So random, I love getting to go to bonus shows when I am out travelling. Moz just finished up a tour in Asia and hit a couple of dates in Hawaii. I was lucky enough to catch the second show, in Honolulu at this rad beach park. Set list first…

Morrissey
Kaka’ako Beach Park Amphitheatre
Honolulu, HI
5/19/12

How Soon is Now
You Have Killed Me
Alma Matters
You’re the One for me Fatty
I’m Throwing My Arms Around
Shoplifters of the World Unite
Everyday is Like Sunday
Ouija Board
Speedway
Black Cloud
Meat is Murder
Let Me Kiss You
To Give The Reason I Live (Franki Valli cover)
People Are the Same Everywhere
I Will See You in Far Off Places
Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me
Scandinavia
Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want
When Last I Spoke to Carol

Encore:
Still Ill
First of the Gang to Die

A cool venue - basically a stage at the bottom of a big hill. No bleachers or any other seating, just an awesome luscious lawn to sit upon. Sound was great and the Moz seemed to be in a good mood and talkative. (You can read last night’s twitter feed for the best in show.) I thought it was funny that he kept saying “Gracias” after songs, maybe he is practicing for the show in SD? The set list was pretty good, it was kinda crazy he started with “How Soon Is Now?”. And definitely a lot of good Smiths songs within the set. Those songs and some of his early solo work (FATTY!) were what the crowd really dug, which made sense since the crowd was leaning late 30’s/early 40’s. I also loved the Franki Valli cover - just a classic, really. And I think we all had a moment when he did “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want”. A fun way to spend an evening in Honolulu. Definitely glad I made it out.

Last night on Band of Skulls North American tour (well besides Coachella) supporting their new album and as you may have expected, faces were melted. Same set list as last week in SF, so here’s that first.

Band of Skulls
The Griffin
San Diego, CA
4/18/12

Sweet Sour
Lies
Patterns
Fires
Bruises
Wanderluster
Cold Fame
Bomb
Blood
Lay My Head Down
Hollywood Bowl
I Know What I Am
You’re Not Pretty But You Got It Goin’ On
Light of the Morning
Death by Diamonds and Pearls

Encore:
The Devil Takes Care of Its Own
Impossible

So despite the same set list, I had a totally different (in a good way) experience at the show. Of course, the glaring difference is the size of the venues. I got to the Griffin early so I was right up front for their set. I spent most of the night in wonderment of Russell’s skill on the guitar and all of the effects he did with the board of pedals at his feet. As far as their on stage banter, it was exactly the same from SF except Russell did talk about the last time they were here - “at the beach, I remember now”. And I got and up close and personal view of all of Russell’s antics - his way of raising his hand in a not quite first pump and other stuff like him turning on the disco ball for “Cold Fame”. Awesome.

So glad I got to see a full set from them twice in one week. They are definitely a band I will continue to travel for in the future.

I love the week before Coachella because there are bound to be good warm up shows and even though I had to travel to SF for this one, it was sooooo worth it. Set list first:

Band of Skulls
The Fillmore
San Francisco, CA
4/12/12

Sweet Sour
Lies
Patterns
Fires
Bruises
Wanderluster
Cold Fame
Bomb
Blood
Lay My Head Down
Hollywood Bowl
I Know What I Am
You’re Not Pretty But You Got It Goin’ On
Light of the Morning
Death by Diamonds and Pearls

Encore:
The Devil Takes Care of Its Own
Impossible

Last time I saw BoS at the Indy Jam, they were hard at work on the record which was to become the recently released Sweet Sour. They teased a couple of songs during that set and easily was my favorite performance of the day. I knew that seeing the new material live would be amazing. Russell, Emma and Matt just rock so hard, but they do it in an almost non-chalant way that it just makes it more intense.

With the leadoff of the title track from the new album, they set the stage for what was to a fairly long set covering the majority of their two albums. Especially rocking was “Fires” (which we often saw in the encore when they were touring from their debut) and “Wanderluster”, one of my faves from the new one. They finally slowed it down with the ballady “Cold Fame” but it was just a chance for everyone to grab a drink and steel themselves for more rock. By the time they got to “I Know What I Am”, we were drunk with sound, singing all the words (sorry dude next to me) and giving them as much love as they were giving to us. They ended their main set with “Death By Diamonds and Pearls” and came out shortly for the two song encore. “Devil” is a great track for an encore and “Impossible” is a showcase for the band to give us one last sonic assault.

Such a fantastic show (and at the legendary Fillmore no less!) Don’t miss out on them if you’re headed to Coachella or when they are in SD next week at The Griffin.

I was really looking forward to seeing Cults again. Very happy to be in town for their sold out show at the Belly Up last night. (I kept missing them on tour last year until I finally saw them at Lolla.) So set list first…

Cults
Belly Up Tavern
Solana Beach, CA
3/21/12

Abducted
The Curse
Never Heal Myself
Most Wanted
You Know What I Mean
Bumper
Never Saw the Point
Rave On
Everybody Knows (cover)
Walk at Night
Go Outside
Oh My God

I don’t know if it was just me but even though the show was officially sold out, it didn’t really seem like some of the sold out shows where you can barely walk around. Maybe I was just in a more jovial mood because of who I was with or all the beer I drank, who knows?

In any case, I hadn’t seen Cults as a headliner and that meant it was my first time seeing their visualizations that accompany their set. Very east coast art schoolish. But I happen to dig that, so game on. They were plagued by spotty sound during the set - there were times where Madeline’s vocals were lost. But that didn’t take away from the overall good vibe and I, for one, grooved my way through their set. And since their shows in SD are a bit of a homecoming for this SD bred but now NY based band, Madeline and Brian had some fun banter - giving shoutouts to their alma maters and their grandpa hanging out in the back. Good times.

Last night’s @GIRLSsf show was really fun. I was struggling to stay awake through the opener (no sleep the night before to get up at 0330 to fly CVG-ORD-SAN will do that to you.) But with some red bull (yuck!), I was able to power through and enjoy this awesome set…

GIRLS
North Park Theatre
San Diego, CA
3/2/12

Alex
Honey Bunny
Laura
Substance
My Ma
Carolina
Love Like A River
Heartbreaker
Vomit
Broken Dreams Club
Saying I Love You
Hellhole Rat Race
Die

Encore:
Jamie Marie
Lust for Life

So for those not familiar, GIRLS definitely has a retro pop sound to it. And yet, their songs sound thoroughly modern as well. Of course, since they are on tour supporting last year’s outstanding album Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, their set was studded with those songs. They threw in enough oldies for the enthusiastic fans - I know I especially loved “Laura” and “Hellhole Rat Race”. And lest you think this was a boring-sleepy-time indie rock band, they just about blew my eardrums out during “Die”. Feedback-tastic, let me tell you.

Anyways, a really good show, just what I needed after a loooooong work week.

I try my best not to miss Dashboard when they are touring. Especially when Chris does the solo acoustic gigs. Tonight was a solo one and as expected, Chris brought a set list full of fan faves and had a few surprises up his sleeve as well.

Dashboard Confessional
(solo acoustic)
House of Blues San Diego
1/20/12

The Good Fight
The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most
Swiss Army Romance (Say Anything “Wow I Can Get Sexual Too” tease)
Where There’s Gold
As Lovers Go
Saints and Sailors
Tall Green Grass (Cory Branan cover)
So Impossible
Cold Comfort
The Sharp Hint of New Tears
Screaming Infidelities
Again I Go Unnoticed
Carry This Picture
The Cape (Guy Clark cover)
Get Me Right
Ghost of a Good Thing
Remember to Breathe
Stolen
Vindicated
Hands Down

Encore:
The Best Deceptions

The first surprise of the night was definitely the Say Anything tease - Chris loves to tease songs in the middle of his own and those choice “Called her on the phone and she touched herself” lyrics were (gasp!) shocking. Most of the set went the way of most D/C shows, Chris banter, crowd sing-a-longs, girls professing their love. I was really happy to get “Ghost of a Good Thing” …

“Love is like a role that we play.”
But, I believe in you so much I could die for the words that you say
But, you’re chasin’ the ghost of a good thing…

So worth getting here early for Fitz and the Tantrums. Set list for posterity.

Breaking the Chains of Love
Winds of Change
Don’t Gotta Work It Out
Wake Up
Picking Up the Pieces
Rich Girls
Steady As Goes (Raconteurs cover)
Dear Mr. President
L.O.V.
News for You
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics cover)
Moneygrabber

Fun set…crowd loving it. And that cover of “Steady As She Goes” was just awesome.

I didn’t get enough last time. And it was AMAZING. Like it could ever be anything but…..set list via the prince.org forum.

DMSR
Pop Life
Musicology
Prince & the band
So Far, So Pleased (with Gwen Stefani)
The Question Of U intro
The One
Cock-Eyed Woman
I Feel 4 U
Controversy
Love Rollercoaster (intro)
Glamorous Life (with Sheila E)
Nothing Compares 2 U
Take Me With U
Raspberry Beret
Cream
Cool with Don’t Stop Til U Get Enough tease
Let’s Work (with Gwen Stefani)
U Got The Look

Encore:
Whole Lotta Love (w/ Nikka Costa)
Something In The Water (Does Not Compute)
Strange Relationship
How Come U Don’t Call Me Anymore
If I Was Ur Girlfriend

Encore 2:
Kiss
Purple Rain

Encore 3:
Sexy Dancer with Le Freak
Play that Funky Music
Hollywood (Inglewood) Swinging

Encore 4:
When Doves Cry/Nasty Girl/Party All The Time (Eddie Murphy sample)/Single Ladies (Beyonce sample)/Sign O The Times/Darling Nikki/Hot Thing/Black Sweat

Encore 5:
The Bird
Jungle Love
A Love Bizarre

So this time we were on the floor. Yes, floor seats for $25. We had a rowdy crowd with us and armed with my Prince tambourine, it was all on from the get go. The set list speaks for itself, love how he is changing it up. So my fave moments - Gwen Stefani…hot damn, she was so awesome in her white and black polka dots. The cover of “Whole Lotta Love” with Nikka Costa in the first encore totally blew my mind. Sheila E every time she was on stage. I could go on and on, but really, all I can say is get yourself to one of these shows.

A tip for you wanting to go - the tix have been going on sale on Tuesday mornings. Just logon and see when they are on sale and get them as soon as you can when they are available.

Update: Tix are posted for next week - on sale on Monday at 10 AM!

I can’t imagine how this show could have been better. First night of a small, sold out tour. In a place that actually reminded me of home. And the best Brand New set list I’ve ever had the pleasure of obsessively typing into my phone….

Brand New
4/26/11
Sonar
Baltimore, MD

Sowing Season
Millstone
Vices
Gasoline
Bought A Bride
Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t
I Will Play My Game Beneath the Spin Light
The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot
Guernica
Jude Law and a Semester Abroad
Seventy Times 7
The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows
Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades
Degausser
You Won’t Know
The Archers Bows Have Been Broken
Jesus Christ
Soco Amaretto Lime

How many times have a been to a BN show where those are the opener? A few, I’m sure. And yet that combination still gets the blood going. The crowd was into it from the get go, singing along to every lyric. Of course. When the band started into “Vices”, it felt good to know that the all assault rock would be starting and Jesse was a madman up there. He just was really feeling it and it showed. They powered through the three songs in the set from their latest album Daisy and then they gave us what we all really wanted - a ton of old favorites. I screamed my lungs out for “Tommy Gun” and was a bit surprised to find myself not only tearing up, but actually crying through “Boy Who Blocked”. I don’t know, those lyrics, just kill me. Like every single one.

And if it makes you less sad
We’ll start talking again
And you can tell me how vile
I already know that I am…

And then these…

You are the smell before the rain
You are the blood in my veins


Call me a safe bet
I’m betting I’m not
I’m glad that you can forgive
I’m only hoping as time goes
You can forget

I got my shit together enough to sing extra loud for “Guernica” and then the twosome from Your Favorite Weapon got me back into the rawk. Then it was “Quiet Things” which I had never heard live before. So the show really could have ended right there and I would have been good. But no, not done yet. And after “You Won’t Know”, Jesse deviated from the official set list and gave us “Archers”. Another amazing sing along for that one….which led into a mellower but still powerful “Jesus”. Then Jesse totally surprised us with “SoCo Amaretto Lime” to end it all.

Seriously, a perfect set. I never have to see Brand New again. (Though we all know that I will…)