Pearl Jam - Madison Square Garden, New York City, 25th June 2008

Well, I wasn't going all that way to not see Pearl Jam for a second night if they're in the same city. There was a complete fiasco surrounding posters outside the venue earlier on but I put it behind me and the staff inside the venue seemed to have a modicum of respect and intelligence so rudeness and unhelpfulness is not indicative of everyone there.
Anyway. We got in and were sat slightly nearer the stage for night 2 and thankfully the two beered-up ones in front of us weren't there either, so things were looking up. Managed to miss the support band again as we were getting some food and having a little rest after a day out sightseeing in the very humid climate. I was wondering what it was going to be like, seeing that they had played a good set the night before. They came on to Release which, to be honest, justified the flight prices alone to me. Eddie's voice sounded spot on and the whole of the Garden was singing along - I very nearly started to have a little cry but I'm a grown up these days so I didn't. It did remind me how very special this band can be when they get it right. I did worry that they rest of the show wouldn't match up to this opening, but we weren't disappointed. We had another 2 3/4 hour set with some surprises in it. World Wide Suicide and Severed Hand upped the tempo and even though we'd had Corduroy the previous night, I will never tire of hearing it. The backing singers came out again for All Night which sounded good again but made it clear we were going to get at least those 3 songs again from the night before. I'm not complaining as lots of bands these days play similar sets each night so us Pearl Jam fans are spoiled rotten with such varied setlists, but the element of surprise was gone for a couple of songs. Cropduster was a nice addition to the set as I think it's one of the better songs on Riot Act. Much as I like all their albums, the early-era stuff still gets me the most excited these days, especially when they pull Garden out of the bag. It sounded amazing and haunting and I think the crowd were one of the loudest I've ever heard. It's almost a spiritual experience being part of that. It's a rare thing to feel so engaged with a band in such a large venue. They must be doing something right.
They attempted to start Marker in the Sand (which made my husband happy as it's one of his favourites) but Mike seemed to completely forget how to play it. A bit of a reminder off the rest of the band though and he was sorted out. Next was a song I've never heard them play - I'm Open off the No Code album. It's not the most spectacular song they did but it reminds me of listening to No Code on repeat just before we went to see them for the first time in '96. Wishlist is nice to hear too. State of Love and Trust will always be one of my favourite songs in the world and tonight they pulled off about the best performances of it I've seen them do. My voice was starting to go at this point from so much singing. Next was EvenFlow, which is a lot of people's cue to spend a penny if needs be. It's a great song but I've heard it a million times and you have time to get out and back before the end of the guitar solo. Top tip there.
We had Who You Are with the guest vocalists nest, which was pretty much the same as the night before. Next was another song I've not seen them do: Rats which built up with Given to Fly with a frenetic end to main set of Do The Evolution and Go.
First Encore started with Inside Job then WMA with the guest vocalists again. Eddie invited us to settle down for some campfire music before launching into the short, sharp shock that is Lukin. I'm still too slow to sing along with that one. CJ Ramone came out again for I Believe in Miracles (see right) and the band didn't look any less in awe than the night before. Eddie started to sing Betterman and managed to get the whole of Madison Square Garden singing the wrong verse and collectively realising it. He started again but let the crowd continue. I thought he looked visibly touched by the intensity of emotion coming back at him from the crowd. Beautiful. Rearviewmirror was next and sounded as intense as the first time I saw them play it.
Encore number 2 started the same as the previous night with Eddie and his solo spot. A nice touch was seeing the band relocate to the back of the stage, complete with Matt on a little set of drums, to play Last Kiss for the people sat behind the stage. Every seat in the place was taken, even those all the way round the back of the stage. Why Go sounded massive but I was already starting to feel sad that the show would soon be over. I thought that would be it for the surprises too, but they brought on no other than Ace Frehley to play Kiss' classic Black Diamond (see left). Eddie left the stage to leave Mike to start on the vocals and Matt to take over. I have to say I was really impressed with Matt's vocals. Eddie came back on for Alive and then we had Yellow Ledbetter which usually indicates the end of the show is nigh. I think that's why it always has a strange melancholic air to me. Mike finished off with a searing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner during which Eddie and Boom seemed to go for a sit down behind the drums before gazing in awe at Mr McCready.
And that was it. No more Pearl Jam till the next tour. It was really worth it though!
9.5/10

Pearl Jam - Madison Square Garden, New York City, 24th June 2008

Right, first things first: I'm not mad - it's perfectly normal to travel to another continent to see a band. If you don't agree, then you must never have seen Pearl Jam. So, me and the long-suffering husband packed our bags and headed out to the Big Apple to see a couple of shows by my favourite live band and get a bit of sightseeing done on the way. The first night, I was still really tired and everything seemed a little surreal - picking up the tickets, going into Madison Square Garden and seeing it packed to the rafters. Things started very well indeed with the band opening with 'Hard to Imagine' - a song I've loved for years but never seen them play live. They stepped up the tempo with Save You and Why Go and it quickly became evident that we had definitely done the right thing in coming out to NYC. The crowd were really going for it too, right from the off. The band seemed to relax a bit more after the first few songs. I got the feeling at several points in the set that they were still trying to take in the fact that they were playing to a packed-out Madison Square Garden crowd who were singing their hearts out like their lives depended on it.
Another song I never heard came out next: All Night. They brought on 3 backing singers from New York to add a different slant to the song and I think it worked. Corduroy and Elderly Woman.. were massive singalongs as well. There were a few more surprises in the main set too with Present Tense and the backing singers coming out again for Who You Are. It's not amongst my favourite of their songs but sounded better with a new lease of life. This short East-Coast tour isn't promoting an album but there's a definite air of it being part of their intention to get people to vote in the upcoming elections. There's some well-received Bush-bashing and general incitement to encourage people to speak up and have their voice heard.
A rousing Do the Evolution ends the main set in style and everyone's rabid to hear more. Eddie said at the start of the set that they wanted to make it a special night and they continued to do so by playing their version of the Who's Love Reign O'er Me that they recorded for the film, Reign O'er Me. Eddie's voice sounds as strong as ever and the whole band looked happy to be out playing again. Stone seemed to get a bit more of the limelight than usual too and Mike's still bouncing around with far more energy than I'll ever have! Backing singers came out again for a stripped-down version of WMA, then we get Leash which is one of my favourite songs of theirs as it's got so much enthusiasm in it. There's some subtle lyrical changes ('Delight in the truth!') that prevent them from sounding like a band trying to recapture past glories. Spin the Black Circle is a frenetic few minutes that makes you think that the end of the show is nearing but we're proved wrong when the lights stay down when they leave after Wasted Reprise and Porch.
Encore 2 starts with Eddie and his guitar. Anyone who's seen the band in the last few years realises that 'No More' is coming and duly sing along with Vedder's protest song. Crazy Mary is atmospheric as they come and I get goose pimples hearing 20 000 people singing along. Probably the biggest surprise of the evening arrives shortly after when CJ Ramone joins the band on stage, replacing an ecstatic Jeff Ament on bass for a rousing rendition of I Believe in Miracles which PJ recorded for a fanclub single a few years back. All of the band look like they can't quite believe it and Vedder in particular can't keep his eyes off the erstwhile bassist. Alive is greeted with massive applause and the band leave the stage for the third time and the lights come up.
That must be the end, right? Wrong. Back on for All Along the Watchtower and then to be proved wrong by assuming that Yellow Ledbetter was going to be the closer by them playing Indifference to a crowd bent on screaming their lungs out and filling that very large room. That really was the end but after 30 songs, 2 3/4 hours and a pretty special set-list, I don't think anyone was feeling short changed! It wasn't the best time I'd seen them but it was certainly a good one!
9/10

Still catching up - into June now - Mark Lanegan & Isobel Campbell, June 12th, Manchester Academy 2

I was really looking forward to this. I've loved Mark Lanegan's work with the Screaming Trees and the last solo album, Bubblegum, in particular was a fine effort. I'm not that familiar with Isobel's old band, Belle & Sebastien, but aware of her dreamy voice from the first album she did with Mark a couple of years back. They've done a second album now, Sunday at Devil Dirt, which builds on the dusky chemistry of the first album and is laced with lots of folky americana. Sadly, the first thing that hits me as the gig starts is that that chemistry does not appear to be captured live. Actually, it's the second thing, the first being that Isobel's ethereal and breathy vocals are lost in a venue as large as the Academy 2. It's sold out, no doubt on the strength of their two albums and both's strong musical heritage, and she's drowned out. Mark's voice is as strong as ever and though he sounds on top form, it's a shame we can't hear her very well.
With barely a glance at each other, it's hard to tell quite where the albums have come from. Both stand quite still when singing, though Isobel's obviously a multi-faceted musician and plays several instruments during the set. There's very little in the way of audience interaction either, though Mark's not the most chatty person on stage in any case.
They play a mix of songs from both albums, though the two that stand out to me are Backburner and Keep me in Mind, Sweetheart which show the range of their music together from brooding and atmospheric to gentle and playfully lilting. I think they're both great singers, but all the way through I'm wishing I was somewhere like the Night and Day where the atmosphere I was expecting could really have built. It's unfortunate too that the song that sounds best to me is when Mark sings one of the songs off his last solo offering, 'Wedding Dress'.
On the whole, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed as I was hoping for so much more, but I'm afraid it's a case of it working much better on record.
6/10

Catching up on May gigs part 2 - LAP 27/05/08

I will get there in the end. I've done this back-to-front too. It will keep you on your toes. We went down to the Academy 3 on 27th May to see our friends LAP (Life Among People) play the Academy unsigned night. At first the audience seemed timid save for a few fans who were up at the front straight away but as the set progressed, more and more of the people here to see other bands were drawn into the crowd by the impressive noises coming from the stage. I've lost count of how many times we've seen LAP but seeing them on a larger stage with a professional sound and stage set-up shows them off to their full effect. The guys aren't at all phased by this and get things going with recent single Point and Shoot. In Dog Years You're Dead follows and is backed up by Zero Tolerance. Tony's a confident frontman these days but the overall sound benefits from the extra guitar brought by relative newcomer Ste.
Jim's been a friend of mine for some years but I'm still ever-impressed by his drumming abilities and watching him and Martin drive the band forward through the faster songs leaves me feeling tired out! We got the Terminator theme tune mid-set, which although executed with a high degree of irony is atmospheric and epic. Always brings a smile to my face though they tend to shy away from playing it these days so as not to appear gimmicky.
A couple more songs from their recent works see the crowd really getting into the set and I feel proud to see so many people finally appreciating the talent these guys have. Older song Trend is the show-closer and there's a definite buzz of impressed people as we leave to get home early as it is a school night after all.
8/10 (Photos by Danny Powell)

Trying to catch up! May's gigs part 1 - The Project: Chase HQ Allstars @ WA1

I'm really quite behind and this hasn't been helped by being out of the country for the last week. I've got 5 gigs to blog on so I'll make a start on it with The Project: Chase HQ Allstars at WA1 on 31st May whilst I'm still successfully fighting off the jetlag. Apologies if they're quite short but I'll learn and try to be more prompt, plus I've decided not to take notes at gigs as, for a start I look like a right geek and secondly, it's harder to enjoy yourself if you're fumbling around for pen and paper.
There's two things that are immediately obvious about Chase HQ Allstars tonight and that's that the regular gigs they're playing has made them a lot, lot better and more cohesive-sounding and that this sort of music does sound a lot better when it's warm and it's been sunny out. However, please note that if you're off to WA1 in the sun, don't wear shorts as they won't let you in!
CHQA's music is hard to properly define. I'd always stuck it in some dub-ska box without really thinking about it, but they've got samples, brass and guitars a-plenty and as they progress they're starting to get their own style more. Singer Dave's grown in confidence since we first started seeing the band (I've no idea how long ago that was - couple of years?) and holds the crowd's attention a lot more. Please excuse me not knowing the exact setlist or song names - again, I'll learn! The set leaned towards the more summery songs they play and we had a call to missing bassist Matt who was detained somewhere in the south and not able to get to the gig. I have threatened bad things to people who mix brass and guitars but the brass section is developing into a more integral part of the band rather than an add-on and it seems like the new songs written to include Sara and Jon show a more organic way of the band growing together.
In short, it's cheerful, happy music, perfect for a Saturday summer night and a band on the rise. Those picnic benches are really uncomfortable though and Scottish vodka is as bad as it sounds!
7.5/10

May's Gig Extravaganza

We're only 11 days into May but it's been a good month for gigs so far.
First up was Shawn Smith, better known to some as the voice behind Seattle bands Brad, Satchel, Pigeonhed etc. I saw Brad 11 years ago and it still ranks in my top 10 gigs ever, so when I found out about Shawn playing in the UK, I had to go. He's playing an unconventional set of venues but we plumped for York as it meant we could have a trundle round rather than wading our way through the mire of Birmingham!
The gig was in the Centre for Early Music in York, a converted church. It was one of the oddest settings for a gig I've been to, but I was getting pretty excited when we were waiting, sitting in the sunshine in the church yard and seeing that inside was a piano and maybe a couple of hundred seats. We managed to sit on the 'wrong' side so couldn't see much of Shawn whilst he had his music holder up, but once he was a bit more relaxed and closed it, we had a great view. He seemed a little nervous when he came out and started with 'The Day Brings' (I think - I was going to make a note of songs played but I was mesmerised and forgot!) as he got halfway through and forgot where he was up to. It felt like a privilege to be sat a few feet away in such an intimate setting. In his trademark hat and making use of his vocal range from dreamy to falsetto, I think we got 'some never come home' next, followed by Mother Love Bone classic Crown of Thorns, when you could almost feel like everyone was trying not to cry. We got a good set made up of Brad, Satchel and his solo stuff. Lots of good memories! There was a bit of banter with the crowd and a discussion around him bringing Brad over which prompted someone to call Stone lazy to which Shawn replied he's anything but. He said he'll come back soon anyway, which is an exciting prospect.
The crowd were chuffed when 'Buttercup' was played and though he must have played it a million times, he still sang it like every word was meaningful. We got a short encore with Purple Rain, which took me right back to when I saw Brad in '97. It morphed into a short rendition of Amazing Grace and back into 'The Day Brings' which brought things full circle and a fitting end to the show.
I had a quick chat to Shawn after the show but forgot to get a cheesy photo. I asked him if he'd play Crown of Thorns for a friend going to the London show and was more than chuffed to find out that he did - a man of his word indeed.
Next day we were off to a gig which could not have been more different. Not a piano or Panama hat in sight and certainly no room for falsetto vocals here. We were in the Witchwood in Ashton-under-Lyne to see some friends of ours in their band 'Profane'. The weather here's been unseasonably warm so the beer garden was packed and inside was pretty warm. Profane have been making waves on the rock/metal circuit for a few years now and have supported some long-established acts over the years like Life of Agony and up-and-coming big names like Enter Shikari. This was a headline show and there was a fair turnout and definitely some devoted fans up front. Their music is intense and we got a mixture of songs off their debut album 'The Day we Scorched the Sky' as well as some new material. They really don't sound like anyone else with their angular sounds, though if I had to place them next to anyone musically, there is more than a hint of Tool in there. I've always been impressed with Phil's vocals since seeing them years and years ago, back when they were called Day of Hate and playing Alice In Chains covers and there is a healthy mix of screaming and singing, which is always a winner in my eyes! They feel like a band on the verge of making it big and hopefully this will be their year. Check them out on Myspace and go and see them supporting Skindred later this month if you can.
Friday night brought an altogether different musical experience in the form of Jonah Matranga at the Roadhouse in Manchester. It nearly didn't happen thanks to my ever-manky sinuses but we got down there just in time. Those of you who don't know him/haven't heard me enthusing/weren't at our wedding (our first dance was a version of one of his songs that he recorded for us), he was the singer in 90s band Far and later in New End Original and Gratitude and has also released solo recordings under the moniker One Line Drawing. Now he is 'just' Jonah Matranga and is touring in support of his new album, 'And'. I've seen a lot of bands and artists over the years but few are as honest and genuine as Jonah is. He started with some songs on his own and then almost made me collapse by playing 'Nothingman' by Pearl Jam - one of my favourite singers playing a song by one of my favourite bands - and really well. He confessed to being a big Pearl Jam geek too - see, it's not just me! He got the band on stage with him after that and played an almost Greatest Hits set. We got New End Original songs like 14-to-41 and Lukewarm, Gratitude numbers like This is the Part but the warmest receptions were for old Far songs like Mother Mary and Bury White which still sound like he could have written them yesterday. This is what emotional music is to me - none of this crappy pop music that gets labelled 'emo'. There weren't even many fringes there. I like the way his voice is never perfect but always so genuine and expressive. Like I said before, there's always room for a little bit of screaming too, so that box is ticked.
Going to a Jonah gig always feels a bit like a gathering of friends. He was saying how he's really pleased to be able to play his music for a living and that he thinks he's quite good at it, and there's not a hint of arrogance in him. Everyone you meet who knows of him will tell you the same thing and I'm yet to meet someone familiar with his music who isn't totally floored by seeing him live.
So there - there's 3 bands/artists you need to check out - something for everyone there. I don't think I've much lined up now till LAP at the end of the month but the 3 great gigs this week will keep me going for a while! Like buses...

The last month or so - LAP and The Breeders

Whoops. I've slipped a bit and not blogged for a little while. I'm sure I've missed something but I think there are just 3 gigs missing. First up we saw the mighty LAP/Life Among People twice in March. Both times they were supported by Pin Pim (think that's how you spell it) who play an engaging blend of straight rock and post-hardcore and are generally a good band to get yourself out to see. There was something in their music that's made me dig out the old Helmet cds again.
First LAP-ing was at Grand Central, which is always a bit of an odd venue but sound was pretty decent and there were people singing along at the front, which is great, if a bit weird seeing people we don't know doing that. It shows that they are really starting to get somewhere and soon will be more than 'Big in Scotland'.
LAP are a 4-piece again, which I think always works better as they get a much fuller sound. Check them out on Facebook or at www.myspace.com/lap for some of their new tracks. They're playing at the Academy 3 on May 27th as part of the Academy Unsigned series of gigs too and are well worth checking out. LAP do now have their own sound which makes it hard to pigeonhole them, but tight and pretty uptempo is the way they're heading.
The Chapel in Huddersfield is a neat little venue and the sound was incredibly good for such a small place. Seeing LAP there brought home how much of a professional band they are now and I hope all their hard work pays off soon.
This week was a little jaunt down memory lane. After the excitement of booking tickets for Pearl Jam in New York in June and for As Friends Rust in August, it seems a good idea to continue with the nostalgia. The other half even donned ripped jeans for the event - The Breeders. I only got their new album, 'Mountain Battles' two days before the gig and I kept forgetting to take it out with me, so I wasn't at all familiar with it. The new songs sounded very much in the vein of the old Breeders albums but a bit more stripped down I think. I'd bought tickets for the husband as he's a 'bit of a fan' to put it mildly, so again I'm not very good at the song titles. To be honest, they were pretty much exactly the same as the last time we saw them (2003 on the Title TK tour, I think) with the twins' voices blending wonderfully together over the scuzzy riffs. I think I lost a bet when 'Cannonball' came mid-set and everyone was thrust back to the days when Stomp was a club night and polishing your boots was a big no-no. Those were the days.
I'm very tired indeed and will need my sleep for May and June which brings a lot of excitement in the form of Shawn Smith and Jonah Matranga shows and the aforementioned jaunt to NYC. I'll try to pay more attention so I can blog properly, I promise!
PS - the tiredness is as a direct result of turning 30. So is the trip to New York I think!