So it's about time I started talking about my favorite music of 2013. Since little-to-nothing has come out this year that I care about, I'm gonna tell you about the four rock shows I've been to this year.
03/22/13: The Saw Doctors at the Vic Theater, Chicago. The Saw Doctors are an Irish folk-rock band with heavy classic rock and American country music influences. I've been into them ever since a friend hooked me up with copies of The Cure and Live in Galway in late 2006, and the strains of "Out for a Smoke", "N-17", and "If Only" echoed through my freezing cold apartment. This was the second time I've seen them, and it was not as good as the first. Granted the band's getting up there in years, but there just wasn't that much energy in the room. There's nothing worse than wanting to get really amped at a show, and realizing you're the only one*. Fun setlist, though. "Michael D Rockin' in the Dail" (A song about the current president of Ireland, who was a college professor of one of the Doctors), "Music I Love" (A song about not doing anything, just chilling and listening to music), and all their live staples.
05/17/13: Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers and Sons of Bill at Abbey Pub, Chicago. Roger Clyne and his drummer P.H. Naffah were in the first rock band I ever saw live back in '96, The Refreshments. Then more than a decade later, Roger, P.H., and the other two guys who make up The Peacemakers packed Joe's Bar and played for three hours, bouncing between then-new cuts from "No More Beautiful World" and fan favorites from The Refreshments era. Every single person in the crowd sang every single word. There was tequila, love, and rock and roll and it was one of the greatest concert experiences of my life**. The way Roger plays off the crowd, and the crowd plays off him, is a special thing that I'm sad to say I've come to take for granted over time. I've seen the Peacemakers more times than any other band save Local H, and every time, I leave happier than I came. Now we're in 2013 and this was my first concert after I swore off liquor, which was awkward because Roger Clyne shows and tequila are basically inseparable. Still, a few beers and a few hours of the nation's finest dirt rock suits me just fine. Sons of Bill is a country-rock outfit from Virginia, and their 2012 album Sirens is just about flawless. My friend and concert companion had seen them open for Roger several times, but this was my first taste of live Sons of Bill. I was blown away by the intensity and chemistry they showed onstage, to the point where I wondered aloud what they were doing opening for anyone. Then they closed with "Santa Ana Winds", their best song, and as I watched their frontman declare "Tonight I'm gonna light that San Fernando/ with kerosene instead,"*** my jaw dropped in awe of the rock I saw before me. Then Roger and the boys came out and proceeded to do what they do, which is something everyone should see at least once. The set from the Abbey Pub might as well have been tailor made for me, with semi-obscure awesomeness like "Buffalo" and "Your Name on a Grain of Rice" to go along with staple rockers "Hello New Day", "I Don't Need Another Thrill", and "Lemons". What I look for now in a RCPM show are songs I haven't seen them play before, and I got that too in "Heaven on a Paper Plate" and "Dolly". Plain and simple, this was a night I won't soon forget.
09/01/13: Collective Soul and The Lovehammers at Rotary Hill, Naperville. The good people at the Naperville jaycees (whatever that is) do a great job of bringing out the nostalgiaheads for their late summer/ early fall festivals. I've seen They Might Be Giants, Soul Asylum, and Everclear at the same venue over the years, to the delight of my inner thirteen year old. I figured Collective Soul would fit right in there, as a band I was once obsessed with but had long since stopped thinking about. But first was The Lovehammers, led by the mad genius that is Marty Casey. This was my third time seeing them, the first being at the same venue. They rock hard every time, with a solid mix of material from their four albums. The usual set starter "Straight as an Arrow" is worth the price of admission by itself, but throw in another dozen good songs and an impromptu cover of "La Bamba" and you've got another band that should never be opening for anyone^. Then it was Collective Soul time. Based on how other bands from the alt-rock era have aged, I wasn't expecting much, but next time I see Collective Soul- and there will be a next time- I'll know to expect something great. Frontman Ed Roland has aged very well, both in appearance and voice. The band was on point as they careened through a set of their greatest hits, including "Heavy", "Listen", "Gel", "December", and then some. After they'd been playing for about an hour, Ed announced that the show would have to be truncated due to weather, so we got "The World I Know" and a brief acoustic rendition of "Shine" before everyone headed for shelter. As much as I would have liked to stay there all night listening to Collective Soul, it was still a memorable end to a surprisingly great night.
09/14/13: Rancid, Violent Femmes, and Blink 182 at Riot Fest, Humboldt Park, Chicago. When I woke up Saturday afternoon, I had no idea my day would turn out like this. But one overheard mention of "Riot Fest" and "Rancid" later, I was on Craigslist seeing how much it would cost and how quick I could get there. See, there's still plenty of great bands I've never seen- Radiohead, NoFX, Live, and Veruca Salt currently top my list- but before Saturday night, one band's presence on that list was more important than all the rest combined. That band was Rancid. I'm currently wearing an "And Out Come the Wolves" t-shirt that barely qualifies as clothing anymore, seeing as how I've had it for 18 years and it's been ripped to rags. Even when I bought it, before my forays into alternapop and harder grunge, I knew "...And Out Come the Wolves" was a modern masterpiece. Its predecessor "Let's Go!" and its successor "Life Won't Wait" are almost as good. So Rancid's been right around that upper echelon of rock bands for over half my life, yet I'd never seen them play. I couldn't be happier or prouder to have changed that. We showed up with 15 minutes to spare, so I caught the tail end of Blondie, beered myself, and prepared to make my life complete. From the moment Tim started with the line "Never fell in love till I fell in love with you" till the last and final "Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby SoHo", I did not stop jumping, I did not stop headbanging, I did not stop singing. Cause that's what you do when you're seeing Rancid. They played half of "Wolves". They played the best song from "LWW". They threw in a scattered sampling of "Let's Go!". Did I mention THEY PLAYED HALF OF AND OUT COME THE FUCKING WOLVES?? I was on such a high, it barely registered that the Violent Femmes played their entire debut album as their set^^, and while we stuck around till the end of Blink 182, I just didn't care. If Blink had taken a cue and played "Dude Ranch" and "Enema" instead of packing their set with stuff from "Blink 182" and "Neighborhoods", it could have been a pleasant and entertaining end to the night. Instead, I got to see what Blink looks like now that they've grown up, and I kind of hated it. When I last saw them, 11 years ago, they made dick jokes and played songs with titles like 'When You Fucked Grampa". It was loose, it was goofy, it was as much cartoon as it was rock show. This particular group of guys making records like "Blink 182" and "Neighborhoods" is like Jim Carrey going from Ace Ventura to "Eternal Sunshine"'s Joel to "The Number 23"'s Walt Sparrow^^^. It's a massive bummer and a waste of potential.
*My apologies to anyone who saw Third Eye Blind and Tonic at the Riviera Theater in 2000. I was, how you say, a spazz.
**Off the top of my head, only three concerts top that first RCPM show: Green Day in 2001 at the Aragon ballroom. Pearl Jam in 2006 at the United Center. Jamboree '99 at Tinley Park featuring Lit, 2 Skinnee J's, Blink 182, Local H, Hole, The Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and other bands.
***There aren't too many bands who can pull off a really good song about arson. Sons of Bill are such a band.
^: I was actually hoping for more songs off their latest record, the excellent Set Fire, but it's really hard to nitpick a show when all the songs are good.
^^: OK, I still thought that was awesome once I heard how many kickass songs were on that one album. Gimme the Car? Please Do Not Go? American Music? Yes please.
^^^: Eternal Sunshine is a solid B+ for originality alone, and I think The Number 23 is one of the best movies of the 21st century. Carrey could have made a dozen more "Me, Myself, and Irene"s, but he chose not to do the expected. I respect that choice and I'm grateful he made it, but it sure pissed a lot of people off.
