FRISSONIC

How?

I mean, seriously. These guys are close to 60. You know? What are they still doing on stage?

What they do best: playing insanely incredible music.

I’ve seen some amazing bands. Muse, Tool, Silversun Pickups … Rush tops them all.

They played 2 new tracks, entitled “BU2B” and “Caravan.” Both were unbelievable. Keep in mind that these guys have been around for over 36 years. And they STILL put out amazing music. Not just amazing–phenomenal. Superb. Think of a superlative adjective. It will work.

The opening of the second set is one of the main reasons I went to the show. Moving Pictures is considered their foremost recording to date. To be sure, it stands the test of time extremely well. Released in 1981, it contains some of their best work, like “Tom Sawyer,” “Limelight,” “YYZ” (one of the best instrumentals EVER), “Red Barchetta,” but then there are songs like “The Camera Eye” that are probably too long to garnish any radio time but far and away is one of the best songs they’ve ever written. “Witch Hunt” and “Vital Signs” are fantastic. There’s a reason this CD is considered a part of the rock and roll pantheon.

To hear the ENTIRE CD played live is an experience I’m sure that will never be repeated. For one, they have 19 CDs. To isolate one and continuously play it front to back at every show from here forward would, in my mind, diminish the roles of their other works. But for this tour–their “Time Machine” tour, they played every song on that CD, in the order they originally appeared.

And thanks to Steve Jobs and the Apple Family, I got it all in high def 720p. Thank you, iPhone! I will post vids when I can, but for now, know that they’re out there for the finding.

The pics aren’t the greatest, but under such low light, it’s not surprising. Some of them turned out really well though. Again, I’ll post those when I can.

They pulled out some gems for this tour, too. “Marathon” hasn’t been heard since about 1990, but “Presto” has *never* been played live … and we got to hear it!!! WHOO! “Faithless,” off of Snakes and Arrows, wasn’t played last tour, but they played it last night. One of the stand-out songs on that CD.

This is Neil’s drum solo. Shot in HD with my iPhone. I seriously love that thing. I can blog, take pics and vids and post all from the convenience of my phone.

Shot in HD with my iPhone. I seriously love that thing. I can blog, take pics and vids and post all from the convenience of my phone.

Here’s the entire set list, copied in portion from Cygnus X-1′s site:

Set One
Introduction Video – Rash: The Real History of Rush — Episode No. 2 “Don’t Be Rash” — Goofy take on The Spirit of Radio — Polka/Disco/Country Version with Alex in a fat suit, Neil as an Irish Cop and Geddy…oy, you have to see it I say…

• The Spirit of Radio
• Time Stand Still
• Presto — (with vintage magic show footage playing)
• Stick It Out — (with original Stick it Out video playing)
• Workin’ Them Angels — (same video from Snakes & Arrows tour)
• Leave That Thing Alone — (same video from Vapor Trails tour)
• Faithless — (with dream landscape video playing)
• BU2B — (with “old typewriter typing out the lyrics to the song” video playing)
• Freewill
• Marathon — (with extended guitar solo)
• Subdivisions

Intermission

Introduction Video – Rash: The Real History of Rush — Episode No. 17 “And Rock And Roll Is My Name ” — Geddy on Drums, Neil on Guitars, Alex on Bass

Note: Most songs from Moving Pictures is preceeded by a short second Monty Python-esque video featuring the Parliament Building and/or the red-suited movers in one way or another.

• Tom Sawyer
• Red Barchetta – (Ferrarri 166MM pulls up with a race car number 2112 on the door)
• YYZ
• Limelight
• The Camera Eye – (with NYC and London scenes video playing)
• Witch Hunt
• Vital Signs
• Caravan – (Steampunk theme video featuring blimps flying over a burned out world playing)
• Drum Solo (Love 4 Sale) – (Steampunk Robot Drummer video playing)
• Alex Lifeson Solo leading into…
• Closer to the Heart
• 2112 Overture/Temples of Syrinx
• Far Cry — (same video from Snakes & Arrows tour)

Encore

• La Villa Strangiato — (Geddy & Alex Playing a Polka-inspired intro)
• Working Man — (With Reggae-inspired intro)

So, you can see that the set list was spread out. Some CDs weren’t represented, but when you have 19 studio albums to select from, there are going to be some neglected works, obviously.

Here’s the thing with Rush. You never know what to expect. From the opening videos all the way to the band walking off the stage after the encore … you never know what to expect. Even after the show was over, it still wasn’t over. If you’ve never seen “I Love You Man,” the movie at the end would have made no sense. Thankfully, my brother pointed that out to me, so I watched it the night before the show. Thankfully! It was hilarious. Peter Klaven and Sydney Fife. That’s all I’m going to say. HA HA HA!!

To the band, even though I’m fairly confident you’ll never read this, thank you. You guys are world-class, and I’m glad you guys keep making incredible music. We are the fortunate ones who get to indulge in your offerings for decades to come. For this, we can never repay you other than offering our heart-felt and sincerest thanks.

Here are some pics I snapped last night. Keep in mind, iPhone camera from about 25 yards away in the dark. They’re not the worst, but they’re not the best.

Section 202, row C, seats 1-3.

Can.

Not.

Wait.

They will be playing their entire Moving Pictures album to open their second set. The best song on there is “The Camera Eye,” in my opinion. The whole CD is phenomenal, but that song in particular is just shudder-inducing.

There are many things for which I’m thankful in life: my family, friends, house, working car, job … in my mind, everything is a gift, and I’m grateful for it all because there could come a time that I won’t have these things, so while I have them, I’m extremely happy to have them. One of those things is my passion for music. Just because I don’t write every day doesn’t mean I’m not blasting something or exploring something new.

Today is a day of exploration, of sorts. I’ve been listening to Rush since the late 80s, circa Presto. At first, I didn’t “get it;” I wondered what the mystique was to this band. it took going away to college and meeting James (whose last name escapes me) to really start diving in. Since then, I haven’t looked back. Ever. Yes, other bands have come and gone, but there are few bands that have the staying power Rush has.

So in the spirit of the upcoming show, I’ve been in a Rush mood for about a month. I bought “Beyond the Lighted Stage” and watched it until 1 in the morning while my wife blissfully slept through it. I knew that Alex Lifeson was an amazing guitarist, but … seriously? You listen to songs like “Finding My Way” or “Working Man,” and you know that better things are coming down the pike with the addition of Neil Peart. So this documentary has footage of the band WAY back in their early days, before they even had a contract. To watch Alex on stage was mind-blowing.

If you haven’t gotten into these guys because you “can’t stand that guy’s voice,” I pity you. While I acknowledge that his voice is not everyone’s favorite, you can’t get around the talent.  Especially in the later albums. Everyone will praise and Laud Robert Plant or Dennis DeYoung with their similar high-pitched voices, but mention Geddy Lee and people start cringing–the very same people who will listen to Styx or Zepplin for hours on end. Shame. Both other bands have long ago thrown in the towel. Rush is working on their 19th studio album. They’ve been around for almost 40 years. How can anyone deny their greatness?!

Whatever. Rant over. You can not like Rush all you want. If you want my unbridled opinion (and you might as well accept the fact that I’m going to give it to you anyway: my blog, my rants!), until you recognize their status as “legendary power trio,” you will *never* be able to converse intelligently about music. Sorry … that’s just me. And millions of other fans.

Again, wow.

Iron Maiden. Plant killing. Pre-show fun with new friends. Sound check hilarity.

What else …?

Oh, yes. The music. The always engaging, entertaining music.

My day began with a line wait of epic proportions. 9 am to 6 pm. That’s right–9 hours in the sun. Relief didn’t even show up until almost 3, but at that point, I wasn’t about to give up my parking spot, which was literally feet from the exit across the main road.

I got some sweet footage of the band sound-checking to “Some Fantastic.” I’ll post it as soon as I can trim it. Meanwhile, enjoy these pics posted on flickr.

The gates opened a little after 6. Because the venue allows for coolers and stuff, we packed in some sandwich materials, snacks and beverages. My cooler was weighted down with the ice and beverages, so it was pretty heavy. The venue is all GA, so we made sure the person with the least to carry bolted for a spot as close to the front as possible and laid down blankets, then the rest of us lagged behind with our loads and stuff.

Front row. Again. Ha.

This time, we sat directly in front of Jim’s mic and in front of the stage left stack. I still can’t hear out of my right ear.

Angel Taylor truly lived up to her name. Her band was a blast. A guy on guitar, guy on drums, and herself, who alternated between keyboards, guitar, and some shaky thing. She played her radio hit “Hey Soul Sister,” which is a Train cover from their 2009 CD, Save Me San Francisco. It was awesome. Very, very well done. I don’t know the names of the other songs she played because she didn’t announce them, but they’re all on her new CD, Love Travels.

Kris Allen also played a set.

Barenaked Ladies took the stage shortly after he left. They opened with “Who Needs Sleep?” off of Stunt. Here’s the set list:

• who needs sleep?
• old apt
• falling for the first time
• botanical garden song
• every subway car
• easy
• raisins* not on set list!!
• some fantastic
• plant eating song
• another heartbreak
• ordinary
• sound of your voice
• all been done
• i saw it
• you run away
• wind it up
• 4 seconds
• big bang
• one week
• too little too late
• pinch me
• million

  *encore*

• brian wilson
• when i fall

As you can see, some standards, but there are also some amazingly non-expected songs, like “When I Fall.” Always a great song to hear. “Who Needs Sleep?” is another great tune that doesn’t get played as much as it should.

Kevin did a fantastic job with “The Sound of Your Voice.” Basically just him and a guitar, while the other 3 backed him up doo-wop style.

The highlight of the night … no–the highlight of my concert-going career was meeting Celina. She and her mom were off stage right by a bit. My wife has a background in working with children with special needs, so it always warms us to see them in any location, but seeing her rocking out so far away from the stage just didn’t seem right. Someone went over and asked if they would like to come up to the front so she could get a better view. We started clearing a path so she could come over. Once people saw what was going on, EVERYone chipped in–moving coolers, blankets, chairs … it was awesome. She and her mom got to see about half the show right in front of Jim’s mic stand. It was … wow. It was sweet. So here’s to you, Celina! Thanks for joining us for the show!!

I’ve written some other reviews of past Ladies’ shows in the last few months, and really … this show was just as good musically. The thing that I always love about BNL is their truly sincere appreciation for their fans. They really do seem to have an affinity for Salt Lake. According to Tyler, we were the only city on the tour that sold out. That’s really disappointing to hear from a fan perspective, but it gives me great pride that our town supports them the way they deserve to be treated. 4 quality musicians who put everything out there for their fans each and every show … if you people only knew what you’re missing.

Next tour. And trust me–there WILL be another tour.

There have been many who questioned the Ladies’ ability to continue on as a band without Steve. Many wondered if the band would survive. “How can they sustain such a loss?”

Addition by subtraction, my friends. Less indeed can be more.

I have attended some great concerts by epic bands: Muse, Tool, Rush … all of them pale in comparison to BNL in their ability to command crowd interaction. If I didn’t know better, I would swear that Ed, Jim, Tyler, and Kevin were best friends with every single person in the crowd at every single show. In fact, let me amend that: they act as if they’re best friends with every single person in each and every crowd.

So we left town yesterday morning to drive up here to Boise. Got up here around 4, checked in, ran some pre-concert errands, then headed to the venue. The show was held at the Idaho botanical gardens, which just happens to be situated right next to the old prison to stage left. To stage right is this scenic view of some mountains. Kind of an interesting backdrop. There was a constant threat of rain the entire evening. Call it what you will–the act of a benevolent God, a sweet intervention on mother nature’s part … it did not rain one drop on the entire crowd. As Ed so aptly put it, “THANK YOU MOTHER NATURE!” to which we all cheered raucously.

Serena Ryder

To be honest, I has not done my homework on her prior to coming out. I’m glad I didn’t. She was an incredibly pleasant surprise. She took the stage with a mic and her guitar–no supporting band. Apparently she has one, but she’s touring on her own right now. She put on an incredible, all-too-short show, comprised of 6 songs, none of which I had ever heard, but all of which I’m glad I got to see in person.

Here’s her set list:

• All for Love
• Brand New Love
• A Little Bit of Red
• Weak in the Knees
• What I Want To Know
• Sing Sing

It seems like I’m missing one or two. I was keeping pretty close track, but … I dunno. So, she’s this incredibly stage-friendly girl who rips a guitar up and down while she belts out this incredibly soulful voice that has just a hint of Nashville in it but enough folk to keep the country haters at bay. “Weak in the Knees” was a duet with Ed Robertson. It was extremely cool to see them perform together. “Sing Sing” was far and away her best. No guitar, just her and the mic in a Stomp-style beat throw-down and clapping while she unleashed this acappella blast. Very cool chick.

People were yelling things to her and she’d respond with a polite and quippy answer. I decided to be polite and raise my hand, since we were just that close. Knowing that she’s from Ontario, Canada, I asked her if she was a Senators fan. She just kind of chuckled a bit, then sweetly and politically danced around it without commiting to a yes or no answer, which, in retrospect, is completely understandable. Can’t alienate one fan base or another, right? Stupid me.

After her set, she went back by the merchandise table to hang out and meet with the commoners. I got two of her CDs: one for my wife and me; and one for our friends who got us the tix. After apologizing for making the Senators comment, she just laughed and said she thought it was funny. Hey, it got me a picture with her! She seemed really genuine and down to earth. I can’t wait for her to come to the SLC!!

Barenaked Ladies

As previously mentioned, there have been detractors who questioned the band’s ability to move on. “Have they lost their essence?” “Are they capable of maintaining their fan base?”

To those who asked those questions, I hope you hang your head in shame. For the band to re-invent themselves by changing practically nothing is the mark of a dedicated group of musicians. The Ladies are fortunate to have 4 such individuals in their group. The wit, the humor, the mid-set city-inspired improvs, the excellent musicianship … all as if they had always been a 4-piece band.

I’ve noticed a distinct and more than likely very purposeful lack of any discussion of Steve. I imagine it’s hard on them to lose such a good friend and band mate, but at the same time, I don’t think it was as amicable a break-up as everyone thinks it was. Not that there’s any level of animosity between him and them … I don’t know. It’s hard to describe. I have to believe that their first single off the new album, “You Run Away,” is almost auto-biographical. I swear Ed teared up ever so slightly while performing that song. And who could blame him?

This is just my personal opinion … while I miss Steve’s voice and contributions, I do believe that the band has MUCH more creative potential now than it ever has. Jim and Kevin are more than equipped to contribute musically–not just in playing their respective instruments, but in contributing entire songs–music and lyrics. All in Good Time more than supports that idea. They provide 5 tracks on the new CD–about the same amount as they had in the rest of their previous discography.

As for the concert itself, it was great to see them on stage again, even though my wife and I had just seen them not 6 months previous in SLC at the Depot for their Christmas concert. They played a very solid set, mixing old with new (though the only two songs they played that were pre-Stunt were “Old Apartment” and “If I Had $1000000″). Here’s their set list.

• Testing 1-2-3
• Old Apartment
• Falling for the First Time
• Boise Rap
• Wind It Up
• Every Subway Car (with Serena Ryder)
• Another Heartbreak
• Never Is Enough (just Jim and Ed)
• Polywog (yes, they played a Snack Time song!)
• Sound of Your Voice
• Ordinary
• Big Bang
• 4 Seconds
• Kevin’s piano solo
• Unfinished
• Boise song: You Fascinate Me
• You Run Away
• I Saw It
• Too Little Too Late
• One Week
• It’s All Been Done
• Pinch Me (ugh … such a drunk concert chick story about this song that will forever haunt me)
• If I had $1000000

encore

• Alcohol (sung by Tyler)
• Summertime
• Easy

Here are the pics we took.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slgld/4632473713/in/set-72157623998039499/

The show was phenomenal. Everyone smiled and had a ton of fun. Being on the front row, it was a tad difficult to see to the back of the crowd, but from what I could see, everyone was standing and dancing.

One of the standout songs was Tyler’s rendition of “Alcolhol.” You can tell he doesn’t get out from behind the drums very often. No offense, Tyler! It was an awesome performance. He was all over the place, adding his distinct Tyler personality to the song. I wish I could have gotten some video footage. It was great.

“Polywog,” off of their Snack Time CD, had the crowd jump jumping to the top of the stump stump. Ed’s little mid-song rap was even better live than it is on the CD. Ha ha!

My favorite song off the new CD–”Four Seconds,” is one of the best lyrically that they’ve done in a long time. Any time you can actually rhyme something with “orange” (albeit with an ounce of forgiveness), you know you have a winner.

If this concert did *nothing* else for me, it showed me that BNL is still BNL–that they enjoy their crowds and fans as much as if not more than just about any other band out there; that they enjoy putting on an awesome stage shows; that they will prove to you night in and night out why their live shows are some of the best around.

But this particular show did so much more for me than just that. They are truly friends. When they announced that Steve had left the band, I felt as big a void as I’m sure they did. Along with them, I am filling that “void” with their new music. Not to mention that we got to go on a road trip with our incredibly awesome friends, with whom we don’t get to spend nearly enough time. They enjoy the band as much as we do.

My most incredibly awkward concert moment was achieved when drunk chick (whose picture I didn’t even think to take) reached up and grabbed my left nipple while the band was playing “Pinch Me.” I was literally stunned into a motionless stupor. “Whu … I …… why ……. don’t ……….” followed by a full-body shudder that ended with the heebie-jeebies on a scale of which I had never before experienced. Just … blugh. I felt tainted. I also laughed about it hysterically when I told my wife and friends. It was seriously weird.

In summary, the concert was fantastic. The band is back and as strong as ever. Serena Ryder was an experience unto itself, and I hope she’ll come to Utah here in the near future. Thanks for the fun evening, lady and ladies!

GOT ‘EM!!!

Section 303, row J, seats 12-14. My brother and I are going, and either my wife or an old friend. August 5th cannot get here fast enough!!! WHOO!!!

For those of you who don’t know me (read: pretty much anyone), I came on board late with the whole “Rush” thing. I actually had Presto as a Columbia House SOTM at some point in 1989, but I shelved it because I didn’t “get it.” “Yah … what’s the big deal? These guys aren’t Van Halen. Screw ‘em.” And I walked away.

About a year later, the guy across the hall from me kept playing this amazing music. “What is that?”

“You’re kidding. Right? ‘Who is this?’?!”

“Dude … it’s just a question. Don’t answer it then.”

“It’s *RUSH*. How do you not know who Rush is?!”

So then he shows me his tape collection, which was expansive. He let me borrow and copy all of it (poor college kids … what can you expect?). Between those tapes, I don’t think I swapped out anything else the rest of the semester. I drank it all in as often as I could, which, since I couldn’t have had a much worse GPA for the year, must have been pretty often.

I left for home at the end of the year, wondering if there was anything else out there of theirs. Keep in mind that this was before the advent of the people-friendly internet: I had to scour used record stores for anything I wanted. No surfing to find a complete discography on the band’s official or otherwise page. No wiki. No nothin’. Just me, car keys, and a lot of driving to various used music shops.

By the end of that summer, I had collected pretty much everything of theirs. Oh, what a music feast it was. I haven’t looked back.

Other bands have come and gone. I’ve had my dabblings with just about every genre of music with the exception of rap. My CD collection is rapidly expanding. My mp3 collection is on the verge of requiring a new hard drive. 4000+ ”CDs” in mp3 format. Close to 700 in actual hard-copy. Amongst it all, there is none that is quite so timeless as Rush’s 19 studio albums and myriad live CDs.

Yesterday, I ordered R30 and their Snakes and Arrows tour videos on blu-ray. I can’t wait to show those to my girls. They’re already in love with Muse (another timeless band that will almost certainly have their place in music history). Now it’s time to step it up and get them some serious me

Well, it’s 1:30, cold, windy. Doors don’t open for another 4.5 hours. There’s a girl in the group 2 down from me who knows *a lot* about the band. It’s always interesting to see the types of people who show up to a show.

I wonder how many people here even know who Silversun Pickups are. No one is talking about them.

There’s a guy walking around with a guitar. Haven’t heard him play it yet. Maybe he’s hoping to get it signed. That’d be pretty cool.

My wife took off about an hour and a half a go to find a blanket. Poor girl gets so cold so easily. It’d be nice if it were mid-June instead of April 5th.

7 minutes until the doors open. Let the mad rush begin.

SECOND ROW?! YOU’RE KIDDING!

These are some friends of ours.

Here are some pics of the crowd.

If you see yourself in the pic, feel free to point it out.

On to the reviews.

SILVERSUN PICKUPS

One word: damn.

I’ve seen some intense guitar playing before. Brian played out of his mind. Literally.  He looked like an acid trip on Gord Downie. Yes, you read that right. How he managed to keep his balance and not fall over is beyond me, but he did it.

As my wife put it, by the end of their relatively short set, Chris looked like he needed a break and a lot of water. As anyone who’s previously seen a SSPU show, this is no doubt due to the fact that he plays a very bombastic style of drumming. And he totally owns the kit.

The set list was mostly off of “Swoon.” No surprise there. Being that it’s their new CD and has been out for less than a year, I would suspect that they’d tour on the strength of the new offering. They opened the set with “Growing Old Is Getting Old.” They also played “There’s No Secrets This Year,” “Substitution,” “Future Foe Scenarios,” and “Lazy Eye.” I know I’m missing a couple, but those are the ones I remember.

It’s always great to see a crowd get into the opening band. A lot of the front row kept yelling, “WE LOVE YOU NIKKI!” Not a surprise. It was great to have the chance to check them out.

MUSE

Two words: HOLY DAMN.

We were all taunted for a couple of minutes with the opening sequence video (displayed on what looked like 5-story square towers) of  of several sets of white shadows traipsing up some stairs. One shadow on each towers started to fall, after which the curtain that obfuscating the true intention of the towers fell around the band members, standing on elevated platforms.

Opening with the anthemic “Uprising” as was so highly anticipated, Matt came out in some futuristic silver suit with glow in the dark blue shades. The crowd went absolutely nuts. Being that we were about 3 rows from the front, right in front of Matt, we were quickly swept up in “the pit,” swaying back and forth on tidal waves of humanity and adrenaline. If you haven’t been hiding under a rock for the last 7 months, you know the chorus: “They will not force us; they will stop degrading us. They will not control us; WE will be victorious!” Singing for all the world to hear, Bellamy belted out the lyrics while Dom smashed his drum kit into oblivion and Chris threw his back out of alignment with his unparalleled head whipping and thick, fat, grueling bass playing. I swear, that guy must have a chiropractor on retainer.

“Uprising” led to “Resistance,” the second single off the new CD. More from the platform. More psychotica from the pit. Let the mayhem ensue.

No rest for the weary. Muse treated us to “New Born,” the first track on Origin of Symmetry. One of my all-time favorites. At the end, they jumped into the middle/end part of “Micro Cuts”–another favorite of mine.

You can’t go to a Muse show and not hope to hear “Hysteria.” Tonight’s show was no let-down. The *only* disappointing factor to the song was the fact that my iphone picked up basically nothing but screaming and sound-popping, with few discernible notes in between. I was really hoping to get a better recording for my girls, who absolutely love singing along whenever they hear it. “I WANT IT NOW! GIVE ME …. YOUR SOUL!!” So frickin’ awesome watching them dance to that. Ha ha!

Dom and Chris jammed out while the crew set up Matt’s piano for “United States of Eurasia” and “Feeling Good,” with the “Take a Bow” intro thrown in before the latter as a teaser.

Far and away, my favorite of the night was “Undisclosed Desires.” Matt played his key-tar, and the lighting was unbelievable. All decked out in purples, blues and reds, when the chorus started, and the keyboard bass threw us all back about 10 feet.

The rest of the set was all too short. “Starlight,” “Unnatural Selection,” “Time is Running Out,” and “Plug In Baby” rounded out the main set. After the requisite lights-out screaming and demanding more, the band came back out and played part I of Exogenesis. My wife and sister in law were in utter awe. Well, okay … we all were. In the words of my wife, “I could sleep to this.” For those not familiar, Matt pulled out ALL the stops on this one. The orchestration is haunting, melancholy and beautiful, like the soundtrack to the death of a mother whose lived a full and rich life, leaving no regrets. That’s just my take.

It would be cruel and unusual not to play “Stockholm Syndrome.” There’s WAY too much energy in that song not to play it live. It’s a must. The band was as tight as they’ve ever been, ripping their way through the crowd-moving intro. I love the chorus to this song. It’s so un-nerving. “This is the last time I’ll abandon you, and this is the last time I’ll forget you. I wish I could …”

To end the show, the band played “Knights of Cydonia”–another anthem of freedom and the will to live life. “No one’s going to take me alive. The time has come to make things right. You and I must fight for our rights. You and I must fight to survive.” The crowd jumped and swayed as if we were back in 2007, when Muse opened with KoC.

Everyone left everything on the floor, in the stands, on the stage … there was not one person who didn’t give everything they had to offer for that show. With the exception of the girl who sat next to my sisters-in-law, who saw fit to sit through the entire show, arms folded. I’m not one to judge anyone for anything, so I will assume that she wasn’t feeling well and really just wanted to see the band. Who knows. I hope she’s okay–either emotionally or physically.

Everyone else had 0 left to give, but if the set had gone on another 2, 3 … 5 songs, we would have found the energy somewhere. That’s what you do at Muse shows.

In summary, both bands were unbelievably amazing, gracious, un-humanly intense. The crowd reciprocated the intensity in its own way–jumping up and down, creating tsunamis of human proportions … you could not have asked for a more energetic crowd. I even forgive the 6′ 5″ jerks who bragged about not having GA tix and got on the floor anyway, only to cut off my wife’s view with their selfishness.

If you haven’t seen Muse or SSUP yet, make it your concert-going priority. You can’t go through life wondering what it’s like and not know first-hand. Your musical life will not be complete.

As promised, here are some of the pics.

First off, sorry for the hiatus. I took the fam on an impromptu mini-vacation to St. George, UT for some R&R. We went “hiking” in Zions National Park on Saturday. With two little girls in tow, it’s hard to actually do REAL hiking, but they loved seeing all the cliffs and dirt, so it was fun for them walking around. Checked out Weeping Rock and the entrance to the narrows … nothing really strenuou. Definitely decided that we’re going to try to hike “the narrows” one of these days.

Now on to today. Muse and Silversun Pickups. I’m serious … this should be a double bill – not SsP opening for Muse. I guess they’re not “up there” yet. They will be though. They have the potential to go very, very far.

So my agenda for the day is like this:

11:00 am – drop off the girls at friends’ house.

12:00 pm – get to E-Center and see what there is to see

3:00 pm – dinner with friends at Applebees (gotta carb and protein up for the show)

4:00 – get in line for the show

6:00 – doors open, and so begins the mad dash for front row floor

7:00 – Silversun Pickups hit the stage

8:30-ish – Muse

I’m bringing my camera with a fresh set of lithium batteries, just in case I can sneak it in. I have my methods, which I won’t divulge here for obvious reasons.

I’ve checked out Muse’s setlist from previous shows. Nothing really stand-outish in the states, but in Asia, they’ve played “Dead Star” and “Can’t Take My Eyes off of You” (cover, but really well done).

Okay, there is much for which I need to prepare, so more from the show!

Ed. note: “Sunday Morning” has now become Monday morning due to an unforeseen, unfortunate event yesterday morning that put the writer in a state of discontent for a vast majority of the day.

So today, I seemingly have a kidney infection. Nothing too out of control … for some reason, I get these with alarming frequency. And the pain absolutely sucks. Extremely sore lower back, excruciating joints and stuff … it’s probably the least fun anyone could have without actually dying. If any of you out there have had a kidney infection, you know what I mean.  Anyway, since I’m kind of penned up in the house for who knows how long, I thought I’d tackle the stack of new stuff I haven’t written about yet and get these imported into iTunes.

Oh. And I can’t sleep, which is the main reason I’m sitting here.

List.

• Beak
• Raveonettes – In and Out of Control
• Vue – Vue
• Lois – Strumpet
• Corder0 – Lamb Lost in the City
• Heather Duby
• Heather Duby – Come across the River
• Of Montreal – The Sunlandic Twins
• Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man – Out of Season
• The White Stripes – Under Great White Northern Lights
• Katherine Whalen’s Jazz Squad
• Regina Spektor – Soviet Kitsch
• Plastiscines – LP 1
• Flyleaf – Memento Mori
• Von Iva – Girls on Film
• The Music
• The Music – Welcome to the North
• Fang Island
• Cloudland Canyon – Lie in Light
• Golden Smog – ANother Fine Day
• Elf Power – In A Cave

Over the course of the next week, I expect about another 10+ CDs to show up in the mail. Lots of ordering based upon recent purchases. Especially Cordero, Vue, Plastiscenes and The Music.

Of other note, we have tickets to the BNL show in Boise on May 21st. If any of you are going to be there, please let me know! We’d love to meet up with fellow fans.

Same for the Muse and Silversun Pickups show in Utah on April 5th (ONE WEEK TO GO!). Let me know if you’re going!

Hey, so … if you live in Utah and want to know what’s going on with the latest concert information, this Facebook page is pretty good about getting out the info. Lots of amazing bands coming in the next month. Granted, it covers mostly Orem/Provo area, but they sometimes wander north of the Happy Valley border and touch upon the SLC/Davis/Weber county scene as well.

Local venues:

In the Venue

The Depot

The State Room

Murray Theater

Kilby Court (Appleseed Cast TOMORROW!!)

I’ll add to this as I remember or find other venues.

Well, serves me right. I *just* bought our Muse tickets today. Even after chatting with some people at the BNL show last night, I didn’t get around to buying the tix until this afternoon. NOT ideal seats … if the stage is the beach, our seats are the mid-west. We’re about that far away. There weren’t even any GA seats available.

I have an idea that may or may not get me some better seats, but we’ll see. It might not; I might end up with worse seats, but we’ll see. Hey, at least we’re going to the show. And it’s MUSE. It’s going to be great.

I actually bought 4 tickets, with the idea that I’d bring my wife (obviously) and my brother and his wife. To put things in perspective, the day of the show is also my nephew’s birthday. To my brother’s and his wife’s credit, they are choosing to spend the whole day with their boy, spoiling him with McDonalds (perspective, people … kids like it) and Mommy/Daddy time. That kid has some awesome parents. Good on ya, guys!

So now we have “spare” tickets, though I believe they’re already spoken for. I hope they are, anyway. We neglected to call ANYone for this BNL show, and there were some slighted feelings for us going and not bringing people along. While I do feel badly, sort of, it was a nice evening out with the wife–a rare occurrence for us. I don’t regret having time with just her. What was kind of lame is that she had to drive down separate from me because I was already in town. Obviously, after the show, we had to ride home separately. That was weak and lame.

Fun times. Can’t wait for the show in April!