Style Symmetry

I’ve been to a few concerts lately…. September was kind of amazing for that.  Last night it was Madonna!  My friend who has a grown up job (geologist) has access to a company box and lucky me I got to tag along.  Watching from a box is quite a different experience, you have a bird eye view of everything, free snacks and your own bathroom.  Oh and there is no one blocking your view!

Madonna

The stage, props, lights, back up dancing was all quite elaborate as you might expect.  It was definitely an evening of eye candy where constantly you had three or more scenes that could capture your interest.  Maybe you are watching Madonna dancing in the front or the drummers suspended in the air or one of the big screens playing videos.  I was glad I was told prior to the concert that there would be a lot of gun violence in the beginning and Madonna only singing her new songs.  That way I wasn’t expecting a shiny happy replay of the old hits.  In an almost two hour show she only played five big hits Vogue, Like a Prayer, Express Yourself, Papa Don’t Preach and Open Your Heart and of course they were all done with a new twist.  Vogue was excellent, Madonna came out in her infamous pointy bar and over the four subsequent songs kept losing layers until she was quite bare with her clothing and emotions for Love Spent.  It was amazing to see her project so vulnerably, quite breathtaking.  Mix that with her baton twirling, slack-lining, dance abilities, (minor) guitar playing skills and endless energy covering miles running all over the stage and it’s easily obvious why she has been on top of the music industry for 30 years.

Madonna Rogers Arena September 30, 2012 Setlist

Girl Gone Wild
Revolver
Gang Bang
Papa Don’t Preach
Hung Up
I Don’t Give A
Heartbeat
Express Yourself (Born This Way mix)
Give Me All Your Luvin
Turning Up the Hits
Turn Up the Radio
Open Your Heart
Masterpiece
Justify My Love
Vogue
Candy Shop
Human Nature
Love Spent
Nobody Knows Me
I’m Addicted
I’m a Sinner
Like a Prayer
Celebration

Ladyhawke

I have been a Ladyhawke fan for years and have even linked a song or two on the blog previously so when I heard they were coming all the way from New Zealand to play in my town I was stoked.  Plus it was only a $20 ticket.  There were two opening bands for Ladyhawke as this show was a part of the Olio Festival and we made it in time to see the second act, American Royalty.  With such a pretentious name immediately I was turned off but song by song they won me over more and more.  They are still trying to find their sound but there is a lot of potential there, by the end of their set I am of course their new biggest fan.  I rarely have a bad word to say about a concert, and the last time I didn’t completely enjoy a show was also at Fortune Sound Club…  I read the schedule ahead and knew Ladyhawke wouldn’t be going on until after midnight, unfortunately many (by this time) surly fans did not.  The crowd was quite anxious by 12:15am when they came on, especially with it being a week night.  Sadly, upon taking the stage the entire Ladyhawke band looked really really exhausted and they seemed to be going through the motions for the first few songs.  Around Professional Suicide  or Magic something clicked and their energy started to radiate.  Highlight of the night was definitely their eerie cover of White Rabbit.

Ladyhawke Fortune Sound Club September 20, 2012 Setlist

Back of the Van
Blue Eyes
Girl Like Me
New Song
Professional Suicide
Magic
Dusk Till Dawn
Black White & Blue
The Quick & The Dead
Love Don’t Live Here
Better Than Sunday
Sunday Drive
Paris Is Burning

Encore
White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane cover)
My Delirium

Tallest Man on Earth

Well well, are you still reading this ridiculously long post?  I have listened to one record by The Tallest Man on Earth on repeat for about a year.  Right before this show I realized he has four more I need to listen to.  There is something about his raspy Bob Dylan vocals and upbeat strumming that just make my heart happy.  The opening band was very cool A Stand of Oaks who I will probably see again when they open for Bowerbirds later this month.  For the show it was just Kristian and his instruments on stage.  He cycled through six or more guitars and played the piano for a couple of tunes.  He sounds just like on the album and also likes to talk to the crowd often and is quite charming and funny.  My friend and I were right below the stage and made friends with a lot of people around us.  Everyone in the crowd was relaxed and happy, singing along to many songs of the sold out show.  He played my favorite song The Gardener, it was a great night!

Tallest Man on Earth Vogue Theater September 10, 2012 Setlist

To Just Grow Away
Love Is All
1904
I Won’t Be Found
The Gardener
Criminals
There’s No Leaving Now
Follow the Rain
Leading Me Now
Wind and Walls
Like the Wheel
Where Do My Bluebird Fly
King of Spain
Revelation Blues

Encore
The Wild Hunt
Graceland [Paul Simon]
The Dreamer

I had the pleasure of being taken to see Florence and the Machine this summer at an outdoor venue in Vancouver.  The bus line up to get there was miles long (not literally) and we actually pulled up as the first song Only if for a Night was playing, it was a good kick of adrenaline to be part of 50 people running to the venue!  Florence was radiant on stage wearing a floor length flowing sea blue gown with a fan perfectly positioned to blow her hair and dress out behind her.  Florence was not as I expected, running back and forth across the stage to get the crowd jumping and dancing around, who knew she was so high energy?  She had injured her vocal cords and this was their first show back since so she wasn’t hitting all the high notes, she left that to her background singer for the b sides so she’d have the strength to belt it out on released tracks like Dog Days and Shake It Out.  The moment of the night was Florence posed dramatically at the back of the stage taking achingly long to gracefully bring the microphone to her lips to begin to sing the final song.

SetList
Only If for a Night
What the Water Gave Me
Cosmic Love
Raise It Up
Spectrum
Breaking Down
Heartlines
Leave My Body
Seven Devils
Shake It Out
Dog Days Are Over

Encore:
Never Let Me Go
No Light, No Light

I finally got the chance to see Jack White again!  After getting sick and subsequently selling my Dead Weather tickets in 2009, it means I have not seen him perform since 2008 with The Raconteurs.  This was also when he was touring with The Kills and forming the Dead Weather behind the scenes.

A couple weeks ago I read a fantastic article in The Georgia Straight that gave insight to Jack White’s solo tour.  It mentioned that Jack had two separate backing bands; one of all men and one all women.  It also stated that he didn’t like to work with a set list and he had to work with the band on split second cues when he chooses which song he’d like to do next.  I was glad (as a set list enthusiast) to have that heads up, I could spot the cues as they came throughout the show.  There was the time he simply called out ‘Go To Sleep 5,6,7,8′, or when he’d start the guitar on his own, or exchange signals with the drummer, maybe some of the cues were even hidden in what he said when he talked to the audience.

The opening band was Sally Ford and the Sound Outside and they were great!  She is a rockabilly rebel in a pretty floral dress, my kind of girl.  Her voice was a bit pitchy for the acoustics in the spectacular Queen Elizabeth Theater that is typically a opera and ballet house.  I put earplugs in and that seemed to smooth out the sound.

When Jack White came out he brought a stunningly prairie dressed backing band with him.  They had the usual instruments as well as a fiddle, stand up bass, piano and my favorite a pedal steel guitar.  They played a mix of White Stripes, Jack White, The Raconteurs and cover songs; most played as variations of their original.  The best moments were Steady As She Goes now with whammy bar, Blue Blood Blues rocking out, We’re Going To Friends making me teary eyed and the funeral organ on Slowly Turning Into You.  Surprisingly my favorite song of the night was Weep Themselves To Sleep as I didn’t particularly like it on the album but played live it is a force!  There were strobe lights, epic keys and I had to close my eyes to experience the full effect of the music.

Set List

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground (The White Stripes)
Missing Pieces
Sixteen Saltines
Love Interruption
Hotel Yorba (The White Stripes)
Hypocritical Kiss
Cover (had lyrics Blood Red, Eyes Blue)
I Guess I Should Go to Sleep
Two Against One (cover)
Top Yourself (The Raconteurs)
I’m Finding It Harder to Be a Gentleman (The White Stripes)
I’m Slowly Turning Into You (The White Stripes)
We’re Going to Be Friends (The White Stripes)
On and On and On
Weep Themselves to Sleep
Blue Blood Blues (The Dead Weather)
Ball and Biscuit (The White Stripes)

Encore:
Freedom At 21
Steady, As She Goes (The Raconteurs)
Take Me With You When You Go
You’re Pretty Good Looking (The White Stripes)
Poor Boy
Carolina Drama (The Raconteurs)
Seven Nation Army

So tonight I got this text on my phone from a good friend “I got my hands on Coldplay tickets, first person to respond gets to be my date”.  Man am I glad I was sitting right by my phone!

Free! Coldplay! Tonight! Oh my gosh, I was stocked!

Part of the tickets being last minute meant that we got to the show late, which was too bad since City and Colour was opening and we missed Coldplay’s first three songs but seriously, free tickets who cares!

We walked in to a hot and sweaty arena, 20,000 people grooving and singing and it was quite overwhelming.  After about a minute they starting playing The Scientist and I had to hold back my emotional tears of gratitude.  This is a band that I have been listening to for years.  I have every cd and know the words to most of their songs, and even play a few on guitar.  Now out of nowhere I am here seeing them live, wow.  We danced our butts off, a couple crazy fans we sang and screamed until we lost our voices, clapped with our hands up in the air and then screamed some more.  Chris was quite interactive with the crowd, changing lyrics to say that our hockey team will win tomorrow and talked about how attractive Vancouverites are (but of course).  The audience was provided with light up wrist bands that came on at the beginning of Charlie Brown so that the arena became a sea of colorful lights.  A few times they stopped singing and the crowd would sing the lyrics to songs like Fix You, Viva La Vida and Princess of China.  I couldn’t get over how crisp and clear their instruments were and the pitch perfect singing Chris provided, especially considering all the running around he was doing!  The best song of the night was the last, to end with Every Teardrop is a Waterfall pumped so much energy and postivity into our veins before we were sent on our way.  Thank you dear friend and thank you Coldplay.

Ok, enough rambling and exclamation points… here is the set list I was there for;

Setlist
The Scientist
Yellow
Violet Hill
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Princess of China
Up in Flames
Warning Sign
Don’t Let It Break Your Heart
Viva La Vida
Charlie Brown
Paradise

Encore
Us Against the World (acoustic out in the audience)
Clocks
Fix You
MMIX Intro
Every Teardrop is a Waterfall