04.21.2009 :: Cage The Elephant @ The Marquis Theater

Opening Act--------------------

Tuesday afternoon I was sitting quietly at work, minding my own bee’s wax, when a co-worker of mine came in and said, “Hey you need to listen to this band called Cage The Elephant. They’re like The Fratellis if they were from Kentucky.” Now, you could say to me, “Hey, you need to listen to this band called Indigo Girls. They’re like The Fratellis if they were acoustic lesbians” and I would probably love them. Still, I don’t let comparisons like that go idly by without some investigation. So I went to their MySpace and listened to a few tracks. “Pretty good,” I said to myself. Then I noticed that they were playing in less than 7 hours at The Marquis Theater not 10 minutes from my home. “Providence!” I said. Having nothing to do other than buy supplies for my impending new Mayan jungle kitten, it was decided that my lady friend and I would, yes, go to a rock and roll show… ON A TUESDAY NIGHT.

Curious Yellow led off the evening with a loud, distorted and fully enjoyable set. Sporting two drummers and three sets of glasses, these guys seemed like the types who would scream and sweat for 35 minutes, then head off to the local coffee bar and read The Economist while enjoying an espresso-based beverage. A good garage band-type local act. With significantly more fanfare, Aloft In The Sundry took the stage just before the headliners, and after a rocking sound check launched into an piano-based rock-pop set that sounded like (and I mean this in the best way possible) and angrier, adolescent version of Maroon 5. A.Rod’s (not the ballplayer) catchy bass hooks mixed with J.Hern’s piano chords and outstanding vox had the under-21s in the audience literally dancing with the security guards. Again, I mean this in the best possible way, but the band was a bunch of goofballs that really connected with the audience making the whole thing a lot of fun to watch. Not really my style of music, but one of the better pop acts I’ve seen from Denver.

Headliner--------------------

Then it was time for Cage The Elephant to emerge from their giant, ridiculously shiny tour bus. Darlings of this year’s Coachella and SXSW festivals and celebrating the release of their CD on this very night, they took the stage with the swagger and exuberance of high school seniors in their last week of school who just didn’t give a fuck. Did I mention that their CD was released on this night? Because they didn’t forget to do so between every song. I’ll get the blasphemy out of the way right now and say that Cage The Elephant, and front man Matt Schultz in particular, had shades of The Rolling Stones, Iggy & The Stooges, The Strokes, and Steppenwolf. Strong words, I know. They are still rough around the edges, but this is a band that did their homework before going to practice. They seemed steeped in rock history and it showed in both their songwriting and performance. They’re not going to surprise you or take you on a musical odyssey, no, they’re going to come out and rock your face off the way Led Zeppelin and The Who used to do. Schultz is an absolute wild man on stage, giving the crowd of 100 or so 45 minutes of relentless rock and roll antics that included high-fives, screaming in faces, posing for cameras, and moshing-pitting during their final song.

The Venue & Whatnot--------------------

Having never been to The Marquis before, I was expecting Hi-Dive and got something more akin to The Fox Theatre in Boulder, which was a good thing. The space offers a little of everything; a dance floor/pit, a standing room area behind that, and a sitting area behind that. There is a bar off to the side with a closed circuit TV so you don’t miss the action going on on-stage behind you while you get your drink from the friendly and retentive (and over-worked!) bartender. PBR tall boys and Happy Meals (MHL and a shot of whiskey), were five bucks a pop. Combine that with an eight-dollar ticket and I had myself a rocking good time for less than 25 smackers. Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday night…

Link It Up--------------------

Cage The Elephant
Aloft In The Sundry
Curious Yellow
The Marquis Theater

04.10.2009 :: Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band @ Pepsi Center

I’ve been trying to figure out how he does it, and the only conclusion that makes any sense to me is that Bruce Springsteen is not human. For two and a half hours on Friday night he put on a rock and roll clinic at the Pepsi Center in Denver with just a few pauses to grab a drink of water and give poor Max Weinberg a chance to rest his weary arms. Seriously, the man is a machine. Forget about what he can do for a man his age (he’ll be 60 in September), his energy and stage presence put to shame that of artists one-third his age. As an American male with roots in New Jersey, I am genetically required enjoy Bruce, but this was the first time I had the privilege to see him live. And it certainly was a privilege, I was honored to pay over $100 for my ticket.

As with most of the stops on the Working On A Dream tour, Bruce led off the evening with “Badlands,” and from there took his adoring fans on a journey though his catalog playing everything from “Working On A Dream” (written in 2008), to “Hard Times” (written in 1855). The highlight of the evening for me was “Youngstown,” which was performed with such heart and sincerity that it nearly brought tears to my eyes. I said it at the time and I’ll put it in writing now, I think it’s the best song I’ve ever seen performed live.

I was continually amazed that The E Street Band was able to keep up with Bruce as the night went on. They were just as tight as ever and it is truly impressive to witness the performance of a group of musicians that have been playing together for almost forty years. Their performance was energetic and inspired, as if they had been waiting all day for the opportunity to play for us. Bruce cornered the market on most of the stage antics, at one point going into the audience and grabbing about 20 signs from fans, then sorting through them to determine the next song on the list. I thought it might be contrived until I saw the handwritten set list with a “?” listed for the 11th song. In this spot, Bruce sifted through the pile of signs, picked one to his liking, showed the band, then showed us , and tore into a great rendition of “Prove It All Night” (thanks to the fan who brought the “Bruce – Prove It!” sign).

I need to point out that even though the performance was amazing, the acoustics at Pepsi Center were wretched, awful, embarrassing, painful, disappointing… I could go on. Many of the solos by, as Bruce said, the “best guitar player in the world” Nils Lofgren and Bruce himself were lost to the horrendous reverb at Pepsi. I know not much can be done at indoor arena concerts, but it tarnished what was an otherwise sterling show. I’ve seen Bruce once in my life now, so if he comes back to Denver I will have the option of skipping the show if he plays at Pepsi again. In fact, I vow to never see a show there again.

But back to the bright side… Bruce has always produced timeless music; songs that speak to a broad audience and to specific individuals at the same time. With the current state of affairs here in the states, I think we need Bruce now more than ever. We need his energy, his optimism, and his spirit. As the acting ruler of American rock and roll, Bruce gave us all the show we could handle. He didn’t let us rest. If he could keep going, how could we possibly take a break? He played our old favorites (“Born To Run,” “Glory Days,” “Tenth Avenue Freeze Out”) and gave us some new ones to try on for size (“Outlaw Pete” is better live by an order of magnitude). But more than anything, it was satisfying to see him get out there and go to work. He gave us every bit of energy he had and demanded that we return the favor. The result was a “rock and roll revival,” as he calls it, that sent the 20,000+ fans home in awe of the power of The Boss.