Concert Log

Date:	7/18/1998
Venue:	Pine Knob, Clarkston, MI
Artist:	H.O.R.D.E, featuring Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveler, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, and Alanah Myles on the main stage; Gov't Mule, Huffamoose, Chris Stills, and Surfin' Pluto on the festival stage.

My first concert ever was the H.O.R.D.E. festival's swing through Michigan. I'm not sure that it was actually the 7/18 show, but I think it was the first of the two days. This was right in the middle of what was pretty much the best summer of my life. It was the last summer where I didn't have a job, too, and I was taking advantage of it. I was playing street hockey every day – and I mean every day – and taking tennis lessons three days a week for two hours at a time, putting me in the best shape of my life. I'd come home some days having played sports for six hours straight. I think that someone else couldn't go, so I got an extra ticket from Chris. My parents talked it over and decided that I could be trusted to act rationally with a bunch 3.5+ grade-point-average kids they'd known for at least five years.

We drove over while listening to an honest-to-god mixtape of BNL songs (because we were Those Guys). I don't remember who was in the car, but I know that we went with Amy and Smeeta. Chris thinks that Chuck went too. We set up our blanket on the lawn and got out the food. Chris decided he was going to be pissed if Alanah Myles played that "32 Flavors And Then Some" song, because it sucked. Someone else got a program and I was disappointed to see that other cities were getting Ben Folds Five and Marcy Playground. In retrospect, one of these would have been better than the other. Chris went and bought a HORDE shirt. I would've, but they were fugly.

Alanah's set was pretty unmemorable. I didn't know "Black Velvet" back then. It turned out that it was Alanah Davis who had the "32 Flavors" song, so Chris didn't have to get pissed. Ben Harper came up and played a good set, though kind of jammy. I was getting used to concert volume levels and went over to the festival stage, which was even louder. I think Huffamoose was playing then. I came back there for Gov't Mule, too, who were better. People started really filling in for Blues Traveler. I also learned what pot smoke smelled like at that time. As for the set, I remember that they played "Runaround", they didn't play "Hook", and that they only got through maybe four songs total. Back then I didn't know about jam bands, so I was perplexed by this, though they played well enough.

BNL turned in the performance that made me a real fan. They started with the crowd-pleasing "Old Apartment", giving me something to sing along to with everyone else, and just generally put on a great show. This was back in the day when "One Week" was just getting serious traction on the pop charts, so everyone tried to mumble their way through that one. I know they also played "I'll Be That Girl", "Be My Yoko Ono", and "Brian Wilson". We stayed through the encore and were more or less sunburned in the end. Amy was lobster-like.

Date:	8/30/1998
Venue:	Pine Knob, Clarkston, MI
Artist:	Planetfest '98, featuring The Wallflowers, Duncan Sheik, The Why Store, Sixpence None the Richer, Ednaswap, Grant Lee Buffalo, Patty Griffin, Agents of Good Roots

We had almost the same crew for Planetfest '98 as we did for HORDE, but we added several people. We met up with Genna and Carrie, Matt was around, Eric and Jeff were there. It was a big group (Two blankets at least!). We ended up in the middle of the lawn and put on plenty of sunscreen. It was slightly less blazingly hot, but it was bright out. The pissed-off Ednaswap ("We are EDNASWAP!) came out on the main stage first. They played angry music that didn't seem to mean much of anything. Sixpence None The Richer succeeded them and played not-so-angry music that didn't mean much of anything. But here's where I get to be almost prophetic: After they played "Kiss Me" I identified it as the best song of their set and a potential hit, months before it regularly appeared on the radio. I didn't really go over to the festival stage this time, which I should have and would have if I'd known who Patty Griffin was. I think it was about this time that this older dude (grey, close-cropped hair) sat down behind us. He was wearing a black t-shirt and black shorts with skulls all over them. After a short time, he passed out with his keys and his wallet sitting on the ground. He was way more entertaining than The Why Store (stupidest band name I've seen live). The lead singer was wearing burnt orange pants and kept announcing their name, like WE GET IT ALREADY, DILLBAG. The geezer woke up a few times and looked around all confused, but kept going back to sleep. He woke up for Duncan Sheik, just as the sun started to go down. Duncan played some semi-recognizable song, then got to "Barely Breathing" at the end, which we sang along to.

The Wallflowers were last and Jakob Dylan was in a totally pissy mood. It was near the height of the laser pointer craze and some moron had his out and started shining it at Jakob, which he was really not into. He urged the crowd to "take that guy out", which evidently convinced the dude to shut it off. I'm pretty sure they did "Three Marlenas", but it was at this time that Carrie tried getting us to go home, since she had early practice the next morning. For whatever reason (The Wallflowers did kind of suck), we all decided to go home at this time too. Just as we hit the parking lot we heard "One Headlight" come over the speakers.

The people-watching was, by far, the best part of Planetfest. We saw one of our classmates, Moira, passed out further down on the lawn with a bunch of other popular people. We decided to hit the Big Boy rather than go straight home, which turned out to be a great choice. Moira and Cam were there and when she saw us she came over for great drunk conversation about Cartoon Planet and all things Space Ghost.

Date:	10/16/1998
Venue:	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Artist:	Barenaked Ladies, wsg Cowboy Mouth

The '98/'00 Barenaked Ladies shows at the Palace kind of run together in terms of who was present. This one, I'm sure that Chris couldn't come. I think I went with Dan, but Smeeta/Amy/Elaina already had their own tickets, though they did stop by the suite beforehand. Maybe they stayed for the opening set by Cowboy Mouth? I can't remember why (Lisa drama?), but Chris's parents wouldn't allow him to come to this show, even though it was on a Friday night, so Dan was a last-minute replacement. The set was sort of ridiculous, what with the out-of-tune singing drummer and the songs like "Shotgun In My Soul". My cousin Lauren was only a freshman, but she was already cooler than me and she brought some friends to the show who had no knowledge of any BNL songs. I, on the other hand, had been slowly acquiring albums since I'd seen them in July. I'd even downloaded a couple of mp3s from the internet, which was my first venture into that world. This was the show where they played the full version of "Shoebox" and made my day/month.

Date:	9/5/1999
Venue:	Pine Knob, Clarkston, MI
Artist:	Barenaked Ladies, wsg The Verve Pipe and Cowboy Mouth

September 5 was an important day in my life. It was my first game as a member of the Michigan Marching Band and my first Notre Dame game as a U of M student. It was a blazingly hot day and I realized exactly what dehydration felt like for the first time. I was a reserve, so I didn't get to march, but I did get to mock Notre Dame's flip folders, which several band members dropped in pregame. It was incredibly exciting to watch our pregame for the first time, done before an enthusiastic home crowd, and with that extra surge that always goes with the first game stepped even higher due to it being a rivalry game. Somehow I managed to avoid heatstroke, Michigan made a comeback to win a great game, and I managed not to disgrace myself as a band member. After a quick shower, I got in the car my parents had kindly left me that day and we headed for Pine Knob.

I don't think we made it for all of Cowboy Mouth, but I didn't really care. We had the corporate tickets in row S under the pavilion, so we didn't have to bother with finding a place on the lawn. On our way in, I bought my "A Barenaked Summer's Night" tour shirt. We were confused by some offerings at the merch booth and wondered if the Verve Pipe had just come through here, since there was some stuff up there for them. Then we found out that there was an unannounced second opener. The band just came out and started playing, expecting everyone to know them. I sort of recognized one song and we tried to figure out who it could be. They were acting pretentious the entire set, going so far as to have a three-piece ensemble join them on certain songs, three guys in black playing French horn and saxophones, and never mentioning who they were, just assuming everyone knew. We eventually thought that it might be the Verve Pipe, since their merch was for sale and it was confirmed when they finally played "The Freshman".

I'm pretty sure that the setlist for this show was similar to the one from the Pay Per View special. They started with "Box Set" into a snippet of "Livin' La Vida Loca". Amy was disappointed when they didn't play "Be My Yoko Ono", but they played a ton of other stuff that we wanted to hear. Two years into touring behind Stunt, the new stuff had become old, so they could dig into the back catalogue. I think they played "I Live With It Every Day" from Born On A Pirate Ship, which was a highlight for me. I'd finished collecting their back catalog and BOAPS was the last purchase I made. The You Too Can Be A Rockstar Segment featured "You Really Got Me" and the guy actually had a modicum of rhythm. He managed to strum the strings while Ed managed the fretwork. The encore ended with a classic version of "Brian Wilson".

Date:	11/5/1999
Venue:	Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	"Weird Al" Yankovic, w/ some comedian

I'd gotten tickets to this show mostly because I wanted to get together with my brother to see Weird Al. I mean, Off The Deep End was the first CD I'd ever purchased. I got it from Harmony House when I was in fifth grade and I listened to it constantly. I'd purchased each one of his albums in succession after they came out. Alapalooza, Bad Hair Day, Running With Scissors. The problem was that Stephen hadn't been getting his work done in a timely manner, so he wasn't allowed to come. That left me at a Weird Al concert with my parents, which is ridiculous. The opening comedian was lame, harping on familiar topics like the difference between men and women, and he seemed to be a tamer Tim Allen. Weird Al's part of the show was great. I didn't realize that so many costume changes could be accomplished without really messing up the flow of the show, but the clips he showed kept things moving. "Dare To Be Stupid" was particularly well done and the acoustics of Hill Auditorium made it a great sing-along.

After the show was over, I found Sara and Sarah in the lobby. They and Christine were going to stick around to try for autographs, but I couldn't really do that. My parents wanted to see the dorm room and to get out of town. I gave them my liner notes from Running With Scissors, just in case they managed to get it signed. Sara gave it to me the next day with a message from Al and I felt very, very cool.

Date:	1/1/2000
Venue:	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Artist:	Barenaked Ladies wsg Tal Bachman

I was slightly disappointed at not having made performance block for the Orange Bowl, but I wasn't too sad about not having to march five miles through the Miami ghetto. For us, it was a family affair. We'd come home from our usual stint up north in time for New Year's Eve. My parents reasoned that, if something did go wrong with Y2K, it was better to be in Grosse Pointe than in the middle of the wilderness. Never mind the fact that we'd be south of 8 Mile, obviously nothing would go wrong in Detroit. So all five of us hit the Palace. Chris, Smeeta, and Elaina (I think) came along with us. The family took the suite and we took the floor seats, but not until after Tal Bachman performed. Suffice to say he's not the most talented Bachman out there. "She's So High" really is the best he can do.

Date:	2/15/2000
Venue:	Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Moxy Früvous

Many people on alt.music.barenaked-ladies had been urging other BNL fans to try Moxy Früvous, so I got Thornhill and Live Noise and decided to go over to the Michigan Theater . I didn't know any Früheads (and still don't really), so I made the bold move to go alone. By virtue of needing only one ticket, however, I was put in the front row, the only time this has ever happened to me. I don't think there was an opening band for this show; I'm pretty sure that it was just them. They played both the original version of "King of Spain" and the Cranky Monarch version. They opened with an a capella cover of the Beatles' "Nowhere Man", played "Michigan Militia", and "Bargainville", and "My Baby Loves A Bunch of Authors".

Date:	9/20/2000
Venue:	Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Guster wsg Six Clips

This was the only time I ever cut class to go to a concert. Marching band was from 4:45-6:15, but doors opened for the free show at 4:00 and it was (obviously) general admission. I gave some shady excuse like "midterm" or "dr.'s appointment" and didn't show up for band. I got to Hill about half an hour before doors opened and waited in an amorphous heap with the rest of the nerds. I got lucky and made it to the fourth row when I spied a single empty seat near the aisle. I was also happy that I didn't have to worry about grad staff seeing me sitting on the steps at Hill instead going to rehearsal.

The opening act for this Rock the Vote event was local band Six Clips, led by some red-haired Chad Kroeger-y looking dude. Six Clips are, without any doubt, the WORST band I have ever witnessed in concert. Their songs sucked and they thought they were awesome, taking pains to tell us about their tour of Thailand. It was a ridiculous mismatch of opener and headliner, as Six Clips were like a sludgy Nickelback (appropriate, yes?), only without the pop sensibility, trying to bludgeon the audience into submission. Then the Chad Kroeger-y dude got pissed off that people were barely bothering with polite applause and ordered people to get more into it. Whatever, Chad Kroeger-y dude.

When Guster came out, they were greeted with applause and the house lights finally were turned off. They proceeded to play one of the most fun concerts I've ever seen. Everyone was having a good time, singing along, and just appreciating the show. The ping pong balls went flying at the end of "Airport Song", hand gestures for "Barrel Of A Gun", and then Ryan told a story about the Halloween they spent in Ann Arbor. Substances (alcoholic? other?) had been partaken of at a house party and Adam was looking for something to eat. He saw a big plastic jack-o-lantern sitting on top of the fridge and a big grin came across his face. (In a low voice, awed) "Candy corn!" He picked it up and dumped it in his mouth. (Horrified) "Cigarette butts!!" They also talked about how they were climbing the ladder of Ann Arbor entertainment. Last time they were at the Michigan Theater, before that it was the Blind Pig, and the first time was at Rick's, which everyone agreed is a sucky place to play. Just before the show ended, they commented that they put some stuff in the rider just to see if anyone would do it and that we were the only place to ever fully comply with it. As a result, they had three goldfish to give away to three random audience members. They put Hill's superb acoustics to good use, closing with an entirely acoustic – unmiked – performance of "Mona Lisa".

I saw, on my way out, that some people were hanging by the bus to try to get autographs, but I had quiz bowl practice at 7:00, I didn't have a jacket, and it was starting to rain. I hit the Markley cafeteria, got my jacket, and headed back to the MLB, right next door to Hill Auditorium. I also grabbed a Sharpie and the liner notes to Lost & Gone Forever, just in case. The rain continued as I walked back across campus and I found that people were still waiting by the buses. I decided to wait with them till 7:30, since nothing really got started until 7:15 at the earliest. I was rewarded when all three Gusters came out to sign stuff. Their Sharpie started to run out, so I gave them mine. Therefore, I am cool and have a signed L&GF.

Date:	9/22/2000
Venue:	Pine Knob, Clarkston, MI
Artist:	Barenaked Ladies wsg Guster

Oakland County started to reveal its distaste for me on this day. I set out for this show with the usual suspects over two hours before the show was to start. Usually it's a one hour trip, so I'd left plenty of time, right? WRONG. We didn't get there until Guster's last TWO songs. It was rather depressing after I'd been talking about how awesome their Wednesday show had been. And why did it take so long to get there? I *still* have no idea. Traffic was just slow from University Drive almost all the way out to Pine Knob. I cursed Oakland County on that day and I haven't looked back.

Date:	12/7/2000
Venue:	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Artist:	Barenaked Ladies wsg Guster

The last time I saw BNL was on December 7, 2000. I'd been too late to get decent tickets when the 12/6 show was announced, but Chris and I were ready when the extra show was added. Finals weren't going to start until the next week, and our physics lab finals were on the 6th, so we were in the clear. We showed up on the steps before the Union even opened, such was our desire to get good seats. After a while we were let inside and took some seats to wait it out. No one was sitting in front of the ticket office, so things looked good. After someone else finally showed up, we took shifts in line. Smeeta came by to keep us company, too. Eventually I had to take off for marching band. Chris told me that there was enough of a line that they had to draw for line position (which they use to discourage camping out), but that he got the second spot in line and that we got 6th row tickets. Rock on!

Then things started coming apart. Our physics lab final was moved to the 7th. We were able to take it early, citing a "conflict". Snow was predicted. It started falling as Chris, Smeeta, Elaina, and I headed out of Ann Arbor. Still, we had extra time, right? The freeways were in bad shape, especially as we neared the M-14/I-96/I-275 confluence. We took Telegraph northward and ran into our problem.

Already running late, we were confused by the acrobatics Telegraph performs near Northwestern Hwy and made a turn that sent us through the woods to the village of Franklin. Eventually, by some miracle, we hit I-75 and found the Palace. Parking in the boonies, we hurried through the front door just in time to see Guster end their opening set one more time. Oakland County 2, Geoff 0.

On the plus side, I got a cool shirt.

The BNL stage show had kept growing and I didn't like their setup this time. They had a giant neon inflatable guy at the back of the stage and the backdrop was a weird blue. The show they played was good, but they were looking tired. Every song on Maroon was played except for "Helicopters". I'm sure they played "Brian Wilson", but I can't certify it. By the end of it, I knew that I still enjoyed the show, but that I wasn't going to put myself out to get there anymore. It turned out to be the last BNL show I've attended.

Leaving the arena, Elaina totally didn't believe me when I claimed the car was off in one corner, so we searched in other places. Where was the car? Right where I said it was. Geoff 1, Elaina 0. The drive back was slick but manageable. We ended up taking a little longer than we could have, but we didn't take a moronic detour this time.

Date:	1/15/2001
Venue:	Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Charles Mingus Band

This is the show that turned me into a Mingus fan. Charles may be dead, but the band that carries on his name is worthy of it. I went to this one with my parents, since my dad is a fan of jazz. The tenor saxophonist was sick, I remember. I remember that they played "Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb On Me", which felt appropriate with Bush set to take over in less than a week, and "Goodbye Porkpie Hat" (with words!).

Date:	6/7/2001
Venue:	State Theatre, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Coldplay wsg Grandaddy

In November, I'd gone to TRASH Regionals in London, Ontario. In Canada, they have a channel called MuchMusic, a Canadian MTV. They played a bunch of weird videos one night which you don't see in America, like the Charlatans UK, Richard Ashcroft, and this British band called Coldplay. I liked the video for "Yellow", so I downloaded the rest of the album and liked what I heard. I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to go to the Detroit show on their first US tour, but then the tour was cancelled due to illness. So I jumped at the chance to go when it was rescheduled for June. I wouldn't be more than half an hour away from the State, so it would be easy to get down there. I was a little anxious about going to a downtown show for the first time, but Chris had indicated that he wanted to go too. He knew his way around much better than I did, so I felt pretty good about it. Then he cancelled on me just days before the show. My sister almost got to go (she'd heard and liked "Yellow"), but my parents wouldn't let her. Craig & Dave told me where they would be, since they had tickets too, but I didn't manage to find them, having never been there before. A little disconcerted by my first patdown search, I ended up in the balcony.

Grandaddy was up first, playing glitchy post-rock that didn't really work for me. Community college students had evidently designed their backdrops. Or maybe they were avant-garde screen savers. There were sunflowers and windmills and it was all very highbrow stoner. Not the way to encounter a band for the first time.

Coldplay played almost the entirety of Parachutes and started dipping into some EPs they'd made. They'd brought the globe from the Parachutes cover with them and it sat on the top of Chris Martin's piano. The stage show wasn't elaborate, just a few lights. "Shiver" was the highlight, for me. The encore was a little puzzling. They were really excited about being in America, so they wanted to play some American music, so they closed the show with surprisingly good covers of "Lost Highway" and "Georgia On My Mind."

Date:	7/5/2001
Venue:	Pine Knob, Clarkston, MI
Artist:	Dido wsg Travis and Emiliana Torrini

I went to this show entirely for Travis, Megan went for Dido and Katie came with her. Still being That Guy, I listened to Travis on the way there and managed to convince them that it would be a good thing to be in time for their set. In fact, we were early for Emiliana Torrini, which in itself was a good thing. Emiliana Torrini is totally Björk Lite. She's Icelandic, she doesn't wear shoes on stage, she has a surprisingly strong voice, and she doesn't play conventional pop. But she's still in this galaxy. I'm not usually a big fan of banter by opening acts unless it really connects with the whole audience, but she was winningly weird and managed to connect with the three of us at least. And her accent was adorable when she said "Sneaker Pimps", as in "This is my favorite song by the Sneaker Pimps". And every so often she would say, in her best mock-rockstar voice, "TORRINI!" She introduced her bandmates as Charlie Torrini, Ethan Torrini, and Siggi Torrini. A week later, I bought Love In The Time Of Science.

Travis came out next and a surprisingly big contingent had clearly been waiting for them. At least one Scottish flag was in evidence. They played "Sing", "Side", "Writing to Reach You", and "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" in addition to several other tracks. Fran didn't really tell any stories this time, but there was some trouble with tuning, prompting him to state in a thick Scottish accent, "Thair's nuthin' worse than an owt of toone bahnjo." I was hoping for a rendition of "Baby One More Time" to close the show, but instead we got a kick-the-doors-down rendition of "The Blue Flashing Light", which I'd never heard before, and which instantly became my favorite Travis song, and which merited a standing ovation.

Dido was last and looked tired. She led off with "Here With Me", which was the only song of her's that I really wanted to hear, so I was ready to go, but my sister and Katie wanted to stay until she played "Thank You". So we stayed for the lazy-sounding not-really-trip-hop of the rest of the show. Instead of delaying it until the encore, she at least made it the last song of her regular set, after which we took off.

Date:	August ??, 2001
Venue:	Meadowbrook Music Festival, Rochester, MI
Artist:	"Weird Al" Yankovic w/ some comedian

This show was very similar to the one I saw at Hill Auditorium. Al had stretched the Running With Scissors tour into another year and this time I really had the opportunity to see the show with my brother and I think my sister came along too. Sarah was also a fan, so we all headed off from the GP to the Meadowbrook Music Festival. The stage was smaller, so the show wasn't quite as big as at Hill, but I don't remember much of the performance. I just remember that when we got back to Grosse Pointe Sarah's truck wouldn't start, so she ended up staying the night. Some sort of magic allowed it to start up in the morning, but not before my dad was able to point out that we made the metal stamping that held the hood prop, which was neat to see on a truck from the first Reagan administration.

Date:	10/11/2001
Venue:	Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Travis wsg Remy Zero

Finally I was able to get to a show with Craig and Dave. We took tickets in the first row of the balcony at the Michigan Theater and had a great view, which I chose over (literally) the last row on the main floor. Craig and Dave were not happy to have to see them for something like the third time. There music was mediocre rock, but not really that unpleasant. Cinjun Tate's propensity to talk about his friend Fran Healy was, however. He told a story about how they'd each decided to write a song in 24 hours and then play it for each other. He'd written the song he was about to play; Fran had written "The Cage". And he said it like "The Cage" was some great masterwork when, in reality, it's kind of lame. Then he repeated it, "'The Cage', man!"

Travis was up next and Andy was standing in front of his fuzzy orange amps on our side of the stage. He was D-R-U-N-K-K. During "Turn" (awesome!) he climbed up on one of the big speakers and kind of swung his legs around. At the end, he barely made it down without falling. They played most of The Invisible Band with a good measure of The Man Who. The audience knew the words to "Why Does It Always Rain On Me?", so Fran turned the vocals over to us for a verse and a chorus. After the show was over, I waited behind the theater for an hour and a half with several other fans only to find that they'd already slipped away.

Date:	10/23/2001
Venue:	Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	They Might Be Giants wsg OK Go

This was the best concert of my life. They Might Be Giants is one of those bands you'd expect someone like me to be really into, but I've never been more than a casual fan. However, Dan wanted to go to the show too, so I figured I should give it a shot. Such a good idea. Dan drove in from GPW and picked me up after band practice. After a stop at the Union, we headed to the Michigan Theater. I'd taken a pair of tickets way off to the left, on the theory that eighth row left beats sixteenth row center.

First up was OK Go, who were halfway decent. More interesting than their music was the bald guitarist's shirt, which we were trying to read. At first, I thought it said "Prussia High School", which would have been awesome. C'mon, a high school named after a German state? Instead, it was "Prussing High School", which is boring.

TMBG came out and people started losing it. They played a set liberally peppered with old favorites and new ones from Mink Car. Several times, security had to come down and remind people that you can't stand/sit/dance in the aisles. The whole show was a sing-along. The guy next to us was in fanboy heaven. They played their game where they tune their radio to a random station and then try to play what's on it, which they did with surprising success. They played "Birdhouse In Your Soul", "Boss of Me", "Dr. Worm", "Istanbul", and a bunch of others. I think they played "Particle Man" too.

Date:	3/24/2002
Venue:	Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	DL Hughley w/ Lewis Black and some guy from E3W

In a business sense, this show was ill-fated and ill-promoted by the people of UAC. From a comedy standpoint, it was good. The warm-up guy was one of the editors of the Every Three Weekly, the campus humor paper. He had a good, wry sense of humor that worked with a lot of the audience. Lewis Black took over from him and started sputtering with rage, much like always. I'd heard a few of the bits before, from The White Album, but I loved hearing him perform his piece about TV pilots and the one about gambling in Vegas. He had some new stuff, too. Like a bit about being Jewish and driving through the middle of Missourri, and another one about being about his 8:00AM econ class at UNC. DL Hughley was last, and he expounded on the differences between black people and white people.

Date:	5/9/2002
Venue:	The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Neko Case wsg Joe Pernice

I almost didn't get into this show. Somehow I left my driver's license sitting in the key dish at home when I ran out the door. If I didn't have my birth certificate in my wallet, I don't think I would've made it. As it was, they weren't going to let me drink, given that my birthdate only just made me 21. Doors were supposed to be already open, but they weren't, so we went downstairs to the 8 Ball to sit around for a while. When we went back up, they'd started letting people in. We took three of the last stools in the place up in a corner.

Joe Pernice was the opener. He played some gentle solo acoustic folk. It was quiet and lazy and the people by the bar wouldn't shut up and I wondered at his forbearance. It made his set seem longer than it really was.

After a good delay, Neko came out onstage and I'm morally certain they started with "Favorite", the first time I'd ever heard that song. At that point, I didn't have The Virginian and Blacklisted hadn't come out, so I only knew things off of Furnace Room Lullaby. She played a couple of Hank Williams covers and talked about how Keanu Reeves used to be her boyfriend, "but he crashed my car, so I had to dump him". I know that she played a few songs that would eventually appear on Blacklisted, including "Lady Pilot". The band was in good form, even on the Pig's cramped stage. You could barely see everyone crammed in there.

The audience wasn't really as good as I'd hoped it would be. The buzz from the bar never really stopped and the people on the floor felt the need to make setlist suggestions over and over again. There was this one drunk woman who kept yelling "TACOMA!" and one guy who really wanted her to play "Porchlight", although that one doesn't really work without three-part harmony. Eventually, finally, transcendently she played "Thrice All American" and everything was awesome. I bought a copy of the Canadian Amp tour EP from her on my way out.

Date:	5/26/2002
Venue:	Hart Plaza, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Lots. George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars headlined

As a native Detroiter, I felt kind of obligated to go check out a huge, free electronic music festival that was practically in my backyard playing music that was essentially invented here. Chris, Chris, and I made plans to hit the festival on the day when George Clinton would be the headliner. I liked the plan, because I'd at least know some of his music, and funk is a universal language.

On the way in, we stopped for lunch at Pizzapapolis, the only time I've ever dined there. Usually when Chris and I are downtown we're at Laikon or Hellas Cafe.

Date:	October? ??, 2002?
Venue:	Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Guster wsg ???

I have very little recollection of this Guster show except that it was pretty good and that Ryan couldn't come with me due to an exam. They played new songs "Homecoming King" and "Amsterdam" off the upcoming Keep It Together and didn't play "Two Points For Honesty" like I'd hoped. The internet isn't helping me out with even the date.

Date:	10/25/2002
Venue:	Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Wilco wsg Califone

Ryan and I didn't get our tickets as early as we wanted to, so we ended up about three rows from the back of the Michigan Theater on the main floor. The house was relatively full even as Califone began to play. They played a lot of long, wordless songs with a Southwestern flair, sounding more like Calexico than they usually do, I'm told.

At this time, I only knew Wilco from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I'd heard that they were a good band and I'd almost picked up A.M. in the bargain bin at Borders, but I hadn't made the jump. After the record label flap, I was one of the people who picked up YHF and became a convert. I didn't really know what I should expect from this show, but there was a lot of buzz in the room.

Date:	11/26/2002
Venue:	State Theatre, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Ben Folds wsg Duncan Sheik

I'd missed out on Ben's previous trip to Michigan, but I made sure not to miss this show. Ryan, Gordon, and I drove downtown, 5:30 on a Tuesday night, just to check out Ben. We found Craig's usual spot, just at the rail of the bar section, so we were able to sit through the opening act without being too far away.

'90's one-hit wonder Duncan Sheik was the opening act and this table of girls next to us was going crazy over him. I just couldn't understand it. He and another guy on guitar constituted his full band these days. People gave the requisite applause when he played "Barely Breathing" and to his also-ran follow-up. After he was done, the table of girls got up and left. We were floored by the existence of Duncan Sheik groupies.

During the interbandium, someone put CCR's greatest hits on the PA. We declared that they just weren't trying.

Ben came out and played "Don't Change Your Plans" to start it off and his voice was sounding a little rough. He explained that he was sick and running a good fever, but he was going to try to pull through.

Date:	2/19/2003
Venue:	Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Sleater-Kinney wsg The Black Keys
Old Entry:	Sleater-Kinney

Date:	3/27/2003
Venue:	Clutch Cargo's, Pontiac, MI
Artist:	Guster wsg Blue Merle

Ryan and I were finally able to get to a Guster gig together at the end of March in 2003. We headed up to Pontiac and Clutch Cargo's, a large club in a converted church in Pontiac. The line was already around the building when we got there, much to our surprise. I was delayed further when the security guard declared I had to either surrender my d-ring caribbeaner thing or go back, put it in the car, and get back in line. I surrendered it. Inside, we managed to get pretty close to the front, but we were well off to the left.

Blue Merle was the opening band and they had a good deal more twang than I expected from a Guster concert. During the interbandium, a guy and some girls in front of us started to sing along to Ben Kweller's "Family Tree" and I joined them.

Guster came out and set to work with the favorite "Barrel Of A Gun" and dove right in. Set list is as follows (taken from a tape-trading site):

1. Intro
2. Barrel of a Gun
3. Demons
4. Mona Lisa
5. Amsterdam
6. Careful
7. I Spy
8. Airport Song
9. Strobe Light Jam
10. Jesus on the Radio
11. What You Wish For
12. Two Points for Honesty
13. Where the Streets Have No Name (U2)
14. Not the Same (Ben Folds cover)
15. Parachute
16. Ramona
17. Happier
18. Fa Fa
19. Intro of "The Gusters"
20. Window
21. What You Wish For
22. Great Escape
23. Hey Hey, We're The Gusters
24. Either Way

"Demons" was pretty sweet and I was surprised to see them go through "Mona Lisa" so early in the set. Though "Amsterdam" and "Careful" were new, they were quick enough not to kill the momentum. "Airport Song" was as vicious as Guster gets. "Jesus on the Radio" was a bit of a head-scratcher. I was thrilled to finally hear "Two Points For Honesty" played live. The U2 cover was really well done, except that they skipped most of the intro. During "Not The Same", it was evident that a few other audience members had been to see Ben Folds before. I was floored when they actually played "Window" in concert since Ryan had gone on record that he doesn't like playing that one. "Great Escape" was fun to hear live. "Hey Hey, We're The Gusters" was an obvious substitution for the Monkees' tune and they closed with "Either Way".

Date:	6/1/2003
Venue:	DTE Energy Music Theater (Pine Knob), Clarkston, MI
Artist:	Allison Krauss & Union Station, Emmylou Harris, Ralph Stanley, Patty Loveless, Ricky Skaggs, Del McCourry, The Whites, Chris Thomas King, The Nashville Bluegrass Band

I was working at my dad's company over the summer and I asked my uncle, the day of the concert, whether these tickets had been spoken for. He just tossed me the pack of five. I called my brother and we decided that we'd go; it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. After work, we rushed home to change and hit the road. We didn't make it more than fifteen minutes down the road before hitting a wall of water. The area thunderstorms were scattered but powerful, and it was nearly impossible to see for a period of several minutes. We hit a couple of more downpours on the way, but made it to the former Pine Knob before the show began. There were a lot of empty seats, but that might have been from the weather. The people who stayed home missed quite the show.

The Nashville Bluegrass Band, the house band of the Grand Ole Opry, led things off with a couple of songs. They gave way to Alison Krauss and Union Station, who performed a song off of New Favorite and one from the O Brother soundtrack (I think it was "Man Of Constant Sorrow"). Alison showed off a little fiddle work that doesn't show up on New Favorite as much as I'd like. They gave way to Emmylou Harris, but might have stayed on as her backing band. I'm not sure; it's been awhile. What I do remember is her voice; so crystalline and pure. The order gets hazy now, but Chris Thomas King came out to do "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" and "John Law Burned Down The Liquor Store". The Del McCourry band went through some seriously impressive string band work. Patty Loveless came out and did a few songs, including "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive", a song about coal mining in Harlan County, Kentucky. Ricky Skaggs took the Del McCourry Band's performance as a personal challenge and went crazy. The Whites performed their pair of songs from O Brother. Ralph Stanley came out at the end (introduced as "living treasure Dr. Ralph Stanley") to do "O Death", one other song, and everyone came out to do "Angel Band" to close the show.

Date:	6/12/2003
Venue:	Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Artist:	Fleetwood Mac

This concert was not good. In fact, I'd say it's the worst I've ever attended. I went because I wasn't doing anything, my parents had an extra ticket, and it was for a suite. When I got there, the customers had picked over the best food and I didn't really know anyone. The start of the concert threw me when I realized that there wasn't any opening band. It continued to throw me when I realized that whoever was manning the soundboard had know idea what to do. It was way too loud for a Fleetwood Mac show and the bass was overpowering everything in front of it, muddying everything. It was hideous. The only song worth listening to was "Landslide", since it was just Stevie Nicks with guitar accompaniment. We left even before the main set was over and abused the show the whole way home.

Date:	7/2/2003
Venue:	Comerica Tastefest, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Wilco

Whoever did the booking for the 2003 edition of Tastefest knew their stuff. There were three or four bands playing free outdoor shows in the middle of downtown Detroit that I actually wanted to see. I made it down for Wilco and met up with Dave and Emily. We were surprised that so many people had staked out their territory by the time we decided to sit down. It was a warm summer night and we were wondering who'd be the opener when we realized that there wouldn't be an opener.

Date:	7/5/2003
Venue:	Comerica Tastefest, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Guster

Days later, I was back downtown for Guster at Tastefest. In the intervening months since I'd seen them last, Keep It Together had been released, so I'd improved my lyrical knowledge. Steve and I hit the booths for dinner and got our seats a bit earlier this time. Guster is a better fit for an outdoor festival than Wilco is, but it was still a pretty loose show. "Airport Song" just isn't as good in the daytime. The sun hung obstinately in the sky for the whole set, just dipping into twilight as they finished the encore. After the show, Steve and I found ex-pep-band-member Jenny with a classmate from Michigan State. We'd tried to find each other at the Clutch Cargo's show, but we'd missed each other in the crush of humanity. We said hi and went our separate ways.

Date:	7/7/2003
Venue:	The Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
Artist:	The New Pornographers wsg The Organ and I Am Spoonbender

Date:	8/18/2003
Venue:	Meadowbrook Music Festival, Rochester Hills, MI
Artist:	Tori Amos wsg Ben Folds

Tori and Ben were coming through Detroit to play on August 15, but the power went out on the 14th. I was at work, in the CAD room, when everything went even darker than usual. I groped my way into the hall, stumbling over chairs and desks, wondering what was going on. Maybe some construction crew had severed a line; there were several in the area. I got on my cell to try my sister, but no one was getting through, which was weird. We all stood outside in the sun. We were getting vague reports that it wasn't just a local blackout. At least the whole city of Detroit was down, and New York might be in trouble too. After half an hour, we all drifted to our cars. I can't remember, but I think I took 9 or 10 Mile, reasoning that 8 Mile was going to be a madhouse. I made it home only to find that no one else was home. My parents had left for a golf weekend up north, but I was surprised that my sister was gone. She eventually called me to say that she was at a friend's house when it all hit, but she was coming home. My brother came home almost an hour after me to say that the freeways were a mess. All the little old ladies who normally take surface streets had decided to get on the interstate and clogged up the system.

We rigged up a batter-powered radio and started listening to the news. Eventually, it became clear that it was a massive loss of power, but we were near the edge of it. There was power in Brighton and up by Flint, but none in Ann Arbor. We decided to sit tight in the house. I lit the stove with a grill lighter, so we were able to have a hot dinner of macaroni and cheese. Better to use the milk now than let it go. The night was boring. Candles don't really give enough light for reading. The radio didn't have anything new to say, and we didn't want to waste the batteries. We all slept in the family room, since the temperature was well into the upper 80's upstairs.

I drove around in the morning, looking for an open newsstand. All the papers from the machines had been pulled already. The newsstand really isn't a popular Detroit phenomenon, so I came up empty. When it came to almost 1:00 with no power back, we decided to take to the road. We had an outlet, we were going to use it. As we drove up I-75, we heard that bookings were way up for hotels in northern Michigan. I had 2/3's of a tank of gas when we left, so we made it all the way to Grayling before we had to pull off to get more. By evening, we were at the Gaylord house, really appreciating the area. We even made a tee time for the morning.

We came back on Sunday, as power was said to be restored. A boil water advisory was still in effect, but things were otherwise normal. The concert, we found out, was rescheduled for Monday night. It was relatively well-attended, given the circumstances and the hasty rescheduling. Ben was solo. I can't find his set anywhere online, but he played "Philosophy" and "Army" (with human horn sections), "Not the Same", "Rockin' the Suburbs", "Zak & Sara", "Annie Waits", and plenty of other songs as the sun went down. The crowd was definitely receptive, especially the lawn, where we were. He played a great show.

Date:	10/29/2003
Venue:	State Theatre, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Travis wsg Rooney

I met Craig and Dave down at the State Theatre in Detroit for this cocnert, as Travis was out on the road promoting 12 Memories. Rooney had already taken the stage by the time we made it inside. I'd never heard of them before I saw them on the bill, but Craig said that some of his students were excited that he was going to see them. I saw a middling review for their album on AMG, but I didn't bother with further investigation. In concert, I found them annoying. The keboard bleats weren't interesting, nor were the lyrics, but the guitars weren't bad. The frontman kept talking when I wanted him to be leaving. That "Sh-sh-shaking" song is terrible. Then they played one which I described as, "They're covering Blue Oyster Cult covering The Clash." Craig: "And they've stolen The Kinks' hair." Shut up, Rooney. You're how I knew The OC had jumped the shark.

When Travis came out to play, I was reminded of how much better they are live than on an album. The guitars get turned, way, way up and the dynamics are much bigger on the slow, formerly quiet songs. And you get Stories With Fran. Fran Healy didn't know that the expression "handbags at dawn" would be confusing to Americans. It's supposed to be like "pistols at dawn", but instead two pepperpots are ready to beat each other with purses.

They played a lot of 12 Memories, as well as the required elements of The Man Who and The Invisible Band. I always love it when they play "Turn". Andy was drunk and climbing the amps again. The singing on "Why Does It Always Rain On Me" wasn't as good as at the Michigan Theater, but it was still fun. The encore was where they got me. I'd nearly given up on hearing their cover of "...Baby One More Time", when Fran started playing it on his acoustic. I started singing along with most of the people around me. It was awesome.

Date:	2/15/2004
Venue:	Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Henry Rollins (spoken word)
Old Entry:	Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins is angry! Angry, I tell you! Angry! He's mad about many things and he's going to tell you about them! He's also really funny when he stops talking about obvious political points people already know enough about and starts telling self-deprecating stories about his time on the road, or other things in his life. He should lay off the grunts and sound effects, but he can tell a story pretty well and sustain a show for almost three hours of just talking.

Date:	3/30/2004
Venue:	Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
Artist:	Ben Kweller w/ Death Cab For Cutie wsg ???

This might have been my sister's first non-arena show, back when she was still a senior in high school. I got her hooked on Ben Kweller when I bought Sha Sha, which was really predictable after I also got her hooked on Rockin' the Suburbs. We heard that Ben was going to be co-headlining with Death Cab, so it seemed like a good double bill. My sister didn't really know Death Cab, but Seth Cohen liked them, so it was good with her.

I don't remember the name of the first band that played, but it sounded like it could be the name of a new Toyota. They were from Seattle and were friends with Death Cab. Not bad stuff, but not enough to make me remember their name.

Death Cab For Cutiecame next. They put on a pretty good show. People sort of shuffled their feet a bit, because you can't really dance to Death Cab. Some of the songs were good, some weren't quite as good. Ben Gibbard looked way, way less chunky in person, or maybe it was the effect of touring. It was mostly a Death Cab crowd, too.

Ben was last and he was blasted. Slurring, barely competent, weaving drunk. He shouted the title parts of "Sha Sha". It kind of worked on the loud, fast material, but I really would prefer a slightly more sober performance of "On My Way". My sister saw him again last year at Michigan State. She said he was just as obliterated at that performance.

Date:	6/20/2004
Venue:	Freedom Hill, Sterling Heights, MI
Artist:	Guster w/ Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright

This was another double-bill made in heaven. The three artists were co-headlining a tour hitting mid-sized ampitheaters across the country. I'm not a big fan of Rufus, but I'm generally up for a Ben Folds or Guster show. I grabbed tickets that were about halfway back, but almost dead center for myself and my siblings.

When we got there, Rufus was already playing, defying what was on the website. Lots of other people were still stuck in the parking lot, too. Security was searching everyone. Everyone. At a show where Rufus Wainwright is the most dangerous performer. Whatever.

We took our seats when Rufus had about four or five songs left in his set. It was kind of a venue/performer mismatch. The speakers were too loud, his voice was too nasal. He was funny, though. He told a story about how Ben Folds was doing his soundcheck that day when a bird aerially bombarded him. I also made it in time to hear him do his "Hallelujah" cover, which was the thing I most wanted to see.

Ben came out to big cheers, but the crowd remained seated for the show. I wish I remembered the setlist. I know he did "Army" and "Philosophy", possibly "Kate". Not "Emaline". It was actually a better show than I'd seen the previous year. The crowd was more attentive, and more filled in. The venue was also louder, whcih helped. Still, it made me want to see him back indoors again, because the intensity wasn't as high.

Date:	7/11/2004
Venue:	Freedom Hill, Sterling Heights, MI
Artist:	Counting Crows wsg (Jody Raffoul Band?) and Graham Colton Band
Old Entry:	Craig took this one

I never was the biggest Counting Crows fan in the world, but they wrote a song about someone who may or may not be a family member, so I have to see them in a positive light. Craig and Dave were hitting Freedom Hill for that show, so I decided to go with them. Like Guster, Counting Crows is a better band to see in concert than hear on a CD. Adam Duritz was growing a topiary from his skull, but the banter was good and the songs were better than average.

The first opening band, the Graham Coulton Band, was actually a better band than Counting Crows. Kind of a roots rock outfit, I would've gone to see them in 1998. They would've fit right in at Planetfest. The second band, who may or may not be the Jody Raffoul Band, are on my list. They weren't good and they were late. I really don't care about your Windsor border crossing troubles, Canadians. Do your job.

Date:	9/27/2004
Venue:	The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Sarah Harmer wsg Josh Ritter

At the Engineering Job Fair in late September, 2004, I was underemployed, out of school, and I'd been very politely told to "go to our website" about a dozen times, rather than anyone actually trying to schedule an interview. I'd bought tickets to Sarah Harmer's show at the Ark, just so that I'd have something to look forward to.

Josh Ritter was up first. The Idahoan with the mop of red hair played his acoustic mostly-folk well. I might yet buy his album if I can find it for less than $16. He took a few swipes at the president which were appreciated by an Ann Arbor folk club audience.

Sarah played a beautiful set, leading off with "Greeting Card Aisle", then moving on to more upbeat material, giving me the musical equivalent of comfort food. She played "Around the Corner", "Basement Apartment", "Tether", "Almost", "Pendulums", "Came On Lion"; really, most of All Of Our Names. During a brief solo/acoustic mini-set, by request she did a couple of songs from her Weeping Tile days. She played an excerpt from "South of Me", on the basis that she'd written it near here, and an achingly beautiful take of "Dogs and Thunder". I think that this was my favorite concert of 2004.

Date:	10/2/2004
Venue:	Cobo Arena
Artist:	Vote For Change Tour, with Bruce Springsteen, REM, John Fogarty, Bright Eyes and appearances by Dixie Chicks and Neil Young
Old Entry:	Vote For Change

Date:	4/2/2005
Venue:	Michigan Opera Theater, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Jon Stewart

Jon Stewart came to town last year, so we got my brother tickets for his birthday. We were late in finding this one out, so we up in a far, nosebleed corner of the Opera House. He complimented the Opera House, and thought it only natural. Paraphrasing, "A city really comes together around its opera house. I was driving in, and everything else looked like...Dresden. But the opera house, that's gonna turn it all around." He also made fun of the Uniroyal tire, which I actually like, but again, I can understand. He got a little blue at the end, but not too many uncomfortable moments (given that my parents were sitting right behind us).

Date:	6/15/2005
Venue:	Majestic Theatre, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Neko Case wsg Johnny Dowd

Date:	7/30/2005
Venue:	Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
Artist:	Aimee Mann wsg The Honeydogs
Old Entry:	Rocking In The 10:00 Curfew World

Date:	8/13/2005
Venue:	Meadowbrook Music Festival
Artist:	Lewis Black

Lewis Black is funny, but I think I need to give him some more time to develop new material. I did like his bit on preparing for the White House Corrspondents' Dinner, and I always enjoy when he picks material from the White Album. I just think I need to give him some more time for the new stuff. The guy who went before him was quite good, playing on all of his local knowledge. Craig did an entry on this show, he's spot on.

Date:	9/11/2005
Venue:	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Artist:	Green Day wsg Jimmy Eat World
Old Entry:	I Am So Old

Date:	10/2/2005
Venue:	Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Lucinda Williams wsg CC Adcock
Old Entry:	Right In Time

Date:	10/4/2005
Venue:	St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
Artist:	Sleater-Kinney wsg The Ponys
Old Entry:	Entertain

Date:	10/7/2005
Venue:	Club Soda, Kalamazoo, MI
Artist:	The New Pornographers wsg Destroyer, Immaculate Machine, and Gerudo
Old Entry:	Reverse

My old entry makes sense, but time goes backward in it, for the most part. This shall serve as an easier-to-read version.

The opening opening opening act was a local band called Gerudo. They were four guys from Western who threw together every weird chord and time signature they could get their hands on, occasionally landing near something catchy before shying away from it. Their sound never came together for me. They'd won a battle of the bands for the right to open this show and a bunch of people near the middle of the stage were rocking out to them. Later, I said, "They clearly had fans," which Dave quickly corrected to the more accurate "They clearly had friends."

Barker/Wallace Opening Act Criteria:

• Minimal banter -- Check
• Thank the band you are opening for once and keep rolling -- Check
• Play your hits -- N/A
• Do not presume anyone is there to see you -- Check plus
• Move quickly from song to song -- Check
• Be good and entertaining -- Check minus minus
• No solos -- Check

Overall grade: C. My expectations had already been lowered once I Googled the source of their name. In the Zelda world, the Gerudo are an Amazon-like race of beautiful female warriors. The alarm bells of "Dork alert!" were racing through my head. When something is too geeky even for me, it's such a bad sign. They came close to obeying most of the guidelines, but the whole "Be good and entertaining" part is a killer.

The opening opening band was Immaculate Machine. When she was 19, Carl Newman's mom gave birth to a daughter she put up for adoption. Years later, the now-fiftysomething daughter reconnected with her mom. Carl not only learned he had a sister, but now he also had a trained vocalist for a niece. Long-lost niece Kathryn Calder now sings and plays keyboards in the New Pornographers with Uncle Carl. She's also the lead singer / keyboardist for her own band, Immaculate Machine.

Barker/Wallace Opening Act Criteria:

• Minimal banter -- Check minus
• Thank the band you are opening for once and keep rolling -- Check
• Play your hits -- N/A
• Do not presume anyone is there to see you -- Check plus
• Move quickly from song to song -- Check
• Be good and entertaining -- Check plus
• No solos -- Check

What's not to like when a trio sings pop songs about broken ships, the future, and existentialism? They were a really good, tight band playing art-pop songs that managed to remain unpretentious. Kathryn Calder has to have some serious musical training, amateurs don't play keyboards with their fingers flying all over the place like that. They were slack in moving from song to song a few times, but they had such a good rapport with the crowd that it's hard to ding them too much for this. Overall grade: Strong A-.

The actual opening band was Dan Bejar's main project, Destroyer. Dan was already drunk, but they still played a good, lean set, if not particularly tightly. The music itself is similar to the songs he writes for the New Pornographers. Lots of wordplay and expressions you wouldn't expect to show up in pop music. Various other Pornographers play with him in Destroyer, so Kurt Dahle, Blaine Thurier, and bassist John Collins were up there with him. Thankfully, Kurt had decided not to join in the theme of "Shirtless drummers with chest tattoos". Thank you, Kurt. Thank you very, very much.

Barker/Wallace Opening Act Criteria:

• Minimal banter -- Check plus
• Thank the band you are opening for once and keep rolling -- N/A
• Play your hits -- N/A
• Do not presume anyone is there to see you -- Check plus
• Move quickly from song to song -- Check plus
• Be good and entertaining -- Check
• No solos -- Check plus

Destroyer rates at about an A-, verging on an A. I've docked them points for drunkenness affecting the performance. At the end, Dan hilariously knocked over the mic stand as he walked offstage, then looked back to deadpan "it's all part of the show". Since Dan's in the New Pornographers, he can't be expected to thank them. "I'd like to thank me for letting me go on tour with myself and my bandmates." That would be stupid.

It's been two days, so I don't know if I can recall the entire setlist, but I'll try. This is in no way related to the actual order they in which they were played:

Twin Cinema
Jackie Dressed In Cobras
These Are Fables
Streets of Fire
The Bleeding Heart Show
Sing Me Spanish Techno
Use It
Star Bodies
The Electric Version
From Blown Speakers
The Laws Have Changed
All For Swinging You Around
The End of Medicine
It's Only Divine Right
Mass Romantic
Letter From An Occupant
The Fake Headlines
The Slow Descent Into Alcoholism
Jackie

They finally got Neko's vocal mix right for the encore. "Letter From An Occupant" came out loud, clear, and on-key, which is more than I could say for parts of "Mass Romantic" earlier. She'd been complaining during sound check that she needed more reverb, but they somehow weren't able to give her any more without squeaky feedback coming through. A completely smashed Dan Bejar also came out for the encore. Dan must have the most precise diction in the world, because he sang "Jackie" without slurring too badly, despite guzzling another Beck's on stage.

During the regular set, they'd brought him out for a few other tunes, like "Streets of Fire" and "Star Bodies", and he'd been pretty far gone as well. The sound at the club had been spotty all evening, and I was most disappointed with it during "The Bleeding Heart Show". Feedback kept creeping in, robbing a song that depends so much on building tension of a lot of what makes it so powerful. They had to back off that tension to let the feedback dissipate and at the end chorus they couldn't go all-out like they do on the album. If not for the sound sucking so horribly, this would have been a superb show. The songs from Twin Cinema sounded really crisp and the stuff from The Electric Version carried a lot of energy through the show, especially "It's Only Divine right" and "All For Swinging You Around".

Date:	10/25/2005
Venue:	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Artist:	U2 wsg Institute
Old Entry:	I Am Young And Vital

Date:	11/8/2005
Venue:	Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI
Artist:	Andrew Bird wsg Martin Dosh and Head of Femur
Old Entry:	Beards!

Date:	2/22/2006
Venue:	The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, MI
Artist:	Coldplay wsg Fiona Apple
Old Entry:	She Follows Her Own Muse

Date:	3/15/2006
Venue:	Calvin College Performing Arts Centre, Grand Rapids, MI
Artist:	Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins wsg Johnathan Rice and Whispertown 2000
Old Entry:	Rise Up With Fists!!

Date:	3/16/2006
Venue:	Auditorium, East Lansing, MI
Artist:	BB King
Old Entry:	King of the Blues

Date:	3/24/2006
Venue:	The Blind Pig, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Magnolia Electric Co. wsg Destroyer and Nedelle
Old Entry:	Beggars Might Ride

Date:	4/1/2006
Venue:	Temple Club, Lansing, MI
Artist:	Neko Case wsg The High Dials
Old Entry:

Date:	4/6/2006
Venue:	Auditorium, East Lansing, MI
Artist:	Guster wsg Andrew Bird
Old Entry:	It's Like A Habit I Can't Break

Date:	4/10/2006
Venue:	The Wharton Center, East Lansing, MI
Artist:	Ben Folds wsg Chris Mills
Old Entry:	Generation Gap?

Date:	4/20/2006
Venue:	The Ark, Ann Arbor, MI
Artist:	Kathleen Edwards wsg Kate York
Old Entry:	Back To Me