dark star orchestra in peekskill: review, photos and setlist

last night rob and i went to see the dark star orchestra concert at the paramount theatre in peekskill. it was my third dso show of the year and probably the best of the three. the performance topped the awesome show dso put on in westbury last spring, and easily surpassed the somewhat average show dso did at governor's island this summer.

the spookiest thing was rob's uncanny prediction for the opening song! i took the conservative route and thought dso would open with "bertha." rob came back with a long shot, "cold rain and snow!" we were both shocked to hear dso open with "cold rain and snow!"



some highlights included an awesome "peggy-o," "shakedown street," and "promised land" in the first set. the second set, after a short an uninspired drums opened it, was one great number after another (including a monster "drums" coming out of "the other one"). the highlights of the second set was a killer "the other one" and rockin' "sugar magnolia!"



but they were far from done after the second set! the encore brough out donna's counterpart (absent until then since she wasn't part of the original dead show reproduced that night) for "alabama getaway." that ended the original dead show (august 21, 1980) - but was only the beginning of 4 additional songs! dso played "stir it up" and "the weight" as part of the 4 extra tunes - awesome!



here is the complete setlist:

first set:

cold rain & snow
minglewood blues
high time
mama tried >
mexicali blues
peggy-o
it's all over now
easy to love you
shakedown street >
promised land

second set:

drums >
uncle john's band >
truckin' >
the other one >
drums >
the wheel >
uncle john's band >
sugar magnolia

original dead encore:

alabama getaway

bonus material:

lost sailor
stir it up
touch of grey
the weight

next up: phil lesh and friends at nokia this friday night!

"riders on the storm" with manzarek & krieger at fillmore (irving plaza): photos and setlist

last night two original members of the doors, ray manzarek and robby kreiger, played at the fillmore (at irving plaza) with their band, "riders on the storm." i went to check them out with emmy - and what a great show it was! the performance was intense and rocking! the small venue combined with the loud sound made conversation of any kind impossible! as expected, the show was all about the doors music.

the new front man standing in for jim morrison, ex-fuel lead singer brett scallions (who himself had just replaced the cult's ian astbury who left the band this summer) was impressive. he did an excellent job of channelling morrison's spirit for the night (jim is probably up there nodding in approval).

here are some photos. i'd like to post a complete setlist if i can track one down (but i didn't have a chance, myself, to keep tabs on the song order last night).

all-american rejects post-nike human race 10k concert: photos and setlist

the post-race concert by the all-american rejects was the highlight of the nike human race 10k event on randall's island! these guys can rock!

before nike announced they would be the post-race performers, i had never heard of this group! but then my friend kate set me straight when she sent me their "move along" album. i've been listening to it for the past two weeks, and am definitely hooked! good stuff.

with that taste of their music, i looked forward to hearing them perform live. they did not disappoint! the show kicked off with dirty little secret and was non-stop fun straight through to "move along," their encore. then we were treated to fireworks to end the night!

as to the music itself - the bulk of it came from "move along," but they tossed in one "oldie"and a new song that will be on the new album. at one point, mid-song, a stray "c" note caught tyson ritter attention during "it ends tonight." after tooling around with the various instruments to find the out of tune culprit (multiple blame)... the band decided to play it acoustic - awesome!

another cool retro moment for the old people in the crowd - the ramped up bay city roller inspired lead into "night drive!" the bay city rollers - a very unique group from that distant land of the 1970's, had a hit that played those chord..." that riff never sounded better than it did played as the tease into "night drive!"

for a bit of comic relief, ritter's congratulation to the runners for getting the 10k done turned into a search for the mileage distance of a 10k! "you guys ran 8 miles - awesome!" "you guys did 7.3 miles!" "wow there's a real mathematician in the crowd, exactly 6.21 miles!" "hey, what's with this metric system - isn't that for canadians?!" hilarious stuff!

if you get the chance to see this group - grab it!
































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here's the complete setlist:

dirty little secret
top of the world
swing, swing
stab my back
my paper heart
mona lisa
i wanna
night drive
i’m waiting
it ends tonight
the last song

encore:

move along
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check out the race photos and results.

bob dylan at propect park bandshell: photos, review and setlist

judy (who just finished the park 3 mile loop) and pat.

they don't look like bob dylan! then again, no one else near us look like him either, since we sat on the lawn outside the prospect park bandshell. a few thousand other dylan fans and brooklynites had the same great idea and joined us to hear the dylan concert! the large crowd sprawled outside the bandshell listening to the show easily eclipsed the crowd inside, viewing it. but the ticket holders did have the added perk of seeing dylan perform.


view from the free seats :D

despite the quick shower that hit the city around 6:30, by the time we reached the bandshell, the park was dry! i guess the rain managed to bypass brooklyn? but the by-product was a pleasantly cool summer night - perfect for spending outside in the park, listening to music. we set up a blanket on the left side of the stage just before 7:30 (interestingly, the bandshell site state the show began at 7, dylan's site said 8, and he actually took the stage at 8:25). we had fruit, chips, bagels and water (and i did manage one beer - a mojo) - all set for the show.


another view from the free seats :D

but even before the concert started, we ran into pat's colleague from work (or maybe it should read, judy finished her loop of the park and stumbled upon us)! she's training for her very first marathon, philly in november (yet another runner thwarted by the nycm lottery)! she hung out with us until dylan started the show - which kicked off with "rainy day women #12 & 35" (aka, "everyone must get stoned"). while the older crowd may have sympathized with those sentiments, the prevailing atmosphere was a landscape filled with baby strollers and pets. the occasional jerk would light up a cigarette and poison the karma for a few minutes - but what can you do? otherwise, the prevailing karma was totally communal, totally retro :D

pat quickly recognized the lyrics to his second tune, "lay, lady, lay," - but that was all that was recognizable given the incredibly reworked arrangement of the classic dylan played. while he was filled with energy, and there was power behind the music, bob's voice was harsh, guttural, and often unintelligible! it was with mixed feelings that i listened to the master ply his trade - wondering in the back of my mind what a dylan in his prime show would have sounded like. still, kudos go to dylan for dynamic and enthusiastic performance!

i had hoped to hear him play "joey" - my all time favorite dylan song, and particular appropriate for the brooklyn location (since it starts off in red hook). but that was a long shot that didn't pan out. my only regret is not staying for the entire show - and missing him do "masters of war!" eddie veder's cover of it is awesome! and i saw bob weir perform it in danbury, ct, two years ago - a killer version, i will add. but seeing dylan perform his masterpiece would have been sweet.

we stayed for only an hour and a half of the two hour show - leaving just after "it's alright ma." we exited early to beat the crowds out of the park. the only downer of the night was an excruciatingly slow f train ride back to the city. otherwise the concert was a great mid-week adventure, at a great venue!

prospect park bandshell
august 12, 2008

1. rainy day women #12 & 35
2. lay, lady, lay
3. lonesome day blues
4. girl of the north country
5. the levee's gonna break
6. spirit on the water
7. honest with me
8. john brown
9. highway 61 revisited
10. beyond the horizon
11. it's alright ma (i'm only bleeding)
12. nettie moore
13. summer days
14. masters of war

encores

15. like a rolling stone
16. thunder on the mountain
17. blowin' in the wind

check out the ny times review of the concert.