillaz' music (I still am) but I'd never put them on quite the same level as Blur until seeing them live. How I ended up getting to the show is where the real story lies...

As soon as I heard about this tour, I knew I needed to do what I could to see a show, especially as there would be a stop in Boston. Still, I wasn't sure if I wanted to splurge on a ticket so I kept going back and forth on whether to pull the trigger or not. As I kept mulling it over in my head one day on my commute home from work in Boston, I got an message on my iPhone from a friend who forwarded me a tweet he'd seen earlier in the day.  It was from a now-defunct music news and review site called The Audio Perv that was looking for someone to review the Gorillaz show in Boston coming up in a couple of weeks. Needless to say, I wanted in on this opportunity, so I promptly pulled my car over (I was nearly home anyway) and fired a tweet back to the site's account gallantly offering my services.  A little while later I heard back from the fellow and we arranged a phone call for later in the evening. On the phone, he gave me the pitch: he had a press pass and ticket for the show and would I be interested? I'd be right at the front of the stage in the photographers pit and might even get to go backstage after the show to speak with the band and take photos. I was floored at the opportunity, especially as it would be 100% free. Just to make sure there was no catch, I asked what I had to do in order to be so privileged, to which he told me I simply had to go to concert, take a bunch of photos, and write a review for his site. That seemed more than fair enough for me so I readily agreed. Not only was I now going to see the Gorillaz concert, but I would have a prime seat right at the foot of the stage! How could anything be better?

Let's fast forward to the day of the concert and I'll answer that question! October 6th was a Wednesday that year and I spent the day at work, as usual. I was working in a south Boston suburb so I didn't have to leave work too early to get into the city to make the show. The day had been overcast and dreary since morning and by the time I drove into downtown Boston it was murky, cold, and dark...not an atypical October day in New England. I'd originally planned on parking a bit further out from the arena (which is on the Boston University campus) and taking the subway to Agganis, but on a lark I decided to drive all the way in and park at the arena. Deciding to forgo dinner, I went to the ticket window and proudly mentioned that I was there to pick up my press pass and ticket, to which they told me I needed to go to the side entrance where all of the press folks picked their passes up. No problem, I thought, and walked around the side of the building to the press entrance. There was someone there waiting so I again confidently walked up and said that I was there to get my press pass. She asked the name of who I was representing, I told her, and she said she'd be right back with it. I was standing there absolutely thrilled, still in disbelief that I would soon be right in front of the stage seeing Gorillaz and one of my musical idols in Damon Albarn, when she came back and said that she was sorry but there was no press pass with my name on it. I couldn't believe it...had I been duped? At the same time as this exchange was going on, another fellow showed up and handed his card to her. She said she'd go back and check again for me while she got the new fellow's pass. As she walked away I asked him where he was from and he showed me his credentials...Rolling Stone magazine. We made some small talk and waited for her to come back, and when she did it turned out she had bad news for both of us! There were no press passes for us and we were told that we'd have to go in through the main entrance. Out came the cell phone as I made a call to the fellow from the website who had set the entire thing up for me. He was pretty miffed at the situation and told me he'd call the venue and sort things out. I waited several anxious minutes before he called back, only to tell me that for whatever reason, the band and their management had revoked ALL press passes and there was no way I'd be getting into the show with one. To say I was gutted would be a complete understatement as a whole range of thoughts went through my head. Did I just have bad luck? Had I been played for a fool? Was it true that the band revoked all press passes or just for the site I was supposed to be representing? I never did find out, although the Rolling Stone guy walked away pretty pissed off, too, so I don't think I was played for a sucker. The best the fellow who ran the website could tell me is that if I did review the show, he'd definitely publish it on his site. I slowly trudged around the building back to the ticket window asking myself if I should buy a ticket and go in anyway or if I should just go home? It didn't take me long to come to my senses and realize that I was already here and my car was already parked close by...why the hell wouldn't I take advantage of the situation and catch the show anyway? Sheepishly, I went back up to the ticket window and bought myself the best seat I could. Sadly this meant that instead of being in the photographers pit at the foot of the stage, I'd be up a ways back from the stage. Luckily since it's a college arena, it wasn't too big and so I still had a great view of the show. Once the music kicked in, I forgot about the circumstances that led me to that moment and spent the rest of the evening up on my feet dancing and thoroughly enjoying the music. I even recorded the entire show on my iPhone...the quality was horrid, especially in the poor acoustics of the echoey arena, but it made for a nice souvenir. I also took a bunch of photographs, many of which you see here in this post.

 The entire show is on YouTube...check it out!

As for the show itself, I already reviewed it five years ago and you've read it above, so I'm not going to go through it again. I will say that after the show I was ecstatic at what I had just seen and heard. It was now full-blown raining outside, one of those cold and wet October Boston nights that can chill you to the bone. Luckily I only had a short walk to my car. I hit a late-night drive-through for some food as soon as I got out of the city (I was STARVING, having not eaten anything since lunchtime that day) and drove back home. I think it was around 1:30am when I arrived home and by then I was too wired awake to go to sleep right away. Worst of all, I had to be up by 5am in order to drive back into the city for work the next day, but I didn't care. I was still so buzzed from the concert that I never regretted being absolutely, wearily exhausted at work the next day. It still stands as one of the best concerts I've ever seen, even if the circumstances around why I went and how I finally got in didn't seem so amusing at the time. Luckily, everything worked out and in hindsight, it's given me another great story (and memory!) which I've now shared with you...I hope you enjoyed it!

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Concert Memories: The Who at Great Woods, Mansfield, MA July 31, 1997

In July of 1997 I was 17 years old, had graduated high school the month before, and was a few weeks away from starting college. I was also in the midst of my era of playing guitar during every waking moment (something I'd gladly do now if I had the time!), writing songs, practicing with the band I was in, and immersing myself in as much music as I could. I also finally had my own car and the freedom to drive wherever I wanted (within reason). As a bit of background, I'm the oldest of three kids and I was on the young side compared to my classmates at school by virtue of skipping the fifth grade. Because I was the oldest my parents were a bit stricter with me than with my brother and sister (in the interest of full disclosure, I was an absolute pain in the arse for most of my teenage years), and due to being a year or two younger than all of my friends I wasn't able to do many of the things that they could (like drive) until a year after. By the summer of 1997 I was heading off to college and was old enough to mostly go where I wanted so after missing out on several concerts I'd wanted to see in previous years, I was ready to finally start going to some shows. Indeed, one of the reasons this Who concert that I'm going to write about holds so much significance for me isn't simply because I saw the remnants of one of my favorite, most meaningful bands but because it was the first real concert I ever went to. 

It all started in 1996, actually. I'd been a Who fan since I was a little kid in the 1980s thanks to my dad's record collection. I heard several of their songs when he would listen to them and when I got a little older, I played the hell out of his copies of Tommy, Who's Next, Quadrophenia, and Who Are You. There were a couple of formative events that cemented my obsession with this band that I can still remember vividly even though they were so many years ago. The first was in 1994 when I purchased my own copy of Tommy on CD. There was a record store in Portsmouth that my dad and I used to frequent called Strawberries and in the summer of 1994 they were making a big deal of it being the 25th anniversary of Woodstock. They were selling albums by all of the bands that played the original festival at a discount and had even set up a special display where they were all gathered together. Knowing Tommy from my dad's records, I bought that CD and proceeded to listen to it almost non-stop all of that summer. I had also gotten one of the first Sony DiscMan portable CD players earlier in the year, so every day involved listening to it at full blast through headphones, and every night involved falling asleep to it. For me at the age of fourteen, hearing it in that improved sound quality and absorbing every nuance of the album over the course of those weeks and months deepened my appreciation of the Who. The other event, which pushed me completely over the top, was a year later in 1995. My brother and I had been hanging out in our dad's office listening to records when he arrived home from work with some new CDs in his briefcase. The Who had recently begun their remaster campaign, releasing their albums with improved sound (albeit with some bastardized mixes when compared to the original vinyl) and bonus tracks. That evening, Dad brought home the new versions of Tommy, Who's Next, and Live at Leeds. Now, these were all albums I was familiar with, especially Tommy; however, apart from my CD of that album I'd only ever listened to these on either vinyl or the cassette dubs I'd made of the records. In the case of Live at Leeds, the original album only had six tracks whereas this remaster had fifteen! You mean there was more stuff they played at the concert? I couldn't believe it (not realizing, in my youth, that most live albums were cherry picked from full concerts). Dad wanted to hear how some of the tracks he dug from the original Live at Leeds album sounded on the new CD. "How about 'Young Man Blues?'" he said. After putting the CD in the player, cranking up the volume, and pressing "play," my teenage ears and mind were about to blown and my life changed forever. The absolute heavy-metal assault of that song was absolutely staggering.

Even songs from the album I'd heard a bunch of times before, like "Substitute" and "Summertime Blues" sounded new and fresh, and the newly included live cuts...well, they were just the icing on the cake. A few years later when I was in college I would get a bootleg of the ENTIRE Leeds concert and that's the way I choose to enjoy the album nowadays, but I can't stress enough how life-changing that listen to Live at Leeds in 1995 was. It not only heightened my obsession with the Who, it completely changed how I played guitar. I learned how to play the entire Live at Leeds album note-for-note, every riff and solo, and the band my brother and I had with our friend Theo played every song from that album every time we jammed for the next year or two. It was an absolute revelation, as were the other remastered albums and the bonus tracks...there were so many songs we'd never heard of, let alone heard before. I ended up buying my own copies of those CDs and snatched up every subsequent remastered Who album that came out on CD in the next few years.  But now that I've gone off far enough on this tangent (hey, I'm building toward something so bear with me!)...

...by the time 1996 rolled around, all I wanted to do was listen to and make music. When I wasn't at school, at band or sports practice, or with hanging out with my friends, I was playing guitar. I wanted to be in The Who. When they announced a big Hyde Park show in London in 1996 to play the entire Quadrophenia album (my favorite of theirs), I was thrilled although it was from 3,000 miles away. A few months later, though, I found out that they were going to play shows in the US during the summer of 1997 and well, what else could I do? I absolutely had to go see them. One problem, though...I had only just turned seventeen at the beginning of 1997 and no way were my parents going to let me drive to Mansfield alone (it's about 40 minutes south of Boston but I grew up in central New Hampshire so it was a two-hour drive to get there). Even worse, neither of them wanted to go with me and my brother. The date of the concert, July 31, was a Thursday so my dad had to work and my mum couldn't leave my sister home alone (twelve years old at the time) in order to take us. There was no way my brother Alex and I were going to miss this show, but how were we going to get there?

Enter salvation in the form of our friend Pete's dad (also named Alex, a very nice man who sadly passed away in 2011).  Pete was my one of brother's best friends and lived down the street from us in our neighborhood. Alex used to hang out at Pete's house a lot and during one visit he mentioned that we were trying to get someone to take us to the concert.  Alex (the dad) overheard and told us he'd take us. He had been a Who fan back in his college days and was used to driving down that way since he was a Patriots season ticket holder (the Patriots play in Foxborough, the next town over from Mansfield). So now we had someone who would take us to the show...success! I promptly ordered five tickets over the phone (remember, kids, these were the old days when the internet didn't really exist...I didn't send my first email or browse my first webpage until a month later when I started college). Alex (the dad) was going to take me, Alex (my brother), Pete, and Pete's younger brother Eric. I could finally breathe a sigh of relief as we had tickets, someone to take us, and several months to go until the concert in July.

Finally, July 31st arrived...Who day! I remember that it was a typical New England summer day: hot and muggy, although not unbearably so...just enough to make you uncomfortable. We all piled into Alex-the-dad's minivan and set out for Great Woods (again, I refuse to call it the "Whatever-Corporate-Sponsored-Name-It-Is-Now Center...it was Great Woods my whole life growing up and that's what I'll always call it) in Mansfield. Along the way we discussed the upcoming Patriots season and listened to the radio (we may have had the Red Sox game on the radio...I can't remember). When we got a bit closer to Boston where we could pick up the radio stations, we tuned in to hear that all of them were playing nothing but the Who which got us even more psyched up for the concert. Eventually we arrived at the venue, parked, and walked through the gates. Thinking ahead, we'd brought along some blankets to spread out on the ground; for those of you who have never been to Great Woods, it's a large outdoor amphitheatre that is divided into three sections. The first is where the bulk of the seats are and is covered by a roof. There are then several rows of seats that are behind the first section and aren't under the roof; finally, the rear section is the general admission lawn area. I've sat in all three sections at various concerts and any time you're not under the roof you're praying for good weather. Luckily there wasn't a cloud in the sky that day so there were no worries. After getting a spot on the lawn right up against the final row of seats and spreading out our blankets, I set off to buy some Who t-shirts from the merchandise stall. I ended up buying two: one was white with banding around the collar and sleeves and the target and band logos on the front, and the other was black with their early 1970s logo on the front and the tour dates on the back. I still have both shirts, they both still fit, and I'll add photos of them once I find them. Now it was time to hang out on the lawn until the show started.

For this tour, the Who were presenting Quadrophenia as a true rock opera onstage, with special guests playing the parts of the Ace Face and the Godfather to augment to the band.  All these years since the show I've distinctly remembered Billy Idol as the Ace Face and Gary Glitter as the Godfather, but while doing some research on the show for this post I've found some information stating that PJ Proby was the Godfather and Ben Waters was the Ace Face. Maybe I'm being stubborn but I'm still pretty sure it was Glitter and Idol at the show I saw, but it was so long ago that I guess I've been wrong! Anyway, in addition to these two characters, the band was fleshed out by Pete's brother Simon on second guitar, John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keyboards, a small horn section, and for me the most impressive addition: Zak Starkey on drums. For anyone who knows anything about me, I consider the true end of the Who to have been September 7, 1978 when Keith Moon died...since then they've been a different band to me. However, Zak Starkey excited me for a number of reasons: he was Ringo's son, he was Keith Moon's godson, and "Uncle" Keith had bought him his first drum kit and inspired him to play the drums. I'd read good things about his work with the Who from the previous year and I wanted to see if he would pass muster in my eyes. After waiting for what seemed an eternity, the house lights went down, the crowd began to roar, and there they were: Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle. Three legends from one of my favorite bands onstage right in front of me! They began the show with the backing tape of "I Am the Sea" playing over the PA and the tension built up and the waves crashed around us until Roger's familiar voice sang out "can you see the real me? Can you? CAN YOU?" and they exploded into "The Real Me." The entire set list is below:

Set List:

I Am the Sea

The Real Me

Quadrophenia

Cut My Hair

The Punk and the Godfather

I'm One

The Dirty Jobs

Helpless Dancer

Is It in My Head?

I've Had Enough

5:15

Sea and Sand

Drowned

Bell Boy

Doctor Jimmy

The Rock

Love, Reign O'er Me

Encore:

Magic Bus

Won't Get Fooled Again

Behind Blue Eyes

Substitute

I Can't Explain

Who Are You 

As you can see, they played the entire Quadrophenia album and then encored with some of their classic hits. It was very exciting to hear the entire album played live since, as any Who fan can tell you, they only played the full album live a few times in 1973 before dropping many of the songs. After 1974, they completely abandoned it apart from a handful of tracks ("Drowned," "5:15," "Doctor Jimmy," "The Real Me"). There are some great bootlegs from 1973 (in particular, the Philadelphia and Landover shows) where they played nearly the entire album, but because they were limited by the technology of the times they gave up on it far too quickly, in my opinion. So here we were in 1997 and they played through the whole thing. The band sounded great, but what of Zak Starkey? Answer: he absolutely blew me away! If you closed your eyes you would have sworn it was Keith playing drums, but Zak is incredibly talented in his own right and didn't simply ape Moon's parts...he brought a lot of himself to the music and fit in seamlessly. The additions of the Ace Face and Godfather were okay...I would have liked it to have been just the Who onstage, but they didn't detract from the quality of the performance. What I do remember is that it was just an excellent, excellent concert. By the time they finished playing Quadrophenia it was starting to get dark but we were all still hungry for more music. To start the encores, Pete, Roger, and John came onstage all by themselves, Pete with an acoustic guitar and John with his bass. They started playing "Magic Bus" and at one point after Pete sang the line "can I buy your Magic Bus?" and Roger sang back "you caaaaaaan't have it!" Pete stopped, looked at the crowd, and said "thirty years and he still won't sell it to me!" That got a hearty laugh from everyone before they picked up where they left off and finished the song. They followed it with an acoustic "Won't Get Fooled Again" that was really great, albeit not the full version (if I recall correctly, they only played a few minutes of it). They then did "Behind Blue Eyes" with those gorgeous three-part harmonies, playing acoustically as on the album before the rest of the band exploded to life behind them when they came to the hard rocking middle section of the song. The concert finished with full band versions of "Substitute," "I Can't Explain," and a great version of "Who Are You." After that, it was all over and my mind (and eardrums) had been blown. We made our way back to the car, sat in traffic for over an hour before we were able to leave, and hit a Wendy's drive-thru for some food to eat on the long drive back home.

Looking back on it (and listening to the recording of the concert which I've included as YouTube videos throughout this post), it was a fantastic way to lose my concert virginity. Seeing one of my all-time favorite bands, even without Keith Moon, was probably the best way I could have chosen to break into the world of attending concerts and the show was really great. I'm also very thankful that I got to see them with John as he died in 2001...I know my brother must feel the same way as The Ox is one of the greatest bass guitarists who ever played and has always been one of the biggest influences on Alex's own playing. When I think back on the show I don't remember too many specific details as it was almost twenty years ago. That's where the recording comes in handy as it helps to jump start my memories every time I listen to it. The summer of 1997 was just a special summer for me for all of the reasons I mentioned earlier, made even more so by the Who. To see my first proper concert in the month between high school and college and to have it be The Who...even if it was a lousy show it would hold a special place in my heart. The fact that it was great only makes it that much sweeter a concert memory for me.
 

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Every Concert Has a Story Behind It...

You may have noticed the series of posts I've been writing over the course of the last few months on some of the concerts I've been to over the years. In case you were wondering what my impetus for writing them is, I figured a short post discussing this very point might be helpful. I did touch on it briefly in the first entry in the series, but when I went back and read it I didn't think I did a very good job conveying what my thought process was, so here's my chance for a do-over...

Basically, I had spent some time several months ago thinking about all of the concerts I've been to over the past (almost) twenty years since I first started going to shows. Not only did I reminisce about all of the different artists I've seen, but I also started to think about the different things that happened before, during, and after each show. What really opened my eyes to the possibilities of writing this series was a discussion I had with a friend about something funny that happened at one of the shows I'd seen years before. Then, I told him about something weird that happened at another one, and then another...eventually I stopped and realized "whoa...pretty much every concert I've been to has some interesting story to tell." It really opened my eyes to the fact that there is a story behind every one of them...some funny things, some weird things, some interesting things, and so on. Gee, I thought, maybe it would be fun for me to share these stories with all of my readers? I also realized that it would be a great way for me to chronicle all of these memories and concerts to help preserve them before I forget about them! I decided to write about them in random order instead of chronologically; I figured this would make the posts less predictable and keep it interesting for me and for you, my readers.

I've already posted these three posts in the series:

Radiohead at Suffolk Downs, Boston 8/14/01

R.E.M. at Earls Court, London 6/22/99

Dream Theater at Harborlights Pavilion, Boston 8/2/09

...and I plan on completing posts for every single one of the shows I've seen. I do hope that they have been and will continue to be enjoyable, interesting, and as fun for you read as they've been for me to write. And as always, please feel free to share your own memories and feedback here in the comments section as well as on my Facebook and Twitter pages...one of the other things I'm hoping for with this series is to spur discussions and perhaps help you remember some of your own concert memories. I hope you'll stay with me as I tell these stories!  

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Concert Memories: Dream Theater at Harborlights Pavilion, Boston MA August 2, 2009

(As you can see I refuse to call it Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, which is what it's now called ...I hate corporate naming of venues!)

In 2009, I ticked another name off of my concert bucket list when I finally saw Dream Theater live in concert. I've been a fan since the late 1990s when their landmark album Metropolis 2: Scenes From a Memory was released, although I didn't really get into their music until a few years after that. Having formed at Berklee College of Music in Boston in the mid-1980s, the band has always had a special affection for the city and it's always been a main stop on their tours through the years. My brother Alex was able to see them in 2007 when they were touring in support of their Systematic Chaos album. I was living in South Carolina at the time working on my postdoctorate fellowship so I missed out on seeing them (I believe the closest they came to SC on that tour was either Charlotte or Atlanta) so when they toured a couple of years later supporting their Black Clouds & Silver Linings album, I was living back home in New England and jumped at the chance. We bought three tickets: one for me, one for my brother, and one for our friend Marc who was also a DT fan and had seen them many times dating back to 2000. This tour was going to be a bit different than the way they usually did them, though.  DT was famous for playing marathon sets of three to four hours with no opening acts, billing each show as "An Evening With Dream Theater." However, starting with this 2009 jaunt they began touring under the heading of "Progressive Nation" and including other progressive rock bands as openers. That was fine with me when I saw the bill, as besides Big Elf (who I had heard of, but never actually heard) they would also have Zappa Plays Zappa opening. I've been a massive, massive fan of Frank Zappa from when I'd started high school back in the early 1990s, so the chance to see his talented son Dweezil and a band made up of several of Frank's band alumni playing his music was a real thrill. With all of that out of the way, now let's get to the story of the day when it all came together...

August 2nd was a typical summer day in New England: hot, oppressively humid, and overcast. At the time, my brother was in law school and living on Beacon Hill in Boston while my wife and I were living on the New Hampshire seacoast about an hour away. On the day of the concert I made the drive down into the city with the idea of parking in Alex's neighborhood; I was planning on staying over at his place and wanted my car close by. However, as anyone who has ever been to Beacon Hill can tell you, its neighborhoods are a maze of narrow streets, many of them cobblestoned and one-way, and as with everywhere in Boston parking is at a premium. I'd driven to his place several times before and never had too much of a problem parking, but this time there was absolutely no way I was going to find a spot. I ended up double parking a block from his place with my car left running and sprinted up the steep hill to his apartment with my overnight bag slung on my shoulder. I pressed the intercom button and yelled for them to come down and get in my car. The original plan (had I been able to park where I'd intended) was for the three of us to walk somewhere to eat dinner and then take the T over to the Pavilion for the concert. However, now I needed to find somewhere else to park my car. They followed me running to my car, which miraculously hadn't been ticketed or towed and was still there. I decided I'd park it overnight in the parking garage under Boston Common so we drove there and left the car. Since we were already halfway across the city, we decided to find somewhere to eat along the way and just walk to the seaport district where the Pavilion was afterward. We did all of this during the hottest part of the afternoon so by the time we got to the venue an hour before showtime, we were absolutely drenched in sweat and very, very hot. Thankfully all of the seating there is underneath a huge canvas covering which offered some much-appreciated shade and respite from the heat. We got to our seats, which were about fifty feet from the stage and slightly to the right with an excellent view of the stage. After grabbing some cold drinks, we sat and chatted until it was time for the show to begin. At this point the sun was still up and it was daylight, but there was a nice breeze coming off the water (since the Pavilion is right on the harbor) which helped to cool us down nicely.

Big Elf was up first and they struck a very psychedelic, Gothic figure on stage. The lead singer wore a long jacket and top hat and faced the crowd standing in between two Hammond organs that were on either side of him and tilted toward him. He played one with each hand while he sang and their sound was very heavy and psychedelic. I can't say they made me into a fan, but I really enjoyed their set and it was certainly unique! Zappa Plays Zappa was on next and they began by playing an instrumental ("The Purple Lagoon") when suddenly a guy in the crowd stood up and started shouting and heckling them. Eventually he ran up to the front of the stage and yelled some more before he climbed up on to the stage and ran toward a microphone. We were all looking at each other in confusion, wondering what the hell was going on and whether this fellow was going to cause some trouble when he turned to the crowd and started singing "Zomby Woof!" He sounded just like Ricky Lancelotti, who sang the vocal on the record (and who had a VERY weird voice) when we realized he was part of the band! Indeed, after the song ended Dweezil introduced him and the rest of the band before they continued on with the rest of their set, which was fantastic and included several of my favorite FZ songs like "Zomby Woof," "Montana," "Inca Roads," and "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama."  By the time they left the stage it was just about dark and we waited for the main attraction...

Zappa Plays Zappa set list:

The Purple Lagoon
Zomby Woof
Montana
Village of the Sun
Echidna's Arf (Of You)
Don't You Ever Wash That Thing?
My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama
Inca Roads
Peaches en Regalia
Bamboozled by Love
More Trouble Every Day
Willie the Pimp

After all of ZPZ's gear was torn down and Dream Theater's gear was set up, the lights went down and the crowd began to cheer as DT came onto the stage to begin their set. Their first song, "A Nightmare to Remember," exploded from the stage as the intense light show and backing projections bathed all of us in a brilliant glow. The first thing that struck me as soon as the show started, however, was that it was freaking LOUD! Now, I've been to loads of concerts...I'm also a musician myself and as you all know, I'm a hugely obsessive music fan who listens to music at every possible moment throughout the day. That being said, I try to take care of my hearing and I always try to protect my ears by bringing earplugs with me to every concert as a precaution. However, given the chaos of parking and getting to the venue, I had left my earplugs in the car! I'd foolishly figured that since it was an outdoor show that the sound wouldn't be as loud as it usually is at an indoor. Needless to say I was very wrong! The sound was actually borderline painful and beyond that, it was poorly mixed; it was much too trebly and the nuances of the music were lost in a wash of cymbals and ringing high, especially from the guitar and keyboards. I spent most of the show with my fingers in my ears in order to block out as much of the sound as I could...this also helped to filter out the tinniness of the mix and actually made the music sound better. The set list is below.


Dream Theater set list:

A Nightmare to Remember
A Rite of Passage
Hollow Years
Prophets of War
The Dance of Eternity
One Last Time
Solitary Shell
In the Name of God

Encore:
The Count of Tuscany

I was most excited to hear the more seldomly played older songs like "The Dance of Eternity/One Last Time" (from Scenes From a Memory) and "Solitary Shell" (from Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence). The most welcome surprise for me was "Hollow Years," a song that I not only love, but that they ended up playing in a very unique ten-plus minute version at this concert. The newer songs were very good, especially the first and last songs, each of which are 15-20 minute epics. However, having to endure one of my least favorite DT songs, "Prophets of War," in the middle of the set was a real momentum killer. I also remember being a bit disappointed at the brevity of the set. It was only nine songs and a little under two hours, which normally would be more than enough from any other band, but having listened to all of Dream Theater's live albums for years I was used to hearing three hours (or more) of them onstage. Perhaps what was most unsatisfying to me was the fact that this show was in support of what was their weakest album (in my view) to date and 30% of the set was drawn from it. Add in another song being one of my least favorites and in reality 40% of the set was stuff I really didn't care to hear all that much. It was still a really good concert and I'm glad I went, but it was a bit disappointing.

After the show ended, we realized we were quite a ways away from Alex's apartment and it was pretty late. The T is notorious for stopping service shortly after midnight and we were right around that hour so we decided to hoof it back instead.  Thankfully it had cooled off a bit and was fairly pleasant out, although it was still very humid. After stopping at a 7-11 a few blocks from the venue to get a snack and a cold drink, we walked all the way across the city back to Beacon Hill. By now it was close to past midnight and we passed through several neighborhoods where there was literally no one around. Boston is not New York City but it's usually not totally dead at midnight, especially given the number of universities, hospitals, and young professionals that call it home. But our walk back to Beacon Hill was unlike anything I've experienced before or since. There was a stretch in the middle of our journey where the streets and neighborhoods were completely empty: no people, no cars, no traffic, no activity, nothing. These were not bad parts of the city, either (do you really think we'd have been walking home if they were?)...just several random areas where everyone apparently decided to make an early night of it. At one point we were literally walking down the middle of the street in total disbelief that we were actually doing this in Boston, one of the worst cities when it comes to traffic congestion. Finally we got back to Alex's apartment where Marc decided to drive back home to New Hampshire. We said goodnight to him and then walked up the three flights to my brother's place.After putting the air conditioning on (it was still humid outside and he lived on the top floor so it was stuffy), we sat down with some cold drinks to reflect on the concert and to unwind before catching some sleep. The next morning we walked somewhere to have breakfast before I said goodbye, walked to the Common and my car, and drove home. And you know what? My ears were still feeling the effects of the horrible sound mix and would continue to for another day! Before I'd gone to bed the previous night, my ears had a little bit of ringing which didn't surprise me given how loud the concert was...no amount of plugging my ears with my fingers had been able to completely lessen the effect of the volume. However, when I woke up that morning, I had a constant "whooshing" in my ear; think of a steady wind down the end of a tunnel or a white noise generator, only it's RIGHT INSIDE YOUR EARS. It didn't hurt but it was very unpleasant and was the first (and so far, thankfully, last) time I've ever experienced this phenomenon. Overall, it wasn't the best concert I'd ever been to but it wasn't anywhere near the worst and I still enjoyed it. I'm fortunate that I went as a year later, Mike Portnoy (one of my favorite drummers ever and a co-founder of the band) quit and was replaced by Boston's own Mike Mangini. While I've enjoyed DT's most recent two albums in the wake of Mike's departure, they're the weakest albums of their career and the band are showing signs (at least to me) of being a nearly spent force. I'm definitely glad I saw them when I did, though, and also thankful that I was able to see Zappa Plays Zappa at the same time...I just know that my ears couldn't take such an awful sound mix again!

(As a final aside, I have a recording of the entire Dream Theater performance from this show which sounds better than when I was actually there...if I ever want to relive the experience, I can at least listen to it without damaging my ears, for which I'm very thankful!)

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UPCOMING CONCERT: Ride at the Paradise, Boston, MA October 3, 2015

I'll forever be indebted to my longtime friend Carsten for introducing me to the music of Ride in the late 1990s/early 2000s when we were both graduate students. We had (and still have) a lot of similar musical tastes and one day he asked if I'd ever heard of this band from Oxford, England called Ride? I hadn't so he let me borrow a couple of their CDs and that was it..I was an instant fan. I ended up buying all of their albums shortly after, although in my research to learn more about them I was upset to read that they'd broken up five years earlier. "Oh, well," I thought, "just another band I got into a little bit too late to ever get the chance to see live." Fast forward to 2014 and the exciting news that Ride would be reforming and playing some concerts, including in the USA! My enthusiasm was dampened a bit when I noticed they wouldn't be coming to Boston and while normally I'd have no problem traveling to the next nearest major city (which in my case would be New York City) to see them, I just figured it wasn't meant to be. However, two weeks ago they announced that they were tacking an east coast leg on to the of their tour and lo and behold, the final show will be in Boston!  

I sent a text off to Carsten and he told me he'd heard about, too, and said he was buying tickets and did he want me to get one for me? How could I say no to an offer like that?  Along with our longtime mutual friend Jon, we decided to go for it. Carsten got the tickets last week right after they went on sale, and so we'll be finally getting our chance to see Ride! I'm thrilled for a number of reasons, including: 1) finally getting to see Ride in concert; 2) getting to catch up with two great friends who I haven't seen for a couple of years; 3) the chance to get back home to Boston; and 4) checking another of my favorite bands off my "must-see" bucket list. They're all important to me, including that last one because so many of the bands I love are from the UK and in recent years, their modus operandi seems to be to not play (m)any shows in the US other than the occasional festival (*cough cough* Blur *cough cough*). To see Ride in a small club (I've seen many shows at the Paradise over the years) will be a real treat.

An in-depth band profile on Ride will be forthcoming; they've always been on my list of bands to write about, but they've moved up in the queue now! For now, I'm just really looking forward to the entire experience in October.

Are any of you reading this fans of Ride? Have you ever seen them live? If so, please share your thoughts in the comments below...thanks!

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Concert Memories: R.E.M. at Earls Court Arena, London, England June 22, 1999

R.E.M. - Earls Court Arena, London, England June 22, 1999

R.E.M. are a favorite band of mine and for most of the 1990s, they were one of my big obsessions. I managed to see them three times, all in 1999. The first time was also one of the most memorable concerts I've ever been to because it was the first and only concert (so far) that I've seen outside of the country.  In the summer of 1999 I was 19 years old and halfway through college, playing in a band with my brother and our childhood friend Theo, and just starting to really go see lots of concerts on my own.  That spring my parents planned a trip to take me and my siblings back to London, where we hadn't been since 1993. My mum noticed that R.E.M. were supposed to be playing two nights at Earls Court when we'd be there...in fact, the first night was the very day we were arriving! She suggested I order some tickets, so I promptly ordered three tickets: one for me, one for my brother, and one for a mutual friend of ours whose family was also traveling to London with us. I had decided to have the tickets mailed to our house since it was still roughly six weeks until we flew over; it was a decision I would end up regretting as it caused me a lot of stress later on!

As a bit of backgrounf on how I got into them, I'd been a massive R.E.M. fan for years, dating back to when I first heard the big singles from their Document album in 1987 ("The One I Love," "It's the End of the World As We Know It.").  I used to see those videos on MTV, too, and I know I'm dating myself by recalling a time when MTV and music videos were a huge part of a band's promotional strategy!  When Green came out in late 1988 and their popularity exploded, so too did my fandom even though I was only 9 years old at the time.  The songs and videos were everywhere and from then on, they have been one of my favorite bands.  By the time 1999 rolled around they were minus Bill Berry but had been the biggest American rock band on the planet for a decade and I just had to see them. As I mentioned above, this was to be the first time out of three that I saw them on this tour although at the time I didn't know that...

As the day of our departure drew nearer I still hadn't gotten the tickets in the mail, so I called up Earls Court and asked if I could switch the tickets to will-call. They were happy to do this, which was a relief. Our flight left in early evening from Boston and, accounting for the time change, arrived in London around 6am local time. Typically for these trips across the pond the plan is usually to stay awake throughout the day and then go to bed in the early evening in order to get a good night's sleep and get your body acclimated to the time difference. However, my brother and I and our friend Matt couldn't do this since we were going to see R.E.M.!  We checked into the hotel, wandered around the city, and had our dinner. When the rest of our families were going to bed, however, we hopped on the Underground and took the tube to Earls Court. I have to admit that it was a real thrill when we walked around the corner and saw the famous art-deco facade; the venue is legendary in rock music circles for all of the huge concerts that have been played there over the years, from the Rolling Stones, Genesis, and Pink Floyd to David Bowie, Oasis, and my personal favorites, Led Zeppelin.  The fact that I was going to be seeing a show in the same arena that Led Zeppelin played their incredible five-night stand of shows over a week in May 1975 was a real thrill for this rock-obsessed 19 year old. However, everything I had previously read about the place was also true...it was huge, cavernous, and the acoustics were atrocious for concerts!

We went into the lobby and made our way to the will-call window, where I told the girl my name so she could find the tickets. We stood there chatting and I was feeling relieved that everything had gone smoothly when she came back and told me there were no tickets under that name. I was absolutely freaked out and told her the situation: that I had ordered them weeks ago, they hadn't arrived before we were going to leave, I'd called the ticket office to have them switched to will call...she went to go get her manager. As I stood there wondering if we were going to be able to see the show, the manager came back with a big smile on his face and an envelope with my name on it that contained the three tickets! Phew!  It turned out that after I had called they had pulled our tickets out from the batch that were to be mailed out, but they hadn't put it into the will-call batch. It had been sitting on his desk with a several other ticket envelopes that had also been switched from mail to will-call.  In any event, we had our tickets and could now get in to see R.E.M.!

Upon entering the arena, I was surprised at what I saw: it seemed almost like a huge hangar inside, which makes sense in retrospect as Earls Court was first and foremost designed to be an indoor exhibition center.  There was a huge general admission area in front of the stage and ringing it were barriers behind which the assigned seating was...the whole arrangement was a horseshoe shape around the larger GA area. We were right at the front of an assigned seating section a bit to the right of center stage.  As we sat there waiting for the opening act to come onstage, jet lag began to kick in and the three of us took turns trying to keep each other awake.

Wilco opened the concert and while they are a band I had heard of, I don't remember anything of their set. I know that they had and continue to have a devoted following but I've never been a fan and I honestly don't remember much about them beyond thinking they were okay. After they finished and the stage was set up for the headliners, the lights went out and everyone rose as R.E.M. hit the stage.  "Airportman" played over the PA as the band took the stage and the crowd started cheering wildly.  As you can see below, their set was a great cross-section of material from their entire career, including going all the way back to their debut album Murmur with a personal favorite of mine, "Pilgrimage." The set was understandably heavy on material from their latest album Up, but what struck me was how much stronger the new material sounded live even though I was and still am a fan of the album.  There was also a new, unreleased song ("The Great Beyond") which I thought was great and couldn't wait to get when they finally released it.  During the encore section, Michael came onstage with a big smile and asked us to bear with him while he did something he'd never done before: he strummed an acoustic guitar and sang "I'm Not Over You" solo, which was pretty neat.  They also played "Gardening at Night" for the first time since 1986 which was a treat!

There were only two downsides to the entire experience: first, the sound in Earls Court really was atrocious. Loud, echoey, booming...the sound mix, if you can call it that, was appalling. It wasn't surprising and it was no fault of the soundman, but it was pretty disappointing nonetheless.  Secondly, there the three of us were sitting in a huge arena at a loud rock concert and we were struggling to stay awake! I remember that about halfway through the concert, I sat back down in my seat because I was too tired to stand and the entire time I was sitting I had to fight very hard to stay awake. At one point I did doze off sitting upright in my seat before I snapped awake and realized I was sleeping through one of my favorite bands playing right in front of me!  When we got back to the hotel, my body hurt so much from fatigue that I literally fell into bed fully clothed and slept in late the following morning.  It was a fun concert although the terrible sound meant it was the least favorite R.E.M. concert that I saw that year. Still, I had finally seen them live and it was in London, which was (and still is!) pretty damn cool. The next two times I saw them would be much better...and I'll write those up at a later time.

Below is the great set list they played that night. I have a recording of the show somewhere in a box in my basement, along with the ticket stub.  If and when I find the stub, I will add a picture of it to this post. I actually got the recording of this show from a guy I used to trade R.E.M. tapes with back in the late 1990s whom I actually met later on that year, but that's a story for another post...

Set List:

Airportman

Lotus
Crush With Eyeliner
Suspicion
New Test Leper
The Apologist
Pilgrimage
Daysleeper
The Wake-Up Bomb
Electrolite
Driver 8
Sweetness Follows
At My Most Beautiful
Losing My Religion
The Great Beyond
Find the River
Pop Song 89
Life and How to Live It
Walk Unafraid
Finest Worksong
Man on the Moon

Encore:

I'm Not Over You
What's the Frequency, Kenneth?
Tongue
Gardening at Night 

It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

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