Lush live at The Showbox Theater - Seattle, WA - April 20th, 2016

(from the It Was 20 Years Ago Today department)

Hi everyone,

Well - I never thought I'd be typing this again - but I just saw Lush live in concert.

I've spent a lot of time with this band throughout the years.  The band members are roughly my age, and I remember buying their early EPs and thinking "These guys are amazing" and also "I think I can play some of these songs".  Early band lineups of mine did include covers of "For Love" from their sophomore album "Spooky".

Also - they were huge fans of Wire.  They covered "Outdoor Miner" on one of their EPs, which I thought was a great version.  And we both covered versions of Wire's "Mannequin" - although their cover was much more famous than mine.

I remember seeing one of their early Seattle shows at a small nightclub called "...the weathered wall".  According to Miki's notes, this was roughly June 1994.

I saw them once more, in 1996, then, sadly, it was all over.

Flash forward to this year when the remaining members got together and decided to try something.  The results were a new EP - Blind Spot - and a tour.

They were supposed to play a number of gigs prior to Seattle, but visa issues kept them out of the country.  We ended up being the first U.S. show - Miki even mentioned that they had basically just got off the plane.

They were amazing:

I even managed to capture a couple of songs on video:  "For Love" and "Monochrome".  Here's "For Love":

Monochrome was a complete surprise.  The band had done the three song "obligatory encore" and left the stage.  The house lights had come up, and they started playing exit music.  However - we were having none of that.  We cheered and clapped so long that Lush came back on stage and played a true encore.  You'll hear Miki mention at the start of the clip that "this really is the last one" - they weren't kidding.  Sadly, the Showbox had a hard 11:00 PM curfew, so that was literally the last song they could play.  Here's "Monochrome":

As Miki said at the end, "must go - slightly tearing up".  Indeed.  All in all, an amazing night.

Cheers,
Paul

Leonard Cohen and the Fresh Beat Band - Live In Concert!

(from the Improbable Double Bill department)

Hi everyone,

We went to see two concerts this weekend.  The first was Leonard Cohen at the Key Arena, on Friday, November 9th.  We had amazing seats - here's a few phone photos:

Leonard was in fine form - he joked early on that he was hoping to continue to tour for a few more years - and was really looking forward to turning 80 when he could start smoking again.  He then said - paraphrasing - that although he was hoping to tour for a number of years - the future is uncertain, so they were going to put on the best show they were capable of, just in case.  And he did: The show started at 8:00 PM prompt, and didn't get out until 11:45 PM, with one intermission.  That's pretty amazing for somebody who's 78 years old! 

The next day, Saturday, November 10th - we took Rose up to Everett to see the Fresh Beat Band live in concert:

At one point, two of the members of the band came into the audience to give high fives to the kids.  Dana picked up Rose and lifted her up - and she got to high five her hero Twist!  She was beaming after that.  They put on a great show too - not quite as serious as Leonard, mind you - but probably more enjoyable for the kids!

Cheers,
Paul

Steely Dan "Shuffle Diplomacy Tour 2011" July 2nd, 2011 Seattle

(from the Reelin' in the Years department)

Hi everyone,

I saw Steely Dan July 2nd at the WaMu theater in Seattle at the kickoff of their "Shuffle Diplomacy Tour 2011". They played a great set - nearly 2 hours of songs!

Here's the song titles I wrote down on my smartphone:

• Intro
• Your Gold Teeth
• Aja
• Hey Nineteen
• Green Earrings
• Everything Must Go
• Night By Night
• Time Out Of Mind
• Godwhacker
• Show Biz Kids
• (You Got) The Bear (Aja outtake)
• Dirty Work
• Neighbor's Daughter (Band Intro)
• Do It Again
• Josie
• Peg
• Reelin' In The Years
• Bodhisattva
  -- Encore Break --
• Kid Charlemagne
• Outro

Setlist notes:

The Intro and the Outro were the band - nicknamed the Miles High Big Band - playing without Donald & Walter and the backup singers. (The backup singers had their own nickname - The Embassy Brats.)

I'm not sure of the name of the songs that were played for the Intro and the Outro - they were instrumentals. According to one setlist they were Dizzy's Bidness and Last Tango In Paris, respectively.

(You Got) The Bear and Neighbor's Daughter are tracks that haven't been officially released - the titles are my best guess looking on the Internet and some of the Steely Dan databases. It's my recollection that Donald said The Bear was an Aja outtake. One setlist mentioned that Neighbor's Daughter is a Lee Dorsey cover.

Your Gold Teeth is the first version on Countdown To Ecstasy, not the "sequel" on Katy Lied.

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. I also got this cool coffee mug:

Imogen Heap in concert - June 14, 2010 - Paramount Theater, Seattle, WA

(from the Hide and Seek department)

Hi everyone,

Just got out of the Imogen Heap concert at the Paramount in Seattle. Great show! She had three opening acts - two bands were comprised of members of her touring band, plus a group of people she'd auditioned especially in Seattle for an a cappella number.

So - here's the setlist:

1. The Walk
   
2. Swoon
3. Come Here Boy
4. Wait It Out
5. First Train Home
6. Little Bird
7. The Fire/Canvas
8. Breathe In (Frou Frou!)
9. Earth
10. (Seattle Improv)
11. Bad Body Double
12. Speeding Cars
13. Let Go (Frou Frou again!)
14. Just For Now
15. Clear The Area
16. Goodnight And Go
17. Headlock
    (non-encore encore)
    
18. Tidal
19. The Moment I Said It
20. Hide And Seek

She said that 12 of the songs were from an online poll, including #15, which was unique. Just For Now was a crowd sing-a-long, dividing the audience into three sections. Earth featured a Seattle a cappella group, Sintonia, that had formed just for the show, and were also the first opening act.

The other opening acts were Geese, who were the two violinists in her touring band + the drummer, and Ben Christophers, who was her guitarist. Imogen introduced each act. The whole opening sets took about an hour, give or take. (7:38 - 8:46). Imogen went on at 9:10 or so - ended at 11:30.

Seattle Improv is a song she wrote on the spot, based on audience suggestions.

Yes - she played a couple of Frou Frou songs, which I wasn't expecting.

She mentioned that one song was about her professor, and that she told that story one night - and was mortified to discover he was in the audience that night.

Started First Train Home by playing two wine glasses (w/lemon) wearing wrist microphones. Said that's the first sound you hear on Ellipse.

(Okay - I'm tired so I'm going to have to edit this post more tomorrow)

Cheers,
Paul

Jawbox on Fallon!!!!!

(from the Jimmy Fallon Did A Good Thing department)

Hi everyone

I'm almost crying - I admit it. Jawbox was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night - 8-Dec-2009. I never thought I'd ever see or hear these guys again. I saw them just once - right before they broke up - at the Miller Community Center, Seattle, WA - 24-July-1996.

Apparently - this is it, too. Just this one performance - no reunion, no new album - nothing else. They're making this one-off appearance in honor of the (long overdue) re-release/re-master of "For Your Own Special Sweetheart".

I'm too emotional to talk about it right now. Just posting the clips.

Cheers,
Paul

P.S. More info is on their own DeSoto records website: http://www.desotorecords.com/news/index.shtml


Savory - from the on-air performance:


68 - from the rehearsal:


FF=66 - from the rehearsal:

Steely Dan @ the Chateau St. Michelle winery 30-Jul-2008

(from the They got the Chevrolet Bodies, they got the Steely Dan T-shirts department)

I saw Steely Dan at the Chateau St. Michelle winery in Woodinville last night. It was a great show - well worth seeing, even if you're not a big fan o' the Dan.

They're playing again tonight and in the interests of comparison, here's the set list they played last night.

Steely Dan setlist @ Chateau St. Michelle Winery in Woodinville, WA on Wednesday 30-Jul-2008:

• 1. Instrumental Medley - including parts of the Fez
• 2. The Royal Scam
• 3. I Got The News
• 4. Show Biz Kids
• 5. Everything You Did
• 6. Two Against Nature
• 7. Hey Nineteen
• 8. Godwhacker
• 9. New Frontier (from Donald Fagan's The Nightfly)
• 10. Gaucho (lead vocal Walter Becker)
• 11. Home At Last
• 12. Parker's Band
• 13. Black Friday
• 14. Josie
• 15. Aja
• 16. (not sure)
• 17. Peg

At this point, I had to head home to get Rose to bed. I'd love to know what the last few songs were.

UPDATE: The last few songs were (thanks Phil!)

• 18. Kid Charlemagne
• 19. Don't Take Me Alive
• 20. FM

UPDATE 2: The #1 instrumental medley might have possibly been a blend of Everyone's Gone To The Movies + The Fez. Other setlists from this tour indicate that this is was what they were opening with.

Additionally, #16 might have been a cover of the Supremes' "Love Is Like An Itchin' In My Heart", which they played the night before, according to a setlist I found here that looks very similar.

Cheers,
Paul