Somewhere Everybody Should Be

Hello my great and loyal reader(s)! I hope this entry finds you well. I am writing with the world blocked out by some lovely AC/DC vinyl plugging my ears from the outside world and a decent sized grin on my face. This past weekend and week has been pretty spectacular so far. There was a broad spectrum of performers and yet another wonderful shopping experience.

Friday night, I attended the stand-up comedy show of Louis CK. I know that this blog is about music but I feel stand-up comedy, whether clean or dirty, is all about the proper delivery and timing, much like music. Louis is a master of this. He starts the show with material you wouldn't think would be good to open. He avoids the tacky "How are you guys tonight?" start. He opens with an awkward joke that forces you into his world right away. Much like an established rock band will start with a song the fans know, but not the big hit that you would close with. Louis works the audience into a frenzy of laughter driven tears by the end by just piling on the pressure with more and more outrageous stream of thoughts. Unlike older comedians, you have to pay attention to Louis to tell really when one joke ends and another begins. Before I move on though, I must thank him for stopping the show and checking on my safety when the folding chair I was in gave way and I hit the floor. I was still laughing, for the win.

Sunday, I made my way to Pier Six Pavilion in Baltimore to see the Wilson sisters: Heart. After having fun in the Hard Rock Cafe looking on John Lee Hooker's guitar, and complaining about how more mainstream, modern metal groups turn their bass up too high to appeal to those who like Hip-Hop, we got our prime spot on the lawn in the front, dead center to hear the opening act, Danielia Cotton. I really wish I had not heard her. Her band was mediocre at best, and her singing a bit too over the top. A bit too screaming for me. I call it "fake" pipes. Screaming is different than the high note you're going for and frankly, it was the first time at any rock concert I had wished for ear plugs. My ear drums were ringing quite bad. I was quite glad when she was done.

I should mention this is my dad's first rock concert without it being a cover band. He was in awe watching the roadies switch the stage in minutes for Heart. But his real look of awe came when Heart actually came out and brought the house down. They didn't sound quite as good as they did last summer, but I chalk it up to three factors:
1. Saturday night they did a show in Niagara Fall, NY, so they were on the road for 8 hours the night before to get to Baltimore.
2. Pier Six does not have the sound system that Nissan Pavilion has.
3. Cheap Trick is a much better opening act and removes some of the pressure.
So with that said, Heart still tore it up. They did a bit of a set I didn't expect, with them doing a few Led Zeppelin covers, including "Angels of Avalon", "Going to California" and "Immigrant Song". Fear not though, Heart still hammered home "Magic Man", "Barracuda", and "Crazy on You". This was pretty much the craziest I had seen Pier Six. I feel though that a lot of people who wanted to go were scared by the cheapest seat being $30. They didn't consider that Pier Six isn't a stadium, its not big. Its an intimate venue and can provide some gems by allowing you to see your favorite groups up close and personal.

Tuesday began with a lovely lunch and then a second trip to Trax on Wax. The owner, Gary, was again friendly and very welcoming and thanked me in person for my blog entry. No need to thank me though, its my obligation to write and share my experiences in the music world. Since it was before pay day and there was a concert that night, I had to be a little tight on the wallet, but still walked out with the previously mentioned AC/DC record. a very nice, practically mint condition original pressing of "High Voltage", which is my second favorite AC/DC album and my favorite with Bon Scott. This album though definitely was remixed when moved to CD. The album is rough, and sounds like it was recorded in a bar, which just adds to the flair of AC/DC being your bad-ass bar band. I also grabbed "Sabotage" by Black Sabbath. This is the sixth album by Black Sabbath. This album is a bit softer than the usual Black Sabbath/Ozzy Osbourne fare. I feel lucky though that I got a version of it from the early pressings that included a 23 second secret track at the end of Ozzy goofing around in the studio. Quite entertaining!

The second half of Tuesday included taking the subway into DC with my pal Beth to see Keane. Keane is one of the very few modern pop groups that I like. I am not fond of them no longer being a trio, but I cannot complain. They bring a prime show to you. Keane's lead singer, Tom Chaplin, has a killer voice, and is the only singer I've seen that could possibly fill Freddie Mercury's shoes, vocally. This band brought a wave of positive energy over the crowd I've never seen. Keane was accompanied by two opening acts, Helio Sequence and Mat Kearney. Helio Sequence is a duo of drums and guitar. They didn't really introduce themselves, and kind of assumed everyone already knew who they were. They also seemed hung up in having lots of synth backing tracks which took away from what skills they were presenting to us. It also caused their songs to sound identical to me, at least in a live setting. Mat Kearney followed them and he really wowed me. Hes not my type of music but he brought a stage presence which was quite nice. My only gripe is that he has a 4-piece band backing him. Come up with a band name and give them credit, considering you're playing rhythm guitar 3 and singing. There were two other guitarists there, both with nice voices, bass and drums. Let them in and come up with a name. Other than that, dude you are golden and going to make lots of money.

Keane though really rocked Constitution Hall, which is not suited for this kind of show at all. Kean brought a simple stage set up with no screens or anything like that. They didn't need it, the whole band is charismatic. They were just straight up fun to watch. I was transfixed much like my father was during Heart. In 72 hours I went from seeing a band a bit past its prime, just doing shows for fun, to seeing bands that are still fresh, young, and having to fight for fans. Might I add that initially at the Keane show, I felt old and out of place. Then I noticed a 40-something man singing his heart out the next section over, and below me a 40-something woman basically doing her impression of Joan of Arc from "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" throughout the whole show. This made me feel better.

Nothing against my friend Beth at all, but the tickets were initially to be for my girlfriend and I to attend, with Keane being one of her favorite bands. I did find myself enjoying this concert a little differently due to company. Beth is a great concert partner and always will be. This was to be my girlfriends second concert; her first was the George Clinton mega-show. I think I would have seen this show through fresher eyes, had I been with a concert noobie and a really big Keane fan. Beth found herself enjoying the groups and discovering them the same way I did. The concert really isn't just about who is playing, but with whom you are sharing. The music is an experience and Keane was one of the first things my darling girlfriend and I shared. It would be a slight if I didn't mention this point in this blog entry. I'm truly grateful Beth came along, as it would have killed me to waste a ticket and Beth is always a lot of fun, and open minded and flexible to whatever we're going to see. But I cannot deny that I was thinking how the show might have been different to me if Melanie had attended.

With that, I sign off for the night. "High Voltage" has played out and the arm on the old Pioneer phonograph has retracted. I leave you tonight with a video of Keane from DAR Constitution Hall, doing my favorite song by them, "Somewhere Only We Know". Have a good night. This one's for you ;-) Enjoy the girl singing terribly out of tune at the start, but who cares, everyone in the building was on cloud nine by this point.

Trax on Wax

hello all. This is just going to be a quick plug for the new vinyl record store that has opened in Catonsville. I Just visited this place and give it a full endorsement. With an incredible selection of used vinyl available for extremely reasonable prices, this place was a breath of fresh air to me. I now have a new place to continue my vinyl collecting. For $20, I was able to get "Odds and Sods" and "Who's Next" by The Who, "Magical Mystery Tour", and "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles, Steve Perry's solo album, "Escape" by Journey, and "Spirit" by Spirit. Clearly a great mix of stuff for great prices. There was no hassle from staff, and plenty of space to browse. The entire collection is alphabetical order, to where you feel like you must put an album right back in its place. The best part is a turntable available for public use, so you can test the albums before you buy, but unlike Record and Tape Traders, everything looked to be at least in playable condition. They will also convert vinyl to CD for you, I'm sure for a charge though. This is also to announce that I am going to give the Beatles another chance, thus why I bought those two albums. I will keep you posted on the result!

I beg you in the area to give this place a check. Buy something too, the owner is nice as anything!

On another note, this week, I will be taking Mom to go see Heart. Lets hope they're as spectacular as they were last summer!

Good night friends!