2005 Concerts: Part Two

(E: In my year-end Report I believe that I gave the concert count as of 12/30/05, thus the 48 vs. 49 show difference since I did make it to Rex Hobart that night. The "Different Acts" number is really debatable since I think I counted Lyle Lovett (solo acoustic in a songwriter circle) and Lyle Lovett and his Large Band as two separate acts. I still don't know if that's right or not.)

I’m not even going to talk about the Fiesta Bowl. I’m still too upset about the outcome. Instead, part two of my concert reviews, this time from Missouri and other places.

City Market (Kansas City, MO)
1) Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright: Lots of memories of this show with almost none of them having to do with the show itself. See, this was an outdoor show and it rained the entire afternoon resulting in the stage not being set when the show was scheduled to start. Of course, no one mentioned this to the crowd as we all stood in a line five blocks long for an hour and a half for no apparent reason. A wait that gave me plenty of time to a) see a really pretty girl, b) start up a conversation with said girl, c) fail so miserably with the conversation that I suddenly felt like I was 16 again and d) got to spend the next 45 minutes standing next to her because there was absolutely nowhere to escape to. Man, it’s painful just thinking about it. Rufus had a much too short set but put on a good show. Still, he’s an excellent talent. Ben Folds broke a piano string in the first song and unlike a guitar, you can’t really restring a piano. It was just one of those shows. Plus, guys wearing K State football jerseys raising their beers and cheering when the song “Brick” is being played was as surreal as it sounds.
2) Robert Randolph Family Band (Opening Act: Martin Sexton): Actually, this was supposed to be Los Lonely Boys but a huge thunderstorm came through and I took off before they could even officially cancel the show. Martin Sexton jammed again and once again I was nonplussed. Robert Randolph was a lot of fun, he does things with a pedal steel that I don’t think it was ever made for, and I want to catch him at a show where I am not thinking about why I am standing in water in a parking lot next to a metal stage during a thunderstorm.

Starlight Theater (Kansas City, MO)
1) Jack Johnson (Opening Acts: Matt Costa, ALO): This show was much better than I expected. First of all, it was a really cool crowd when I expected to be surrounded by a mix of drunken college kids and thirtysomethings enjoying their one night out a year. Instead, I just got to sit out under the stars and relax and listen to Jack Johnson for two hours. I was surprised at how well his laid back persona and stage presence worked in a large venue. This just missed being a top ten show.
2) Lyle Lovett and his Large Band: Another show that featured a huge thunderstorm beforehand (I don’t have much luck with outdoor shows). This was a real thrill for me as I’ve missed opportunities to see Lyle in this format for a good decade now. Great sound, great style with band members appearing and disappearing at random intervals. I could have done without the ten minutes of having the crowd guess whether certain band members own a truck or not. I still don’t know what that was about. But it’s Lyle, he can do pretty much anything he wants.

Crown Center (Kansas City, MO)
1) Kansas City Irish Fest (Acts Seen: Cathie Ryan Band, Old Blind Dogs, Wolfstone): There are a lot of things I could mention about this night but I’ll keep things on the musical side of the ledger. While watching the Old Blind Dogs it occurred to me how amazing it is to see a guy play a fiddle and pull off what sounds like the most complicated piece of music imaginable and he doesn’t even look like he’s breathing hard. I know it is all muscle memory but it is just damn impressive, especially when you’ve seen more than enough guitar solos where it looks like the guitarist is in physical pain.

The Hurricane (Kansas City, MO)
1) Cracker: This was a Halloween show, which means that I a) saw the requisite woman dressed as Dorothy and b) spent the entire show standing in front of the show next to Gina, a big Cracker fan who just happened to be wearing bunny ears. That’s it, dressed perfectly normally with a pair of bunny ears. You have no idea how attractive that looks and how difficult it makes holding a conversation. This was one of those nights where I got to stand in front of the stage and watch someone that I listened to on 120 Minutes and enjoy every minute of it. And they played Camper Van Beethoven’s “Matchstick Man”, can’t beat that.

Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
1) The Elders: Record Bar is the bar in which my beer tab is paid through my trivia winnings. I came in to this show as the second set was starting and as a general rule, don’t show up sober to the second half of a popular Irish rock band’s show. I was a good keg behind the crowd. The Elders are basically a KC version of The Frames so take that for what you will.

Knucklehead’s Saloon (Kansas City, MO)
1) The Iguanas: This is the show I was at on Thursday. To say that Knucklehead’s is in an industrial park is unfair to industrial parks. I honestly think that the train tracks run through the club itself. It would be a great roadhouse club if it was actually on a road. Anyway, The Iguanas are one of my favorite New Orleans bands and I hadn’t seen them in years. Twin saxophone assault (now with a trumpet player added in) combined with a Tex Mex flavor for a sound that you’ve probably never heard before. Lots of fun.

VooDoo Lounge At Harrah’s Casino (North Kansas City, MO)
1) Blues Traveler (Opening Act: Carbon Leaf): Note to the VooDoo Lounge: Hire some bartenders, please. If I end up having to watch Cowboy Mouth sober next month there is going to be some hell to pay. Note to Blues Traveler: A) I know it saved his life but John Popper was a lot more fun when he was fat, B) Does every song require a solo for each band member? And C) Play Run Around earlier so we can all go home. Sorry, I went to this show mainly for Carbon Leaf and forgot that Blues Traveler founded the Horde tour and is a jam band. My bad.

The Blue Note (Columbia, MO)
1) Son Volt (Opening Act: Black Diamond Heavies): This is the show where I drove two hours to see Son Volt who the next night were playing two blocks from my apartment. But it’s Son Volt, they are worth a two hour drive. While I still think that Jay Farrar is a genius I do prefer the earlier version of Son Volt. The fiddle and steel guitar is really missed in this incarnation. This show did allow me to hear Chickamauga played in concert, which was one of those “must experience in my lifetime” moments.

Fitzgerald’s (Berwyn, IL)
1) Anna Fermin’s Trigger Gospel (Opening Acts: The Habaleenas, The Yellow Hammers): Fitzgerald’s is my favorite club in the world located in my hometown of Berwyn. It is very possibly the only source of culture in that entire town. Anna Fermin sings just like Patsy Cline, which wouldn’t be that interesting except that she is Filipino and from Milwaukee. She really does make you wonder if your ears and eyes are experiencing the same moment. Lots of fun and this show gave me a chance to spend some time in one of my old haunts.

Preservation Hall (New Orleans, LA)
1) The Preservation Hall Jazz Band: Whenever you needed to have your soul saved (which in my experience was after about 48 hours in New Orleans), you always knew that you could sit on the floor of Preservation Hall and listen to the best Dixieland jazz that you ever did hear. This started off my night where I basically figured out what I was doing wrong in life. Preservation Hall did survive the flood though many of the musicians are still scattered about. I still wonder what I will now do when I need to get away from the world knowing that New Orleans just isn’t the same.