Concerts thread: Best/Worst/Next/Last one you attended?

Michael Franti and Spearhead, Sunday night, Maryhill Winery concert theater, Goldendale, Wash.

What a great venue(*) to see a show! For those who know the Pacific Northwest, the winery has a 4,000-seat outdoor venue with about 500 seats and a tiered lawn area. Great views of both the stage and the Columbia River Gorge, along the Washington/Oregon border.

It's basically a miniature version of the Gorge Amphitheater in the middle of Washington. Just further downstream (and with much less parking headaches)!

My wife is the big Franti fan, and the more I see him, the more I admire both his musical abilities and his showmanship. He literally circulates through the entire crowd, whether he's playing a club gig or an outdoor show. For this tour, he has added a 19-year-old female singer, Victoria Canal, with a big-time voice (she opened the show and also sang on a couple new Franti songs). A strong addition to his band ... oh, and she also has only one hand, yet still plays the keyboards.

* — only gripe — and I knew this going in — is while you can pack in food and sealed non-alcoholic drinks, the only booze you can have at the show is their wine. At $9/glass (or $25-and-up per bottle). They had some good food vendors there, but I'm not eating a bratwurst or polish sausage with wine. Especially at that price.

 

Tim Flannery last weekend in Santa Cruz. He puts on a great show. As a bonus, Bryan Stow was there, seated in the row in front of me.

 

Planning to see Morrissey later this year on the West Coast. Curious when you last saw him.

 

Had to look it up - it was 2002. It was a good show.

I had tickets to see him a few years later but he postponed it three times before he finally canceled. Different excuse each time.

 

I saw him in '97, and it was great. But I've heard his shows haven't been as good over the last decade or so and figured I'd get another opinion before purchasing a ticket.

 

Parquet Courts last Friday. Good, high energy show. Hadn't seen a mosh pit at a show in a while.

American Aquarium last Saturday. Had not heard much about that band but got free tickets, so it was worth checking out. Glad I did. They put on a fine show. They gained a new fan.

 

Two-and-a-half shows this week.

Saw The Posies on Wednesday. They played with probably the best known lineup -- Ken Stringfellow and John Auer (of course), backed by Dave Fox on bass and Mike Musberger on drums. Great performance of all their power pop classics.

Just returned from Matthew Sweet, who seems to put on the same show every time. He's always dressed in black, has the same haircut, and looks like he hasn't shaved in four days. He blazes through his songs, with hardly any banter. Tonight he said next to nothing. I think he was sick, but he put in nearly and hour-and-a-half show, playing everything you wanted to hear. When it was over, he left the stage with one of the other band guys and walked through the crowd to the exit. And that was it.

In the same venue in a smaller room was the Legendary Shack Shakers. So we were able to get in there for their last few songs. Never had seen them, only heard them. They are something. The lead singer is a marvel. The shack was shaking when we entered, so they lived up to their name. Got to see a half hour or so, very much would like to see them again.

 

Bummed that I missed The Posies when they came through town. I saw them on my honeymoon in '91, opening for Crowded House. Totally underrated band.

I've never seen Matthew Sweet. I used to be a big fan, but I'd be hard pressed to think of someone who's done less with their level of talent.

Just got tickets to see Elvis Costello in November. I think it'll be my ninth Elvis show.

 

Elvis and New Order are my 1 and 1A for worst-live-shows-I've-ever-seen. Sad.

 

Really? Surprising. I've never seen a bad one, even when he was touring behind some pretty crappy albums.

Saw New Order once, around 1990. Pretty good, if a little sterile.

 

In case you missed it, Morrissey just scrapped his entire UK/European tour. Didn't even bother to make up an excuse this time.

Morrissey has now canceled or postponed 134 concerts since 2012