deciBlog//2005.09.25//MouldPlay

BOB MOULD:

Bob Mould opened his Fall US Tour at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC, Thursday night 9/22. This guy is MR. LOUD ELECTRIC GUITAR. He played the same Strat for 80 minutes running through a mixture of his entire carrer of Husker Du, Sugar & solo material. I swear he looked at the frets 3 times, otherwise his left hand is all over the place doing all these complex monster chords & leads while he sings into the microphone with his eyes closed (must have to really concentrate). A crowd of maybe 400, average age 32, 80% male. Several hard cores mouthing all the lyrics. Of note they now sell Carolina Brewery drafts at the Cradle. 2 thumbs up!

Approximation of setlist:
The Act We Act
A Good Idea
Changes
Circles
Paralysed
I Am Vision, I Am Sound
Underneath Days
Hoover Dam
High Fidelity
Hardly Getting Over It
See A Little Light
Egoverride
Could You Be The One
I Apologize
Chartered Trips
The Receipt
Best Thing
Celebrated Summer
Beating Heart The Prize
If I Can't Change Your Mind
Helpless
Makes No Sense At All

Bob is now on the Yep Roc label, which originated in Carrboro (some connections with Merge) & is now based in Graham, NC. This label has amassed quite the list of familar alternative acts including Paul Weller, John Doe, The Fleshtones & Chris Stamey:

Yep Roc

Check out the really fired up fall schedule at the Cradle:

Cat's Cradle

COLDPLAY:

Coldplay at the Alltel Pavilion on Sat 9/10 was most excellent.
The opening act, Rilo Kiley, were a pretty talented semi-alt.rock band.
Sold out full house. Average age 23. The main act was on from 9:15 - 11:00 & pretty much it was the Chris Martin & this is my band show. I guess this is fairly typical of front men, but there was not much acknowledgement of the other band members. Nonetheless a very clean sounding/tight performance. The 1st 5 songs were an especially nice start up. Clayton was at the show the night before in Charlotte & thought Martin's voice was a little off (I didn't notice it that much), but Clayton was dead on given they cancelled 2 shows the following week citing throat troubles. These guys pretty much do the same set list except for 2 slots where they do Everything's Not Lost or Amsterdam in 1 slot & Don't Panic or Green Eyes in the other.
After many listenings X&Y just isn't quite up to snuff with its predecessor, but hopefully they'll be inspired for album #4. If not they may just kind of fade out along the likes of Live (remember them?).

Set List - Raleigh -9/10
Square One
Politik (New Orleans lyrics)
Yellow
God Put a Smile on Your Face
Speed of Sound
Low
A Rush of Blood to the Head
*Everything's Not Lost (Amended lyrics, dedicated to those out on the lawn and those who were going back to school)
White Shadows
The Scientist (Chris messed up the first attempt by coughing, Will told him to start again)
'Til Kingdom Come
Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash cover)
Happy Birthday (all sang to Jonny Buckland since it was his birthday!)
*Don't Panic
Clocks
Talk
Encore:
Swallowed in the Sea
In My Place
Fix You

Setlist - Charlotte 9/9
Square One
Politik
Yellow
God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
Speed Of Sound
Low
A Rush of Blood to the Head
*Amsterdam
White Shadows
The Scientist
Til Kingdom Come
Ring of Fire (Johnny Cash cover)
*Green Eyes
Clocks
Talk
Encore:
Swallowed in the Sea
In My Place
Fix You


IF I CAN'T CHANGE YOUR MIND THEN NO ONE WILL-
Greg Kot Changes His Mind:

U2 back to frisky self this time out
September 25, 2005

Source: Chicago Tribune
Greg Kot

In contrast to its four-show run at the United Center last May, when U2 was starting to sound like a highly competent but not particularly adventuresome junior version of the Rolling Stones, the Irish quartet was in friskier mood in two encore concerts last week.

U2 tossed aside the predictable set list and dug deep Tuesday and Wednesday. Here are some key differences between the shows last week and the ones last spring:

Then: The band doesn't make the case for its latest hit-and-miss album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." The new songs are bunched together and dispatched early on, as if Bono and the boys didn't know how to integrate them into their performance.

Now: "Miracle Drug" (with the Edge's beautiful guitar figure getting some breathing room at the top) and "Original of the Species" (a killer soul ballad with falsetto harmonies) are showcased instead of buried. The arrangements are less fussy, the melodies more apparent. These are the kinds of moments that send skeptical fans rushing back to the album to hear these songs with fresh ears.

Then: The theatrics of Bono, who stumbled around stage blindfolded in empathy with Iraqi prisoners and spoke at length about religious tolerance, got to be a distraction.

Now: The blindfold is still around, but Bono tones down the speechifying and play-acting. Instead he focuses on the songs. His voice sounds like a howitzer on the rockers, blowing down the doors on "Elevation," and yet he manages to convey a fragile poignance on ballads such as "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own."

Then: No surprises in the set list.

Now: U2 pulls out the soaring and underplayed "Miss Sarajevo" from its mid-'90s Passengers" side project with Brian Eno. Bono steps in for Luciano Pavarotti, whose cameo vocal carries the recorded version into the stratosphere, and lets it rip. A jaw-dropping moment.

Then: An efficient march through the new album, followed by the hits and two encores.

Now: A hodgepodge of old, new and off-the-cuff gives the evening an anything-can-happen quality, even to fans who have seen several shows on this tour. An acoustic "Wild Horses" is particularly welcome, as is a seemingly impromptu segue into the Broadway standard "Old Man River" in conjunction with Bono's comments about Hurricane Katrina and America's resilience during times of crisis. A flamenco "Fast Cars" turns the first encore into an unruly dance, magnifying the theme struck by the erotic push-pull of "With or Without You."

Then: A relatively simple performance, not too dependent on technology, especially in comparison to past tours such as "Zoo TV" and "Popmart." But the choreography of certain segments is apparent.

Now: The light-bulb curtains remain, but the staging is even more frill-free than before, and there's more room to roam within the set list. The focus is once again squarely on the music.

Conclusion: So long, Dinosaur Act. The art-rocking, risk-taking U2 is back with a timely reminder of why this city embraced the band in the first place, 25 years ago.

(c) Chicago Tribune, 2005.