Concerts, Concerts...

So this year I dove off the deep end with concerts. Before I'd go to maybe three a year, but for this summer it is more like three a month. It seems that I constantly have a backlog of 9 concerts I got tickets for, and and with finding more colleagues at work who suffer the same temptation and lack of restraint the situation is only getting more and more out of hand. But I do not regret any of it, I'll be looking back at this whole experience and remember how it helped me refine my tastes in music and helped me discover which venues and types of shows I like best. Along the way, I'll have a lot of fun and get to know my new friends more.

5/29/08 was REM at the bowl. The National And Modest Mouse opened up for them and played to a barely populated crowd as people slowly shuffled in the closer it got to REM. Finally as the sun set, on came the headliner. It was a fun first experience at the bowl but the biggest complaint was the ridiculous lack of volume. It was far too quiet. A secondary complaint is that much of REM's set list seemed to be from Accelerate, the latest REM album and also far from my favorite. I suppose that was to be expected but oh well, still an enjoyable show and I am looking forward to the other 5 bowl concerts I have lined up.

6/7/08 was Los Campesinos at the Troubador. My third trip to the Troub in a row! The place is really starting to feel like home.

For whatever reason we scored some VIP stickers and I got to check out the previously unexplored bar and lounge upstairs and feel all important. The VIP room turned out to be quite critical as the Troubador quickly became far, far too crowded. Compared to the last two times I'd been there, it looked like they way oversold the show and if it weren't for the barely-inhabited VIP room, I think we would have been suffocated or something.



As for the show itself, it was quite surprising to me how young this band appeared to be. I guess the youthfulness is pretty much on par with the very energetic, bouncy, poppy album they put out but it looked like a couple of young college kids up there. Los Camp didn't quite come off as polished as some other bands I'd seen, but I gotta forgive it somewhat as they are a 7 member group with very limited stage-room to work with. In the end I was won over by the light-hearted, fast-moving, catchy lyrics that come so fast you can barely begin to digest what is being said before the song is about finished.


So what else do I got coming up? Here's the roster:

6/22/08 - Thievery Corp @ Hollywood Bowl
6/23/08 - Death Cab for Cutie @ Nokia in downtown
7/14/08 - Coldplay @ The Forum
7/20/08 - Feist & Sharon Jones @ Hollywood Bowl
7/27/08 - Gnarles Barkely @ Hollywood Bowl
9/13/08 - Brian Wilson @ Hollywood Bowl
9/17/08 - Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds @ Hollywood Bowl
9/20/08 - Beck/Spoon/MGMT @ Hollywood Bowl
9/22/08 - Raconteurs @ The Greek
10/2/08 - My Bloody Valentine @ Santa Monica Civic Center

I've been giving thought to venues too.

Venues I got tickets for I haven’t been to yet:SM Civic Center
Greek Theater
The Forum
Orpheum
El Rey
Spaceland
Echo
Viper Room
Music Box @ Fonda
Roxy
Key ClubVenues I’ve been to:
Wiltern
Echoplex
Troubador
Whiskey A Go Go