I'm bored AND anal retentive, so...
Here is Nathan & the Cynic's 2003 Concert Year in Review
Various awards I just randomly made up - Negative
Worst Performance by anyone. Ever.
1. Huey Lewis & the News. How bad was it? I'd rather repeatedly listen to Vogon poetry then seen them again - and that's with free tickets. If the tickets had cost money... Only the second time I've ever left a concert before it actually ended. Easily the worst concert I've ever attended. I guess the Power of Love ain't all it's cracked up to be.
Biggest Disappointments.
1. R.E.M. - I'm still amazed that I'm typing this, but they sucked pretty badly.
2. Ani DiFranco - When I saw her with the full band she was amazing. Solo, she was pathetic. Of course, her new material sucked badly on CD too, so maybe that was the real problem.
3. Birth - Maybe I was just exhausted, or maybe they were just a huge let down after Infinite Number of Sounds. Either way, they weren't all that hot.
4. DMB - I wasn't expecting much, but shouldn't they have been better than that? To be fair, all of my friends who were at the show and had seen them multiple times before said it was a very weak show by their standards. So I guess it was just an off night.
5. Kiddo - Sorry Brandt, didn't dig them.
Gigs I wish I'd been able to see.
1. Shemekia Copeland - Reel Big Fish was the same night AND when she got sick and rescheduled, I couldn't make that gig either. Sigh.
2. Dixie Chicks w/Joan Osborne - Bite me. I like them. Plus Joan Osborne rules.
3. The Lucksmiths - it was a weeknight, and Starberry (their first opener) got on so late that I just gave up and slept.
Various awards I just randomly made up - Positive
Best Performance by a local Act.
1. Infinite Number of Sounds - Ask amy_trixie. She'll back me up. The best performance I've ever seen at Studio-A-Rama. Actually, that'd be the best performance I'd ever seen in a lot of venues...
2. The Dreadful Yawns
3. Speakeasy
Bands I'll Happily Pay Money to See Again.
1. Bon Jovi - They were excellent. 30K people singing *all* the lyrics to Shot Through the Heart so well that JBJ asks us to be quiet because "we didn't really pay to hear 29999 other people sing". A lot of energy that night.
2. Iron Maiden - 4 words: 60 Foot Zombie Puppet. Plus unstoppable metal energy.
3. Weird Al Yankovic - 'Nuff said.
4. Eddie From Ohio - And I did, first concert of 2004.
5. Fred Eaglesmith
6. Solomon Burke - If you don't like Solomon Burke, your soul has probably been eaten by a management major.
7. Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash - Saw them 3 days after Cash himself passed on. The energy level was amazing.
8. Reel Big Fish - So I'm a sell out. So what?
9. Freekbass
Best opening acts.
1. The Black Keys ( for Solomon Burke ) - It's not just hype.
2. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones ( for Flogging Molly )
3. Moe. ( for DMB ) - DMB should have been opening for them.
4. Dreadful Yawns ( for Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter )
Best pits.
1. Flogging Molly - best pit ever. Cause I got to crowd surf for the first & second times ever. You know how big I am. This is a major accomplishment.
2. Reel Big Fish - "When I'm in the pit, I'm gonna punch and kick"
3. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Not really a pit, but excellent dance groove.
4. Slayer - My back *still* hurts.
Liked the show enough to buy a CD.
1. Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
2. Fred Eaglesmith
3. Luther Wright & the Wrongs
Bands you don't know well that I'd recommend to any music lover
1. Solomon Burke
2. The Black Keys
3. The Funk Brothers - That's Motown's backing band, for those of you who didn't see "Standing in the Shadows of Motown"
4. Eddie From Ohio
5. Fred Eaglesmith
6. The Slackers
7. Ben Folds
Random Stats & Venue Talk
Only bands I personally saw are listed. So if more bands were on the bill but I didn't see them, they aren't counted.
Total concerts - 34.
Total bands - 66.
Total venues - 17.
By venue - Concerts/Bands:
R&R Hall of Fame - 1/1
Beachland Ballroom - 6/10
Beachland Tavern - 3/5
Agora Theater - 3/6
Peabodys - 1/1
Gund Arena - 2/3
Amasa Stone - 1/2
Playhouse Square - 1/2
Severance Hall - 1/2
Freiberger Field - 1/3
Tower City Ampthitheater - 2/3
Blossom - 3/7
Odeon - 1/2
Grog Shop (new) - 3/5
Cain Park - 2/3
Mather Memorial Courtyard - 1/10
Wilberts - 1/1
Nautica, Winchester, Agora Ballroom , Pirate's Cove, Cleveland Music Hall, CSU Convocation Center- 0/0 <---- DOOOM!!
By Fame...
Household Names - 11 (judgement calls on my part, obviously)
Local Acts - 17
Others - 38
Important Cleveland Venues I haven't been to yet...
1. CSU Convocation Center
2. Pirate's Cove
3. The Winchester
Best Cleveland Venues, IMHO
1. Cain Park - On a nice day, nothing beats it.
2. Beachland Tavern
3. Beachland Ballroom
4. Cleveland Music Hall - why don't they have more shows here? They have like one ever two years or so. If it was good enough for Led Zep back in the 70s...
Best of the Best 2003
This rating is based on totality of experience - meaning who I saw the show with, crowd enery, band energy, musical quality, how much I've talked about the show since it happened, and everything else.
1. Solomon Burke w/ The Black Keys @ Cain Park
-- I paid like $15 for the ticket. I had gotten my moneys worth by the end of the set by The Black Keys, and that turned out to be just an appetizer compared to Solomon Burke. Plus it was in my favorite Cleveland venue on a beautiful night. Saw with Jen Watson.
2. Bon Jovi w/ the Goo Goo Dolls @ Gund Arena
-- Took my sister as a graduation present. I'd never seen them before, but I know I'll be seeing them again. Goo Goo Dolls were pretty good too.
3. Flogging Molly w/ The Mighty Mighty Bosstones @ Agora Theater
-- Went with Laura Wittenberg. It was free. It was amazingly good, the pit was one the best I've ever been in, *and* I got to crowd surf.
4. Iron Maiden w/ Mötorhead & Dio @ Blossom
-- Mötorhead was loud, Dio was creepy and loud, and Iron Maiden a-fucking-amazing. Mad props to my friend Tim for getting me hooked on Iron Maiden and for convincing me it was worth the extra money to sit in close. He was right.
5. Reel Big Fish w/ Zebrahead @ The Odeon
-- Let's make one thing clear. Zebrahead sucks. That said, it was one of those crowds where the only way to move is to force your way through, it was so hot in there that it was 'raining' inside the club due to condensation, everyone knew all the words and the no one has told the band that ska is dead. Excellent. Saw with Jean Broughton.
6. Fred Eaglesmith @ Beachland Tavern
-- A really crowded room (they fit more than 150 in the *tavern*) and a really great performer. I've seen him twice now and I expect to boost the total considerably. I'm definitely a Fredhead. Saw with Jen Watson.
7. Ben Folds w/ Tegan & Sara @ Severance Hall
-- Just barely makes the list. Tegan & Sara were merely average, but Ben Folds was amazing, and it was in Severance Hall, which boosts the score a lot, as does a really great crowd. Saw with my sister and many others.
It sort of disturbs me that most of these bands are at least somewhat mainstream. Does that hurt my indie cred? ;-)
The full list. For those who care or who have no life. Or both.
These are in chronological order. * = Free tickets one way or another, to the best of my memory.
The Funk Brothers - R&R Hall of Fame
Dirty Dozen Brass Band w/DJ Logic - Beachland Ballroom
*Flogging Molly w/ Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Agora
*Freekbass - Peabodys
Bon Jovi w/The Goo Goo Dolls - Gund
*Speakeasy w/Case in Point - Amasa Stone
Ani DiFranco w/Bitch & Animal - Palace Theater @ Playhouse Square
Ben Folds w/Tegan & Sara - Severance Hall
*Springfest - The Francisco Brothers, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, The Clarks
*Eddie From Ohio - Beachland
*Fleetwood Mac - Gund
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Beachland
*Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter w/Dreadful Yawns - Beachland Tavern
*Huey Lewis & the News w/Connor O'Brien - Tower City Amphitheater
Dave Matthews Band w/Moe - Blossom
*Reel Big Fish w/Zebrahead - Odeon
*The New Pornographers w/the Lonesome Organist - Beachland
Starberry - Grog Shop (new)
*Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul - Cain Park
Iron Maiden with Mötorhead & Dio - Blossom
Solomon Burke & the Black Keys - Cain Park
*Weird Al Yankovic - Taste of Cleveland - Tower City Amphitheater
*Studio-A-Rama 2003 - Furnace St, Slap, Lords of the Highway, Cap Gun Cowboys, Hot Damn, Victory Flag, Kiddo, Iyan Anomalie, Infinite Number of Sounds, Birth
*Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash w/Amy Allison - Beachland Tavern
*REM w/Sparklehorse - Blossom
Shonen Knife w/Modey Lemon - Beachland
Slayer w/Hatebreed - Agora
*Slackers - Grog
Eddie Shaw & the Wolfgang - Wilberts
*Dropkick Murphys with the Casualties - Agora
Fred Eaglesmith - Beachland Tavern
*Donna the Buffalo w/Jim Lauderdale - Beachland
Luther Wright & the Wrongs, Capgun Cowboys & Hayshaker Jones - Grog Shop
The only way to make concerts better would be for there to be some kind of statistics to use across concerts. SABRE for concerts would rule! I'm joking, I think.
Various awards I just randomly made up - Negative
Worst Performance by anyone. Ever.
1. Huey Lewis & the News. How bad was it? I'd rather repeatedly listen to Vogon poetry then seen them again - and that's with free tickets. If the tickets had cost money... Only the second time I've ever left a concert before it actually ended. Easily the worst concert I've ever attended. I guess the Power of Love ain't all it's cracked up to be.
Biggest Disappointments.
1. R.E.M. - I'm still amazed that I'm typing this, but they sucked pretty badly.
2. Ani DiFranco - When I saw her with the full band she was amazing. Solo, she was pathetic. Of course, her new material sucked badly on CD too, so maybe that was the real problem.
3. Birth - Maybe I was just exhausted, or maybe they were just a huge let down after Infinite Number of Sounds. Either way, they weren't all that hot.
4. DMB - I wasn't expecting much, but shouldn't they have been better than that? To be fair, all of my friends who were at the show and had seen them multiple times before said it was a very weak show by their standards. So I guess it was just an off night.
5. Kiddo - Sorry Brandt, didn't dig them.
Gigs I wish I'd been able to see.
1. Shemekia Copeland - Reel Big Fish was the same night AND when she got sick and rescheduled, I couldn't make that gig either. Sigh.
2. Dixie Chicks w/Joan Osborne - Bite me. I like them. Plus Joan Osborne rules.
3. The Lucksmiths - it was a weeknight, and Starberry (their first opener) got on so late that I just gave up and slept.
Various awards I just randomly made up - Positive
Best Performance by a local Act.
1. Infinite Number of Sounds - Ask amy_trixie. She'll back me up. The best performance I've ever seen at Studio-A-Rama. Actually, that'd be the best performance I'd ever seen in a lot of venues...
2. The Dreadful Yawns
3. Speakeasy
Bands I'll Happily Pay Money to See Again.
1. Bon Jovi - They were excellent. 30K people singing *all* the lyrics to Shot Through the Heart so well that JBJ asks us to be quiet because "we didn't really pay to hear 29999 other people sing". A lot of energy that night.
2. Iron Maiden - 4 words: 60 Foot Zombie Puppet. Plus unstoppable metal energy.
3. Weird Al Yankovic - 'Nuff said.
4. Eddie From Ohio - And I did, first concert of 2004.
5. Fred Eaglesmith
6. Solomon Burke - If you don't like Solomon Burke, your soul has probably been eaten by a management major.
7. Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash - Saw them 3 days after Cash himself passed on. The energy level was amazing.
8. Reel Big Fish - So I'm a sell out. So what?
9. Freekbass
Best opening acts.
1. The Black Keys ( for Solomon Burke ) - It's not just hype.
2. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones ( for Flogging Molly )
3. Moe. ( for DMB ) - DMB should have been opening for them.
4. Dreadful Yawns ( for Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter )
Best pits.
1. Flogging Molly - best pit ever. Cause I got to crowd surf for the first & second times ever. You know how big I am. This is a major accomplishment.
2. Reel Big Fish - "When I'm in the pit, I'm gonna punch and kick"
3. Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Not really a pit, but excellent dance groove.
4. Slayer - My back *still* hurts.
Liked the show enough to buy a CD.
1. Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash
2. Fred Eaglesmith
3. Luther Wright & the Wrongs
Bands you don't know well that I'd recommend to any music lover
1. Solomon Burke
2. The Black Keys
3. The Funk Brothers - That's Motown's backing band, for those of you who didn't see "Standing in the Shadows of Motown"
4. Eddie From Ohio
5. Fred Eaglesmith
6. The Slackers
7. Ben Folds
Random Stats & Venue Talk
Only bands I personally saw are listed. So if more bands were on the bill but I didn't see them, they aren't counted.
Total concerts - 34.
Total bands - 66.
Total venues - 17.
By venue - Concerts/Bands:
R&R Hall of Fame - 1/1
Beachland Ballroom - 6/10
Beachland Tavern - 3/5
Agora Theater - 3/6
Peabodys - 1/1
Gund Arena - 2/3
Amasa Stone - 1/2
Playhouse Square - 1/2
Severance Hall - 1/2
Freiberger Field - 1/3
Tower City Ampthitheater - 2/3
Blossom - 3/7
Odeon - 1/2
Grog Shop (new) - 3/5
Cain Park - 2/3
Mather Memorial Courtyard - 1/10
Wilberts - 1/1
Nautica, Winchester, Agora Ballroom , Pirate's Cove, Cleveland Music Hall, CSU Convocation Center- 0/0 <---- DOOOM!!
By Fame...
Household Names - 11 (judgement calls on my part, obviously)
Local Acts - 17
Others - 38
Important Cleveland Venues I haven't been to yet...
1. CSU Convocation Center
2. Pirate's Cove
3. The Winchester
Best Cleveland Venues, IMHO
1. Cain Park - On a nice day, nothing beats it.
2. Beachland Tavern
3. Beachland Ballroom
4. Cleveland Music Hall - why don't they have more shows here? They have like one ever two years or so. If it was good enough for Led Zep back in the 70s...
Best of the Best 2003
This rating is based on totality of experience - meaning who I saw the show with, crowd enery, band energy, musical quality, how much I've talked about the show since it happened, and everything else.
1. Solomon Burke w/ The Black Keys @ Cain Park
-- I paid like $15 for the ticket. I had gotten my moneys worth by the end of the set by The Black Keys, and that turned out to be just an appetizer compared to Solomon Burke. Plus it was in my favorite Cleveland venue on a beautiful night. Saw with Jen Watson.
2. Bon Jovi w/ the Goo Goo Dolls @ Gund Arena
-- Took my sister as a graduation present. I'd never seen them before, but I know I'll be seeing them again. Goo Goo Dolls were pretty good too.
3. Flogging Molly w/ The Mighty Mighty Bosstones @ Agora Theater
-- Went with Laura Wittenberg. It was free. It was amazingly good, the pit was one the best I've ever been in, *and* I got to crowd surf.
4. Iron Maiden w/ Mötorhead & Dio @ Blossom
-- Mötorhead was loud, Dio was creepy and loud, and Iron Maiden a-fucking-amazing. Mad props to my friend Tim for getting me hooked on Iron Maiden and for convincing me it was worth the extra money to sit in close. He was right.
5. Reel Big Fish w/ Zebrahead @ The Odeon
-- Let's make one thing clear. Zebrahead sucks. That said, it was one of those crowds where the only way to move is to force your way through, it was so hot in there that it was 'raining' inside the club due to condensation, everyone knew all the words and the no one has told the band that ska is dead. Excellent. Saw with Jean Broughton.
6. Fred Eaglesmith @ Beachland Tavern
-- A really crowded room (they fit more than 150 in the *tavern*) and a really great performer. I've seen him twice now and I expect to boost the total considerably. I'm definitely a Fredhead. Saw with Jen Watson.
7. Ben Folds w/ Tegan & Sara @ Severance Hall
-- Just barely makes the list. Tegan & Sara were merely average, but Ben Folds was amazing, and it was in Severance Hall, which boosts the score a lot, as does a really great crowd. Saw with my sister and many others.
It sort of disturbs me that most of these bands are at least somewhat mainstream. Does that hurt my indie cred? ;-)
The full list. For those who care or who have no life. Or both.
These are in chronological order. * = Free tickets one way or another, to the best of my memory.
The Funk Brothers - R&R Hall of Fame
Dirty Dozen Brass Band w/DJ Logic - Beachland Ballroom
*Flogging Molly w/ Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Agora
*Freekbass - Peabodys
Bon Jovi w/The Goo Goo Dolls - Gund
*Speakeasy w/Case in Point - Amasa Stone
Ani DiFranco w/Bitch & Animal - Palace Theater @ Playhouse Square
Ben Folds w/Tegan & Sara - Severance Hall
*Springfest - The Francisco Brothers, Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, The Clarks
*Eddie From Ohio - Beachland
*Fleetwood Mac - Gund
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Beachland
*Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter w/Dreadful Yawns - Beachland Tavern
*Huey Lewis & the News w/Connor O'Brien - Tower City Amphitheater
Dave Matthews Band w/Moe - Blossom
*Reel Big Fish w/Zebrahead - Odeon
*The New Pornographers w/the Lonesome Organist - Beachland
Starberry - Grog Shop (new)
*Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul - Cain Park
Iron Maiden with Mötorhead & Dio - Blossom
Solomon Burke & the Black Keys - Cain Park
*Weird Al Yankovic - Taste of Cleveland - Tower City Amphitheater
*Studio-A-Rama 2003 - Furnace St, Slap, Lords of the Highway, Cap Gun Cowboys, Hot Damn, Victory Flag, Kiddo, Iyan Anomalie, Infinite Number of Sounds, Birth
*Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash w/Amy Allison - Beachland Tavern
*REM w/Sparklehorse - Blossom
Shonen Knife w/Modey Lemon - Beachland
Slayer w/Hatebreed - Agora
*Slackers - Grog
Eddie Shaw & the Wolfgang - Wilberts
*Dropkick Murphys with the Casualties - Agora
Fred Eaglesmith - Beachland Tavern
*Donna the Buffalo w/Jim Lauderdale - Beachland
Luther Wright & the Wrongs, Capgun Cowboys & Hayshaker Jones - Grog Shop
The only way to make concerts better would be for there to be some kind of statistics to use across concerts. SABRE for concerts would rule! I'm joking, I think.