Concert Review - The Killers @ The Warfield, 12 December 2008

wayy overdue, I know, but I just dug out my notes from my desk last night.

I have major denial issues when someone warns me that one of my favourite bands are horrible live. I therefore proceeded not to heed the numerous warnings which I had received about the Killers, and went enthusiastically to their December 12th Warfield show.

I was so disheartened by the performance, I immediately listened to Hot Fuss on my mp3 player right after the concert to remind myself why I love them so much.
It’s hard, sometimes, to be objective when it comes to bands that you personally adore.

But, I’ll say it.

The Killers suck live.

Let’s recap the pleasant parts of the evening:

1. Mark sang surprisingly pleasant background vocals on “For Reasons Unknown”.
2. Dave busted out impressive guitar work on “When You Were Young”.
3. Ronnie was the best of the four, which isn’t really saying anything, because his performance was decent at best. Actually, come to think of it, the best of the performers was actually the guy playing sax in the background.

Brandon, oh Brandon,
You should have been a dancer, with all of that fancy footwork which you displayed on stage. What happened to your voice? Horrid, horrid.

The least appalling song of the set was “Losing Touch”, which Brandon sang decently, and the band managed to actually capture that excellent, powerful, soaring sound which can be found on record.

Brandon ruined “Mr. Brightside” for me. He barely sung it, letting the audience screech the entire thing. Doesn’t that song mean anything to you, sir? Am I the only one who thinks that it is a significant stride in art and should be displayed proper respect?

Mr. Flowers abandoned his strangely high-yet-flat vocals and went for a more subtle, touching approach by playing “Smile Like You mean It” on piano and singing in an ostensibly sincere way that just came off as another epic failure on his part as a performer. I wasn’t moved at all.

The worst part of the show? The crowd ate the entire thing up.

Oh, the glories of commercialism.

1.5/5

Do yourself a favour. Save your money. Don't be stupid and blindly unwilling to face the truth like I was. Do not go see the Killers live. It may just ruin them for you, permanently. At least I can still listen to their albums without being angry. I can look past their shitty performance, but I don't know if you can.

Set List:

Human
Neon Tiger
For Reasons Unknown
Somebody Told Me
Losing Touch
Spaceman
Read My Mind
Joy ride
Smile Like You Mean It
Sam’s Town
Bones
Mr. Brightside
All These Things That I have Done

ENCORE:
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
Sweet Talk
When You Were Young

concert review: Panic at the Disco @ The Warfield

yeah so I saw Panic 2 Thursdays ago when they kicked off their honda civic tour (which they deemed their Happy Birthday Brendon tour, with said lead singer attaining the ripe old age of 21...oh the lucky bastard...) anyhow, I've been swamped with work so I haven't had the time to write a proper review, and now, it's been such a long time (and, quite honestly, too many joints) that I won't be able to recollect everything from that night, just the important things which I so smartly wrote down the next day. so be forewarned, this is not a review, but merely a summary of the night's events.

first off, their incredibly catchy "she's a handsome woman" off their new record was stuck in my head for DAYS after. they introduced it by stating "this is a rock and roll song". thanks, Panic. but in all honesty, Panic has undergone some major changes in the past couple of years. they've shed their whole burlesque/vaudville/electronica-pop coat and (successfully) moved on to...well, they moved on to back in time when music was music and the voice was more than capable of what most synthesizers do today. also, their record has a lot of different "genres"..taking influences from folksie stuff to blues to country to good ol' rock n roll. this being said, hello Ryan Ross, who knew you had such an amazing voice?! he gave a spectacular rendition of "I have friends in holy spaces", which Brendon sings on the record.

She had the world [mp3] if his vox don't make you tear up, even just a bit, you are DEAD INSIDE.
I also really adore this song: Behind the sea [mp3], but that might just have to do with the fact that Ryan winked at me while singing it. whew. "we're all too smart to talk to g-d". yep, yep, yep.

for the record, their new album makes you feel a myriad of emotions, all good, ranging from excited/giddy [their lead single, nine in the afternoon, of course, referencing Ryan's complaint that he thought it was 7 in the afternoon when they were stuck in the recording studio with no windows for ridiculous amounts of time] to really quite at home [northern downpour]. Pretty. Odd. is to good-soundtrack-to-your-life music what A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was to a workout playlist...meant to be.

their performance was obviously a bit less than perfect, they seemed a bit intimidated and unsure of themselves. Ryan delivered through and through, though, and all of them performed quite well, the guitars BLEW MY MIND AWAY (bass included) that green gentleman anyone?
anyhow, yeah, even though their performance was not up to their own standards, it was still pretty fucking amazing.

they played a lot off of their first record, only all remixed versions. Brendon encored with "Time to Dance" [which he explained was their first recorded song] by himself on an acoustic guitar, asking the audience to full in for the missing keyboard intro. come to think of it, there was a lot of acoustic-guitar goings on during that show. the rest of the band joined Brendon after he finished to sing a couple more encore songs, Pas De Cheval [I LOVE this one. for some reason, it reminds me of Aretha Franklin. a LOT.] and Mad As Rabbits, the closer to their record.

oh, just for the record, there were three opening bands: phantom planet, the hush sound and motion city soundtrack, and PP was BY FAR the best, they gave such a spectacular performance, really genuine and heartfelt. they're just a great band who love what they're doing. it's kind of sad how that's refreshing...so many people in the music industry have just lost touch with the music and the connections it's supposed to induce with the fans...

one final thought: I almost started crying when they sang "there's a good reason these tables are numbered honey, you just haven't thought of it yet"...by far my favourite by them, and I quite enjoyed the twist they added to it.

so yeah, I stick to my word, they are, and have always been a great band. people were far too hard on them, partly because of how played out "I write sins not tragedies" became, but COME ON, most of the band weren't even 18 when they made their first record! they are musical prodigies, and more importantly, willing to learn and adapt, as they displayed with their much matured and very enjoyable sophomore record. not to mention they deliver great live sets, which is so important. I've seen them twice now and will definitely trek a third (and fourth etc) the next time they're in the neighborhood.

concert review: My Chemical Romance @ The Warfield

Thursday night I went to see My Chemical Romance at The Warfield and was pretty taken aback.

First of all, the opening act, Billy Talent, blew my mind away. They are that band who inspire you so much after hearing a couple of songs, you immediately want their entire discography and accompanying lyrics. They reminded me of all of that angst and rebelliousness I had in high school. I've become a lot more passive lately and seeing them brought me back to a better time. The same can be said of MCR.

Let's begin with the quality of sound that they displayed. Perfection. Frankie's rhythm worked so well with all of Ray's solos. Mikey and Bob gave some damn good backbone with their respective bass and drums.

Their stage presence: Mikey finally helped me understand why everyone is in lust with him. He embodied that sexy musician in an alternate universe look, with his hair in his face and such concentration to his bass that you'd think he was a robot.
Frank and Ray made out for a few seconds. Priceless.

Gerard and Frank both lit cigs onstage and just started smoking. Their complete lack of concern for CA state laws or getting in trouble with the Warfield people was brilliant.

GERARD IS NO LONGER BLOND! thank goodness. also, he had this constant hip thrust thing while he was singing that drove me cah-razy.He also jumped up and down and urged people to do the same.

Also, they incorporated Bob quite nicely (the drummer is usually forgotten) and Gerard told the audience it was up to him whether or not they finished their set.
Gerard's voice was strained, he seemed completely drained, but he still gave a great performance. Regardless, his voice was overpowered by the music and the audience's singing, because nearly everyone knew all of the lyrics to all of the songs and were singing along. Myself included. Twas brilliant.

The people at the show were what you would classify as "emo" or "outcasts" and I realized how MCR, and music in general, really is all that those people have. I mean I used to be kind of emo in high school. I understand how hard it is not to be accepted by your peers and not to be good enough for your parents. MCR indeed serves as a refuge for these guys.

The set list was amazing. Of course, they played what they told the audience was hailed as MTV's summer anthem of 2004, "I'm not ok (I promise)". Much to my surprise and pleasure, they played my favourite, "House of Wolves". Most of the songs came from their latest record, The Black Parade, a couple from their debut and a handful from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, including a song which I think is one of the sexiest things of all time: "You Know what they do to guys like us in prison". Oh what that song does to me...

The most moving song was, hands down, "Cancer". Their performed it superbly and the audience's reaction was chilling. It was really obvious how much the song meant to everyone, and to all of us in different ways. Most amazingly, everyone was quiet and attentive, and nobody was singing aloud in a way that overpowered the band. Everyone was in complete unison and harmony, twas beautiful.
They gave an encore with their immensely popular "Helena" which Gerard pronounced "Helayna". Finally, I was confused about how to pronounce that for ages.

So I am going to do what plenty of music mags have done before me without me fully understanding it, and hail My Chem as one of the greatest live acts of today. It wasn't so much about a superb sound (don't get me wrong, they were fucking brilliant but that's not the jest of it) but the atmosphere. They weren't pretentious at all, Frankie took time after the show to take pictures with fans and sign autographs (he was quite patient with my stupid temperamental camera that went off at the wrong time). They were fully involved with the audience without losing their grip as musicians. But most importantly, I know that seeing them perform was probably the highlight of a lot of people's lives. And that's what music is all about. Changing lives and inspiring people. Letting some misunderstood teenager know that someone else has been there and that there is an end to all of the misery which seems like it'll never cease. Gerard told us just to go out there and do what we love. I'm really thankful that he follows his own advice.

Dead!:


"if life aint just a joke, then why are we laughing?" yep, their lyrics kind of kick ass.

My Chemical Romance - House of Wolves [mp3]