The Cure is one of my favorite bands.  Sure, I wasn’t yet 5 years old when they released their first album, but that didn’t stop me from falling completely in love with them in my early teens.  I’ve lost a little of the fire over the last few years with their most recent releases, but I still can’t pass up a chance to see them on tour.  So, after fighting rush hour traffic and parking without incident, I got a drink for just under the price of a barrel of crude, rolled my eyes at the $45 concert shirts, and headed to the seats that I bought almost a year ago before they rescheduled much of their tour.  I had missed the opener, 65 Days of Static, but it seems most around me had as well.

It wasn’t long after we sat down that The Cure hit the stage to raucous applause, and 5 songs in as they went from “Fascination Street” to “The Walk”, I remarked to my boyfriend how relieved I was that they weren’t playing all new stuff.  He simply responded, “They know better.”  They must have, because the concert spanned their full 30 year history with a heavy emphasis on earlier stuff.

Porl Thompson definitely won Best Dressed for the night as he bopped about the stage like a man half his age, sporting head tattoos and a pair of fabulous glittery red heels that would have made Dorothy proud…and a little slutty.  Robert was Robert with the same baggy clothes, red lipstick, and black eye makeup that has been his trademark for so many years.  Simon Gallup looked like a kid on stage next to bald Porl and smooshy Robert as he strutted around like Billy Idol’s younger brother.  Jason Cooper was pretty hidden back there on the drums, and while I haven’t been impressed with anything they’ve done since he joined the band during the recording of Wild Mood Swings, I don’t blame him for those albums, and he did a great job on every song he played on.

My boyfriend isn’t a huge Cure fan, he was there as my date and to take pictures, but he did want to hear “Pictures of You”.  After “Lovesong”, I told him it wasn’t likely they’d play it, as that marked three songs already from Disintegration and we were only 6 songs in.  Because I can never win a damned argument with my boyfriend, they played “Pictures of You” two songs later, and I started to wonder if I’d warped back in time to The Prayer tour.  When he reached an arm up and clutched at the air, his fingers barely peeking out of his ridiculously long sleeve, during the chorus to “Catch”, I giggled like I was 15 again, staring at his poster on the ceiling over my bed.

As the show went on I heard so many favorites, “Push”, “Inbetween Days”, “Just Like Heaven” to name just a few, and I started to wonder what the heck they were going to do for the encore.  I had no freaking idea what I was in for, but as the third and final encore began I was verging on delirium, and when Robert and Simon’s guitar jam session at the end of “A Forest” ended, I was ecstatic.  There have been lots of rumors that this is going to be their last tour, and if that’s the case they definitely went out on a high note.

Here is the setlist for the show:

Main Set:

• underneath the stars
• prayers for rain
• fascination street
• the walk
• the end of the world
• lovesong
• to wish impossible things
• pictures of you
• lullaby
• catch
• the perfect boy
• from the edge of the deep green sea
• the kyoto song
• hot hot hot
• the blood
• sleep when i’m dead
• push
• inbetween days
• just like heaven
• primary
• shake dog shake
• the only one
• wrong number
• one hundred years
• baby rag dog book

Encore 1:

• the lovecats
• let’s go to bed
• freakshow
• close to me
• why can’t i be you?

Encore 2:

• boys don’t cry
• jumping someone else’s train
• grinding halt
• 10:15 saturday night
• killing an arab

Encore 3:

• a forest

Lot’s more pictures are available here.

Many things have changed since Jason last came through Tampa. People have finally quit linking Jason so tightly with DBT (something he never will and shouldn’t want to totally escape), the price of gas has increased by two dollars a gallon, I became a homeowner (the day before this show, so I was appropriately out celebrating), and Jason has gotten much more comfortable with being “the man” on stage. Last time through Jason seemed shy, timid and almost came off as the reluctant front man, so much so in fact that he even allowed fellow guitarist Browan Lollar to completely steal the show. Such was not the case this time. Jason was loose, he joked and communicated with the crowd, and while Browan was his completely awesome self, all eyes were on Jason this time around.

Playing to a much larger crowd than last time through, the band played a good mix of songs from Sirens, spiced with all the DBT familiars you expected, and a few covers to round out the set. The crowd favorites were obviously Jason’s old DBT tracks “Outfit” and “Never Gonna Change”. Last time walking in, I wanted to hear two songs, my very favorite Isbell song, “Goddamn Lonely Love”, and my favorite track from Sirens “Try” and he managed to get both in, so I went home drunk and happy. This time I just wanted a solid performance from the band…well, that and I really wanted to hear “Never Gonna Change”, since I was out in full party mode. I got both, so now Jason is two for two when it comes to me going home drunk and happy.

Jason Isbell - Try
Jason Isbell - Dress Blues

Jason w/DBT - Never Gonna Change
Jason w/DBT - Decoration Day

I have pictures from the show. I’ll post them tonight when I get home from work.

Today’s piece comes from ninebullets.net staffer (i said staff): Marci Richter

Dari is a great bartender. A hot bartender. A great, hot bartender. So, when I saw a myspace bulletin from a friend saying that Dari’s band was going to be playing Czar, the club she bartends at, I knew I had to check it out. She had never mentioned being in a band before, so I figured this was a new project and had almost no expectations, aside from seeing a hot chick in a band, when I saw Someday Souvenir. Well, it turns out Dari is a hot chick, a great bartender, and…even with a cold…also has a mean set of pipes, Add to that the fact that the other band members playing that night, Chris on lead guitar and Stephanie on rhythm guitar, are also rather talented, and it’s an understatement to say I was pleasantly surprised and it wasn’t long before I found myself bobbing my head along with the rest of the fans, most of whom knew every word. The show they were in was all acoustic, and onstage Dari mentioned this was their first time playing a live acoustic set, but it sounded very natural for them. Their myspace page actually lists five band members total (a third guitarist and a drummer), so if they sound like this unplugged and down a couple members, I definitely need to see them all together and plugged in.

The second band that performed at the show was another local group, GreyMarket. Again, due to the format of the night, there was no drummer on stage, which in this case meant that it was Cave (lead vocals, guitar) performing, as Mike (drums and backing vocals) chilled in a red velvet chair in front of the stage. I’d already seen them perform one other time and knew that I really liked their music, but I was very impressed with how well their songs came across in the acoustic format and it was nice to be able to catch them in this intimate, stripped-down show. The two of them put out textured alt rock that definitely sounds more lush than you’d expect from two members. Because I had heard their demo and seen them live, I was curious how they would do the acoustic thing, but it was great. Cave has great vocal range and sang and played his guitar with earnest emotion that has the crowd fixated.

Headlining the show was Chris Otepka of The Heligoats/Troubled Hubble. Hailing from Illinois, The Heligoats is his solo project, while he is also an active member of Troubled Hubble. He came across to me as much a comedian as he did a musician, so when I read in Splendid that, “(d)uring a SXSW showcase two years ago, Otepka broke his ankle jumping off a balcony and passed-out mid-set.” I was not at all surprised. Alternately wincing and grinning, Chris moved out of the center stage spotlight maybe 1 or 2 songs into the set, to the right and into the blue light. He stood and played in that corner of the stage the whole set, wiping the sweat from his forehead and joking between songs. His vocals were complex and rambling, but with a clear destination, and it about wore me out just listening to them. The energy that was behind everything he did was infectious and it made me hope more people were paying attention than it seemed. As the place warmed up and the drinks (and all of us) got more drunk, I noticed people chatting amongst themselves more and less attention focused on the stage, which was a bit of a shame, because he was putting on a hell of a show up there. Keeping in mind that this was an acoustic set and likely not his normal live show, I checked out the stuff on his myspace and was amazed at how different it sounded. I heard more of a Modest Mouse/Dismemberment Plan influence and even more energy, the possibility of which scared me a little for what Troubled Hubble must be like at a normal live show.

All in all, I thought this was a damned cool idea for a show and I’d love to see Czar do another one some time.

This was supposed to by my week of rock and roll heaven. Ministry’s farewell tour one night followed by Clutch the next. Unfortunately, much like my first few efforts at the wild thang it ended up becoming a frustrating disappointment that left me wondering if the lost sleep was really even worth it. Let’s start with Ministry shall we…

Had this just been another Ministry tour coming through town I would have been a little disappointed in the show but I would have been over it by the time I could walk the 6 blocks home but it wasn’t. This was it. The C U LaTour. The big finale. To quote their own fucking press release: The show will consist of a 2 1/2 hour set featuring not only tracks from their 28 years, but also archival Ministry video footage. Featuring not only tracks from their 28 years…

My beef with the Ministry show wasn’t the show itself…matter a fact, if your knowledge of Ministry began with Psalm 69 then you probably loved the show. My beef is what was absent from the show. No Stigmata? Are you kidding me? Where the fuck was So What?

See, there’s my beef. Pure song selection. Hell, I wasn’t wanting Everyday is Halloween but Supernaut would have been nice. So, as Al and his merry band left the stage I looked to my friend and our eyes were both saying the same thing…Are you kidding me? The better not be it…but it, it was and I left feeling like I had been given a big fuck you from Al and Co.

Clutch was to be my saviour from the disappointment the night before. Wash off the disappointment. My brother shows up at the house and we prime up with a few whiskey drinks before walking up to the show. As we approach the show I’m noticing an abnormal amount of people walking away from the show. I didn’t think to much about it until I noticed a big hand written sign in front of the doors and another taped to the door which, and I’m paraphrasing here, read: Due to Neil having throat problems Clutch will be performing as The Bakerton Group. For those that don’t know, The Bakerton Group is the bluesy jam band Clutch side project. Decidedly not Clutch. The disappointment would not be cleansed tonight.

Since I had gotten a free ticket I went ahead and went in to at least see what The Bakerton Group was all about. I made it for 3 songs. I am not a jam band kinda guy and just could not get into it. I don’t blame Clutch at all…people get sick…but on this particular evening it was a massive bummer.

In an effort to shed all this nastiness I am posting a few of the songs I wish I would have heard of this intended week of rock and roll heaven:

Ministry - Stigmata
Ministry - So What
Ministry - Supernaut
Ministry - Jesus Built My Hotrod (Al could have sung it for the final tour)

Clutch - Cypress Grove
Clutch - Mob Goes Wild
Clutch - Regulator

Joe Buck brought his one man band into Dave’s last week for a night of evil songs sung by an evil motherfucker from Tennessee. In return, the Bay Area hellbilly and Hank III fans made a respectable showing.

Opening the show was a local band I really wanted to catch after listening to their myspace offerings, Tailgunner Joe and the Earls of Slander. These guys approach a live show the way I would if I were in a band…take your recorded material, increase the intensity two-fold, and rock the fuck out. Guitars were louder, lyrics previously sung were yelled, and the rock stance was a little wider. The crowd seemed to genuinely like these kids and I hope they make an effort to play on the St. Pete side of the water a little more often.

Up next was Joe.

Now, I’m gonna be honest. I’m not really a fan of Joe’s recorded material. I just can’t get past the muddy production and the songs really aren’t that interesting to me. That said, what fails to captivate on cd flourishes in a live setting. Turns out, Joe writes the kind of music you need to be in the same room with. Joe, hunched over a guitar, red uplight casting eerie shadows, his hyperactive left leg smashing out a back-beat on an old bass drum while he recites lyrics of murder and satan through gritted teeth. I started wishing I had listened to his cds more so I could join the crowd in singing along.

Halfway through Joe’s set he was joined on stage by one Mr. Shean Doe from Throwrag for about 4 songs. I really enjoyed their set together, but as a testament to what Joe was doing, I really just wanted Shean to finish up so Joe could get back to his business. By the end of the night Joe had made a believer out of me. If he comes to your town you should give him a shot, regardless of what you think of his cds. He might make a believer out of you too. And don’t be fooled by the mohawk, evil faces, and evil lyrics, the man himself is as nice as they come.

Joe Buck - Took Up With The Devil
Joe Buck - Dig A Hole
Joe Buck - Devil Is On His Way

I gotta say, I got the best pictures I’ve ever gotten at a concert on this night. You can check them out here.

Normally, I’ll walk into a show and know one person there if I am lucky. Walking into the Orpheum, I was amazed to see groups of people I knew, he bulk of whom, like myself, had come to finally catch a glimpse of the Appalachian Apocalypse from New York that is O’death.

Over the past year I have read many an O’Death review raving about the ferocity of their live show. As result, I think I had romanticized the possibilities to the point where I was expecting sparks to shoot out of their asses and the devil to be playing fiddle. Neither case played out, instead the band opened up a little on the reserved side after a particularly miserable Miami crowd the night before. However, but by the end of their set shirts were missing and requests were being played. One thing is for sure, after seeing the passion these kids put into their music, any questions I had about the authenticity of a group of 20-something New Yorkers playing Appalachian folk songs were put to rest.

Drummer David Rogers-Berry lived up to his advance billing; screaming, howling, beating trash cans with chains, hyping the crowd, and just generally beating his floor toms so hard you could almost see them wince in agony. Adding to the drum-abusive energy was fiddle player Bob Pycior stomping and dancing about while trying his damndest to saw his instrument in half. Much like Berry, he plays with such an intensity that you get the impression he is punishing his instrument more than playing it. Balancing out these two was Gabe Darling’s banjo and ukulele and Greg Jamie’s guitar and sometimes woeful, always captivating vocals, which help give the band it’s dark sound. By the end of the show the band had loosened up and began interacting with the crowd, and by the end of their 30 minutes the crowd managed to goad them into playing one more song before packing up. I left as O’Death packed up figuring I had seen the best this particular night had to offer, and having finally caught the band live, I’ve come away knowing two things:

1. Believe the hype.
2. Thirty minutes just wasn’t enough time.

Come back to Florida, O’Death. Fuck Miami.

O’Death - Down to Rest
O’Death - Only Daughter
O’Death - Nathaniel

I managed to actually remember my camera and actually managed to get some pretty good pictures. You can see them here if you’re interested.

O’death’s Official Site, O’Death on Myspace, Buy Head Home

Just to set the scene.

Some Irish-ish, Flogging Molly-ish band from Japan hits the stage first and Flogging Molly are third. Sandwiched between this was Rev. Peyton armed with his acoustic guitars, Washboard Breezy with her washboard, and Jayme Peyton on the drums, bringing their back porch brand of rocking blues. I walked into the show midway through the first opening act and the place was packed with kids dressed in green and pumping their fists to Japanese Irish fight songs and I began to worry for the good Reverend and his merry band. There was no way in hell this crowd was gonna wanna hear blues music. Not tonight. So, I began talking to the people around me in between acts. The typical conversation went like this:

“You looking forward to the next band, Reverend Peyton and His Big Damn Band?”
“Who are they?”
“An awesome three piece blues band from Tennessee.”
Grimaced face…”Blues?”
“Yep”
Even more contorted face, “What are they doing at this show?”

Oh. Jesus, I thought, I better get another drink. This could get ugly.

Oh me of little faith.

The band had the crowd wrapped around their little finger in two songs. They even moshed a little, which may surprise some of you, but Tampa will…nay HAS…moshed to They Might Be Giants. If there is a band and any sort of a crowd, a mosh pit is soon to follow…but I digress. The crowd ate them up. Breezy with her washboard and mean face was the favorite of the fella standing beside me. Personally, I loved watching Reverend with his high-waisted pants, higher stomping foot and manic guitar picking. While I didn’t bother to stick around for Flogging Molly, I can not imagine they put on a better show.
Reverend Peyton�s Big Damn Band - Amberdeen
Reverend Peyton�s Big Damn Band - Another Bottle
Reverend Peyton�s Big Damn Band - My Old Man Boogie

Reverend Peyton�s Big Damn Band�s Official Site, Reverend Peyton�s Big Damn Band on myspace, Buy The Reverend�s albums

Galactic recently came to St. Pete in support of their From The Corner To The Block album and brought a couple of rappers in tow. The opening act (whose name I never caught) had the misfortune of being on stage in the middle of an NFL playoff game and, judging from the density of the crowd around the televisions in the Tamiami, they were playing to an all female audience. Fortunately, the game was pretty much decided by the time Galactic took to the stage. Galactic, kicking out their signature funk-inspired sound and bringing in their own lights/light, show made Jannus a stoner’s mecca for this particular evening and, judging by the smell, they were well represented.

They brought two rappers with them; Mr. Lif and Boots Riley. I was already familiar with the works of Mr. Lif, but had never heard of Boots Riley who, it turns out, fronts the hip-hop crew The Coup. The two could not have been any different. Mr. Lif was basically a crowd killer. Nobody was feeling him and my complaints about his recorded material mirrored my complaints about his live show…too wordy. Boots was the polar opposite and easily the highlight of the show. In both his delivery and his performance, he had the crowd’s undivided attention any time he hit the stage and made a fan out of me.

Galactic - Never Called You Crazy
Galactic - Bittersweet

Galactic w/Mr. Lif - And I’m Out

Galactic w/Boot Riley - Hustle Up

Galactic, Mr. Lif, The Coup, Buy From the Corner to the Block

Last week I walked down to The State to see Blind Melon. Yes, that same Blind Melon. Yes, Shannon Hoon died. Yes, they got a new singer, and much like Creative Loafing penned, I walked into the show thinking, “Who wants to ride the jock of a dead guy?” However, despite expecting something terrible, curiosity got the better of me and I had to go. So I went. Drunk. And not that pre-show, catch a buzz drunk either. I was ‘1/3 a bottle of Beam at home topped with 2 beers and a double at Dirty Nelly’s’ drunk. That’s not wobbling, but beginning to show signs of mouth failure drunk for those that don’t know me. The rest of this tale is told from those fuzzy memories.

Upon walking into the venue I was blow away by the amount of people who had actually come out for the show. I dunno what I was expecting, but it wasn’t a packed house. So I jumped in the beer line, got my eight dollar big beer and set off to find a good spot to watch the show from. Down go the lights and out comes the band with their faux-Hoon. They open with “Galaxie”, with the singer wearing a fully buttoned coat, gloves, a wig and a mask, all the while carrying a mannequin head. Maybe it was the Beam talking or maybe I got it, but I thought the outfit, coupled with the lyrics/chorus of that song, was their way of taking on the issue of Shannon not being there head-on. Two songs later, Travis (the new singer) removed the getup and the band broke into one of their new tracks from their upcoming album. Having a certain flair for dramatics, the metamorphosis wasn’t lost on me and I’ll admit it, they had won me over at that point.

If you close your eyes, Travis Warren does indeed sound just like Shannon Hoon, and I guess it’s easy enough to suggest that they’re riding on a dead dude’s jock, but as I watched the show I got to thinking….This ain’t that bastard version of Lynyrd Skynyrd currently running around the country. Four out of the five original members were up on the stage. They wrote that music too. Shannon Hoon wasn’t Blind Melon…he was the singer of Blind Melon. They have a new singer, he sounds like the old singer, and that will help with the songs from their first 3 albums. They put on a good show and you could tell they were appreciative of the crowd and eager to play. Next time they come to town, I think I’ll go see them again.

I took a few pictures but as I stated earlier, I was rather drunk. Those I did take that came out are visible here.

Blind Melon - Galaxie
Blind Melon - Dear Ol’ Dad
Blind Melon - Tones of Home
Blind Melon - Toes Across the Floor
Blind Melon - No Rain

I was wondering, as I walked into this show, what exactly was I gonna write about? I’ve seen LSS more times than I have fingers to count. I was worried that I was just gonna end up writing (or worse, copy/pasting) the same review into a new subject and moving on. There are parts of the last LSS show where a copy/paste is relevant, if not necessary:

The scene was familiar. Newbies to LSS standing up front. Veterans of Shaker shows standing out of range of snot rockets and the occasional pubic hair tossing, but with their hand covering the top of their cups just in case they underestimated J.D.�s snot launching and pube tossing prowess. The bean pole that is J.D. Wilkes preaching to the crowd with a fire and brimstone to rival any Pentecostal preacher, sometimes using old-fashioned microphones or a harmonica, all with a frenzy that surprising everyone, rookie and vets alike. All being backed by his choir, featuring the ever popular David Lee (guitarist), Mark Robertson (bass) and the new guy on drums banging out a gothic-rockabilly-polka version of southern rock/punk.

However, let’s talk about that drummer for a spell. I have no idea who he is, but he has really added a new element to the Shackshaker’s live show. Either they have really turned the volume up on the drums or this dude beats those things liked they fucked his girl last night. I am gonna vote the latter. Somehow, those bigger drums and the addition of a double bass has given the band an infusion of energy (I didn’t think it was possible, either). The end result was the best performance I have seen by the band since the Halloween show of 2005 at Skippers…and that was probably the best show I saw that year.

So, November gave me the best Shack*Shaker album in a few years, coupled with the best Shack*Shaker show in a few years. Coincidence? Who cares, it kicks ass!

The Legendary Shack*Shakers - Blood on the Bluegrass
The Legendary Shack*Shakers - Where’s the Devil When You Need Him
The Legendary Shack*Shakers - No Such Thing
The Legendary Shack*Shakers - Old Spur Line

Note: I took pictures but being the idiot I am I forgot to upload them last night. I’ll put them up when I get home tonight and post the link here.