it was a blast!!!
MSG was phenomenal - one damn hit after another! towards the 2nd encore, we were already 3 seats from the stage. event staff didnt care anymore at that point.
Radio City Music Hall though was more of a listening party - tons of obs"cure" (oh no i didnt!) stuff played, bt still a great show. he even went up the sides that led to the balcony, much to the chagrin of the union workers there. safety issues and what not.
both nights robert smith was chatty and upbeat, which is uncharacteristic of him. you can even ALMOST understand what he said. the coke must be good in NYC. ha ha!
both nights i was up til 6AM with the people i went to, drinking and having a ball! the coke must REALLY be good in NYC. ha ha! i kid, of course! drugs are bad! dont do them!
Aside from those shows lately ive gone to see more old fogeys, like The B-52's and The Cult. Man, these two bands are STILL in top form! Kate Pierson still screams like a banshee, Fred Schneider is still fred schneider, the show was one BIG party! And Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy of The Cult still sound as good as their heyday. I love seeing Billy duffy switch from his Les Paul to his white Gretsch. Pure tonal bliss! No matt sorum wasnt there (though he could have been if velvet revolver broke up sooner i think -he he he!)
I also saw The Pierces, gogol bordello, tristan prettyman (you san diego peeps should know this gal!), kristin diable, the dreaming (same dude who formed stabbing westwards), Rilo Kiley, the rosebuds, and British Sea Power. I may have forgotten a few more, but theyre the stand outs. i did miss ladytron and peter murphy here this past week, but ehh, i was tired and strapped for cash. I will miss Coldplay (deliberately, because theyre banned in my book until i get over theyre overpriced tickets!!!), radiohead, STP, and the black crowes (who sold out the TLA here 3 days!)... BUT!
i will see NIN when they come out in august - IN THE PIT AGAIN!!! i dont know after that.
anyways, its been a good year so far for concerts and shows here in the philly area, unlike the past 2 years. hopefully there wont be anymore (cuz i dont have anymore money!)
anyways, im just reporting for duty, since ive been AWOL, MIA, PTA, BMP, HTM, JPG, LSD,NFL, PCP, LAX, ATL, FTW, and all other 3-letter acronyms you can think of.
for good reason though - i got back to playing and working with guitars! what once was a dream career that was sidelined for 14 years, is now back! well, its still not a career ive taken, but a "more serious" hobby. i dont know why it took me this long to get back, but its like finding your long lost lover, and finding that you both are still in love with each other. The feelings never went away.
ive spruced up my Gibson SG with a couple of hot DiMarzio p'ups, resoldered them with all the phase-switching and coil-cutting you can think of, got myself a Peavey valveking combo for it (sweet singing soul! the SG's real voice came out finally!), and even went as far as grabbing a '95 MIM fender P-bass (with the hybrid jazz p'up at the bridge and the jazz neck) from craigslist, a squier tele (a beautiful butterscotch blonde!) from musician's friend, and my most recent acquistion: a RARE 2x10" speakers '67 Kalamazoo Bass 50 amp. This baby is over 40 years old, but it still sounds soooo good! A real vintage - the tone is so clean even at the max levels. I got it at guitar center for cheap - its almost a steal. I love it! it sets itself apart from the valveking where its so easy to overdrive. Yes its a bass amp, but whoever said you have to follow the rules all the time?
I opted not to buy the best most expensive gear out there. They may sound better, but they dont make you play better. All the gear ive gotten are either discounted due to blemishes, used, or second-hand. Easy on the wallet! plus i used to be a guitar tech 15 years ago, one thing i havent lost is the magic to turn old, beat-up crappy gear into unique-sounding playable instruments. I guess when the love is still there, it all falls into place.
anyway, its all guitar talk, but im sure a few G|A peeps out there know what im talking about. Granted, playing guitar is NOT like getting back on a bike. Im finding myself practicing scales, and re-learning licks and modes again, trying to build up them callouses again. But whats fun is that i have a couple of people that are playing with me, which helps me a lot.
Music has always been a part of my life, though sometimes i wish i was a lot more involved earlier on, and i wish hadnt stopped. But in picking it back up, it feels as if ive never left. man, this is fun again!
so how are you?
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Originally Posted by Jeffbx
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