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Sunday, August 24, 2008

Concerts in the Bay Area

What is it about the Bay Area that it is so easy to find last minute below cost tickets to hot concerts? Or is it just a sign of the times and technology? Having just come from Toad the Wet Sprocket where I picked up $60 tickets for $30, and earlier Coldplay $112 for $75 I am floored by the cost and availability. Makes me wonder whether the Projekt Revolution tickets that I actually bought during the presale were worth it. Of the last five concerts I have been to, four I picked up tickets from Craigslist below cost within the week before the concert.

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Monday, September 24, 2007

More music, Bay Area style

In a happy coincidence moment, it turned out that two bands I missed at ACL were going to be playing at the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Friday 9/21. Thus I was able to actually get up close and watch from reserved seats LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire. There were tons of tickets available on Craigslist...snagged a couple in center section 102 row I (really about row 15) for below face, not too shabby. Both were very good live, in fact the show was probably better than ACL simply because they weren't on as large of a stage.

On Sunday 9/23 went to Alice 97.3 Now and Zen Fest. Also picked up tickets for under face off of Craigslist. This one day outdoor affair at Sharon Meadow Golden Gate Park reminded me somewhat of ACL. It had Peter Bjorn, Gin Blossoms, Joss Stone, and James Blunt. Skipped James Blunt, and got there halfway through Peter Bjorn's show. It apparently was my lucky day since at a couple of booths I ended up winning the first prizes. I picked up a Cuervo beanie for dropping a disc pachinko style into the center, then picked up $5 gift card for Pomodoro for spinning a roulette wheel.

One thing interesting about both is the concession costs, especially in comparison to ACL. ACL, while expensive, is pretty reasonable pricing. Beer at least is $4 at ACL. At Shoreline, it was $7 for domestic and $10 for premium and import. Now and Zen was $7 for beer, and even more for mixed drinks. Food at both were also astronomical. So in the end, cost is relative :)

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

ACL Festival 2007

After a three year absence, I went back to ACL Fest this year. Primarily wanted to see White Stripes, but unfortunately they backed out a couple days before the concert.

Friday:
Got to ACL in time to catch Blonde Redhead. They were ok, the lead singer girl was very spastic to the point that it was distracting. Actually, prior to that I grabbed a chopped beef sandwich from Stubbs. Then headed over to catch Joss Stone. I had wanted to see Crowded House too, but they were on opposite stages and well, I can only really remember two songs from them. Glad I made the choice -- Joss Stone is an amazing stage presence. Many girls voices wilt on such a large stage, but white girl got soul and put on a great show. One of the highlights of the festival. Decided to get some food then instead of heading to LCD Soundsystem as originally planned. Heard they put on a great show too...oh well needed food. Got a beef pie from Boomerang. It was pretty good. Got to listen to a little bit of Andy Palacio while eating on the bleachers, and also some of MIA since they were so loud. Made my way to Queens of the Stone Age instead of Spoon (who I have not seen yet even though they play in Austin so frequently). Disappointing, should've gone to Spoon. Got up close after that for Killers since they were on the same stage. Given the great show that the Kaiser Chiefs apparently put on, that may not have been the best move. Also missed Gotan Project. Got a free beer while waiting for Killers, but thats another story. Killers put on a pretty good show too, actually a little better than I expected since I saw them on SNL. After they finished, made way to Bjork and caught her encore. Hmm. Thats really all I have to say for her. Oh, and sweat is salty.

Saturday:
Got to ACL in time for Augustana. Left early to make our way to Cold War Kids. Not sure what all the hype was for them, the performance was ok at best. My allergies started to kick in around this time, I guess when I left Austin I lost all my immunities. It was really bad to the point where I really didn't feel like doing anything so ended up just sitting around most of the afternoon. Caught Blue October, wasn't really close enough or paying attention long enough to make a judgement either way. Also left to get some food, got an italian sausage with saurkraut from Best Wurst. Caught Andrew Bird, was very impressed. Kinda reminded me of Howie Day. Anyone who can incorporate a violin or piano as a primary instrument gets major props from me. Caught Artic Monkeys, who literally sounded like a bunch of monkeys banging on drums. Left to get up close for Muse, skipping Arcade Fire entirely. Got pretty close, within 20 people of the stage. Muse put on a great show, not quite as good as the one I saw in SF, but still a great one.

Sunday:
Got to ACL really late today, courtesy of dim sum. Yeah I know, coming from SF but going to dim sum in Austin? The place we went to (Shanghai), I think compares favorably with some of the ones in the Bay Area. It just remains to be seen if it will stay that way. Got back and checked out some of National streamed live. The parts that I caught were pretty good. Then actually went to ACL in time to catch Bloc Party. Not really my thing, went to get some food. Got a chicken cone from Hudson's Bend. Caught Regina Spektor (skipping Amos Lee), she reminds me of Tori Amos. It was cute, she was so overwhelmed by the crowd and would talk to everybody. A good show. Caught a little bit of Wilco (skipping My Morning Jacket), then went to get some more food. This time got another chicken cone, and a venison sausage wrap from Hudson's Bend. Caught a little bit of Ziggy Marley, then came back for Ghostland Observatory (skipping Decemberists). New rule of thumb for large festivals like this -- see the bands that are high energy. Wow what an awesome show. They got the crowd hopping. Then headed over to Bob Dylan and couldn't understand a word that he was saying. If you remember the movie Waterboy, the character that was a farmer that talked gibberish that no one could understand, well thats what Dylan sounded like.

Oh forgot to mention, tons of Sweet Leaf tea throughout all three days :)

Unfortunately, did not get any pics of the land yacht that I happened to rent. When I showed up to Avis there was a Lincoln Town Car sitting in my spot. They were sold out for the night, so it was mine for the weekend.

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Thursday, August 16, 2007

Can you recognize greatness?

Interesting article that Judy found in teh Washington Post, actually posted back in April.

Pearls Before Breakfast

I do tend to agree with the later experiences -- I feel you have to have played the violin to truly understand what is great and what isn't. Also if you don't have a musical sense, then it just all sounds like noise.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Muse and Shins

By a twist of luck, my project schedule allowed me to attend two straight concerts in San Francisco on a Monday night. Which was great because I finally got to see Muse after missing them the last couple times they came through SF.

Muse 4/9 - Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
What an amazing show. It has been a long time since I have seen one like this. There was so much energy. The building was a medium size arena, with a standing room ground and first come first serve surrounding balcony. Being that it was a Monday night and the fact that I am old now, we ended up finding a seat upstairs. Too bad I wasn't younger because it woudl have been great to have been down in the mosh pit for this one.

Shins 4/16 - Warfield
I wanted to like the show. Really, I did. But maybe it was that I was too tired, or that it was too hot, or maybe because they didn't really talk to the crowd, or else because the songs they played all sounded alike (either fast or slow). Whatever it was, I was overall disappointed. The Warfield is a much smaller concert hall than the Bill Graham Civic, it looks like it actually was once an opera house. Of course, now its kinda in a rundown area on Market, with the apparently famous Crazy Horse next door. At any rate, there wasn't anything really wrong with the Shins show, its just that it didn't have the same sort of energy that Muse did. That is probably an unfair comparison given the huge differences in the genre they are both in, but unfortunatly having just seen them the week earlier, it was the most direct comparison I had.

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