Vampire Weekend

Last night I got to see a great little band, Vampire Weekend. It was a really fun show and we had a good time. I'm not going to do a full review, I just wanted to comment on a few things.

First, the audience. Karen made the comment that more than half the people there were half our age. I was in complete denial of that, of course, but it wasn't too far off the truth. The really sad part was that nearly everyone our age or older were there escorting their kids. For Karen, that makes her feel old and out of place. For me, it makes me feel young (I feel out of place no matter where I am). I'm not trying to be younger than I am, but I do like good music. The age of the musicians or the fans shouldn't make any difference. I hope to still be going to see young bands even when I'm the oldest geezer in the room.

I also had a revelation about opening bands. They are the bridesmaids of concerts, I've decided. They're nice, they're fine, but they can't be too good or they'll detract from the main event. Also, the more different from the main act, the better. We actually had two opening bands for Vampire Weekend. The first was The Very Best. They were quite good, but they were scaled down to just two of the band members. I enjoyed it, but knew it could have been much better. Beach House, on the other hand, was not interesting at all. I imagine they're droning mellow music might be nice to have in the background, or maybe over headphones, but live it was just plain boring. However, that did make VW shine all the more in comparison, so I guess mission accomplished.

Lastly, the douchebag in front of me. I really hate to use that word, but unfortunately it is perfectly suited to describing this guy. You can already picture him in your mind, I'm sure: late 20s, close-cropped hair, pumped-up torso under a tight white t-shirt, jeans with the weird designs on the pockets, and of course, the obligatory flip-flops. During the first three or four songs of the show (Vampire Weekend- he wasn't there for the opening acts), he and his buddy ignored the stage in favor of talking and playing with his phone. Seriously, for 15 solid minutes, they were staring and touching the screen, oblivious to the music around them. It continued sporadically throughout the show, but it was worst at the beginning.

Honestly, this didn't bother me as much as I'm making it sound. What bothered me was the nagging question, Why were they there? If the show was that unimportant to them, why did they come at all? Second-most irksome was, Why did they have to stand right in front of me? But truthfully, the thing that really got under my skin more than anything else-- Why was I letting it bother me at all? This is the point at which I really did feel old. Just let it go. Relax. Enjoy the show. But instead, my mind kept coming back to these dudes in front of me with their stupid phone. Sigh. Deep breath.

Anyway, it was a fun show.

Metallica

Yes! Simply awesome.

I've been a fan of Metallica for many years, and I finally got a chance to see them live. It was fantastic. They are amazing musicians, and they really give it all when they play. Thursday night was no exception.

To be honest, I have actually seen them one time before. It was about 10 years ago, and for some crazy reason we spent the entire show walking around the venue. I was very unhappy about it, and have instead decided to pretend I never even went to that show. I don't even remember a single song they played.

When my friend Flynn told me they were coming, my first reaction was, "Let's spend whatever it takes to get the best seats we can!" Sadly, I later found out that the show was on the same night that I was planning a trip to Dallas. Dilemma! I thought about it briefly, but it really was no contest; the trip would have to wait. We were doubly lucky in that we were able to get amazing seats for an amazing price.

The concert was held at the Toyota Center, where the Rockets and Aeros play. It's a great arena, because it feels much smaller than it is. The stage was in the middle, and the band played in the round, walking all around to give each side a good view. The drummer, Lars Ulrich, had a platform that rotated after every 5-6 songs. Our seats were on one side, nice and low, with a phenomenal view.

You can click here for the Chronicle's review, so I won't bother listing the songs or any of that. Suffice it to say that it was incredible. Did it break into my Top Five Concerts ever? Probably not, but it's definitely in the Top Ten. They really put their all into the show. The vitality and talent that pours from the stage just has to be experienced.

One thing I found amusing, however. Towards the end of the concert, they brought the house lights up and played in full view. No spotlights, no lasers, no smoke, just a group of guys rocking out. Then for fun, they dropped over a hundred giant black beach balls from the ceiling into the crowd. It was great! Just silly, really, but it looked cool and it was fun to bounce the balls around. For about a minute. Then people started holding them. What's the point of that? I mean, these things are pretty huge, about four or five feet in diameter. What in the world are they gonna do with a souvenir like that? Can they even get it in their car? But typical of people these days, rather than continuing to bounce them around for everyone to enjoy, they had to grab it for themselves. I'm sure the next morning they think to themselves, "What the hell am I gonna do with this thing now?"

And no, I didn't get one.

Gogol Bordello!

Wow, what energy! I had been looking forward to seeing these guys for about a year, ever since I first heard one of their songs. As the date approached, I sort of lost that enthusiasm-- not for lack of interest, more just because I had other things on my mind. But last night their show threw me back into fandom. I mean, look at this picture: How could you not expect a good show from people like this?

Led by a Ukrainian now living in New York (you can read more about them here), the band calls their style "Gypsy Punk," and that is definitely fitting. There were about seven people on stage playing instruments ranging from violin to electric guitar to banging on a metal pail.

I accidentally got split up from my buddies (had to get another beer), but that turned out to be a good thing. Once I didn't have to worry about hanging out with my friends, it freed me up to move closer to the stage. I weaved and dodged and squirmed and finally hit a stopping point at the third "row," about 5 feet from the stage.

It was great! The massive throngs of people were crushing me behind, and the people in front were in turn crushed against the stage. There wasn't exactly moshing going on, but there was a lot of jumping and dancing. Had I known beforehand that I would be in this mob, I wouldn't have worn my sandals. Pretty early on, I had my big toe crush, breaking the nail. It was quire painful, but easily ignored for a good show. There were also several people who tried to body surf the crowd, with mixed results. Since I was trying to watch the show, I was often blind-sided by a stray leg or foot. In addition, the combination of sweat coming from me and water coming from everywhere, I ended up being soaked to the bone by the end of it. Not even noticeable while in the club, but quite chilly in the open air outside.

And one thing struck me as funniest of all-- The whole time I'm getting shoved and crushed, stepped on and kicked in the head, soaking wet and laughing with joy, the one thought that goes through my mind is not "I'm too old for this" or "I should be more careful." No, the one thought that kept occurring to me was, "Hmm, maybe I should get Lasik so I don't have to worry about my glasses at times like these." Really a wonderful show.

Stevie Wonderful

Okay, so it's been two months since I last posted. When I started this project, I said one of my goals was to get back in the habit of writing. Yeah, well done there, eh? Well, screw it! What the hell is wrong with me? This shouldn't be that hard. Even the few posts I've made have been nothing more than stupid video clips I've found. What happened to all the movie reviews I was gonna write? I'm full of worthless opinions. I love to talk. Why the hell aren't I writing on here? Anyways, I really, really, really promise to make more entries from now on, and this time I really, really mean it.

So, last night my girlfriend and I saw Stevie Wonder in concert. It was awesome! He played for about three hours, and the show was amazingly personal. He talked to the audience on many occasions. He elicited audience participation a lot. He played great songs. The last half-hour was sort of a medley of all of his greatest/best-known hits, so even if he didn't play your song earlier, most likely you got to hear it here. That was true for me: my big favorite was Superstition, which he played in the medley (but for longer than most of the others). He would often interrupt his own songs to talk or incorporate other songs like "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell and the Drells (from Houston) or even some James Brown. It was just a fantastic, fantastic show. Here's the Houston Chronicle's review.

Okay, now that I've given my review of the show, it's time for me to be cranky.

One nice thing about the show was that the vast majority of attendees were older. Not that young people aren't fun to see a show with, but there's just a totally different vibe between feeling like a parent of the audience or feeling like a child of the audience. Everything was more mellow, more subdued. I really liked that a lot.

Well, that wasn't cranky, but I needed to say that before I continued.

We were on the floor, pretty close to the stage. Not "special connection" close, but close enough to be excited about it. Now, being on the floor, everything is flat. You don't have the slope to lift your eye-level above the person in front of you. Fortunately, that wasn't a problem. However, two rows ahead of me was a blind guy with a walking stick. This walking stick, at the handle, is probably only 1 or 2 inches wide. But instead of folding it or laying to the side, he kept it up the whole show. It was perfectly in line between me and Stevie Wonder.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Is this guy really going to complain about a blind guy? At a Stevie Wonder concert?? Yes. Yes, I am. This blind guy is sitting down. What does he still need the stick for? I can just envision the conversation:

Me: Hey buddy, could you drop the stick? I can't see.
Blind Guy: I can't see either. What's your point?

I moved my head this way and that, but then you get people's heads in the way, you know. Every time I thought I had a good angle, that damned stick would be right there in the way.

Here's the point. We're all about treating people equally these days, right? Well, if everyone is equal, and anyone can be a jerk, then it's a given that even handicapped or "disabled" people can be jerks. If a sighted person had something that was blocking other people's views, no one would bat an eye if something were said. But here, because he's blind, I can't say anything. Is that equal treatment? I don't think so.

Okay, next rant. After the main show, some Texas state representative or congressman or something comes on stage with Stevie. He takes the microphone and makes a big announcement about how the governor RICK PERRY (the capitals reflect the enthusiasm of the speaker) has signed a bill making December 4 officially Stevie Wonder Day throughout Texas (this was at 11:00, so enjoy that hour, Stevie). Then he read the first paragraph of the proclamation, which was filled with senseless legalese just to say that today is Stevie Wonder Day. And this congressman/representative seemed so proud of having done this, and he's hugging Stevie. You just know that Stevie is thinking, "Yeah, you know, maybe instead of having some jive ass worthless day for me, you should call it Give Some Food To The Homeless Day or Be Kind To A Stranger Day." But of course, Stevie is too polite to actually say that. Luckily, I'm not. The way this stupid elected official was bouncing on the stage, you could just tell that really he just wanted some excuse to hug Stevie. It was sad and pointless.

Anyway, I had a great time at the concert. It was one of the best shows I've seen. I will try to upload a picture, but I'm not sure about my PhotoShop skills in order to get the look I want. We'll see.