August 29 2006: Bob Dylan, Jimmie Vaughn, Junior Brown – New Britain Stadium, New Britain CT
For 120 miles on the odometer, $10 in gas and another $10 for a ticket from a guy in front of the gates, I got to see Dylan play “Tangled Up in Blue.” And, actually, to get a little more specific, I got to see Dylan play “Simple Twist of Fate” and then follow that with “Highway 61 Revisited” and then follow that up with “Tangled Up in Blue.” And for that little three-song bit of his set, I am so very very very glad I went to the show.
And also, he played “Like a Rolling Stone,” which was nice to hear again because the only other time I’ve heard him play it was in Seattle a couple years ago, at the Paramount Theatre (which is this very nice classy old theatre, fits a couple thousand people, great acoustics, old wood and chandeliers, that kind of thing) and during “Like a Rolling Stone” this motherfucker security asshole informs me that if I do not sit back down in my seat he will kick me out. It was one of the most bullshit moments of my life. I could not believe it. Everyone else was standing, aside from the middle-aged women immediately behind me. And I say to the guy, “Uh, look man, it’s a rock concert here,” and he counters, “Uh, no it’s not. It’s an entertainment event.” So it was nice to hear the tune again, because that guy pissed me off so much that he pretty much ruined it for me last time. Fucking cocksucker. To this day I wish him ill.
But yeah. It was fun. It was raining and there were people standing in the rain, drinking their beers and smoking their doobies and dancing. And Dylan played “Tangled Up in Blue.”
August 25 2006: The Amity Front, Adam Sweeney – Bishop’s Lounge, Northampton MA
Went and saw some music after getting out of work early. And Adam was opening so I got in for free.
The night went predictably: Adam played well to a crowd more interested in their dates, the Amity Front played their Too Much Dope song and their Company Store song and folks danced along, I drank a few beers, and no pretty young women looked at me and were suddenly filled with the urge to say hello and then come home with me. Good times all around.
August 9 2006: Adam Sweeney – The Main Pub, Manchester CT
Adam was playing a show at a bar and I had just taken my last final exam of the summer and was looking to drink some beers with friends. So Adam and Sairi and I journeyed to Connecticut.
The show was a featured-performer-at-the-end-of-the-open-mike kind of deal. Which meant we drank beers and listened to seven or eight frat-type boys and one spastic woman (Sairi diagnosed bipolar disorder based on observation alone. She must be getting one hell of an education over there at Smith). All the boys played like they were an off-pitch and far less-talented Jeff Mangum fronting the Dave Matthews Band. The girl played all spastic like. Sairi and I vowed to never again do anything in Connecticut except drive through without stopping.
Adam played well though and was a pleasure to listen to, as always. But everyone pretty much vacated the place once they realized he doesn’t just suck complete ass.
August 4 2006: The Rentals, Ozma – Irving Plaza, New York NY
I’ve literally been waiting to see the Rentals for over 25% of my life. One day out of every four I’ve thought to myself, goddamn I wish I were seeing the Rentals tonight. And though Matt Sharp’s solo shows have been fabulous and perfect and beautiful, I could just imagine how much more perfect and more beautiful a Rentals show would be. And they were, somehow. Despite playing no song less than 7 years old, they were perfect.
However, a good portion of the crowd was there for Ozma, the openers. And most of the rest of the crowd seemed to be there just because Sharp used to be in Weezer. And good god, that’s what gets me. I mean, the Rentals kick Weezer’s ass any day of the week. I never listen to my old Weezer albums. Never. I can’t think of the last time I did. But oh, the Rentals. I’ve never stopped listening to the Rentals. And here are all these people at a Rentals show, responding pretty well because they’ve got the records (naturally, I mean it’s a fucking sacrilege to not have every single Weezer side project and offshoot, man) and even seeming to get into the older, more well-known stuff from “Return of,” but then the biggest crowd response to the whole show comes when they do “I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams” (with Rachel on vocals, of course). The crowd fucking explodes, all these 20-25 year old dudes rush to the front of the stage and start an honest-to-god mosh pit, everyone’s singing along, and suddenly it’s clear why everyone’s there: because Weezer isn’t playing that night and this is the next-best thing. What a shame.
Because they opened with “Move On” and they did “My Head is in the Sun” and “Jumping Around” back to back. And they did “California” (the last time I heard anyone sing that song was at a fucking high school battle of the bands. Christ I love that song!), “The Man with Two Brains,” “Please Let that Be You,” “Sweetness and Tenderness,” “She Says it’s Alright,” “Waiting,” “Keep Sleeping,” “Say Goodbye Forever,” “The Love I’m Searching For,” “Friends of P,” “We Have a Technical” (it’s not every show you get applause after announcing, “We’re gonna do a Gary Numan song now”) and even Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” to start the encore (fucking great, changing the lyrics to “Rachel Hayden came and hit the streets“ and “and all the new wave girls say…”).
And oh those new wave girls. There was Rachel with the shaved head on keyboards and bass, another girl with big glasses and big hair who played the violin and keyboards, and another girl who was dancing like my old friend Matt Kaufman would have danced and was wearing a tie and sang all the low harmonies and played guitar and (of course) keyboards. And oh, those harmonies. I would have happily gone home and spent my life with any of them.
The only songs they didn’t play that I was really hoping for were “Getting By” and “Big Daddy C” (which I was soooo hoping they would open with – I remember listening to a live recording of it with the afore mentioned Mr. Kaufman back in college and grinning at each other and commenting on how that would perhaps be the greatest song to hear live, ever), but I’m in no position to complain about the setlist. It was pretty much perfect.
And after the show my buddy Josh and myself closed down the bars and didn't make it back to his place until 430am. Good times all around.
August 1 2006: Kristen Gass, Laura Gibson, Adam Sweeney – Bishop’s Lounge, Northampton MA
You know, for a free show you can’t beat a nice little bill like this.
Adam played first, and it was just a pleasure watching him. His set included my favorite song of his, “Albuquerque,” a cover of the Long Winters’ “Cinnamon,” and a new song I hadn’t heard before but which sounded suspiciously like a certain Steve Earle tune. But it was good so we’ll let that slide. And I didn’t think he had it in him to talk a pre-10pm crowd into singing along to a tune they didn’t know, but he pulled it off. My hat definitely goes off to Mr. Sweeney on that one.
And Laura Gibson, whom I kind of know from Portland (in that we have mutual friends and have met a couple times) played a few songs and was pleasant enough, as was Kristen Gass, whose set I was sad to have to leave early in order to get back to the studying.
