Let the music play - new Concert Reviews/Experiences

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The Boss last night in Atlanta was incredible!!! 2.5 hours, no breaks, crowd singing every word, Springsteen’s voice was strong and energy even stronger. Absolutely amazing that he’s 73. He played 4-5 acoustic solos mid-concert, and bookended it with an absolutely fantastic show.

Lady on one side was 65 year old retired teacher and her 36th Springsteen concert, couple on my right drove in from Tennessee for the show. 20,000 adoring fans stood and sang all 2.5 hours. No sit/stand debates!

For those seeing him in MN or elsewhere on the tour, I hope his voice stays strong and his energy as well, if they do you are in for an amazing night.

Go Bruce Springsteen!!
 

Went to see Ride and the Charlatans at 1st Ave. last night. Was bummed that Ride was the opener. They are switching back and forth for this tour. Ride was amazing. Played the entire Nowhere album. They never disappoint. The Charlatans are a great band but can't match Ride live.
 

BleedGopher said:
The Boss last night in Atlanta was incredible!!! 2.5 hours, no breaks, crowd singing every word, Springsteen’s voice was strong and energy even stronger. Absolutely amazing that he’s 73. He played 4-5 acoustic solos mid-concert, and bookended it with an absolutely fantastic show.

Lady on one side was 65 year old retired teacher and her 36th Springsteen concert, couple on my right drove in from Tennessee for the show. 20,000 adoring fans stood and sang all 2.5 hours. No sit/stand debates!

For those seeing him in MN or elsewhere on the tour, I hope his voice stays strong and his energy as well, if they do you are in for an amazing night.

Go Bruce Springsteen!!
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I've been checking out the set lists for some of the early shows. looks like he's mixing in a lot of songs from the "Letter to You" album and also a couple of songs from that album he did of 60's Soul covers. But, as always, the set list can vary from night to night depending on what songs he feels like dropping in.
 

No idea what is going on here but they are playing the Fine Line on the 28th and... I need to go. I think?
 

BleedGopher said:
Then later this month it's the annual "Innings Fest" here in Phoenix, which is part of a big weekend around Spring Training. It's a baseball themed music festival where many former and current MLBer's who are in bands will play, but the headliner I'm going to is Sunday night (Feb 26) is Eddie Vedder (long time bucket list for me, really hoping he plays some acoustic sets), Marcus Mumford also performing (Vedder and Mumford are appearing without their bands), also on the lineup are The Revitalists, Mt. Joy, Head and the Heart, etc..

Go Live Music!!
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Looks like you got your wish for acoustic Eddie. Interesting U2 cover, In God's Country, don't recall seeing that one before. Setlist courtesy of "Sea" on pearljam.com/forum:

Eddie Vedder
Innings Festival
Tempe, AZ
02/26/23
Set List

Walk On Music: On My Way-(Vedder, Wotman, Klinghoffer)
Onstage 09:30
Offstage 10:59

Guests: Josh Klinghoffer, Bronson Arroyo, Clint Walsh

01. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
02. Far Behind
03. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away-(Lennon, McCartney)
04. Wishlist
{Talks about a museum with beautiful instruments-then smashes ukulele}
05. Soon Forget
06. I Won't Back Down-(Lynne, Petty)
07. Just Breathe w/ Josh Klinghoffer (acoustic guitar and bg voc) (Interrupts song for incident in the audience)
Ed and Josh quietly improv while waiting for issue in crowd to be sorted
08. Hunger Strike-(Cornell) w/ Josh K electric guitar & bg vocs {Ed sings all verses, the audience sings the “going hungry” reply vocals and Josh sings minimal bg vocs}
09. Better Man w/ Josh K pump organ & electric guitar
10. In God’s Country-(U2/Bono) w/ Josh K electric gtr & bg vocs and Clint Walsh electric gtr,
11. Society-(Hannan) w/ Josh K guitar & bg vocs
12. Black- {Ed only sings w/ Bronson Arroyo on electric guitar and Josh K on pump organ}
{Ed on wireless mic lets him go to edge of stage and to barricade}
13. Lukin
14. Porch
15. Hard Sun-(Peterson)
16. Rockin’ In The Free World-(Young) w/ Josh K pump organ and Clint Walsh guitar
 


Ope3 said:
Looks like you got your wish for acoustic Eddie. Interesting U2 cover, In God's Country, don't recall seeing that one before. Setlist courtesy of "Sea" on pearljam.com/forum:

Eddie Vedder
Innings Festival
Tempe, AZ
02/26/23
Set List

Walk On Music: On My Way-(Vedder, Wotman, Klinghoffer)
Onstage 09:30
Offstage 10:59

Guests: Josh Klinghoffer, Bronson Arroyo, Clint Walsh

01. Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town
02. Far Behind
03. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away-(Lennon, McCartney)
04. Wishlist
{Talks about a museum with beautiful instruments-then smashes ukulele}
05. Soon Forget
06. I Won't Back Down-(Lynne, Petty)
07. Just Breathe w/ Josh Klinghoffer (acoustic guitar and bg voc) (Interrupts song for incident in the audience)
Ed and Josh quietly improv while waiting for issue in crowd to be sorted
08. Hunger Strike-(Cornell) w/ Josh K electric guitar & bg vocs {Ed sings all verses, the audience sings the “going hungry” reply vocals and Josh sings minimal bg vocs}
09. Better Man w/ Josh K pump organ & electric guitar
10. In God’s Country-(U2/Bono) w/ Josh K electric gtr & bg vocs and Clint Walsh electric gtr,
11. Society-(Hannan) w/ Josh K guitar & bg vocs
12. Black- {Ed only sings w/ Bronson Arroyo on electric guitar and Josh K on pump organ}
{Ed on wireless mic lets him go to edge of stage and to barricade}
13. Lukin
14. Porch
15. Hard Sun-(Peterson)
16. Rockin’ In The Free World-(Young) w/ Josh K pump organ and Clint Walsh guitar
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It was fantastic! He was really dialed in, engaging and just an awesome night. It was cold out (even for AZ standards) but Vedder kept the crowd rocking for 90 minutes.

So happy I got to see him in this format.

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
It was fantastic! He was really dialed in, engaging and just an awesome night. It was cold out (even for AZ standards) but Vedder kept the crowd rocking for 90 minutes.

So happy I got to see him in this format.

Go Gophers!!
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Glad you got to see him play Hard Sun (in the encore), one of my favorites from the Into the Wild soundtrack. That one was big on my wish list (so was Wishlist), when I saw him at Dana Point in 2021. Wishes were granted.
 

Hahahahahah!!! Just got back from the Otoboke Beaver show. I've never seen a band so cheerfully lay waste to a club. Oh my God, the guitar player was just maniacally happy. And no, I didn't understand of word of the lyrics. Doesn't matter

 
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whoa! I am one tired dude today.
Springsteen concert Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

my 11th or 12th Springsteen concert - my memory can be a bit fuzzy at times.

Excellent show. I thought Bruce's voice was a little raspy on the first couple of songs, but then he just seemed to get better as the night went on and sounded great all the way to the finish. Show ran for roughly 2hrs, 45minutes with no real breaks. Not like the old marathon 3-1/2 hour shows of the 70's, but a lot of energy.

One thing that stood out to me is just how tight the E-Street Band is. with a horn section, backup singers and an extra percussionist, there are 18 people on stage at times, and they are locked in.
the 70's era shows felt a little looser and more free-wheeling at times, but this version of the band is just powerful. the sound system is fantastic - there is a physical presence when that sound hits you.

the show featured songs from every phase of his career. several songs from the "Letter to You" album, one song from his recent cover album of soul tunes, a cut from the Seeger Sessions album, and then plenty of tracks from the classic albums. Highlights included a lengthy version of "Kitty's Back," and a fun version of "E Street Shuffle," both utilizing the horn section. "Rosalita" emphasized the fun, with Bruce and Steve Van Zandt mugging like a '3 Stooges' routine. Jake Clemons seemed to be more involved - lot of sax solos and backup vocals, sharing the mike with Bruce the way Clarence used to.

But the emotional center of the show featured Bruce talking about the death of his old friend George Theiss, who was in Bruce's first band, the Castiles. Bruce did an acoustic version of "Last Man Standing," which he wrote after Theiss died, and then the band went into a powerful version of "Backstreets."

all in all, a great show. definitely gets an A. maybe not an A+ (there were a couple of songs that I would have dropped from the list, but that's quibbling).

now the drive home after the show - that is a separate topic. might post in the "weather" thread.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
whoa! I am one tired dude today.
Springsteen concert Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

my 11th or 12th Springsteen concert - my memory can be a bit fuzzy at times.

Excellent show. I thought Bruce's voice was a little raspy on the first couple of songs, but then he just seemed to get better as the night went on and sounded great all the way to the finish. Show ran for roughly 2hrs, 45minutes with no real breaks. Not like the old marathon 3-1/2 hour shows of the 70's, but a lot of energy.

One thing that stood out to me is just how tight the E-Street Band is. with a horn section, backup singers and an extra percussionist, there are 18 people on stage at times, and they are locked in.
the 70's era shows felt a little looser and more free-wheeling at times, but this version of the band is just powerful. the sound system is fantastic - there is a physical presence when that sound hits you.

the show featured songs from every phase of his career. several songs from the "Letter to You" album, one song from his recent cover album of soul tunes, a cut from the Seeger Sessions album, and then plenty of tracks from the classic albums. Highlights included a lengthy version of "Kitty's Back," and a fun version of "E Street Shuffle," both utilizing the horn section. "Rosalita" emphasized the fun, with Bruce and Steve Van Zandt mugging like a '3 Stooges' routine. Jake Clemons seemed to be more involved - lot of sax solos and backup vocals, sharing the mike with Bruce the way Clarence used to.

But the emotional center of the show featured Bruce talking about the death of his old friend George Theiss, who was in Bruce's first band, the Castiles. Bruce did an acoustic version of "Last Man Standing," which he wrote after Theiss died, and then the band went into a powerful version of "Backstreets."

all in all, a great show. definitely gets an A. maybe not an A+ (there were a couple of songs that I would have dropped from the list, but that's quibbling).

now the drive home after the show - that is a separate topic. might post in the "weather" thread.
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It was only my 3rd Springsteen (2nd with the E Street Band) and I echo your thoughts with how great it was. E Street Shuffle was really a stand out deep cut, with that horn section.

Amazing how he can get everyone into a frenzy with arena rockers, yet still transform the venue making it feel like an intimate theater with the solo acoustic tracks. 2 hrs 45 min just flew by.

I'd give it an A-. If Patti had been there, I would have graded it higher, no doubt.
 

Anyone else go to Yo La Tengo Sunday night? Great show. I've seen them at least a dozen times since 1993. This was top three. Ira is a guitar god.

Side note: this was sold out. Yo La Tengo rarely sells out. I've noticed a lot of shows have been selling out lately. Is it the crappy weather? Covid fatigue? What's the deal?
 



short ornery norwegian said:
whoa! I am one tired dude today.
Springsteen concert Sunday night at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

my 11th or 12th Springsteen concert - my memory can be a bit fuzzy at times.

Excellent show. I thought Bruce's voice was a little raspy on the first couple of songs, but then he just seemed to get better as the night went on and sounded great all the way to the finish. Show ran for roughly 2hrs, 45minutes with no real breaks. Not like the old marathon 3-1/2 hour shows of the 70's, but a lot of energy.

One thing that stood out to me is just how tight the E-Street Band is. with a horn section, backup singers and an extra percussionist, there are 18 people on stage at times, and they are locked in.
the 70's era shows felt a little looser and more free-wheeling at times, but this version of the band is just powerful. the sound system is fantastic - there is a physical presence when that sound hits you.

the show featured songs from every phase of his career. several songs from the "Letter to You" album, one song from his recent cover album of soul tunes, a cut from the Seeger Sessions album, and then plenty of tracks from the classic albums. Highlights included a lengthy version of "Kitty's Back," and a fun version of "E Street Shuffle," both utilizing the horn section. "Rosalita" emphasized the fun, with Bruce and Steve Van Zandt mugging like a '3 Stooges' routine. Jake Clemons seemed to be more involved - lot of sax solos and backup vocals, sharing the mike with Bruce the way Clarence used to.

But the emotional center of the show featured Bruce talking about the death of his old friend George Theiss, who was in Bruce's first band, the Castiles. Bruce did an acoustic version of "Last Man Standing," which he wrote after Theiss died, and then the band went into a powerful version of "Backstreets."

all in all, a great show. definitely gets an A. maybe not an A+ (there were a couple of songs that I would have dropped from the list, but that's quibbling).

now the drive home after the show - that is a separate topic. might post in the "weather" thread.
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I saw him in Denver a couple nights before the St. Paul show - the old dude can still rock the house. I guess we’re lucky to catch him before illness in the band caused a couple of concerts to be canceled. 10th Avenue Freeze Out was a highlight of the Denver show for me.
 

This is rather pleasant news, even if the Tour Opener at the Excel is the same date as the Nebraska/Minnesota football game.

pearljam.com

Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam 2023 U.S. Tour Announcement

Pearl Jam is hitting the road in August through September to perform nine shows across St.
pearljam.com pearljam.com
 

Ope3 said:
The drummer is Mark Ortmann from the Bottle Rockets, which sort of quietly disbanded in 2021.
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Geez, glad I saw them when I did. Thoroughly enjoyed their show at the Turf Club, I guess it would have been pre-pandemic.
 

Bad Gopher said:
Geez, glad I saw them when I did. Thoroughly enjoyed their show at the Turf Club, I guess it would have been pre-pandemic.
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I was never disappointed in either a Bottle Rockets or Brian Henneman show, either as an opener or headliner. Hopefully, Henneman will still perform on occasion.

On the bright side, BR guitar player John Horton latched on with Son Volt last year for their tours.
 

Saw Pinback at the Fine Line last night. Zach Smith, the bassist and backup vocalist has been out with bronchitis, and was replaced by Nick Reinhart who leads the opening act, Disheveled Cuss. Really fun show. Had never heard Disheveled Cuss prior to last night. They kind of kick ass.
 

Going to see Booker T at the Dakota tonight. I don't think I've been there before. I don't do well with sit down shows.
 

tikited said:
Going to see Booker T at the Dakota tonight. I don't think I've been there before. I don't do well with sit down shows.
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I think you can stand along the rail in the upper deck, at least they let me do that for Bob Mould several years ago.
 

Ope3 said:
This is rather pleasant news, even if the Tour Opener at the Excel is the same date as the Nebraska/Minnesota football game.

pearljam.com

Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam 2023 U.S. Tour Announcement

Pearl Jam is hitting the road in August through September to perform nine shows across St.
pearljam.com pearljam.com
Click to expand...

I am in the door for Night #2, through 10 Club.

Lower bowl. Not terrible. Not great. About half the price I paid for the Boss. Happy.
 


Had two new music venue experiences in the last few weeks.

1st: Dead and Co. at the L.A. Forum (Inglewood). Great show and a great venue. Same place the Lakers played in during the Showtime days. Highly recommend going if you get the chance. Was told it looked pretty much the same as it did back then.

2nd: Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the Armory. Last time I was inside that building was when my dad and I parked for Gopher games in the dome. Really impressed with what they did with the place. Top notch music venue. They were able to make a very corporate style place much less bothersome than the Fillmore did. It helped I was lucky enough to get VIP seats/section but it still looked it had great views of the stage from almost everywhere.
 
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tikited said:
Had two new music venue experiences in the last few weeks.

1st: Dead and Co. at the L.A. Forum (Inglewood). Great show and a great venue. Same place the Lakers played in during the Showtime days. Highly recommend going if you get the chance. Was told it looked pretty much the same as it did back then.

2nd: Yeah Yeah Yeahs at the Armory. Last time I was inside that building was when my dad and I parked for Gopher games in the dome. Really impressed with what they did with the place. Top notch music venue. They were able to make a very corporate style place much less bothersome than the Fillmore did. It helped I was lucky enough to get VIP seats/section but it still looked it had great views of the stage from almost everywhere.
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I've only seen his bill at the armory but I agree. Absolutely blown away at how good it sounded given the building's construction.
 

As referenced the Old Music thread, I hit up my first Cure show last night. It was really amazing. Robert Smith was in fantastic form, vocally it was quite impressive. He was in a almost giddy mood and very appreciative of the crowd. Clocked in at 2 hrs 45 minutes.

m.startribune.com

Star Tribune

Your source for Minnesota news today. Read articles, view photos or watch videos about news in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, St. Cloud, Rochester, and beyond.
m.startribune.com m.startribune.com

- Big ups for Smith for passing on the TM Premium junk and fighting them on fees.
- Lucked into 2 face value seats 48 hrs before the show, lower bowl, row 6 at the redline. Less than $100 each.
- Pretty affordable merch. $25 tshirts $50 hoodies. Pretty funny though the poster said Xcel Energy Center/"Minneapolis". Oops.
- I was maybe one of two dozen people in the 15,000 arena not wearing black. Went old school white Green Mind tshirt. I got several shout outs.
- #1 song I was looking forward to hearing was played second, Pictures of You.
- Ended with one of the most unbelievable encores I have ever seen Essentially, my college playlist from 30+ years ago.
 

Getting ready to hit up Wrigley for Dead and Co. In Chicago for the 2nd time.
 


GopherJake said:
Please file a report. Going to Boulder Jul 1-3.
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I thought last nights show was better than last years Wrigley show.

The setlist in Los Angeles a few weeks ago was more to my liking than last night. I did get Morning Dew towards the end of the night. Just wish they extended it by about five more minutes though. They were in a great groove.

Going to Boulder as well!
 

Ope3 said:
As referenced the Old Music thread, I hit up my first Cure show last night. It was really amazing. Robert Smith was in fantastic form, vocally it was quite impressive. He was in a almost giddy mood and very appreciative of the crowd. Clocked in at 2 hrs 45 minutes.

m.startribune.com

Star Tribune

Your source for Minnesota news today. Read articles, view photos or watch videos about news in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, St. Cloud, Rochester, and beyond.
m.startribune.com m.startribune.com

- Big ups for Smith for passing on the TM Premium junk and fighting them on fees.
- Lucked into 2 face value seats 48 hrs before the show, lower bowl, row 6 at the redline. Less than $100 each.
- Pretty affordable merch. $25 tshirts $50 hoodies. Pretty funny though the poster said Xcel Energy Center/"Minneapolis". Oops.
- I was maybe one of two dozen people in the 15,000 arena not wearing black. Went old school white Green Mind tshirt. I got several shout outs.
- #1 song I was looking forward to hearing was played second, Pictures of You.
- Ended with one of the most unbelievable encores I have ever seen Essentially, my college playlist from 30+ years ago.
Click to expand...
A Cure postscript, when the band returned for Encore #1 Robert indicated that they where roughly only halfway through the show. He wasn't kidding, as the main set was 16 songs and the encores combined with 13 more.

www.setlist.fm

The Cure Setlist at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul

Get the The Cure Setlist of the concert at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN, USA on June 8, 2023 from the Shows of a Lost World Tour and other The Cure Setlists for free on setlist.fm!
www.setlist.fm www.setlist.fm

The merch lines before the show were insane. I don't think that was the fault of the band or the venue as I counted at least 8 stands which seemed pretty fully staffed and well organized. Every line looked like hundreds waiting. I opted to wait for after the show. Some items Sold Out, but no telling how much time I would have spent waiting pre-show.

Oddly there was a couple sitting right in front of me and both headed to the concourse about a 45 minutes into the main set. They were gone for way over a half hour, to the point I thought they either went home or found other seats somewhere. Nope, they came back with a haul of posters, shirts, tote bags...like they were making their first trip to Disneyland.

Just seem weird they would miss so much of the actual show but spend $200 or so on mementos. To each their own. Maybe they were purchasing as gifts or selling on Ebay?

Towards the end of Encore #1 off they went again, this time I assumed for good as they carried all their merch with them. Wrong again. They made it back to their seats midway through Encore #2, just in time for Friday I'm In Love, missing another good half hour or so.

At least they had beverages in hand.

Personally, I stood for the entire nearly 3 hour performance as our entire section did. I was extremely in favor of it though, as I think that brings the crowd more into it. I was reminded in the days following that I am not as young as I once was and felt it big time. Neck to ankles.

Maybe that explains the couple missing about an hour of the gig total.
 

Saw Rodrigo y Gabriela at The Fitz last night. Truly phenomenal and unlike anything I've ever experienced. If you get a chance to see them live, I HIGHLY recommend it. New favorite concert.
 

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