Here's a nice overdue blog...  I'm still going to do these things occasionally, when I have time or when there's something special about a show...  I'm just not planning to do them all the time anymore.

So, last week was Sue Steen's long-awaited CD release party!  The show started off with a solo act who I was not familiar with, and whose name I can't remember at this point...  He was by himself on stage playing an acoustic guitar, and I just caught the last few songs of his set.  He sounded alright, but nothing really stood out about his set, so I guess I don't have much to say about him...  It was a nice start to the show though.

Next up was Tim Butler, playing with his full band.  Most of the set consisted of songs from his last CD, That's the Way You Want Me To Be, including the title track that he said was written for his baby son, and Purest Thing, which he described as being a very sappy song for his wife, Clare.  They also included one old song that Tim said was never recorded, but the band wanted to play it so he added it to the show for them.  I don't remember the name of it, but I don't think it was anything I had heard Tim play before.  It was okay, but I have to admit that I didn't think it was quite on par with most of Tim's song, which I normally really enjoy.

Another older song included in Tim's set was Softly, which I've heard him play before.  It has the very humorous premise of being about dating someone who doesn't realize you're dating them, which is based on a true situation for Tim.  He also included two covers that I've heard Tim and his band play a bunch of times before:  Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over and the Stereophonics' Just Looking.  I'm not a huge fan of the first one, but I do really like hearing the latter.  I think those might be the only two covers I've ever heard Tim's band play...

Finally, Tim mixed in a few new songs into his set as well.  They all sounded nice, but the two that stood out the most were two that they played toward the end of their set.  They were some strong rock songs, very unlike most of Tim's catalog.  While they were very different, they also sounded pretty good, so I'm looking forward to finding out what else he comes up with.

Tim's set ran pretty long, which was surprising since Sue was the headliner for the night.  I think Tim actually ended up playing more songs that she did.  I'm a big fan of Tim's, so I did like getting to hear so many songs, but I think it may have been a bit much for some people as I think the crowd was starting to grow a bit restless by the time he was done.  He and the band did put on a great show, and it was really good to see them again.

Finally, Sue took the stage with her band to close out the night.  The band consisted of Brett Talley on lead guitar, John Faye on drums, and Phil D'Agostino on bass along with Sue on acoustic guitar.  They started off with some full band songs, playing Start Again to begin the show fittingly, then following it with Bring Me Home, Another Life, and For You To Notice.  Phil then left the stage, leaving Brett to play bass while Sue moved over to a keyboard.  With John still on drums, they played the song that Sue had put on the CD favor given out at her and Brett's wedding, Let The Sun Shine.  It's a very upbeat song with a great bass line, so it was very nice to hear.  I think it may also be the first time I've seen Sue play keys (or at least one of very few times), so that was another nice treat.

John left the stage for the next song as Sue went back to her acoustic guitar and Brett switched to guitar.  They played Enlighten Me, which was recorded with Nathan Wesner playing cello, but Sue didn't want to ask him to lug that big instrument all the way just for one song.  So, instead, Brett played the part on his guitar, and it sounded pretty cool.  Sue then asked Brett to continue his impressions by playing the French horn part for Perfect Moment.  Sue explained how that was her first instrument, and she wanted to use it on the CD, but it would be impossible for her to play that and sing at the same time, so she had to have Brett fill in the French horn part.  Again, Brett did a great job playing that part, and it sounded really good.

Sue expected Brett to play on her next song as well, but he left the stage, so she played Wonder Woman by herself.  That's a song that didn't make it onto Sue's CD, but it is another great song.  I had heard Sue play it once before, but I couldn't hear it very well at the time, so this was the first time I really got to listen to it, and it sounded really good.  Brett came back for the next song, and they dedicated it to Brett's mom for her birthday, which was coming up the next day.  Brett described how his mom is a country fan and has always tried to get him to listen to that music with little success.  They played a country song that Sue had written called Searchin', which Brett said would be the only time his mom would get to see him play country music.  It was clearly appreciated as she gave them a standing ovation following the song.

The full band came back to continue the show with Don't Wanna, which Sue pointed out is one of my favorite songs.  They followed that with Wake Up and Come Undone.  Then, similar to the first song, which was a very fitting opener, they closed the show with Goodbye.  That has always been one of my favorite songs (along with Don't Wanna), but it was especially good on this night, as the band rocked out on it!  I never really thought of it as a rock song before, but with the full band it certainly was a nice high-energy finale to the show!

Sue's whole set was great, and I really liked seeing her get to play with a full band.  I had seen her play accompanied by others in the past, but never with a full band like this show.  However, I still thought the best part of the night was when just she and Brett were alone on stage for Enlighten Me and Perfect Moment.  They were two of the softer songs, and the room got very quiet to listen.  It created a very intimate feel, and the songs were just amazing!  As exciting as some of the full band songs were, they just couldn't top those two.

I've got pictures, but I'm getting a new computer, so I don't have the files right now...  I also still have pics from vacation that I want to post but haven't had time to go through yet...  And I think I may even have some pics from an old IKE show even before that...  So someday I should get all that stuff posted, I hope...

I'm thinking of quitting the blogging…  I just haven't felt like taking the time to write about the shows I've seen lately.  There were a couple I went to over a month ago that I never wrote about, then I saw Cliff Hillis a couple days ago and just decided I wasn't going to try to remember all the details…  I might still write blogs occasionally when the mood strikes, but they probably won't be as frequent or nearly as detailed.  But due to a special request, I decided I would do my best to blog one more show…

The other night, I went to Studio LuLoo for their first compilation CD Release party.  I was a little late, so the show had already started.  I didn't catch the name of the duo on stage, but there was a guy playing guitar and a girl playing a percussion egg.  The guy looked like he was wearing some kind of robe, and the girl was wearing pajamas.  Despite the interesting choice of wardrobe, I was really impressed with them, and I thought they sounded very good.

Playing next was a band called papertrees.  They had a female lead singer playing guitar with two guys, one playing a stand-up bass and the other playing percussion.  The "drummer" was very creative with his instruments, strapping some of them to his arm or leg while shaking others in his hands.  I particularly liked the lead singer's voice, and this was another good band.

The papertrees' bass player stayed on stage and was joined by another guitarist, forming Shakamaxon.  The guitarist hosts a first Thursday "in the round" show at a nearby art house every month, so he promoted next month's show between the few songs he played.  For the last song, the guitarist switched over to a mandolin to play The Distance Hymn, which is the song that is on the LuLoo CD and was a nice, slower song.  I think he said there are usually more people playing with him in Shakamaxon, but the three songs they played sounded good as a duo.

Next up was John Shaughnessy.  Since Sue Steen was sick and unable to play during the show, that made John the only person whose music I was very familiar with.  He talked the bass player from the last two bands into staying on stage with him, and he was also joined by Steve Goldstein on lead guitar and another guy playing a hand drum (which John had actually played earlier and later in the night with some of the other artists).  As they were getting ready to start playing Feelin' Good Again, Sara O'Brien came up to help out as well, playing a tambourine and singing harmonies.  They followed that song with In The Morning, which Sara dedicated to John's wife who she called "my sister-wife."  Unfortunately, John only played the two songs, but the good thing is that he played my two current favorites.  I love both of those songs, so if I only got to hear two Shaughnessy tunes, those would likely be the two I would pick!

I think Monko followed John.  The band had three people.  Two of them played guitar and mandolin, but I forget what the third guy was playing (although it was likely bass).  I think the band was a little over the top for me.  They would just all start rocking out, and it wasn't quite working for me.  But any time you see so many musicians play in one night, there's bound to be someone that doesn't fit your personal taste while others enjoy it.

I believe Brian Mullins was next.  He was a solo guitarist, but for some reason, I don't really remember what he sounded like…  For some reason, my memory seems to get fuzzy later in the show…

The last person I saw was Jacob Graff.  He was using an effect pedal that let him record bits of music and loop them to essentially create the sound of a full band all by himself.  I thought it was cool how he used his guitar to not only record guitar parts, but also hit the back of it to create a drum beat and created a bass line by playing just the low E string.  It took him a while to get all of the parts recorded, which was the one drawback to how he created them, but he then played some very nice lead parts over top of what he recorded.  His first song was a philosophical one about how people know what they know.  He started off trying to explain it until John Shaughnessy finally told him to just play the song, which was pretty funny.  Jacob ended up playing just two songs (unless you count the Chinese tuning number he played between songs), but they sounded pretty cool and I really liked how he layered his sounds.

When Jacob was done, I decided to head for home because I was starting to get tired.  This was only the second time I managed to get to Studio LuLoo, but I was once again very impressed with the talent in the room.  I wouldn't expect a small studio in New Jersey to be a musical hot spot, but both times I've been there, I've been simply amazed at how good everyone there sounds.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I got to celebrate it by going to see Shane Hines and the Trance in Philadelphia at the end of the night.  They only get up to Philadelphia once in a while, so I'm always excited when I see shows on their schedule that are in this area.

I got to the show a little before it started and talked to Thumbs for a bit before he and Shane took the stage.  I've seen the band a handful of times, and it seems like each time I see them, it's some new version of the group.  I think this may have been the first time I saw Shane and Thumbs as a duo.  They started off with Come Around, which is a very good song, but it would end up being the only they played that they've already released.

The next two songs were new ones that I wasn't familiar with.  I'm pretty sure one was called I Promise Me, but I'm not sure.  Next, Shane decided to play a cover, which he said they often do when they are playing in cities they don't get to a whole lot.  After playing it, Shane asked if anyone knew what it was, but no one answered, so I'm not sure if anyone knew what song they were covering...

Shane and Thumbs got back to their originals with We Can Never Be, which I heard them play last time I saw them, nearly a year ago now.  I think it's one of the most emotional songs they play, and I loved hearing it again.  While getting ready for the next song, Shane started talking to himself, and mentioned that he does that a lot.  He used that to lead into the next song, which he said was based on one of those conversations, and was called Boy.  There was a bridge toward the end of the song, where Shane told everyone that the rock is usually occurring during that part when they have a full band with them.

Before moving onto the next song, Shane asked the crowd if anyone was on anti-depressant drugs like he is.  The question was met with silence, prompting Shane to comment on how uncomfortable it was getting.  He added that he asks that question a lot, and when he gets a positive response, he'll usually go off with the person after the show to discuss their meds and dosages.  That discussion led into their next song, another new one called Way Up that is about using antidepressants.

After Way Up, Shane asked the sound guy how much time they had left so he could figure out what they would play next.  He eventually narrowed it down to two songs and asked the crowd if they wanted to hear a depressing song or an Elton John song.  Some people asked for each song, but Shane eventually decided that he was too happy to play the depressing song, so they covered Elton John's Rocket Man.  They did a good job with the song, but I would have preferred to hear one more original song rather than a cover if I could have had my choice...

Shane and Thumbs put on a good show, as always.  I have to admit that I do prefer the full band shows, but it's still great to see them as a duo.  The new songs are sounding really good, and I'm looking forward to the new CD, which sounds like it should be coming out before too long...

After Shane Hines and the Trance was a band called Clarity.  I've never seen them before, but I've heard good things about them.  It seemed to be taking the band a while to start their set, until eventually, the lead singer took the stage by himself with an acoustic guitar.  He said that they were having some kind of problem, but instead of keeping everyone waiting, he decided to start the show until the band could join him.  It was pretty late, and I was getting tired, so I never did get to see the full band play.  I saw the lead singer do about four songs on his own, including one that he had just written and the band didn't even know yet, and the songs did sound pretty good.  I have a feeling I'll run into them again sometime though, so hopefully I'll get to see how those songs sound with the full band.

John Faye has played at Coffee Works a few times before, but I've always missed him for one reason or another.  This week, I was finally able to make his show there.  Unfortunately, I drove right by the place, despite having been there a handful of times before, so I ended up wasting some time and getting to the show late.  When I got there, I was shocked at how packed the place was!  All of the other times I've been there, the place has been anywhere from pretty empty to about half full, so I was shocked to find seating at a premium.  I managed to find a seat right next to the stage, but it was kind of strange because I was on the side of John as opposed to being in front of him.  It was still better than having to stand in the back though...

When I arrived, John was in the middle of Late Bloomer.  He followed that with Dandelion (awfully fitting for a coffee shop), which I was glad to hear.  I really like that song, but IKE never seems to play it anymore.  I always hope John will play it during his solo shows, but even then, he often leaves it off his set list.

After Dandelion, John played Atomic Rose.  He then talked about how rare it is that he gets to play in Voorhees, and mentioned that IKE had a new CD that he was selling, and he played a song from that album, A Curse Is Not Enough.  He then decided to play Just A Moment, saying that he had better get it out of the way while his voice could still handle it since it is one of the harder ones for him to sing.  It sounded really good, and John commented on how it came out angrier than usual.  John then finished his first set with a lullaby he had written for his son called Into Philadelphia, commenting on how strange it was that it had gone from a lullaby to being played at Eagles and Flyers games.  After hearing the song so many times, I'm usually kind of tired of it, but I thought it sounded really nice this time.  I guess seeing John play it solo gave it a little different sound than it has when the full band is playing it.

After John finished, No Joy In Mudville took the stage.  I had never heard of them before, but they're a local New Jersey band with a pretty good local following, explaining the large crowd at the place.  The band has four members who played guitar, bass, keyboards, and a variety of hand drums.  Three of them also shared vocal responsibilities with the bass player being the only one without a mic.  Most of the songs sounded pretty cool, with a funky kind of beat, driven by the drummer.  There were a few that I thought fell a little flat, but overall, I thought they had a pretty good set.

John came back for his second set and started off with Nothing's Gonna Come Between Us.  John introduced his next song saying that he wrote it when one of his friends said he doesn't write any love songs, just complicated life songs (I'm not quite sure what that makes Dandelion then...).  His shot at a love song was his new song called Hints and Arrows, which I've heard a few times now and continues to grow on me.  John then played another new song called Latitude, which I had never heard before.  I thought the song sounded alright, but I wouldn't be surprised if it grows on me as I continue to hear it, much the way Hints and Arrows has.

John's next song was We Like Sugar, which was okay, but I don't think it works terribly well as an acoustic song.  I feel like it loses some of its energy when John plays it solo.  He followed that with I Knew You When, which sounded very nice.  Next, he played What I See In You, which he said was based on an experience that took place in a New Jersey Dunkin' Donuts parking lot (so I guess he really was dancing in the parking lot?).

For his next song, John decided to play what he described as a fast, angry song, Say Luvva.  It's one of my favorites, so I'm always glad to hear it, and it was fun to hear John singing the solo.  He followed that with another angry song, which he described as being about bottling up your feelings, then letting them all out at once, which he likened to the "Airing of Grievances" at Festivus, which was a great comment!  The song was Deathbed (Na, Na, Na), which is always fun to hear, and John sang the solo to that one too.

John described his next song by saying it was written about when IKE, who had been together for about 8 years, had half of the band quit or be fired.  The song was about John's hope for the future, and he played The End of The Rope.  After that, John ended his set with a song that he said was his acknowledgement that the Beatles were right, Message of Love. 

John's two sets (or what I saw of them anyway) were very good.  It's always fun to get a change of pace where John plays the songs by himself.  IKE shows are always great, but it's nice to get something a little different every once in a while...

After John was finished, No Joy In Mudville came back to end the show.  I only hung around for a handful of songs, which included a cover of a Coldplay song that I didn't really care for.  What I heard of their second set didn't seem quite as good as their first set.  They were still alright, but I was getting tired and figured I would head for home a little early...

The last time I saw Cliff Hillis was over a year ago!  A whole frickin' year?!?  How unbelievable is that?  Cliff's had a lot of other things going on, so he hasn't been playing as many of his own shows, but I'm still amazed it's been that long.

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Cliff opened the show tonight accompanied by Ken Herblin on lead guitar, and they started off with Used To Be The Man.  Cliff introduced himself and Ken, then moved on with a newer song, Shake Me Down.  That was followed by another new song, Elevator, and Cliff explained that he had a new CD coming out soon with a CD release party planned for 10/3.  Ken had a little trouble with the solo, which Cliff described as jazz, but "good jazz."  He also explained that some of the songs are so new that they haven't been well rehearsed yet.

Cliff's next song was another newer one called Good And Bad, then he played a song that he said was on the CD he had available for sale, Two of the Same.  That was followed by a new song I had never heard before called Never Understand, which Cliff said had never been rehearsed.  I thought the song sounded pretty cool, and I thought it was interesting that the verse seemed to have more of a hook to it than the chorus.

The next song Cliff and Ken played was another new one called She Sees.  Cliff said that he wrote it with one of the Rembrandts, and through the magic of the internet (or internets), he had recorded some vocals and bass that Cliff was going to use on his album.  The song was another good one, which included a nice solo by Ken.  Cliff then went back to some older songs starting with So Much To Tell You, then they finished off the set with Better Than Myself, which Cliff explained was not only featured in a terrible Brooke Shields movie, but his name was spelled wrong in the credits so he couldn't be tracked down.  That wrapped up a very nice set, and it was great to finally see Cliff play again!

Next up was Tim Butler, who was playing with his full band.  Unfortunately, the lead guitarist, Jesse, had some electrical issues, so Tim had to kill some time by talking to the crowd.  He told a story about someone named Holly Anne who had heard his name of that title on the radio and came to see him play at Milkboy once before.  He saw the girl walk in and said hi to her, and she told him that she was there to see Tim Butler, apparently not realizing that she was talking to him, leading Tim to joke that his pictures online must not be very good if he's unrecognizable.

After the story, Jesse still wasn't set yet, so Tim decided to introduce the band to save some time later in the set.  By the time Tim had finished with the introductions, Jesse had switched to another amp and was ready to go.  The band started off with No Better Place To Be, then followed it with Because You Want Me To, which Tim explained was written for his then unborn son who is now three months old.  The next song was That's The Way You Want Me To Be, which is the title track of Tim's CD, so he used that opportunity to point out the CDs he had for sale toward the back of the room.

Before the next song, Tim asked if there was anyone in the room named Christine, but he got no answer, so they played the song of that name, dedicating it to no one.  That was followed by Tryin', then they played one of the few covers in their repertoire.  Tim asked if there were any Crowded House fans, but only heard a response from one person, so he dedicated the song to that person before remembering that there was someone else in the crowd that he knew liked the band so he dedicated it to her as well.  The song they covered was Don't Dream It's Over, which I'm not a big fan of, but they did a good job with it.

Tim got back to his original songs by playing a couple new songs.  The first was called What You Do To Me and the second was The Choice Is Yours, the second of which Tim said had only been played live once before.  Both songs sounded good with more of a rock edge to them than a lot of Tim's songs.  Those two songs were followed by the one that Tim describes as being "as country as [the band] gets," Special Plan.  They then finished their set with Building Me Up, which ended with a bit of a rocking jam.

Tim's set was also really good.  He's got a bunch of great songs, and I always like seeing him with the full band.  I always love Jesse's leads, and I'm always impressed with Rick on his fretless bass.  Mike and Tony also do great jobs on drums and keys while adding some nice harmonies to Tim's vocals.  Simply a great show all around.

Lotus Hill was closing the show.  I've seen them a couple times before, and they're not bad, but I'm not a big fan, so I decided to head out early before their set.  I'm sure I'll see them again sometime though.

I can't believe it's been so long, but I haven't seen IKE in over three months!  Work's been busy lately, and I went away for a week, so I haven't been getting to as many shows lately, but I still can't believe it's been so long.

I was able to rectify that problem tonight, as IKE was playing a concert in the park, sponsored by the city of Philadelphia and Mayor Michael Nutter.  Q102 was also on the scene, which seemed a little odd as IKE's music is nothing like anything they'd play...

I got to the park as the first band of the night was finishing up.  I think they're name was The New Old Fashioned.  Then we got to listen to some awesome Q102 tunes as IKE got ready to take the stage.  One of Q102's DJs introduced the band, commenting on how Into Philadelphia was played at both Eagles and Phillies games.  He got the crowd by asking who were fans of each team, then turned the show over to the band who started off with the very song that the DJ had talked about.

After getting the big hit out of the way, John asked the crowd to make some noise, and they moved on to Whites of My Eyes.  John then talked about how they would play many songs from their new CD during the show, pointing out that it was available at a table toward the back of the park, and the band played another song from the album, Atomic Rose.  That was followed by Just A Moment, which sounded really good, and I really liked how John's voice sounded.  I was worried that the sound wouldn't be so great because outdoor shows sometimes have problems with that, but the sound system was actually very good, and I really liked the big, full sound it gave to John's voice.

The band got ready for the next song, and John pointed out that things were about to get loud as they went into Better Off Alone.  As IKE tuned for their next song, John thanked the mayor for sponsoring the show and pushed the band's CDs again, then they went into We Like Sugar.  The song sounded good, but Brett's mic was pretty loud, which it was all night, but it seemed especially noticeable on this song.  During the chorus, Brett's "ah" harmonies were nearly drowning out John's lead vocals, which was really weird.

IKE's next song was What I See In You, which started with Brett playing the intro while the rest of the band was getting ready, and it sounded really cool when everyone came in.  They followed that up witch Cinderella Spark, which was nice to hear since it doesn't make its way onto IKE's set list as often as it used to.  After that, the band played Say Luvva, which is one of my favorite IKE songs, and it sounded great.

John moved on by explaining the next song as being about bottling things up for a long time, and he suggested that the crowd not follow the song's example.  The song was Deathbed (Na, Na, Na), which is always fun, but it was even more fun with John's flying leap during Brett's solo.  Following the song, John talked about how they were supposed to end the show at dusk, and it was already getting pretty dark, so they were going to have to start.  The band was then told that they could play one more, so they decided to end with a song that John described as being a little more positive than Deathbed.  I thought (and was hoping) it would be Message of Love, but instead, then ended up playing End of the Rope, which is also a very good song.  When I got the set list later, I saw that they actually cut out Message of Love, which was scheduled to go right before End of the Rope, so the unexpected end to the set squeezed the song out.

It was really good to see IKE again, and they put on a really good show.  There's never much energy in the crowd in a place like this because everyone's kind of spread out and there aren't usually many people that are familiar with the band, but that never seems to affect IKE's performance.  They bring the same energy to their shows no matter how many people are there to see it, so you're always certain to get a good show when IKE takes the stage!

It's been about a month since my last local, show, and it just so happens to be for one of the same people I saw last time...

Tonight, Sue Steen was playing at the Coffee House Players show at Neena's.  She was supposed to be splitting the show with another performer, but she found out not long before the show that she was going to have to play the full two hours on her own, so she had to come up with a longer set list on rather short notice.

Sue started off with a few songs I didn't remember hearing before.  They sounded good from what I could hear, but Neena's wasn't really designed for music, so the sound isn't the best.  Unfortunately, that means I didn't really get to hear the songs that well, so I'll have to wait to hear them again before deciding how much I really like them...

The first song Sue played that I recognized was the Over For You Now song, but I can't seem to remember the title of it.  I really love the beat to that song...  That was followed by another song I don't remember hearing before, which I'll call Falling For You, although Sue's title is probably more creative.  It was a nice, catchy song.

Sue called Brett up to join her on bass for her next song, and they played Bring Me Home, which seems to be becoming one of her more popular songs as two people mentioned to me how much they like it.  After that, she and Brett played Don't Wanna, which seemed a little slower than I remembered it, but Brett's bass part sounded really cool.  It had a cool, funky feel to it, making a great song just a bit better!

Sue switched guitars for her next song, and played Start Again, which she mentioned would be the title track of the CD she is recording.  After that song, she gave her guitar to Brett and dedicated the next song to Gina and 1994.  They covered a Jewel song with Brett playing guitar and Sue holding the mic and singing.  They then finished their first set with a cover of a Tracy Chapman song that I wasn't familiar with, and I mistook for Tom Petty's Learning to Fly when Brett started playing it.

After a break, Sue came back by herself again to start her second set.  She started that set with a few more songs that I don't remember hearing before, including one that she mentioned should be accompanied by a trumpet, as it had been when she first played it at Puck.  It was a nice song, but I'm sure adding a horn to it would be pretty interesting. 

I know she played another song I recognized, but I can't remember what it was...  She then brought Brett up to play bass again, and they played another song I know but don't remember the name of (for some reason I think it may have been Come Undone, but I think that's wrong).  After that song, Brett took over on guitar, and he and Sue covered Simon & Garfunkel's Cecilia, bringing back memories of the old shows at Buckets.

Sue said they had a few more songs left, one of which would be a surprise.  She picked up the bass, and they went right on to the surprise, which was Don't (Here I Am).  I think it was the only time I ever heard that song played acoustic, and it was great to hear it again!  They changed the arrangement of it a bit to fit the acoustic style, and Brett changed the vocals around, but it worked really well.  They even included a pretty cool jam at the end of the song, as they had always done when they played it with OutSet.

For the last song of the night, Sue asked John Shaughnessy to come up and play guitar.  Sue stayed on bass and Brett stayed up there to help with vocals.  Together, they covered the Beatles' Hard Day's Night, which sounded very good.  I especially liked Brett singing the solo.

The sound at Neena's isn't the best, but it's very convenient for me, so I'm always glad when artists I like are playing there.  With all of the songs I didn't recognize, I would have liked to have been able to hear them a bit better, but I'm sure I'll get to see Sue play them again some time.  It was a fun night, Sue did a good job throughout the night, and I thought the show finished really strong with the surprise of Don't and the Beatles cover.

It's been an awfully long time since I've had a show to blog about...  I guess a week at the shore combined with too many hours at work can have that affect sometimes...

Tonight, I went to the Susquehanna Bank Center to see the Counting Crows, but first, Sara Bareilles was starting the show.  She is one of very few artists I've found out about in the last ten years by seeing a music video (yes, they're still on TV in the middle of the night and during top 20 countdowns).  Somehow, I saw her Love Song video quite a few times until it finally grew on me enough that I decided to buy her album.

To start the show, Adam Duritz came out and talked about how this was the third show in a row that they were playing in New Jersey, but this was the best selling show of the tour so far.  After his short intro, he brought out Sara Bareilles to start the show.  She was accompanied by three other band members playing guitar, bass, and drums, while she played piano.  They started off the set with Bottle It Up, then Sara explained that she wrote her next song for one of her ex-boyfriends back when she still liked him, and they played Morningside.  Before the next song, Sara explained how she likes to drive up the California coast, just thinking, so her next song was about that called Many The Miles.  During the song, Sara introduced her band members, then when they finished the song, they went right into Love Song, which got a great reaction from the crowd.

When they finished Love Song, Sara came out from behind her piano and came to the front of the stage.  She talked a bit about how happy she was to be on this tour and what a great show the other bands put on every night.  She then said that she wanted to sing a song by one of her other favorite bands, the Beatles, and they covered Oh! Darling, which was the only song that Sara did not play piano on.  After the song, Sara mentioned all of her band members again as they left the stage.  Sara then finished the set by playing Gravity by herself. 

I thought Sara put on a pretty good show.  I'm not a huge fan of her CD, but I thought she picked the best songs for her set.  I really just bought it because of Love Song, and I was kind of disappointed by the rest of it.  I was a little worried that I wouldn't like her set that much, but I was pleasantly surprised by it.

For some reason, I was pretty sure that Maroon 5 was supposed to be playing next.  I don't really know where that came from...  Maybe when I bought the tickets, Counting Crows were listed first or maybe I just decided that because I think the Counting Crows are better, they should go on last.  Anyway, when the Counting Crows took the stage, I was sure it was Maroon 5 so I wasn't really paying attention.  Even when I recognized the beginning of the first song and Adam Duritz started singing, my first thought was "wow, Duritz is playing with Maroon 5?!?"  Not long after that, I figured out that Counting Crows was actually playing next, which was a good thing for me because that meant I was going to get to go home early!

The Counting Crows started off with Omaha, which was a nice start to their set.  They followed that with Daylight Fading, then played Rain King.  The band usually changes up the sound on a log of their songs, but Rain King sounded really strange.  The beginning was mainly just drums and Adam singing, and it took me a while to figure out what it even was.  They ended up getting it back on track later, but I didn't really like how the song started very much.

The band's next song was Colorblind, which is okay but one of my least favorite songs.  They followed that with If I Could Give All My Love (Richard Manuel Is Dead), then went right into Mr. Jones.  That is usually a song that they change up a lot when they play it live, but they seemed to stay pretty true to the recorded version, which was a little disappointing. 

Before moving on, Adam talked about how they've been friends with Maroon 5 for a long time, and they're happy to see them doing so well.  He continued by saying that radio stations and friends may try to tell you that certain bands are good and others are bad, but the bands themselves just want to see each other succeed.  He then went on to explain that his girlfriend was having a birthday party tonight, so as soon as the Counting Crows were finished, he was going to get on the bus and go up to New York to see her.  Adam proceeded to introduce the next song by talking about the band's new album and said that they were going to play the first song from it, 1492.  I don't have the new album, and I wasn't really that impressed with the song, but it might grow on me once I get the CD.

The band moved on with another new song called Sundays, which I liked more than the song before it.  They then moved right into Hard Candy, which sounded pretty cool.  After that, they played A Murder of One, which is always a great song.  It gets soft and slow in the middle, then it really picks and ends with a lot of energy, which really got the crowd going.  As the place was going nuts, the band left the stage to a great ovation.

The lights went out as the crowd continued to cheer.  Eventually, the band came back, which is somewhat unusual for a band that is not closing the show, but the band clearly left the stage early for a co-headliner.  When they came back, Duritz took a seat at a piano that was brought out to the front of the stage.  When he got out there, he talked about how he had hurt his ankle, which he mentioned earlier in the show as well, so he shouldn't be jumping around the stage so much.  He also said he didn't have anything to numb the pain, but when he got into the music, he couldn't help himself.  He mentioned again that he was going to see his girlfriend after the show was over, and said he was playing the next song for her, Goodnight LA.  When he finished that song, he went right into A Long December, which got a good reaction from the crowd.  Toward the end of the song, he added in some lyrics from A Murder of One.

Before finishing the show, Adam took some time to talk about the charity that the band sponsors (Grey Bird, I think), and mentioned some local sponsors that were at the show.  Once he finished talking about the charities, Adam sang Walkaways while one of his guitarists (Dave Immergluck, I believe) played.  It was a nice, short ending to their set.

I was hoping for a more high energy close to the show, but I did really like the Counting Crows' set.  It was just too short to me, but I knew it probably would be since they were sharing the bill with Maroon 5.  Hopefully, they'll come around on their own headlining tour sometime soon so I can see more of them...

I don't know why, but for some reason, I decided to stick around for Maroon 5.  I don't really have any interest in them, but I thought I'd give them a chance.  They started with one of their big singles, This Love, but I just wasn't that into it.  Early in their second song, I finally decided that I just didn't have any interest in seeing the rest of their set, so I headed for home.  I just wish I had made that decision sooner rather than waiting through the set change.

I was originally planning to skip this show...  I had seen Stephen Lynch twice in the last year and half, and the second time was remarkably similar to the second, so I figured I'd skip this one and wait until a new album came out so I'd know that there would be some new stuff in the show.  However, during the 4th of July weekend, Comedy Central ran a stand-up marathon, and I ended up seeing Lynch's most recent special, which made me want to see his live show again.  So I bought tickets that night and made my way to AC last night.

Thanks to some horrible traffic trying to get into AC, I ended up about twenty minutes late for the show.  This was the first time I ever saw seats set up on the floor of the House of Blues, which was kind of weird.  It was also kind of annoying, because the sound gets kind of muffled when you are under the balcony, which is where most of the seats were located.  I ended up not even using my seat and just standing up near the back of the room for most of the show.

When I got to the show, Lynch was just starting one of his new songs, which is a diary set to music.  He has a few of them, which I assume will be scattered throughout his new album.  The one he did first was Anne Frank, which is a pretty funny bit.  He followed that with Craig, which is a really good song.  After he finished, he talked about how he always wanted to play that song on TV, but he realized he said "fuck" so many times that it would probably never happened.  However, he decided to do it during his last special, saying that writing the song was his job, so now the censors should do their job.  He joked that he was sounding too much like Lewis Black, then went on to act out how he thought the live performance must look with all of the curses bleeped out, which was pretty funny.

Lynch's next song was a new one that I will call Prettier Than You, which was a pretty funny one about dating someone that isn't as beautiful as you are.  He then did another diary song, this one about Christopher Reeve riding his horse.  He then proceeded to tell the same joke he did the last time about how if Christopher Reeve were still alive, he'd kick Lynch's ass for it even though he was in a wheelchair.  Lynch then said, "I am not a strong man, Jenny" in a Forrest Gump voice, then questioned why he was making a 1994 reference all of a sudden, so he decided to continue with some more dated references...

Stephen said his next song would be a new one, and he started to play something about a gay robot before stopping and saying that wasn't really a song he'd written.  Instead, he started setting up his next song, Special, but first decided to discuss the censors who had made him change the characters name from Ed to Fred when he performed it on TV, as if the name change made him less retarded.  He talked about how he wanted to start the show with Lullaby, which includes a lot of rough lines about why he is getting a divorce.  The censors came to him just before the show was about to start to say that they thought he should change the line about "sex that involves mommy's rear," so that the last word was "ear."  Lynch said he pointed out that sounded even more deviant than his original line, so the censors ended up asking him to leave it alone, and that was how it aired.  After the story, Lynch played Special, which is always great.  It's really evolved a lot since the original version he recorded.  I especially like the new line about being scared of the microwave ("there's so many buttons!").

Following Special, someone started yelling out for the bowling song, which happens at every show.  Lynch decided to give in and play Almighty Malachi, Professional Bowling God, which he said he hadn't played in 9 years.  As he was playing it, he kept breaking in saying how bad the song was and how he hoped the guy was happy he had asked for it.  By the time he got to the chorus, most of the people were booing, so Lynch decided not to finish the song, which is unfortunate because I actually think it is pretty funny, and I always want to see him play it.  I doubt I'll ever see it again at this point either.

As Lynch was deciding what to play next, people started yelling out song titles, so he said he's not a jukebox and that if you want a jukebox, get a cardboard cutout of him and play the songs you want on your iPod.  Someone then yelled out Freebird, which also seems to happen at every show, so Lynch started playing it.  He then extended the joke by playing other songs known for being very long, like Stairway to Heaven and Bohemian Rhapsody.  Then, people started yelling things out from other performers, like Tenacious D and Adam Sandler, so Lynch played a little bit of the Hanukah song as a joke.

Stephen Lynch got the show back on track by introducing his next song, which he said was written by his great uncle, who was a court jester hundreds of years ago.  The song was another new one that was about a girlfriend who doesn't trim her pubic hair.  It was really kind of disappointing and not a very funny song...

For the next song, Lynch brought out Rod Cohn, and they played She's Got a Smile, which is a really funny song.  They extended it way too long though with Lynch doing a bunch of silly impressions at Rod's request, to the point where it started to get pretty boring, and I was just waiting for them to end it.  When they finally finished, Rod left, and David Josefsberg came out to join him.  As he was coming out, some girl yelled out something about how he sucks, and she couldn't be more right!  I hate that guy!  They did the Dirty Sanchez song, which is really boring, so I ended up walking around, checking out the merch table, and going to the bathroom just waiting for the song to end.  When it finally did, Lynch and Josefsberg did some silly Vaudeville thing that wasn't really that funny, then led into the Song for the Sidekick, which is a decent song.  In that song, Lynch says something like, "I'll be the Holocaust and you can be my frightened Jew," which insults Josefsberg, and he leaves (again, same thing as last time).  After he leaves, they put a spotlight on the contemplative Lynch, who started singing Purple Rain, which brought back not only Josefsberg, but Rod Cohn as well.  They all started singing a parody version of the song, which was kind of hard to understand because of the muffled sound under the balcony.  I do remember them saying something about blue and red making purple, and when Grimace cries you get purple rain.  Once they finished Purple Rain (and the sang almost that whole song), they finally got back to the sidekick song and finished it off with all three guys.

Everyone left the stage, then Lynch quickly returned for an encore.  He mentioned that he had another show coming up that night, so he had to hurry up and finish this one.  He brought back Josefsberg, and they started singing D&D.  During the song, Rod came out to sing the last verse, and shortly after he did, a fire alarm started in the building.  Rod joked that the sound was someone's cell phone, but it quickly stopped and they finished the song and did the NKOTB Hangin' Tough dance at the end, although all the house lights came on while they were still on stage.

The fire drill ended up being a false alarm, so no one had to leave.  There were also a few more of them later in the night too.  The show ended up being kind of disappointing for me.  It was way too similar to the last two shows I saw, and all of the little impromptu things they do are a lot less funny the third time around.  That was part of why I wasn't originally planning to go to this show (plus the fact that Josefsberg was still with Lynch).  I think I need to wait until Lynch finally puts out his next album, which he said will be by the end of the year, so I can see him do a different show.  Hopefully, he'll get Mark Teich to join him and he can finally drop Josefsberg!

Last week, Ian Walsh had a big CD release party at World Cafe Downstairs Live.  However, I was there more to see all of the other acts than I was to see Walsh...

Click for more pictures

Starting off the show was Susan Steen.  There was no one to introduce her, so she came up to the front of the stage and talked about the show and how glad she was to be opening it up.  She also mentioned that she didn't have a CD out yet, but she was working on, and her first song would be the title track of that CD, Start Again.  It's a very sweet song with an interesting combination of sadness and hope for the future.  She followed that with Bring Me Home, then as she tuned for the next song, she mentioned how quiet the crowd was.  She said it was nice to have everyone listening, but got them to make some noise by asking if they were ready for some of the acts coming up later. 

Sue continued her set with Don't Wanna, explaining that it was about not being sure what you want.  The song after that was Come Undone, then Sue played For You to Notice.  She had a little trouble with the fingerpicking on that song and had to restart it, but it ended up going okay.  She then finished her opening set with Goodbye, which is always a fun song.

Sue's set was far too short, but still very good.  She had a little trouble with For You to Notice (which looks incredibly difficult to play), but otherwise everything sounded as great as I would expect.  I'm sure there weren't many people there to see Sue, or many that had even heard her music before, but she got a pretty good response from the crowd throughout her set.  It was a very nice start to the show.

The second performer of the night was John Faye, playing some IKE songs solo on his acoustic guitar.  He started off with Whites of My Eyes, then surprised me by following it up with Pure.  I don't know how long it's been since I last heard that song because IKE tends to focus primarily on newer music in their shows.  They have a bunch of good songs on Parallel Universe that they almost never play anymore (outside of Deathbed), so it was great to hear Pure again.

John's next song was Atomic Rose, from IKE's last album.  He then mentioned that the full band would be returning to WCL at the end of the month for a show with Jealousy Curve before moving on with one of his newest songs, Hints & Arrows.  I've heard that song a few times now, and it seems to be growing on me more each time.  Next, he played We Like Sugar, then mentioned the contest his band was in to open for Coldplay, encouraging the band to go online to vote for IKE.

John moved on with I Knew You When, which he followed with the IKE staple, Into Philadelphia.  At that point, John mentioned that he only had time for two more songs, starting with Deathbed (Na, Na, Na).  He then ended his set with Message of Love because he said he wanted to end with a happy song.  I was surprised that he did that song on his own because the Crash Motive would be playing later in the night.  Since Derek Fuhrman had helped write the song, I thought he would have been asked to help John sing it.

John put on a good set to follow Sue's.  It does sometimes feel like something is missing from some of the songs because I'm so used to hearing them played by the full band.  However, John always does a good job of slightly altering them to work as solo acoustic songs.

Following John was the headliner of the night, Ian Walsh.  His drummer came out first and started playing before Ian came out to join him.  The two of them made up the full band with both handling vocals, and they were accompanied by a bass track.  I was impressed with the drummer, and Ian had some good energy on stage, but the music just wasn't working for me.  It sounded fine, but it just didn't sound that much different from any other rock music.  That lack of uniqueness hurt my interest in the set, so I ended up just sticking around for a handful of songs.  I believe the band was also joined by Ritchie Rubini ..boards later on, but I never got to see that part of the show.

I was really tired, so I was thinking of going home.  However, the Crash Motive was due up next, and after some consideration, I finally decided to stick around.  I've seen the band before in a few different versions (Derek solo, Derek with the keyboardist, and full band), and they sounded fine, but I've never really been a big fan.  I did see a couple of Derek's solo shows recently that I thought were pretty good, but the biggest thing that got me to stay was the fact that Josh Dannin, formerly of OutSet, was now part of the band.  I hadn't seen him play with the band yet, so I figured I would stick around to see how he fit in with them.

Like I said, I've never been a huge fan of The Crash Motive, but on this night, I thought they sounded great!  I seemed to remember them having a softer sound in the past, but they really rocked at this show.  They played a lot of new songs that they haven't recorded yet, including one that Derek said had never been played live before.  I also remember them playing No Tomorrow, Just Tonight, and I know they played some other songs from the Consequence album.

Having known Josh for a while now, I found myself focusing on him a lot, and he was doing a great job!  Maybe it's just because I haven't seen him in a while, but I think he's improved since I last saw him with OutSet.  I ended up staying for The Crash Motive's full set, despite how tired I was, because they were sounding really good.  As soon as they were done, I headed for home to get some sleep, but hopefully I'll get to see them again soon and be just as impressed.