Blink-182 - California Tour 2016

I remember the first times I heard Blink-182 back in the day during the Enema of The State years. My friends and I would jam to the great tracks everyone knows and loves such as Aliens Exist and Dumpweed. For many, those amazing times became memories and those memories are the reason we go to see them, to reminisce on how awesome it was. They became a staple name in the pop-punk world with their fast drums and extraterrestrial lyrical content. They went on to influence the pop-punk world for years to come. 

With the departure of their lead singer, Tom DeLonge to focus on his alien hunting career, Blink made the decision to replace him with Matt Skiba. This change in the legendary lineup has evolved the band in a profound way. The new record, California, is a great example of these changes. With the vitality of the members and no foreseeable end, I am glad to say Blink-182 is here to stay. 

The opening band, The All American Rejects, had a great set. I understand the heat of opening for two of the biggest names in the industry, its a hard thing to do. But they destroyed! The melodic lyrics and the heavy instrumentation create an awesome, unique sound that I absolutely love. Their set consisted of, in my opinion having never heard of them, a good representation of their repertoire. The lead vocalist really made a point to entertain, as a good performer should, and completely won over the crowd. 

A Day To Remember having seen them three times previous, I had a general idea of what to expect from their performance. During the week, they had released their new album, Bad Vibrations, which I was excited to hear live. Due to having not seen them in a few years, I was surprised to see that they had re-vamped their onstage effects. Large screens similar to Blink's performance adorned the stage in a curtain of light. Instead of hiding them, the large cables that give power to the large screens hung from the rafters of the stage and were used to create visual contrast between them and the backdrop. As for the music, it was just as you would expect from ADTR, impeccable. The set was highly thought out with an acoustic performance and even a guest appearance by Matt Skiba. All and all, their performance was amazing as I had anticipated and I look forward to seeing them in the future. 

As the night went on, my anticipation to finally see Blink was getting more and more intense. When the curtain finally dropped and the band with their humongous screen display and the giant flaming, "Fuck," in the middle of the stage. The crowd went absolutely nuts. Their musical energy is just as intense as their recordings. The powerful articulation and rhythms coming from Travis is hypnotic, it was very hard for me to take my eyes off of him and what he was doing. To be a three piece band and have such an immense sound is incredible. Another thing that I was amazed by is their extended jam segments. Most pop-punk band will play their songs with no improvisation or anything different from the studio recording. Blink however, would take a song and not necessarily improvise, but they would extend the songs to the next hit or verse. Travis was definitely the most improvisational of the three of them. 

The set, like A Day To Remember, was a very well balanced set. The instantly recognizable songs were well placed apart from each other. There was not a dull moment in the crowd, besides the intoxicated woman behind me who would not stop screaming. When they began to play, All The Small Things, I was skeptical to whether or not Matt Skiba's vocals would be able to compare to Tom DeLonge's signature voice. I was relieved to hear his voice sound almost exactly like the original track. So for all of those Skiba haters out there, I suggest you read this. 

-Review-

All and all, the show was a great representation of the band, Matt Skiba, and the new album. Therefore I give it an 8.5/10

ADTR's performance was above par in relation to the last times I have seen them, therefore i give them 8.3/10

And last but not least, AAR's performance was definitely a positive experience, and I will be sure to look into them in the future. 7.9/10 

Thanks for a great Spring/Summer concert set! I look forward to seeing everyone in the Fall/Winter tour set! Be sure to check out the Spring/Summer Review that will be out by the end of the week!

-Guru

North Coast Festival - Claypool Lennon Delirium

When it comes to music festivals, the city of Chicago is plentiful. That's why it's such a great city for a person like me. Now, this festival peaked my interest for a few reasons; first off, a few of the headlining bands fall under my radar, (Umphrey's McGee and the up and coming Claypool Lennon Delirium) The other reason I decided to go was the obvious reason to experience exciting new bands that I otherwise wouldn't listen to.

The Festival for me started and ended on Saturday, I was unable to make the other days due to the Conflicting schedule with the Phish webcast. The morning bands were quite good, such as Twiddle (third picture) who played an amazing set, and Vulfpeck who I enjoyed very much. They did an exquisite cover of "Boogie On Reggae Woman," by Stevie Wonder which happens to be one of my favorites. 

Later on, Ty Dolla $ign played his set consisting of a bottle of Bombay and a blunt (second picture). All of the opening bands seemed to be a strange assortment of genres, from jam bands to EDM to rap. The lineup was definitely an awesome representation of new music. 

After the opening bands, the group I came to see played an amazing set. The Claypool Lennon Delirium was able to artfully recreate the Yes song, "Heart Of The Sunrise" in a wicked combination of Sir Les Claypool's godlike bass playing and Sean Lennon's ambient tonal guitar corresponding with the rest of the group. I went into this festival expecting a lot from this group having purchased their debut album, "Monolith of Phobos" when it came out. I can gladly say their performance Significantly exceeded my expectations. 

Les Claypool's funky, steam punk-esque demeanor combined with Sean Lennon's vocal characteristics eerily reminiscent of his father makes for a crazy group that can only be explained as Primus meets The Beatles. With lyrical content spanning from perverted plight to pill popping, you really don't know what to expect with these guys.  

When it comes to the festival as a whole, I give it a 6.9/10 for musical diversity. Really the only criticism I have is the lack of organization. I noticed the website and its social presence seemed hard to navigate and busy. Plus their lack of communication with media was disappointing. 

As for The Claypool Lennon Delirium, they get an 8.3/10 for setlist spontaneity and overall just being a fun group. 

I haven't much knowledge on the other groups, thus I cannot officially rate their performances. however, I can list some of my favorite groups from this weekend. 

This list includes: Vulfpeck, Twiddle, Bassnectar, and Future Rock. 

Thank you for a wonderful weekend, my next review will be up by Monday!

Phish - Summer 2016 Tour

For over 30 years, Phish has been playing unique jams and musical insanity. The culture that has grown around the band in those years has become vast and creative too. From the independent vendors in the parking lot to the Phish poster collectors, the community is a big part of many peoples lives. Some people say they took over the Grateful Dead fan-base after Jerry Garcia's death, I however would beg to differ. The bands share a similar following, but the feel of the crowd is much different.

After the band's legendary 2015 tour, the phans were left wondering how they could surpass it. The excitement started in March when summer tour was announced. A variety of different venues were selected, some played before, others new to the Phish repertoire such as Wrigley Field in Chicago. As tour grew near, the excitement level was getting more prominent. People guessing songs that might be played at the shows and general hype for tour were common occurences.

In light of this tour being one of the most talked about in years, I sent one of my  operatives to go the front line. His extensive knowledge of Phish made this review possible.  

The fun started in St. Paul, Minnesota where they played an awesome tour opener. The fun adjourned in Chicago at the great Wrigley Field for two nights. In previous years this venue's sound has been sub-par for concerts, however, Phish brought their a-game (as well as their own sound system) thus making these shows sound better than any show Wrigley has had in a long time. 

The Phish scene took a new form in Chicago, most Phans are used to the openness of a parking lot to sell their... um.. shirts. Instead, Addison street became shakedown for a short time. It was magical seeing Phish fans roam the streets of Chicago. 

When we got to Deer Creek, (now known as Klipsch Music Center) the scene returned to normal and everything seemed to go back to the Phish we are used to. The show was amazing, and that concluded my leg of the tour. I went on to live-webcast the rest of the tour, each show having its awesome bust-outs and debuts from the long awaited new album.

The tour ended at Dick's Sporting Goods Center in Commerce City, Colorado this past labor day weekend, and it was awesome! The musical maturity over the span of a tour is always wonderful to experience. Despite not having a, "gag" this year, the amount of extended jams they played surely made up for it. I look forward to seeing them on next year's summer tour at Alpine Valley. 

This tour gets 8.9/10 Guru Points.