Calm, cool and collected…like four bookworms convening in some garage outside of Boston to start making some music. That’s the vibe to start this second of three shows at the Aragon Ballroom..they come out nonchalant…all casual..that says a lot for these four talented individuals; Black, Kim, Dave and Joey…to have such a hugely influential back catalog like this..and to start the show with four obscure off-kilter B-sides..well- that says a lot. I mean, “Dancing the Manta Ray”? The crowd gears up in excitement…to this?!? Kind of quiet in response…so even that the show starts off with this, the band is genuinely enjoying uncovering these little nuggets, and twisting them around to play live. Have to say that the vibe from the crowd is odd and off-beat…simply polite applause between songs. And then BAM!! On the giant L.E.D. screen backdrop: The word “DOOLITTLE” appears in all its glory….the venue goes absolutely nuts!! And for good reason…no other album by the Pixies garners such credibility. Hugely, and I mean HUGELY influential, and so varied in scope and style, down to the imagery by Vaughn Oliver and 23 Envelope, “Doolittle” encompasses everything you could hope for in songwriting, storytelling and downright weirdness. From the hysteria of its opening track “Despair”, to its end in “Gouge Away”, the album as a whole still sounds fresh and forward thinking to this very day.

At the completion of this song cycle…SHOCK and AWE!!! All four members bask in the crazy nutty applause, proceed to the lip of the stage, hold hands and then take a couple of bows. Who would’ve thought? After all, these four individuals are not known for their camaraderie…but who can blame them? They just completed a song cycle that was mesmerizing to witness live, and from where I was standing people were getting emotional witnessing this union onstage…It says a lot about this band and its unique place in the alternative indie rock pantheon..that people still care, that they want to see and hear their favorite musicians from another by-gone era and relive a true storytelling time…I for one get it along with the other 5,000 strong participants.

I’ve loved this band from its inception on 4ad back in the day (a label I did a ton of work for by the way)…and feel quite happy and satisfied having witnessed and photographed this spectacle…

Mastodon, Dethklok, Converge, High on Fire
Aragon Ballroom
Sat Oct 17 2009

Let’s see..pick one….Dethklok, Mastodon, High on Fire, and Converge…. I pick Mastodon, MASTODON, M-A-S-T-O-D-O-N!!!

Yeah, I know, High on Fire, Converge are on the bill, and they’re ok. (I’ll take High on Fire over Converge as of now). Converge?!? What’s there deal? Constant vocal grunts and shouts over sharp distained metal chords? This grows old fast 2 songs in…and this is a 7 or 8 song set! What’s with all the hype over this band? I’m trying to get it, to keep an open mind…yet I don’t get it, nor do I wish to…

Then there’s the headliner Dethklok. Again, just ok..I get the catoonish campy slick dire-faced metal based on the characters from the Cartoon Network show..but this bill is odd, because personally, Mastodon should be the headliner. Mastodon define the essence of forward thinking, dynamic metal. Thought provoking intelligent metal, in the vein of Opeth, with a smattering of Tool, what with the vivid imagery and ball-busting music to back it up…not many bands have the panache to pull this off, albeit convincingly…Mastodon is one of them. Mastodon went completely NUTZO in presenting their latest epic live- that being the completely awe-inspiring “Crack the Skye”. The beauty of this album live, even in the bizarre confines of the Aragon Ballroom, was positively a sonic and spiritual overload of the highest order.

Visually striking, the band provided an L.E.D. backdrop, depicting the intricate imagery from their latest album, involving what I perceive is the LSDish Russian mystic Rasputin, floating inward and outward through space and conceptual dreams, astral projection and other out of body experiences. Combine this with heavy blue and red lighting on the musicians, and this show becomes an absolute journey from beginning to end.

Brent Hinds and Bill Kelliher flank stage left and right producing incinerating notes of guitar interplay that’s an absolute shock and awe to behold..then you have the mighty Brann Dailor on drums, whose blistering fills and complex timing are a sight to behold and witness live. This band is tighter than tight, with Troy Sanders on bass and singing his lungs out to help produce this sonic onslaught.

And after their mind-melting performance of “Crack the Skye”, Mastodon proceeded to fill the remainder of their set with tracks from “Leviathan” and “Blood Mountain”…they ended their set with a blazing cover tune from the Melvins, a song called “The Bit”. It’s cool that they dig the Melvins, a band which also has the tendancy to blow the roof off whatever venue they’re playing in… Clearly, the night belongs to Mastodon. This band will blast through anything and anybody. The sonic mind-melting bone-crushing onslaught tells me that it’s going to be fun watching them develop their live show, similar to Tool’s, in which it will leave the average concert-goer a convert and drained at the end of their set both mentally and physically. It’s only a matter of time…these guys are that bright and thought provoking.

FINALLY, FINALLY KYLIE MINOGUE SASHAYS INTO CHICAGO!!

Please say goodbye to the boring, lip synched, boringly choreographed monotony of your typical diva girlieshow!

Kylie came into town Wednesday to play at the UIC Pavillion, not the Congress Theatre as originally planned, and produced an amazing, vibrant spellbinding of a show!
Man does Kylie make an entrance- coming down from the ceiling atop a massive metallic skull, draped in a gorgeous gown wrapped with a gigantic feather boa, poised on top looking confident, singing to the song “Light Years.”
And that was just the beginning to an eye-popping visual display, choreographed to the hilt- replete with multiple costume changes, and a band that undeniably deserved to be on the stage proper, and not left in the orchestra pit or backstage like some artists I’ve seen recently. I mean, what’s the point? Why not use the band to your advantage- making them part of the show like Kylie did? If it accomplishes anything at all, it reminds you that this is a musical production, not just theatre.It involves music-the hits! Let the band partake godamnit! So all you Britney’s, all you Pink’s, etc, etc….take out your pad and pencil and start taking notes… your hits come off better with a band visible, not invisible!
And there were plenty of the hits, one right after the other…The song “Slow”..seductive, captivating…the backbeat pulsing through your veins…the song “Locomotion”..done up vaudeville cabaret..sexy with a 1930’s feel..
Who cares if this is her first tour of the states…SHE’s HERE!! And the crowd knows this, embraces this…Kylie insisting twice that Chicago is definitely the loudest, noisiest, most enthusiastic stop on this tour so far ( I believe she is not bullshitting  when she says this), and she continues to pepper the audience with her short and sweet monologues about touring, resting, and physically perparing for such a production over the age of forty…
Make no mistake..this was definitely a dance celebration..a celebration of a vibrant musical catalog with a performer who can deliver..a performer who appreciates her fans, and where she’s come from, and not come off mechanical at all…
Kylie had her audience from her entrance atop of the skull…definitely no looking back…here’s hoping she comes back soon…gotta continue to dance to the essence of the beat…man, Chicago loves to dance and celebrate!!

PET SHOP BOYS
CHICAGO THEATRE
MONDAY, SEP 14 2009

And a big, huge round of applause, and a standing ovation goes to the Pet Shop Boys! I’m rejuvanated…I’m reinvigorated…I’m grateful that they have restored the faith in me in regards to live performance! Talk about a complete 180 from over the weekend and U2 at Soldier Field…nothing compares to the intimacy and the acoustics of the glorious Chicago Theatre.

I’ve seen every show through Chicago of the Pet Shop Boys, and this current tour stands out on so many levels..not just the Boys themselves, but also the unique set design consisting of cubes, in a variety of shapes and sizes, which was designed by Es Devlin, whom I’ve heard has done quite a few operas over the years…and kudos to Neil and Chris to seek these outstanding and creative minds out…and letting them create a breathtaking environment for the songs to be portrayed and come forth.. what an ingenoiusly theatrical 90 minute set!

The Boys were accompanied by four dancers, who were affixed with cubes, similar to the stage set, in a variety of colors and sizes…the video backdrops also were vivid in detail, done with great elegance and taste, adding perfect nuance to the songs, and to Neil’s vocals and theatricality…you have to hand it to them, to thoughtfully prepare such a glorious presentation…

The older songs, such as Suburbia, Being Boring, New York City Boy, Go West, West End Girls (their biggest hit) and It’s a Sin, along with others, came off amazingly fresh, and were sung with that Pet Shop Boys polish…the new songs, such as Love, Etc, and particularly Did you see me Coming? are absolutely beautiful and vibrant sung live…the covers, and their are always quite a few, take on a life of their own,particularly Coldplay”s Viva La Vida, in which Neil comes out in full Richard the III garb including the royal golden crown.

The Pets are the masters of their game…Neil and Chris, 25 years on (hard to believe that)still have it going on all cylinders..they definitely rule when it comes to sophisticated electronic dance pop…such an amazing performance…

So here I am in Soldier Field, preparing for what I expect to be a big, grandiose whale of a time, circa the ZOO TV tour that U2 did back in 1992. As I settle into my area to get into position to photograph this event, I’m watching 3 girls about 10 feet in front of me getting absolutely giddy in anticipation of seeing their favorite band come out onstage live- and in person! I mean getting crazy nutty in anticipation. That only excites me more- seeing a crowd this big, let alone individuals around me getiing all worked up.

Talk about a massive, gargantuan stage…I’ve never seen anyhting like it ever…it looks like it’s approximately 200 feet tall or so, and it’s the width of the entire football field. From my unique vantage point, it’s unsettling to know I still feel to far away from the main stage, even though I’m between the stage and the massive outer ring.

As the lights begin to dim and the band comes out to the pulse of “Breathe” from their latest album “No Line on the Horizon”, it feels like the stadium is in a trance from the pulse of the beat. Most of the songs off “No Line” work live; they make you feel hypnotized, like in a trance. And definitely, some don’t.”Get on Your Boots” leaves me befuddled- too much noisy confusion and blinding lighting.

Overall, I feel despondent and confused about this show.Here’s this absolutely massive techno stage- with U2 on it. The comparison of techno and U2 leaves me wondering halfway through this show: what can kick it up a notch? How about hiring out Daft Punk, and let them have free reign on reinterpreting U2 songs, putting some swing and dance into this setlist?

Even better: how about a mix of Chicago house DJ’s spinning over these glorious songs to punch them up a bit? Fuck the purists, something needs to be done to get this show alive and kicking.I want more from these guys than I’m getting at this concert. The problem with such massive build-up and hype, especially from what I heard overseas where this tour got off the ground: BIGGER LETDOWN…YAWWWWN…please stop all the political chattering…we all get it, ok? Just give us loud, pulsating music.

They definitely do deliver it at times:”Where the Streets Have no Name”- who would’ve thought that they’d give this a refreshing BPM rhythm train- and I’ll go Crazy” off the new album went into dance overdrive.

And that’s it. I’m left questioning things more than coming out satisfied. I’m wondering what the fuss is all about, besides the look of this extraordinarily beautiful stage and the special lighting and visuals. Again, could you imagine them touring with Daft Punk? Or how about Deadmau5? NOW WE’RE TALKING…If, only if….Oh well..