My brother dared call Chris Isaak a “country bumpkin” on one of our recent outings—I’m gonna stop by and beat his ass shortly, but here’s some Chris to tide us all over…he’s a crooner, he’s got a little Baja-surf-TexMex-rockabilly thing goin’ on…but though shalt not call him country.
Have I mentioned lately that when he said to me, “Hi, I’m Chris,” I sort of snort-laughed as I said “I KNOW!” Yeah, no cool points that day for me whatsoever.
Here’s a video snippet from this weekend’s show—NOT MY VIDEO!! Can’t take credit for it, but the photos in the post from Monday morning are mine. Since all I posted in my 3 AM haze were a few photos…here’s the scoop…
The show was in Charlotte on Sunday: Stone Temple Pilots with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club opening. I took my brother with me to the show and we were in such a great spot! There was a small pit (ok, it’s not really a pit as far as I’m concerned if there’s no moshing allowed, so it boils down to be a small area of concrete where a few people stood) in front of the seats, and then we were in the very front row of seats. We had a great view of everything! Fan club pre-sale seats are the bomb!
I wasn’t too familiar with BRMC, so I looked up some of their tunes on Napster before the show. Honestly, the tunes online didn’t dazzle me. They weren’t bad, but it didn’t grab me. Live, though, they were really good, rougher around the edges than the polished studio stuff. I liked their sound live, so I’d see them again if I had the opportunity.
When it came down to STP, they were late taking the stage…almost an hour late! Talk about an angry crowd—-in our seats, since we were in the very front, we had plenty of leg room to stretch out and relax and wait it out, but everyone else was not quite so comfy. As we rolled around to the 45 minute mark in waiting, the crowd was starting to boo and yell not very nice things about how the band needed to put down the smack and get on the stage. Yeah, it was tense…
…But all the tension evaporated the moment they hit the stage and placated us all with Big Empty:slow, powerful and amazing. Wow! They visited songs from all their albums as Scott Weiland removed his layers, starting with his hat, then leather jacket, then vest and working his way through what seemed like a million scarves until he was down to being open-shirted at the last song. Scott Weiland has a scarf guy: a roadie whose primary duty is to help untie knots and remove the layers as they come off…oh, the scarf guy also grabs maracas when they are discarded so the famous rock stars don’t trip over them. I want a scarf guy.
It was awesome, there’s just no other way to put it! They did a whole lot more songs from their first album then I would’ve guessed—oftentimes, a band neglects its beginnings when they become famous, but they did 3 or 4 tunes from their first recording. Worth the price of admission and then some!
Big thanks to my little bro for the AWESOME (overpriced!) long sleeved tshirt. Hope your Mrs. digs the shirt I picked for her, and if not, wrap it up and give it to me for my birthday.
so much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a ton of photos, but a lot of them are kinda blurry because I was bouncing around like I do. My bro took some pix, too…
Scott Weiland during opening song Big Empty:
Me and my baby bro—baby bro’s first ever photo appearance in the Kat Box; I’m the cute one:
STP, all but the drummer
I was close enough to Scott Weiland to carry him off and make him a housepet, but I unselfishly left him onstage to share with all…
and moi, a little tired after midnight, in a rare kat box appearance of my own, because i rock hardcore…
Stone Temple Pilots in Charlotte tonight!! Thank you Scott Weiland for not being in rehab or jail today!!
I’m psyched. I’m driving baby bro down, and our seats are EXCELLENTLY excellent pre-sale seats.
It’s not time to go yet, but I’m kinda getting things organized. It’s funny how differently I prepare to go see a show as compared to the olden days. For example, I’ll go ahead and get some clothes out for work in the morning since I’ll be getting in kinda late tonight…back in the day, I would’ve instead been formulating reasons to call in sick tomorrow. I would’ve selected my sturdiest badass footwear based on anticipated moshpit time, and now, I’m picking something that’s comfy to stand in for hours. Of course, big venues like the one today won’t allow moshpits; they’ll throw you out because of the liability…oh but back in my youth, no one cared if we landed face first on the concrete or fell over chairs or whatever.
I’m excited! When I bought the tickets, summer hadn’t even really kicked in yet, and the concert seemed a million years away, but it’s today! I haven’t seen STP in about twelve years. Last show I saw was when I was living in Virginia–wow, that was a long time ago, because I went with Minime’s dad, Mr. Kat 1.0, as one of the last things we ever did as a married couple. Yeah, that’s been a lifetime ago…
I will not be wearing an STP shirt to the concert. Scootster and I were discussing the dorkiness of wearing the band’s shirt to their show…it’s kind of a DUH! thing to do, because you’re obviously a fan or you wouldn’t be there in the first place. Wearing their shirt is just overkill, trying too hard. I do like concert shirts, though, but why the hell are they so damn pricey? I’m not paying $40 for a tshirt, hell no…especially when I can get it off eBay for less some other day.
Happy Sunday, all!
Queensryche on YouTube… (link in case the player doesn’t work for ya)
…you can take the edge off your good cheer by listening to johnny cash’s cover of “thirteen” and his cover of “hurt.” holy crap, talk about dark…i’ve had them on repeat for the last hour and i’m pretty much ready to paint my windows black and write brooding poetry all day long alonealonealone. geez.
One of my favorite coworkers is moving away; The Bean has been offered a job that she couldn’t pass up, and so she’s outta here! Can’t blame her, but I hate it. It’s such a treat to have coworkers you actually like to see, office buddies that make the whole thing a little more tolerable. The Bean has an optimistic outlook and good sense of humor, and our office could use heaps of that–we’ll all miss her so much!
Friday night we had a little farewell gathering for The Bean over karaoke. As many songs as we sang alone or as “The Wild Girls,” as we were dubbed by the DJ, it might as well have been our own private party. Our posse paid tribute to Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, Wham!, Frank Sinatra, The Clash and everyone in between as we raised our glasses and raised hell.
I have my own repertoire of songs I will sing in public, drunk or completely sober–liquid courage is not required for me to do karaoke, as I’m ready to make an ass of myself 24/7. I have my karaoke standards that are easy and fun, like “Love Shack” and “Tainted Love.” Since it was a special evening, I decided to broaden the horizons and select something I would normally never sing outside my car. I opted for the Violent Femmes’ “Add It Up,” the little ditty that asks “Why can’t I get just one kiss…” and ponders “Why can’t I get just one screw?” and goes on to explore “Why can’t I get just one fuck?” It was a true crowd pleaser, but whether I’d do it again depends entirely on the crowd, really–I wouldn’t want to roll that one out at an office social or anything (though I have writhed on the floor singing “Like A Virgin” for an office event!).
I hope The Bean enjoyed her shindig. I know I did, and her beau was a freakin’ hoot and a half! The Bean’s got some packing to do and some loose ends to wrap up, but before you know it, she’ll have left Western NC for a bigger city and new adventures. I’ll miss The Bean and her silliness, as well as the wisdom she’s shared with me along the way. She is one cool chickie, and I wish her a blessing for every time she laughs in a day. I’ll miss you—-good luck, good things, keep smiling and sharing your spirit everywhere you go, girl!
So it was a night of much rock. I started my evening at the Orange Peel with local metal gods Ironside. There was a great turnout, heads bangin’, fists in the air…and there were some younguns with perhaps the lamest mosh pit I’ve ever seen—they could only manage to throw themselves around for 15 seconds at a time before they had to stop. Why, back when I was kid, we moshed for entire concerts non-stop! Silly hooligans. Anyhoooo, Ironside kicked ass as usual and they were a great start to the evening…and then it was off to Stella Blue for Southern Trespass, Blackheadz and Crank County Daredevils.
Southern Trespass is a helluva lotta fun!! It’s just shame the audience wasn’t quite “loose” enough yet to give them the full enthusiasm they deserved. You’ve gotta see Gordon from JFK’s Good People tattoo rockin’ out–with all that crazed energy, he was born to be onstage.
The Blackheadz from Atlanta, oh my gawd how I love them! I wish I’d known they were playing, I would’ve dragged out some newbies to introduce them to powerhouse rock punk funk soul insanity that they are. They are freakin’ fantastic! And I appreciated that they added in some old Johnny Prophet tunes (a previous incarnation of the band), particularly “I Like it Like That.” Check out their myspace page and the tune “American Arrogance.”
And last but not least, the Daredevils…new guy on the drums, new songs in the lineup and just beer-spewing sweaty nasty rock, sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! It’s been a long time since Crank County’s played their hometown, and the crowd was smashed up against the stage at Stella, body to body in a sweaty tangle, which in a lovely Jager-infused haze, I didn’t mind at all…until the verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry last song (an A+ cover of “Let It Bleed”), when one of the guys behind me pushed what better have been a squash from his garden into my backside, and shouted something about how he’d been “feelin’ me all night long.” BLAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH! ICK POO BARF! I scrambled out of that tangle to enjoy the rest of the song from the side of the stage, feeling violated, repulsed and generally just gross. Earlier in the evening, some chick had felt me up in what appeared to be her routine from Xcapades or something, and I let it slide without freaking out too badly because the whole slutty girl on girl dancing thing has become so common—but don’t do it on me, ok? And don’t rub my cleavage, thanks. But the girl quickly sensed my ick factor and moved on, whereas our produce wielding man friend was looking for me when the show dispersed, spotted me and headed my way—don’t know if I’ve ever split so quick from anywhere.
Anyway, God bless local rock, support your Asheville bands! Rawk on…
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Oh my god, I loved this song back in the day. But somehow, I’d managed to forget it…the Scottster being the download junkie that he is procured 1000 Pop Tunes from the 80s on his iPod, and we flipped through the intros to 691 of them Friday night. I was SO excited to hear this song, and it has been bouncing around my brain since then. I just had to share not only the song, but the video itself.
Sing along!
In you I’ve found a story I want to keep hearing.
In you I see all colors not just black or white.
In you I find a reason and hope for all dreamers
Glenn Danzig is my boyfriend. Here he is in the “Twist of Cain” video where I sort of want to pull his hair just a little…was that TMI?
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