The Mars Volta Rock Royal Oak

 

An amazing night of music graced the stage of The Royal Oak Music Theatre in early October as the triumphant return of The Mars Volta rocked the Detroit area. After 10 years of fast, focused work, both recording and touring constantly from 2002-2012, the arty, psychedelic fusion band abruptly called it quits, and primary song writers, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, moved on to other projects. While the subsequent years saw them form, record, and tour with multiple new bands, the two reunited as musical partners in a few of them and eventually with the remaining members of their original project together, underground alternative rockers, At the Drive-In, for a successful album of new songs and a tour. Whether due to pandemic reflections, the desire to perform their classic songs again, the need for a money re-stock, or a combination of all three, Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez surprised fans earlier this year with an announcement of a new Mars Volta album, their first in 10 years, and a U.S. tour, hitting the road again after a 12-year break.

The Detroit-area edition of the tour attracted fans old and new, and before the show began, some in the crowd were heard discussing the 6 or 8 times they had seen the band previously, many years ago, while younger fans were excited to see the band live for the first time, having never had the chance since discovering their music over the past 12 years. The sold-out crowd was enthusiastic all night and nearly as supportive of the art rock opening act, Teri Gender Bender, a solo project by the vocalist from Le Butcherettes and a few of Rodriguez-Lopez’ other bands, including Bosnian Rainbows. After a short, 25-minute opening performance, during which Gender Bender and the audience exchanged dialog in Spanish, a set change began that lasted even longer than the band’s set. After more than 30 minutes of preparation, the lights went down again, this time for The Mars Volta, to the roar of the anticipatory crowd.

Every show on the tour has featured The Mars Volta performing the same songs in the same order without changes. This alone is not rare for them compared to their earlier incarnations, but it was clear the repetition helped establish a precise and focused execution of each song section that undoubtedly improved as the tour went on. Original bassist, Eva Gardner, rejoined the group prior to the recording of their self-titled comeback LP and performed with a groove and flow that complimented each song. Newer members including Leo Genovese on keyboards and occasional saxophone and Linda-Philomène Tsoungui on drums both added accents and flourishes to older songs and new tracks alike that filled in fluidly around and between the primary guitar/vocal focus of the show. Long-time multi-instrumentalist, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez (brother of the co-band leader), alternated between percussion, synthesizers, and keyboards throughout the night and performed while wearing a mask for the duration.

Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez were understandably the focal point of the concert, and both had many enthusiastic receptions for hitting and holding peak vocal notes in “L’Via L’Viaquez” and “Cygnus….Vismund Cygnus” and extended guitar leads and solos during “Cicatriz ESP” and a show-stopping performance of “Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound,” from their previous album, 2012’s Noctourniquet, and arguably their most emotionally engaging and moving song of all. Since the band broke up without properly touring for that album, they could have easily seized this opportunity to feature material from that record and from their latest that even long-time fans would have never had a chance to see them play, but only three of the show's 14 songs originated from either of those albums. Instead of a focus on the tone and style they intentionally used to distance the self-titled album from their previous work, it was notable that the tour for that album seemed to be focused mainly on the band’s earliest songs, featuring 7 of the 10 tracks from their debut LP and 3 of the 5 tracks from their second. On the other hand, rather than dragging out the performance of nearly every song as they have in the past, usually stretching their spacey, prog jams as long as 20-45 minutes at a time, even the longer songs among those selected were performed with arrangements usually comparable to their reigned-in studio versions. A few songs still included extended outro jams or a bit of improvised exploration in the middle, but even those instances were seemingly focused and paced out to allow all 14 songs from the set list to be performed with in a standard two-hour show. By comparison, the band’s Detroit concert from 2008 included only eight songs but lasted 45 minutes longer than October’s concert in Royal Oak. Whether these changes were made to keep the audience more engaged, because the band’s heavy drug intake has subsided, or both, it seemed clear they wanted to present a live sampling of the best of what they do and have done since forming just over 20 years ago. It was a perfect set for a newcomer or first-timer, and it went over well with long-time fans alike by including at least a bit of almost every album era. Those who purchased a ticket expecting and hoping for a bigger focus on the band’s newest songs, however, may have walked away disappointed.

Overall, quasi-hit singles like “The Widow” and “Televators” seemed to get an equal response to deep cuts and new songs alike, so the crowd was definitely there to enjoy anything the band wished to play rather than being focused on waiting for (or complaining that they didn’t hear) their particular favorite greatest-hit. A simple but complimentary light show accompanied the performance and changed with varying tones and moods throughout the evening. While they may have looked a bit older, Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez didn’t hold back as they presented a sampling of highlights from The Mars Vola catalog, and while some of the chaotic unpredictability of performances from a decade or two ago may not have been a big feature of the current show, moments of focused execution and delivery became part of the songs in ways that may have been impossible in the band’s early days, providing an opportunity to revisit these great songs from a different perspective and proving the songs themselves are extremely well-written and arranged underneath the random and unpredictable stage presence for which the group was previously known.

Teri Gender Bender set list:

cortate el pelo

KENDALL

GET YOUR MONEY STRAIGHT WITH ME

MJ

syria ignone

ya no soy

THE GET UP

-------------------------------

 

The Mars Volta set list:

Vicarious Atonement

Roulette Dares

Eriatarka

Graveyard Love

L’Via L’Viaquez

Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound

Cygnus….Vismund Cygnus

Blacklight Shine

Drunkship of Lanterns

The Widow

Cicatriz ESP

Televators

Son et Lumiere

Inertiatic ESP

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Pearl Jam (and many more!) Rock Bourbon & Beyond (day 3)

 

Rock festivalgoers got one last taste of summer as Louisville’s Bourbon & Beyond Festival returned September 15^th-18^th with four big days of music on many stages in the heart of the city, just next to The Kentucky Expo Center. Originally launched in 2019, the festival was unable to go on in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID, but it not only returned this year, it also expanded from three to four days. Some areas of grass and others of gravel stones or converted concrete parking lot gave way to rows of food, drink, and craft vendors and a variety of performers playing in different areas of the grounds simultaneously. While nowhere near the size or attendance of Manchester, TN’s annual Bonnaroo festival, Bourbon & Beyond brought a bit of that festival’s flavor to a different audience. With the two mainstages positioned next to each other, allowing for minimal downtime between performances, B&B also featured a nod to the Warped Tour’s standard set-up as well as many European festivals. After the first two days of strong sets and well-reviewed headliners like Jack White, Alanis Morissette, Kings of Leon, and Brandi Carlile, the third day of the festival brought a capacity crowd that ended up being the largest single day attendance in its history of 41,000 people, primarily due to the drawing power of Pearl Jam who delivered an electrifying set after a hot, humid day of many other excellent performances.

Early sets by Robert Randolph, Drive-By Truckers, Cold War Kids, and a rebooted version of Leaders of the New School, started the day off well. A strong and mostly acoustic performance from Neil & Liam Finn on the mainstage entertained middle-aged fans but disinterested some of the younger attendees  who were mainly there to see Greta Van Fleet a few hours later. Originally billed as a set by Crowded House, the father and son duo worked up a set of songs by both Crowded House and Neil Finn’s first band, Split Enz, including “Something So Strong,” “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” and “I Got You,” which also featured surprise appearances from Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Josh Klinghoffer on the last two songs. Art rocker, St. Vincent, moved swiftly and flawlessly through songs from her recent psychedelic soul-funk detour, Daddy’s Home, and updated arrangements of previous songs, impressing with both her vocal delivery and guitar work throughout. Notable highlights included the recent singles, “Pay Your Way in Pain,” “The Melting of the Sun,” and “Down.”

Taking the stage second-to-last were the much-hyped, homage-paying Michigan rockers, Greta Van Fleet, whose reactions to being too often compared to Led Zeppelin saw them leaning much harder in the direction of Queen with sprinkles of Bowie here and there in both sound and performance. Opening with their most-recent single, “Built by Nations,” and closing with their first and most famous, “Highway Tune,” Greta put on an engaging, throwback rock show that even featured costumes, styling, and lighting with a distinctly ‘70s style, especially notable following St. Vincent’s set which had many comparable elements. While doing so worked well for both acts, it is notably interesting to see Gen-X and Millennial artists expressing themselves with references to Boomer music and culture.

Finally, grunge rock legends, Pearl Jam, the evening’s headliners, took the stage to a packed-in and very enthusiastic crowd and delivered a set that included some of their biggest hits, deep cuts, and a few songs from Gigaton, their latest LP from 2020. With all five primary band members present (following much-publicized bouts of COVID for drummer, Matt Cameron, and bassist, Jeff Ament, as well as recent vocal issues for singer/guitarist, Eddie Vedder), the band kept the mood light and friendly and kept breaks between songs to a minimum in order to squeeze in as many as they could in their allotted time. For most of this century, the average Pearl Jam concert runs for at two and a half to three hours, so cutting it down to two hours flat can be a bit of a challenge. Opening with a short collection of acoustic-based songs, such as “Daughter” and “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town,” the band switched over to loud, electric songs for the rest of the night. The main set included fan favorites like “Do the Evolution,” “Corduroy,” and “Given to Fly” along with other song from their enduringly popular debut LP, Ten, such as “Why Go,” “Even Flow,” “Garden,” and “Porch.” In spite of having to delay the Gigaton tour for two full years because of COVID, it was surprising the band only included three songs from that newer record, only one of which, “Quick Escape,” was an official single, though all sounded great and fit in well between the older songs. Amazing guitar work from Mike McCready, Stone Gossard, Vedder, and recently added, former Red Hot Chili Pepper, Josh Klinghoffer, carried the sounds and vibes of each song out across the audience and up into the night sky. The show was briefly stopped on two separate occasions so onsite medical crews could attend to audience members who were seemingly dehydrated, but otherwise, Pearl Jam’s tight sent went off without incident. Concluding with a strong, three-song encore of “Jeremy” and “Alive,” also from their 1991 debut, the band followed those with a spirited cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” featuring prominent guitar and vocals from Klinghoffer. While a few long-time fans groaned that they would have preferred traditional closers like “Yellow Ledbetter” or Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” the recent addition of Klinghoffer on guitar and of the Prince song at or near the end of the show makes the 2022 Pearl Jam concerts unique compared to those from previous decades, and it was very well performed in addition.

While dehydration, sunburns, and long drives awaited those who stepped away after Pearl Jam’s final notes or those who headed home after the fourth and final day of the festival on Sunday, it was clear Bourbon and Beyond not only had a successful return but ended up having the most successful single day in the fest’s history thanks to bringing in such an elusive band to catch on tour, drawing scores of their fans from many states and time zones away, and providing the band with a boost of support to help see them through their final few following shows that concluded the tour. For first timers and veteran fans alike, Pearl Jam thoroughly rocked every member of the audience in Louisville.

*Select set lists from Bourbon & Beyond 2022 (Day 3):

Neil & Liam Finn (and friends)
Distant Sun (Crowded House)
It’s Only Natural (Crowded House)
Fall at Your Feet (Crowded House)
Better to Be (Liam Finn)
Something So Strong (Crowded House)
To the Island (Crowded House)
Message to My Girl (Split Enz)
Second Chance (Liam Finn)
Don’t Dream It’s Over (Crowded House)
Weather with You (Crowded House)
World Where You Live (Crowded House) (w/Eddie Vedder & Josh Klinghoffer)
I Got You (Split Enz) (w/Eddie Vedder & Josh Klinghoffer)
-------------------------------------------------------------------- 

St. Vincent
Digital Witness
Down
Birth in Reverse
The Laughing Man
New York
…At the Holiday Party
Los Angeles
Fast Slow Disco
Pay Your Way in Pain
Cheerleader
Year of the Tiger
Fear the Future
Your Lips Are Red
The Melting of the Sun
-------------------------------------------- 

Greta Van Fleet
Built by Nations
Safari Song
(drum solo) (jam)
Black Smoke Rising
Caravel
Lover, Leaver
Heat Above
Light My Love
The Weight of Dreams
Highway Tune
--------------------------------- 

Pearl Jam
Daughter/Chaise Lounge (Wet Leg) (tag)
Low Light
Off He Goes
Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town
----------------
Why Go
Do the Evolution
Quick Escape
In Hiding
Lukin
Corduroy
Seven O’Clock
Even Flow
Who Ever Said/Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones) (tag)
Garden
Not for You/Modern Girl (Sleater-Kinney) (tag)
Given to Fly
Porch
---------------------------------
Jeremy
Alive
Purple Rain (Prince)
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The Mars Volta’s Shockingly Straightforward Return

 

Reuniting for new music for the first time in 10 years, the progressive-psych-alternative band, The Mars Volta, surprised fans and critics alike with a focused collection of 14 new tracks that play through in just under 45 minutes. Devotees of the band and frequent rock concertgoers of the ‘00s will remember The Mars Volta as an experimental, unpredictable group that often presented their dense songs of mammoth length in arrangements that made them even longer and denser on stage. The volatility within the group led to heavy turnover among supporting musicians and eventually a rift between the primary duo at the center of the project: vocalist, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and guitarist, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, 30-year veterans of the American punk and underground rock scenes as members of several other bands, most notably, At the Drive-In. While the pair continued to collaborate on other recordings and tours for other projects over the last decade, only now have they decided to resurrect what may be their most beloved and infamous group. However, rather than the spacey, sometimes almost aimless or chaotically unfocused psychedelic fusion jams featured on their 6 previous, excellent albums, The Mars Volta presents a completely different approach, both matured and intentionally reigned in, distancing itself from the band’s back catalog while exploring ways to work their signature styles into shorter songs with more traditional structures and arrangements.

 

While not quite a pop album, as Bixler-Zavala has described the new material, these songs make their points in digestible segments that play well as a full piece or as individual tracks. They lock into one another well in sequence, but none overlap or connect to each other across a track break, and none are longer than 4:13, previously unheard of for a Mars Volta LP. The band’s trademark inclusion of Latin, Mexican, and salsa instruments and arrangements continue to weave in and out of the new songs but now in ways that are more complimentary to the overall tone of the song rather than contrasting with a distorted guitar freak-out or electronic wall of noise and affected vocals. “Blacklight Shine,” the album’s opening track and first single, marries Cuban rhythms and percussion to a prominent bass, an airy electric guitar, and a mix of Spanish and English lyrics where “Cerulea” and other songs mostly abandon the surreal, abstract lyrics of the band’s previous material in place of personal, relatable lyrics more traditionally found in standard rock songs in most respects. Tracks like “Shore Story,” “Vigil,” “Collapsible Shoulders,” and “Palm Full of Crux” find the band dipping a toe into trip hop, working in electronic beats and loops in place of traditional acoustic drums but, again, in a way the complements the tones of the songs, unlike some of the more experimental, electronic sections of tracks from the band’s previous album, 2012’s Noctourniquet, making The Mars Volta probably most closely-related to that LP over any of the band’s others, but only in that regard. Gone (for now?) it seems are the days of extended saxophone and trumpet solos as horns haven’t factored into the band’s material for several album eras now.

 

While parts of The Mars Volta recall meeting up with an old hard-partying friend after a decade to find them (as are we all), older, more mature, and more experienced, there are still tastes and allusions to their signature moments from earlier songs. “Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon” flies by in just over 100 seconds but has a free-form style that contains its own haunted vibe, partly because it never really establishes itself as a proper song before it ends and moves on to a completely different tone at the top of the next track. “No Case Gain” features hip hop rhythms and verses that are nearly rapped, mixed with a standard rock progression that slips into fuzzy psychedelia but only for a few measures. A few lyric segments change briefly from concrete to abstract during a song’s bridge but change back at the top of the next verse or chorus. The Mars Volta have always featured emotional moments and songs throughout their albums, but doing so with more focused intention allows the band to paint different musical pictures than those they have presented in the past.

 

The supporting musicians behind Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez continue to rotate, and this updated version of the band features new drummer, Willy Rodriguez Quinones, and the return of original bassist, Eva Gardner, who had not performed with The Mars Volta since 2002. Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, the bandleader/guitarist’s brother, reprises his role on keyboards and synthesizers, and has played with the group since 2003. Quizzically, after building up the release of the new album with comments about how it was meant to be the “opposite” of those records, the earliest concert performances in support of The Mars Volta featured only a few of its songs and instead focused on selections from the band’s first two albums and a sprinkling of tracks from the others. Perhaps the focused execution of the new tracks will lead to live renditions of older songs that are more faithful to the length and arrangements of their original recorded versions rather than stretching many of them well past 10 minutes, sometimes in the 20–50-minute range, leading to a very different live experience and the ability for the band to play several more songs than usual within the same amount of time. While some old school fans might balk at such an idea, all artists deserve the opportunity to evolve, to experiment, and to take their projects in any direction they may wish. It may turn out to be that The Mars Volta era was a creative rebirth that led to more great music from a great band who most assumed was done and gone forever, and that, in itself, makes it exciting and engaging.

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Taylor Hawkins Tribute Rocks London

 

The shocking untimely passing of Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, in March sent shockwaves through the rock world that are still reverberating even now. After months of quiet privacy and mourning, bandleader, Dave Grohl, announced two massive all-star tribute concerts for Hawkins, one in Los Angeles that just occurred last night, and an unforgettable, monster, 6-hour blow-out at London’s Wembley Stadium earlier this month. While the Los Angeles show is said to be available for fans to watch in the near future, the London show was given serious support and was carried (in part or in whole) on Paramount+, MTV, CBS, and other outlets around the world. Both cathartic and revelatory, this amazing concert reunited bands, saw friends and family jamming together for the first time (or the first time in a long time), and included a number of touching tributes from some of Hawkins’ many friends and famous favorites from his lifetime as a music fan, not to mention the half of his life he spent performing, touring, and recording professionally with a number of different projects beyond his most famous as the electrifying drummer of Foo Fighters.

Opening with the remaining members of the band on stage to welcome the hundreds of thousands in attendance and the millions watching at home, Grohl took on the responsibility of coordinating and participating in mini-sets with famous friends and rock heroes from throughout rock history over the course of the marathon event, with the other Foos playing a heavy supporting role starting around the show’s half-way point, concluding with a full set of their own, performing their songs without Hawkins for the first time, with the help of a host of guest drummers who sat in for one or two songs at a time before giving up the throne for another high profile guest. To say the event was heavy with emotion, for the audience and the performers alike, is a gross understatement, and many were seen to shed some tears or get temporarily choked up while singing or speaking, most notably Grohl himself who clearly loved Hawkins like the brother he never had.

Arranged in mini sets that averaged three songs each, the concert’s many guest performers alternated between significant and appropriate songs of their own, tracks known to be some of Hawkins’ favorites, and notable cover songs that touched on almost every era of rock history. Liam Gallagher started things off with Foo Fighters backing him on two classic tracks from Oasis’ debut album followed by Nile Rodgers and a modern version of Chic performing two highlights from David Bowie’s Let’s Dance album, which Rodgers produced in 1984. A re-emergence of Queens of the Stone Age singer, Josh Homme, to handle lead vocals on “Let’s Dance” was a perfect fit. Two of Hawkins’ many solo side projects, Chevy Metal and The Coattail Riders (essentially the same band that alternates between cover songs and originals), entertained with a run through Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” and T.Rex’s “Children of the Revolution” with vocals from Kesha before switching to three Taylor Hawkins originals, primarily featuring vocals from Justin Hawkins of The Darkness (no relation). A surprise performance of two Van Halen classics with Wolfgang Van Halen on lead guitar (something he had previously said he would not do, obviously breaking his own vow for a special occasion) resulted in a roaring take on “Hot for Teacher,” which also featured Grohl on bass and metronomic drummer, Josh Freese. Partly because of its unexpected inclusion and partly because of the near perfection with which the song was musically executed, that song in particular ended up being one of the strongest of the entire concert.

After a short set of mournful Jeff Buckley covers featuring Grohl’s daughter Violet on lead vocals, Supergrass, one of Hawkins’ favorite bands, former tourmates, and close friends, ran through three spirited originals, followed by a three-song performance from a reunited Them Crooked Vultures, the late ‘00s supergroup featuring Grohl on drums and Josh Homme on guitar and vocals alongside legendary Led Zeppelin bassist, John Paul Jones, playing on stage again for the first time in 12 years. While Homme’s vocals didn’t quite hit all the notes in their opening cover of Elton John’s, “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” a fierce run through their own, “Gunman,” and an emotional cover of QOTSA’s, “Long, Slow Goodbye” helped their short performance shine above many of the other greats who graced the day. A great set of three originals by The Pretenders, also featuring Grohl on bass, led into Joe Walsh and a reunited James Gang entertaining with their two most notable songs and a medley of other favorites in between, closing with “Funk #49” on which Grohl jumped in on a second drumkit. Violet Grohl then returned to the stage with producer/songwriter, Mark Ronson, to lead a loud singalong on Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” while the stage was set for the next in the line of amazing guests behind them.

For most of the rest of the concert after this point, the members of Foo Fighters remained on or near the stage to act as support for the remaining guests, beginning with two AC/DC classics featuring Brian Johnson and guest drums from Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. While the spirited run through “Back in Black” came off mostly well, Johnson was clearly winded as he began to sing “Let There Be Rock,” and whether due to age or being out of performance shape, it was a bit of a struggle to watch such a legend falter. Police drummer Stewart Copeland, one of Hawkins’ drumming heroes, joined the Foos next for a run through the lesser known but punky “Next to You” and their mega-hit, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” with vocals from Supergrass’ Gaz Coombes, performing for the third time that day. Next up were legendary Canadian prog rockers, Rush, performing for only the second time anywhere following the death of their longtime drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart, in 2020 (the first being at night two of the South Park 25^th Anniversary Concerts at Red Rocks last month). While they did take a moment to include their earliest hit, “Working Man,” the Rush set was specifically focused on featuring two of the band’s most complex instrumentals, “2112 Part 1: Overture” and “YYZ,” clear favorites of Hawkins and of drummers everywhere. Vocalist, Geddy Lee, notably hit all of his (very) high notes compared to other ‘60s and ‘70s stars who weren’t quite able to do the same.

 After so many high-profile guests, it was clear the concert was nearing it’s peak, and the final guest set featured Foo Fighters backing the remaining members of Queen and various additional performers to contribute vocals in place of the late Freddie Mercury, most notably Sam Ryder whose rendition of “Somebody to Love” evoked George Michael’s legendary performance of the song at Freddie Mercury’s own tribute concert, held on the same grounds in 1992. While it had been unspoken throughout the concert, this event was more than a tribute and remembrance of Taylor Hawkins; it also served as a reverential tribute to a host of other fallen players and singers who have passed, especially over the last decade. David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Eddie Van Halen, Jeff Buckley, John Bonham, Amy Winehouse, Malcolm Young, Neil Peart, Freddie Mercury, and George Michael were all remembered and included, directly or indirectly, over the course of the night.

Lastly, Foo Fighters focused on presenting a set of their own songs, the evening’s longest, and it was both touching and awkward to watch them play those tracks together for the first time without Hawkins backing them up though the many guest drummers gave each song their all, creating additional emotional moments within nearly every song. All-star, Josh Freese, took the throne first, followed by Blink 182’s Travis Barker, a highlight performance of “Learn to Fly” featuring social media sensation, Nandi Bushell, and two extremely emotional songs with Rufus Taylor of The Darkness, son of Queen drummer and Hawkins’ other drumming hero, Roger Taylor. While it was sensible and somewhat predictable to include songs like “Times Like These,” “All My Life,” “These Days,” and “Best of You” in their set, it was somewhat surprising to see the band chose to include all of those heavy but appropriate songs rather than just some of them. A surprise appearance by 80-year-old Paul McCartney, who led the charge on two Beatles classics (“Oh! Darling” with help from Chrissie Hynde and “Helter Skelter”) was predictably a fan favorite, but his vocals wavered at times, especially during his first song. Closing out the night was a super-emotional rendition of “Aurora,” Hawkins’ favorite Foo Fighters song, with drummer Omar Hakim followed by the much-shared performance of “My Hero” featuring Hawkins’ 16-year-old son, Shane, filling in for his late father and simultaneously announcing to the rock world his intentions to follow in his footsteps. Lastly, Grohl took the spotlight solo as the other players stepped offstage and performed a quiet “Everlong,” notably with no drummer at all, drawing attention back to the reason for the concert, the loss of Taylor Hawkins. The idea that many of the same guests, and many who were not present in London, would assemble in Los Angeles to do it all again just a few weeks later is a bit overwhelming in itself after such a strong concert, but it’s also a testament to Hawkins’ influence and legacy. It’s nearly impossible to imagine Foo Fighters moving forward with anyone else on the drums, and they very well may not, but if they were auditioning potential replacements among the many guests who joined them this day in London, they have no shortage of capable, talented options to consider.

*Read the entire set list below!
*Click here to view a capture of the original live webcast (before it’s taken down!)
*Watch the (slightly) edited, official concert on Paramount+

Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert #1

(London, England * 9/3/22)

Complete set list:

 

Foo Fighters (w/Liam Gallagher)

-“Rock ‘n’ Roll Star” (Oasis)

-“Live Forever” (Oasis)

 

Nile Rogers (w/Chris Chaney and Omar Hakim)

-“Let’s Dance” (David Bowie) (w/Josh Homme)

-“Modern Love” (David Bowie) (w/Gaz Coombes)

 

Chevy Metal

-“Psycho Killer” (Talking Heads)

-“Children of the Revolution” (T. Rex) (w/Kesha)

 

The Coattail Riders (w/Justin Hawkins and Josh Freese)

-“Louise”

-“Range Rover Bitch”

-“It’s Over”

 

Wolfgang Van Halen (w/Dave Grohl, Justin Hawkins, and Josh Freese)

-“On Fire” (Van Halen)

-“Hot for Teacher” (Van Halen)

 

Violet Grohl (w/Dave Grohl, Alain Johannes, Chris Chaney, Greg Kurstin, and Jason Falkner)

-“Last Goodbye” (Jeff Buckley)

-“Grace” (Jeff Buckley)

 

Supergrass

-“Richard III”

-“Alright”

-“Caught by the Fuzz”

 

Them Crooked Vultures

-“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John)

-“Gunman”

-“Long, Slow Goodbye” (Queens of the Stone Age)

 

Pretenders (w/Dave Grohl)

-“Precious”

-“Tattooed Love Boys”

-“Brass in Pocket”

 

James Gang

-“Walk Away”

-“The Bomber: Closet Queen/Bolero/Cast Your Fate to the Wind”

-“Funk #49” (w/Dave Grohl)

 

Violet Grohl (w/Mark Ronson, Chris Chaney, and Jason Falkner)

-“Valerie” (Amy Winehouse)

 

Foo Fighters (w/Brian Johnson and Lars Ulrich)

-“Back in Black” (AC/DC) (w/Justin Hawkins)

-“Let There Be Rock” (AC/DC)

 

Foo Fighters (w/Stewart Copeland)

-“Next to You” (The Police)

-“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” (The Police) (w/Gaz Coombes)

 

Rush

-“2112 Part 1: Overture” (w/Dave Grohl)

-“Working Man” (w/Dave Grohl)

-“YYZ” (w/Omar Hakim)

 

Foo Fighters (w/Queen and Rufus Taylor)

-“We Will Rock You” (Queen) (w/Luke Spiller)

-“I’m in Love with My Car” (Queen)

-“Under Pressure” (Queen and David Bowie) (w/Justin Hawkins)

-“Somebody to Love” (Queen) (w/Sam Ryder)

-“Love of My Life” (Queen)

 

Foo Fighters

-“Times Like These” (w/Josh Freese)

-“All My Life” (w/Josh Freese)

-“The Pretender” (w/Travis Barker)

-“Monkey Wrench” (w/Travis Barker)

-“Learn to Fly” (w/Nandi Bushell)

-“These Days” (w/Rufus Taylor)

-“Best of You” (w/Rufus Taylor)

-“Oh! Darling” (The Beatles) (w/Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde)

-“Helter Skelter” (The Beatles) (w/Paul McCartney)

-“Aurora” (w/Omar Hakim)

-“My Hero” (w/Shane Hawkins)

-“Everlong”

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STONER Rocks Ferndale’s Magic Bag

 

A few weeks ago, as the summer evening began to draw to an earlier close, the rock fans of the Detroit area were treated to an evening of veteran desert rock by new projects from key figures that helped create and define the subgenre 30 years ago. STONER, a hard rocking three piece, features Kyuss drummer, Brant Bjork, on lead vocals and guitar and infamous Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age/Mondo Generator/Dwarves bassist, Nick Oliveri, who also contributes backing and lead vocals, brought their throwback ‘90s rock style to The Magic Bag in Ferndale to a small but thoroughly engaged and supportive audience. Touring to support their newly released second LP, Totally…, STONER brought new music in the style of the songs that brought them early underground success, making it instantly recognizable and even comfortably predictable to fans who have followed their work with various other acts. Devoid of any real gimmicks, STONER are somewhat novel for having their sound in a time when mainstream music, even the rock side of it, has long since moved on to other sounds, styles, and younger artists.

Opening the show was a mostly improvised set from MarioLalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers, which also featured contributions from Oliveri and STONER drummer, Ryan Gut. Lalli, a desert rock legend himself, possibly best-known for writing and signing the original, Desert Sessions version of QOTSA’s, “You Think I Ain’t Worth a Dollar, but I Feel Like a Millionaire,” conducted his supporting players with cues to increase or decrease volume and tempo, leaving room for him to work in spoken vocal segments, sometimes from memory, and other times reading from a notepad on his phone. The Magic Bag show included a break between two longer, improvised pieces to feature Oliveri’s lead vocals on a performance of Roky Erickson’s, “Bloody Hammer,” originally a B-side from QOTSA’s Songs for the Deaf. Following his opening set, Lalli himself got back to work manning the merch table for the rest of the night. This tour is clearly a low-budget, no-frills operation.

After a short set change, STONER took the stage and launched into “Rad Stays Rad,” the opening track from their debut LP, Stoners Rule, and by the end of the night had included all of the songs from the album at some point in the show. In addition to a new song, “No Brainer,” which has yet to be released, the band included rocking renditions of four songs from their latest LP, most notably the swampy blues of “Strawberry Creek,” and a fast run through Motorhead’s tribute to one of the late Lemmy Kilmister’s favorite bands, “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.,” which fans cheered and sang along to without it being introduced or credited at any point. Excellent guitar work from Bjork balanced well with amazing and hard-hitting drums from Gut and a return to form for Oliveri, essentially reprising the position he played 20 years ago in Queens of the Stone Age (participating in some singing and songwriting but holding down the supporting position on Bjork’s songs equally well).

The two-song encore surprised fans with back-to-back Kyuss covers, in this case, “Gardenia” and “Green Machine,” with Bjork and Oliveri trading off vocal duties in place of John Garcia. These songs got the best and most enthusiastic response, somewhat predictably, but didn’t really sound much different than the band’s originals they had been playing all night, which further highlighted the group’s songwriting and performance chops, in general and compared to their work writing and recording those same songs several decades prior. An extended guitar solo that devolved into a wall of ringing feedback ended the show as the players from both bands extended their appreciation and briefly mingled with a few concertgoers near the stage and later near the merch table and in front of the venue following the show. While STONER didn’t blaze any trails or break any new musical ground at The Magic Bag, or even on their albums, for that matter, they are a living legacy of a sound and style that became integral to rock’s evolution from the 20^th into the 21^st century, and it’s somehow reassuring to know these characters are still rocking hard, and very, very loudly, all these years later.

Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers – set list:

Improv #1 (jam)
Bloody Hammer (Roky Erickson)
Improv #2 (jam)

 

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STONER – set list:

Rad Stays Rad

The Older Kids

Evel Never Dies

Stand Down

Own Yer Blues

No Brainer

Nothin’

Party March

A Million Beers

Strawberry Creek

Driving Miss Lazy

R.A.M.O.N.E.S. (Motorhead)

Tribe

Fly Girl

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Gardenia (Kyuss)

Green Machine (Kyuss)

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2022 VMAs: still a farce, but Gen-X thrown a bone

 

August 28^th saw MTV (formerly, Music Television) host its 38^th annual Video Music Awards show, this time from Newark, New Jersey, of all places. The three hour+ broadcast, not including the 90-minute pre-show, continued the recent tradition of being a blend of boring and quizzically unwatchable, especially depending on the age of the viewer. While MTV’s focus on teens and twenty-somethings is nothing new, the combination of that and the artists which are being embraced by (and in some cases, pushed upon) that modern audience leads to a blend of performances and moments that could range from significant to completely dismissible. Considering it has been over a decade since the channel has regularly included anything related to music (at all), the value and validity of continuing these awards regardless is debatable. Having said that, it seems this year’s show at least reacted to the ongoing complaints about how youth-focused it has become and offered about 25 minutes of content to engage Gen-X viewers around the shows’ half-way point.

Moving beyond discussing the artists with the most nominations or who won the most awards, such as Jack Harlow, Doja Cat, and Harry Styles, the list of those with connections to the world of rock music and rock history remained small. Modern pop-based alternative acts such as Billie Eilish, were focused on less this year, and the trend of broader inclusion (and/or pandering) of artists of varying race, nationality, sexual orientation, and genre continued. More surprisingly was MTV’s recognition for Taylor Swift’s recent output, having now been among nominees for over 15 years putting her past the sell-by date for most artists featured by the channel. The few notable artists among the winners included The Weeknd, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maneskin, and Nicki Minaj, most of whom also performed during the awards show.

While performances from emerging artists during the pre-show and during commercial bumpers (from the “Extended Play Stage”) yielded little interest, a few new artists, such as Yung Gravy and JID, showed potential, at least compared to their contemporaries and most of the actual award winners. Performances during the main show varied from predictable pop and pop fusion acts, such as Lizzo, Khalid, and Jack Harlow, to the Latin pop of J Balvin and Bad Bunny, and the K-pop of Blackpink, with very little to offer rock fans in most respects. Italian newcomers, Maneskin, were given just under three minutes to run through one of their recent singles amid lights, pyro, and a troupe of dancers that looked out of place next to the band. A “wardrobe malfunction” had by bassist Victoria De Angelis led to jarring cut-aways and wide shots to avoid broadcasting full frontal nudity on the live show, but even casual fans of the band have seen them often perform in various stats of undress, and after a similar incident occurred last month at Chicago’s annual Lollapalooza festival, it begs the question of how much of an accident it really is for this young lady to end up topless on stage, especially during a high-profile broadcast performance. An overly hyped reunion performance from Panic! At the Disco closed the show long after it ran out of steam, and even hip hop as a style was barely represented among the performers, something almost unthinkable on this show even 8 or 10 years ago. Aside from Nicki Minaj’s lengthy medley in honor of her receiving the Video Vanguard Award (with Michael Jackson’s name still attached to it depending on the outlet reporting the information), only Snoop Dogg and Eminem’s recent NFT-hocking collaboration, “From the D 2 the LBC” was the only hip hop song performed.

That performance arrived around the show’s mid-point, finally throwing Gen-Xers a bone after years of whining that only the youngest listeners were being represented on the show. Shortly after that, the throw back moments continued when the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers were highlighted and honored with a Global Icon award (a recognition even above Video Vanguard, which they won over 20 years ago). After a hilariously stoned and out-of-place introduction by comedy duo, Cheech and Chong, legends in their own right, the Chili Peppers performed two songs, “Black Summer,” the lead single from their most recent LP and the winner of the Rock Video of the Year award, and “Can’t Stop,” a classic jam from…wow, even that song is 20 years old. An awkward few moments of acceptance speeches by three of the band’s members concluded with a notice that guitarist John Frusciante says it all with his smile and his amazing guitar playing, to which he smiled and waved without speaking into the microphone at any time. Drummer, Chad Smith, also took a moment to dedicate the award to the memory of his friend and Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins, who was celebrated with a 6-hour marathon concert in London a week later.

The tone of the show quickly fell back to a Gen-Z focus after the old people were ushered off the stage, and thus, any sort of engaging momentum fell as well. It’s long been discussed that the VMAs no longer serve the purpose they once did (if they ever did to begin with) and that with MTV choosing to mostly avoid music altogether, it should either be discontinued or at least converted into an annual performance special, leaving the awards out entirely. Regardless of the reasons why the network chooses to still pretend the need and desire exists to broadcast these awards now as they did decades ago, it’s clear that everyone involved makes too much money for them to stop airing it. It almost seems like the VMAs are the one music-related thing the channel even spends money on over a year’s time, but only time will tell how long it can be sustained.

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Weird Al Brings Deep Cuts to Benton Harbor

After his first successful outing with the "Ill-Advised Vanity Tour" in 2018, rock and roll comedy legend, Weird Al Yankovic (and his amazing backing band of 40 years), declared it was the most fun they'd had touring in a long time, so following the pandemic, they launched a second round of these special shows this year, focusing almost exclusively on Al's original songs and style-parodies from throughout his recording history rather than the successful hit singles, direct song parodies, and hilarious costume changes that are normally present at a Weird Al concert. While this iteration of the tour has run into a few bumps along the way (shows in Saginaw and Detroit had to be postponed in the spring when Yankovic tested positive for COVID, and long-time drummer, Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz is currently sidelined with the virus), these shows have been extremely well-received among Weird Al's most-dedicated, long-time fans, for whom they seem to be geared more than anyone. His visit to west Michigan last week to perform a sold-out show in Grand Rapids and a near sell-out Friday night at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor were no exception.

As with the first "Ill-Advised" tour, veteran comedy great, Emo Phillips, opens each show with about 30-minutes of his odd-ball observations and deadpan commentaries. With only a short 15-minute set change, Yankovic and the band take the stage in the shadows and break into the opening number together as the stage lights first come on. Friday, the selection was "Lame Claim to Fame" from his most recent LP, 2014's Mandatory Fun, to the delight of the crowd. A lounge-y re-arrangement of "Dare to Be Stupid" followed, and Yankovic joked he and the band would be playing only lounge music the rest of the night ("We made no secret about this," he deadpanned). In spite of the name of the tour and the heavily-advertised theme of deep cuts instead of big hits, it was clear that at least a quarter of the audience was either unaware of that fact, expecting a traditional Weird Al show, or even if they were aware, they did not know many of the songs that were featured throughout the night. Hard core fans, on the other hand, sang along with each as one fan-favorite after another kept on coming. Tracks like the Dylanesque palindrome work-out, "Bob," the ska punk run through, "Your Horoscope for Today," and the satirical age-gap ranting of, "When I Was Your Age," all elicited laughter and applause, even if some were hearing the jokes for the first time.

The members of Yankovic's ace backing band continue to be unsung in the pages of rock history but cannot be undervalued, both on record and on stage, as they must constantly change style and sound from track to track and have been doing so longer than most active bands and artists have even existed. Guitarist, Jim West: bassist, Steve Jay; keyboardist, Ruben Valtierra; and absent drummer, Schwarz, continue to provide the musical bed for Yankovic's comical lyrics and cultural commentaries, and on this tour, that allows the set list to vary greatly every night, making the shows even more engaging to Al, the band, and to the audience alike. Schwarz' friend and drum tech filled in for him Friday night, and even his performance was nearly-perfect which must have been a relief to the band who otherwise would have had to cancel or postpone the show.

Some songs were presented with little introduction or commentary ("Close but No Cigar," "First World Problems," "Generic Blues") while others got comical stories prior to being performed ("One More Minute," "Let Me Be Your Hog," and "Skipper Dan"). The order of  the songs also played well to their strengths, and no one tone was held for too long before changing to something different. The R.E.M pastiche, "Frank's 2000'' TV," gave way to Yankovic's ode to The White Stripes (and Match Game) on "CNR," then to the out-of-season holiday classic, "Christmas at Ground Zero," ahead of the zydeco romp, "My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder." His band's ability to change things up with ease also allows Yankovic to rotate through songs of similar lengths or topics from show to show. For example, he can choose from any of his beloved "long" songs (6 minutes or more), but changes which one will be featured each night (Benton Harbor was treated to an excellent rendition of "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota"). A tour of this kind also affords Yankovic the opportunity to perform a "straight" cover (using the original lyrics rather than re-writing them to be funny) of a song from any of his many favorite artists and influences from throughout rock history. One night may feature a song originally by Ramones, Violent Femmes, or Devo, while another includes a song by classic rock acts like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or The Who? Friday night's audience got to hear a great take on Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer," both very engaging to all who knew the song while equally confusing to those who did not. 

Finally, the Al and the band wrapped things up with a mostly acoustic/lounge-style medley of bits of some of his popular parody songs, so as not not leave them out entirely, such as "Amish Paradise," "Smells Like Nirvana," and "White & Nerdy," but unlike the first "Ill-advised" tour, the current medley is a bit shorter and no longer features the MTV Unplugged-style motif. The final portion of the medley, in which the band plays a verse and extended chorus from "Yoda" (his Kinks parody of "Lola," originally from the early '80s) and side-steps into an extremely complicated and well-rehearsed vocal freak-out, briefly tipping the hat to the insane genius of Spike Jones, got the loudest reception and the most singing along of the whole night. Overall, the show seemed to be a well-oiled machine, now rolling into its fifth month, and everything from the mix to the staging to the performance was extremely professional. While some may have left disappointed they didn't hear their favorite parodies or that the show was less-zany than usual, it's worth taking the time to appreciate Yankovic's many other hilarious songs as well, and for those who have followed his work for 30-40 years or more, this show was (and tour is) an absolute delight.

Weird Al Yankovic set list - 8/26/22 Benton Harbor:
Lame Claim to Fame
Dare to Be Stupid (lounge)
Bob
Your Horoscope for Today
Don't Download This Song
(drum solo) (mini-jam)
When I Was Your Age
U-H-F
Frank's 2000'' TV
Let Me Be Your Hog
Close but No Cigar
One More Minute
CNR
(bass solo) (mini-jam)
First World Problems
Christmas at Ground Zero
Generic Blues
My Baby's in Love with Eddie Vedder
Skipper Dan
The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota
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Psycho Killer (Talking Heads)
Lounge/Acoustic Medley: Amish Paradise/Smells Like Nirvana/White & Nerdy/Word Crimes/Yoda
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