Seeing as how I'm flat broke and flat busy the rest of the summer, I assume my concert-going is done for the season. I have gotten to see some winners already, however: one of the few big bands left on my must-see list and a couple of old standbys.
Let's start with the Offspring. I saw the mighty punk band at the Buzz Under The Stars Festival in Kansas City and they were worth the price of admission by themselves. (Which is good because The Used and Taking Back Sunday left a little to be desired and I missed opener Alkaline Trio.) The 'Spring blistered through a tight set of all their hits including Bad Habit (!), a stripped down version of Gone Away (Dexter on the Piano!), Come Out and Play, and just enough songs off their new album not to get preachy with it. They closed out the night with Self Esteem, which was just fine by me, although my buddy was upset they didn't play Gotta Get Away. Now with the Offspring crossed off, I just have Metallica to see before they or I die or they sell out for good.
Next, I saw Aerosmith for an astounding fourth time and they stopped a disturbing trend of getting progressively crappy each time. After a yeoman effort from 3 Doors Down, a hefty storm rolled through ST. Louis and postponed the show about an hour, cutting into Aerosmith's playing time (and presumably their bedtime...I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'). But the band stuck to their guns and played the entire Toys in the Attic album, which was great for old school fans like me, but confused the hell out of the teenagers that wanted to hear Pink and Jaded. In fact, the latest song the band played was Cryin'...seriously. Good Stuff but I wish it would have lasted just a little longer.
Last, but not least, I saw Rancid and Rise Against at Pop's in Illinois. Well, actually it was the parking lot of Pop's, which is annoying because we had to park in the field adjacent to the venue. Speaking of annoying, 'doors' opened at 5 and the opening band, Riverboat Gamblers didn't go on until after 7. Needless to say, a lot of $5 beers were drank in that time span. Riverboat Gamblers, beside having a ridiculously awesome punk name, were nothing special. Then came Rancid (how the hell do they defer to Rise Against?). This was the second time I had seen the O.C. outfit but the first time I didn't know Roots Radical from Time Bomb ( I know!) so this was the first time I could really enjoy the set. And what a tragically short set it was. Obviously a power punk band can get a lot of songs in in 40 minutes, but the show seemed lacking a little. So after the delay and disappointment of not seeing all we could with Rancid, we skipped out on Rise Against, who seemed to be putting on a good show, but that was beside the point...we saw what we came to see.
So, if I had to pick a favorite of the summer, it would have to be the Offspring, just because a lot of bands lose their luster over the course of 15 (!) or so years, but they were just as feisty and charged up as they always were and for that I tip my hat and recommend that everyone see them immediately if not sooner.
The Dr. is out
No comments:
Post a Comment