Concerts

I am a big fan of concerts. Big concerts, small bar shows, etc... I like them all. My busiest week for concerts was in spring of 1996 when me and my good friend db went to 5 concerts in a 7 day period, each between 1 to 3 hours drive away. Oh yeah, did I mention it was Finals Week in college? I was tired for some of the tests but still did really well so it was all worth it. I don't remember exactly which concerts they were right now as me and db went to tons and tons of concerts together...I want to say it was something like: White Zombie, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Saigon Kick, Motorhead, and Primus. I know those were all concerts we went to, I just don't remember if those were in this particular week.

My point is that I love concerts but lately I haven't been much in the mood. We have had some decent concerts come through - Slipknot, Motley Crue, Apolcalyptica, Adler's Appetite, etc... Sure I have seen Slipknot many times, and Motley Crue a handful so skipping them wasn't a huge deal. I've always intrigued by Apolcalyptica and would like to see them live...but when the time came around I just wasn't in the right frame of mind to check them out. Nickelback held no real interest (even though I love the beginning of "Animals" - the cheesy lyrics ruin it though). Lazerfest all day, outdoor rock shows are usually miserable experiences with lack luster sound. All the local bands I used to see have either broken up or been on a hiatus.

Last night, I checked out my first concert of 2009...that is quite a streak without a show for me. I went to Third Eye Blind at the Val Air Ballroom. I have listened to all of TEBs albums once or twice but have never been able to really get into them. I think that has changed now as they put on a great show. The opening band was utterly forgettable. They weren't bad, they just seemed to have songs that were lyrically deep but musically bland. A band that would be awesome if you knew all the words but as first time viewing really don't seem that interesting. All their songs sounded pretty similar (not bad, just unremarkable) with no real hooks to grab the attention of the audience.

Third Eye Blind was great. They sounded good (although he tried to make it seem like he was trying to check the audience when he screwed up a lyric in one song - the whole "just seeing if you guys knew the words" type thing). I liked that they had a good mix of electric and acoustic songs. It was a well thought out set list with a little from each album and their new album coming out later this summer. I was curious what kind of crowd there would be as Third Eye Blind hasn't had a record out in quite a while (6 years), let alone a huge hit. It was a decent crowd, maybe about a thousand, so it was a pretty intimate show. I know my brother was happy that he could get a drink in under 2 minutes.

As always, I would have been more than happy to do without guitar, bass, and drum solos but if that is what allowed Jenkins to do a solo Slow Motion, I forgive them as that was amazing. Slow Motion has always been my favorite TEB song and I didn't think they would actually play it.

It just has such awesome lyrics:

Ms. jones taught me english,

but I think I just shot her son

Cause he owed me money,

with a bullet in the chest you cannot run

Now hes bleeding in a vacant lot

The one in the summer where we used to smoke pot

I guess I didnt mean it

But man you shoulda seen it

His flesh explode

I am now looking forward to some more concerts this summer. Matthew Sweet is playing in a few weeks (who I have tried to see 3 or 4 times but it never has worked out), and the Black Crowes are playing in about a month. The Crowes totally pissed me off last time I saw them because it was just a crappy jam fest and they played only two of their hit songs. The of the time was spent listening to 20 minute versions of their OK but not great songs and smelling the second-hand pot smoke (gross). The upcoming concert is outdoors at an amphitheater on the river...so I should be able to entertain myself even if they are just jamming.