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Post by Djse (and a Sack of Cats) on Jul 1, 2022 10:19:35 GMT -5
I went to day 1 of Northwest Terror Fest yesterday and did not die. The festival is definitely different than it has been in years past. They've got the schedule staggered between two venues in the same building - Neumos (upstairs, the big stage) and Barboza (downstairs, more like a long hallway with a stage at the end). This year they're limiting the number of people who can get into Barboza at any given time, so even with a weekend pass I was unable to see most of the bands on that stage...which actually turned out fine as most of the bands I was excited to see were on the Neumos stage. Highlights included... - A massive funeral doom set from Un. I saw members of this band play this same stage as Samothrace years ago. Bone-shaking. - A "secret set" from Mortiferum, to make up for the fact that Vile Creature had to pull out due to "medical issues". - A 30-minute set from Mizmor, which will serve as something of a teaser for when I see them headline a show in August. - OBSEQUIAE. It's like power metal played by vikings and pirates, in all the best ways. Three guitars, and they actually need them all. I snagged the setlist off the stage after the show. - I ran into rimjobflashmob. He's doing well. He deleted all social media a while ago so it was a nice surprise to see him. - I also ran into Justin from Usnea, who broke his arm last week and had to pull out of a tour. Mend soon, sir. Things I would have changed... - I get the limits at Barboza but they should have made this more clear. NWTF is traditionally one of my favorite fests (I've gone every time they've held one) specifically because you could see every single band on the lineup without having to choose between two great bands at any point. This year I had to choose between losing my spot at the front of the Neumos stage so I could MAYBE get downstairs to see another band, and standing around for a half hour watching techs switch out gear and bands soundcheck (OK that part was pretty cool). Such is life in the new world. - Windhand. They usually put on a great set, but they just seemed off last night. It did not help that they had to follow Obsequiae. No, you cannot just drown off-night vocals in reverb and delay and magically make them sound good. - When they were letting us into the venue, they opened the doors a half our late, then were checking IDs, vax cards and tickets all at the same time at the front of the line. Thankfully someone had the brilliant idea to check IDs and vax cards in the line, so hopefully this will be smoother today. - The staggered sets between venues only really allow for 30 minute sets. For Mizmor that's like a song and a half. Coming up today... - Panopticon. - Other bands, but mostly Panopticon. - Probably something called Bombay Burger for lunch. Djshe went exploring yesterday.
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Post by Djse (and a Sack of Cats) on Jul 7, 2022 12:01:20 GMT -5
NWTF just posted this photo of Cartilage from Saturday. That's me up front with the hat. (Re-confirmed today that I did not get covid at a three-day indoor metal festival where maybe 5% of people wore masks, myself included.)
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LazBro
Prolific Poster
Posts: 10,049
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Post by LazBro on Jul 7, 2022 12:06:43 GMT -5
... - The staggered sets between venues only really allow for 30 minute sets. For Mizmor that's like a song and a half. ... Haha. Reminded me of a time I was standing in line outside a venue, and a bunch of band guys were nearby moving their equipment around. I heard one of them say, "Dude, they said we had to cut our set to 30 minutes, so now we can only play two songs."
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Post by Floyd D Barber on Aug 4, 2022 23:53:53 GMT -5
Bucket List Item!
Mrs. Floyd and I have tickets to see Willie Nelson at the state fair! The bullshit I had to go through to get them purchased would make a good rant in one of the anger threads, but we got 'em!
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Post by Prole Hole on Aug 13, 2022 2:41:55 GMT -5
The Abba hologram show in London is fucking incredible! More thoughts to come!
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Aug 15, 2022 15:52:05 GMT -5
After a sixteen-year absence since they've done a real tour, I finally got to see the Strokes again. It was probably less than forty-five minutes (they were opening for the Chili Peppers on their stadium tour) but it was about as good as it could be. Nothing off the mediocre Angles record nor the terrible Comedown Machine record. Aside from the two singles off the last album (which I liked but it's a distant fourth place finisher), some of the expected stuff off the classic first three but not too heavy on Is This It (which I love, but I kinda hate it when bands stick in the rut of dominating their setlist off their first album) plus some deeper cuts. I kinda wanted to leave afterwards because there was no way the Chili Peppers were going to top it (and they didn't).
After their set I got to do a pass-the-crowd handshake with Julian Casablancas and the grudge I've held against him for blowing off a fan meet-and-greet eight years ago is officially dead.
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Sept 1, 2022 18:48:07 GMT -5
Tom Petty's former lead guitarist Mike Campbell played the club the other night. I wasn't familiar with his solo material or his newest album but it sounded pretty good, heavier and a bit more jam rock-y than Tom Petty music. He waited until almost the end of the set (he was scheduled to play ninety minutes but did a full two hours) to pull out the classics, doing "Southern Accents" and "Even The Losers" (he also covered "Feel A Whole Lot Better" midset). It was not the show for people who just wanted to hear old Heartbreakers hits but from what I could tell most people didn't seem to mind too much (although those two songs did get the biggest reactions of the night).
A guy who came in told me the woman he was with was the actress from the "Yer So Bad" video. I looked it up later that night and tried to imagine thirty extra years on her and I guess he could have been telling the truth, but mostly because that would just be a really weird thing to lie about.
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Post by *Deep, Pained Sigh* on Oct 10, 2022 16:52:13 GMT -5
Just saw Lingua Ignota.
Probably the best show I've ever seen.
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Post by pantsgoblin on Oct 14, 2022 11:44:37 GMT -5
Just saw Lingua Ignota. Probably the best show I've ever seen. My brother-in-law is a multimedia artist who played a festival bill with her several years ago. He said all the other artists were in awe of her stage show.
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Post by ganews on Oct 15, 2022 22:48:30 GMT -5
Really glad I didn't pay for Arcade Fire tickets just so I could see a Beck acoustic set - he's dropped out of the tour. I still keep hope alive for ever seeing even one live performance of a song from Mutations.
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Oct 16, 2022 8:25:32 GMT -5
Really glad I didn't pay for Arcade Fire tickets just so I could see a Beck acoustic set - he's dropped out of the tour. I still keep hope alive for ever seeing even one live performance of a song from Mutations. Then you should have gone with me to see him in Detroit in 2014.
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Post by pantsgoblin on Oct 24, 2022 9:30:39 GMT -5
Spellling in Albuquerque. Pretty cool show and she is just a luminous stage presence. At first, I was skeptical of how huge her 6-person band was: guitarist, keyboardist, 5-string bass player, drummer, and 2 backup singers. However, she seems to be a performer like B.B. King who simply cannot sing and play her instrument simultaneously, plus her faintly absurd Billie Holliday-meets-Kate Bush voice needs heft behind it onstage. Particularly good is her guitarist who, despite looking like he should be playing in Porcupine Tree (yoga bun, sideburns), is a very talented soul guitar-player. Anyway, rock-solid set and she wisely saved her best song to date, " Little Deer", for the encore.
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Oct 27, 2022 15:54:32 GMT -5
Got to see Jonathan Richman play a very intimate gig at a record store last night. Best part of the night was probably when he told off the guy who interrupted him mid-story to ask him to play "Pablo Picasso" (he didn't).
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Post by Floyd D Barber on Oct 29, 2022 23:50:05 GMT -5
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repulsionist
TI Forumite
actively disinterested
Posts: 3,563
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Post by repulsionist on Nov 5, 2022 13:39:02 GMT -5
Saw Blood Incantation at a small club last night. Was fun to be out. Saw sex workers, drag queens, and revellers of the night on the walk to the club.
Once in the club, I saw all of 5 women, a bunch of smelly dudes in various shades of black. Many, many metal t-shirts.
Opening band did a sort of melodic death metal with, um, squeaky voice.
Second opener had their guitars tuned to Brujeria and the same-ish throb to all their songs, yes songs.
Blood Incantation clearly are well-practiced musicians. Tight. Excellent gear set up. Good performance of 8-10 songs.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Nov 12, 2022 20:15:47 GMT -5
I went to Elton John's Farewell Tour concert last night. Amusingly, I went to his concert here in 2019 when it was supposed to be the last ever show he played here. Turns out not to be the case. That 2019 show was at an 18K capacity arena. Last night and tonight he's sold out a 45K capacity stadium. I am therefore baffled by his team thinking that 18K arena show in 2019 should be his final concert here. Glad they reconsidered.
Traffic was a nightmare, the security check-in lines were maybe worse?
The concert itself was fantastic! I had been concerned about Elton's singing voice, considering how many shows he's done lately. Did not need to worry. He sounded great! Really great! I was so impressed! He had high energy. He performed the hell out of a setlist filled with awesome 1970s Elton John songs. I think there were a grand total of 2 80s songs in it.
The crowd was into it. This was a much more high energy, responsive crowd than the one in 2019. Maybe a function of living two years with COVID? There was huge range of ages in attendance. Some incredible costumes and eyewear in the crowd. Sparkly, glittery clothing EVERYWHERE.
Oh my goodness, it was so incredibly fun. The entire stadium crowd was standing and dancing by the end.
Thank you, Elton.
Really hope I do not get COVID from this.
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Post by King Charles’s Butterfly on Dec 27, 2022 14:39:04 GMT -5
Before Christmas I was able to go to one of the Chamber Society of New York’s annual performances of the Brandenburg Concertos, which was an amazing performance. It wasn’t close to being a Baroque period-style performance, which is fine (though I tend to like it in part because it was what I was semi-taught), but it wasn’t bogged down either. I adore the cello soloist Sihao He’s playing. It’s big and bright and clear without being fat. Fat makes sense for the romantics and early 20th century stuff. It has no place in Bach. It’s using the full capabilities of a modern instrument the right way.
Brandenburg 6 was a highlight. It’s usually my least favorite of them, that’s how good this was.
Back when I traveled for non-obligatory reasons more often I often tried to get a concert, usually something classical (if only because it’s quicker to navigate those listing). I’m so happy I had the chance to do that again.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Dec 27, 2022 18:12:35 GMT -5
Before Christmas I was able to go to one of the Chamber Society of New York’s annual performances of the Brandenburg Concertos, which was an amazing performance. It wasn’t close to being a Baroque period-style performance, which is fine (though I tend to like it in part because it was what I was semi-taught), but it wasn’t bogged down either. I adore the cello soloist Sihao He’s playing. It’s big and bright and clear without being fat. Fat makes sense for the romantics and early 20th century stuff. It has no place in Bach. It’s using the full capabilities of a modern instrument the right way. Brandenburg 6 was a highlight. It’s usually my least favorite of them, that’s how good this was. Back when I traveled for non-obligatory reasons more often I often tried to get a concert, usually something classical (if only because it’s quicker to navigate those listing). I’m so happy I had the chance to do that again. Nice! Yes, you can still get a great performance of Bach even if it isn't played on Baroque-period instruments. The players just need to understand Baroque technique, which this group surely would. We used to perform yearly Bach concerts at Christmas under our old Symphony conductor. I kinda miss it. We do still get a dose of Baroque music with the Messiah every year, but Handel is not the same as Bach.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Jan 27, 2023 12:09:51 GMT -5
I'm going to see Le Tigre at the Baltimore Soundstage on July 19, nearly 20 years after the last time I saw them play at Irving Plaza in Manhattan! I am so fucking pumped.
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Post by ganews on Feb 5, 2023 9:10:07 GMT -5
We went to a brewery in Virginia yesterday because local retiree (no way that more than one of the members is under 60) bluegrass band Big Howdy was playing. The brewery set up a small indoor stage in front of their giant vats. The acoustics were pretty terrible and most of the people were there for the beer and not paying attention, but the set was fun anyway. And they played my request for "Dim Lights, Thick Smoke, and Loud Loud Music".
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Post by Powerthirteen on Mar 2, 2023 17:47:13 GMT -5
That Springsteen fellow really, *really* knows how to put on a show.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Mar 11, 2023 0:39:46 GMT -5
Hmmmm, Keb' Mo is coming to town at the end of April. He's one of the Blues artists that I like but have never seen live. He's playing a great venue that is small, with great sound. Tickets are $45/$65. I'm really considering this one...
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Post by ganews on Mar 11, 2023 14:12:19 GMT -5
The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are here in early May. They were one of the those acts I assumed I would never get to see live in a good venue, so I overpayed for lawn seats at a lousy festival a decade ago. Looks like I will finally make my return to indoor crowds in a couple months.
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Mar 14, 2023 8:21:46 GMT -5
Two concerts in one week for Iffy and I in May: Overcoats and The New Pornographers.
If you don't know Overcoats and you like harmony and synth, GET ON IT.
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Mar 25, 2023 23:19:28 GMT -5
Checked another one off my list earlier tonight by seeing a Residents concert at a pretentious art gallery. Not sure I got it. In lieu of an opening act, they screened a film they had some unidentifiable level of involvement: www.imdb.com/title/tt26771519/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2 . Somewhere between terrible art house movie and parody of terrible art house movie.
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monodrone
Prolific Poster
Come To Brazil
Posts: 2,552
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Post by monodrone on Apr 5, 2023 5:33:05 GMT -5
I'm going to see the band Petrol Girls tonight. Show should be a good one, the late drive home from Dundee in the rain will be less good.
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Apr 5, 2023 8:23:02 GMT -5
Bought a ticket for Nick Cave's solo tour in October. The girl working the box office window was apparently mildly shocked I had access to a hundred dollars.
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Apr 26, 2023 22:33:18 GMT -5
It didn't occur to me until this afternoon how odd it was that yesterday I both attended a Wallflowers concert and went to the courthouse to take care of a ticket for driving with one headlight.
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Post by MyNameIsNoneOfYourGoddamnBusin on Apr 28, 2023 14:38:56 GMT -5
I was somehow able to get Pearl Jam tickets after going through what seems to be an unnecessarily high number of hurdles. September Me will have to worry about getting to Indianapolis somehow and whether to pull an all-nighter or get some inflated-cost hotel room.
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Post by Desert Dweller on Apr 29, 2023 22:37:19 GMT -5
I was somehow able to get Pearl Jam tickets after going through what seems to be an unnecessarily high number of hurdles. September Me will have to worry about getting to Indianapolis somehow and whether to pull an all-nighter or get some inflated-cost hotel room.
I was not able to get Pearl Jam tickets. You had good luck!
However, I think I had already used up all my luck the previous day when I managed to get an Opening Night ticket to U2's set of shows at the new Sphere in Vegas. These were given out via lottery to U2's fan club. U2 said they had over a million ticket requests for the original 12 announced shows. (Capacity is around 20K.) Fan club members could request any price level tickets for up to 3 shows. Then there was some sort of Ticketmaster-run lottery to determine who actually got tickets. Somehow out of this craziness I managed to get a ticket for Opening Night.
What made this so lucky was that I had already - way back in January! - booked a hotel room in Vegas for that same weekend.
I only requested the cheapest ticket possible in the lottery. Which may have contributed to my luck. The cheap seats are $140 (including fees). I checked Stub Hub today and people are reselling tickets in my section for $700+.
Given the resale prices, I am giving serious consideration to selling this ticket.
However, I do want to check out that Sphere venue. And there are very few other acts that would get me to travel to Vegas. So, I'll probably keep the ticket and actually attend.
Edited to add: That would leave my only remaining decision as whether I should drive up there 4.5 hours and $90-$100 in gas, or fly at around $210 airfare plus Uber to/from airports.
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