Reel Big Fish & Goldfinger, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

Lesson of the Day: Don’t wear sandals in a mosh pit

I had certainly heard of both Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger and remember their moderate popularity in the 90’s along with other punk/ska bands of the day, but I was not too familiar with their music and probably could not even name one of their minor hits with any confidence. But in I’m always up for a show, even more with the likelihood of moving to Chicago is almost a certainty. Like Modest Mouse the previous week, the crowd was older and mostly male. We had a fairly similar spot, perhaps a little closer. Goldfinger was the first to take the stage. As they stepped out, it was clear they were clearly a group of middle aged guys, but they nonetheless brought the energy of a bunch of newbies.

As I knew it was a ska show, I was anticipating a lot of dancing. However, what I didn’t anticipate was all the moshing, perhaps because I didn’t realize how punk the show would also be. A mosh pit developed within a few minutes of the show starting and I quickly realized that getting a good spot before the show started was not really necessary. I had not been in a mosh pit for a little while, so I rushed from the middle of the venue up to within a few rows of the front and got right in the mix of it all. It was hot, sweaty, and a little gross, but fun, even though I wasn’t all that familiar or into the music. It was a very rambunctious crowd; the people in the pit were throwing themselves about, effectively opening up the middle of the floor and rushing from one side to the other, with Goldfinger egged them on. It certainly was exhausting as well. Everyone played the game well though, acting respectfully, like stopping to help find lost flip flops and immediately helping the fallen to their feet.

However, not anticipating what I would be getting myself into, I made the mistake of wearing Chacos. And while they’re very comfortable, they do very little to protect the top of your feet from people stepping on them. At first, it was just a minor annoyance, but as the night wore on and my toes became more tender, the series of slight missteps of my fellow concert goers onto my toes grew unbearable. So toward the end of Goldfinger, the breaks I would take out of the mosh pit to catch my breath and let the pain in my feet dissipate grew longer and my forays into middle grew shorter. I ended up knowing only one Goldfinger song, one I recognized from a Tony Hawk Playstation game in the early 2000’s.

After an hour or so of Goldfinger, Reel Big Fish took the stage as well. Fortunately, their show required a little less moshing (though still plenty) and a little more dancing. Considering the shape of my feet though, that was fine with me. Again, I only knew a few songs. Actually, the ones that I knew were because they were regularly covered by Free Lobster Buffet, the normal extent of my ska concerts.

The night was a little different from my normal concert going experience but it’s always good to keep yourself open to new experiences.

Governors Ball NYC Music Festival, Randall’s Island, New York , New York

East River music festival

We entered the festival on Randall’s Island, situated in middle of the East River between Manhattan and Queens, on a bright, warm Sunday afternoon. We arrived as The Jezabels, one of the first bands of the day, were onstage but didn’t venture close to the stage until Queens, New York based Freelance Whales. I’m a fan of their debut album, Weathervanes, but wasn’t blown away the last time that I saw them live; I believe at Bonnaroo. However, afternoon sets on hot days at festivals are tough to play and it’s rare that I’ll be blown away. It was pretty much the same experience again. Enjoyable way to start out the day though.

Governors Ball was set up like many other festivals, with two stages and no overlapping sets. We spent the next several hours wandering from stage to stage. For most of the afternoon, we had fleeting interest in the bands and often watched most acts, including Phantogram, The Cults, Devendra Banhart, Built to Spill, and Cage the Elephant from a distance. Sometimes, we just sat off to the side in the shade, at other times we were a little closer in the sun. All were entertaining but none made a particularly large impact.

Explosions in the Sky was the first act of the day that we were really excited to see, so after Cage the Elephant ended, we slid up as close as possible, only a few rows from the stage; it was a great spot. The experience was vastly improved compared to the last time that we saw them, sitting on the lawn at Merriweather amongst various groups of people who weren’t too into the music. This time around was completely different, surrounded by people who also sacrificed seeing any of Fiona Apple in order to get up close. Explosions in the Sky played for a little over an hour, which only consisted of a half dozen long, hard hitting songs. Having a better vantage point allowed us to really hear and feel the build ups and crescendos in the music. And they certainly picked a set from their long repertoire that accentuated that point. Plus, since we were in the middle up close, we were listening to the stage speakers instead of the large stadium speakers on the side. It made everything sound really crisp and clean. It was definitely the highlight of the day.

Explosions in the Sky Setlist:

Catastrophe and the Cure

Postcard From 1952

The Birth and Death of the Day

Your Hand in Mine

Let Me Back In

The Only Moment We Were Alone

After Explosions in the Sky wrapped up their set, we rushed over to the other stage so I could round out my week with a second night of Modest Mouse. They only played five of the same songs that they played on Thursday night at the 9:30 Club. However, because it was a festival set, they did not play for quite as long either, only 14 songs instead of 19. Their set included a pair of songs from their debut album This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996), only one song from The Lonesome Crowded West (1997), once again three songs from The Moon & Antarctica (2000),an extra songs from the smash album Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004), again stuck with three songs from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007), and only one unreleased song.

We were a little further back than I was on Thursday’s show at 9:30 Club, but still pretty close considering that we had to rush over from the very front of Explosions in the Sky. We could certainly see and hear quite well. Isaac Brock was his usual confusing, manic self, complimenting the crowd only by comparing his enjoyment of us to the disdain he felt for the Metallica fans at their Orion Festival the previous evening. Even if a little confused by his comments, the crowd was chanting for more as their set ended. Being a festival, the request could not be honored. Again a fun show as far as I was concerned, with lots of energy and movement on my part. Furthermore, now that the sun had set, it was a much more comfortable evening than a sweaty night at 930 Club.

Modest Mouse Setlist:

Paper Thin Walls

Bury Me With It

Fire It Up

Dashboard

Heart of Mine

Custom Concern

Satin in a Coffin

Bukowski

Gravity Rides Everything

The View

Dramamine

Shit Luck

Tiny Cities Made of Ashes

Missed the Boat

We finished up with Modest Mouse and made our exit. It was Sunday and I had very early train, so I was not too interested in staying to seeing the main headliner of the evening, Beck. Even if only for Explosions in the Sky and Modest Mouse, the festival was well worth it.

Modest Mouse, 9:30 Club, Washington, DC

"I wish I could hit upon a pleasant track of thought, a track indirectly reflecting credit upon myself, for those are the pleasantest thoughts, and very frequent even in the minds of modest, mouse-coloured people, who believe genuinely that they dislike to hear their own praises"

Even though they have not come out with a new album in five years and not even an EP in in three, I’ll never turn down an opportunity to see indie rock gods Modest Mouse. As per their norm, they had a half dozen of them onstage, including a pair of drum kits. Isaac Brook was located on the far right of the stage as per his usual. We heard a good little mix of songs from all their records including a pair of songs from their debut album This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (1996), and three songs each from the rest of their albums: The Lonesome Crowded West (1997), The Moon & Antarctica (2000), Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2005), and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007), as well as another pair from their recent most EP No One’s First and You’re Next (2009). They also played a pair of recent unreleased songs and a Bob Dylan cover. I danced; I wiggled; I belted out lyrics. My only gripe is that they came out pretty late, almost 10pm and they took a really long encore break, which was magnified by the heat.

Setlist:

The Whale Song

I Came as a Rat

3rd Planet

Dashboard

King Rat

Heart Cooks Brain

Tiny Cities Made of Ashes

Ansel

Breakthrough

You Ain't Going Nowhere (Bob Dylan cover)

Parting of the Sensory

Black Cadillacs
The World at Large
The View
Encore:
Custom Concern
Lampshades On Fire
Shit Luck
Missed the Boat
Trailer Trash

Beach Boys, Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, Maryland

Even the old sound young

Although I knew the evening was wasn’t going to compare to being in the front few rows at Wolftrap for Brian Wilson, as I was the previous summer, I was still looking forward to seeing the entire group of surviving Beach Boys on stage for their 50th Anniversary tour.

The oldest crowd that I had ever seen for a show at Merriweather has gathered together on a beautiful night on the lawn. The grass was littered with lawn chairs, so in that sense, it was a lot more like Wolftrap than I would have otherwise thought; too bad you could not bring your own booze and picnic. The lawn was pretty full but considering how many lawn chairs there were, the show was not even close to selling out. We found a good spot towards the back middle section. As is acceptable at every other concert at Merriweather, when the band came out, we stood up. Pockets of others were doing the same, though most people were sitting. This wasn’t a popular move with a handful of people us; we replied that we would stand and dance a bit, then sit a bit. Later, another guy wasn’t having any of it and told us that we better sit down because EVERYONE behind us was pissed. His string of curses and homophobic insinuations certainly didn’t make us feel any more like sitting either. Shortly thereafter, everyone on the lawn stood up anyway.

Anyway, back to the show, though the Beach Boys are very much an ensemble of musicians and vocals, Mike Love was the front man for the group, introducing the songs and band mates. He also did not miss a single opportunity to hock various Beach Boys merchandise, everything from CDs to sweatshirts. He must have mentioned that items were available in the merchandise tent a dozen or more times throughout the night. It was frankly kind of tacky. He also said they were selling signed copies of their new record with all of the original band’s signatures. Kind of misleading because, obviously Carl and Dennis couldn’t have signed it, so it was unclear who these “original” members were. I must say that considering how old they all are, it was amazing how great they sounded. Even though Brian Wilson looked lost on stage (as he did last year), he and the rest of the boys still know what notes to hit. They played two solid sets, cycling through all of their hits and a half dozen covers. They also included a few tributes to Carl and Dennis that featured recordings of vocal tracks sung by them. Dennis’s tribute song was “Forever.” Personally, I would have preferred an Uncle Jesse tribute, but I guess Full House fans are not their target demographic.

Setlist:
Set 1:
Do It Again
Little Honda
Catch a Wave
Hawaii
Don't Back Down
Surfin' Safari

Surfer Girl

Wendy
Then I Kissed Her (The Crystals cover)
It's OK
This Whole World
Kiss Me, Baby
Isn't It Time
Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers cover)
When I Grow Up (to Be a Man)

Darlin'
Please Let Me Wonder
Be True to Your School
Cotton Fields (Lead Belly cover)
Disney Girls
Ballad of Ole' Betsy
Don't Worry Baby
Little Deuce Coupe
409
Shut Down
I Get Around
Set 2:
Add Some Music to Your Day
Heroes and Villains
California Saga: California
Sloop John B

Wouldn't It Be Nice
I Just Wasn't Made for These Times
Sail on, Sailor
In My Room
All This Is That
That's Why God Made the Radio
Forever
God Only Knows
Good Vibrations
California Girls
All Summer Long
Help Me, Rhonda
Rock and Roll Music (Chuck Berry cover)
Do You Wanna Dance? (Bobby Freeman cover)
Surfin' USA
Encore:
Kokomo
Barbara Ann (The Regents cover)
Fun, Fun, Fun

Radiohead, Verizon Center, Washington, DC

All the Radiohead, none of the rain

I was excited to again see Radiohead, one of my favorite bands, even if I had doubts regarding how their most recent, more experimental album, The King of Limbs, would translate to the stage. For better or worse, this show would be at Verizon Center instead of Nissan Pavilion. So while I would not have to battle the torrential downpour of their last show, the epic backdrop of it was also lacking. I was excited though to be on the floor instead of the lawn. I of course also made sure to arrive early enough to be fairly close to the stage, probably about 30-40 feet.

The night was opened by electrohouse musician Caribou. While nearly absent of vocals, his high energy set was a good start to the evening. Shortly thereafter, Radiohead took the stage. The first thing I noticed was just how short and goofy looking Thom Yorke is up close. He was unmistakable as the music started and he busted out his strange little dance moves that are featured in the new “Lotus Flower” video. The stage and the lights were set up beautifully with more moving LED screens. However, it the best use of medium that I had seen thus far. They were some really creative color and lighting schemes that enhanced the music well. In particular was when they lowered the lit screens to be directly above their heads, making the huge arena feel like an intimate club.

They jumped around from old to new songs. Their setlist included two songs from both OK Computer (1997) and Kid A (2000), one from Amnesiac (2001), three from Hail to the Thief (2003), four from In Rainbows (2007), and seven from The King of Limbs (2011). They also threw in a four additional oddities from old EPs, new B-sides, or yet to be released. I would have liked to hear a little less of the newest, experimental, and subdued album but I liked what I did hear of it for the most part. I did not like how Yorke’s voice was modulated on “Kid A,” but at least they were trying something new. I was also disappointed that I did not get to hear “Idioteque,” perhaps my favoriate Radiohead song and a staple of many of their shows. They also played several songs that I didn’t recognize at all; I assume they were a few of their recent one off singles released digitally and on YouTube. The whole evening consisted of a solid two hours and indulged us with two separate encores.

Setlist:
Bloom
Airbag
Kid A
Bodysnatchers
Staircase

Codex

Meeting in the Aisle

The National Anthem

Nude

Morning Mr. Magpie

Identikit

Lotus Flower

Go to Sleep

The Gloaming
Feral
There There

Encore 1:

You and Whose Army?

15 Step

Supercollider

Paranoid Android

Encore 2:

Give Up the Ghost

Separator
Reckoner

Airmen of Note, DuPont Circle, Washington, DC

Jazz in the Circle

The United States Air Force Band, Airmen of Note, played an afternoon show in DuPont Circle as part of the Jazz in the Circle Series. My friend Aaron played an integral role in putting on the event. The event was well run, the band was talented. The sun was shining and it was a nice little afternoon to sit on the grass and watch listen to some jazz, prepping for Radiohead later that afternoon.