¤ jetless heights

makin’ tea in your underwear

+ Sun, March 13

15. Interpol – PDA

This past weekend me and some buds packed it up and high-tailed it down to Chicago to catch Interpol sexily swagger their way through the Aragon Theater.  Similar to last time, they played as spartan as possible.  Beyond singing, I think Paul said between two and three words to the audience.  That, in conjunction with the precision they perform with and Carlos’ gothic coroner’s jacket/Dracula suit made it very much an Interpol set through and through.

Interpol - March 12, 2005 - Chicago, Illinois - Aragon Theater

  1. Next Exit
  2. Slow Hands
  3. Narc
  4. A Time To Be So Small
  5. Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down
  6. Public Pervert
  7. Not Even Jail
  8. Hands Away
  9. Evil
  10. NYC
  11. Take You On A Cruise
  12. PDA

    Encore
  13. The Specialist
  14. Obstacle 1
  15. Roland

One of the things I like most about Interpol is the motion that each track seems to carry.  Take PDA.  The way I envision this song is as something running towards a cliff and taking flight at that ultimate moment of danger and tension.

Check out those first three minutes of flight check, building up material and laying much foundation.  Plowing through this and that, muscling its way through to that moment, 3:09 in when the ground cuts away.  Soaring free, propelled by their own weight, outward those guitars fly.  They hang aloft for a full 45 seconds before those wings of Sam Fogarino spread and pump, propelling that flight further still.  Cruising past the hazy cirrus clouds of Paul Banks’ vocals, the stage is set for a brush with the angels in the following track.

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+ Mon, December 13

Mates Of State

At the time, I was without voice online.  Last May, of course, when I saw The Strokes.  A helluva show, complete with the requisite Bad Opener.  That pleasant spring night brought Mates Of State into my life.  At the time I wanted to say that they were like a pure dose of annoyance, marred only by an occasional speck of melody.  But then again, I had no online venue to speak from and with time the relevancy of the subject passed.

Three independent nudges of “Hey Phil, have you heard of this band?” later, the subject becomes relevant again.  Dan Cederholm links to their videos and quips, “Prediction: this band will be big in 2005.”

I have to admit, yes, I agree.  I would add though, “Followup Prediction: this band will be completely forgotten in 2006,” and ask you to watch the video for “Ha Ha” as our grounds for explanation.

There’s this uniqueness to their sound that I feel they adapt well to video.  “Spastic” is a good word for it.  The tempo swings wildly.  The synthesizer loops through one melody for extended periods and then abruptly changes.  The drumming makes Meg White look exceptionally talented.  Melodies are stumbled upon suddenly only to be even more immediately abandoned.

This is what makes their sound unique and through it all, it’s damn catchy.  Dan may very well be right - though I wouldn’t write it off as certainty yet - but supposing he his, I’ll bet that my prediction will follow shortly.

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+ Tue, November 30

The Pixies, Part Two

When one of the most consequential bands of the last 20 years goes on tour for what may very well be a once in a lifetime opportunity, what do you do?  You see them twice.

The Pixies - November 22, 2004 - Detroit, Michigan - State Theater

  1. Winterlong
  2. Where Is My Mind?
  3. In Heaven
  4. Vamos
  5. Nimrod’s Son
  6. Holiday Song
  7. Mr. Grieves
  8. La La Love You
  9. Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)
  10. Bone Machine
  11. Cactus
  12. No. 13 Baby
  13. Velouria
  14. I Bleed
  15. Crackity Jones
  16. Something Against You
  17. U-Mass
  18. Planet Of Sound
  19. Caribou
  20. Hey
  21. Gouge Away
  22. Monkey Gone To Heaven
  23. Broken Face
  24. Isla De Encanta
  25. Dead
  26. Wave Of Mutilation
  27. Debaser
  28. Tame

    Encore
  29. Gigantic

A good show certainly.  A wild bunch, they: Kim smiling like her heart pumped prozac, Joey doing his guitar thang, Frank layered up in eyeliner and good ol’ Dave taking vocals on La La Love You.

One thing of note. I’ve been to three shows outside of Detroit now, once for Radiohead, once for The Shins, once for The Pixies.  Defining characteristic of those three?  Far and away the most polite shows I’ve ever been to.  With the special advantage of seeing the same band on the same tour, once in Chicago and once in Detroit I can note distinct differences.  Let’s just say that in Detroit the moshing directly behind me didn’t even stop for Caribou.  Detroit, you’s a bunch of punks, on and off the court.

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+ Thu, November 18

The Pixies, Part One

You might think that I’d jump at the chance to write about one of the best weekends I’ve had in the last few years in which I had a successful road trip with friends, stayed up late and got up early each day, hung out in a big city that I’ve never really explored and saw the goddamned Pixies, but, well, no.

Before this weekend, the only parts of Chicago I’d ever seen were Michigan Ave. and the I-80 corridor (scenic, I know).  Seeing the hipster/small store areas and driving the streets, the city comes down in size and becomes more personal.  Add one to the list of big cities I might like to live in for a year or two.

The show was fantastic.  Being only three deep in the packed Aragon Theater with the person directly in front of you being your guide through the wild jungle that is Chicago  was a pretty intense experience.  When they took the smoke-filled stage, Kim Deal was perfectly silhouetted by a stage light as she broke into the vocals on “In Heaven”, providing one of the most ethereal concert experiences I’ve ever had.  Speaking of Kim, she was definitely the most excited person in the venue.  I think the only times she wasn’t smiling was when she was pounding cigarettes in the few seconds Frank gave up between songs.

The Pixies - November 13, 2004 - Chicago, Illinois - Aragon Theater

  1. In Heaven / Wave Of Mutilation (medley)
  2. Where Is My Mind?
  3. Blown Away
  4. Holiday Song
  5. Mr. Grieves
  6. Ed Is Dead
  7. Planet Of Sound
  8. Bone Machine
  9. I Bleed
  10. Crackity Jones
  11. Monkey Gone To Heaven
  12. Broken Face
  13. Caribou
  14. Velouria
  15. Cactus
  16. No. 13 Baby
  17. Subbacultcha
  18. U-Mass
  19. Gouge Away
  20. Dead
  21. Debaser
  22. Wave Of Mutilation
  23. Tame
  24. Hey
  25. Gigantic

    Encore
  26. Here Comes Your Man
  27. Vamos

27 songs and virtually all of the songs you could’ve hoped for.  Allison?  Yeah, I know.  But 27 other mind-blowing classics!  Amazingly enough, despite being organized by those bastards at Clear Channel, soundboard recordings were available immediately after the show and damn if it doesn’t sound fantastic.  Good swag in general to boot, too.

Frogcake is death

And then I ate Death à la Frog-Shaped Sugar.

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+ Sat, October 16

Interpol

If I had to pick a band that I’d expect to play a serious set and do it in a very straightforward and perfect manner, it would be Interpol, hands down.  Their music is a kind of surgery and in concert they are the needlepoint doctors taking meticulous care of you.

The setlist (and for the Googlers: October 15, 2004 - Detroit, Michigan - State Theater)

  1. Next Exit
  2. Obstacle 1
  3. Evil
  4. C’mere
  5. Say Hello To The Angels
  6. Narc
  7. Not Even Jail
  8. Hands Away
  9. NYC
  10. Slow Hands
  11. Length Of Love
  12. PDA

    Encore
  13. Leif Erikson
  14. Roland

    Second Encore
  15. Stella Was A Diver And She Was Always Down

They played with a nearly bare stage.  Amps were hiding out of sight, cables were few and ran quickly to the edges, even the non-member keyboardist was only half onstage.  It’s this minimization that makes much of their majesty.

And who doesn’t love a band that teases you with a double encore?

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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.

→ Read on…

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