GWAR @ The Fillmore

I was going to come to this show tonight, but I got scheduled on to work, so I thought I was going to miss out.  What happened was I got cut about 15 minutes after GWAR's set started, so I was able to amble in and get myself a great spot side stage.  Before the show, one of the secondary GWAR Characters (inevitably one of the bad guys) was outside interviewing fans, mostly those that had been in for the meet and greet earlier.

I may have missed a few songs, but I got into the story straight away.  Gor Gor Strikes back I saw 5 months ago in Greensboro.  But there seemed to be more of characters in the story tonight.  I'm in Love (with a Dead Dog) featured "Kristi Noem" who, after shooting another innocent dog, was mutilated by the band. as the crowd fought to be drenched in her blood.  The same fate was given to trump during El Presidente.  I want to say they same thing happened to a "business man" during the set.  In the end, as Gor Gor gets his revenge on his captor, but suffers a sword through the brain during "Gor Gor", the rabid crowd is left to cheer the masterpiece theater that is GWAR.

I was tired and left before the encore (some Progressive dad energy, wanting to beat everyone out of the parking lot).  I wish I'd stayed as I missed the cover of Pink Pony Club (of course, they played that).  What was I thinking?  In true un-rock and roll thinking, a thought about the security team at the barried, who did one hell of a job catching crowd-surfers, all whilst under the deluge of GWAR's blood, and while getting into the music.  Also a big shoutout has to go to the clean up crew tonight.  They had their work cut out for them.

Gwar Setlist

The Crap Facts
This is my 544th concert.
This is my 32nd concert at the Fillmore.
This is my 136th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 164th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 344th concert in the USA.
This is my 3rd GWAR concert.

Alabama Shakes & Joy Oladokun @ ExploreAsheville.com Arena

Merry Christmas to me.  A bought these tickets for me for Xmas, so we headed up to Asheville for a night to see a band we were both super excited to see.

We're staying at the Hotel Indigo, and were lucky enough to get an upgrade to the penthouse suite.  Nice!  I've never had that before.  It's a shame we're only staying 1 night.  I could get used to this.

We were out the door not long after getting in, ,in search of dinner.  We opted for Rhubarb, at the top of town.  Wow! What a feed!  We split a beautiful fresh salad, and I ended up with a great burger.  It was a little cool, so we opted to sit inside, and I'm glad we did, as a drummer set up right outside the patio as we sat down.

After dinner we had a chance to wander around, only to find a big town festival taking place.  People were out in full force, enjoying the weather, entertainment and local vendors.  It felt rude to leave, but, you know, it's a concert.

Harrahs is back towards the hotel and we were able to get into the venue and to out seats as opener, Joy Oladokun took the stage.  She has a magic voice and had the early crowd entranced.  And her band was tight.  Figuratively and literally.  Packed in colse together on stage, the band knew the mission, and Oladokun played a set which easily won over some new fans.  A and I included.

Our seats were stage left, level with the stage, not 30 feet from the stage, on an isle.  You couldn't have wanted any better.  Alabama Shakes came on stage just before 9pm, to thunderous applause, and then put on a show.  Specifically Brittany Howard.  Her powerhouse voice came to the fore early on.  And the crowd responded accordingly.  While I'm only familiar with a few songs from Sound and Color, Alabama Shakes were playing some great songs all through their set.  Sound & Color was awesome and Don't Wanna Fight was even better than I expected.  Though Howard spoke occasionally to the crowd, her best interaction came when a couple had a sign asking her to sing at their wedding.  Her compromise - dedicating Give Me All Your Love to finish the set.  Emotionally awesome.  The crowd went crazy.  The Greatest was the highlight of the encore.  For me, that was because they did not play Over My Head (my favorite).  They played almost everything else off the album, but in a stroke of genius, Alabama Shakes kept me wanting more, and hoping they come near by soon. 

Alabama Shakes Setlist

The Crap Facts
This is my 543rd concert.
This is my 2nd concert at the ExploreAsheville.com Arena.
This is my 19th concert in Asheville.
This is my 163rd concert in North Carolina.
This is my 343rd concert in the USA.

Joy Oladokun is the 633rd band I've seen

Alabama Shakes is the 634th band I've seen.

Bush & James and The Cold Gun @ Skyla CU Amphitheater

It was a slow start after gates opened, even with minimal staff, so I did get to see a bit of James & The Cold Gun.  Their giant frontman, James (obviously) had a great stage presence, which may have made him look bigger than he was.  They played some rocking tunes (none of which I knew) and had the crowd well and truly warmed up.  

Afterwards was Mammoth, Wolfgang van Halen.  I was sent on a break at the start of their set, and was too busy to pay attention when I got back.

James & The Cold Gun Setlist

I had seen Gavin Rossdale with his dog inside the Fillmore as I was clocking in.  He was having a great time with his dog.  They guys is 7 years older than me, but still looks like he did in the 90s.  Bastard!  Bush came out all guns blazing with an Everything's Zen - The Chemicals Between Us start.  Crowd responded appropriately.  It set the tone for the whole set.  Bush were having a great time on stage, and I'm not sure out of them and the audience, who was feeding off who.  The Sound of Winter was the only song they played of their under-rated Sea of Memories album.  One I like.  It's a shame there wasn't space for a couple more.  Swallowed mid set saw Rossdale start the song solo, as the band came back in at the end.  The crowd was singing louder than her was.  And near the end, after expending so much energy on stage, Rossdale made his way out into the crowd to dance with almost everyone during Flowers Oa A Grave.  A brief break then saw them come out and encore with Machinehead, Glycerine & Comedown.  A fantastic finish to a great night.  I am looking forward to more shows in Skyla this season.

Bush Setlist

The Crap Facts

This is my 542nd concert.
This is my 25th concert at the Skyla CU Amphitheater.

This is my 135th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 162nd concert in North Carolina.
This is my 342nd concert in the USA.

This is my 2nd Bush concert.

Bush is the 100th time I've seen an English band.

Bush is the 50th time I've seen a band at the Skyla CU Amphitheater.
James & The Cold Gun is the 632nd band I've seen.

A Conversation with Kamala Harris @ Ovens Auditorium