A Night At The Bowl, or Preamble To Insanity...

In and of itself, a night at the Hollywood Bowl in the company of No Age, Sonic Youth, and Pavement sounds like a quaint time with fun for all...But dialing back and looking at the big picture, it represented the first shots fired of an incredible weekend, for it had the good grace to occupy that spot on the calender right before 'The Lost Weekend', Matador Records celebration of its 21st anniversary, at the Palms in Las Vegas.

The next three installments will take care of that action, so now we'll just focus on the matter at hand...

Up first, Los Angeles' own No Age, Dean and Randy making the leap to the big stage with an extra added member wielding samples and adding some extra ooomph to their sound. If you need to do a little compare and contrast, head back to the Coachella 2009 wrapup, and see how they controlled the tent.
Bolstered by songs from their new album: 'Everything In Between', No Age kicked off the proceedings in style, adding depth to their sound without sacrificing its quirkiness, as well as laying the table for the likes of a noisefest the Bowl has probably never witnessed.

In the absence of Pavement being on the road, Sonic Youth absconded with their bass player Mark Ibold, allowing Kim Gordon to move over to guitar and add another dimension to their sound. (see January 2010, Wiltern Theater, LA report for more details) The question was, would Ibold do double duty? Fortunately, (for him) that was not to be...

From the first quivering notes of "Candle", (below), Sonic Youth had the crowd in thrall. It was but the opening salvo in a three song barrage from 'Daydream Nation', (also: "Sprawl" & "'Cross The Breeze"), that set the tone for a trip into the deepest and noisiest recesses of their catalogue. Quartet style, they dropped DN's "Hey Joni", before heading back to "Death Valley 69", and 'EVOL's' "Kiss Me In The Shadow", after which Kim Gordon noted drily: "Thanks a lot, we're Pavement from Sacremento". They finished the set with "White Cross", leaving no doubt as to their undiminished power.

Pavement is on the final lap of its reunion/victory lap around the world, and given their spotty history as a live act, it's been a revelation to see these performances. Pavement played to the strengths of their catalogue and delivered a rousing set that leaned heavily on 'Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain' and 'Brighten The Corners'. Bob Nastanovich made the journey along the pool circle wall out into the masses during "Unfair", and the band peaked during a three song arc of: "Stereo", "Stop Breathin'", and "Range Life", (latter below), before finishing with a heartwarming "Here". A satisfying end to a run that defied the normal reunion expectations...

Thanks out to the L.A. Philharmonic, for going way out on a limb with this show...It is appreciated.

'08 cleanup, pt I: best shows...

Akkk, it’s already February, and I still haven’t cleaned up last year…Live shows started out on the down, having to miss Coachella for the first time in five years, but after a quiet summer (dodging fires), I made up for it with a vengeance in the fall…
In order, the best shows I saw last year:




#3) RADIOHEAD, Santa Barbara County Bowl, August
Finishing off a two stage US tour at the smallest venue right in my backyard, what’s to complain about? Most years this would have been THE show, hands down, and it speaks to the others that it wasn’t. Tour sharpened, and obviously smelling the finish line, Yorke & co. rocked with a vengeance, surpassing their previous two night stand here years ago…fun trivia, NPR offers a podcast of this show free, so hear for yourself…



#2) NICK CAVE & BAD SEEDS, Hollywood Bowl, September
Crisp fall night at the granddaddy of them all with a bill that didn’t stint on value for the dollar: opening w/Cat Power followed by Spiritualized, making way for the big man himself…the Bad Seeds were razor sharp, and the setlist spanned his whole career…highlights included a vicious reading of ‘The Mercy Seat” from ‘Tender Prey’.
But the spotlight was on the man himself…when the book is written on stage presence, he will have his own little chapter, all to himself. Absolutely galvanizing…by the second song I just started laughing, it was so ridiculous.
The vision that came to mind was not music, but Samuel L. Jackson, in the scene near the end of 'Pulp Fiction' where he reclaims his wallet from Tim Roth's character...("it's the one that says bad ass m@#$@$r")...a man in such complete control of his craft.
As fate would have it, not long after this show, Mick Harvey, Cave's right hand man of 25 years, decided to retire from the band...his fiery counterpoints throughout the night now take on the patina of epitah...



#1) MY BLOODY VALENTINE, Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, October
What do you do when your dreams come true? More than I ever could have hoped, (and had given up hoping for), My Bloody Valentine returned to the states for the first time in 15 years, and picked up right where they left off, in a hazy narcotic swirl of harmonies and feedback. Noise, glorious noise.
The story to date: in the early nineties, MBV solidified their lineup, dribbled out a few EP’s, one album, then unleashed ‘Loveless’, their masterpiece…then promptly disappeared for a decade and a half. Guitarist Kevin Shields made some guest appearances, did some soundtrack work (Lost In Translation), and signed to Island, only to record & scrap a record, slave to his perfectionist tendencies…
Then, an appearance was announced at ATP in NY, and fortunately, before I could buy a plane ticket, a short tour was booked, ending in LA.
And, so, one would say, it ended on a high note…
The set drew heavily on ‘Loveless’, with a smattering of ‘Isn’t Anything’…Belinda Butcher was captivating, and Shields stayed out of the spots, letting his guitar communicate…
And what has now passed into legend, the climactic ‘You Made Me Realize’, a couple of quick choruses, then into a 17 minute lockdown feedback frenzy, that chased the weak and earplugless from the floor, reduced the rest into grinning idiots, and even from the seats at the top of the auditorium grew into a vibrating shimmering thing that you could feel.
My only description to those not there would be to imagine laying down on a runway at LAX & having a plane take off over you;)))
…then back into a triumphant chorus, and goodnight & goodbye America…