Mrs. Peel

I spent 5 hours restocking my iPod last night. I was missing a lot of the old punk and hardcore that I had taken off a long time ago. I'm back in the Waiting Room, baby!

I'm ashamed to say I've skipped concerts more times than I'd like to admit. Since most bands don't come to CT, we usually either go to NYC or MA, and either way it's a substantial drive. Sometimes when the time comes we just don't want to go.

2nd row for a Tweedy show in NYC due to illness

Death Cab For Cutie in Providence...buying tickets seemed like a good idea at the time until the day of the show when we realized we would have to drive to RI and work in the morning

Badly Drawn Boy in Brooklyn....I'm pissed I missed this one. I can't remember what happened, I think someone we were supposed to stay with was sick.

I need to add another one....Neko Case. We've seen her several times, and up until last time we thoroughly enjoyed her shows. I've always loved the charming sarcasm and the "un-girly" persona, and when she belts out those types of songs she's unbeatable. But the last tour was in a proper theater, not a club. It's like the setting dictated which Neko we got. No banter with the crowd, no show stopping howls.....it felt more like a Norah Jones concert than a Neko concert. I was pretty disappointed.

And since it seems that some of you are listing opening acts, not necessarily who you paid to see, I can add a couple of those as well.

Fiery Furnaces - I think they opened for Wilco? They are absolutely not my cup of tea. I couldn't wait for them to be over

Cass McCombs - I saw them two nights in a row, opening for The Decemberists. Now, they seemed like really nice people. But OH MY GOD, they were boring. I felt like I was watching a band full of Mr. Rogers. I was up front, and no one behind the first row was paying attention. Either night. And since we were right in front of them we made a lot of direct eye contact and had to try to stay interested. It seemed like their set was in slow motion. They all sat in chairs on the stage, they moved sooooo slowly, whether it was to change guitars or pick up a tambourine or whatever, and at one point one of them knocked over their beer and it seemed even the spill was in slow motion. It was painful to pay attention.

i went on the recommendation of a friend (we don't speak anymore ).

Two Everclears in one minute. That's awesome.

Can we make this a top 20? I got a whole lot more to mention!

Go for it! Buck the system! I picked 15.

I figured I'd continue the trend, and seeing as I'm usually a Negative Nelly.....

Top 3 bands or artists you went specifically to see that were surprisingly disappointing

Smashing Pumpkins (oh my god, like watching paint dry)

The Misfits (3rd or 4th incarnation with Jerry Only as the sole original member....however another show with all original members besides Danzig was REALLY good)

Evan Dando (yawn fest)

I was just looking through that list....putting Cass McCombs albums at the top of the list is extremely surprising to me, since they would top my list of most boring bands I've ever seen. Incredibly nice people, but SO boring.

I think it's a good idea, but I'm not sure that type of thing can be integrated into our boards here. I'll make sure the other mods see this thread and maybe we can come up with something.

The word of the day is: "Spectacular".

Soundgarden (pre-Down on the Upside)

I bet that was spectacular.

Wow... I thought I was the only fan left. It's been years since I've heard anyone mention them. And I agree... I saw them at the Metro on their HUP tour. Absolutely brilliant... but probably just outside of my top 5.

Nice! I went to London 10 years ago for the week of reunion shows with the full pre-breakup-band and they were unbelievably fantastic. I knew they'd be good, but I was astonished by Gilksy's drumming (RIP). They were one of the tightest bands I've ever seen. I see Miles every time he comes to the states as much as I possibly can.

Don't get me started on them because you won't get me to shut up.

Drive-By Truckers

Wilco

The Wonder Stuff

Mr. Bungle

Tom Waits

 

 

Punk/Hardcore Category:

 

Rollins Band

Inquisition

Gorilla Biscuits

The Descendents

Green Day (Kerplunk! era)

I think I need to add a Hip Hop category too:

KRS-One

Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh

Beastie Boys

The Roots

Arrested Development

I know, I'm cheating. It's impossible for me to choose five from different genres, as they all invoked completely different reactions in me.

I'm sure he would have been at the top of the Best Live Bands list if I had been able to get to NYC to see him.

Drive-By Truckers

Wilco

The Wonder Stuff

Mr. Bungle

Tom Waits

Punk/Hardcore Category:

Rollins Band

Inquisition

Gorilla Biscuits

The Descendents

Green Day (Kerplunk! era)

Thanks for all the info. Right now I'm looking at a 50D body with a Sigma 30mm f1.4 and Sigma 17-70mm f2.8-4.5 zoom for general use. I have a Canon 85mm f1.8 and a Canon 100mm f2.8 at work. I think that might cover me for what I need. I'd be using it for a trip to Europe in the fall as well, so I need just a couple of lenses that I can carry with me without adding too much bulk.

Anyway, this has gone way off topic.....you have my dream job. Keep up the outstanding work, I've enjoyed browsing through your site today!

thanks Emma (er Mrs Peel if you prefer ) -

 

i recently sold my 30D since i got the new 5D mkII and it's an outstanding camera...shooting @ 3200ISO is not a problem, and i've been at 6400 a fair bit recently. however, the 5D is a great camera in its own right, and you could likely get a used copy for fairly short $ these days as people upgrade and/or stock is depleted.

 

whenever possible i don't use flash, but for the occasional metal or punk show it can be fun (esp longer shutter drags).

Haha, Jen, actually. But I wish I was Emma. I saw your pics of The Freeze show....there's some good ones there. Punk shows are so much fun to shoot.

I'm not sure I can afford the 5D even at a discount, since it's for personal use. I'm a photographer professionally, but a product photographer. We have a 4x5 with a digital back that we can transfer to a Mamiya handheld camera, and a Canon Rebel xTi for shooting meetings and stuff. But I couldn't swing a 5D. I can "borrow" the Canon lenses we have though, which is why I'm looking at a Canon for myself. I've taken the Rebel to a few shows (shhh...don't tell anybody) and it is leaps and bounds better than the last digital camera I bought for myself....an Olympus E10. It's about 7 years old now. Basically a paperweight. I started bringing the Rebel just to have something, and I get some decent shots, but it's too grainy in low light situations. It's about time I got something new for myself.

What lenses do you use?

Awesome pics! I've seen other pictures that you've taken before, and thought how "Tinnitus Photography" is the perfect name. Better than my "Visible Rhythm" that I used for concert photography.

What do you shoot with? You get such great shots...are they mostly using available stage light? I'm looking to upgrade my camera, and I need a digital with the speed to capture detail in low light. I see yours does pretty well!

EDIT: I see on your site that you're using a 5D, and some of the ones from last year are using a 30D. I can REALLY see the difference. Your pics speak volumes for the 5D! I'm looking at the 50D right now.

I'm a migraine sufferer too, and when I read this article for the first time I just remember thinking "thank god mine aren't that bad".

One of the reader comments says that they couldn't listen to the end of "Less Than You Think" because it reminded him of what happens when he's about to have a migraine or a panic attack. That's how it hits me too and I can't listen to it either.

I Got Mine - Black Keys

iTunes no longer wants me to be mellow. It really picked up steam!

Chuck E. Weiss - Extremely Cool

The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations

Big Yoga Muffin - Let's Talk About Me

Paul Westerberg - What About Mine

Elbow - Forget Myself

Spoon - Something To Look Forward To

Squirrel Nut Zippers - You're Drivin' Me Crazy

The Band/Bob Dylan - Tell Me, Momma

The Cure - A Short Term Effect

Go-Go's - Let's Have A Party

Rancid - Salvation

Bad Religion - 1000 More Fools

The Misfits - We Bite

Jim Carroll Band - I Write Your Name

Glenn Phillips - Duck and Cover

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - The Blue

Miles Hunt - The Terrible Selves

Jenny Lewis - Carpetbaggers

Beastie Boys - The Sounds Of Science (live)

Bikini Kill - Suck My Left One

Yeah, with Bowie and Mark Lanegan too (on the QOTSA track). That's really bizarre!

Hotel Senator - The Minus 5

Weird. That was on mine too, did you notice?

And no MA or CT dates. Straight from Canada to NY.