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+ Wed, September 29

The Great Concert Roundup of 2004

During The Great Online Silence of Phil Dokas of 2004 I managed to see a ridiculous number of concerts.  We’re talking about The Shins, The Strokes, Rogue Wave (twice), Modest Mouse, The Walkmen, The Decemberists, The Long Winters, Of Montreal (twice) and Yo La Tengo.  Keeping in mind, of course, that Interpol and The Pixies are still on tap for this fall, and Travis Morrison just announced a date with Death Cab For Cutie (even though his album just roundly had its ears boxed by that very same publication) in my neck of the woods.

So yes.  A few.

The Strokes began this absurd stint in May, wherein I had my first experience with the Crushed-At-The-Front-Of-The-Mosh-Pit style of concert viewing.  It’s a shame that I don’t remember much of the show, what with all the “fighting for my life” and such.

Shortly thereafter came The Decemberists and Long Winters show, who played exactly one floor below Kanye West and his attempt to rock St. Andrew’s Hall to the ground.  Despite the deep rumbling seeping through the ceiling, they played marvelous sets each, including notables like The Decemberists’ The Tain and virtually every song you’d care to name off either Her Majesty and Castaways & Cutouts.  The Long Winters played without keyboardist Sean Nelson and when asked, explained that he was too busy recording with Harvey Danger to be touring.  John noted further that a record can be expected sometime early 2005 and new Harvey Danger can hardly be a bad thing.  He also gave a rousing rendition of his Detroit is for lovers speech.

Following that came a fantastic trip to Chicago to see The Shins play The House Of Blues.  This show was unusual in the extreme gentility of everyone in attendence.  You could leave where you were, return five minutes later and find your spot completely bare, awaiting your return.  At a rock show?  Are you kidding me?  Some band called Rogue Wave opened and they were startingly good.  A decent opener?  At a rock show?  Are you kidding me?  So good, in fact, that I saw them on a tour of their own supporting AC Newman in Detroit in which they were just as good.  Back to Chicago though, The Shins played all but four songs off their two brilliant records.  Laughing, joking, bra-throwing, they themselves had a blast and there’s nothing more important for a good show.  Stopping by the Chicago Apple Store didn’t hurt neither.

After this summer’s Lollapalooza tour crashed and burned, headliners Modest Mouse and supporting act The Walkmen banded together (har har) and went on a tour of their own with the exception of the Detroit date which occurred sans Walkmen.  No worries about that though, The Walkmen one-upped that problem by playing Ann Arbor’s own Blind Pig.  Modest Mouse put on a show sized according to their recent popularity and catered to that by playing heavily from their most recent record.  It’s a shame I missed them when they were smaller and more capable of playing small venues, such as how The Walkmen played the Blind Pig.  Standing under Hamilton Leithauser and his wicked name while he belted out The Rat – nearly knocking himself over the monitors the whole time – was one of the more intimate and intense concert moments of my life.

Finally, this Sunday and Monday night brought Of Montreal and Yo La Tengo to town.  I saw Of Montreal when my friends opened for them and knew of their antics.  Unfortunately, this Sunday they seemingly forgot about that and played a pretty ho-hum show.  Not bad, just not up to snuff.  Monday night’s Yo La Tengo show, however, was more than up to snuff.  They’re on a tour of swing states in support of John Kerry’s bid for presidency and are putting on a different kind of show.  No opening acts, just friends playing music with them and a few comedians.  As such, they played a ranging concert for three hours straight.  They played from all over their 17 year repertoire and the flow was one of the most dynamic, creative displays by a group that I’ve ever seen.  17 years on the road and they’re still having a great time, how fantastic is that?

I nabbed the setlists at the Modest Mouse and Rogue Wave shows (YLT’s roadie took the one I was going for, that bastard) and they’re in the extended reading.

And this friends, has been The Great Concert Roundup of 2004.

Modest Mouse

  1. Paper Thin Walls
  2. The View
  3. Float On
  4. Interstate 8
  5. Black Cadillacs
  6. Doin’ The Cockroach
  7. Satin In A Coffin
  8. Bukowski
  9. Wild Pack Of Family Dogs
  10. 3rd Planet
  11. Ocean Breathes Salty
  12. Cowboy Dan

    Encore
  13. The World At Large
  14. Blame It On The Tetons
  15. Never Ending Math Equation

Rogue Wave

  1. Bird Wire (unreleased)
  2. Kicking The Heart Out
  3. Falcon Settles Me
  4. Every Moment
  5. Nourishment Nation
  6. Postage Stamp World
  7. Sewn Up
  8. Man-Revolutionary!
  9. Love’s Lost (unreleased, I requested it before the show)
  10. Endless Shovel
  11. 10:1 or Perfect (neither were played due to time constraints)
1 person has chimed in.
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1 → Alec Jensen  –  (Sep 30 2004, 10:04 AM)

That’s quite a roundup.  Glad I could attend a few with you.






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