music

Cover Songs By Monster

21 Jun 2013

Enjoy the Silence is one of my favorite Depeche Mode songs. This cover is great!

Cover Version 4 from Kristof Luyckx on Vimeo.

Hallelujah Leonard Cohen

4 Dec 2012

"I wanted to push the Hallelujah deep into the secular world, into the ordinary world," he once said. "The Hallelujah, the David's Hallelujah, was still a religious song. So I wanted to indicate that Hallelujah can come out of things that have nothing to do with religion."

Breaking down Leonard Cohen’s classic Hallelujah. I loved this song, even though it has been so played out in the last several years. If you like this song, you should seek out more Leonard Cohen songs.

Why the Fugees Broke Up

18 Sep 2012

I always wanted to know why they broke up. I figure it was relationships within the group that broke down. They did end on a high note, I suppose.

Spotify - No Longer Free and Unlimited

6 Jan 2012

Spotify made its big U.S. debut on July 14, 2011.

In one week, we’ll be marking the streaming music service’s six-month anniversary.

And in one week, all those users who signed up for the free all-you-can-eat desktop music that day will find out that they’re going to be limited to just 10 hours per month now. You’re also only allowed to play individual tracks more than five times per month.

I have the pay version, using it on my iPhone. I’ve used it more for music discovery than as my main listening library. I’m debating whether to cancel it or not.

Eminem and Rihanna

6 Aug 2010

This song has been stuck in my head for the last few days. Decent video with Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan.

Imogen Heap @ The Mountain Winery, Saratoga

21 Jun 2010

The last time we saw Imogen Heap perform was at the Warfield. She was ill during that show, battling a cold. But the effects of the cold didn’t hamper her performance. She sounded great that evening. During this Friday’s concert at the Mountain Winery, Imogen didn’t need to battle being ill, but rather she fought the cold windy night. She was able to deliver another solid performance.

We haven’t been to a concert at the Mountain Winery since the remodel. Prior to the remodel, we saw two concerts and a attended a wedding there. It’s a great venue with beatuiful views. The drive up can be harrowing for some, as the roads and can get narrow and windy. The remodel helps to define the concert area, which if I recall, was previously one-level plus a bleacher or two. Now the venue has tiered seating which provides a great view of the stage from almost any seat. Parking is the standard steep price of $20.

We caught the last few songs by one of the opening acts, Geese. Interesting act, but not our cup of tea. They would later support Imogen during her performance.

Imogen came out swinging this tube-like object for the song “The Walk”.

The setlist included (not in order):

The Walk
Swoon
Come Here Boy
Wait It Out
First Train Home
Little Bird
Canvas
A-Ha!
Breathe In
Earth
Improv
Bad Body Double
Speeding Cars
Let Go
Just for Now
Goodnight and Go
Headlock
Tidal
The Moment I Said It
Hide and Seek

Imogen did something interesting with one of her songs, Earth. She has a contest in which the winner would come on stage to perform the song with her. The winner for Saratoga is shown below in this YouTube clip:

Paolo Nutini at the Fox Theater in Oakland

17 Sep 2009

Paolo Nutini - Candy from Nikke Osterback on Vimeo.

This past weekend, we attended our first concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland. The theater opened earlier this year. It’s located down the street from The Paramount, a theater we have been to too often. There is no dedicated parking for the show, but there are several parking lots listed on their website. We easily parked in a lot just down the street.

We passed by The Den at the Fox, a lounge connected to the theater. They offer drinks and some food, but we didn’t have time to look into it there. When we entered the theater, an usher promptly greeted us. Our tickets were for loge seating. But the usher told us we could also access the standing general admissions area on the floor. If we had a Visa Signature card, we could be seated in the limited seating area on the first floor. We opted to take our seats in the lodge. The lodge seating is unusual. The seats are grouped in pairs, with ample space between the next coupled seats. We were in the first row of the lodge, our view partially blocked by the railing, but still a decent view of the performers. The layout of the Fox is very similar to the Warfield in San Francisco, but the Fox is quite larger.

We were seated during the middle of the opening act, Anya Marina. She was roaring through her set, rocking with her electric guitar. She was very crowd friendly, talking and often interacting with the crowd between songs. At one point she asked if the crowd was an “all ages” crowd because she wanted to explain the origin of a song she wrote. The actual meaning of the song could only be described with profanity, which she chose not to utter. Later in her performance, she noticed a Brazilian flag in the standing audience. She asked the pair of Brazilian girls who were holding the flag if it’s true they like anal sex — meaning if Brazilian girls do. (I guess she never got the answer to the “all ages” question.) One of the most interesting songs she did was a cover of T.I.’s “You Can Have Whatever You Like”.

Paolo Nutini came out next. His set was a good mixture of songs from his first album, These Streets, and his latest album, Sunny Side Up. We were very familiar with songs from These Streets and were happy to hear them live. We haven’t listened to his latest album, so they rang as new to our ears and were harder to get into. But Paolo performs with such enthusiasm and passion. It would be difficult not to enjoy his performance.

The big letdown at the Fox was the sound. I don’t have golden ears, and rarely notice the bad sound at a concert, but from where we were sitting the vocals sounded muddled for both performers. At times it is hard to make out any lyrics at all, let alone the blend of instruments. I’m not sure if the sound sitting in the center lodge or on the floor would be better. I’ll need to go to another concert to find that out.

Overall it was a good first-time experience at The Fox. It looks as if several performances are coming up that we’d be interested in attending.

iTunes Store and DRM-free music: What you need to know

7 Jan 2009

If I update my “current” iTunes tracks, it’ll cost me about $15. I’m waiting until they update their whole catalog to DRM free. I’ll then decide whether I should upgrade them or not.

The Bridge Benefit 2008

29 Oct 2008

Farrah and I went to the Bridge School Benefit concert this past Sunday. The lineup for the concert on that day was:

We chose to go on Sunday the day the Smashing Pumpkins were playing. We would have liked to have watched Sarah McLaughlin, who was only playing Saturday, but Farrah had never seen the Smashing Pumpkins in concert. They didn’t disappoint.

I wasn’t familiar with Cat Power’s or Wilco’s music but enjoyed their sets. Death Cab for Cutie had many fans in the audience, all enjoying their performance. I recognized three of their songs, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”, “Soul Meets Body”, and “I Will Possess Your Heart”. I walked away from their performance wanting to listen to more of their songs.

Smashing Pumpkins were up next. They came with two pianists, a trombone and trumpet player, a dual-violin player, and the regular core band. I didn’t recognize most of the songs, some of which I think was new. Josh Groban came out to sing “Disarm”. It was a good performance, though he did forget some lyrics.

The Josh Groban set was difficult to get into, though you can’t deny he has a strong voice. Norah Jones had her (somewhat) new short haircut. She put a country vibe to her standards, and also sang a couple of Johnny Cash songs. Jack Johnson’s set got the audience on their feet with ‘Bubble Toes’, “If I Had Eyes”, “Good People”, and “Banana Pancakes”. His set had the overall crowd more enthused than anyone else that performed before him. I can’t say how Neil Young’s set was since Farrah and I left right after Jack Johnson finished.

We did get to see Neil Young perform several times during the show. He came out to begin the whole shindig. He subsequently came out to perform with different artists at the end of their sets, most notably with Josh Groban, Norah Jones, then Jack Johnson.

Other things to note:

Shoreline didn’t charge for parking. Does anyone know why they don’t charge? It seems like a money maker for them, but heck it saved me an expected $20.
They charged $9 - $12 for a beer! Robbery.

Overall, the concert was a nice mellow affair. The concert began on a warm Sunday afternoon, which subsequently turned into a cold windy night (part of the reason we left early).

Rachael Yamagata @ Cafe Du Nord

7 Oct 2008

The other night Farrah and I went to Cafe Du Nord to see Rachael Yamagata perform. We enjoyed her first album, Happenstance, which is a somber but strong debut album. We downloaded and listened to pre-released tracks from her new album, Elephants…Teeth Sinking Into Heart. Some of her songs on the album go into a more uptempo direction.

Cafe Du Nord, in size, reminds me of the old Cactus Club in San Jose—except Cafe Du Nord is much darker and has the vibe of Bimbo’s 365 Club. We had dinner reservations which gave us reserved seating. We could see the stage without obstruction, able to enjoy the show while sipping a nice cold beer.

Rachael started off with Be Be Your Love and Letter Read, the first two songs on her debut album and two of my favorite songs. Letter Read was actually the first song I heard from her, a song where she sounds like Fiona Apple. Anyway, after hearing those songs I knew the show could only get better—and it did. Rachael moved from the keyboards to an acoustic guitar, which she didn’t plug in at first. She then explained she was battling the flu with some Jack Daniel’s. She was a trooper though, continuing with her set and engaging the lively audience.

She played for about 90 minutes total, going through songs like:

Worn Me Down
What If I Leave
Would You Please
Elephants
Meet Me By The Water
Faster
Accident
Would You Please
The Reason Why

Part of her encore was Would You Please, a request from the audience. Rachael wasn’t sure she knew all the words but gave it a go, prefacing that she could not be criticized if she f’d up. She got through about 90% of the song. I really enjoyed her last song, The Reason Why.

I’d go back to Cafe Du Nord to see another show. The drink and food prices aren’t bad, but parking can be an issue. Well, it’s San Francisco, so parking is always an issue.

You can also find another review of this concert here.

Morcheeba @ The Fillmore 4.11.2008

17 Apr 2008

I’m a bit late with my review of the Morcheeba concert Farrah and I went to last week. The taxman could not wait, taking up all my spare time until today.

I knew of Morcheeba, owning a couple of albums, but to be honest I hadn’t really been into them. I prefer Massive Attack’s music. Morcheeba has always taken a backseat on my playlists. They are touring to support their latest album, Dive Deep. I downloaded the album via Amazon and enjoyed its laid-back groove. It’s no Big Calm, but it’s worth a spin. So when I heard they were touring, I asked Farrah if she wanted to go. We haven’t been to a concert for a while, so why not?

It was difficult to get into the opening act, whose name escapes me now. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. It probably didn’t help that we were a bit tired and they sang in Spanish(?). About a half hour after the end of their set, Morcheeba took the stage.

Morcheeba @ Fillmore
Photo by Julien Genestoux

I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that they’ve had revolving lead singers since Skye Edwards was asked to leave. The lead singer that night was Manda from Nemesea, who flew in from France. Cool, huh?

Manda sang the new songs and the hits. Songs I remember from that night that I enjoyed: Part of the Process, The Sea, Over and Over, Trigger Hippie, Rome Wasn’t Built In a Day, and the new single Enjoy the Ride. I clearly enjoyed a lot of songs for not being a big Morcheeba fan. This just goes to show you how good the performance was.

Friday night concerts are difficult at times. You come home from work, you really want to enjoy the weekend starting that night, but an hour drive up to the City, plus waiting time for the band you want to hear—well, it’s just plain tough on the body. I chalk it up to not being as young as I used to be. But I must say, Morcheeba lived up to what I thought the concert would be. They put on a very solid performance at the always enjoyable Fillmore in San Francisco.

Tori Amos - The Paramount Theater in Oakland, CA

15 Dec 2007

This review is about a week late, but it has taken me a bit of time to digest the Tori Amos concert Farrah and I saw last Friday. Tori is touring in support of her latest album, American Doll Posse. I wasn’t a huge fan of the new album, but after watching Tori’s performance, it makes me want to play the album every day. I guess that’s what good concerts do to you.

The Venue

I like going to The Paramount Theater in Oakland. The theater looks great and the sound has always been well-produced in the handful of shows I’ve been to there. Parking is very convenient, located directly across the street. The staff is nice and helpful, showing each attendee their seat.

The Performance

In Tori’s latest album, she sings her songs through various personas. I believe she performed first as Santa, then for the second half as Tori. Yes, I guess Tori is one of Tori’s personas. Her set list included:

Body and Soul
She’s Your Cocaine
Hoochie Woman
Secret Spell
You Can Bring Your Dog
Raspberry Swirl
Big Wheel
Crucify
Sugar
Cornflake Girl
Bells For Her
Caught a Lite Sneeze
Winter
Cooling
Virginia
Hotel
Code Red
Precious Things
Bouncing Off Clouds
Hey Jupiter

We enjoyed the concert overall. I especially enjoyed Caught a Lite Sneeze, even though I saw her perform this song before. I believe Farrah enjoyed her new song, Bouncing Off Clouds.

When we entered The Paramount there were several signs noting that the show was being taped. Farrah and I have only been to one previous show that was being filmed, Jack Johnson at the Greek Theater. (Sample video)
The Greek Theater is a big venue, so filming wasn’t obtrusive. Unfortunately, where we sat in The Paramount, a boom crossed our viewing path often. This made parts of the performance frustrating to watch, breaking up the rhythm of the show for us.

End Result

Overall it was a good performance. I think it was the first time I’ve seen Tori do costume changes. This added a different element to the performance.

Set list information obtained from here and here.

Mandy Moore Covers

24 Aug 2007

I wasn’t sure if I heard Marlon right when he was talking about Mandy Moore doing Umbrella at Music in the Park. But I guess she could have since Yahoo! has her doing a cover of that song. It doesn’t sound half bad.

But honestly, all I could think about as the video progressed was “Damn, how close do you need to be to the microphone?”

Mandy Moore - "Umbrella" from Ringleader on Vimeo.

Big Fish in a Small Pond - Summer Concerts

18 Jul 2007

This is going to be a long post. Forgive me, I’ve been a bit behind on posting this and decided to just lump these all together.

Is a bigger venue better when it comes to a concert? I prefer the small places around here, like the Warfield or the Filmore.

This summer we have managed to see four big concerts: John Mayer, Diana Krall, The Police and The Smashing Pumpkins. Two played in arena settings and the other two in smaller clubs.

Guess which performances I enjoyed the most?

The Smashing Pumpkins @ The Filmore — 07.16.2007

BossaNova and I caught the second Smashing Pumpkins show at the Filmore. He was kind enough to get tickets when Farrah and I were in England. Actually, BossaNova is responsible for my best concert experience: The Smashing Pumpkins at The Warfield in support of the Siamese Dream album. BossaNova sums up the concert experience very well on his blog entry.

Here is the set list from that night courtesy of http://www.blamo.org/sp/:

Main Set:

The Leaving Lament
Mama
Promise Me
With Every Light
Blue Skies Bring Tears
Tonight Tonight
Tarantula
Cherub Rock
Shame
The Aeroplane Flies High
Hummer
Bullet with Butterfly Wings
United States
To Sheila
Death from Above
Thirty-Three
Rocket
Translucent
Starla
Doomsday Clock
7 Shades of Black
Today

Encore 1:

That’s the Way (My Love Is)
Heavy Metal Machine

Encore 2:

Zero
Gossamer

The Smashing Pumpkins came on a little after 10 pm, a late start for what I heard was a 3-hour gig! We only lasted through the main set which took us to about 12:15 am.

As BossaNova pointed out, the show started slow. But when they started kicking into Tonight Tonight the show turned into something more. It was great to see Billy and Jimmy in action again. The new group seems to click especially when Billy went on his little time-of-reflection rants — which he did twice during the show.

Rating: *** (out of 5)

The Police @ The Oakland Coliseum — 06.13.2007

I have seen Sting perform several times, but I never saw The Police play — until now. Seats opened up one week before the show, and Farrah and I were lucky to score some last-minute tickets. The seats were excellent — behind home plate slightly right of the stage.

In such a large venue it’s hard to feel any energy from almost any band, and The Police were no exception. After the initial excitement of the opening songs, the show went into a slight lull, then rebounded back again to finish strong. Sting, Andy, and Stewart seemed to be clicking on mostly all cylinders, enjoying themselves and each other’s company on stage.

Set list courtesy of The Police Tour 2007 blog:

Message in a Bottle
Synchronicity II
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
Voices in My Head / When the World Is Running Down
Spirits in the Material World
Driven to Tears
Walking on the Moon
Truth Hits Everybody
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
The Bed’s Too Big Without You
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking in Your Footsteps
Can’t Stand Losing You
Roxanne
King of Pain
So Lonely

Encore:

Every Breath You Take

Second Encore:

Next to You

I’m happy I had the opportunity to see The Police, albeit almost 20 years after their prime.

Rating: ** (out of 5)

Diana Krall @ Yoshi’s

I believe the first and last time we saw Diana Krall perform was in the outdoor Mountain Winery venue. She put on a great show under the night sky. So when I saw she was playing at a smaller venue, at Yoshi’s in Oakland, I had to buy tickets.

She had not performed in a while since having her kids. The tickets were for her last set at Yoshi’s. An excellent review of the night’s events can be found here.

What I enjoy most about Diana Krall’s show is that she knows how to interact with an audience. She is constantly aware of what is going on, especially in a small place like Yoshi’s. She can be humorous, both while talking to the crowd and while performing. During “a talk with the crowd” people started shouting out song requests — one of which was Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Farrah and my song. No, I didn’t scream this out.) She quickly responded, “I don’t have the range for that song.” Then during her solo in the following song, she proceeded to play a few measures of, you guessed it, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Diana Krall at Yoshi’s. What more can you ask?

Rating: ** ****(out of 5)

John Mayer @ The HP Pavilion — 06.05.2007

I have never seen John Mayer perform live. I have often heard he puts on a good show, but I wasn’t trying to set my expectations too high. I’ve seen a few shows at the HP Pavilion. Most of my experiences have been fair at best. The two U2 shows I recall seeing there were great experiences because of the seat location that offered both a great view and great sound. For John Mayer, we were sitting in section 128, which is on the right side of the stage, and had good seats. Though the seats were not bad, they don’t allow you to have the best audio experience.

We arrived at the Pavilion as Ben Folds was performing the opening set. His band’s performance was erratically energetic, trying to keep the crowd interested. He tried unsuccessfully to interact with the crowd through some stories and small talk. This seemed successful on a small level. He did score points with some songs, a cover of a Dr. Dre song and a cover of The Postal Service’s Such Great Heights. Overall, an uneven performance for me.

After a half-hour wait, John Mayer and his band hit the stage. The crowd rose to their feet as the band took the stage.

His set list, according to his web site, was:

Belief
No Such Thing
Good Love is On the Way
Gravity
Bigger Than My Body
Dreaming With A Broken Heart
Vultures
I Don’t Need No Doctor
Wheel
Why Georgia
Waiting on the World to Change

– encore –

Slow Dancing (acoustic)
83 (acoustic)
Who Did You Think I Was (acoustic)
I’m Gonna Find Another You

John brought energy to the stage which encouraged the crowd to its feet, in particular through his more familiar songs. But the power is hard to sustain throughout the show. He knew most people wanted to hear the hits and tried his best to please the crowd. At times he appeared to be goofing around with his bandmates, then he would turn around to play a deep-from-the-soul guitar solo.

Between songs and small talk he seemed to want to vent, often referring to dreams, anger, and heartache. It seems he still might be recovering from his break-up with Jessica Simpson — Eck, did I just write her name on my blog? — and was channeling that energy into his performance.

Though he provided a good effort, the performance felt as if something was missing. I think the HP Pavilion is too big of a place for John Mayer (most of the 200-section was empty) — at least for now. An indoor venue like the Warfield or even the outdoor Shoreline Amphitheater might be better suited for his talents.