Mudhoney & Hooveriii @ Grey Eagle

46 and a half years ago my mum and aunt gave me my first taste of live music.  It was a 4th birthday present to see Abba.  I remember nothing of the concert, except for wearing my Abba socks, dancing on the seat and leaving straight away at the end becasue I was scared of the fireworks.  Regardless, it was the start of a love affair with live music leading up to tonight....driving 2 and a bit hours up to Asheville to see the great Mudhoney for the 5th time, and my 500th concert.

The boys are now old enough to head out on Halloween on their own, so while I was sad that I am becoming redundant as a dad, going to a show sure made me forget.

Hooveriii had already started their set by the time I got to the Grey Eagle.  A good size crowd (the biggest I'd seen here) were getting into it.  The band were having fun, and although I didn't know any of their stuff, I thought it was a great set.  But for me they suffered the wrath of me just wanting to see Muhoney.

Hooveriii Setlist

Not long after 9.15, Mudhoney made their way onto stage in front of pretty much a full house.  Quietly they built up to When Tomorrow Hits beofre taking off into In n Out of Grace.  You Got it was pretty early in the set and an absolute blast - a song I've loved for a long time.  It was the 1st time I'd heard Let it Slide live, which was a bonus and soon after was the mid set double Sweet Young Thing and Touch Me I'm Sick.   Touch Me may be my all time favourite song.  I remember hearing it on a Triple J Live at The Wireless a gazillion years ago and was taken right away.  It was the first song out of Seattle that I'd heard, and was to lead to many more.  It was the Claudette Colvin to Teen Spirit's Rosa Parks for my musical taste.  By the time the set was over, Mudhoney had ploughed through 24 great songs, walking off after Plasticity, off the new Plastic Eternity.  The band did a great job of playing new and old stuff, evenly distributed throughout the set.  The new stuff off Plastic Eternity like Flush The Fascists and Human Stock Capital are great.  Still there was more.  A five song encore that included Suck You Dry, Who You Drivin' Now and finishing the night with a monumental Here Comes Sickness.

On the way out, I picked out a shirt and a vinyl copy of Superfuzz Bigmuff.  A long, late drive back to Charlotte, but well worth the trip.  It's been 9 years since I last saw Mudhoney.  I definitely don't want to wait that long again.

Mudhoney Setlist

The Crap Facts:
This is my 500th concert.
This is my 4th concert at The Grey Eagle.
This is my 14th concert in Asheville.
This is my 127th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 301st concert in the USA.
Hooveriii are the 577th band I've seen.
This is my 5th Mudhoney concert.

Les Claypools Frog Brigade @ Fillmore

So while I love a good Primus show, I actually came tonight so that Tuesday's Mudhoney show would be my 500th.  Having said that, I liked Claypool Lennon Delirium when I saw them open for The Flaming Lips 4 years ago.

Except for The Beat's cover of Mirror In the Bathroom, the first 5 songs were long jam-bandy, and not really what I was hoping for.  I was pretty surprised when the band walked off stage then.  It didn't take long before they were back on stage and broke into Pink Floyd's Pigs On The Wing Part I.  Not only was that amazing, but they then proceeded to play the whole Animal's album.  Suddenly I knew some songs and the show picked up.  It wasn;'t till the finished Pigs II, and had a short break, they I found out the guitar player with his face partially hidden by hat and hair, has Sean Lennon.  I didn't know he played in this band as well.  5 more songs from Claypools' other incarnations of bands finished off the set.  Finally the night finished off with only Cosmic Highway as the encore.  For me this show didn't carry the joy that a Primus show would, but to hear Pink Floyd's Animals being played live was pretty special in the gamut of concert experiences.

Les Claypool's Frog Brigade Setlist

The Crap Facts:
This is my 499th concert.
This is my 30th concert at The Fillmore.
This is my 105th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 126th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 300th concert in the USA.
Les Claypools Frog Brigade are the 576th band I've seen.

Les Claypools Frog Brigade are the 50th different band I've seen at the Fillmore.

Charlotte Checkers v Bridgeport Islanders @ Bojangles Arena

 

A last minute call from the Ryans saw the boys and I head almost around the corner to Bojangles Arena for another Checkers game.  Bean's soccer team were having an outing, so while the boys were hanging out, Steve and I watched from seats nearby.

A quiet start to the game just needed a goal from the Checkers in the 8th minute to heat things up.  After that it was hard to keep with who was actually on the ice.  20 fouls meant during the whole game 10 players from each team ended up in the box.  No love was lost out there.  The Checkers finished the scoring in the 19th minute of the first period and from there on out, it was a slugfest.  Not a particularly pretty game to watch, but a victory for the Checkers kept the home crowd happy.  

The highlight probably went to some of the kids from Bean's soccer families.  They all went down to the players entrance for the starrt of the 2nd period to high five the players.  Some of them then got to ride in a car on the ice at the end of that period.  They have a competition where if you can throw a puck into a whole in the sunroof, you win some money.  The kids sat in the car as it got pelted with pucks from the crowd.  No one hit the target.  Then in the 3rd period, when most of the kids lost interest, they went over to where Greasy Keys (the Checkers organist and musical hype-man) was and danced around until they got on the big screen.

Always a good night out at the Checkers

Charlotte Checkers 2: L. Carlsson (7), J. Wise (18) defeated Bridgeport Islanders 0

Crowd: 6,030.

The Chats, Cosmic Psychos, Schizophonics & Gymshorts at Orange Peel

Made the drive up to Asheville this afternoon for what I though were 3 very good reasons.  Turns out it was 4.  An early kick off meant I didn't stop to eat on the way up (after dropping the boys at a party at Top Golf) and I found my spot in the venue and only had to wait 10 minutes before Gymshorts hit the stage.  This band is great.  Rocking out and with a sense of humor well suited to the Psychos and the Chats.  I picked up on a few songs I liked - Date Kate Jones (You Can't), I'm The Jeff Gordon Of Our Generation and Zero Thanks Given.  A raucous half hour to start.

Gymshorts Setlist

It was only 20 minutes before The Schizophonics then tornadoed up the stage, with a new bass player.  I saw this band at the Grey Eagle back in January on a whim (something I very rarely do nowadays).  And they blew my mind that night!  Tonight they did the same.  Pat Beers took his James Brown-Iggy-Pop-Tasmanian Devil inspired performance to expel so much energy he could have lit up half the planet.  I found myself so fixated watching him sometimes, you forget about the great sound the band has.  After half an hour I was exhausted, I can't imagine how the band felt.  It really was an all round great show.

Again a quick turn around before the Cosmic Psychos entered the stage.  I was surprised by hw many people know them.  I assumed their cult status stayed in Australia - not spread as for as North Carolina.  From the get go the Psychos had that great Aussie pub-rock/punk sound, and the sarcasm in their songs that went with it.  Pub and A Great Day To Go To The Pub were a perfect starter and Dea In A Ditch was a good near follower.  Crowd reacted well to Fuckwit City but it took the final song for things to get silly.  During an extended David Lee Roth, Asheville had the priveledge of see guitarist, Mad Macka, whip off the blue Bonds singlet and give a lesson in rock guitar....and beer belly dancing.  Moving away from Australia all thse years ago means it has been 26 years since I last saw the Cosmic Psychos (in a wild double header with the Melvins).  Definitely well worth the wait.

Cosmic Psychos Setlist

Cosmic Psychos @ Orange Peel, Asheville

Again minimal time was wasted before The Chats hit the stage.  I'd heard these guys were good.  Sunshine Coast boys, that Hayden said were great.  But I decided not to listen to any of their stuff before hand, and just take it all in for the first time live.  Instantly the packed Orange Peel was into it.  The Australian humor started with Nambored.  6L GTR was a rollicking song that put the crowd into overdrive (once again I was stunned by how well an Aussie band was known in North Carolina).  The Kids Need Guns was a little Aussie dig at the US.  Southport Superman and Heatstroke were 2 favorites mid set.  Near the end they were joined by Gymshorts Sarah Greenwell for a fun version of Heaps.  Smoko was definitely the song that the crowd new.  I wonder did the words translate?  I think the song is hilarious.  And Pub Feed to finish the night showed how a simple topic and some good hard rock make for a great song.

The Chats Setlist

The Chats exceeded expetations, The Cosmic Psychos were as iconic as always, The Schizophonics blew me away for the 2nd time this year and Gymshorts put on a good show too.  All in all, a fantastic, well thought out line up.  I definitely want the opportunity to see these bands again.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 498th concert.
This is my 3rd concert at Orange Peel.
This is my 13th concert in Asheville.
This is my 125th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 299th concert in the USA.
Gymshorts are the 574th band I've seen.

This is my 2nd Schizophonics concert.
This is my 3rd Cosmic Psychos concert.

The Chats are the 575th band I've seen.

Superchunk @ Neighborhood Theater

I don't really know Superchuck songs, but everytime I see them they put on a good show....and tonight was no exception.  There weren't as many people as I expected, I pictured a lot more UNC alums reliving their early 20's and having an unofficial reunion.  But it is a Thursday night, and those people (like me) are edging or passing 50, so......

Show started really well and the tempo was upped for For Tension.  Learned to Surf and Detroit Has A Skyline were other favorites in the first half of the set.  What I really loved is how much the band were into it.  You know they've played some of these songs endlessly over their 30 plus years, but each song is attacked with a fervour that makes you want to like the song and the band.  But for me it was all about the last song.  Slack Motherfucker.  With a chorus that should be everyone's anthem, Superchunk blitzed through this song as a finale to their main set.  It may be a song they need mid-set  because it unites every fan.  It almost seems like a different fun energy when this song comes on.  Another song worth the price of admission alone.  That energy did spill over into a rocking 5 song encore.  When Mac started talking about playing a cover, I was hoping his Saints t-shirt would be the influence, but the Misfits' Children In Heat was also a good choice.

I know I should know more Superchunk songs, but I feel like everytime I see them I am discovering how good and (to me) new they are.  It's a fine line, but I'm sure my Clambakes record will get a run in the next couple of days.

Superchunk Setlist

The Crap Facts:
This is my 497th concert.
This is my 10th concert at Neighborhood Theater.
This is my 104th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 124th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 298th concert in the USA.
This is my 4th Superchunk concert.

Joelle Jacobs & The Enthusiasts @ Backyard at the Stonehaven

So Mike has recently worked with a friend of his, Joelle, to produce an album.  He was really excited not only to do it, but the finished product as well.  From it, Joelle put together a band, which included Mike as well as Ripley's dad, Matt.  Unfortunately, with Matt's devastating and untimely passing in January, the band has been in limbo.  But this all changed this evening for their first ever performance of Joelle's music.  In a friend's backyard, on a little deck off a man-cave, the band set up, while friends and family bought lawn chairs and filled the backyard.

We hung with Cam and Sanders, as the band waited for the guests of honor to arrive.  Nicole, Sadie, Ripley and Clifton showed up at 8.  I've seen the family at soccer twice a week since March and still can't help get emotional when I see them (the Flaming Lips was a personal disaster).  Nicole's strength is limitless, I sometimes feel like she is handling this better than everyone else combined.  Those kids are definitely in good hands.

Mike had played me a couple of Joelle's songs, and they filled out really well with a full band (guitar, keyboard, bass and drums).  All the songs were great, and Joelle's voice was similar to that of Delores O'Riordan of the Cranberries, as featured in a cover of Linger they did later in the set.  We also got a cover of The Cure's Lovesong.

I know Mike wants this album to become something and I hope they get to play this music to a wider audience than just friends in a backyard.  Time will tell.

The Crap Facts:

This is my 496th concert.
Backyard at The Stonehaven is the 137th venue I've seen a concert at.
This is my 103rd concert in Charlotte.
This is my 123rd concert in North Carolina.
This is my 297th concert in the USA.
Joelle Jacobs & The Enthusiasts are the 573rd band I've seen