Barenaked Ladies & Blues Traveler @ New Joint

Why have I never seen Blues Traveler?  These guys are phenomenal!  Such a great energy, amazing musicianship and a happy repoire with the crowd.  While this is a relatively short set, John Popper and the boys certainly set the crowd alight.  There were a couple of songs I recognized including Run Around and the opening Sublime cover of What I’ve Got.

Blues Traveler Setlist
What I Got (Sublime Cover) / Devil In The Details / Love & Greed / Recognize My Friend / Runaround / Things Are Looking Up / But Anyway / You Don't Have To Love Me / Hook

It’s been 13 years since I last saw the Barenaked Ladies (a great birthday night at the Metro in Sydney in 99).  While the energy level is not as pumped as I remembered, this is still a great, fun show.  I’m there to hear the classics – One Week (they seemed tired of that song) and Brian Wilson, but stayed for the rest – including a great improv / cover medley.  Also loved the fact that Blues Traveler’s John Popper played on the If I Had A Million Dollars.  The venue seemed a little too big for the night, but it was nice not to be the old guy in the room for a change and get close-ish to the stage.  I may not pursue another Barenaked Ladies show but will definitely be on the lookout for another Blues Traveler show.

Barenaked Ladies Setlist

How Long / The Old Apartment / Adlib (Highway To Hell) / It's All Been Done / Boomerang / Too Little Too Late / For You / Wishing / Blame It On Me / Brian Wilson / Four Seconds / Pinch Me / Big Bang Theory Theme / One Week / If I Had $1,000,000 / Barenaked Rap 

Encore: Alcohol

The Crap Facts:

This is my 337th concert.

This is my 12th concert at New Joint.

This is my 132nd concert in Las Vegas.

This is my 132nd concert in Nevada.

This is my 144th concert in the USA.
Blues Traveler are the 401st band I've seen.

This is my 2nd Barenaked Ladies concert.
Barenaked Ladies are the 150th band I've seen at least twice.

Airborne Toxic Event & Henry Clay People @ Hard Rock Pool

According to Erik’s rule if you see at least 3 songs, you’ve seen a band.  Therefore we just saw Henry Clay People.  And disappointingly we weren’t there earlier.  They were a great, rocking band who warm up the crowd well.  They finished with a good cover of (their words) The Greatest Rock Song Ever Written – Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run.

I don’t listen to the radio at all, so it is through others and dumb luck that I may now discover new bands.  Today it’s dumb luck!  I got given a pair of free tickets to this show via a Concierge function.  I know nothing about this band – but free tickets to a venue I’d not seen a gig in – I thought I’d give it a shot.  And drag Erik with me – he knew just as much.  So glad I did!  A loyal following for Airborne Toxic Event sees a good size crowd enjoying the warm weather by the Hard Rock’s Pool.  And from the get go these guys are rocking.  A good rock sound with the unique sounds of violin and occasional keyboard, combined with a great band energy sees this turn out to be a great show.  None of the songs sound familiar to me, but definitely good enough to look for a CD in the near future. 

An encore saw an a few extended songs, including The Clash’s I Fought The Law, as the singer opted to make the most of the pool mid song.  Needless to say, many were happy to join him.  Will definitely keep an eye out to see them again.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 336th concert.

This is my 1st concert at Hard Rock Pool.

Hard Rock Pool is the 89th venue I've seen a concert.
This is my 131st concert in Las Vegas.

This is my 131st concert in Nevada.

This is my 143rd concert in the USA.
Henry Clay People are the 399th band I've seen.
Henry Clay People are the 150th different band I've seen in Las Vegas.
Airborne Toxic Event are the 400th band I've seen.