This is another blog that is a long time coming. I went to a few cool shows in the month of February and now I would like to tell you about them. I realize this concert recap blog could also double as therapy for my concert addiction. As long as my problems entertain, it's ok. This week I will be reviewing Machinehead, Sleater-Kinney, and Motion City Soundtrack live in concert.
I have been a
fan of Motion City Soundtrack since the first time I heard the album Commit
This to Memory, and since have learned to love and appreciate both the band and
the album as one of my favorites. Especially Commit this to memory which I know
every word to. So when it was announced that Motion City Soundtrack was doing a
10 year anniversary for it, touring and playing it all live, I lost my shit.
Even better was that the show was coming to Wooly's in Des Moines. I immediately
got out all my Motion City albums and listened to them all in preparation of
this momentous occasion.
Come the night of the show another shocking discovery. The show had sold out. My music keeps doing that. I don't like cool things, do I? The one thing annoying about Motion City live is their choice in openers which is always terrible. The highlight being the former singer of emotastic band The Academy Is. Once that was over, Motion City took the stage and blasted right into Attractive Today and the whole room lost it's collective shit. Which pretty much continued in a haze of bouncing, screaming lyrics, and nostalgia all the way from Everything is Alright to Hold Me Down. After that they made a joke bit that bombed and jumped into more music. The next songs were from their whole discography starting with Invisible Monsters, a secret songs from Commit This to Memory, followed by Anything At All our first taste of the upcoming sixth album. This played the best songs form all previous albums except Go with is a very polarizing album for fans. From A Lifeless Ordinary and Her Words Destroyed My Planet from My Dinosaur Life, Last Night, and This is For Real from Even If It Kills me, and the rest from their debut I am the Movie. They Hit up my favorite song Capital H, before going to The Future Freaks Me Out to end the set. They came back and ended the night with My Favorite Accident.
My nostalgia meter was so full that I decided to hang around for a minute after the show to soak it all in when the most incredible thing happened. One by one all of the members of Motion City Soundtrack came out and started talking to the fans. As the most insane music fan that I am, I always bring something for the band to sign just in case, you never know. For once I was right to do so! I went around and got my first copy of Commit This to Memory signed by all the members of Motion City Soundtrack, and even got my photo taken with the singer Justin Pierre. He was extremely grateful to meet the fans, but apparently was getting over being sick and couldn't even talk after the show. It's amazing he was able to play the show at all. It was one of the best nights I have had in a very long time.
Machinehead 02/11/15 Wooly's
I got to Wooly's early because tonight there was no opener just an evening with Machinehead. I had never seen a metal band do something like this. Machinehead had more than enough music to host a full two and a half hour show, most bands just don't want to. This was a different sort of show. It was a test of endurance for all the metal heads headbanging and moshing. Because of the one band playing the show didn't start till nine. However they were very punctual and right at nine they started playing.
Machinehead performing Halo live
They started the show with Imperium followed by Beautiful Morning off of The Blackening. The next song played was the lead single Now We Die. He told a story about how the last time they played for something called Lazerfest, it was years ago, and when they announced the show on the radio they didn't even mention Machinehead. So when the band played the fest they went on stage trashed the equipment and then left. Then finally last year they played Lazerfest again and described it as really awkward. The show lasted for two and an half hours playing songs off of every album, including four from the new one, and four from The Blackening. They started the encore with an ode to Slayer by playing Aesthetics of Hate. They followed that with Game Over, Old, and finally the obvious closer Halo. At the end of the show after two and an half hours of head banging, moshing, sweating everyone was exhausted and ready to pass out. It was one of the best metal shows I have ever seen.
Sleater-Kinney 02/13/15 Slowdown
I must confess that my first dose
of Sleater-Kinney didn't come until I heard all the buzz about the band and
picked up their reunion album No Cities to Love. I knew Carrie Brownstein from
Portlandia and because of that I was expecting a super indie buzz band. That
was not what I got. What I heard was a balls to the wall punk band with some of
the fieriest female vocals I had ever heard. I loved ever second of it and
picked up all their other albums. It was settled I had to go see them live. So
I looked at their tour dates and made the horrible realization that the reunion
tour was all sold out. I looked on craigslist, and all the other ticket sites
and finally the week of the show bit the bullet and bought a ticket. The show
itself was mix of two different types of fans your hipsters and your old school
grown up riot girls. The opening act was an up and coming female rapper. She
was really good, and had an inspired message about feminism.
Sleater-Kinney perform A New Wave Live.
Around nine Sleater-Kinney came out
blasting played for a furious hour and a half. They opened the show with their
new lead single Price Tag and sounded fierce and raw. Even though the topics of
their songs have changed and they have grown up, they still pack a real riot
girl punch. They show dug heavily from No Cities to Love playing eight of the
ten songs live, but they played songs from every one of their albums. Their was
very little dialogue from the band aside from band introductions and thank
you's after almost every song. Aside from one speech, where the lead singer
described what is what like to be a band again by playing the song Surface
Love. The back drop was a giant white piece of construction with slots cut in
it so that when they jammed fans under it would make it look like they were
destroying the stage with their rock. It was a really cool effect. The encore
started with one of loudest moments of the night, where the lead singer Corin
Tucker dropped her guitar for the first time all night and went to the front of
the stage with just a mic and let loose. From there they played I Wanna Be Your
Joey Ramone, Turn It On, Modern Girl, and ended the show with Dig Me Out. The
show was a rocking good time and everyone in attendance left with a smile and a
little spark of rebellious spirit.
Motion City Soundtrack 02/24/15 Wooly's
Motion City Soundtrack perform Everything is Alright
Come the night of the show another shocking discovery. The show had sold out. My music keeps doing that. I don't like cool things, do I? The one thing annoying about Motion City live is their choice in openers which is always terrible. The highlight being the former singer of emotastic band The Academy Is. Once that was over, Motion City took the stage and blasted right into Attractive Today and the whole room lost it's collective shit. Which pretty much continued in a haze of bouncing, screaming lyrics, and nostalgia all the way from Everything is Alright to Hold Me Down. After that they made a joke bit that bombed and jumped into more music. The next songs were from their whole discography starting with Invisible Monsters, a secret songs from Commit This to Memory, followed by Anything At All our first taste of the upcoming sixth album. This played the best songs form all previous albums except Go with is a very polarizing album for fans. From A Lifeless Ordinary and Her Words Destroyed My Planet from My Dinosaur Life, Last Night, and This is For Real from Even If It Kills me, and the rest from their debut I am the Movie. They Hit up my favorite song Capital H, before going to The Future Freaks Me Out to end the set. They came back and ended the night with My Favorite Accident.
My nostalgia meter was so full that I decided to hang around for a minute after the show to soak it all in when the most incredible thing happened. One by one all of the members of Motion City Soundtrack came out and started talking to the fans. As the most insane music fan that I am, I always bring something for the band to sign just in case, you never know. For once I was right to do so! I went around and got my first copy of Commit This to Memory signed by all the members of Motion City Soundtrack, and even got my photo taken with the singer Justin Pierre. He was extremely grateful to meet the fans, but apparently was getting over being sick and couldn't even talk after the show. It's amazing he was able to play the show at all. It was one of the best nights I have had in a very long time.
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