| Start: | Oct 1, '05 7:00p |
| Location: | MCI Center, DC |
Monday, September 19, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Blue Brothers in Chicago
While in Chicago this past weekend, I was fortunate enough to catch the Blues Brothers Benefit show for Katrina. Dan Akroyd and Jim Belushi, with an assortment of amazing and talented blues musicians, rocked the house (the House of Blues that is). Thanks to Shari for the VIP lounge hook-up! Here's a snippet of Soul Man.
Thursday, September 1, 2005
Ripe and Raw Rock: Green Day's Post-Punk Boom
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083102617.html
Ripe and Raw Rock: Green Day's Post-Punk Boom
By J. Freedom du Lac
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page C01
It's hard to say which is more striking about Green Day circa 2005 -- the group's recent maturation or its sudden arena-rock tendencies.
Both were on full display Tuesday at Merriweather Post Pavilion, where Green Day performed material from last year's "American Idiot," a sharp, sociopolitical punk-rock opera that signaled a serious artistic growth spurt for a group previously known for caca jokes and songs about boredom, bong hits and masturbation.
The long-running Northern California band then punctuated the proceedings with a bunch of pyrotechnics: There were flash pots and torch flames and spark showers and such (and if there isn't a rule about turning in your punk badge once you reach double-digit pyro cues in a single show, well, there should be).
If the explosives weren't rawk-goddish enough for the kids in the crowd, well, thank good ness for the elaborate lighting and the disco ball and the wave-your-arms exhortations and the big blinking multicolored bulbs that spelled out GREEN DAY. There was also a cover of Queen's arena-rock anthem "We Are the Champions," an encore that was surprisingly light on irony. Somewhere, six feet under, Joey Ramone was rolling over.
So, Green Day: Definitely no longer a punk band -- although that story line has been in development at least since 1994, when the "sellout" charges came fast and furious upon the release of "Dookie," an MTV-friendly album that racked up sales of about 10 million copies.
There's also this, though: Green Day, one of the more compelling big-name rock bands around, by virtue of "American Idiot" (roughly 4 million sold -- less than half the "Dookie" haul, but a very big number nonetheless in the iPod era), along with a live show that sits at the entertaining intersection of good music and good theater.
Lest you worry that this means Green Day's, like, totally grown up and stuff, there was plenty of juvenile evidence Tuesday to suggest otherwise.
The manic lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong half-mooned the crowd, pretended to pass gas with the help of the tenor saxophonist (yes, the band occasionally used a horn section) and blasted fans with a water gun. Armstrong also pretended to pleasure himself at one point -- though The Washington Post can't verify the "pretended" part. Besides the shenanigans, of course, there was also music.
Playing for the first time since Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards, where Green Day collected seven statues -- including best rock video and video of the year, for its "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" clip -- Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt, drummer Tre Cool and several sidemen bashed, burned and sometimes wobbled through greatest hits ("Long View," "She," "Basket Case") and covers (Queen, Operation Ivy, "Shout," a bit of "Stand by Me"). But the majority of the set list featured songs from "American Idiot," including the album's first three tracks performed in sequence to open the nearly two-hour show.
The capacity crowd of 17,500 provided backing vocals, at very high volume, to just about every song out of the Green Day catalogue, including the album tracks that never made it as singles. And while the singalong occasionally annoyed, there were also moments of brilliance. Witness, for example, the slight young boy, maybe 8 or 9 years old, emphatically -- no, belligerently -- shouting "Can I get another Amen! There's a flag wrapped around a score of men!" from the antiwar screed "Holiday" as his mother stood stiffly and silently next to him, her arms folded, her lips pursed, her eyes rolling.
Now that is a punk-rock moment worthy of a flash pot.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Green Day at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 8/30/05
| Rating: | ★★★★★ |
| Category: | Music |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Artist: | Green Day |
So I have been fortunate in my life to have seen some amazing concerts (like my first Springsteen show for example), and I seem to always rave about every show when I leave- because I really like live music. But this Green Day show I have decided to dissect- to really explore why I thought it was F**KING AWESOME and deserving of 5 stars.
A bunch of things have to align just right to earn the ever so elusive F**KING AWESOME rating.
1- The band
The band is great. The members each have strong personalities, matched with equally strong musical talent. They are funny, charismatic, punk, anti-establishment, "f' the politicians" entertaining.
At one point they asked people in the audience if anyone played drums, bass, guitar. After questioning some of the audience members, they brought up 3 people who were then handed over each of Green Day's instruments and they proceeded to play one of the songs, while Billie Joe sang (the kid playing guitar was 13- and was given the guitar as a souvenier).
I always worry when I see a live show, especially when the band has been touring for a while, that their voices won't sound good, will be tired or sore. Billie Joe's voice was perfect. On the slower, more quiet songs, on the a cappella solos, he was right on.
2- The album
I have said this multiple times. This album, American Idiot, is a work of genius. When I first heard it was a pseudo rock opera, where each song flowed into the next telling a story from beginning to end (think 'Tommy'), I rushed out to get it, intrigued by a punk band trying to pull this off. This was before they won the MTV VMA for best Rock song/album and before they won the Grammy for Best Rock song/album. I was not disappointed. Musically and lyrically it is amazing. The instrumentation is unmatched to anything I have heard on the radio and each time I listen to it, I feel like I am at a show, a broadway show, if you will, on the grand scale of Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera, but Punk/Rock).
So maybe I am not an accredited musicologist (did I make that up?) but it was my minor in college and I have studied music since I was a tot. Listen to me. Go. Buy it. Now.
3- The venue
Merriweather Post Pavilion is, well, a pavilion. It's in Columbia, Maryland, about 30-45 minutes North of DC. Having to travel was my only complaint of the evening (oh- and the hour long wait in line to enter the venue - oh and how crappy my phone takes pictures). The pavilion has a covered seating area but is an outdoor pavilion with general admission on the lawn. You can bring a blanket, sit out and rock- with a large screen in front of you so you can see everything even though you are far from the stage.
The covered part is really great- wood roof, excellent acoustics.
4- The tickets
So I am on a list to get pre-sale tickets. This means I can sometimes buy tickets at a special time before they become available to the general public. When I have this option, I jump at it because I tend to get great seats. With Green Day's pre-sale it was a no brainer. When I bought them, the website said I got floor, row-whatever, seat-whatever. I was just happy to have floor seats and be covered. Well who knew - I was not only floor, I was in the separate pit area, the area you need a wrist band to get at. The area where the space between me and Billie Joe was filled by maybe 7 people.
Now, at first, when I realized I was in the pit, I was a little nervous- not loving a crowd (and surprisingly young crowd at that). But after 2 quick drinks (did you know they make Watermelon Vodka?), I was fine with it. Plus, I am a fan of the moshing. When properly prepared, it can be a tremendous amount of fun and a good cardio workout.
Did I mention that I was within 10-15 feet of Billie Joe, et al??
[Set list coming when I can find one posted somewhere]
The cover songs they performed- We Are the Champions, Shout (a little bit louder now) and Stand By Me (Billie Joe sang this while laying face down on the stage from an exhaustion caused by running around the stage during the previous song) were brilliant and the crowd loved them. The older hits were all there and, because of them, and my jumping up and down, I don't have to work out anymore this week.
The stage props, lights, fire (and I could feel the heat- yes bragging again about how close I was), Green Day confetti... what more can I say.
Oh- If you are a Republican and/or support George W. Bush, this might not be the show for you :)
Did I mention they played for close to 2 hours straight? Closed with 'Blvd of Broken Dreams' then 'Time of Your Life'....
F**KING AWESOME.
A USA TODAY GREEN DAY CONCERT REVIEW
another review (different show but seems like same songs and antics as the DC show)
and another (different show but seems like same songs and antics as the DC show)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)