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

I get the feeling I'm going to start liking those albums more. In fact I already have. It does something to your ears once you've heard somebody and liked them live. And most of my hesitance with Turner was my own stupidity, somehow thinking he was somehow trite. Seeing him live stripped that away and he was just fun and catchy as hell. I love his lead guitarist/mandolin guy. Just his facial expressions. And the fun he was having looking at the person doing signing on the edge of the stage. Looks like squiggy from Laverne and Shirley.

 

Saw Isbell last year in Lexington and he blew the roof off the place. Now I"m going to see him at Forecastle. Can't wait. That is, of course, just one of the many acts I can't wait to see.

 

I've always wanted to do Forecastle. That much great music AND in Louisville. It doesn't get much better than that.

 

That's what I really like about Turner - he seems quite genuine in just wanting to play simple, catchy rock and have a blast. There's no pretense there, and in the videos I've seen, him and his band just seem to always be having fun.

 

Saw Isbell at the Gasparilla Music Festival in Tampa back in March; short set (45 minutes), but absolutely fabulous. I'm borderline obsessed with Isbell's music; there really are few examples of somebody who combines guitar-slinger and wordsmith the way he does. And he has definitely come a long way since the Truckers. He showed flashes of brilliance with them, but really has proven his talent on every level since cleaning up.

 

I was never a huge DBT fan, so Isbell leaving and going solo didn't do much for me and I never paid much attention to him until Southeastern. But I'm all in now, went back and got everything to make up for lost time.

 

The only disappointing thing about seeing Isbell was that Amanda wasn't there. Well, that and the fact that Amanda is not my wife.

(I should've learned to play guitar. And sing. And been five inches taller.)

 

Went to see Hot Tuna (electric) at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester last night. Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen were great, as usual, but the highlight for me was getting to see Leon Russell, the opening act, for the first time.

Sure, they're all old but they can still play.

 

Speaking of a guy who's old but can still play: Paul McCartney, "Out There" tour, Aug. 5 at Washington-Grizzly Stadium, Missoula, Mont.

Definitely one of my top 3 concert experiences ever. At 72, the man brings tons of energy and a catalogue of songs that can't be beat.

An early highlight was the old Wings tune, "Let Me Roll It." Paul traded his bass for a six string and ended the song with riffs from "Foxy Lady" in tribute to Jimi Hendrix. After a fun (and well-known) story about how Jimi covered "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" two nights after the LP was released, Paul did a fast, rocking version of "Paperback Writer," featuring an extended jam with the two other guitarists in his backing band.

About 27,000 people jammed the University of Montana football field (with a few hundred more climbing way up on the hill behind the stage) and pinched themselves as McCartney played at least 35 songs, with two encores. In Missoula, Montana. YGBFKM!

I'd say at least half the songs were Beatles numbers, including John's "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" and "Something" as a tribute to George. The latter turned into an impromptu sing along during the bridge, which gave me goose bumps even though it was hot as hell in the stands.

Acoustic versions of "I've Just Seen a Face" and "We Can Work It Out" were great pulls from the Beatles songbook. The piano ballads turned the energy down just a bit (and gave the many 60-plus attendees a chance to sit), but I was impressed that Paul can still belt out the high part of "Maybe I'm Amazed."

The whole setlist is here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/paul-mccartney/2014/washington-grizzly-stadium-missoula-mt-53ce9721.html

If you have a chance to see the remaining dates on this tour, don't miss out. See one of rock's best-ever songwriters AND performers while he still can perform near his peak level.

 

No doubt. Saw McCartney over Memorial Day weekend 2013 in Memphis. He was awesome.

Also worth pointing out that his back-up band is tremendous.

 

BTW, Isbell was even better this time around. The whole festival rocked. And, I got to finally see The Mats!!!

 

Funny. I saw McCartney with my dad back in 1990 on his comeback tour. Don't think he had toured in over a decade. And they were touting it as possibly the last chance to see McCartney because who knows when he was going to tour again. It was a great show though, he sounded terrific.