The Mandatory Rate the last gig you Witnessed.

Mono + Twilight Sad @ the Brillobox - 9.5/10 + oh crap I can't hear right now

First I have to say everytime I step in the Brillobox I'm like "Man I love this place." It's got kitschy patterned wallpaper and hardwood floors, the stage is tiny and only about a foot off the ground, it's got red curtains and Christmas lights and a slightly glittery ceiling and a window in the back of the stage. It seriously feels like you're sitting in someone's old-fashioned living room. I was in the front row, maybe one person left of middle. This time I got super lucky -- the dude to the right of me and the girl to the left of me were both normal people. The girl two people down was some crazy hippy chick, and the dudes directly behind me were those guys who yell in the middle of songs (I think of them as The Cowboys because I actually expected them to yell "Yeehaw" or some crap like that) -- but I mostly couldn't hear them due to EXTREME LOUDNESS so it was ok.

As for the bands -- Twilight Sad: great -- they closed off with a really awesome version of Cold Days from the Birdhouse. They also played That Summer, Taking the Train, That Room (awesome, I like that song and its totally repetitive drums - it's great), and And She Would Darken the Memory except cut short halfway through due to the sound on the singer going out!! (lulz were had by all -- he was like "So after that it was going to get REALLY CRAZY so just imagine that").

I saw Mono at Emo's in Austin 3 years earlier, but it was much better this time, maybe because The Brillobox is tiny and I was up close and could watch Taka go crazy on his guitar and the drummer sitting there with his head bowed down in his hands at the beginning of Everlasting Light (which is way better live than on record). My only complaint is that above a certain volume level my ears are unable to distinguish pitch which kinda sucks (actually I've always wondered if that's normal for everybody? I feel like I'm defective).

Oh yeah also due to cab slowness I ended up watching the bands pack up and got to shake Mono's drummer's hand and tell him "Good show!" lol. Also 'met' a couple of dudes also shaking the drummer's hand who were like "Whoa that show was so surreal I was about to start crying." But due to the cab not being slow enough (sigh) I missed out on getting in a photo with these two random dudes and the band.

Overall, a really great night. The only things that made me sad were not having my old friend there with me (we saw Explosions and Mono together 3 years ago and nowadays I go to everything alone because I am a sad sad lonely person), and the insanely poor showing of people at the merch stand afterwards. I got a shirt (have their dvd coming in on mailorder otherwise I'd have bought that also). My thought process: "Man this is the same color and style as my Explosions shirt but the other one is red and has skulls on it and I don't like red or skulls so I guess I'm getting the blue one, crap." So, yeah:

dscf1446v.jpg

seriously temp res bands, pick a new shirt style!

p.s. they played Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 on the stereo before and after Mono played. I'm thinking this was prob Mono's choice because it seems like something they'd do.

tl;dr last thoughts: (1) Awesome, (2) I hope I regain hearing tomorrow. I can just imagine being in my meeting with my research adviser tomorrow, yelling things at him like "CHECK OUT THESE CRAPPY GRAPHS I MADE" and he'll say something and I'll be like "DUDE YOU GOTTA SPEAK UP I CAN'T HEAR YOU MAN."
 
Mono + Twilight Sad @ the Brillobox - 9.5/10 + oh crap I can't hear right now

First I have to say everytime I step in the Brillobox I'm like "Man I love this place." It's got kitschy patterned wallpaper and hardwood floors, the stage is tiny and only about a foot off the ground, it's got red curtains and Christmas lights and a slightly glittery ceiling and a window in the back of the stage. It seriously feels like you're sitting in someone's old-fashioned living room. I was in the front row, maybe one person left of middle. This time I got super lucky -- the dude to the right of me and the girl to the left of me were both normal people. The girl two people down was some crazy hippy chick, and the dudes directly behind me were those guys who yell in the middle of songs (I think of them as The Cowboys because I actually expected them to yell "Yeehaw" or some crap like that) -- but I mostly couldn't hear them due to EXTREME LOUDNESS so it was ok.

As for the bands -- Twilight Sad: great -- they closed off with a really awesome version of Cold Days from the Birdhouse. They also played That Summer, Taking the Train, That Room (awesome, I like that song and its totally repetitive drums - it's great), and And She Would Darken the Memory except cut short halfway through due to the sound on the singer going out!! (lulz were had by all -- he was like "So after that it was going to get REALLY CRAZY so just imagine that").

I saw Mono at Emo's in Austin 3 years earlier, but it was much better this time, maybe because The Brillobox is tiny and I was up close and could watch Taka go crazy on his guitar and the drummer sitting there with his head bowed down in his hands at the beginning of Everlasting Light (which is way better live than on record). My only complaint is that above a certain volume level my ears are unable to distinguish pitch which kinda sucks (actually I've always wondered if that's normal for everybody? I feel like I'm defective).

Oh yeah also due to cab slowness I ended up watching the bands pack up and got to shake Mono's drummer's hand and tell him "Good show!" lol. Also 'met' a couple of dudes also shaking the drummer's hand who were like "Whoa that show was so surreal I was about to start crying." But due to the cab not being slow enough (sigh) I missed out on getting in a photo with these two random dudes and the band.

Overall, a really great night. The only things that made me sad were not having my old friend there with me (we saw Explosions and Mono together 3 years ago and nowadays I go to everything alone because I am a sad sad lonely person), and the insanely poor showing of people at the merch stand afterwards. I got a shirt (have their dvd coming in on mailorder otherwise I'd have bought that also). My thought process: "Man this is the same color and style as my Explosions shirt but the other one is red and has skulls on it and I don't like red or skulls so I guess I'm getting the blue one, crap." So, yeah:

dscf1446v.jpg

seriously temp res bands, pick a new shirt style!

p.s. they played Henryk Gorecki's Symphony No. 3 on the stereo before and after Mono played. I'm thinking this was prob Mono's choice because it seems like something they'd do.

tl;dr last thoughts: (1) Awesome, (2) I hope I regain hearing tomorrow. I can just imagine being in my meeting with my research adviser tomorrow, yelling things at him like "CHECK OUT THESE CRAPPY GRAPHS I MADE" and he'll say something and I'll be like "DUDE YOU GOTTA SPEAK UP I CAN'T HEAR YOU MAN."

Yeah dude I love the Brillobox. I almost went to that show but something came up.

I went and saw Porcupine Tree a couple weeks ago at Smalls. There was a really bizarre crowd there, a lot of middle aged dudes, I was not expecting it. It was a great show, I dropped 2 hits of acid beforehand with my friends and the room was just pulsing and breathing, it was incredible.
 
Ah, I haven't been to Mr. Smalls (or any other venue here) yet. Just moved here last year and got no car. Luckily, even though the Brillobox happens to be the only place convenient to bus to, most everyone I want to see ends up playing there. Although Beach house is playing at Diesel in a couple of weeks, but I've heard from mostly everyone that Diesel sucks. Also their website is loud and obnoxious and somehow manages to completely fail to even list who's playing there. They crammed 7/8 of the screen with crap and in the teeny tiny scrollbox, written in craptastic tiny text: "We didn't list all the shows here. Go to these two ticket websites. You have to go to both to find what you want because each one handles different show tickets, but we're not going to bother telling you that. By the way, we're not going to make the web addresses into clickable links because we suck."


[edit] Oh hey, I can still edit this 2-week old post. Crazy. Anyone in pgh planning (way ahead of time) to see The Walkmen @ Mr. Small's in October?
 
Public Enemy at Town Ballroom

10/10

Chuck D and Flavor Flav may be 50 years old but they had that place rocking for a solid 2 hours as if it was 1988. Don't Believe the Hype, Shut Em Down, Bring the Noise, Fight the Power, Rebel Without a Pause, all of the classics were played spot on.
 
Disturbed/Avenged Sevenfold/Hell Yeah (Uproar Tour) Darien Lake PAC NY

8/10

Another loud ass show with plenty of friends, boose and great seats this time. Hell yeah was the first bad we saw, they were loud, powerful and the crowd was wild. When I walked out of the pit I had a lot of blood on my hands and arms and upon further inspection, none of it was mine. Then my friends and I got signings of Stone Sour, who were really good. Then Avenged Sevenfold which should have been the main attraction because their awesome set pieces, clear cut vocals and spot on notes were amazing. Disturbed was a let down, I've seen them before but its sounds like they're getting tired. If it were up to me Avenged Sevenfold would have been last. Anyway it was a fun show and so glad I went, we were the 17th row from the back....loading up some vids and pics soon

I have a different album I sent them to. I have like over 600 pics all in one place and its really messy
 
No, it was just a setlist sitting on top of a huge board. It wasn't a custom board, but a board that'd also be used for DJs
 

I've seen A7x before, and let me tell you.. they never perform a bad gig. They just kill live shows.

I quoted that image cause it saddened me deeply when they lost Sullivan (the drummer). That's awesome that they included a segment dedicated to him. May I ask what song they decided to play when that picture was shown?
 
That disturbed/A7x concert would have been mean.
 
I've seen A7x before, and let me tell you.. they never perform a bad gig. They just kill live shows.

I quoted that image cause it saddened me deeply when they lost Sullivan (the drummer). That's awesome that they included a segment dedicated to him. May I ask what song they decided to play when that picture was shown?

So Far Away, but it must be really hard to perform a song while thinking about a guy that was with you for so long. Some members were like best friends. new drummer ain't bad at all though

Also I saw them at a Warped Tour and remembered they were awesome back in the day too. My ears aren't ringing though which is actually a bad sign. everything sounds muffled
 
I saw Something Corporate at Penns Landing in Philadelphia.

100/10

Most amazing show I've ever seen in my life.
 
Can't wait for next weekend. Going to North Coast Festival next weekend for all three days. The best part is that it's literally a few blocks away from my place.

ncmf_logo_web.png


Here's a sample of the lineup:

The Chemical Brothers
Pretty Lights
Umphrey's McGee
Disco Biscuits
Lupe Fiasco
Nas/Damian Marley
Future Rock
Paul Van Dyke
Benni Benassi
Flying Lotus
...and more

CANNOT wait. This week is going to go sooo slow.
 
The Walkmen - 9/10

They perform really well. Only major disappointment was that they didn't seem to bring along their horn section, and I do love horn sections. No horns means they didn't play Stranded means double sadness :(. Also, from where I stood (front row), the vocals seemed a little quiet. Otherwise, a good set -- they played Thinking of a Dream I Had and Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone, which are two of my favorites. While I Shovel the Snow and the last song they played (can't remember the name of it now) were lovely.

This is the probably the last show I'll go to this year, as no one else of interest seems to be coming to town aside from Dark Dark Dark in a few days -- but the place they'll be at is so scary-looking that I don't really feel like going.

Next up, GY!BE in March oh man I can't wait it's gonna be super awesome spectacular amazing shamwow.


holy crap it's the day afterwards and I feel totally exhausted and dehydrated and my head hurts. i wonder if i got sick from someone there. what the heck.
 
33b09xd.jpg

10/10

Metallica's second show in Auckland, I flew up for the event.

This had to be one of the best nights of my life, I never dreamed I would see these guys live and I was finally given the opportunity, being one of the lucky buggers who managed to grab a ticket for an NZ Show (The two Auckland shows sold out in 20 minutes).

Lamb of God were the opening band but I missed most of their songs waiting in the merchandise line, but I'm cool with that, I'd rather have the gear I wanted.

It was a wicked show, they opened with the epic 'Ecstasy of Gold' before ripping out an amazing 22 songs, including two guitar solos, one bass solo and an improvised jam.

The peak of the show was definitely when they played Orion which is a very rare song for them to play, have played it live in full for the first time in '06. (audio for Orion from this show below)

All and all an awesome show, these guys have still got it and I hope they return.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mrNkzsdOqw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7TbJraLPDk
 
This is the probably the last show I'll go to this year, as no one else of interest seems to be coming to town aside from Dark Dark Dark in a few days -- but the place they'll be at is so scary-looking that I don't really feel like going.

OOPS I LIED

Dark Dark Dark @ Helter Shelter - 1 billion/10

They do not disappoint (perhaps especially for these teeny tiny shows; not sure what other towns get). I nearly didn't go, thinking "Well I did already see them earlier this year, and they played a bunch of songs from their new album that they're touring for now, so I can miss this." But then I was able to find someone to go with, and man I'm glad I did. Beautiful set. After the first song, Nona (the singer/pianist/accordion player) got us to all sit on the floor so short people (like me) could see :). Also they included some film projection stuff with this show. Pretty cool.

Only complaint is that only three of them played tonight (no cello or trumpet -- what is it with bands not pulling out the horns when I'm around!). Hopefully the others weren't ill. The sound was still totally spot on though.

Also smoky smoky house show = congested head. Yikes. Also it had rained and we sat on the floor and when I got up afterwards the floor was all sticky everywhere. Clothes went straight to the laundry bin.

[edit] and now I'm woozy. if I wasn't sick before, well.....
also, for some reason i mentioned certain shenanigans involving finding some random dude on last.fm to go to shows with to my friend. internet blending with real life OH NO horrible!
 
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