04/22/2003 New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, Less Than Jake, The Disasters (Rochester, NY @ Blue Cross Arena)
By Eric | April 22, 2003 11:59 pm
Disclaimer: This was Tiff’s show! Having said that, we arrived while the Disasters were on. The only real punk band on the bill, they were probably pretty good as far as punk bands go, but I have no knowledge of these things, so yeah. Whatever. Less Than Jake was next, and while they weren’t bad either, ska isn’t my thing, and as Tiff put it “They weren’t as good as I’d hoped they’d be.” My thoughts exactly. Then it was time for Good Charlotte. Now may I remind you that this crowd was mostly comprised of 13 year old girls, many of whom had never been to any type of show before (Tiff asked a couple). You’d have thought the Beatles were here or something. The screaming was louder than the band was!! The crowdsurfers came out in full force, thank God they were light, but I got landed on a couple times, and scared the bejeezus out of one of them 🙂 Anyway, all the screaming and whatnot was for naught, because let me tell ya, Good Charlotte sucks even more live than they do on TV. They just kinda stood there, not a lot of energy, the songs were about nothing in particular, and they just plain sounded bad. A couple songs out of tune, and just…. blah. After an hour of that, the set change came about, and finally the one band that Tiff wanted to see, and I was kinda interested to see NFG as well. Easily the best of the four bands, they had a hell of a lot more energy than GC did, but surprisingly, the crowd wasn’t nearly as crazy. Probably blew their wad on the first three bands… I’m sure it helped that I recognized a bunch of the NFG songs, but regardless, it seemed to me that they just had a better live show than everyone else. So despite being a crowdsurfer magnet, and pretty much feeling like a babysitter for all the 12 year olds around me (hehe Tiff didn’t really need me at this one), I managed to have a decent time.
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 04/22/2003 New Found Glory, Good Charlotte, Less Than Jake, The Disasters (Rochester, NY @ Blue Cross Arena)
Tags: 2003, Blue Cross Arena, Good Charlotte, Less Than Jake, New Found Glory, rochester, The Disasters
04/18/2003 Sister Hazel, Jared Campbell (Harrisburg, PA @ The Whitaker Center)
By Eric | April 18, 2003 11:59 pm
Tiff and Becca’s Excellent Adventure would be an apt title for this, since Sister Hazel is the absolute favorite band for both of them, but that’s not to say I didn’t have a good time! 4.5 hours to Harrisburg, PA from Rochester, and well worth the trip. We got into Harrisburg much earlier than we thought we would… so we had essentially 3.5 hours to kill before they opened the doors… there was a mall-like shopping center attached to the Whitaker center… so we checked that out… got some dinner, bought some playing cards, and sat up on a covered walkway/bridge that had a perfect overlook of where Sister Hazel’s bus was parked… naturally, this came in handy! We saw a couple people start hanging out by the bus, then one of the guys came off the bus… so we raced down there, and the girls got pictures with two of the guys (Jeff, the bass player, and Ryan, lead guitarist). After much more bumming around, we got into the small-ish 660-seat theater, found our seats in the 2nd tier (although still a great view, and rather close!) and watched the opener, Jared Campbell. He’s from Binghamton, and it was just him and his acoustic guitar, and he wasn’t half bad. I remarked to Tiff that “I liked him better when he called himself John Mayer”, because he did kinda sound like him. Just like last night… he starts goofing around and playing the beginnning of Mayer’s “No Such Thing”… dead on! I’m two for two 🙂 He did a bit more goofing around, playing snippets of a Dave Matthews song, and of all things, the Proclaimers! And oh yeah, his own stuff was pretty decent also!
Then it was Sister Hazel time… they sounded excellent, and looked to be having all kinds of fun up on the stage. The setlist was: Life Got In The Way, Just Remember, Change Your Mind, Your Mistake, Champagne High, Beautiful Thing, Everybody, Strange Cup of Tea, Your Winter, Swan Dive, All For You, Happy, and Thank You. Come Around was on the list but for whatever reason didn’t get played. I was very impressed with the musicianship and talent that these guys have, and the crowd seemed to be really into it as well. I think I had more fun just watching Tiff and Becca become all giddy and excited, as I usually am at shows! I took some pictures, but from the distance we were at, and it’s a digital camera, a lot of them are kinda blurry (I’m posting them anyway!). After the set, I noticed a setlist looking kinda lonely on the stage… I ran down the stairs and by the time I got down there, it was taken. Not to be denied, I hit up the sound man, and asked if he still needed the SH setlist… he’s like “Nope…”, turns to his colleague and asks if he can give it to us, turns to me and says “Here ya go!”. 2nd setlist in a row for Tiff 🙂 So we headed into the lobby, and agreed that we weren;t going to stay for the Badlees, aside from not being interested, home would come that much earlier. However, I figured we’d wait 20 minutes or so and see if any of the Sister Hazel guys would come out. Not 5 minutes later, Jeff (who we’d met earlier), and Ken, the lead singer, came out! Jeff motioned over to us (recognizing us from before), and the guys signed Tiff’s setlist, and the girls got a picture with Ken as well… It was a great show, and the 4.5 hours back even went rather quickly… Needless to say the girls were thrilled with the show, and I had myself a great time as well! 🙂
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 04/18/2003 Sister Hazel, Jared Campbell (Harrisburg, PA @ The Whitaker Center)
Tags: 2003, Harrisburg, Jared Campbell, Sister Hazel, The Whitaker Center
Finger Eleven DVD Stars?
By Eric | April 18, 2003 1:14 am
Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps… in a nutshell, the show was awesome…. good mix of the new and the old. If Sad Exchange somehow makes it onto the DVD, he’ll be referring to me as “Loud Guy” yelling for it! (Kinda fitting, isn’t it?) And by the way, theres a good reason we’ve all never heard of blankface (the openers)… they suck ass. (as always, review is forthcoming.)
Good Lord, lotsa driving ahead tomorrow… Harrisburg, PA is the destination, and Sister Hazel is the reason… Tiff and Becca’s Excellent Adventure, with me just chauffuering 🙂 hehe..
Topics: Blog | 3 Comments »
Tags: driving, NT, tiff
04/17/2003 Finger Eleven, Blankface (Buffalo, NY @ Showplace Theater)
By Eric | April 17, 2003 11:59 pm
I ventured down with Jason and his roommate Colin to this one… Finger Eleven taped a live DVD at this show (in fact, it was the whole point for the show, as it was an off-date for them). We got into the place, and the openers, Blankface, were a crappy local emo band. Their singer sounded just like Robert Smith from the Cure, and I remarked to Colin as such… so what do they play? A Cure cover! Love Song… blaaaaaahh… anyway, they got done, we waited around a bit, and then it was F11 time! I cant remember the order, but they opened with Above, then into a couple of new ones… Absent Elements and Last Scene of Struggling. They also played drag you down, quicksand, complicated questions (a new one), conversations (new), for the ocean, suffocate, therapy (new), other light (new), sad exchange, tip, obvious heart (new), and closed with what will be the first single off the new album, Good Times, and then First Time. There was a lull after one of the songs…. so naturally I took the opportunity to yell for Sad Exchange… Well, it was a good call, as Scott (F11 lead singer) said “Yep, you got it… there ya go loud guy! Not that that’s a bad thing, I like the enthusiasm!” and they proceeded to play it! So with any luck, maybe I’ll make it onto the DVD… 🙂 It may or may not have been the cameras, but they were much more enthusiastic than certain other times I’ve seen them, continuing the energy trend from the Fort Erie show over the summer… definately worth the $13 to get in, and the new album should be great.
Above
Absent Elements
Sad Exchange
Suffocate
Quicksand
For the Ocean
Conversations
Obvious Heart
Thousand Mile Wish
Tip
Good Times
Encore:
One Thing
Costume for a Gutterball
Other Light
First Time
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 04/17/2003 Finger Eleven, Blankface (Buffalo, NY @ Showplace Theater)
Tags: 2003, Blankface, Buffalo, Finger Eleven, Showplace Theater
ICE ICE BABY!
By Eric | April 5, 2003 4:23 pm
Yep, it’s been rather icy here the last couple days, finally started melting today… Thursday afternoon it really started… making Tiff’s car trouble that much more frustrating… Thursday night was low-key, no one really wanted to go out in the weather… Friday morning I hit the gym with the Genny Park boys and Lisa, and then met with Dr F to dicuss the book doings… Got to go to lunch at Jay’s with him! Came back and met Tiff in the labs, played some more racquetball… then after getting cleaned up, Tiff and Rachel came to pick me up for dinner, we grabbed Scott, and met Shana and her roommates at the Macaroni Grill… after that we hit the mall to get a couple of birthday things for Karl… we found the best and cheapest gag gift ever at the dollar store… STOOL SOFTENER!!! Try that one on for size… we almost got him the matching home enema kit, but we thought that might be too much 🙂 So after chilling at Tiff’s place for a bit, it was off to Genny Park to rally the troops, and after an extended hiatus, we finally made our way to Empire… had a good time there for an hour or so, and then where else? DENNY’S!!!
This afternoon was a Thrift/CD run for me, and at the Archive on East I hit the jackpot big time today…. not only did I get the new doubleDrive CD a month before it comes out… but I got a promo for YEAR OF THE SPIDER!! (Yes, IM me, I’m working on it… you can’t play it in the computer, but CloneCD may be working some magic for me… :))
Party at Genny Park tonight… be there or be not there!
Topics: Blog | 3 Comments »
Tags: Baby, NT, tiff, weather, Work
More Work, More School
By Eric | April 2, 2003 4:50 pm
The job search continues as well… but its been work and school for the past three days, nothing terribly exciting. Work has been good, and they saw fit to name me Employee of the Month! So I get a nice U-Lot reserved parking pass for the month.. fun wow! Not sure how much I’ll actually use it, but if ya got it, right?
Took the first judicial process test today, not sure what to expect on this one, although it was much better than I’d thought… Maybe studying does pay off… go figure!
Picked up the new Cold single today for Stupid Girl… Chris Vrenna did the remix, and it’s weird… very slowed down, strings, lots of echo-y kind of stuff… *shrug* I’m still way more excited about the album coming out 🙂
Topics: Blog | Comments Off on More Work, More School
Tags: NT, Work
Ain’t That the Truth
By Eric | March 22, 2003 1:16 pm
“At the beginning of Flip Records, it was us, Staind and Limp Bizkit and we were like a tight family,” [Cold singer Scooter] Ward remembered. “But everybody pretty much went their own ways. We’re still cool with each other, but it’s not like it used to be.”
Of course it isn’t… Fred thought he was more bad-ass than everyone and tried to take over the world… it’s no surprise that Staind and Cold toured together last year, and they’re playing dates together this year as well… You guys didn’t need Fred anyway…
Topics: Blog | 1 Comment »
Tags: family, NT
Grave Decision Time
By Eric | March 20, 2003 1:08 pm
Quoting Matt Daniels
> Everyone,
>
> I write to you at a time of great gravity and solemnity: you must choose
> one concert or another, or both if you have a clone I suppose, or
> neither if you really feel that way. Anyway, the choice must be made.
>
> Seriously, though, here’s the deal:
>
> April 29 (Tuesday)
> -Rusted Root, 7pm, Harro East Ballroom, Rochester
> -Counting Crows, 8pm, Niagara Univ., Buff.
>
> Please reply to me and say CC, RR, neither, or clone.
>
> (If you know of someone who should have received this e-mail and isn’t
> on the list above, please forward this important message to them with my
> apologies for being forgetful.)
>
> In this time of our national band-conflict emergency, I appreciate your
> support and continued music appreciation.
>
> Yours Very Sincerely,
>
> Matthew Jack Daniels
> Director, Dept. of Homeland Music
Dearest Matt,
While I feel for you in this time of crisis, I feel a rash reaction would do no justice to the situation at hand. I would adivse a policy of total and utter inaction, and attend neither of the two concerts, instead coming to a fine residence such as 156 University Commons, and bemoaning your lack of entertainment over some fine Canadian ale.
Thank you for your prompt attention to my esteemed opinion on such a sensitive subject.
~ Eric J. Bonus
Chief Justice, Musical Supreme Court
Topics: Blog | 12 Comments »
Tags: concerts, music, NT, rochester
03/12/2003 Tonic, Chris Emerson (Buffalo, NY @ Showplace Theater)
By Eric | March 12, 2003 11:59 pm
Tiff and I finally got inside at 20 after 8, although the doors were supposed to open at 8. No matter, we got inside, and figured we’d get warm right? Hah! Twas a bit cold inside the venue as well, as there were 120 people, maximum, at the show. The opener, Chris Emerson, was walking around before the show and handing out stickers and postcards promoting his new album. I guess he had a song on Dawson’s Creek or something. He gets up on stage, along with an acoustic guitar player and a electric violin player. He can sing, but was trying a bit too hard… I’m all for being emphatic when singing your songs, but it seemed a bit contrived to me. The music wasn’t too bad, I likened it to a John Mayer kinda thing, although he sounded a lot like Glen Frey (from the Eagles) to me. So he got his half-hour, and then it was Tonic time! Emerson, Jeff and Dan, no drummer, two acoustic guitars and a bass. It was wonderful! An all acoustic show! I’ve been to Edge Sessions before, but an entire full set acoustically was a new thing for me… They opened with, fittingly, Open Up Your Eyes, and right into Take Me As I Am. Both sounded excellent, and the guys were having a ball up there! You Wanted More was next, followed by Head On Straight, On Your Feet Again, and Believe Me. If the first part of the set was focused on the new album, the older stuff came out in the next couple songs, as evidenced by Bigot Sunshine and Lemon Parade, noteable because as Emerson said, they’ve played it every night on the acoustic tour, and about six times total otherwise in the 7 years its been out! This was followed by Waiting For The Light To Change, and then mine and Tiff’s “must-hear”, Mountain, which also seemed to generate the largest crowd reaction to that point. Count On Me was next, and then the guys showed just how much fun they were having up there, by starting to play parts of songs, just to have the audience guess the songs! A fairly intimate and goofy take on the usual sport of playing covers… 🙂 After proclaiming to be thinking of a “really deep cut, tell me what band this is…” they launched into If You Could Only See, which the crowd went predictably nuts for 🙂 After this was Casual Affair, and they pulled a Toadies, taking requests out of the audience! (This was actually down on the setlist!) After much deliberation (and my request for Future Says Run getting turned down (much to Tiff’s chagrin, as she wanted Waltz With Me)), they decided on Solider’s Daughter, and closed up with Sugar. A cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way was on the setlist (knowledge I have because I got a setlist for Tiff!), but Emerson ultimately decided to play two of their own songs instead. There was no drummer persay, but they did have a child’s kit complete with a little tarp over it, and Jeff and Dan took turns actually playing it during certain songs! It was rather amusing, but actually had a decent sound to it! The show was amazing, the crowd was a bunch of die-hards, very into it and very respectful, and the sound was excellent! I’ve been waiting 7 years to see Tonic, and it was very much worth it!
[flickr]7082227749[/flickr]
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 03/12/2003 Tonic, Chris Emerson (Buffalo, NY @ Showplace Theater)
Tags: 2003, Buffalo, Chris Emerson, Showplace Theater, Tonic
03/03/2003 Audioslave, Burning Brides (Toronto, ONT @ The Kool Haus)
By Eric | March 3, 2003 11:59 pm
Me and Tiff made a weekend out of this show, also hitting the science center and the CN tower, but Saturday night was all about the show… We weren’t in line more than 20 minutes, and luckily it wasnt freezing out. We got in, and what a nice venue the Kool Haus is… a really great place to see a show! The doors were at 8, opened right on time, and promptly at 9, the Burning Brides came out. Blah. Right in line with the rest of the “The” bands… a garage band type sound that I’m not at all fond of. So they got their 40 minutes and were done. Then the anticipation set in… out come Tim, Brad and Tom first… then Chris, and the place goes berzerk! Opening with Gasoline, and right into Set It Off, they got the place into a frenzy real quick… we were about 5 deep from the barrier to start out, and immediately started getting tossed around… the crowd was good though, no real assholes, so were were all cool for about half the set. Next up was Light My Way and Like A Stone, which had everyone singing at the top of their lungs 🙂 A cover of Funkadelic’s Super Stupid was next, followed by What You Are, Exploder, and then Show Me How To Live. Chris was hitting everything on this night, all the high notes, and the band sounded just as incredible. They closed the main set with Getaway Car, Hypnotize, and Shadow of the Sun. Naturally, an encore was in order, and a long one at that! Chris came back out shirtless and with just an acoustic guitar, and did I Am The Highway alone, with the band gradually filling in behind him. Most excellent! Next was a Rush cover, Working Man, then into the song that blew the roof off the dump, Cochise. EVERYONE in the place was jumping at this point, and the guys put forth a spirited performance in return. The closer was also the closer of the album, The Last Remaining Light. I was hoping for maybe one of the unreleased songs, but thats only a very minor complaint. The show itself was incredible, and so were the guys and the crowd. All in all an excellent show!
Topics: Concerts | Comments Off on 03/03/2003 Audioslave, Burning Brides (Toronto, ONT @ The Kool Haus)
Tags: 2003, Audioslave, Burning Brides, The Kool Haus, Toronto