Another Carweck concert wrap up
Little did I know as 2019 ticked over into 2020 that the concert season as we knew it, would soon be skidding to a shuddering and sobering halt. As chronicled in round ups from 2016, 2017, 2018 and twice in 2019, it has been quite a run of concerts in the Northeast and beyond. (Summer 2019 in particular was quite a run of unbelievable shows)
The Tubes- Infinity Music Hall Hartford CT Dec 13 2019
First up on what turned out to be the final concert season of the era were the Tubes in Hartford performing their album Completion of the Backwards Principle in its entirety.
The band still has founding members Roger Steen on guitar and Prairie Prince on drums along with multi faceted performance artist Fee Waybill as lead vocalist. The centerpiece of the evening was the less than inspiring Completion of the Backwards Principle from 1981. This album saw a further slip down towards commercial anonymity from the stratospheric heights of their potent Zappa-esque period of the mid 1970’s. On the other hand, it yielded their first number one hit in Talk to You Later, a song that exposed them to a much larger audience.
The parody of corporate rock culture was on display as the band entered the stage in matching grey flannel suits and ties, all talking on flip phones as they wandered distractedly around the stage. The material wasn’t their strongest, but you’d be hard pressed to know from the reaction of the crowd in the small-ish (500 seat) Infinity Music Hall. Me? I was mostly waiting for this stuff to pass and get to the hits section, (although I’ve always enjoyed Attack of the 50 Foot Woman as a deep cut from the album.)
What Do You Want From Life, Mondo Bondage, Suffragette City (the Bowie tune), were all highlights as the band hit high gear. Roger’s Choice, a song that is usually a variant on several instrumental tracks that lie in their deepest repertoire. This is often one of the highlights of the evening for music fans as Steen took the band on a journey that rivaled some fairly high end prog rock or fusion bands of the era. White Punks on Dope, their magnum opus with Waybill on his mountainous platform boots, brought the proceedings to an end, followed by a three song encore with their other huge hit She’s a Beauty preceding a reprise of Talk to You Later. Overall, they were an impressive evening, and much more comfortable in the theater setting. (I’d seen them a few years ago in a room resembling a small wedding hall venue complete with the audience seated at seven seat round tables). setlist here.
Gov’t Mule Palace Theater Waterbury CT Dec 28 2019
Gov’t Mule is a fixture of New Years Eve shows in NYC , and has been for a long while. Their shows at the Beacon Theater of late have been somewhat less than stellar as compared to some of their 2000’s shows with powerhouse guests and insane setlists. The New Years run has long included a Philadelphia warm up show or two. This year for the first time, they included a show in Waterbury as part of the run. So, hopping into the concert mobile for a show less than an hour away was an easy decision compared with navigating midtown Manhattan on New Year’s eve. I wasn’t expecting any ground breaking material or rare break outs. Hammer and Nails got the evening off to a hot start, with Warren Haynes showing why he is one of the better pure rock guitarists out there. From there, a too short Mountain Jam led to an equally short version of Trane and the St Stephen jam. Some setlists claim there’s some snippets of Yes’ Gates of Delirium in there, but at the time, I gotta say I didn’t hear it. They repeated this subtle Yes three days later at the Beacon in a slightly more recognizable fashion. This wasn’t a ‘paint by numbers’ Mule show, but certainly was a loose and free wheeling jam inflected warm up to their year end run. setlist here
Brian Wilson Band January 23 2020, Mohegan Sun Casino Uncasville CT
As chronicled in detail already here, Brian Wilson was a puzzling figure on stage. Strong evidence of strokes limit Brian in his motions on stage, and a huge grand piano effectively hid him from view-preventing the audience from even seeing if he was even playing piano. Notions of elder abuse fought with the genuine enthusiasm this band has for the material. With founding member and longtime guitarist Al Jardine as a hyperactive age defying frontman, this version of the ‘Beach Boys’ is more authentic than Mike Love’s current version, and despite Brian’s near comatose demeanor, far more energetic. setlist here
The Machine-the Academy of Music Northampton MA February 1, 2020
This Pink Floyd tribute band has been around for a long while, I’d seen them in the late 90’s a few times, and they were one of the earliest participants in the now crowded Floyd tribute band field. Tonight’s show was a 40th anniversary performance of the Wall in its entirety. Their production level is pretty high, and their sound is solid. Still, they are a cover band, and though many in the sold out crowd didn’t seem to care, and the ticket prices match or exceed many frontline bands, they rocked and the crowd dug it. (setlist? It was the Wall…)
Nektar – iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton MA, February 11, 2020
As chronicled in detail here, seeing Nektar in Northampton in a tiny club was an amazing beyond belief experience. The centerpiece of the evening was a healthy dose of Remember the Future, one of their most memorable acid infused albums. Originally the States was exposed to A Tab in the Ocean (a title inspired by their days in Germany when they dosed their fish in an aquarium at an acid party and wondered ‘what if we put a shitload of acid in the ocean? Would the fish melt?”)
This was one of the best shows of this run, and despite their best material being 45 years behind them, this is a band that can weave a space rock tapestry that rivals the best in the field.
Ween- College Street Music Hall , February 13, 2020 New Haven CT
Two nights later, Ween began their severely abbreviated 2020 winter tour in New Haven CT Feb 13th, only to see the tour end two nights later in NYC at Terminal 5. This was the first show of the tour, and the 35 song set delivered the goods. From opener Buckingham Green to the last note of I Can’t Put My Finger on It, Ween was in good form. Gener’s sobriety that caused the band to dissolve following a meltdown in Vancouver in 2011 has mostly held solid, but his absence for an extended time during the set caused some in the crowed to wonder what was going on. Rarities like Don’t Laugh (I Love You) and Ode to Rene mingled with the more familiar tunes in their very extensive setlist. (the band has over 130 songs at their fingertips on any given night) . Anyone unfamiliar with Ween needs to do some quick catch up, and get their asses to a show soon -this is one of the best bands in rock and roll.
Note: this is the first show that most of the dates on the back of the tour shirt never happened.
Steve Hackett’s Genesis Revisited-the Academy of Music Northampton MA March 11, 2020…last call forever?
The last show of the winter run was Steve Hackett bringing his Genesis Revisited tour into town. (Some trepidation was felt as more than a few larger bands had already stopped playing by this point and canceled their current tours.) With the first set delving into Spectral Mornings and Defector and the second set consisting of Selling England by the Pound in its entirety, this was a dream for any Genesis fan. And full of Genesis fans, this place was. This was the second time I’d seen him live, and the band were smoother in delivery than his 2015 tour, with the histrionic vocalist Nad Sylvan tamed a bit. The highlight was the song Deja Vu, a powerful unheard outtake from Selling England by the Pound that was left off to make room for Phil Collins’ pop ballad More Fool Me. (Hackett: “even Gabriel outvoted me on this one”). A vintage take on the Musical Box, the first song he worked on when joining Genesis in 1971 brought the evening to a glorious close.
The crowd was elbow to elbow in the packed sold out theater, and was firmly in the Covid ‘at risk’ category-over 60, overweight and under rested. After the show, I looked at the tour shirt (another one with tour dates that mostly didn’t happen) and speculated when circumstances would prematurely bring this tour, and everyone else’s tour to a sudden halt. I guessed eight more days. I was wrong, as the tour ended the very next night in Allentown, PA, one of the last concerts held in the States. setlist here
So, that brings the 2020 concert roundup to an end, and who knows when we will be able to see shows again? Re reading the roundups for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 makes me realize that many of us took this deluge of rock legends at our beck and call for granted. One friend referred to this overabundance of show attendance as ‘concert whore’ .
That’s now a title I’d gladly trade quarantine for to wear proudly.
750 miles, $220 total in tickets.
Peace, carwreck.
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