Overall –

I did not have anything on my schedule before 230pm.  That, coupled with two days of festival going plus the oppressive heat and humidity put me (and Matt) exactly where you think we would be in the Noon-ish hour:  at the movieplex catching GI Joe! 

It was another crusher in terms of heat and humidity.  So much so that the awesome CFD had a massive mister tossing water out over the crowd toward the Playstation and Budweiser stages.  Nice!

Everything was leading up to Jane’s Addiction for me…

Kaiser Chiefs — Playing the Bud stage at the height of the afternoon heat.  Total rock outfit with a bit of clang to the guitars.  I did not know the songs, but it didn’t matter — everyone around me (even as far back as we were) seemed to be singing along.  I had sworn off a lot of clangy guitar rock from across the pond.  Perhaps I should reconsider?

The Raveonettes — Musical epiphany, baybee!  It was the perfect (bastard?) combination of The Swirlies and Dickie Dale to me.  I was entranced by the male/female voices wafting through the fuzz of the layered guitar sound.  I bought the entire catalog when I arrived at home.

Neko Case — This was a tough time slot conundrum for me.  Vampire Weekend was on the Chicago 2016 stage, but I opted to catch a bit of alt-country.  They did not disappoint!  Super melodies with cloud like harmonies accompanied by some pedal steel, bass, guitar and drums.  Certainly mellow, but they connected with the growing crowd they had.

Cold War Kids — I admit that I was not listening intently, but they ended up to be background music to me.

Snoop Dogg — I did wave my hands in the air.  Like I did not care.  I think this one of the largest crowds I saw for a single artist at this year’s Lolla.  Crazy awesome live drummer.  Great supporting stage rappers.  Snoop was totally tight — as if you would expect anything less — driving me and the crowd from old jams to new stuff and back again.

Lou Reed — Totally unintentional.  I heard “I’m Waiting for the Man” and “Walk on the Wild Side”.   They sounded great.  Not as great as all the newspapers and blogs are saying.  And he went over his time slot by almost 20 minutes.  Which really pissed me off.  Not because I was waiting to see Band of Horses, but because he should know better.  It is the height of ego to steal time from an up and coming band at a festival — especially for someone that has been around so long.  If a band had tracked into his time slot in the 70’s, he would have stabbed them with a dirty needle.  Bordering on classless.

Band of Horses — After seeing them do the Kidz stage, I added them to my schedule.  Although they got a late start, they REALLY connected with their crowd as the sun was coming down.  Layered guitars and a singer with an amazing voice took us on a bit of a ride.  I cannot stop listening to “Is There A Ghost”.  Bad side?  The late start encouraged them to try to battle the start of the Jane’s Addiction show on the Bud stage.  That could be a seriously career limiting move…

Jane’s Addiction — What I was waiting for.  Woot!  I wish that the first two songs had not been complete noise as Band of Horses was competing for the ears of the folks in the field.  Both of them failing miserably.  Nifty low flying helicopter stunt shining a big spotlight on the masses.  Perry still has it.  Maybe he whispers a bit more, but it does not matter as he is the showman to rival all showman.  Navarro was just right on.  Avery was nothing short of brilliant as he stomped around like a hard core mosh pit.  Perkins provides the base for everything — and in an intricate way.  They tore through most of the songs I wanted to hear with the exception of “Had A Dad”…  Barely clad backup dancers.  Perry drinking out of wine bottle.  A wave stunt in the first few rows of the crowd for “Ocean Size” with Perry “swimming” through.  And finishing up with Joe Perry joining them on “Jane Says”.  Nice!  Two proposals at the very end…  One a marriage proposal on stage:  nice going Barry — whoever you are!  And the other as support for the Chicago 2016 movement.  Perfect.

Overall –

You would think that looking outside before leaving the house that we would be totally stoked that no rain was in the forecast.

Be careful what you wish for.

It was sweating-pints hot with crushing humidity.

We dropped into Lolla a bit later in the afternoon which gave us a bit of a leg up as far as how tired/hot we ended up being.

Care Bears On Fire — We went straight to Kidzapalooza to catch this teenage punk trio.  Great name.  Great band.  Tight punk stylings.  Totally recommended.  Loved the Tears for Fears cover!

Band of Horses — We stuck around Kidz to catch Band of Horses play a three song set.  I really liked their “attitude” with all the kids around.  I did not have them on my Sunday schedule originally, but I added them quickly after getting the sampler on the Kidz stage.

Arctic Monkeys — I am in the minority on this one as I am not able to write about how “brilliant” or “awesome” they were.  It felt dime-a-dozen pseudo-indie rock to me and never caught my interest even with everyone around me fawning over them.

Glasvegas — Not on my original schedule — thanks to Paul Haley for the tip!  It was a bit of Social Distortion with a bit more fuzz and less great lyrics.  I really dug them at the beginning of the set, but they never progressed anywhere and they just turned into muddy water by the end of the set.  I’ll check out a record and see if they do more for me there…

Rise Against – Hometown Chicago boys.  Dug the songs I stuck around for:  blister rock for the most part.  I would love to see them in a smaller venue.

Lykke Li — This was an artist on Alison’s list that I went over to.  TONS of energy coming from such a small person!    Playing with a keyboardist, a guitarist/bassist, a drummer and some backing tracks she really had the crowd into it — myself included.  Not as synthy as I thought it was going to be.  Edgy lyrics.  Nifty voice.  Larger than life stage presence.  Dig it.

Ben Harper and Relentless7 — When I saw that they were playing at the perm band shell stage, I knew I had to get over there!  Perfect venue for them.  Sounded tight and just plain awesome.  Totally rocked out a Led Zep cover to the pure delight of the mass of people trying to squeeze in to catch a listen.

Tool – I should start by saying I am not a Tool fan.  Not by design, really.  They just fall into a genre of music that I felt like I followed in a different direction.  They were the DEFINITION of TIGHT.  Every note seemed just perfect.  I was pretty far back, so I never saw them up close (and the vid screens were showing band provided videos and not the stage cameras to my chagrin).  I did dig it, but maybe not enough to go out and buy the entire band catalog.  Still thinking about this one.

Overall –

When we looked out the window before we left, we knew it was gonna be messy.  We just did not realize how much.

We arrived to some sprinkles and a long, but fast moving, line to get in.  I like the organization of flowing people toward one central gate that is well equipped to handle the crowds.  I hate the walking as you have to go several blocks in each direction of the gate — on the other side of the street — in order to get to the sidewalk that leads to the gate.

Thanks to Matt for giving me the personal introduction to Graham Elliott Bowles!  That was just awesome!

It was miserable for the better part of the day.  I was wet, cold and clammy and there was no respite no matter where you went or how hard you tried.  The rain was not a driving rain, but it was consistent with large drops penetrating any tree cover we could find.

And then the mud…  Eventually, we found a spot in some trees between the Playstation and Budweiser stages near the army of port-a-potties.  This worked okay — for quite a while — as we were able to hear bands on both stages pretty clearly without being in the mud pit of humanity out in front of the stages.  After a while, though, our secret place was found by more and more folk.  Drunker folk.  We watched, somewhat in guffaw and somewhat in amusement as dozens of guys eschewed the line of bathrooms and just started whipping it out behind the bar area.  We felt sorta sorry and grossed out by the woman that spewed huge chunks at the base of a tree.  And I was *really* looking for a head’s up before a trio of girls walked up the tree I was leaning on and then one of them dropped trou and started peeing.

I was stoked when the rain stopped somewhere near The Decemberists set.  It gave me a fourth wind. 

Matt won best dressed with his jolly green jumpsuit purchased during the day.

Hockey — We were only able to catch a few tunes as we arrived late and their sound kept cutting out.  They were really good at tossing cans of beer into the crowd.    I liked what I heard:  a bit of the rock meshed with the musically stylistic elements of the Pacific Northwest.

Manchester Orchestra — Love.  Absolutely love.  They played Lolla last year, but I missed them.  This year, they graduated to the Budweiser stage in the afternoon and they certainly had a nice sized crowd.  They have a similar vibe to Built to Spill in many ways:  emotion in every note, fantastic guitar work, thinking lyrical ability.  I was transfixed every time I could see the lead playing/singing.  I bought everything they have put out the second I got home.

Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears — Classic bluesy rock.  The boys can play.  And from reading the notes on the bad, it would appear that Joe Lewis is pretty young to be able to command the music and the stage in the way that he did.

The Gaslight Anthem — They came highly recommended to me going in and I was really happy I got to see them.  Straightforward rock with a bit of hardcore sensibility coupled with some great lyrics.  The lead had some great banter for the crowd including telling us his first concert was Depeche Mode!  Ha!

Bon Iver – It coulda been the weather affecting my judgment, but…  Really not my cup of tea.

Ben Folds — Playing on the Budweiser stage in the late afternoon to a pretty big crowd considering the weather.   I have seen him play a few times before and I really liked that his energy level is the same (really high!) no matter what size venue he is playing.  He played a bunch of older stuff to my delight (and my wife’s and the crowd’s) and more than a few newer tunes as well.  His voice, possibly affected by the weather, was not the Ben Folds I had come to like from a live perspective.  He finished with “Army” and really could not hit any of the notes — not for lack of trying! — which was just sort of a bummer as I like the way the notes drift into each other…  I dug his players — especially the drummer.

Fleet Foxes — The timing was either all right or all wrong.  I remember hoping they would finish as soon as possible, but as I think about he complex harmonies now (in bone dry retrospect) — I did dig it.  Even from almost behind the stage, the voices were clear and tight.

The Decemberists — Wow.  Certainly one of the most unique acts I saw this year!  Talented musicians.  Great singing with some brilliant harmony work.  Something I read in the notes stuck in my head as SO true.  Paraphrasing:  ‘If you were looking for a band that would be fans of roll playing board games…’   Dig it.  They really held my interest — and I think surprised the increasing crowd over their late afternoon set.  I found out, later, that they played the entirety of a rock opera they just released.  Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.

Andrew Bird — I tried to get into it.  Experimental?  He is clearly super talented at almost the savant level, but it just was not happening for me…  I did like the spinny thingee in the middle of the stage. 

Kings of Leon — That’s right.  I stayed for KoL and did not run across Grant Park to get to Depeche Mode.  And I did this on purpose.  I have seen DM before and I have been truly digging a lot of KoL’s stuff for the past few months.  Earnest rock.  Great lyrical ability.  Connected with the crowd.  The lead could not stop saying “thank you” to the assembled, wet, tired, dirty masses.  And the crowd thanked them back screaming their songs back to them at the top of their lungs.  I am really glad we stayed.  Total highlight.

do it.  do it now.

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woo!

coupla hundred photos from:

200807 – Upstate NY Trip

200807 – NYC Trip

more details to come, but…  we will shortly be on our way to chicago!  woo!

yes. i know that we got married last october.

we recently finished the “blog” and put up ALL the photos from our honeymoon in ireland.

check it out:

Alison & Eric’s Honeymoon in Ireland – Blog

Alison & Eric’s Honeymoon in Ireland – Photos

ugh.

this was not the finest day for the sabres — or for me personally…

kevin and i started out on the 2 train up to penn station. after everything i said about how “quick” it would be…? it was running local. wonderful.

photos: http://www.erock.org/gallery/2007/200704_Kevin_in_NYC/

we started out in semi-awe of the festivities outside msg… there was a (good!) cover band all wearing rangers jerseys and the space outside on the 7th avenue side had a LOT of people. however, we decided it was no “party on the plaza”, that we were both outnumbered in our sabres jerseys and we headed into the bowels of penn station to a bar called tracks.

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alison is a bit more familiar with the place than i am, but i like it there — great staff and interesting people to talk to. we got through a coupla beverages and chatted with two rangers fans sitting next to us at the bar…

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into msg we go…

our seats (in section 402) were surprisingly good. we had a view of the entire ice from the corner. the folks around us were certainly ranger faithful, but cool nonetheless. we joked a bit about them booing malik right from the opening faceoff.

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midway through the second period, i received a text message from alison. her father had some serious medical trouble and we got up (at a whistle…) to call her from the upper lobby. we started catching shit heading up the stairs and, i think, this is where i started to get very pissed off.

while on the phone with alison, i am still catching shit from rangers fans heading by even after kevin and the concessions folks told ‘em what was up and they should just chill… now i’m really starting to get angry.

there is nothing alison and i can do from nyc and she assures me it is best to stay at the game and wait for more info…

the nice concessions folks call security as kevin and i continue to get razzed and i start flipping people off and challenging (and being challenged) to fights from dozens of rangers “fans”.

we get our own security force from here on out…

i cannot believe how many total pricks there were at madison square garden. and i mean total pricks. i have lived in nyc for over seven years and i have been to msg plenty of times, but i have never, ever seen anything like this. without the security folks, i am positive that kevin and i would have been pummeled by hundreds of rangers “fans”. even when the security guards let them know i was having a tough time — on the phone — and to just chill out… that just egged them on more. part of this is my mistake. i was enraged by this point and i was ready to take all comers. this was just the opposite of what i should have done, in retrospect, and i blame myself for not keeping better check of my emotions.

however…

one of the rangers fans that kevin and i met at tracks stopped over to see what was going on as he was sitting a few sections over. i told him what was going on and then something amazing happened… for the next 10 minutes, fan after fan stopped over — some of the same guys that were shouting up and down at us just a few minutes earlier — and apologized. i’m not sure what that rangers fan said to them all, but i sincerely thank him for helping to diffuse a really bad situation.

we never went back to our seats.

we stood at the back of our section — with our security army — for the rest of the game. before the first overtime, they walked us halfway around the rink and in front of an elevator so we could go straight down without hitting the escalators.

directly when the rangers scored in the second overtime, we were whisked into the elevator with a few other sabres fans and hit the cab stand before most of the arena hit the street.

we went down to qdt for a few and then headed home…

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kevin left this morning (snakes on a train!) and made it home safely (denny crane!) this afternoon.

thanks, kev, for coming down! it was certainly an experience!!

i love my wife.

she is official!! woo!!

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alison was sworn in to the nys bar today. nifty and regal ceremony (thank you for the vocab, tanya!) at the old courthouse on madison and 25th. mercifully short speech from the bench by one of the five justices…

off to qdt after that for some good times with steve, ronda, phil, alex, christy, mike and mark.

i could not be any more proud of her. you did it honey!!!

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saturday night was the celebration.

alison has finished all of her finals for law skool – forever!!

we had a great gathering at qdt (quality drinking time — reade street and west broadway). over 20 folks came out to celebrate and congratulate alison on her amazing accomplishment. both of us had a TON of cool conversation with everyone!

thanks to everyone that came out!