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Monday, March 26, 2012
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: The Black Keys, Bojangles Coliseum, 3/24/2012
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Mar 26, 2012 at 10:52 AM
The Black Keys w/ The Arctic Monkeys
Bojangles Coliseum
March 24, 2012
The Black Keys like to keep it simple. "We are the Black Keys. Let's get it started," was all guitarist Dan Auerbach had to say before the band launched into a 90-minute set at Charlotte's sold-out Bojangles Coliseum on March 24, 2012.
Drummer Patrick Carney unleashed the familiar thump of "Howlin' for You" as Auerbach released its riff and the duo quickly found its rhythm. A majority of the set focused on the Keys' latest albums, 2010's Brothers and 2011's El Camino, though they did find moments to revisit their past.
After a handful of recent songs including the latest single, "Gold on the Ceiling," the band went back to 2004's Rubber Factory for "Girl is On My Mind" and later "Your Touch" from 2006's Magic Potion.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Jane's Addiction, House of Blues, 3/10/2012
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Mar 12, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Jane's Addiction w/ Black Box Revelation
House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
March 10, 2012
Jane's Addiction is in the middle of its Theatre of the Escapists Tour, a cross-country journey taking the '90s alt-rock kings to various venues which average 2,000 people per night. While a May 23 concert at Charlotte's Ovens Auditorium was recently announced (with opening act The Duke Spirit), I decided to make the four-hour trek to the shore last weekend to see the band at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach as an early preview.
The opportunity to see a big-name band in a small concert venue doesn't happen often. As an artist grows in popularity, the ability to see them in a smaller club wanes away, unless they play a last-minute tour warm-up (see Van Halen's recent N.Y.C. gig) or head out on one of those rare club tours.
Having seen Jane's Addiction a handful of times over the years - Lollapalooza and at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1991, during the Relapse Tour in Atlanta in 1997 and at the Voodoo Festival in New Orleans in 2009 - I was curious to see them in a more intimate setting.
As the sounds of introductory Pink Floyd music faded away, Jane's Addiction - singer Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Chris Chaney - took the stage. With one hand in the air, Farrell began singing as the band launched into "Underground," the energetic first song on the band's 2011 album, The Great Escape Artist. Starting with a new song was a sign this outing is much different than previous performances.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Photos A look at A Night in Rio
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 10:18 AM
From the sounds of samba to bossa nova beats, the Latin American Coalition's A Night in Rio event celebrated Brazilian Carnival at the Neighborhood Theatre on Feb. 18, 2012. There was plenty of dancing and music at the sold out event which featured Reinaldo Brahn and Jim Brock, Carolina Latin Dance, capoeira, food and more. Check it out:
Monday, February 6, 2012
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Tool
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Tool
Bojangles Coliseum
Feb. 4, 2012
The last time Maynard James Keenan and Co. were in town — July of 2009 at Charlotte's Bojangles Coliseum — the Tool singer felt under-the-weather and the band shuffled through the same setlist they'd been playing for a couple of years. Fast forward to Saturday, Feb. 4, at the same venue and the songs and setlist both received breaths of fresh air leaving a sold-out venue satisfied.
Quietly taking the stage to the steady opening rumble of "Hooker with a Penis," Keenan sang through a megaphone, offered sporadic dance moves in his black t-shirt and jeans and ended the song with a quick courtsy.
"Hooker" has re-entered the band's setlist for their current tour for the first time since 1999. While more than half of the songs played were also played at that 2009 show — "Jambi," "Stinkfist," Schism" and "Aenema" among them — fans were also treated to a few new ones, including radio favorite "Sober," the more obscure "Intension" and fan favorite "Pushit."
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Photos / QC After Dark / Live Reviews A look at Bass Church 20
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 10:19 AM
Bass Church 20 rolled into the Fillmore Charlotte on Jan. 27, 2012, for a night of EDM by DJs Mindelixir, Chrissy Murderbot, Dex and Sir Charles. A sea of people danced their cares away as neon glows radiated through the darkness. Local dance troupe The Chaotic Cupcakes offered a mime theme in their costuming as they entertained from the stage.
Here are some of the sights of the night:
Monday, November 28, 2011
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Puscifer
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Nov 28, 2011 at 10:45 AM
Puscifer w/ Carina Round
Ovens Auditorium
Nov. 27, 2011
Donning a cowboy hat, black button-down shirt and dark jeans, Puscifer frontman Maynard James Keenan hauled a small Airstream trailer on to the empty Ovens Auditorium stage. He slowly unpacked a couple of chairs and a folding table and began a short, poetic spoken word diatribe about sustainability in the current state of the world. As bandmate Carina Round exited the trailer to help set up more chairs and pour some wine (probably Keenan's own brand), Keenan began to talk about the value of creativity, ending with "Here at Puscifer, we believe in being creative with every breath you take."
Those talks set the tone for a night of music that was high on creativity —Â� from a 30-minute mockumentary interlude to short skits between songs — and the band's own musical paintings that drew from its two albums for an 18-song journey.
The night started with "Green Valley" and "Tiny Monsters" before kicking into high gear with "Vagina Mine." Various videos ran in the background while a hanging LED screen showed occasional mock advertisements such as one for the Arizona Border Patrol with the slogan, "We put the 'Panic' in Hispanic."
Monday, November 14, 2011
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Brandi Carlile
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Nov 14, 2011 at 10:18 AM
Brandi Carlile w/ The Secret Sisters
Knight Theatre
Nov. 11, 2011
"I've been looking forward to this show for the entire tour so far," Brandi Carlile told a sold-out Knight Theatre crowd. "I thought I'd be playing in coffee houses and small places for a few people and you sold out the McGlohon Theatre so they had to move it to a bigger venue. It's amazing."
Carlile hit the stage dressed in black, a silk scarf around her neck, as she rolled through song after song during her solo performance. Her vocals held the spotlight for the duration of the night — from the opening notes of "Follow" through an a capella version of "What Can I Say" to the final encore. While she mentioned her missing bandmates — Tim and Phil Hanseroth — a few times, Carlile also noted that this solo tour has been a good idea and one she was initially hesitant to do.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Foo Fighters
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Wed, Nov 9, 2011 at 11:52 AM
Foo Fighters w/ Social Distortion and The Joy Formidable
Time Warner Cable Arena
Nov. 8, 2011
Kurt Cobain may have hated being a rock star and the fame that goes along with it, but his bandmate, Dave Grohl, absorbs every ounce of it he can. Grohl, the former Nirvana drummer, brought Foo Fighters to Charlotte on Nov. 8, and played the role of rock frontman to his best abilities for more than two-and-a-half hours.
Dressed in black pants and button-down shirt, his hair hanging in his face, Grohl unleashed the lyrics, "These are my famous last words!" from "Bridge Burning" as the band kicked of an energetic set packed with raucous screams and heavy-handed rock.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Photos / setlist / Live Reviews Live review: Joshua James
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 11:59 AM
Joshua James w/ HoneyHoney
The Evening Muse
Oct. 7, 2011
Joshua James steps up to the microphone and a soft, raspy voice starts to sing. As the emotion starts to pour from his lips, veins strain in his neck and his thin frame rocks up to his toes. His eyes close as he sinks further into the poetic music. If you only catch a glimpse of the 25-year-old with an acoustic guitar, you might lump him together with countless other folk artists, though his music and performance clearly transcend the genre.
There's a restrained intensity when James performs while his music is hypnotic enough to draw the listener in. There wasn't much banter between songs as he was more transfixed on the task at hand — 12 heartfelt songs from his two albums — 2007's The Sun Is Always Brighter and 2009's Build Me This — as well as a couple of new tunes and covers.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Photos / The View from the Booth / Live Reviews Live review: Other Lives
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 3:10 PM
Other Lives w/ Mates of State, Yawn
Visulite Theatre
Oct. 5, 2011
Spread out along the front of the stage — pushed there by the piles of equipment for the yet-to-perform headliner — Oklahoma quintet Other Lives drew the audience to the front of the room, if only so the small crowd could get a closer look at the conglomerate of instruments being played.
The band's music fuses the psychedelia of early Pink Floyd with Thom Yorke-esque vocals on a mellow-yet-intricate backdrop. They may have been sandwiched between the stale indie-pop of the appropriately named Yawn and the energetic indie-pop of headliner Mates of State, but Other Lives did enough to impress those in attendance at the Visulite Theatre on Oct. 5.
