Snark and Reverb

Went to the Wanee music festival in Live Oak, FL this past weekend. My first time to Suwanee Music Park, and it is truly a beautiful place, and a badass setup for a fest. Two stages: the Peach stage in a large field, and the Mushroom stage in a natural amphitheatre filled with oak trees.

Friday:

The Radiators - Can’t believe I’ve managed to live this close to New Orleans for just under three decades and never see this band, but this was my first time. Good stuff, like a hippie bar band. I’ll probably go see them next time they come through Mobile.

Hill Country Revue - For those that don’t know, this is Cody Dickinson’s (of North Mississippi Allstars) side project. It’s basically NMAS sans Luther with a different singer. Musically they are very talented, honestly the singer gets on my nerves a bit. Very loud blues rock, good times.

Little Feat - Classic band of course, but it seems obvious they are playing the old stuff to their old fans. They drag “Willin’” waaaay out to the point that is a bit cheesy. Having said that they all were having fun, and it was cool hearing some of my favorite Little Feat singles.

Umphrey’s McGee - I’ve spent years knocking this band, saying they don’t write good songs and they don’t have any soul. Well after this brief performance I’m a bit humbled but pleased to admit they have a new fan. Last time I saw them was several years ago, opening for moe at the Orpheum in New Orleans. I was blown away then, and am blown away again. Soulful or not, these guys are ridiculously talented, and they have a blast on stage. My musician friend was explaining to me the hand signals they use to indicate where they are going in a jam, and pointed out the microphones standing behind them they use to communicate to each other’s earpieces. Neat stuff. They busted out a “Fool in the Rain” because they heard it on the radio on the way to the fest.

Col. Bruce Hampton - had to show some love to the good Colonel. He looks a bit older and a bit plumper since I last saw him, but his voice is strong and he was smiling. Talented band as well.

Buddy Guy - first time seeing Buddy Guy, we all enjoyed this one. Very much like a B.B. King show but with more energy. Lots of blues and storytelling, lots of showmanship. I could have done without him playing “Mustang Sally” but other then that, good show.

Gov’t Mule - Disappointed. Dan had said the Mule has turned into a watered down jambandish thing, but I didn’t want to believe him. Maybe one festival set isn’t a fair way to fully judge a band, but the first half of the set was real weak. None of the raw strength of old mule. Things picked up significantly in the second half, with a Beautifully Broken, and then Hunger Strike > Dear Mr. Fantasy > Hunger Strike > Thorazine Shuffle, which was tight.

Allman Bros. Band - Sickness. 2009 is the Bros. 40 year anniversary, and the current line up is so unbelievably tight. The Dead certainly can’t claim the same.

Derek Trucks Band (midnight set) - We had got up at 4am to drive from Mobile, and so at this point were going on 20 hours no sleep. Made it about another two hours before we drove back to the hotel. Having said that the two hours of DTB we saw did not disappoint. Incredible as always, with appearances by Warren and of course Susan Tedeschi (Derek’s very talented wife, for those who don’t know)

Slept in a bit Saturday, and Denny’s took forever, but we made it to the park by two o’clock to catch:

BK3 - Kreutzmann’s project. Hearing some great jamming and some Dead was a perfect way to start our day. I was loving the female fiddle player, she was great and really put a cool spin on the sound. We left during the last song (He’s Gone) to make our way over to the Mushroom stage for:

Dumpstaphunk - Woah, talk about a spiritual experience through funk, these guys are awesome. I saw them open for Panic the night after Halloween in New Orleans, but seeing them up close was much more fun. Check these guys out if they come to your town, for sure. Non stop dancing and even some fart jokes.

And here is where it started pouring down rain. It rained for a little bit the day before, just enough for things to be fun, but this was a true torrential downpour. Luckily I had my poncho and my hat. I put these on and watched:

Jorma Kaukonen - Just him and a mandolin player, a wonderful act to watch in the rain, playing to a very appreciative crowd. I bounced back and forth between him and:

Susan Tedeschi - Hell of a voice, great guitar player, awesome backing band. Great sultry blues, and she’s a cutie and a sweetie to boot. Good stuff.

Drive-By Truckers - I am a huge DBT fan, but haven’t seen them since Isbell left. I missed Isbell for sure, but Patterson and Cooley have lost none of their energy. Absolutely awesome set, including favorites like “Women Without Whiskey” and “The Company I Keep”.

Allman Bros. - Tore it up again for another night.

We bailed before The Wailer’s late night set because who cares about reggae?

A few thoughts: I’m glad we didn’t camp. Those who say you miss out on the whole experience when you stay in a hotel, eh, maybe there is some validity to that, but the truth is my friends who did camp missed a hell of a lot of music because they had to nap in the afternoons because of noisy neighbors and late night discos setup near their camp site. Couple that with sleeping in a wet tent because of the rain, and I say forget about it. I’d much rather drive to my hotel at 2-3am, shower and crash in a bed, so I’m fresh and full of energy the entire next day.

Also, big kudos to the fest organizers. The park is very well laid out, perfect for festivals, and everything went smoothly. And the food vendors rocked! Prices weren’t that bad, and there was tons of way tasty choices, from Mellow Mushroom pizza to one of the best falafels I’ve ever had.

Bottom line is I didn’t want to leave on Sunday, I wanted more Wanee. Just a completely kick ass weekend.

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It’s an odd concept, and on balance I cannot really recommend it. I was invited by a legal services vendor to see the Oasis / Ryan Adams / Matt Costa show in their luxury box at the Oakland Arena on December 3, 2008. Weird vibe sitting up in the boonies eating shrimp with chipotle dip instead of standing down on the floor where I like to watch a concert like this one, and unless I was sitting or standing near the open front of the box the sound was dreadful.  I might be older than your average rock concert-goer, but I don’t need a walker yet and I missed the connection you get from being up close and personal.

Anyway, the show had started when I arrived, and Matt Costa looked like a little minnow in a big fish bowl from our vantage point in the top level of luxury boxes in the right rear corner of the arena.  There seemed to be another guy playing guitar up there on the stage, maybe with a slide, but he was blending into the scenery, the stage was dark and the sound was not good enough to be precise.  Costa played some sappy and earnest pop songs while looking lost on the giant stage.  The sparse crowd wasn’t paying a lot of attention to him and I wasn’t either, so I don’t have much to say about his set other than it was pleasantly short.

After the quickest set change ever, it was time for the middle act.  Ryan Adams and the Cardinals were at least as much of a draw for me, and to be honest I didn’t know Oasis was on the bill when I agreed to attend.  Two signature roses in neon were hanging on the curtain that dissected the stage left to right and covered up the Oasis rig, and they seemed to provide just about all the light on stage.  For some reason, it was quite dark once again and there was not a single spotlight on Ryan or anyone else in the band all night.  From t was actually hard from where I was perched to tell who was singing or playing leads.  The energy level wasn’t exactly off the charts, and this only emphasized the feeling that this was “just the opener” rather than a viable group of its own.  I am still puzzling over the only other item of interest on the stage – the giant Fender “amplifier” that seemed to be just a prop behind Ryan.  Maybe I just didn’t get the joke, but it had jumbo knobs and a big red “on” light as if it were real.

Anyway, Ryan & Co. came out without saying anything and launched into a 45-minute break-neck set.  In fact, Ryan said almost nothing the entire set because he was too busy jamming as many songs as possible into the time the Gallagher Bros. must have allotted him.  My law partner, who was also in the luxury box, who is a Ryan Adams fan and a singer/songwriter/guitarist in his own right, said that they were playing every song about 1/3 faster than usual and we agreed that it sucked some of the life out of the set.  With no banter, the audience wasn’t engaged as much as a typical Ryan Adams gig, and his sometimes bad-boy personality was absent.

Ryan’s singing and guitar playing were both excellent really, however, and my guitarist buddy commented that he hasn’t heard Ryan play live that well in past shows.  Neal Casal was also great on guitar, but I have to admit I was feeling the effects of being in a little room half a block away from the dimly lit stage so I cannot comment on the details of all the players.  They were solid and tight, that is for sure.  Half of the set was from the new album Cardinology, and the songs rocked a bit harder than on the album.  The other songs were a mix of hits from albums Heartbreaker, Gold, and Easy Tiger.  My favorite song of the set, and one that really caught my attention even up in the bubble was Come Pick Me Up.  Just as it started another friend in the box said how much he liked that song because it is so angry.  Lack of spotlight or no, Ryan connected with the crowd on this song and that anger came flying right up into the luxury box.  Sadly, the short set did not allow for an encore, so they just left the stage without much ado, and never came back.

Now, I cannot imagine Ryan Adams really clicking in that big cavernous setting, but it was too bad that I and the others in attendance didn’t get much of a feel for the kind of live show that I know these guys can deliver.  Apparently this was their first night opening for Oasis, so maybe they will ease into the role and loosen up, and maybe even slow down the tempo a bit to let their heart and soul shine through.

Here’s the Ryan Adams and the Cardinals setlist (even thought I think they go by just The Cardinals these days, that’s not what the venue billing said):

Cobwebs
Crossed Out Name
Everybody Knows
When The Stars Go Blue
Fix It
Let It Ride
Go Easy
Sink Ships
Come Pick Me Up
I Taught Myself How To Grow Old
Two
Magick

There was a much longer set change and break before Oasis came out.  Quite a few lights arranged in a grid behind the stage, four separate vertical video screens, and a whole lot more PA were all in effect when the headliner made its way out.  The video screens projected either random artsy stuff or close-up cropped shots of Liam or Noel, apparently from midget cameras on their gear (very similar to the video techniques and screens used at the Sigur Ros show I saw this Fall).

Oasis had zero stage presence as far as I am concerned.  Zero.  For five rockers who pump out a big sound, they were mostly lifeless.  Liam at least displayed a little emotion while doing singing, and even shook a tambourine every once in awhile, but he doesn’t do anything much to fire your imagination like some other lead singers.  I like Noel’s voice maybe more than Liam’s but he doesn’t really do the front man bit at all.  His guitar playing is the stuff of big arenas, but not particularly inspiring to me.  The new drummer Chris Sharrock is boring to watch – thump thump, twirl stick, thump thump – and even more boring in terms of his yeoman-like playing style.  Of course you mostly couldn’t see him because he was wearing dark clothes and stood back in the shadows, but the bass player literally seemed to be velcro’d to his amp stack.  The keyboard player was no different, playing in a little cubicle of keyboards behind a goofy looking screen of patterned fabric that Liam mocked as the Shroud of Turin.  They were flat and lifeless and just played their songs.  Well, most of them soldiered on but Liam was off-stage about one-third of the show doing whatever he does off stage during his shows.  It certainly wasn’t coke because he never moved faster than the Queen Mother.

The sound was not great, and the bass and drums were jacked up so much such that the glass wall of the luxury box was thrumming along with the beat.  The guitars were not particularly well mixed but the wall of sound was pretty well constructed between two guitars and multiple keyboards.  As for the music itself, I guess it was about as expected but with less life than I might have hoped.  I liked Oasis back in the 90s, and I have listened to their latest paean to the Beatles, Dig Out Your Soul, a couple of times but haven’t gotten into it.  As my partner musician buddy said, their songs are well put together and catchy but their lyrics are mostly insipid.  They played a few of the new tracks in their 21-song set, and played their hits toward the end and in the encore.  The lackluster crowd wasn’t helping them much except during their biggest hits like Morning Glory and Wonderwall, both of which were flat and one-dimensional, although Wonderwall was the much better of the two.

My buddy was dying to hear Don’t Look Back In Anger for some sentimental reason, and we made a deal that if they didn’t open the encore with it we were gone.  He got his wish and the band, sans Liam once again, played a nice version of that ballad and even got a small percentage of the crowd swaying along to the music and singing.  Like true luxury box muckity mucks we proceeded to bolt after that song to beat the crowd.  Unfortunately, that meant we missed Champagne Supernova and a trippy rendition of I Am The Walrus, but at least we were on the freeway before the lights went up.

Good to add another big group I once liked to my long life-list of concerts, but I cannot say I would recommend Oasis to anyone who is not an actual fan.  The songs are pretty compelling but their performance is anything but.  Go check out Ryan Adams and The Cardinals in a smaller venue instead, because there’s sure to be some soul in more than just an album title.

Oasis Setlist for the completists:

Fuckin’ In The Bushes
Rock ‘n’ Roll Star
Lyla
The Shock Of The Lightning
Cigarettes & Alcohol
The Meaning Of Soul
To Be Where There’s Life
Waiting For The Rapture
The Masterplan
Songbird
Slide Away
Morning Glory
Ain’t Got Nothin’
The Importance Of Being Idle
I’m Outta Time
Wonderwall
Supersonic

Encore:
Don’t Look Back In Anger
Falling Down
Champagne Supernova
I Am The Walrus

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Halloween approaches on the Gulf Coast, and a hurricane hasn’t decimated the Crescent City* this year, which means its time for Voodoo.  Yep, fun in the cool breeze New Orleans City Park, complete with the aromas of sugary alcoholic swill, golden fried shrimp, and tangy smoky schwag.

I was there this past weekend, and as usual New Orleans made it a fantastic time. We left Mobile Saturday afternoon, so with the two hour drive we only caught the evening acts, but the whole trip was just to see Nine Inch Nails. First up was Thievery Corporation. I could go the rest of my life without having that dreadie dude or that latina chick yelling at me through a sea of their dub lounge bullshit. Summed up real nicely when my friend Meribeth stood up, pointed at the stage and said “I’ve had about enough of that shit”.

Next up was Mars Volta. I’m not a Mars Volta fan, but I haven’t written them off either. The only album I’ve heard of theirs is Frances the Mute, which I found immediately appealing and almost as quickly wearisome: the songs lack substance and direction. Come to find out I had a similar reaction to the live show. The first song was like a delicious piece of progressive chocolate cake being crammed down my mouth, then the second song was the same, then the third song more sweet chocolate icing, and on and on, and in the words of my girlfriend “all I want is a glass of milk, not more chocolate cake.” So I was happy when they left the stage.

The next was a band called Ghostland Observatory. We were actually setup at the NIN stage at this point, so I wasn’t close enough to hear them extremely well (at voodoo each stage is actually two stages facing each other at a distance of maybe a couple hundred yards, so the music never stops and the crowd just moves between stages), but when I went to the bathroom it sounded pretty cool. I might check them out later.

Then was Nine Inch Nails! This was the true reason for the 45 minute walk from our parking space to the entrance of the festival grounds. Trent was home in New Orleans and put on an amazing show. I’d heard about the light show but really had to see it to believe it. Absolutely unreal, easily the best light show I’ve ever seen at a rock concert, period. I kept a set list but its kind of a mess because I don’t know all the titles to the songs, but here is an incomplete list anyway: Discipline, March of the Pigs, Closer, Gave Up, Great Destroyer, Piggy, Pinion > Wish, Terrible Lie, Survivalism, The Hand That Feeds, Head Like a Hole, Hurt.

Highlights include March of the Pigs which came early in the show and was way intense. Great Destroyer was off the industro-glitch chains; I think it is as good as any song Trent has written. Some of you may have seen a picture floating around the internet of a nails show with a blue screen of death behind him. This happened during Great Destroyer, literally only for a second as the screens flashed through a hundred different images. I thought it was cool since we know Trent is an Apple man. Closer was awesome, but its only one of the greatest rock singles ever written so. Pinion > Wish was one of those “oh my god this is so badass the world is about to asplode” moments. Head Like A Hole closed the set before a multiple song encore, and right when the song ends a huge red NIN is up on the screen, it was a moment of pure band worship for me. Trent did a lot of the Ghosts stuff in between the regular songs, and it added so much to the show, what with all the beautiful and haunting imagery he had up on the screens during the slower bits. He made his political statement during “The Hand That Feeds”, when he put a huge face shot of GWB up on the screen, which ever so subtly morphed into McCain by the songs end.

Trent gave a great speech before the last few songs about how good it was to be home, and about how much he loves the city and how happy he is to see New Orleans coming back. I’ve considered New Orleans to be the greatest city on the planet since I was a kid so I shared his sentiments. For me I’m happy that Trent has his shit together and didn’t become just another lame rock casualty. His live show has proven to me he is an artist of the highest order.

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