Tom and I have been ridiculously sick for the past week or so -- as in "missed my work's holiday party Saturday night" level of sick. And I can't remember the last time we were sick at the same time, so it's an added bonus to have two miserable people in the house. Needless to say, the dog has been camping out with Tom's parents for hours on end, only coming up to make sure we're alive when she wants to be fed.
A few months ago, I bought us tickets to an Aimee Mann concert at the Somerville Theater tonight for Tom's birthday -- he is a huge fan! We didn't read the fine print and were disappointed to learn a week or so ago that it's a Christmas concert, not a regular show. And by this week, feeling as lousy as we did, I can't say that either of us was mustering up a lot of enthusiasm. If the concert had been anywhere other than just over a mile away, we probably would have bagged it.
And we would have missed an awesome, very eclectic show!
For starters, the Somerville Theater in Davis Square is a wonderful place to see a show. Plenty of parking, cheap refreshments (as neither of us was up for a beer, we paid just $4 for a soda and tea!), and the theater portion of the building makes for a very intimate setting. To our delight, Aimee Mann is very down to earth, with a wonderful sense of humor and biting sarcasm (and occasional potty mouth!). The evening was emceed by a rising comedian, Todd Barry, from New York who has that really dry, laid-back personality that quickly had us in stitches. Mann was joined on stage by artists Juliana Hatfield (I can't believe she's 40 -- she looks about 20!) and Nellie McKay (wonderful, very different type of singer whom we had never heard of, but thoroughly enjoyed). Lots of funny, off-beat holiday songs, including a number by the preggo Hanukah Fairy, and a hillarious three-part film that spoofed The Christmas Carol and starred notable actors like John C Reilly and Michael Cera. I almost died laughing!
To Tom's neverending joy, about halfway through the show, Mann says, to hell with this -- not everyone likes Christmas songs, and proceeds with six or so of her own songs, including one or two from her latest album. What an incredible voice -- and as Tom pointed out, with so little perceptible effort!
The show ended up being a real treat! Happy birthday, honey!
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
A shameful, not smashing end for the Pumpkins
Last night Tom and I went to see the Smashing Pumpkins play at the Wang Theater. Totally last minute, Tom picked up newly released seats five rows from the stage on Thursday afternoon. We're not huge Pumpkin fans and don't have a single one of their newer albums, but the tickets were so good, yet cheap that we couldn't pass them up (and given the choice between a family baby shower and the concert, the Pumpkins won hands-down -- sorry Wally!).
At first, we were REALLY impressed. Show started on time (never happens) and with no opening act (another thing you rarely see). They played for 2 1/2 hours straight -- again, impressive. Of the original band, only lead singer Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin remain. There's a girl playing bass who blew me away -- first of all, she's all of 5 feet, maybe 100 pounds soaking wet, and I swear the bass was bigger than she is! She was dressed up in an outfit that made me think of the Jetsons. But all joking aside, she rocked! There was another girl who played keyboard that within the first few minutes, Tom immediately commented "she's a babe." She totally looked like a 1920s pin-up girl, and I was immediately jealous -- not of her looks, but of her clear talent on the piano!
Billy Corgan is either completely out there or absolutely brilliant. We were so close we could see his fingers flying over his guitar, and he did a rendition of the national anthem that was completely Hendrix. But let me ask you: isn't he creepy? Does he look more like a Jack-O-Lantern or more like James Carville?
But I digress. At the end of the show, after a 15 minute jam session on some song, they walked off stage. No good bye, no nothing. The crowd was a little taken aback and confused, so there was what I like to call a "smattering of applause." After a few minutes, the house lights came on. Applause now turned to booing. Security is running around like crazy -- they don't know what's going on either. After about 15 minute of this nonsense, they come back on stage. First it's someone dressed up as Manny Ramirez poking fun at Red Sox fans. Then it's Billy Corgan berating the audience: "We're just back from Europe, and they have this thing over there that you may have heard of: cheering." WTF? He gives the crowd a hard time, then the band comes out and they do two lame numbers, once of which is "Everyone is Beautiful" on kazoos.
Now I've been to a lot of concerts, but never have I seen the band give the audience a total "F.U." What started out as a fantastic show ended on a completely sour note. Brilliant or not, Billy Corgan behaved like a spoiled brat. Read the review from the Boston Globe the following day and see if I'm totally off-base on my assessment.
At first, we were REALLY impressed. Show started on time (never happens) and with no opening act (another thing you rarely see). They played for 2 1/2 hours straight -- again, impressive. Of the original band, only lead singer Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin remain. There's a girl playing bass who blew me away -- first of all, she's all of 5 feet, maybe 100 pounds soaking wet, and I swear the bass was bigger than she is! She was dressed up in an outfit that made me think of the Jetsons. But all joking aside, she rocked! There was another girl who played keyboard that within the first few minutes, Tom immediately commented "she's a babe." She totally looked like a 1920s pin-up girl, and I was immediately jealous -- not of her looks, but of her clear talent on the piano!
Billy Corgan is either completely out there or absolutely brilliant. We were so close we could see his fingers flying over his guitar, and he did a rendition of the national anthem that was completely Hendrix. But let me ask you: isn't he creepy? Does he look more like a Jack-O-Lantern or more like James Carville?
But I digress. At the end of the show, after a 15 minute jam session on some song, they walked off stage. No good bye, no nothing. The crowd was a little taken aback and confused, so there was what I like to call a "smattering of applause." After a few minutes, the house lights came on. Applause now turned to booing. Security is running around like crazy -- they don't know what's going on either. After about 15 minute of this nonsense, they come back on stage. First it's someone dressed up as Manny Ramirez poking fun at Red Sox fans. Then it's Billy Corgan berating the audience: "We're just back from Europe, and they have this thing over there that you may have heard of: cheering." WTF? He gives the crowd a hard time, then the band comes out and they do two lame numbers, once of which is "Everyone is Beautiful" on kazoos.
Now I've been to a lot of concerts, but never have I seen the band give the audience a total "F.U." What started out as a fantastic show ended on a completely sour note. Brilliant or not, Billy Corgan behaved like a spoiled brat. Read the review from the Boston Globe the following day and see if I'm totally off-base on my assessment.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Now this is how a concert should be: Coldplay
Tom and I went to the Boston Garden...er, Fleet Center.....er, TD BankNorth Garden or whatever they're calling the building on Causeway, to see Coldplay.
The show itself was fantastic -- I love the emphasis on piano in their music. Their light/visual effects were incredible -- really very cool. Toward the end of the show, the band hopped into the crowd, went across the venue and picked back up on a very small stage in the middle of the crowd to play one or two songs. Very, very cool! My only complaint -- they should play longer shows (played for one hour, then a 2-3 song encore).
Our seats were the bonus for the evening. We bought into a luxury box through one of Tom's friends with 24 other people. Really pricey and not something we're likely to do again, but we had a private box with a great view, free food, a personal bartender, security to keep the riff-raff out, and nice cushy seats, including couches. Very, very comfortable.
Ah, if only we had a money tree in the backyard!
The show itself was fantastic -- I love the emphasis on piano in their music. Their light/visual effects were incredible -- really very cool. Toward the end of the show, the band hopped into the crowd, went across the venue and picked back up on a very small stage in the middle of the crowd to play one or two songs. Very, very cool! My only complaint -- they should play longer shows (played for one hour, then a 2-3 song encore).
Our seats were the bonus for the evening. We bought into a luxury box through one of Tom's friends with 24 other people. Really pricey and not something we're likely to do again, but we had a private box with a great view, free food, a personal bartender, security to keep the riff-raff out, and nice cushy seats, including couches. Very, very comfortable.
Ah, if only we had a money tree in the backyard!
Friday, June 27, 2008
DMB, take two
We went to the second DMB show last night. Tom had researched the parking a bit and thought we could park in the pay lots early, but alas, no parking anywhere now until 4pm. Not to fear, we drove aimlessly in downtown Mansfield to kill an hour or so, then quickly called his friend Hubie, a Mansfield guy, to see if perhaps we had missed something interesting to do in town. His solution: hang out in his backyard, stick our feet in the pool, and raid a beer or two from the fridge in The Barn (what in our house is affectionately referred to as the Man Cave, seeing as how we don't have an actual separate building!). Needless to say, we asked him to call his very good-natured wife, Meg, to make sure it was okay -- she was feeding a friend's dog with the kids and on her way home, but true to self, said "see you in a few." So for an hour, we hung out with his dog, a longtime friend re-doing his roof, and a motley crew of rabbits, hens, a rooster and a few goats. I stuck the requisite toes in the pool, while Tom fished in the beer fridge. What, did we have a concert to attend?
Long story short -- we left Hubie's to pay $30 to park in a private lot. Had a few beers, weren't terrorized by the cops. Walked a bit further to Great Woods, but well worth the state of mind. Were horrified when GW security harassed a husband and wife -- at least ten years older than I -- when the husband offered a sip of his beer to his wife. She must have had a duplicate license -- an absolute no-no -- and the acne scarred pip-squeak tossed the $8 beer in the trash. Oh, did we have a concert?
Yes, the show was great, although we were disappointed to not hear some of our favorites. The encore was bordering on the bizarre -- he played a very low-key, nearly solo song that neither of us knew, then the whole band returned to cover an old 60s song along the lines of "thank you for letting me be who I am" (or something to that effect). Very disappointed until he ripped off his headset and started dancing around the stage. Dancing was an understatement -- he really tore it up! At some point, Tom and I went from disappointed to amused to laughing it up. Still wish he closed with one of his classics, but it was different!
Long story short -- we left Hubie's to pay $30 to park in a private lot. Had a few beers, weren't terrorized by the cops. Walked a bit further to Great Woods, but well worth the state of mind. Were horrified when GW security harassed a husband and wife -- at least ten years older than I -- when the husband offered a sip of his beer to his wife. She must have had a duplicate license -- an absolute no-no -- and the acne scarred pip-squeak tossed the $8 beer in the trash. Oh, did we have a concert?
Yes, the show was great, although we were disappointed to not hear some of our favorites. The encore was bordering on the bizarre -- he played a very low-key, nearly solo song that neither of us knew, then the whole band returned to cover an old 60s song along the lines of "thank you for letting me be who I am" (or something to that effect). Very disappointed until he ripped off his headset and started dancing around the stage. Dancing was an understatement -- he really tore it up! At some point, Tom and I went from disappointed to amused to laughing it up. Still wish he closed with one of his classics, but it was different!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
DMB, take one
Last night we went to the first of two Dave Matthews Band shows at Great Woods....er, the Tweeter Center....er, the Comcast Center. The show itself was fantastic -- hearing the crowd jam to Everyday was awesome! Tim Reynolds guest performed on electric guitar, which Tom and I had never heard before. A little strange not having piano (although Dave did play for one song), but it did give some of the songs an interesting sound.
The venue, however, was a bit of a nightmare. If you haven't been to Great Woods recently, you now have to show your tickets when you pull into line to park. No tickets, you get sent to Will Call, a temporary parking area in which you have 20 minutes to produce a set of tickets or you are asked to leave. We had three cars and were immediately split up based on tickets (will call, VIP and our regular issue).
The town of Mansfield is cracking down heavily on public drinking, even those of age. In the past, if you've used plastic Solo cups and were of age, they looked the other way. No more -- the police force and event security must be triple what it has been in the past. Granted, you see a lot of kids running around that look extra young, but they weren't messing around. Coolers taken, cars raided. We eventually closed up our car and headed over to meet our friends in the VIP area where not only was the average age closer to ours, there was less fuss.
We complain every year about how stressful it is to see concerts at Great Woods -- maybe this will be the last of the shows we attend.
The venue, however, was a bit of a nightmare. If you haven't been to Great Woods recently, you now have to show your tickets when you pull into line to park. No tickets, you get sent to Will Call, a temporary parking area in which you have 20 minutes to produce a set of tickets or you are asked to leave. We had three cars and were immediately split up based on tickets (will call, VIP and our regular issue).
The town of Mansfield is cracking down heavily on public drinking, even those of age. In the past, if you've used plastic Solo cups and were of age, they looked the other way. No more -- the police force and event security must be triple what it has been in the past. Granted, you see a lot of kids running around that look extra young, but they weren't messing around. Coolers taken, cars raided. We eventually closed up our car and headed over to meet our friends in the VIP area where not only was the average age closer to ours, there was less fuss.
We complain every year about how stressful it is to see concerts at Great Woods -- maybe this will be the last of the shows we attend.
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