Confessions of a Fanboy

I am a jelly donut. Or something. Right then, let’s get to R.E.M.’s show from Berlin from earlier in the week. I guess the experiment of moving “Living Well” towards the back of the set and “Horse to Water” near the beginning didn’t go over well because they’ve returned to their normal positions. There’s a little something for everyone in this set: “West of the Fields” from Murmur, “So. Central Rain and “Rockville” from Reckoning, “Fall on Me” from Life’s Rich Pageant, and “Auctioneer” and “Driver from Fables. That’s some balance right there then, isn’t it? Read more »

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Acceptance. That’s the final stage, right? He’s going to play some duds. It’s time to face facts: “Mary’s Place” and “Bobby Jean” aren’t going anywhere. Once you accept that and get past it, you see there are some great tunes being folded into the list night after night as well.

Patti is back on tour and she brought Tunnel of Love with her. For the second straight night, the title track was played. Instead of “Tougher Than The Rest” we get “Brilliant Disguise” as the second cut from that album.

“Jungleland” leads the encore, and is really the only highlight of it. “Born to Run” gets played there every night – as it must and should. The rest of the encore? Meh. I really like “American Land.” I like “Dancing in the Dark,” but not a lot. “Bobby Jean” does nothing for me and I wish Bruce would trim the covers from the set. He’s playing too many songs by other people. It’s not like he’s short on material. Anyway, this is a solid set list even with a couple crappers and too many covers. Read more »

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I wrote earlier this week about taking the advice of another fellow BC Mag writer, the indisputedly not a fellow A.L. Harper. It’s almost fitting that I didn’t get around to writing about the other BC Magazine colleague whose golden advise has led to new music in my collection. El Bicho is a fine fellow, a talented writer, and has provided many a fine insight as a guest on the B-Sides Concept Album, but he reminds me a bit of Eeyore in a “Thanks for noticing” sort of way. I get the impression he’s at least partially aware — and may be keenly aware — of his own abilities, but wonders whether or not anyone else is paying attention.

Surprise, Sir Bicho. Someone is paying attention. I bought my copy of Back Door Slam’s Roll Away, based on your enthusiastic cheerleading and I owe you one because you were right! I knew this was money well spent 30 seconds into album opener “Come Home.”

Now it’s my turn. Check out this video of BDS from Jimmy Kimmel’s show. YouTube TV quality doesn’t do the song full justice, start here. If you can hear this and still not buy the record, you may not be one of God’s children.

Filed under: Music of the Moment | 5 Comments »

It’s a good thing I got so much writing done yesterday because I’ve gotten fuck all done today.

The phrase of the day comes from one Michael Stipe:  “Death is pretty final, I’m collecting vinyl.”

After all the cajoling, nagging, and prodding from one Mr. Mark Saleski, I’ve finally taken the plunge and ordered a turntable.  That’s right, boys and girls, I’ve joined the Vinyl Revolution.  Pretty cooh, huh? Read more »

Filed under: Guster, Mark Lanegan, Norah Jones, Otis Rush, R.E.M., Tom Petty | 12 Comments »

By Mark Saleski

You know, you go through life and, at certain points, you realize that some of the things you hold dear are cradled only because they remind you of what it feels to be young. As I got older and most of the listening public made the transition from vinyl records to CD’s and then to digital downloads, I began to think that my preference for the vinyl LP format was exactly that — a way to hold onto the past. That was a momentary lapse in judgment. I’m not usually swayed by popular opinion and really should have trusted my ears. Read more »

Filed under: ...I'm Collecting Vinyl | 6 Comments »

So this writing thing I do is part of my grand scheme to wield a little influence and change the face of the musical landscape forever for the better. It’s fair to say Confessions of a Fanboy was born in one of those rare-as-a-solar-flare megalomaniacal moments inside my head.

Sometimes the reverse happens, and I’m impacted by the suggestion of another writer/collaborator/co-worker/friend. It happened to me twice this week and I wanted to give credit where credit is due, because I know all writers sometimes wonder if we’re just talking to ourselves.

I like to razz fellow BC Magazine Assistant Music Editor A.L. Harper because through her Band of the Week feature she has turned me on to some awful music, but I must reluctantly admit for the second time one of her recommendations was right. Read more »

Filed under: Music of the Moment, The Bittersweets | 3 Comments »

I can read books more than once and I can damn sure watch a movie or a TV show more than once, but it is rare I’ll read or watch something a first time if I already know how it ends. The thrill of the initial discovery, the discovery of territory not yet discovered, the deflowering of a plotline - this is what propels me from the beginning to the end. There are exceptions, and last night was one of them.

If you’ve spent much time listening to the solo work of Mark Knopfler, it doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to envision what seeing him in concert will look, feel, or sound like. As the evening wore on, I realized why my trusty sidekick 11 likes Knopfler so much and it’s a good description of what was good about last night: imagine David Gilmour with better songs and a lesser, more Dylan-inspired voice. Gilmour is his favorite player and it wasn’t until last night I noticed the sonic (and physical) similarities between the two aging, British guitar legends.

Read more »

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We have ourselves a real set list, boys and girls. After playing a couple festival shows, it seems the band was back to playing a traditional gig and the set list expanded to 27 songs. This expansion is one of those instances where more is definitely a good thing. Tonight’s set included “Second Guessing,” “Disturbance at the Heron House,” “7 Chinese Brothers,” “The Great Beyond,” “Little America,” and “Country Feedback.”

The song I’m most excited about? “Accelerate” returned. Play that one, guys, every night. It’s the Accelerate tour and that’s a great song from Accelerate. That’s fucking great. Another oddity is that “Horse to Water” jumped to the #2 hole and “Living Well is the Best Revenge” dropped to 19, basically flipflopping. I like this set list… a lot… even if they did play “Imitation of Life.” Read more »

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Community. It has its good points then, doesn’t it? I’ve received e-mails from a few of my loyal cadre of readers wondering about last night’s Knopfler show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville and it got me to thinking about a lot of what was mostly good from last night. Did you follow that?

In a recent thread, there was a discussion of “the audience” and how much they matter in the context of a show and enjoying a show. In keeping with my “Up With People” outlook on life, you might know my position is officially “Fuck the crowd.” I still feel that way, and with good reason. I did, though, get a reminder that atmosphere can make a difference.

The star of the show last night, in many ways, is the Ryman Auditorium. Ryman opened its doors in 1892 and became the first home of the Grand Ole Oprey. When the Oprey left Ryman, the auditorium sat vacant for 20 years before being restored as a historical landmark.

It is one of the premier listening environments in the world. It’s a cathedral. It’s also one of the last bastions of civilization. There was cold beer at a reasonable price! I paid $2 for a Coke. Bottles of beer were available for $4. Ushers in burgundy jackets walk you to your seat. Civilization, people. This is what the concert experience can be.

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Well, we have something new to gripe about in the Springsteen universe. Well, some people do. Patti Scialfa has returned to the stage, once again adding the title of E Street Band member to her other title of Mrs. Bruce Springsteen. This is not universally welcome news to BruceFan, who find Patti’s presence- well, they don’t like it.

What’s interesting to me is what Patti’s return brought to the set list: two songs from Tunnel of Love. “Tunnel of Love” opened the show and “Tougher Than the Rest” followed the insufferable “Mary’s Place.” Following “Tougher,” we got “Incident on 57th Street.” Those are three of 11’s favorite songs. He refers to “Tougher” as Our National Anthem. He openly weeps at the mention of Puerto Rican Jane and Spanish Johnny. Are these three songs enough for him to forgive “Bobby Jean” and “Mary’s Place?” Read more »

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