Um, nevermind...

So, that wonderful news I had earlier? Gone.

I was waiting for final approval to get a photo pass to Sufjan, and it didn't make it.

Crushed. That's what my dreams are.

His publicist said if anything changes she'll let me know, so I suppose there is still a microscopic bit of hope.

I need a miracle, please!

The Walkmen, with Dan Mangan and Japandroids, 14 Sept. 2010

At The Fillmore, San Francisco

This was the fourth time I have seen The Walkmen perform, and each time has been brilliant.

Over the years, The Walkmen have become one of my favorite bands. It came as a bit of a surprise to me because they don’t stand out or have a distinct signature sound that I can pinpoint, but they have been consistently good without being redundant.

The show kicked off with Dan Mangan, who played upbeat indie folk that got the crowd cheering and moving; a rarity for a relatively unknown opening act, in my experience. To close the set, Mangan played the song “Robots,” and he coaxed the crowd into singing along.

“Robots need love too,” the audience cooed. “They want to be loved by you, they want to be loved by you.”

He jumped down into the crowd and played next to audience members like they were old friends at a local gig.

The tone changed dramatically when Japandroids stepped onto the stage.

Everything about their set reminded of a high school garage band.

Fuzzed out guitar and crashing drums created as much noise as they could muster.

Guitarist Brian King snapped his head about so frenetically that I could only be amazed that he managed to keep his balance throughout the set.

After each song, King quickly inserted an awkward “thank you” to the audience. Considering the amount of buzz this band has been receiving, their earnestness made me think they truly had just stepped straight out of their parents’ garage.

These two strong opening acts were a great build up to The Walkmen.

Out of all the times I have seen them play, I felt that this was their best set. The song choices were spot on, mixing the best tracks from their previous albums with plenty from Lisbon, which was released that day.

When the opening melody from “We’ve Been Had” started to play on the piano, I could feel the smile appear on my face. It’s one of my favorites, and the rest of the crowd loved it too.

One young woman in the audience was particularly excited throughout the set.

“I love you, Hamilton!” she shrieked between sips of beer. “You’re the love of my life!”

Paul Maroon, who way playing piano at the time, overheard this profession and grimaced. My friend had the same reaction and they made eye contact as they shared one of those moments when you know exactly what the other person is thinking, because you’re thinking the same thing too.

The girl continued to declare her love throughout the set while the band did their best to ignore her. At one point a man in the audience mimicked her and shouted loving praise to the band, and everyone on that side of the audience couldn’t help but laugh.

Despite the distractions, the band played perfectly and kept the crowd dancing.

To end the night, they played their encore standard and fan favorite, “The Rat.”

Photos courtesy of Rachel at ohdeerly.blogspot.com, with some editing by me

Wonderful news!

I have just scored a photo pass to the upcoming Sufjan Stevens show!

It needs final approval, but it sounds like a sure thing.

Look forward to some wonderful shots with that review, because the point and shoot simply never does a show justice.

Life just got pretty amazing.

Panda Bear, 9 Sept. 2010

At The Fox Theater in Oakland

It reminded me of a pretentious art-school student’s experiment in sending subliminal messages through film – in a good way.

Distorted images washed in neon colors flashed across a screen, as Panda Bear stood hunched over his sparse equipment in the center of the stage.

“It’s kind of creepy,” a young woman behind me said.

The audience quickly fell into a trance, and the music and projections never ceased for the hour-long set.

Panda Bear played some familiar tracks from previous albums as well as newer material that will appear on his upcoming album, Tomboy, which currently has no set release date. He even treated the audience with reworked versions of Animal Collective songs from their latest release, Merriweather Post Pavilion.

The lyrics sounded familiar, but the songs were different enough to make the audience question if what they were hearing was new or old.

Lovers kissing and embracing flickered across the screen as he sang out, “I really want to do just what my body wants to do.”

A nearby couple took that as a suggestion.

The songs segued seamlessly from droning tunes to bass-heavy beats that rivaled any club anthem. Audience members danced and bobbed about until the rhythm gave way to a reverberating hum once again.

When the music stopped, it was like being snapped out of a dream. One blink and the incomprehensible images in front of my eyes were gone. The stage was empty. Back to reality.

On with the shows!

I went to my first concert when I was barely a teenager. My heart just hasn't been the same since it felt that first thump of the bass beating in my chest like an arrhythmia.

Some of my best memories come from the foot of the stage. I will relive them here in writing and photos.

I have already checked off 2 out of 5 concerts planned for September and October, which I will post about shortly. I will also recount my earlier adventures, including:

• The Walkmen with Modest Mouse
• Franz Ferdinand
• Bright Eyes with Sons & Daughters
• Interpol
• The Strokes
• Arcade Fire
• Beirut (with a special celebrity appearance!)
• The Hives
• Cold War Kids
• The Horrors with The Kills
• The Treasure Island Music Festival, featuring Grizzly Bear and many more

The September/October bundle of shows:

• Panda Bear
• The Walkmen
• Gogol Bordello
• Jónsi
• Sufjan Stevens

Please stay tuned, I look forward to sharing this part of my life with you.