Rainy Day/Black Crowes 4.17.2013

Chicago is flooding.



That's about 2 blocks from our apartment. Oh, and nice honk, jackass.

Saw The Black Crowes last night at The Vic. Quite a good show, even if I admit I'm not as familiar with their catalog post, say, 1998. A truly solid band, and one that, in the main, can go off on long, impromptu jams without becoming dull.

And there was a lot of that. Again, most of it was really well executed, but there were a couple of points where I felt like the song had fallen apart, only to see them strap it all back together again. It was kind of mesmerizing in the sheer audacity of it. Not to say that some of the free-form noodling didn't get a little...stultifying. I usually enjoy this sort of thing, but there comes a point where a song's going on 10 minutes or so, and I begin to feel like the band is just looking back and forth at each other, thinking "are you gonna take it? Is it my turn to take it?" I'm just thinking "wrap it up."

Now, that's a criticism, but. please, don't take that as a slam of the entire show. I think every musician that tries this sort of jam knows that often, it's just not going to make it to "brilliant." The fact is, I'm talking about 2 songs out of an eighteen song set. The Crowes (who, despite interest, I hadn't seen until last night) know what they're doing, and they are masters of it. I was particularly impressed that vocalist Chris Robinson stayed on stage, engaged, during the long instrumental breaks. I've seen so many, far too many, lead singers who look at any solo as a chance to slip backstage for...whatever.

Robinson is, truly a consummate, magnetic frontman. He didn't talk much, a few "thank you"s here and there, but he clearly formed a bond with the audience. I was also struck by the wide demographic The Black Crowes play to. There was the bikers, the hippies and the aging frat boys, and the music spoke to all of them, in some way. That's pretty special. 

I was a little surprised that Rich Robinson mainly worked as a rhythm guitarist for most of the set, leaving the soloing and pyrotechnics, in the main, to new member Jackie Green. Again, I'd never seen them before, but I'd understood Rich to be the lead guitarist. That said, Rich took the lead vocal for a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" during the encore that was THE highlight of the show for me.

All-in all, a really solid show by a true rock and roll band. Although, man...I Missed "Soul Singing" by one night! Biggest disappointment for me, personally. 

Setlist:
Twice as Hard
Good Morning Captain
Feelin' Alright (Traffic cover)
My Morning Song - Stare It Cold - My Morning Song
Ballad in Urgency
Wiser Time
She Talks to Angels
Woah Mule
Title Song
Thorn in My Pride
Nonfiction
Remedy
Been a Long Time (Waitin' on Love)

Shine Along
Oh! Sweet Nothin' (Velvet Underground cover)
Boomer's Song (Ry Cooder cover)

The Frankenstein Playlist: Track Fourteen

The Playlist So Far:

• 1- The Creature Lives by Mastodon
• 2- My Father's House by Bruce Springsteen
• 3- Cold Water by Tom Waits
• 4- The Apparition by Iron Maiden
• 5- Rusty Cage by Johnny Cash 
• 6- Ride the Lightning by Metallica
• 7- Witch Hunt by Rush 
• 8- Black the Sky by King's X 
• 9- No Quarter by Led Zeppelin
• 10- The Flame by Cheap Trick 
• 11- Devils and Dust by Bruce Springstee
• 12- Dead and Bloated by Stone Temple Pilots 
• 13- I Don't Believe in Love by Queensryche

So Perfect. Such Beauty. Such Innocence.

She Talks to Angels 
by The Black Crowes


She never mentions the word addiction
In certain company
Yes, she'll tell you she's an orphan
After you meet her family

She paints her eyes as black as night now
Pulls those shades down tight
Yeah she gives a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna make everything alright

Chorus:
Says she talks to angels
They call her out by her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name

She keeps a lock of hair in her pocket
She wears a cross around her neck
Yes the hair is from a little boy
And the cross from someone she has not met
Not yet

Chorus 2:
Says she talks to angels
Says they all know her name
Oh yeah, she talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name

She don't know no lover
None that I ever seen
And to her that ain't nothing
But to me it means, means everything

She paints her eyes as black as night now
She pulls those shades down tight
Oh yeah there's a smile when the pain comes
The pain gonna make everything alright
Alright yeah

She talks to angels
Says they call her out by her name
Oh yeah, yeah angels
Call her out by her name
Oh, oh, oh angels
They call her out by her name
Oh, she talks to angels
They call her out,
Yeah, yeah call her out
Don't you know that they call her out
By her name

Stuck in My Head 1.9.2012 - My New Theme Song.

I've heard this song a million times, but I was listening to a version on a Jimmy Page with the Black Crowes Live CD I found at a used shop yesterday (It's not the same version available on Amazon, apparently it was an earlier internet-only release. It looks like the same tracks, but a different order). Great CD, but this track kicked my ass on the train this morning.

Something about the lyrics really clicked with me. I'm gonna try to learn the riff sometime soon, because I think this has just become my theme song.



Oh Well
Performed by Jimmy Page with The Black Crowes

I cant help about the shape I'm in
I cant sing, I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to

Oh well

Now, when I talked to God I knew he'd understand
He said, stick by my side and Ill be your guiding hand
But don't ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to

Oh well

Stuck in My Head 11.30.2011

Sister Luck (Croweology Version)
by The Black Crowes

Worried sick my eyes are hurting
To rest my head I'd take a life
Outside the girls are dancing
'Cause when you're down, it just don't seem right

Feeling second fiddle to a dead man
Up to my neck with your disregard
Like a beat dog that's walking on the Broadway
No one wants to hear you when you're down

Sister luck, there's screaming out
Somebody else's name
Sister luck, there's screaming out
Somebody else's name

A flip of a coin might make a head turn
No surprise, who sleeps
Held my hand over a candle
The flame burnin' but I never weep

Sister luck, there's screaming out
Somebody else's name
Sister luck, there's screaming out
Somebody else's name
What a shame

Sister luck, there's screaming out
Somebody else's name
Sister luck, there's screaming out
Somebody else's name
What a shame 

I love the alternate versions of the Black Crowes standards on this album (the "Soul Singing" is AMAZING). Something about this song really struck me on the train this morning. Acoustic, bluesy, and I feel like that re-invigorated the band...then, of course, they went on an extended hiatus right after. 

The Weekend Distractions

I took in quite a bit of media this weekend.

On Saturday, I downloaded the first Alter Bridge album, One Day Remains.



I enjoyed it quite a bit. In my previous post about their second album, Blackbird, I had spoken about how I had felt, when first exposed to a few tracks from this record, that it sounded like Creed with a better singer. I can't say that's not true, because it is Creed with a better singer. However, I have really grown to be a big fan of Blackbird, and I figured I should give the first album another shot.

It's another solid hard rock album, driven by excellent musicianship, and great vocals. Tracks 2 and 3, One Day Remains and Open Your Eyes, are a really solid 1-2 punch. Heavy and catchy, with a real sense of melody. You can pretty much say that about the whole album.

I dig it.

Then on Sunday, we had to make a Target run. I got some jeans, a shirt, yadda yadda...

Swung by the electronics department and saw this:



Yep, The Black Crowes have re-recorded a bunch of tracks in a more acoustic-driven style, and called the result Croweology. This album is awesome. The tracks are well recorded and very lively. There's a real sense of getting something new and interesting, which is a real danger on projects like this. Chris Robinson sounds fantastic on these numbers, and the whole band seems elevated by the "retro" concept. It's just great stuff. I think it's the best album I've heard this year, but I've had it just a little over 24 hours, so I reserve the right to change my mind.

It's still one of the best, for sure.

After errands and such, Colene and I went to the movies, seeing (and paying for) two films.

The Kids Are All Right



Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful movie.

A snapshot of a modern family life. Funny and touching in equal turns with great performances all around. I'm a big Mark Ruffalo fan, and his turn here as Paul is the sort of great, honest work he's known for. Really, the heart of the film is Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as Nic and Jules, a long-term lesbian couple, who happened to use Paul's deposit at a sperm bank to bear two, now teen aged, children.

The plot gets rolling when the kids, Joni and Laser, decide they want to find their biological father. Paul's entrance into this family ends up revealing not only the fissures in their relationships, but also changes him. It sounds very Lifetime movie, but it's so very well done. I was especially happy that Paul is not presented as a total loser, which the trailers kind of edged toward. He's a businessman, albeit a non-traditional one. Also, it's nice to see Nic and Jules dealing with the same sorts of "traditional spouse role" problems that plague heterosexual couples.

It's a movie with lots to say about family values, and traditional roles, and gender politics. The joy is that those things are part and parcel of the story being told, rather than something the movie stops for speechifying about.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World



Ahh, Scott Pilgrim.

First off, the film is pretty freakin' entertaining, and, if you grew up playing Nintendo-era video games, there's enough Easter Egg material to choke a goat. Fun stuff, and the cast is across the board fine. Yeah, Michael Cera is a bit to passive for the Scott Pilgrim from the comics, but I accepted him as the movie Scott just fine.

My problem is with the sheer density of the material, this film encompasses all 6 graphic novels. Literally hundreds of pages of material, and it clocks in at under 2 hours. I understand the hyperkenetic style of the piece was intentional, but I repeatedly found myself wishing everything could slow down for a second. The books are filled with many wonderful, quiet moments, and the film just sorta blasts them to smithereens.

Of course, that's playing the "the book was better" card, which is hardly fair to anyone. The movie can't be the book, and if it tries to be too hard you end up with Watchmen. Something that looks great, you know was painstakingly crafted, and feels pretty inert. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World never, ever feels inert. It blasts through it's running time, and you come out the other side with a bit of a silly grin. Really, for a summer evening at the movies, that's a pretty great thing.