Concert Central

continuing on in the shoegaze theme, these guys did a nice job musically but there was some disjunct with the vocalist – just didn’t fit – it was either his voice or the sound but think it was the former – maybe the voice was too prevalent in the music and too undreamy

reminded me why I love the shoegaze, with sweet melodies and escapism all wrapped up in fuzzy noise, she basically played songs and they were good but if I were to be a DJ I would mix and mesh a little bit more, something besides standing up there in my cowboy boots and silly dress

guitarist for Heybale (Redd Volkaert’s band), supposedly influenced by punk, country, etc. but this was straightforward honkytonk, pleasant voice, old-so-good musicians

oozing with dark sexuality, the perfect holy sneer of a voice, fuzzed synthy background music, unfortunate cover of Nine Inch Nail’s “Hurt” should have been left to wannabes like Johnny Cash, the Bauhaus and otherwise material was perfect

moody prog rock, excessive noodling totally lost the crowd

Swarming to TD Banknorth Garden, Bon Jovi was the like the Pied Piper of white trash. Rarely have I seen so many fake boobs / fake tans / bleach blondes in one place. But it wasn’t just the aging sorority girls that came to party. The crowd also had its share of college jocks, soccer moms and husbands in tow. In all, 18,000 people descended on the Garden for the first of a two-night stand at the tail end of Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway Tour. And they all had two things in common. Everyone was trashed out of their minds and they knew every damn word to every damn song.

Bon Jovi puts on an amazing show. The show was part glam band, part Springsteen and a whole lot of fist pumps and chest hair. Bon Jovi, and in this case I mean the man, does an impressive job of making you feel like you are the only one he’s singing to. It’s a rare talent, even more impressive given the size of the venue and energy level he maintained for almost two hours. He mounted a small stage by himself in the middle of the arena for (You Want To) Make A Memory and Bed of Roses, shaking hands and touching bodies without missing a beat. He did a lot of gyrating on stage the entire night, waving his arms and shimming around the stage. During I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead, the band took a long diversion into Twist & Shout which did nothing to kick the feeling that Bon Jovi would be pretty successful in an exercise video, too.

Whole Lotta Leavin’ was the best of the new material, and followed up by the exhilarating In These Arms, it showed off Bon Jovi’s rich vocals. Richie Sambora looked like ass, but he belted out I’ll Be There For You and his voice sounded great. It hasn’t been a good year for him, I hear, but his guitar sizzled through out the night regardless.

The visuals were mostly kept to a minimum because this was all about the guys themselves. During Bad Medicine, the stage behind the band raised up and made itself into a enormous screen for a mid-song segue into the Isley Brothers’ Shout. Earlier, we also got screen shots of just-short-of-naked coeds, some fireworks and a 1980’s hyper space effect borrowed from George Lucas. But otherwise, the cameras were zeroed in on the guys.

The Garden sold obstructed-view seats behind the stage. For the most part, those fans got a close look at the band and Bon Jovi himself pandered to them as often as not. But occasionally, screens came down from the ceiling to block their view of the stage (though the screens were double-sided so they could see the same thing on the screens that we could…for what it’s worth.) A number of fans paid $1250 for the bonus experience which included side stage standing room only for 3-songs.

The last five songs were the hottest part of the night. The crowd put extra effort into the singalongs Who Says You Can’t Go Home, and Living on a Prayer. Sure, they probably do the same on every tour, but in the end, the night finished on a great high.

Bon Jovi setlist
Lost Highway
Born To Be My Baby
You Give Love a Bad Name
Summertime
Capt. Crash
Runaway
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead / Twist & Shout
Whole Lot Of Leavin’
In These Arms
Any Other Day
We Got It Goin’ On
It’s My Life
Keep the Faith
I’ll Be There For You
(You Want To) Make A Memory
Bed of Roses
Have A Nice Day
Who Says You Can’t Go Home
Bad Medicine / Shout
Encore
Wanted Dead or Alive
Living on a Prayer

Cyndi Lauper is just amazing. Her political speech was uplifting (think southern gospel preacher stumping for the get out and vote) and she touched the crowd through her music. The highlight was an impossibly gorgeous and spare version of I’m Gonna Be Strong and the classic Time After Time with an a capella intro of the track Lyfe from her new album Bring Ya to the Brink. While she was more talkative this year, she also seemed a little more tense overall, and several of her songs seemed to stop abruptly with a flick of her hand towards the band.

The new material fit in great with her classic tracks. Rocking Chair, despite being a weird cat-lady kind of song, actually came across as a solid live tune. She sang Set Your Heart, which she debuted last year on tour, from the middle of the audience as if she was determined to reach out to everyone. And Into the Nightlife was a pure disco tune. She pulled out an acoustic version of Erasure’s Blue Savannah by way of leading into a rocking I Drove All Night. The entire ensemble came out at the end for Everyday People and the show closer True Colors.

Cyndi Lauper setlist
Change of Heart
Rocking Chair
Set Your Heart
When You Were Mine
Sisters of Avalon
She Bop
Into the Nightlife
Blue Savannah/I Drove All Night
I’m Gonna Be Strong
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
Encore
Rain on Me
Lyfe (intro)/Time After Time
Money Changes Everything
2nd Encore
Everyday People (with ensemble)
True Colors (with ensemble)

Carson Kressley was tapped to host the True Colors Tour 2008. His early introductions were peppered with dirty but completely lame, predictable jokes. But as the crowd warmed up, so did his delivery. During the set change before Cyndi Lauper, Carson had a good 20 minutes to keep the crowd spirited, and it was then that his talents brought fore. He managed a number of good jokes on the gays, shot t-shirts into the crowd (including one pulled from his crotch) and interacted with people in the audience. He also found two older gentlemen in the crowd who were getting married after California legalized gay marriage. It was a touching moment crammed between Carson hitting on just about every man that caught his eye. Which tonight was pretty much all of them.

The B-52’s have been putting on the summer tours for years since their last studio album (in 1995) and greatest hits release (in 1998) but this is the first tour since recording a full album of new material. The foursome have the energy of twenty-year olds but let’s face it, the band is collectively pushing 60-years old and the average age of the crowd isn’t far behind.

It was a still a party. They revived all the old moves straight out of 1982 with Mesopotamia and rocked an amazing version of Private Idaho. Some of the new material fit seamlessly (Ultraviolet and Hot Corner) and some of it fell flat (new single Funplex and the bland Love in the Year 3000). The setlist was too heavy with new songs, most of which failed to energize the crowd. But they finished with the one-two punch of Love Shack (with a ripping extended guitar solo in the middle) and ever-buoyant Rock Lobster.

B-52’s setlist
Pump
Mesopotamia
Private Idaho
Ultraviolet
Juliet of the Spirits
Roam
Funplex
Hot Corner
Love in the Year 3000
Love Shack
Rock Lobster

Wanda Sykes was way funnier than my wildest expectations. Her set was riddled with swears as she covered the temperature in Phoenix, the TSA and gay cruises. If the material was a little generic, her delivery more than made up for it.