Weekly Music Mix, The Concert Edition

OK, forget that whole Monday thing. It's obvious I'm never going to make that deadline. Let's just say I'll post the mix sometime during the week....

I didn't go to many actual concerts last year, but the few I went to combined with the local festivals and shows makes a very eclectic mix. Here's a summary of 2005 in shows:

"Planet Earth" - Duran Duran (at Music Hall): Went with Paisley while she was in town. Sydney (my sister) was sitting a few sections over. The show brought out the 16-year-old Durannie in me. I danced like it was 1984 all over again.

"Anything Can Happen" - The Finn Brothers (at 20th Century Theatre): Was supposed to go with Stephanie, but she got stuck at work and had to forfeit her ticket. Too bad for her; the show was fabulous.

"Cherries in the Snow" - Lovely Crash (at York Street Cafe): Dragged Zappagirl along with me. Wasn't aware that Jen W. had left the band (at that time) and was quite perplexed to see her sitting behind us during the set. (She was back in the lineup by Midpoint. Hooray!)

"To Kill a King" - Hungry Lucy (at Southgate House during Electrofest): Stephanie made it to this one. JohnnyB was right about this band....

"Johnny's New Religion" - For Algernon (at RBC during Jammin' On...): I'd seen my friend Jason play solo (a few years ago at Southgate House) and with other bands (MPMF 2004, when our paths kept crossing and I discovered he was playing with at least four bands that I can think of), but had never had the opportunity to see him play with his band. When Jammin' on Main got cancelled and the local bars took matters into their own hands with Jamiin' On..., I finally got the opportunity to see them. (Heard they were one of the most talked about bands at this past year's Midpoint. I was only able to catch the end of the set, but the place was packed and they sounded great.)

"Mothership Connection" - George Clinton (at Madison Theater): Went with Zappagirl and Memnoch. I'd kind of seen George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars at Lollapalooza a few years back, but due to the weirdness of the day ended up missing most of the set. The band played for 3 hours. Much booty shaking ensued. The staff pretty much had to kick us out at the end because they wanted to go the hell home.

"Chrome" - VNV Nation (at Madison Theater): Went with Zappagirl and Memnoch, ran into a bajillion club kids, and spent most of the night talking to Mike Dangers. One of those bands that I wasn't familiar with, then would recognize the songs from the club. Fun show, but the onstage clown for Ronan's birthday was kind of scary.

"The Internet is for Porn" - Avenue Q (at Golden Theater in NYC): Not necessarily a concert per se, but I decided seeing a Tony-award-winning musical on Broadway merited a mention. Best puppet musical ever. I can't remember the last time I'd laughed so hard. Went with Zappagirl and Memnoch during our eating and drinking (but mostly drinking) tour of the Big Apple. (And thanks to this video clip, I will never be able to hear this song without having images of dancing World of Warcraft characters in my head.)

"Gin and Juice" - Richard Cheese (at Bowery Ballroom in NYC). The main reason for the New York trip. Went with Zappagirl and Memnoch. Fun stuff. (And yes, I was harboring a slight crush on Gordon Brie during the entire show. *sigh*)

"Go Daddy-O" - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (at House of Blues in Cleveland): Best kidnapping ever. Went with Zappagirl and Memnoch (the masterminds behind this little weekend). I don't care if the new swing revolution has come and gone; hearing this band still makes me want to go out and take dance lessons.

"Walking on Water" - Schooley Station (at The Exchange during MPMF): By this point during Midpoint, I think I'd already taken in five bands (and this was the second time slot of the night). Good band, swanky bar (definitely not my kind of place), and ran into Rob J. working security. Good start to the weekend.

"Gorecki Revisited" - Aether (at Japps during MPMF): I liked these guys a lot. They remind me a bit of Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai. Plus their albums were reasonably priced, so I was able to pick up both of them. Score!

"Bleed" - Moonshot Radio (at Jekyll and Hyde's during Midpoint). Nice group of boys from Texas, describing their sound as " the jangly grit of early 80's R.E.M., underscore it with Foo Fighters-esque hooks, then flavor it with a little U2 and early era Radiohead." Played on one of my least favorite stages, and was one of my favorite discoveries of the festival.

"Irish American Girls" - Dulahan (at The Dubliner): With Yzavela, Delordra, Nasturtium, Gojro, and whoever else showed up to drink and sing along. Keeping my fingers crossed that some other Irish pub springs up and gives this band a place to play again.

"Don't Kill" - Hamell on Trial (at Southgate House): With Zappagirl and Memnoch. I cannot believe I almost forgot Hamell, especially since his new album drops on Tuesday. After hearing many of the new songs at this past show (and giggling my head off during the one about Anne Coulter), I'm going to head off to pre-order this now....