Radiohead #2

Show: Radiohead at The Greek Theater
Headliner: Radiohead
Openers: Deerhoof
Location: The Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA
Date: Saturday, June 24, 2006
2006 Show #: 11

Yep, the same show two days in a row. The difference this time is that I had tickets to the show and hence was able to see the band. I do have to say that tonight's set list exceeds last night's.

Deerhoof was about the same both nights. Out there music that was enjoyable to listen to. My friend complained about the vocalists child like vocals on top of the solid rock music, but I enjoyed it. And it was kind of fun to see her bouncing around on stage.

Being in the crowd was definitely a big plus for the second night. Kept me much more into the show. I liked the songs played better too, though this show also had it's dragging parts too. The show probably wasn't really worth the money, but it's much easier to swallow when I realize that it was really two shows for that cost. Good times.

Radiohead #1

Show: Radiohead at The Greek Theater
Headliner: Radiohead
Openers: Deerhoof
Location: The Greek Theater in Berkeley, CA
Date: Friday, June 23, 2006
2006 Show #: 10

Like the last time I show at the Greek, I didn't actually "see" the show but instead sat up on the hill above the show and listened to the concert. The atmosphere isn't great, the seating uncomfortable but the price is right. Yesterday was especially bad in that it was hot during the day and then cold and foggy during the show. It made it hard to prepare dress-wise.

Deerhoof started the show off at 7:30p and played a solid 30 minute set. They're a bit out-there music-wise and put on quite an interesting set. It definitely spurred my interest. I'd heard some of their stuff before, and I knew they were an SF band, but now I want to know more.

Radiohead came on at 8:40 and played a main set until 9:45. A bit short a main set in my opinion. Their first encore went until 10:15. Due to the aforementioned chill, we left before the second encore. The music was good. Not the most exciting thing I've ever seen, but quite enjoyable all throughout. They played some of their big hits, but I didn't hear 'Karma Police' unfortunately. One of my friends did start to sleep during the show, but I thought that's a bit harsh an assessment. A good time, especially considering the price.

Built To Spill

Show: Built To Spill at Slim's
Headliner: Built To Spill
Openers: Brett Netson
Location: Slim's in San Francisco, CA
Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2006
2006 Show #: 9

This is the 3rd time I've seen Built To Spill, and they've been a hit each time. Last night was the first of 4 shows they'll do at Slim's this week. All 4 sold out, but I was able to get my ticket for face value outside the venue from a guy who had an extra ticket.

To open the show, a friend of Brett Netson's read a narrative poem aloud. The guy was something of a modern day hippy/beatnik, and the poetry was correspondingly mediocre. Then Brett Netson came on and played a 40 minute set consisting of 4 songs. On the stage was him playing guitar and a girl playing xylophone. Each song was indeed about 10 minutes long. Good stuff, but not mind-blowing. I wasn't able to find anything about Netson individually on the web, but it looks like he's joined up with Built To Spill full time.

Built To Spill came on at 10:10 pm and played through to midnight with a short break for "encore." Netson seems to have joined up with the 4 normal Built To Spill guys making it a quintet. The show more or less had 3 pieces. About 1/3 of the show was old stuff. Another 1/3 was songs off the latest album ('You In Reverse') for which the were ostensibly touring in support of. The last 1/3 was new songs (4 in total) not off any recordings I'm aware of. Does this mean that another new album is in the works already? That'd be fantastic. I really dug the new songs, even the one with a bit of a reggae vibe.

New to the performance was a projection screen Built To Spill used. Throughout the show, they projected images for 10-20 seconds at a time. They mostly seemed to be in the style of the album art for 'You In Reverse.' It was odd, and didn't add a ton to the show, but didn't really detract from it either.

There were 3 other songs that don't really fit into the categories above. The first was a cover of a song by the Gladiators (so said Martsch) whose lyrics seemed to come largely from Kennedy's inauguration address ("Don't ask what your country can do for you..."). The second was Martsch and Company jamming to a video of a guy ranting about how eco-terrorist are better than normal terrorists since eco-terrorist only attack property and not people. It went well with the sticker Martsch had on his guitar of a crossed out W. The last was the song of the encore, a 15-minute jam version of 'Broken Chairs.' Good stuff.

Overall a fantastic show. I wish I could make it to another of the 4 shows this weekend, but it doesn't look like I have the time. I'm excited about the potential of new songs too.

The Set List (minus the encore):