gabedouglas

So I got dragged to a concert on a Sunday night. I was horribly tired by means of an exhausting week, a bender till sunrise hours on Friday, and a double-shift on Saturday that left me barely on my feet.

I remembered one thing. ‘Ocean’ is the single greatest song I have ever heard performed live.
Ever.
I’ve seen a good’n'plenty amount of songs live. And it is easily the best. Every time.

I manned up and got in the car to go to First Ave to hope they weren’t sold out. If they were, it wouldn’t be a night ruiner. They weren’t, but I have misplaced my ID.
They let me in.
We drank St. Pauli big girls during the opener, Brett Dennen. He was solid and good. Had an island vibe about his music, but was good hippie-driven rock.

John Butler did a lot more vocal harmonies than previous shows. ‘Zebra’ was great.
He played for about 40 minutes, then the band left and he played an introductory song.. An introductory song to ‘Ocean’.
Which always kills me. It just soars and seeps over the sides of my soul.
Organic, changing, and perfect every time.
It is just amazing. I would like to think it is reminiscent of seeing someone like Bach or Mozart play a piece over a number of years. With them slightly changing the themes and the melodies, but always having parts of the song where you know it’s going to go.

Hearing that song and the way JBT talks about music makes me want to be an ambassador of music to all people. I want to bring music to kids.
I want them to be flooded with music. I want them to be embraced by music.

Imagine an opera house. You know, like the ones where the old guys from the Muppets would always be nit-picking. With elegant stairwells, great tapestries, and carvings from some lore I could only try and understand. The ceiling will reach up above you and spider out in different patterns through the balconies. The stage will be almost too clean and too large.

Especially for a five-piece band from Brooklyn who writes songs about drinking in Minneapolis.
Luckily, I had been to the State Theater previously and knew of that horrendous lines for beers. This did not stop my entire party from buying beers, which was AWESOME.
The Holdsteady is feel-good, good-drinking music.

They played all the go-getter songs. “Massive Nights”, “Chips Ahoy”, and “You Can Make Him Like You” all were played with the energy of lions, lions who are doing the thing they love for a safari of people who live on the streets the lions write songs about.

Craig Finn did was he does. He did what he loves to do. It is a quality that is quickly recognizable and quickly soaks into you. The excitement he brings not only to the stage, but to life is one in a billion. His charismatic hitting of power chords, his almost boyish use of the consta-clap, his kid-getting-stuck-in-bag (where he thrusts his arms down and his hands out, almost penguin-like, and jumps about like a Charlie Brown character, giddy with the moment), even his arms-outstretched pose was genuine and everything he had to give.

Franz was in full-effect to. Playing the keys as almost a secondary chore to having the time of his life playing music. Leading you into every breakdown, almost busting at the seams at the start of every chorus. Keeping all the classy people in check with his scultped moustache, his three piece suit, and his drinking of wine (even if it is straight from the bottle. It’s classy when you have near-choreographed moves with said wine bottle.)

Just a splendid night. Great people, great music.

I remember seeing Emily Haines with her own band (soft skeleton, I believe) at the Varsity. I enjoyed a few tracks from the album, but her stuff never really clicked with me.
I had heard Metric before and went with my friend Heather who is in love with Emily Haines. (Which is ironic because my friend Stew is also in love with her.) Their music comes across much more danceable, more energetic, more raw, and more edgier live. Definitely a rock band who wants to dance as much as you do.
She was wearing a long shirt tailored to a dress. Which showed pretty much everything from her ankles to her butt. Very much a sensory overload of sexiness.
She made me a fan and I would definitely see them live again (with or without the seductive dress)

I’ve been onto the Weakerthans for awhile. I’ve loved everything I’ve heard from them. Their lyrics probably prick at things I can only dream of touching in songwriting. Always cascading with analogies and feelings that you relate to too closely. They have a new album out (Reunion Tour) that is also good. They played a good mix of old and new stuff.
It was a packed house and I bought a limited ed. litho because it involves virtute the cat. It is framed in my hallway.
The sound was amazing and the dynamics were everything I wanted them to be.
And the band was glad to be there. I wasn’t sure if he enjoyed playing the stuff live as much as releasing it all in the studio, but he was there full-heartedly and smirking through the whole thing.

Another roaring success for brewfests.
I decided against the enormous pre-game rituals I had previously done because I wanted to last the entire night. I picked up a young man in the Cloquet area, a Mr. Robertson, as the kids call him.
We got blasted for 4 hours, sang ‘A Boy Named Sue’, had people whisper ‘there goes Johnny Cash’ for the rest of it. Then onwards to VIP for the post-brewfest pizzas and pitchers of Premo. Then onto the Tower strip for a bit, then over to the NEW tap room (the old 21 North) to see Natalie play with GB Leighton. Then walk back to the brother’s house.
Nice.

So I got a Wii.
Here is my number:
0223 8200 2043 6481

if you send me yours we can be wii friends.
talk about awesome.

Let me start this off with one thing. When I ask people what type of music they like and they say ‘everything’, that is strike one. When I ask who is your favorite band and you reply with ‘Oh, I like everything, it’s too hard.’ That’s strike two. Strike three could come at any moment after that.

My favorite band is Third Eye Blind.
They had an opener called Thundercats or TMNT or something. They sounded like a bad version of the Black Eyed Peas. I went and enjoyed two for ones.
Third Eye Blind kicked it off with ‘Red Hot Summer Sun’ off of their album, ‘Blue’. Just stellar.
Their set included most of the hits, 5 tracks from ‘Out of the Vein’ and a few new songs.
They even did a great acoustic mini-set including ‘Can’t Get Away From You’..

This show was followed by an Open Jam in the House of Rock (a small club attached to the Venue.)
Where more drunken debauchery took place, including dancing like maniacs to classics like ‘Run for the Hills’, ‘Immigrant Song’, and ‘All My Life’. My cousin Nate and I rocked out to a whole bunch and I even faked a guitar solo during ‘Hard to Handle.’

Great night.
Much thanks goes out to Matt, Nicole, Steve, Nate, and Noah for the good times.