Review: Lucero - Off Broadway - St. Louis, MO - 12/07/2010

From the stage singer/guitarist Ben Nichols advised the nearly sold out crowd, "We've been on the road for 9 and a half weeks and this is our last show before we go home. Tomorrow I will be home, but there's no other place I'd rather be than here."  A statement like that can sometimes lead you to believe that the band is either road weary or in prime, well-oiled condition to present a great show. For Lucero, however, the statement was very much the latter!

Sporting his trade mark V-neck white t-shirt with tattoos showing and a camouflage hat, Ben Nichols led Memphis based Lucero through a two hour plus set of their brand of punk inspired Country/Rock/Soul to the crowd at Off Broadway in St. Louis, MO. Augmented by a 2 man Memphis horn section of saxophone and trumpet, but missing pedal steel player, Todd Beene, Lucero played an inspired set that warmed the St. Louis crowd frigid from the recent falling temperatures and left everyone wanting more by night's end. Nichols' whiskey soaked voice is the perfect for these Americana tinged songs of heartbreaking relationships, drinking, bar fights, motorcycles, family and service to our country. The tag of being Memphis' answer to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band is probably a bit unfair and overstated, but the band certainly shares some traits with that famous band -- legendary live shows, rabid fans, and long and varied set lists.

Starting with the Stax influenced "The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo" from their recent release 1372 Overton Park (Universal Republic Records, 2009), Lucero immediately got the partisan crowd reved up for a good night and showcased piano/organ player Rick Sheff's chops. Besides playing 8 of the 12 tracks on their latest album, Lucero played a selection of songs from each album in their strong back catalog during the 26 song set.

Clearly appreciative of the turnout for a Tuesday night show, Nichols stated, "Fridays and Saturdays are for amateurs... Tuesday night is the 'real drinker's' night. A song or two into the set, bass player, John C. Stubblefield asked for more kickdrum, vocals, guitar and organs in his monitor and Nichols cracked wise, "Somebody missed sound check!" Throughout the set Stubblefield, got more inebriated and continued to grab the microphone between songs and exhort some incoherent banter to the crowd.

The pace slowed after the high energy, fast-paced start for the bluesy "Nights Like These" and "Chain Link Fence," but kicked right back in again for the outstanding "Sounds Of The City."  After receiving some 80 proof refreshments from the crowd, Nichols cracked, "Thank you for the shots. Let's play some drinking songs." The band kept switching up the pace during the middle of the set, while still managing to stay in a groove and keeping the crowd focused. With Memphis as a home base and the horn section in fine form, the band would have made Otis Redding proud with the neo-soul number, "Goodbye Again."

Lucero (L-R): Ben Nichols, Todd Beene, Brian Venable, Rick Sheff, Roy Berry, and John C. Stubblefield

About three quarters of the way through the set, Nichols gave the band a break and stayed out to play some songs with piano/organ player, Rick Steff, as his only complement.  Steff played organ and accordion on a couple of songs from Nichols' solo album and a couple of Lucero songs "The War" and "Mom." Nichols thanked the crowd for indulging him in this interlude in the middle of the show. "Thank you for putting up with the slow, sad bastard shit," said Nichols before launching into "Mom."

Near the end Nichols told advised that the band had a rule that if someone vomited on the bus the person that cleaned it up would be paid $50. After the previous night when Nichols had puked on the bus, he had been fined a hundred large. So, Nichols had made a deal with the sound guy, working right behind where we were standing, to decrease the fine by $20 if he could hit him with a new found hacky sack from the stage.  The crowd parted and ready for the throw. Nichols took his shot, but came up empty sailing it into the balcony.  Venable somehow retrieved the hacky sack after it was thrown back to the stage and gave it a try; hitting the light the sound guy used to see the board!  Missed it by that much...

The band finished the main set strong pushing the crowd into a frenzy for the last three numbers - "What Else Would You Have Me Be", "I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight", "Tears Don't Matter Much". With beer flying from the $4 Pabst Blue Ribbon tallboys, the crowd up front was re-energized and singing at the top of their lungs.  When not singing, Nichols would turn his back to the crowd and relentlessly stalk Roy Berry's drum set like an animal ready to strike. Venable and Stubblefield enjoyed the crowd's energy and did not shy away from the beer bath they were receiving from the enthusiastic crowd.

After a short break, Nichols came out for the encore alone and played "Better Than This" with his hollow body Epiphone guitar still sounding great twenty four songs into the show. The band came back for the final song, "All Sewn Up," an up tempo rocker about tattoos, and the venue exploded and then it was all over.

After the show the band hung around and conversed about music, had drinks with the fans, signed autographs, and took pictures. In more articles that I can count I had read that Nichols, Venable, and the rest of the band are the least pretentious musicians you'll ever meet and that held true at the St. Louis tour stop as well. Nichols was standing next to the bar talking to some fans wearing a green Army fatigues jacket, with a jean jacket underneath and a red hoodie. After Nichols did some shots at the bar with some other fans, I told him how much I had enjoyed the show.  I continued and stated I "hated to admit this was my first Lucero show, but certainly would not be my last," and Nichols gave me a big hug! Not long after Nichols joined our group and started chatting. After a few minutes, my friend Jeff also told Nichols that he had his "Lucero cherry popped" at this show, Nichols said, "that gives me a great idea for a t-shirt" and made a beeline for the merch table to share his idea with the merch girl.

As for the future, a couple days prior to the St. Louis date the band played a show in Denver, CO. According to another blog, Nichols advised the writer he had written 17 new songs, but the band needed to get home first before they could start recording new material. More information about a new album can be gleaned from this past week's edition of the Riverfront Times, Nichols told that writer that the new songs had mostly been written on an acoustic guitar, but may change significantly after entering the studio and giving them the full band treatment.

Personally, 1372 Overton Park has been on constant rotation since I bought the album the day it came out in late 2009.  While a new Lucero album may have a different feel than its predecessor, it will nevertheless be highly anticipated by myself and many others.

Set List
The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo
That Much Further West
Can't Feel A Thing
Nights Like These
Chain Link Fence
Sounds Of The City
Kiss The Bottle (Jawbreaker cover)
I'll Just Fall
Raising Hell
Bikeriders
Johnny Davis
Darken My Door
Last Night In Town
Goodbye Again
Slow Dancing
Sixteen
Sweet Little Thing
Last Pale Light In The West (Ben Nichols solo album, Sheff on accordion)
Davy Brown (Ben Nichols solo album, Sheff on accordion)
The War
Mom
What Else Would You Have Me Be
I Can Get Us Out Of Here Tonight
Tears Don't Matter Much

Encore
Ben solo - Better Than This
All Sewn Up

The opening band, John Henry and the Engine, played an gutsy, impassioned set of original music to get the night started. Wearing their influences squarely on their sleeve, the band's music hearkened back to the sound of mid-1980's Replacements and Soul Asylum, early 1990's American mixed with a little soul. This assessment is backed up from a quote from St. Louis' KDHX 88.1 FM that was reprinted by the Columbia Tribune, “With relentless guitars and restless voices, John Henry and The Engine burn through the past, present and maybe even the future of American music.”

Singer/Guitarist John Henry has certainly done his research and studied hard on the duties of a Rock 'n Roll front man. Almost to a fault he had all the right moves around the stage. With that said, Henry's harmonica playing and singing along with the band's attack of each song kept the attention of the crowd unlike a lot of opening bands where the crowd gets bored midway through the opening act. The organ/piano work by Michael Hickey was lost in the mix of guitars and the drummer's heavy pounding and wild flailing made it seem like he was playing in another, much bigger venue. Introduced with the line, "For those of you who are music buffs, this is in the key of E minor," a cover of the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers classic, "Refugee" was well executed in the middle of the set. However, the reaction of the crowd seemed ho-hum at best about the number and may be due to the overplay of such a song on St. Louis Classic Rock radio over the years. With some mentoring and more shows under their belt, John Henry and the Engine could certainly move to the next level. Find the band on Facebook and Twitter.

Review: Chris Mills - Fred's Six Feet Under - St. Louis, MO - 12/04/2010

Although there was no doorman and I did not have to provide a password to gain entry, Fred Friction's Six Feet Under is part speakeasy and part hanging out with your friends in an old basement with no authority figures to ruin your fun. Shortly after my arrival and pleasantries were exchanged with Chris Mills and old friends, Mr. Friction became taskmaster and forced Mills to start his show for our host (complete with beer bottle cap necklace) was due at Off Broadway for the Uncle Tupelo tribute show happening the same evening.

With no new release since Living In The Aftermath (Ernest Jenning Record Co., 2008), the Brooklyn based Mills stuck to a rough outline of a set list while taking requests and heckles from the audience - mostly via our host Friction himself. Demonstrating his self-deprecating humor, Mills strummed and joked his way through a 90 minute, nineteen song set. Wielding only a Guild acoustic guitar, capo, strong voice and a Pabst Blue Ribbon for good measure, the set included his variety of witty, upbeat Pop/Rock songs and achingly beautiful ballads full of pain, melancholy and sorrow.

Playing his first St. Louis date in four years in front of a roaring television simulated fireplace, Mills seemed relaxed, comfortable and in good spirits while stripping his songs to the bare bones with just his voice and acoustic guitar. With only his voice, he improvised subtle nuances by adding horn parts and melodies that richly enhanced his last two records. Lacking the sheer power of the full band, Mills voice bore much of the responsibility for conveying the melody, vibe, and laid bare feelings that many of his songs possess. For his effort, the audience - mostly full of childhood friends, parents and friends - thanked Mills for his work with strong applause and appreciation.

The solo performance, however, enhanced subtleties of the artist that are often lost in the setting of a full band performance. Between songs he told stories of his day job instructing children in music education and taking trips to Europe to teach Norwegian children about American protest music. In the future if Norway goes to war with Sweden or Finland we'll know who to blame. Next, Mills told the story of time he was back in the area working at St. Louis based Imo's Pizza and folding pizza boxes when a co-worker asked him what he was up to and Mills recounted how he was back living with his parents and working this job contemplating his next move. The co-worker replied, "You must be living the dream" and the basis of a new song was born as he launched into "Chris Mills Is Living The Dream." From there Mills jumped back in time nearly a decade and a half to tell the story of his now younger 22 year old self writing the song "Fresh Young Mouth" after his attraction to a much older bartender went unrequited. Later, he received big laughs recounting the tale of receiving word last year from a television writer only days before air that his song, "Such A Beautiful Thing", was to be featured in an episode of the CBS drama Criminal Minds titled "Cradle To The Grave." Mills excitement was dashed after asking his wife to spread the word to family and friends only to find out that the episode dealt with a crazed maniac who kidnapped women and forcing them to have sex and children with him killing all in the end. Finally, during the middle of "You Are My Favorite Song", the crowd was treated to a short tale of how one of Mills' successful songwriting friends had advised that the tempo change to a waltz in the middle of the song matching the lyric did not work.  Mills reply was that he was leaving the song as written because he felt, "his audience was smart enough to catch the reference."

While the majority of his performance was highlighted by material from the last two albums, the set list featured songs from each of his full length albums and even included a few new songs. The choice of songs represented his career well, and seemed apropos, when near the end Mills told the gathering he will be touring to promote a ten year retrospective next year and plans a St. Louis date. Here's hoping that the budget will allow for a full band tear-the-roof-off performance and some more new material to showcase alongside some old favorites.

Set list:

Untitled #1

A Farewell To Arms

In The Time Of Cholera

Suicide Note

The Silver Line

Chris Mills Is Living The Dream

Escape from New York

Blackbirds

Constellations

Fresh Young Mouth

Brand New Day

New song - When We Were Young

New song - Try Not To Die

Watch Chain

New song - Last Days

Such A Beautiful Thing

Atom Smashers

You Are My Favorite Song

Calling All Comrades

Below are included a few performances to give you an idea of his music and the night. Enjoy!

Check out My Space to listen to songs from Living In The Aftermath. 

Live In Concert: Little Pieces - Cicero's - St. Louis, MO - 05/27/10

 Yesterday morning I was getting my daughter ready for pre-school and she was not getting out of bed very easily. She has a clock radio/wave machine in her room so I turned off the waves and turned on the radio to see if that would stimulate her senses. I had the radio tuned KDHX 88.1. The show that was playing in the Thursday morning time slot from 5-7 a.m. is called Pop The Beat Bubble Burst, a show that plays various forms of Rock 'N'Roll including pop, jangle, power pop, etc. I was moving in and out of the room and I came back in and heard a familiar song playing and wondered to myself "Who is that band? I know that song." Sure enough it was a song called "Record Mine" by Little Pieces, a Seattle based trio! See the song list for the radio show here.

A few months ago my lifelong friend, drummer Rob Lloyd, e-mailed me asking about venues in St. Louis to play a show later in the year and some suggestions on sending a press kit to KDHX. I sent him back my thoughts and he ended up booking a show at Cicero's in St. Louis and sending a press kit with their full length debut album and new EP and a letter about the band and their upcoming show to Rich Reese at KDHX.

At midday Rob called to check in and see if I was going to make the show later that night. At that point I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it and advised I would at least be seeing the show on Sunday in Collinsville. He was excited that their song had been on the radio earlier in the day and gave me the schedule of the two shows and we chatted about his trip. He recounted the story of one of his checked bags, including his snare drum and merchandise, not making the flight from Seattle to St. Louis. Luckily a stressful situation was avoided when the airline was able to deliver the bag later that same night.  He also revealed that the band may be splitting in the not so distant future with the possible move by singer/guitarist Herman Jolly from the Seattle area to Portland, OR.  Rob seemed at peace with this possibility which likely had a lot to do with his baby daughter and owning a small business.

After our phone call and then speaking with numerous friends, I found that most people were attending the show on Sunday as well so I felt I should show my support by going to the Cicero's show as well. Since this decision was made on a last minute notice I didn't show up to the venue until just before Little Pieces started their set. There were four acts on the bill - a rapper J. Coates, Little Pieces, Farewell Flight and Heroes Of The Kingdom which includes another longtime friend of mine, Christian Powell, on guitar. I had already missed the rapper who went on first, however, I saw a few old friends and acquaintances and settled into a draft of Anchor Steam to listen to the set.

Little Pieces played a tight set consisting of songs from their debut album from 2008 and a six song EP they released earlier this year. The sound guy got the mix of guitar, bass, drums and vocals just right without any of the components overpowering the other parts. Even with some borrowed equipment the band seemed at ease with the set up.  Singer/guitarist Herman Jolly had his black Epiphone Les Paul guitar sounding great playing through a borrowed Fender Twin Reverb.  The warm Les Paul sound was heavy in the small room, yet the higher stings had nice clarity without a lot of crunch keeping the pop feel intact. Bassist Grant Badger's bouncing lines cemented the back beat while adding color to the mix as a good bassist in a trio should. Badger shuffled around the front of the stage with a Fender bass through an Ampeg rig since he wasn't tied to the microphone stand like Jolly. Lloyd was on his game last night playing with ferocity like a man on a mission. His signature heavy, yet tight drumming style, complete with drum stick twirls, gave the pop tunes from the long player much more of a Rock vibe in the live setting especially on songs like "Hurricane" and "Wrote A Letter." On some of the newer songs like "Chessman" classic rock style fills dominated and his playing seemed liberated from the simpler beats of the full length LP. Lloyd's performance was about putting on a good show for the audience and it showed. The set only lasted 10 songs, roughly about 45 minutes, which seemed a little truncated, but a packed bill necessitated adhering to a strict schedule.

Little Pieces Set List 5/27/10 - Cicero's - St. Louis, MO

• Key On A Kite
• Hurricane
• One Million Feet Below
• Record Mine
• Wrote A Letter
• Fit You Like A Glove
• After Me
• I'm A Bull
• Summertime In Space
• Chessman

After the show and the equipment was torn down, I exchanged greetings and talked with Rob for a while about the set offering him a Boulevard Wheat for his effort.  Later, I spoke with Badger and offered my thoughts on the set and asked him for a copy of their new EP. After I handed over my $5 we chatted about the band.  Badger told me that he and Lloyd have recorded another album's worth of material and only need to add Jolly's guitar and vocals to the mix. However, Badger also confirmed the news that the band's future is uncertain with Jolly possibly moving sometime soon, but also seemed okay with the possible end to the band.
For certain a rift is in the air, but time will tell what happens and all things are possible.

I caught a bit of the set by Farewell Flight, but Rob wanted to go out into the restaurant and talk so we left the twenty something band behind for the quieter quarters. I was not able to stick around to see the set by Heroes Of The Kingdom (sorry Christian) since I had to be up early for work the next day, but will likely catch a show in the near future since the band is based in St. Louis.

Little Pieces have a few more Midwest dates they are playing this weekend -

Champaign, IL - Mike & Molly's
Friday, May 28, 2010
9:00 pm
105 North Market Street, Champaign, IL 61820

Springfield, IL - Private Party
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Contact them if you would like to attend.

Collinsville, IL - Hurricanes Bar & Grill
Sunday, May 30, 2010
9:00 pm
222 West Main Street, Collinsville, IL 62234

Upcoming Concert Scheule

On Friday, I did some research of the concert schedules for the local music venues. Here are the highlights at what jumped out at me.  I am going to one of the Little Pieces shows this week and I just bought tickets for the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers show in mid-July. Unfortunately funds and time will limit the amount of these shows that I actually see. However, my goal is to write reviews here of what I end up attending. Get out there and support live music!

May
Wed 5/26/10 – BoDeans – Old Rock House - $25 – Doors 7 p.m. Show 8 p.m.
Thur 5/27/10 – The Great Outdoors / Little Pieces / Heroes Of The Kingdom - $7 – Cicero’s – 8 p.m.
Sun 5/30/10 – Little Pieces – Hurricane’s – Collinsville, IL

June
Fri 6/4/10 – Mother Hips w/ Don Gallardo & How Far West – Old Rock House - $10 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Thur 6/17/10 – Jay Farrar – Old Rock House – $20 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Sat 6/19/10 – Marah – Blueberry Hill - $12 – Doors 8 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Sat 6/19/10 – The Great Crusades, The Saps, Dana Anderson – Off Broadway - $8 Doors 8:30 p.m. Show 9 p.m.
Mon 6/21/10 – Blitzen Trapper w/ The Moondoggies – Off Broadway - $12 adv/$14 DOS – Doors 7 p.m., Show 8 p.m.
Sun 6/27/10 – Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears w/ Hacienda – Off Broadway - $10 adv/DOS $12 – Doors 7:30 p.m. Show 8 p.m.
Mon 6/28/10 – The New Pornographers w/ The Dodos – The Pageant – $22.50 adv/ DOS & Balcony $25

July
Thur 7/1/10 – Henry Rollins – The Pageant - $23.00
Mon 7/12/10 – Minus The Bear – The Firebird –
Fri 7/16/10 – The Gaslight Anthem – Pop’s – $15 adv/DOS $17 – Doors 7 p.m.
Sat 7/17/10 – Modest Mouse – The Pageant –
Sun 7/18/10 – Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers w/ Drive By Truckers – Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Sat 7/24/10 – Silversun Pickups w/ Against Me! & Henry Clay People – Live on The Levee – Downtown St. Louis - Free

August
Fri 8/27/10 – The Black Crowes – The Pageant - $49.50 floor/ $59.50 balcony
Fri 8/27 & Sat 8/28 – Lou Fest – Forest Park

September
Thur 9/2/10 – Johnny Winter – Voodoo Lounge
Fri 9/10/10 – Todd Rundgren – Roberts Orpheum Theater – 8 p.m.
Sun 9/19/10 – Farmer Jason Ringenberg Family Matinee – Off Broadway - $8 adv/DOS $10 – Doors 2:30 p.m. Show 3 p.m.

October
Sat 10/23/10 – Suzi Shelton Family Matinee – Off Broadway - $8 adv/DOS $10 – Doors 2:30 p.m. Show 3 p.m.
Fri 10/29/10 – Roger Waters – Scottrade Center
Sat 11/13/10 – Chris Smither – The Focal Point - $20

Guys Night Out: Hanging Out With The Crumbs

Friday, January 8th - The night had finally come to see Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven at The Pageant in St. Louis.  Too bad it was freezing cold outside. Four inches of snow had fallen on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Temperatures in St. Louis had been very cold of late, but this night was the coldest night in the last decade - actually below zero with wind chills 20 or more degrees below zero.  I bundled up in four layers on top and two layers on below and a thick pair of socks for the night. My friend Tom, who had bought the tickets, picked up my friend Brian and I in his new Toyota Tundra - appropriate for a night like this and we were off.

We had an extra ticket as one of my friends that was going to go with us had dislocated his shoulder the day before while getting into his car after returning home from a business trip.  We made it to The Pageant with no problems and parked well behind the venue. Leaving coats in the car we hustled through the snow to the front door. After checking our ID's and getting hands stamped we made our way to the bar and ordered a round of Newcastle. However, the Newcastle was not good on this night and from then on it was Schlafly Pale Ale for us.

The crowd was mostly guys - a ratio of probably 4 to 1 and mostly over 30.  I'm sure there were some twenty somethings there, but most of the crowd were in their 30's, 40's or 50's. This makes sense because the average age of both bands is probably 48 years old. The Pageant's spacious balcony was closed so the crowd was all on the floor and seated around the tables downstairs. For most of the show we stood on the floor about two-thirds of the way back from the stage.

My favorite part was that the band had asked for a no smoking policy on the show. This is something I have gotten quickly accustomed to in Illinois with the state ban on smoking in public places. However, this show was in Missouri so I figured that I'd have to come home and burn my clothes. But alas, no worry there, but the guy standing in front of me for the first few songs was smoking - just not a cigarette - but pot. That shouldn't have come as much as a surprise as it did.  Just surprised that he was so open about it.

Discussions that I had with people before the show invariably led to which band was going to open the show. I should have figured that Cracker would be the headliner as they continue to tour and had just released a new album. Therefore, Camper Van Beethoven opened the show.  Their stage set up was sparse, but adequate.

Guitarist Greg Lisher was to the situated to our left with his sunburst Fender Telecaster and small combo amp set up. Then, David Lowery was in the middle with his off  brand guitars and a nice Matchless amplifier to provide the sound of his solid strumming.  Frank Funaro was behind the drums just off to the right of the middle and Victor Krummacher was on bass with an Ampeg rig just to the right of the drums. Finally, Jonathan Segal was to the far right with his violin set up.  Lowrey seemed to refer frequently to an Apple laptop he had set up on a music stand just to the right of the mic. Likely, he was referring to the first line of the song or chords and then took off from there. I can give Lowery some slack here as Camper Van Beethoven broke up in 1990 and has only toured briefly during this decade after reforming in 2004.

Lowery thanked everyone for coming and mentioned that the last time the band was in St. Louis it was extremely cold outside too. Their set lasted about an hour and consisted of both instrumentals and regular songs and very little stage banter. The set was solid and

After Camper Van Beethoven finished there was a short break and slight stage teardown. Segal moved his gear off the stage, Lisher put his stowed his gear, and the guitar techs fiddled with things between sets. During this time we found that another one of our friends, Bart, whom I have known since 1993 was also at the show.  He and I went to see Cracker and Counting Crows when they played at Mississippi Nights in February 1994.  He came down to the floor so we stood with him and his friend Jason who he brought along to the show.

Within a few minutes Cracker came out to play their set. Johnny Hickman took stage left where Greg Lisher had been. Lisher's set up was left on the stage, however, Hickman was using his own Gibson Les Paul and a Fender/Marshall combo.  David Lowery again took the middle of the stage. Frank Funaro was situated behind the drums once more and finally Sal Maglia took over on the Fender Precision Bass backed by the same Ampeg rig.

Touring behind their new album Sunrise In The Land Of Milk And Honey, Cracker did a relatively even show with their back catalog that now spans ten albums. There was a little more banter from Lowery during the Cracker set.  He told the crowd about their trip to Iraq to play for the troops (see a tidbit here) and also talked about the things that people shout out from the audience during shows. The part about a 70 plus year old woman yelling "play the whore song" in reference to "Euro Trash Girl" was particularly hilarious. Hickman's guitar playing and background vocals were especially strong as Cracker ripped through a 16 song set with a two song encore.

Both bands played a good sampling of their albums and sounded nice and tight for both sets. Although I would have liked to hear "Teen Angst" or "Mister Wrong" from Cracker and "Ambiguity Song" or "Where The Hell Is Bill?" from Camper Van Beethoven, both of the sets were very good. Besides that we just had a few beers, laughs and good times among old friends. Good to get out of the house...even on a night like this.

For more on Cracker see this interview that Matt Wardlaw of Addicted To Vinyl did with David Lowery and was published in last week's Riverfront Times.

Setlists

Camper Van Beethoven

Waka
Turquoise Jewelry
Skinhead Stomp
Tania
Eye Of Fatima
All Her Favorite Fruit
Sweethearts
Joe Stalin's Cadillac
Unabomber
Take The Skinheads Bowling
White Riot (The Clash cover)
Wasted (Black Flag cover)
Shut Us Down
R 'n R Uzbekistan
She Divines Water
Might Makes Right
L'Aguardiente
New Roman Times
Pictures of Matchstick Men (Status Quo cover)

Cracker

Friends
Yalla Yalla
(Banter: about trip to Iraq)
One Fine Day
Gimme One More Chance
How Can I Live Without You
Get Off This/fach the slice
Wedding Day
Lonesome Johnny Blues
(Banter: Things Audience Members Shout Out)
Euro Trash Girl
Happy Birthday To Me
Waiting For You Girl
Hey Bret (You Know What Time It Is)
Man In Me
Sweet Potato
This Is Cracker Soul
Low

Encore:
Turn On Tune In, Drop Out With Me
Shake Some Action (Rare track from the "Clueless" soundtrack)

Create Your Own Concert w/ John Fogerty

John Fogerty is headlining a concert that airs on PBS on November 7.  In itself that is good news for me since I have been a fan of his since I began listening to my parents collection of Creedence Clearwater Revival records over 25 years ago. Called "Live By Request", this show allows fans to pick the setlist Fogerty is going to play.  As a precursor to the show, PBS allowed fans to write in questions to ask Fogerty prior to the show. In case you're interested he answers those questions here.

I applaud Fogerty for agreeing to try something different; a little outside his comfort zone. The road can't be easy out there...

As technology and the music industry progresses, musicians seem to be getting more creative and interactive with their fans.  This is especially true of veteran artists that have been in the industry for 25 to 40 years.  A couple of years ago John Mellencamp introduced a new song in a Chevrolet truck commercial.  On his current tour Bruce Springsteen set aside part of the setlist and allowed fans to bring signs to his shows as a request portion of the show.  He and other artists have also been playing live shows featuring songs comprising full albums of their material. This month Tom Waits announced his new live album from last year's Glitter and Doom tour on Facebook and Twitter.  (Side note: My wife and I were lucky enough to see this show at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, MO and it was incredible!)  Waits and his current label, Anti, is even allowing a free download a preview of the album here.  This Fall Bob Dylan has released a Christmas album and included a previously unreleased outtake, a song called "California" from his classic album Bringing It All Back Home (1965) on a soundtrack to the CBS drama NCIS.

As radio gets more compartmentalized and segmented (Sirius and XM are guilty here) artists have had to get more adept at promoting their current project.  I find it interesting and sometimes fascinating to see which avenue they take to get the music to their fans. Years ago those committed to a particular artist would have called this selling out.  However, now artists must find new ways to reach their audience through all the static. I don't envy them. Believe me there's a lot of static out there!

Here in St. Louis you have to tune in a non-profit, community radio station KDHX 88.1 FM to get a lot of the new music by new artists and established artists. The Classic Rock station KIHT won't play much past 1990 - focusing mostly. The eternal Rock station KSHE plays new and old songs, but doesn't seem to embrace new songs by established artists.  Other than that St. Louis has two stations that seem to play 60's, 70's, and 80's hits - KLOU and WARH.

The only other station that really gets it for my money is in Chicago - WXRT - too bad I can't pick that up 300 miles south in my car.

Artists have been complaining about radio for a while, including three of my favorites...

Elvis Costello


Tom Petty


Finally, watch the video for "Radio Nowhere" by Bruce Springsteen here

Camper Van Beethoven / Cracker

My friend Tom texted me yesterday excited that Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker were touring and playing a show in St. Louis on January 8th.  I had seen this in an e-mail the previous week, but hadn't done much about it yet.  My boss and I talked about it last Friday but dropped the subject quickly.

Weirdly enough just before Tom texted me, my boss received a text from his friend about the show too. The show was back on my mind again. I texted Tom back and asked how much and he replied they were having a special until Friday and if you bought 3, you got one free.  I checked The Pageant site and found tickets were priced at $20.  With this deal the tickets would be $15 each + miscellaneous charges.

Count me in!

I haven't seen Cracker play since a very chilly February night in 1993 when I saw them at Mississippi Nights with Counting Crows as the opener.  After hearing good things about their recent shows from my friends, I wanted to see Cracker the last couple of times they played at Blueberry Hill, but just never got there.

The balcony is closed for the show so it should be a little bit more intimate than usual.

Should be a great show! I concur with Tom's sentiments - "Looking forward"

LIVE - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band

Last night I saw my third Bruce Springsteen concert!

While I cannot say that I have seen a bad Springsteen show, the band seemed to start out a little flat for "Wrecking Ball" and "Seeds."  I was confused by the choice of "Wrecking Ball" for the first song in the set.  The band had been playing the song "Wrecking Ball" because they had just done a run of shows at Giants Stadium and the Spetrum in Philadelphia - both venues slated for the scrap heap. However, the Scottrade Center in St. Louis is only 15 years old and not ready for demolition anytime soon.  Maybe Springsteen felt that the venue should be torn down or just felt that he and the band respectively had written and worked on this new song so much that they were going to play it again to see how it played in the Midwest. What's the old saying - "if it plays in Peoria it will play anywhere!"  According to Springsteen's written setlist posted on his website, the first five songs before launching into Born To Run were going to be:

1. Prove It All Night
2. Working On The Highway
3. What Love Can Do
4. Hungry Heart
5. Working On A Dream

"Wrecking Ball" was going to be played as the first song of the encore. I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out Springsteen's audible here. Nevertheless, the original setlist opening was recreated and "What Love Can Do" was eschued altogether. By the time the band picked it up for "Prove It All Night", then "Hungry Heart", then "Working On A Dream" it was time to start the Born To Run portion of the night. My point to Mary on the ride home was that the album should be at the beginning or end of the main set and then take a break and move into rest of the set.

The Born To Run portion of the show was a highlight and the version of "Jungleland" was especially good.
However, as my friend Rob pointed out after the show the band played enough material after the album that you almost forgot about this landmark song cycle in the midddle of the set. He was right.

I think there were a couple of reasons for the disappointment:

1. Personal expectations set too high. Put simply - last year's show was amazing! It's hard to top your first E Street Band show and with that setlist. Many were calling the 2008 St. Louis date the show of the tour. I had a hard time comparing that statement until now.
2. Our seats were in the mezzanine aboug half way up on stage left and there was a metal gate/bar running down the length of the row. We sat down for most of the show. We had a good vantage point of the stage, but we could barely see one of the screens and some of the guitar sounds were grating. We were in the lower bowl last year. We had more room, got up and danced more and generally had a much better time.
3. Even though he didn't play a lot of songs from Working On A Dream, I thought that Magic was a better album and mixed better with his older material.

Highlights included hearing "Prove It All Night" and "The Promised Land" as both are favorites from Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Hearing another Chuck Berry cover is always a treat and the only way you could top "Rosalita" as a show closer would be possibly "Thundercrack". Overall this was a good show and I'm glad that we went, but I'm interested to see what's next for Bruce as it seems that the E Street Band is going to take a break. I think I would welcome another solo tour and a chance to see him at a smaller venue again.

Setlist
October 25, 2009 - Scottrade Center - St. Louis, MO

Wrecking Ball
Seeds
Prove It All Night
Hungry Heart
Working On A Dream
Thunder Road
Tenth Avenue Freeze-out (with Curt Ramm)
Night
Backstreets
Born To Run
She's The One
Meeting Across The River (with Curt Ramm)
Jungleland
Waitin' On A Sunny Day
Working On The Highway
The Promised Land
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Badlands
No Surrender

***Encore***
For You (solo piano)
Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry cover)
Surprise, Surprise
Detroit Medley
American Land
Dancing In The Dark
Rosalita (with Curt Ramm)

Compare last night's show to the set from 2008 - even with the highlights and Born To Run - not even close. The songs in bold are different from the songs he played this time around.

Setlist
August 2008 - Scottrade Center - St. Louis, MO
Then She Kissed Me
Radio Nowhere
Out In The Street
Adam Raised A Cain
Spirit In The Night
Rendezvous
For You
Mountain Of Love
Backstreets
Gypsy Biker
Because The Night
Not Fade Away/She's The One
Livin' In The Future
Cover Me
Mary's Place
Drive All Night
The Rising
Last To Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands

* * *Encore***
Girls In Their Summer Clothes
Jungleland
Detroit Medley
Born To Run
Dancing In The Dark
American Land
Thunder Road
Little Queenie
Twist And Shout

First Bruce Springsteen show!

I finally saw my first Bruce Springsteen show on Saturday night! The show was great and worth the $87.50 we had to shell out for the tickets even though we were sitting about halfway up in the balcony. The only drawback was he didn't show up until 8:20, almost a full hour after the show was supposed to start. The show still went for like 2 hours 20 minutes so you didn't feel like you didn't get your money's worth. There was a huge will call line when we walked up and apparently they postponed the start to the show to get everyone inside. This made Bruce look a little bad because the tickets came with a note saying that the show would start promptly at 7:30 p.m. and no drinks would be sold 10 minutes prior to beginning. People started yelling and clapping for him to come out but the ushers in our section said the delay was due to the long line outside. The line had something to do with the VIP tickets and avoiding scalping and the lack of windows at the venue.

The stage set up was very sparing with only a half circle of monitors in front of the microphone stand at the front of the stage. A grand piano was placed about a 1/3 of the way back with the front facing the left front corner of the stage. A small electric organ was placed at a 90 degree angle from the piano keyboard so he could sit on the same bench to play both. There some simple candelabra-like chandeliers hanging from the rigging and some opaque drapery hung from the rigging and draped to the stage. The lighting was simple and yet emotive. They used the drapery to project lights onto, and also back lighting from the sides and back of the stage. There was also to large video screens on either side of the stage with close ups of his face and hands during the songs.

When he walked out he strode up to the microphone and asked the crowd if he could get as much quiet possible during the set and therefore set the tone for the evening. The crowd seemed to adhere to his request for quiet during the show. The crowd was very respectful of this request and stayed restrained to roars of applause after the songs. I was actually pretty impressed with the crowd during the show. There were a few outbursts but no one singing along (above a whisper that is) and limited amounts of clapping during the songs.
He even mentioned the beauty of the Fox Theatre and remembered being there during The Ghost of Tom Joad tour in 1996 and how lucky St. Louis is to have a venue like that.


He started the show with "Back In Your Arms" on the electric organ from Tunnel of Love. This was not the beginning I was expecting but a good start nonetheless. I had expected him to come out playing something on guitar first, but that must have been too obvious.

When he played "Reason To Believe" next it sounded like he was singing and playing harmonica through on old antique radio or bullhorn, and a drum beat was made by his foot stomping a beat on the stage. His boot had to have been miked or something and it made the whole vibe very powerful as it sounded like a giant pounding on the stage. The song had an edgy, gritty, sexy, and pulsating blues sound that the version on Nebraska could never emulate! The song left you wondering, "How'd he do that??" after it ended and to be honest, I never recognized what song he had played until I saw it on the setlist after the show. After the song I asked, "Where's Tom Waits?" there was that sort of feel.

He played "Devils and Dust" and "Black Cowboys“ from the new Devils And Dust album next on guitar and both were true to their sound on the album. Being both new songs there is not a lot of new interpretation here.

Before he played "Long Time Comin'," from Devils And Dust, he mentioned that they had their first teenage party recently, likely his oldest son Evan, he said, "It went over good, once we got rid of the drugs," and the audience laughed. Then he said, "No, they were MY drugs!." That elicited more laughs, then he said, "No, I've never done drugs but I've been thinking about starting, hell I've made it this far, what have I got to lose?" He did a good job playing this song on guitar as it's one of my favorites from the new album. After he played "Long Time Comin'" he made some comments about the line "I won't fuck it up again." He said, "Maybe I should've made that line – this time I won't fuck it up TOO bad, or I'll TRY not to fuck it up, after the most recent predicament I've gotten myself into."

It was back to the electric organ for "County Fair" an outtake on the 3rd disc of the Essential Bruce Springsteen compilation. I recognized it right away, but mistook it for a song on The River because it has that vibe. Bruce actually forgot the lines after getting thru the first stanza the song! This was hilarious and he had the whole place cracking up. He was singing, and he stops and says, "Fuck that's not right." He then tried to figure out the lines going over the lyrics on top of the organ and he says, "Oh well I'll just go to the chorus." So he just kept moving and finished the song. That was the most hilarious moment of the night, by far. The song's sentimental lyrics aren't poetic or cerebral, but this song does bring some up emotions - for people with a Midwestern upbringing the lyrics make you think of summer nights in your hometown.

Next up was "The River"....This was a highlight for me because it is a song I love and a perfect transition. He was at the piano for the first time during the evening. He had some great piano chops, but I'll admit, I missed the classic introduction with the harmonica. Nevertheless, a great version of the song, reminiscent of the version that is on the Live/1975-1985 box set

At this point in the show he mentioned the recent European swing in the tour. He mentioned that he was telling the European audiences about the debates between men and monkeys here in America. He said something to the effect of we know where the men are and where the monkey is - an obvious reference to our leader at the White House. Then he said, "Don't applaud for that it feels like I'm preaching to the converted." He mentioned the Scopes Monkey Trial and discussing that on the road and just before he played the song he said that "it's good to be back home" and then played "Part Man, Part Monkey" from the Tracks box set. He used a cool, beautiful Gretch hollow body guitar with lots of tremolo on this song

"All the Way Home" was next this song is my favorite on Devils and Dust, but it is much better live. Bruce's guitar work here was amazing this was one of the faster songs during the evening.

Going into the show I figured he would play something from Nebraska and the second song he pulled out was "Highway Patrolman." At the time I didn’t know that because I had not recognized “Reason To Believe.” He played this one on guitar and this version was close to the album version. This is also a nice song to play in the Midwest with the references to dropping wheat prices, the importance of family, and taking a job out of necessity to feed the family.

“Reno” was the next song and he played a straightforward version. This is my least favorite song on Devils And Dust. He made no mention of the explicit lyrics in the song and just started playing.

Bruce was back at the electric organ for “Nothing Man” from The Rising. This song is one of my favorites from that album and he did a great job with this on the keyboard. During the part where he did the do do do do do do – he sang them very high and it was a nice touch.

By far the highlight of the evening came when he played "Backstreets" from the classic Born To Run. Apparently the back story was that some fans at the previous show in Grand Rapids, MI asked for him to play this song and he used it for soundcheck there. He asked before the song if Bobby and his dad had made it into the show. Before he started the song he said, "I'm going to take a swing at this thing," he said as he sat down at the piano without naming the song and noted, “I've never played this by myself before and I never will again, so any missed notes are SUPPOSED to be that way!" (laughs) "I'm sure I'll fuck it up." Then he said, "All right, all right, let me prepare," then briefly went "ommmm," laughed and struck the opening notes familiar to the fans. He played the piano much like Roy Bittan on this one and didn't seem to hesitate once. This song received the biggest round of applause afterwards. I really hope this one ends up on a live album or something – a great version!

Next up he played the title track from The Rising. Whether with the full band or with just a guitar, this song is very powerful. The experience of just the voice and guitar made it seem more powerful. The lighting was even emotional because the spotlight was turned off from the front and a spotlight directly behind his head was shining toward the crowd. My thought the light gave an effect of the emergency lights in a smoky staircase or even the narrator in the song speaking from heaven – this hit me especially during the first lines of the song. He did all of the backing vocals at the end of the song as well.

He pulled out a 12 string guitar for the title track from Lucky Town. This is not a favorite song of mine but I liked his guitar work. The mix was too high on the guitar and his lyrics were nearly impossible to hear.

Bruce played the piano for “Jesus Was An Only Son.” He spoke before the song about growing up on his street with many family members living in the houses along that street. From the way he described it the majority of his family lived on this one street in about 5 or 6 houses. He then mentioned his though process for the song and how Jesus could own a bar and Mary Magdalene could tend bar and what kind of responsibilities he has as an only son and the consequences of his actions. He also made a mention before the song when speaking about Adam & Eve and the tree, and he says, "God KNEW we'd do it! How many times could they walk around it? That temptation NEVER goes away."

Here he played a version of “Two Hearts” from The River that varied from the original not in intensity but in the way it was played on guitar. The song was hard to recognize at first, but by the time he got to the chorus I had figured it out.

He ended the regular segment of the show with “The Hitter” and “Matamoros Banks” and both were close to the versions on Devils And Dust. He walked off stage very briefly after that, but came back within a minute or so and started the encore.

The encore started with, “Cynthia,” a rare track from the Tracks box set. This version was much better than the original with the tinge of 1980's keyboards and production.

The oldest song he played during the evening was "Wild Billy's Circus Song" from The Wild, The Innocent, & The E Street Shuffle. He used the organ again on this song and this worked great with the circus and boardwalk imagery he uses in the lyrics. Another song that I didn't recognize at the time he played it, but once I listened to the album I remembered it.

The song he chose to play from The Ghost of Tom Joad was the final track, "My Best Was Never Good Enough." He sang this song with a lot of emotion almost like he is paying for some sort of sin right now.

“The Promised Land” from Darkness On The Edge Of Town. He played this very different from the original, but different is sometimes good. He used a guitar but didn't really strum it at all. He would hit the bridge and you could hear the strings ring and the sound from the acoustic chamber of the guitar.

"Dream Baby Dream" - Springsteen has closed all of his shows since May 11, 2005 with an extraordinary cover of "Dream Baby Dream." According to Nick Hornby this is an old song by the scary punk-era experimental duo Suicide. He played the majority of the song on the organ and then he got some kind of echoed loop going out of his pump-organ and strolled around the stage singing and repeating the song's disconnected phrases; there were no beats, of course, but it was as hypnotic and hymnal. Hornby asked Springsteen about this song in an interview from July 17, 2005 posted on www.brucespringsteen.net/:

NH: How did that Suicide thing come about?

BS: I met Alan [Vega] in the late Seventies. I was just a fan. I liked them, they were unique. They're very dreamy, they have a dreamy quality, and they were also incredibly atmospheric and were going were others weren't. I just enjoyed them a lot. I happened to hear that song recently, I came across a compilation that it was on and it's very different at the end of the night. It's just those few phrases repeated, very mantra-like.

NH: It's especially striking in a show that's built almost exclusively on narrative.

BS: Right, but it's the fundamental idea behind all of the songs anyway (Laughs) It's just a different moment at the end of the night, where you go to some of the same places with virtually very few words. I like narrative storytelling as being part of a tradition, a folk tradition. But this envelops the night. It's interesting watching people's faces. They look very different while that's happening. It's a look of some surprise, and that's part of what I set the night up for - unconventional pieces at the top to surprise the audience and to also make them aware that it's not going to be a regular night. It's going to be a night of all different things and the ritualistic aspect of the night is dispelled. As long as it's not something that I've done before ...

His mood of the evening was mostly somber except when he was telling stories and cracking himself up. He really never looked up at the crowd much, even when he was shaking hands with the front row at the end; he kind of kept his eyes down.

In the interview Hornby asks Springsteen about his choice of material on this tour and mentions that he has not played many songs from the first 4 albums. Springsteen's response was that, "My only general rule was to steer away from things I played with the band over the past couple of tours." That's why I cherished some of the obscure songs he played. I thought that he did a great job of playing songs that spanned his entire career. The only albums he didn't touch on were Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., Born In The U.S.A., and Human Touch. He didn't play the greatest hits, but he did pull from his bag of memorable songs and that's what I had expected all along. I'm ready to go again.

Bruce Springsteen

Setlist
Fox Theatre
St. Louis, Missouri
August 6, 2005

1. Back In Your Arms
2. Reason To Believe
3. Devils And Dust
4. Black Cowboys
5. Long Time Comin'
6. County Fair
7. The River
8. Part Man Part Monkey
9. All The Way Home
10. Highway Patrolman
11. Reno
12. Nothing Man
13. Backstreets
14. The Rising
15. Lucky Town
16. Jesus Was An Only Son
17. Two Hearts
18. The Hitter
19. Matamoros Banks

(encore)
20. Cynthia
21. Wild Billy's Circus Song
22. My Best Was Never Good Enough
23. The Promised Land
24. Dream Baby Dream (Suicide cover)