the Sexton brothers’ band but they were not there-that slick sleazy blues I hate-and of course Bill (or Chris?) Butler who was guitars/vocals wrote songs for Stevie Ray Vaughn (‘of course’ because I hate Stevie Ray Vaughn too, sorry Austin)

harmless 60s psychedelic country-they’re a charming group-old old buddies-it’s a less famous Traveling Wilburys because they are mostly successful independently (Joe Ely (slick and doesn’t want to grow old), Jimmy Del Gilmore (mischevious old hippie-distinctive voice), Butch Hancock (funny partier)-Jesse played with them when band first formed but they went on to Nashville after he’d left

fine but Jesse played with him and is rippingly good despite ill

Lubbock Calling-a benefit for my neighbor Jesse who come-to-find-out is really a musician and is nearly famous (Jesse “Guitar” Taylor)-Crazy Neighbor used to wax rapturous about him but Crazy Neighbor was crazy-there was this car accident in front of our houses last night and Jesse’s woman and I were outside and she told me about Jesse’s benefit-the whole development was very exciting for me-he has played with a succession of musicians from The Flatlanders to the Sextons to Reckless Kelly and is sick with liver problems — oh and the scene was just crazy-old men with long hair and longer yellow teeth-kind of a crazy psychedelic cowboy scene-so west texas too but then old Austin-but the beauty was in how long these transplanted Lubbockians have known each other

a man and his guitar, really dull old-school country

The Dead 60′s was a band so bad, that the only opening act I have seen that was remarkably more painful was Abandoned Pools, who opened for Garbage on their last tour outing. The Dead 60′s are a four piece punk band made up of little boys from Liverpool who admit that they don’t write tunes for the melody. The word cacaphony doesn’t describe the mess of noise they made for 45 minutes, injuring anyone ambitious enough to plant themselves in front of the speakers, and just about annoying everyone else. Lead singer Matt McManamon repeatedly tried to get a cheer out of the crowd, and predictably, had to wait until their set was over to be fulfilled.

How lucky we were that they opened the show with their first single, “You’re Not the Law” with its trademark siren wail (I say that in jest, as no one outside of the lone man in the audience singing along to every word had ever heard the single before.) The worst of the set was Ben Gordon’s keyboards that vibrated the room. All I can say about the experience is that I had a physical aversion to the noise. This band models itself after The Clash, and have described their sound as dance music (no kidding.) They haven’t recorded their first commercially released LP yet, and I can only hope what’s recorded in Liverpool stays there as well.

04.17.2005 Garbage Avalon, Boston, MA
Opener: The Dead 60′s
My only misgivings about this show was the timing, at the tail end of a long travel weekend, and we had already managed to see two other shows in the same week. Every year, it seems like there is one week or one month when every tour I might be interested comes to town. This might be a testament to the sheer volume of artists that interest me, but since I tend to see the same acts each go around, I sincerely doubt it.

In 2002, Garbage arrived at the Joint in Las Vegas at the end of a long concert month that featured a Cinco de Mayo celebration in L.A. with Concrete Blonde, Pink at Rain in the Desert, and Alanis back at the Joint. That Garbage show was by far the most remarkable even though both Johnette Napolitano and Alanis Morissette were both stunning in their own their corners of the musical spectrum. Since that time, Garbage has, by their own admission, had a hard time wanting to be a band. The story came up during the show at Avalon as Shirley Manson thanked the fans for sticking with them, and inspiring the band to continue recording and touring.

The new album is heavy guitars and less electronica, and it is Shirley Manson that ties those elements into a compelling package, regardless of whether it’s the Pet Shop Boys pop sound of Version 2.0 or the seering guitars that faithfully occupy the new album Bleed Like Me. That’s not to disregard the musicians in the band. Garbage is the kind of band that each of the members has an individual identity and brings their own energy to the songs. And they’re old. Even though Garbage has only been playing together some ten years, individually the band members have been musicians much longer than the sum of their parts.

After suffering through the opening act, which was also heavy on the distorted guitar noise, I almost wasn’t sure Garbage could pull it off. But rather than waves of nausea, they had me buoyant from the first notes of “Queer.” The band came on stage while the late Johnny Cash sang the Nine Inch Nails song “Hurt” on the loud speaker. At the very end of the song, Shirley Manson came on stage and launched into a sparkling, out of this world set. It helped that they stuck to the best songs off of Bleed Like Me, and padded the set from start to finish with their best known songs. The guitars pulsated through the speakers and sometimes drowned out the vocals to the point that you could only hear just a whisper of the words. Butch Vig’s trademark drums were virtually invisible as the guitars were the point.

I’m a huge fan of beautifulgarbage so the inclusion of “Shut Your Mouth” was special, and don’t get me started on “Special,” “I Think I’m Paranoid” and “Push It” which are simply some of the most catchy tunes to ever eviserate the ego. You might get the impression that Shirley Manson has serious hate for someone, but oh what a way to work through the neurosis. “Why Do You Love Me” already has a special place in my collection despite the fact that I only heard the song for the first time two days ago. I can’t explain it (especially considering the theme – “Why do you love me? It’s driving me crazy”) but that song just gives me the biggest contact high that I can remember a song doing in ages. Garbage does that to you.

Setlist
Hurt Intro
Queer
Bad Boyfriend
Supervixen
Stupid Girl
Special
Hammering In My Head
Shut Your Mouth
Vow
Bleed Like Me
I Think I’m Paranoid
Push It
Only Happy When It Rains
Why Do You Love Me
Encore
Sex Is Not The Enemy
Cherry Lips
Run Baby Run

rocking bluegrass, screaming women, I kind of love them by now

TheNewHippie’s latest band, he described it as “cow punk,” I’d describe it as crap, funny sardonic lyrics, improved as set went on, loved it for the joy of seeing TheNewHippie on stage, I took pictures for him to send to father

a stand-in for another band, sweet voice similar to Cowboy Junkies, sameness of it got tiresome

Ah, Elkland. Despite the fact that we collectively laughed off this performance, we also ended up discussing it many times the rest of the weekend. Four boys barely out of their teens that resurrected 80′s synth pop straight from New Order’s doorstep. They wound down their set with the first single “Apart,” from the new album Golden. But to get there, you had to survive a number of catchy tunes that sounded mostly the same and seemed to be on the same topic, the make-up to break-up theme. Vocalist Jon Pierce does a back-bending dance that you have to see to believe, but it’s a combination of the Robot and marching band. They snuck in a cover of “Salvation” (released as a single by the Cranberries back in 1996) to close the show.

The video to “Apart” is hysterical.

04.15.2005 Erasure Irving Plaza, New York City, NY
Opener: Elkland
Another year, another trip to New York to see Erasure. They added a Boston show a few weeks after the NYC shows went onsale, but this also gives us a chance to tour Manhattan, hopefully a little warmer weather than my last few trips. Erasure’s latest album (and 20th year as a duo) is also their most popular in a decade. The music is hazy and melodic, easy to sing to and easy on the ears. The album has grown on me and I look forward to their third single release “Here I Go Impossible Again” which is my favorite song. This US tour is all small venues with multiple night stands in the bigger markets. NYC is getting 10 consecutive shows. Andy Bell hasn’t changed in dance moves in 20 years. And so it is with Erasure that their show is pretty much always the same. With most acts, I guess you might call that a downside, but I cannot say it is so with this band. Their setlist rarely varies, in part due to the fact that most of the music is programmed months ahead of time. The programming is a time consuming process so new additions are not normally put together once the tour has started.

Still, Erasure knows how to please the crowd. The show started with a remarkable harmony on “Three Blind Mice.” As the curtain opened, Andy Bell and his two back-up singers were dressed like angels, complete with wings and sparkles. Vince Clarke looked like a vintage World War I wingman. They pulled out a few classic songs right away that had not been performed for a dozen years give or take, “Hideaway” and “Knocking On Your Door.” Andy pranced around a tiny stage and did his repertoire of wiggles to all of their best-known songs. The arrangements for this tour were very traditional, almost carbon copies of the studio tracks. The exception was a very bizarre, very electronic (think Artoo-Detoo) version of “Always.” The vocals, as ever, were gorgeous. Andy Bell has kept his voice and his body in shape, and he pranced naked for most of the second half of the show.

The highlights included their first live performance of Blondie’s “Rapture” complete with Vince Clarke on the rap. Erasure also unearthed “Drama” (which hadn’t been performed since the Wild! Tour in 1989) which had the crowd chanting along at Andy’s request. The new stuff, particularly the single “Breathe,” was warmly received.

Setlist
Three Blind Mice Intro
No Doubt
Hideaway
Victim of Love
Knocking On Your Door
Phantom Bride
Breathe
Ship Of Fools
Drama!
All This Time Still Falling Out Of Love
Stop!
Rapture
Ava Maria
Breath of Life
A Little Respect
I Broke It All In Two
Chains Of Love
Chorus
Love To Hate You
Blue Savannah
Always
Who Needs Love Like That
Oh L’amour
Encore
I Bet You’re Mad At Me
Sometimes

Matt Nathanson’s act was less charming this time, but still entertaining. He came across as sex-starved teenager, managed to salute his genitals, impersonate Neil Diamond to stall for time while he tuned his guitar, and give a shout-out to his dad. He’s local to Boston, and claimed to have seen in U2 in Worcester in 1987, which seemed impossible to reconcile with his hormonal teenager banter. However, he is in fact, 31 years old. He tried, unsuccessfully this time, to get the crowd engaged with his closing song “Answering Machine.” The problem is, the song is not a great choice for this particular group activity. “Detroit Waves” had almost a flamenco flavor to it that made it the stand out track in his set.

04.12.2005 Tori Amos Orpheum, Boston, MA
Opener: Matt Nathanson
I bought the tickets on a whim when the venue released a row of seats in the front section. It put me over my budget by exactly the cost of the tickets, but it will be worth it. I’m really plugged up because of allergies out of control, so I can’t hear a darned thing, but at least the coughing stopped so I don’t have to pop a cough drop during the Piano Bar segment.

Some of her older material got a boost from the solo arrangement on the piano, particularly “Happy Phantom” and “Little Amsterdam.” She debuted “Cars and Guitars” for the first time on this tour and it was a shade slower than the album version, but didn’t suffer without the rest of the band. “Carbon” made another appearance tonight and it is hands-down one of my favorite songs as performed solo.

The first half the setlist, from “Sweet the Sting” and “Cars and Guitars” – two of the catchier tunes off of the new album The Beekeeper – all the way to her cover of the Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” was just dynamic. The sound in the venue was crisp, her vocals were clear and her style emphatic and fun. She added some lyrical bridges to “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” that told a story of an American girl travelling overseas and how being American isn’t always perceived as such a great thing. The second song of her Piano Bar segment, Joni Mitchell’s “River,” slowed the pace down a bit, but the show didn’t quite suffer as much as it had the previous night from a mellow tempo. She still pounded both the piano keys and the organ for “Space Dog” and otherwise insufferable organ on the “The Beekeeper” was more digestible tonight. The encore songs (she hardly leaves the stage before coming back and picking right up on the next song) were played at a languid pace, but this time, she was totally engaged as if discovering the lyrics to the songs for the first time. The effect was more of a feeling of listening to a storyteller than a musician. Usually a urgent tune, “Sweet Dreams” (Tori’s song, released on Tales From the Librarian, not the Eurythmics cover) took on a whole new, more relaxed personality. “The Doughnut Song” had the feel like Tori was telling us an Aesop fable.

On the downside, “Jamaica Inn” seems to suffer from the same malady as “Twinkle.” The composition of the song seems to be a mixture of vocals and piano chords without any discernable melody. It’s pretty, but unremarkable and aimless. I’ve read a few reviews of the new album, and “Jamaica Inn” gets praised every time. I don’t hear the appeal.

Setlist
Original Sinsuality
Happy Phantom
Sweet the Sting
Little Amsterdam
Carbon
Cars and Guitars
Crazy
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
River
Jamaica Inn
Cooling
Space Dog
Goodbye Pisces
China
The Beekeeper
Sweet Dreams
Leather
Doughnut Song
Ribbons Undone

Matt Nathanson was a charming opening act. He opted for in between song banter that had the crowd laughing, and an energetic approach to his collection of songs. He played solo on one of two guitars and even tried to engage the audience in a singalong with lyrics that made no sense (he admitted as much to us.) He was signing and selling cds after the show. I would have bought the cd, but waiting to get past the screaming young girls and gray-haired middle-aged gay men who wanted an autograph seemed like too much effort.

Apparently, he has released several indie albums and finally acheived major label status with his last release. His studio songs come off as a little bland even though he records them with a full band. “Bent” was by far the best song of his set.

Matt Nathanson Setlist
I Saw
Church Clothes
Detroit Waves
Bent
Answering Machine

04.10.2005 Tori Amos The Bushnell, Hartford, CT
Opener: Matt Nathanson
Tori Amos is one on those musicians that defies description and needs to be experienced. Not to say that everyone enjoys the ride, but you can’t just up and answer the question, “Well, what kind of music does she play?” It’s not that simple.

Her current tour has her supporting The Beekeeper with just herself and the various incarnations of pianos and organs that graced the stage. The stripped down versions of the songs were very faithful to the album versions. The result was a potent emphasis on her voice, that shown in songs like “Carbon” and “Jackie’s Strength.” Her best tunes of the night were focused on the piano, “Beauty Queen/Horses” and “Silent All These Years.” Those sounded crisp in the auditorium and didn’t drown out her vocals.

The show was short on talk, improvs that her fans usually drool over, and for ninety plus minutes, she just played. She took a hand at every instrument, playing the Rhodes on “Strange” and stradling the organ and the piano, one hand on the keys of each, for “Mrs. Jesus” and handful of other songs. “Spring Haze” got the full piano ending because the organ was acting up, and it gave the song a powerful finish.

A theme of mourning and reflectiveness has pervaded her tour this time around. “The Beekeeper” ends the show, with homage to her deceased brother. It was a different mood for Tori and her fans, but she pulled it off exquisitely. “The Beekeeper” itself was a downer to the max, it sounded just like a church hymn ratched up on the decibels. Some people think the tune is beautiful (in my opinion, owing more to the theme than the melody) but to me, it was a woman working out some serious demons and it hurt. The encores (with barely a pause between them to allow Tori to get offstage) were pretty, but vacant. The last four songs became increasingly gelatinous and “Twinkle” was formless and tuneless.

Tori is paying special attention to cover songs on this tour, and tonight she pulled out to wholly unique choices. “59th Street Bridge Song” was so remarkably upbeat that it contrasted sharply to the rest of the night. Same with a riveting cover of Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee.” Her demeanor was so different during those two songs that it caused a sharp, and welcome, break in the somber mood.

Setlist
Original Sinsuality
Beauty Queen
Horses
Carbon
Parasol
Leather
Jackie’s Strength
Strange
59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)
Me And Bobby McGee
Mrs. Jesus
Marys Of The Sea
Silent All These Years
Ribbons Undone
Spring Haze
The Beekeeper
Merman
Cloud On My Tongue
Sweet The Sting
Twinkle