Sunday, October 19, 2008
10/10
Very busy day in Dumbek's concert history.
10/10/94 - The Grateful Dead - USAir Arena - Landover, MD
I can't remember anything in particular about this one. Looking at the setlist, it doesn't surprise me that I forgot about it. BOOORING. I haven't listened to this one in years, and I'm not about to dig out the tapes. Quite possibly the dullest 1st set ever. Other than the opening "Iko Iko" and "Althea," every other song could be considered a "bathroom song". At least it was ridiculously short at only six songs. Even the 2nd set looks dull. I know you can't always judge a show by the setlist, but given that this is 1994 my hopes aren't terribly high that they came through. Short show - 15 songs. And the encore was "I Fought The Law." That's possibly the 2nd most reviled live Dead song - 2nd only to "Day Job." At least it was close to home.
1: Iko Iko, Walkin' Blues, Althea, Desolation Row, Loose Lucy, Eternity
2: Help>Slip>Franklin's, Estimated Prophet, Terrapin>Drumz>Watchtower>Stella Blue>NFA
E: I Fought The Law
10/10/03 - R.E.M. @ Alltel Pavilion - Raleigh, NC
A handful of different songs from the previous night made this a fun one. They sounded great and appeared to be having a great time. None of that really matters though. What matters is that this show goes into the books as marking the return of Mr. Bill Berry. Bill Berry came out about halfway into the encore and joined-in on backing vocals for "Radio Free Europe". When that was finished they had a little band meeting on stage (during the thunderous applause) and within a few minutes Bill was sitting behind the drum kit. Bill counted them off and they jumped into "Permanent Vacation" - that song that dates back to the pre-Chronic Town days. This was Bill's first appearance with the band since the Monster tour in 1995. I can absolutely guarantee that I was jumping around and screaming like a little girl the whole time. One of my all-time favorite concert moments. Probably my favorite R.E.M. moment.
Finest Worksong / So Fast, So Numb / Driver 8 / Drive / Animal / Disturbance At the Heron House / So. Central Rain / Bad Day / The One I Love / Electrolite / Begin The Begin / World Leader Pretend / I've Been High / Losing My Religion / Find The River / She Just Wants To Be / Walk Unafraid / Man On The Moon
encore: Life And How To Live It / Nightswimming / Sweetness Follows / Imitation Of Life / Radio Free Europe / Permanent Vacation / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
setlist from the awesome remtimeline
10/10/2005 Foo Fighters @ Patriot Center - Fairfax, VA
Weezer opened. We opted for the beer garden instead.
This was my first big Foo show. I had seen them twice before, but in clubs. This was the first time we got to see them in full rock-star mode. They did not disappoint. Our seats were 2 rows off the floor, but way in the back. That was fine by us. We decided to skip the GA floor. We're too old for that.
Fantastic show. I'll stand by my statement that the Foos are one of the best flat-out rock and roll bands out there today. Grohl is a terrific front-man and they always put on a helluva show.
I wish they did more regular shows around here. It seems like they play festivals, club shows, or just skip DC altogether. The club shows have been great and I know I've been very lucky to get into those, but just come to DC and put on another big rock show already.
10/10/2006 - Eric Clapton @ Verizon Center - Washington, DC
Clapton is one of those people I always forget about, but I'm always impressed when I hear him. I hadn't seen him in about 14 years. I figured it was time to check him out again. This was one of those "I'll go if I can get a great seat with minimal effort" shows. It took about 20 seconds to secure a seat on the front half of the floor. Good enough.
Robert Cray opened. In any other company I'd be gushing about how wonderful Cray was. But c'mon - I'm waiting for Clapton to come onstage. I had no idea Derek Trucks was sitting in as Eric's "other" guitarist. Holy crap. Derek is a fantastic slide player. His current gig is with the Allman Brothers. For still being in his 20's - he's keeping pretty good company.
Clapton sounded great - as expected. Seeing him and Derek go at it was incredible. Having Robert Cray sit in with both of them for a few songs was just ridiculous. I don't know much of Clapton's catalog, but he played enough hits to keep me happy - "Cocaine," "Pretending," "Wonderful Tonight," "Crossroads" and a bunch more. The highlight was probably "Layla," featuring Derek on slide guitar. Wow. He's no Duane, but that was pretty f--king sweet.
10/10/2008 - Shudder To Think - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
For some reason I never really got into Shudder To Think. I started listening to them after-the-fact, when I was trying to catch up on all the local music I had missed in the early 90's when I was chasing The Dead around. I liked most of their records - especially the Dischord ones, but there was never enough there to keep me going back. I figured if I was going to check them out - this was my chance.
I was kind of surprised to hear they were playing 9:30. I didn't realize they were that popular. Turns out my first instinct was correct. The club wasn't even half-full. That makes for a great experience for me, but that's gotta suck for the band, I'd think. Maybe people stayed away because it was an early show. Dunno. Anyway - I watched a few songs from the main floor, then moved up to the balcony where I could sit and had a fantastic view.
I was surprised how much I liked them. They brought the rock, for sure. "Rock" is a bit of a misnomer, I guess. Their music is definitely rock-based, but there's something about it that's just slightly off-kilter. It's totally accessible, but kind of quirky at the same time. It's a bit odd. I like it. At times Craig reminded me a bit of Scott Weiland. I'm not sure exactly why, but that's who kept popping up in my head as I watched. Very entertaining to watch. Despite owning a bunch of their records, I don't actually know a single song, so I have no idea what they played. I liked it all though. Enough that I'm making a conscious effort to go back and re-listen to everything.
The early time slot brought an early end. They didn't even have time to do an encore. Too bad. I wouldn't have minded a little more.
10/10/94 - The Grateful Dead - USAir Arena - Landover, MD
I can't remember anything in particular about this one. Looking at the setlist, it doesn't surprise me that I forgot about it. BOOORING. I haven't listened to this one in years, and I'm not about to dig out the tapes. Quite possibly the dullest 1st set ever. Other than the opening "Iko Iko" and "Althea," every other song could be considered a "bathroom song". At least it was ridiculously short at only six songs. Even the 2nd set looks dull. I know you can't always judge a show by the setlist, but given that this is 1994 my hopes aren't terribly high that they came through. Short show - 15 songs. And the encore was "I Fought The Law." That's possibly the 2nd most reviled live Dead song - 2nd only to "Day Job." At least it was close to home.
1: Iko Iko, Walkin' Blues, Althea, Desolation Row, Loose Lucy, Eternity
2: Help>Slip>Franklin's, Estimated Prophet, Terrapin>Drumz>Watchtower>Stella Blue>NFA
E: I Fought The Law
10/10/03 - R.E.M. @ Alltel Pavilion - Raleigh, NC
A handful of different songs from the previous night made this a fun one. They sounded great and appeared to be having a great time. None of that really matters though. What matters is that this show goes into the books as marking the return of Mr. Bill Berry. Bill Berry came out about halfway into the encore and joined-in on backing vocals for "Radio Free Europe". When that was finished they had a little band meeting on stage (during the thunderous applause) and within a few minutes Bill was sitting behind the drum kit. Bill counted them off and they jumped into "Permanent Vacation" - that song that dates back to the pre-Chronic Town days. This was Bill's first appearance with the band since the Monster tour in 1995. I can absolutely guarantee that I was jumping around and screaming like a little girl the whole time. One of my all-time favorite concert moments. Probably my favorite R.E.M. moment.
Finest Worksong / So Fast, So Numb / Driver 8 / Drive / Animal / Disturbance At the Heron House / So. Central Rain / Bad Day / The One I Love / Electrolite / Begin The Begin / World Leader Pretend / I've Been High / Losing My Religion / Find The River / She Just Wants To Be / Walk Unafraid / Man On The Moon
encore: Life And How To Live It / Nightswimming / Sweetness Follows / Imitation Of Life / Radio Free Europe / Permanent Vacation / It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
setlist from the awesome remtimeline
10/10/2005 Foo Fighters @ Patriot Center - Fairfax, VA
Weezer opened. We opted for the beer garden instead.
This was my first big Foo show. I had seen them twice before, but in clubs. This was the first time we got to see them in full rock-star mode. They did not disappoint. Our seats were 2 rows off the floor, but way in the back. That was fine by us. We decided to skip the GA floor. We're too old for that.
Fantastic show. I'll stand by my statement that the Foos are one of the best flat-out rock and roll bands out there today. Grohl is a terrific front-man and they always put on a helluva show.
I wish they did more regular shows around here. It seems like they play festivals, club shows, or just skip DC altogether. The club shows have been great and I know I've been very lucky to get into those, but just come to DC and put on another big rock show already.
10/10/2006 - Eric Clapton @ Verizon Center - Washington, DC
Clapton is one of those people I always forget about, but I'm always impressed when I hear him. I hadn't seen him in about 14 years. I figured it was time to check him out again. This was one of those "I'll go if I can get a great seat with minimal effort" shows. It took about 20 seconds to secure a seat on the front half of the floor. Good enough.
Robert Cray opened. In any other company I'd be gushing about how wonderful Cray was. But c'mon - I'm waiting for Clapton to come onstage. I had no idea Derek Trucks was sitting in as Eric's "other" guitarist. Holy crap. Derek is a fantastic slide player. His current gig is with the Allman Brothers. For still being in his 20's - he's keeping pretty good company.
Clapton sounded great - as expected. Seeing him and Derek go at it was incredible. Having Robert Cray sit in with both of them for a few songs was just ridiculous. I don't know much of Clapton's catalog, but he played enough hits to keep me happy - "Cocaine," "Pretending," "Wonderful Tonight," "Crossroads" and a bunch more. The highlight was probably "Layla," featuring Derek on slide guitar. Wow. He's no Duane, but that was pretty f--king sweet.
10/10/2008 - Shudder To Think - 9:30 Club - Washington, DC
For some reason I never really got into Shudder To Think. I started listening to them after-the-fact, when I was trying to catch up on all the local music I had missed in the early 90's when I was chasing The Dead around. I liked most of their records - especially the Dischord ones, but there was never enough there to keep me going back. I figured if I was going to check them out - this was my chance.
I was kind of surprised to hear they were playing 9:30. I didn't realize they were that popular. Turns out my first instinct was correct. The club wasn't even half-full. That makes for a great experience for me, but that's gotta suck for the band, I'd think. Maybe people stayed away because it was an early show. Dunno. Anyway - I watched a few songs from the main floor, then moved up to the balcony where I could sit and had a fantastic view.
I was surprised how much I liked them. They brought the rock, for sure. "Rock" is a bit of a misnomer, I guess. Their music is definitely rock-based, but there's something about it that's just slightly off-kilter. It's totally accessible, but kind of quirky at the same time. It's a bit odd. I like it. At times Craig reminded me a bit of Scott Weiland. I'm not sure exactly why, but that's who kept popping up in my head as I watched. Very entertaining to watch. Despite owning a bunch of their records, I don't actually know a single song, so I have no idea what they played. I liked it all though. Enough that I'm making a conscious effort to go back and re-listen to everything.
The early time slot brought an early end. They didn't even have time to do an encore. Too bad. I wouldn't have minded a little more.
