i was maimed by rock and roll

WILCO – Popejoy Hall, Albuquerque NM. 09 May 2008

I was late on the WILCO train. I admit it. I’m probably one of the few people that can say that they started listening to WILCO because they saw The Autumn Defense (John Stirratt and Pat Sansone’s side project) first. But that’s my history. I bought not only my first WILCO cd, but every WILCO cd in 2007 (exception: Mermaid Ave.) This wouldn’t all seem so unusual, had I not lived in the land of WILCO for over five years.

The problem with being a WILCO fan in Chicago? Everyone in Chicago is a WILCO fan. They play 5 night residencies, and every show sells out in seconds. When it was announced that they were going to play a show in my new / old home of Albuquerque, I was a little giddy. I was in a class when pre-sale tickets went on sale, so I relied on my husband to get the tickets. I figured he scored big when I saw the tickets were Orchestra Pit, Row B. I thought “Second row! Woohoo!” When we got to the venue, and the usher showed us our seats?

FIRST ROW! WOOHOO!!!!!!

The opening act was Retribution Gospel Choir. Their music was neither gospel, nor choir. They were kinda Deep Purple-meets Rush-meets pain in my ears. That’s all I have to say about that.

Then… WILCO.

I can’t give you a set list because quite honestly, I was too busy dancing around to even think about song names. This was easily one of the best, if not actually the best, rock concerts I have ever been to. And I’ve been to my share of concerts. I was right at the feet of the guitar genius Nels Cline.

That guy is so good it’s SICK.

But the whole band is good. That’s the thing. Yeah, it’s Tweedy’s show, but you can’t help but absorb it as a band, instead of little pieces. Like, when you see Ryan Adams, sure the Cardinals are good. But it’s all about Ryan Adams. This was pure WILCO.

Song highlights for me: Heavy Metal Drummer, Impossible Germany, Side With the Seeds, A Shot in the Arm, Pot Kettle Black, Handshake Drugs, Ashes of American Flags, Hate It Here.

Sadly for me, my über music crush, Pat Sansone was all the way over on the other side of the stage, leaving me to swoon from afar. Trying to take pictures of him is like trying to photograph a tornado.

All in all, it was a mind-blowing, incredible night. There was really no better way to see a band for the first time than in the front row, surrounded by complete die hard maniacs. Definitely, definitely, definitely go see them if you ever get the chance.

Full flickr set.

Teitur – May 2008

This past week, I had the opportunity to travel out to the East Coast to attend some shows by one of my favorite singers, Teitur. My good friend, Sara, was my trusty companion for the trip which started in Wilmington, DE, then moved on to Philadelphia and NYC.

The first opener for the shows was Helgi Hrafn Jonsson, a singer from Iceland who is also part of Teitur’s touring band. Helgi brings to mind Thom Yorke with a hint of Damien Rice. He has an awkward, almost childlike charm and a beautiful voice.

The next opener was a cool band sorta from the Wilmington area, Old Springs Pike. They were as cute as can be, and fun as all hell. They play footstomp, punky folk, bluegrass tinged music. They made me want to get up and dance, and that’s always a good thing. I have crushes on every one of them. I think you’ll be hearing from these guys down the road, make yourself a note that Dianne told you so.

And, of course the highlight of each night… the Mighty Teitur (see the liner notes of his new cd, The Singer, if it seems I’m being cheeky.)

The shows opened with the haunting tune “Guilt By Association.” If you’ve never seen an artist play his guitar with a bow, you are really missing out. The setlists varied a bit from town to town, but some of the highlights for me were the romping “Catherine the Waitress” and the horn driven “The Girl I Don’t Know” both from the new album. The shows were based mostly on the new tunes, but with some sprinkles of songs from both Poetry and Aeroplanes and Stay Under the Stars. Teitur also played a song from his Faroese language release Káta Hornið at each show.

Backing Teitur was a fantastic band composed of musicians from around the world: Derek Murphy (Atlanta, GA – drums), Mikael Blak (Faroe Islands – bass), Helgi Jónsson (Iceland – guitar, trombone, voice, etc.), Unnur Jónsdóttir (Iceland – cello, clarinet, xylophone, voice), Anna Emilsson (Sweden – saxophone, keyboards, voice).

More photos:

Full flickr set here.

i chased evan dando down a dark city street

it’s true. i’m fairly ashamed. but more about that in a minute.

saw the lemonheads last night at this little place in downtown abq. i’ve been listening to the lemonheads for close to 17 years now, and maintain that “it’s a shame about ray” is one of the best albums of the ’90s. as much as i bitch and moan about the lack of concerts in abq, i can’t complain about this one. granted, it was a tuesday night, and the show didn’t start until 10:30. . . but i’m still giddy.

the concert was fun. they played almost all the songs from ray and a bunch from “come on feel…” so i spent a good part of the night bouncing around like a little kid.

my fan girl moment comes after the show. i had brought my cd cover from “lick” in hopes of an autograph, but it was getting late so we left. as i am pulling out of my parking spot, i see evan dando walking down the street with his guitar cases. i pull over, illegally park, grab my camera, sharpie, and cd case and start running down the road after him. i finally catch up to him an entire block later and wheeze something about listening to him for years. or something. i was on the verge of oxygen deprivation so i don’t remember much besides him asking me my name and being really cool about taking the picture since his arms are much longer than mine.

yeah, i’m a dork. and i’m okay with that.

gonna trade the weather for the western coast

This past weekend, I took a trip out to California. In my head, song lyrics were rattling around, building up for my trip…

“Going out to California. Gonna let the water warm my clothes…”

“Halfway to Hollywood, I’m selling songs, you’re selling your good book…”

“Are you still beautiful in Los Angeles, ’cause it’s been so long I can’t handle it…”

The trip was a semi-spur of the moment decision. The end of finals week somehow wound up corresponding with a Glen Phillips concert at Largo in L.A. If you’re not a big Glen fan, that probably doesn’t mean much, so I’ll try to explain. Ever since Glen went solo, Largo has become something of his home base, and he has been known to play songs there that haven’t been heard other places. And, if you know me, you know there’s nothing that makes me happier musically than a Glen show. So, the timing of the show seemed somewhat serendipitous. My traveling companion was my friend Sara, who flew in from Philly for the show.

Flying into L.A., my impressions were as follows: 1) there really are palm trees all over the place. And 2) the air is brown. (In my head, I thought, “Free radicals! Free radicals! I need antioxidants, quick!”) From where we stayed in Hollywood, we could have been in almost any city during the summer. The palm trees were really the only distinguishing feature. It was amusing to see people walking around in winter coats in 72 degree weather. I also accosted Dave Navarro in the airport to get his picture with James’ famous Asshead shirt.

I got to meet a few people with whom I have had email correspondence. It’s always interesting to finally meet someone in person to see if they match up with the person you have created in your head.

The show itself was good, but short. Glen was joined by Sean and Sara Watkins, Greg Leisz, and Pete Thomas. Also, Randy Guss made a surprise appearance on drums during “Windmills”. I had actually seen him outside before the show, but didn’t realize I would be seeing him onstage. I was kinda hoping for more Glen. Just Glen. But it’s hard to complain when the songs sounded so good.

I had a lot of fun on the trip, but I’m coming off it feeling strangely out of sorts. You know how sometimes you build something up so big in your head that there is no way it could ever live up to your expectations? So many things about the trip were great, the show, the inimitable duo that are Cliff and Ian, my think-alike Sara, too many black & tans, Pink Berry frozen yogurt, the staff at our ultra-funky hotel… But there was something remotely toxic about L.A. for me. I don’t know if it was the air, or the traffic, or the surliness of the people bustling about oblivious to the people around them. Or maybe it was the delayed plane that left me stranded in Phoenix until almost 2 a.m. Whatever it was, I’m feeling a little drained.

I did come out of the weekend with a realization about people. I’ve met a lot of people while traveling around and moving across the country. There are people that pass into and out of your life without affecting it much. There are incredibly positive, fun people, who enrich your life regardless of how long they are in it. And there are the negative people who drain your energy in one way or another. It always seems that the negative ones make the bigger impact. I need to work harder at appreciating the positive ones and forgetting about the negative.

” So goodnight Hollywood Blvd, goodnight,
See ya soon
Goodnight Hollywood Blvd, see you sometime
Yeah, right
Yeah, right”

Dear Josh Rouse…

Dear Josh Rouse,

Thank you for playing a show in Albuquerque. I suppose we are somewhat along the way from Tucson to Austin, but you could have just skipped our little city, and you didn’t. For this, I am grateful.

The joint you played was certainly unique. It’s not every day that you see a concert in a long, narrow saloon with a rattlesnake skin on the wall. It really startled me how few people showed up to your show, and for this, I feel like I should apologize. I know it’s not my fault or anything, but I just feel bad. Like maybe I could have convinced some more people to come to the show, if I actually knew people here. But I don’t . So again, sorry.

I will say that I had a fantastic time. I’m kind of a music geek, and I’ve been wanting to see you live ever since my BFF told me that I needed to listen to you. The show was fantastic. I don’t know why, but I was expecting a mellow folk show, and you showed up with your band and proceeded to rock my pants off. What a pleasant surprise. Admittedly, I didn’t get up and shake my ass, despite your many requests that we do so. It is difficult to muster the courage to shake your ass in such a small crowd. I was chair dancing though. I promise.

And thank you for finally coming downstairs after the show to say hi to people. There were a lot more people waiting right after the show, but most of them gave up after a while. Not me. I’m tenacious. Thanks for the picture. And for the replacement picture after I blinked.

My goal now is to see you at a venue where people have actually heard of you, and more than 30 people show up to the gig. I promise I’ll shake my ass next time.

Sincerely yours,

Dianne

ryan adams at red rocks 8.4.07

This past Friday, I hit the road yet again, this time with my husband in tow. (Thanks again to Chris and Mary for hangin’ with the kiddos) It’s about a 6 hour drive to Denver from Albuquerque, but you know me – when it comes to Ryan Adams or Glen Phillips I’m basically a sucker and willing to travel great distances.

I didn’t find out until the morning of the show that the start time had been changed to 5:30 from 7 pm. DOH! We also hit sick traffic around Colorado Springs, so we didn’t wind up getting to Red Rocks until around 7 pm. Luckily, it wasn’t raining. Unluckily, you are expected to climb approximately 500 steps at the mile high elevation to get into the venue. *GASP WHEEZE* I actually saw some people stop to take smoke breaks on their way up the stairs. Seriously? Like that’s gonna help with your oxygen intake?

We got into the venue and the Old 97’s were on stage. Well, sorta. It was the Old 97’s minus the beautiful and sweaty Rhett Miller. I sat on the corner of one of the steps near the stage, and out bounded Rhett. Apparently all the crap weather had caused his plane to be delayed coming into the airport. Plus, did I mention traffic sucked? Well, he played a few songs with the band, then their time was up. I have no idea why they didn’t have Devotchka go on and let Old 97’s later. Oh well.

Devotchka followed, and while they seem to be great musicians, their music was not my thing. The first 50 rows or so were packed, so we just went up to the very top of the amphitheatre where it was empty and enjoyed the music and the breeze. Well, until it stopped being a breeze and became a haughty wind. Lucinda Williams followed Devotchka. She’s… alright. Her voice is very whiny, and all her songs sound so much alike. Not to mention how juvenile some of her lyrics are. She played a song called Honeybee – and I swear the lyrics were “You’re my honeybee, I’m so glad you’re mine” repeated ad nauseum. She also played, according to the venue worker I spoke to, 20 minutes longer than she was supposed to. You could see streams of people leaving to use the restroom. Snore.

Ryan Adams and the Cardinals took the stage at 11:05, and the crowd went batshit crazy.

Setlist:
Magnolia Mountain
Peaceful Valley
Easy Plateau
Goodnight Rose
Mockingbird
Let It Ride
Cold Roses -> What Sin -> Cold Roses
Beautiful Sorta
When The Stars Go Blue
I Taught Myself How To Grow Old
A Kiss Before I Go
——————–
Dear John
Two
Please Do Not Let Me Go
Dear Chicago
Wild Flowers
I See Monsters

Ryan was, brace yourself, in an incredibly good mood. He actually said “It’s really impossible to have a bad time in Colorado.” His voice and the band both sounded incredible. I actually think his guitar playing has improved tremendously since the infamous wrist-breaking incident. He joked with the crowd, giving us a little TMI regarding his underwear situation, and even poked fun at himself, “If this wind picks up any more, you’re gonna really see me storm off the stage, if you know what I mean…”

But really the star of the night was the venue. The stage is carved into a hollowed out stone face, and the seats rise up from the front, flanked on either side by tilting monoliths of red streaked stone. From our vantage point at the top of the venue, we could see the lights of Denver, and were even able to watch the moon rise over the stage, starting out as a red smudge on the edge of the horizon and growing to an eerie white glow behind the clouds.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: seeing Ryan Adams is a hit-or-miss proposition. But so far for me this year, he’s batting a thousand. I will see him every chance I get, because when he is on, he will find the cracks in your soul and crawl inside.

best birthday ever? i think so.

This year, serendipity shined down upon me and scheduled a Toad the Wet Sprocket concert in Chicago on my birthday. What better excuse to make a trip back to Chicago. Best friends and favorite music? Can’t beat it.

It was supposed to rain in Chicago, but there was no way it was going to rain on my birthday. In fact, I expressly forbade rain, and it went away as requested. First, my BFF James and I picked up Asshead from his job working the corner over in the Financial District. We headed to Stanley’s for some 20-minute chicken. (Best in Chicago – if you ever visit, you must have some.)

Then we headed over to the zoo, where in theory, we were to act all cool and say “We’re on the list”. Yeah. Not on the list. Phone call. New list. Not on that one either. Another phone call. New list. And finally allowed into the park. So much for being cool.

I got to see all sorts of Chicago concert buddies at the show. It made me feel very loved. Glen opened for Toad, which was just brilliant, because who wouldn’t love double the Glen?

I even overcame the adversity of stupid people standing in front of me, by going to the other side of the stage and standing in front of someone else. What?

Throughout the show, there was this crazy drunk girl, who kept talking during the songs, flailing her arms around and yelling how much she loved Toad. She actually accosted James and I before the show started, poking us in the arms and demanding to know how we knew Toad. Not in the carnal sense, but just in general if we knew their music. I conceded to being a casual listener to try to get her to leave us alone.

Then, near the end of the show, Glen and Dean wished me a Happy Birthday, and in the middle of Glen talking about me, drunk girl decides she is going to steal my thunder and yells out that she is the biggest Toad fan ever. Who am I to argue? We took pictures with her afterwards, because it was important to document her idiocy. Oh, and Asshead ate her brain.

After getting James and Asshead’s photos with Dean, Todd, and a very smarmy Glen,

we hustled to my favorite spot, Dublins for some food and merriment. Oh yeah, and my favorite hot waiter, Mattycakes.

The next day brought a Transformers movie, The Misbehavers from Four Rooms (“Police? Come right away! There’s a dead whore in the room!”), and a drive up to Milwaukee. We even drove by a Cheese Castle, presumably occupied by a Cheese King. At Milwaukee, we met up with some more wonderful friends for a Glen Phillips solo show. It was a great show, filled with rarities, a discussion about the legalities of necrophilia in Wisconsin, and even a song by the ever-wonderful Dick Prall. We tried to get pictures with Glen and Dick, but we couldn’t seem to get in synch with each other. Blink. Blink.

Awesomeness abounded.

it’s cold in here, and i wish it was hot

This weekend I drove to Austin for my second Ryan Adams concert of the year. (See review of first show here)

The drive was ridiculous – 12 hours each way. Yeah, I know. Next time I will fly. But it was totally worth it. It was a seated acoustic show, and totally different than the HOB show earlier this year.

Set list:

1. Please Do Not Let Me Go
2. Blue Sky Blues
3. Blue Hotel
4. The Sun Also Sets
5. Cold Roses
6. Oh My God, Whatever, Etc.
7. Easy Plateau
8. Elizabeth, You Were Born To Play That Part
9. Starlite Diner
10. Let It Ride
11. I Taught Myself How To Grow Old
12. Goodnight Rose
13. Dear Chicago
14. Goodnight Hollywood Blvd.
15. Nightbirds

**intermission so venue could sell more beer**

16. Dear John
17. Wildflowers
18. Off Broadway
19. Two
20. The End
21. Peaceful Valley
22. What Sin Replaces Love
23. Magnolia Mountain
24. I See Monsters

Ryan stayed seated for the entire show except for when he came to the microphone at the edge of the set to deliver a howling version of “Goodnight Hollywood Blvd.”

Will I still go see Ryan every chance I get? Hell yes.

big blue sky

for memorial day weekend, we decided to take a drive up to durango, co to see shawn mullins play at the iron horse bicycle classic. if i were a cyclist, i might have partaken in this cool event that has been going for 35 years, but let’s be realistic – a 48 mile bike ride through the snow-capped mountains of colorado sounds awesome, but i think a 5700 ft vertical climb would kill me. literally.

instead, we loaded the munchkins in the car with bags full of snacks and set off through northern nm. i loaded the cd changer with a bunch of shawn mullins cds to warm up for the show. i tried to take pictures from the moving car, but there’s only so much you can do through a bug-splattered windshield. at one point, the opening track on “big blue sky” came on and it was like serendipity.

“on a mantle made of oak wood,
there’s a photograph from my childhood
it was taken in the desert early light…
there are canyons there are caverns
there are border roadside taverns
and i am held captive by the big blue sky above me…”

it’s like these songs were made for this roadtrip.

“two lanes of highway stretched in front of me as far as i can see
the grass here’s greener than most grass i’ve seen
the sky’s a big gray hazy canopy up over me
nothing much here to do just keep my hands on the wheel and my mind on you…”

we pulled into town with time to spare and had dinner at the old tymer’s cafe. all you can eat ribs? yes, please. durango has changed a lot since the last time i was there over 15 years ago. the main street is lined with locally owned shops filled with hip artwork and hippie shoes. sierra found a purple 1/2 size taylor guitar at a music shop, but i can’t see spending $300 on a guitar for a 6 year old. maybe when she’s older. we were lucky enough to see the durango & silverton narrow gauge railroad train coming back from silverton. it has been in continuous operation for 126 years. i couldn’t pull my camera out fast enough to snap a picture, but it was something to see a genuine steam locomotive pulling up with the mountains in the background. i guess someone else’s photo will have to do.

the stage for the concert was set up in the middle of main street and some people (ourselves included) were wise enough to bring lawn chairs to watch the show. everyone sat listening to the music for the first few songs, but once shawn started in on “beautiful wreck”, people gathered at the front of the stage and started dancing with each other. it was beautiful and surreal.

we couldn’t pull the girls away from the stage from the rest of the show. they had found a group of about a dozen kids and they were all swinging each other around and dancing. if durango is this cool all the time, i might need to visit more often.

cigarettes and empty bottles, empty bottles

The Beat Kitchen, Chicago. February 18, 2007
Teitur w/ Jenny Owen Youngs and Curtis Evans

I almost didn’t go to this show. I was out until 2 AM the night before and I had to drive out to O’Hare at 4 AM the next morning. But I couldn’t justify missing a chance to see Teitur as my last concert as a Chicagoland resident, so with my kickass concert buddy guru James alongside me we made one last trek into the city together for a show.

We were both exhausted from being out so late the night before, but the website said the opener started at 7:30, so we weren’t figuring to stay out too late. Then to arrive at the show and see the openers wouldn’t start until 8:30? That’s all kinds of ass. The venue was dark and cold with black painted walls and ceiling, blue lights over the stage, and a low hanging dank cloud of cigarette smoke. The first opener was Curtis Evans. He’s a local Chicago boy, and seemed to have his share of friends in the audience.

Jenny Owen Youngs was next, and she was incredible. She has a unique voice and sings brutally honest songs. She was also hilarious and interacted a lot with the crowd. At one point, James turned to me and said, “I think I’m in love.” To which I replied, “Me too. If you don’t marry her, I will.”

At one point, that crazy bitch jumped off the stage right into the audience. I think I touched her ass. Nevermind. I just imagined that. She did play a rousing rendition of Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” though. That wasn’t in my imagination.

Also not in my imagination:

Seriously, take me to shows. I’ll get the pictures you would never dare to ask for yourself. I should really hire myself out for things like this.

I took my chances to run to the loo between sets and ran into Dick Prall out in the bar area. I was really hoping to see him before I moved, so that was a total bonus to my night. I’m sorry Lynn, I did not get any pictures of Dick. I did see Dick. I did wrap my arms around Dick and give Dick a big hug. There’s nothing quite as good as a random Dick sighting. I could go on, but now I’m just being dirty.

Of course, the real draw of the night was Teitur himself.

I’m the worst person in the world for setlists, but here’s what I remember:

don’t want you to wake up
sleeping with the lights on
amanda’s dream
poetry and aeroplanes
lets go dancing
i run the carousel
thief about to break in
you get me
josephine
umbrellas in the rain
hitchhiker
guilt by association
louis louis
baby you don’t ever have to see me again
i was just thinking

I’m certain I missed something. But such is life. If you ever get the chance to see Teitur in concert, please go. He’s a fantastic performer with a really unique voice and sound.

Full flickr photoset here

I did get to talk to Teitur a little bit after the show. He’s going to be doing some recording down in Australia and some mixing in Santa Barbara. So keep your ears peeled for news on a new record. Yippee!