Though we skipped SXSW this year to take a break after an already insane year, we stayed plenty busy this month.
Catching up with some of faves from the 90s that are still going strong + innovators & the world of Hip-Hop, Funk, Metal & beyond.
Beck – March 23rd – Toyota Music Factory – Irving, TX
We were just talking about Beck the other day & checking out his new LP Colors a rejuvenating foray into full-blown pop, when it occurred to me that I’ve only seen Beck perform twice & the last time was 1997.
Now I’ve been all over the world & lived in NYC & LA during that generational span of time so it never occurred to me that now back in my hometown of Dallas that he doesn’t play here that often & this show was something of a rare appearance. A reality he acknowledged early in the show:
“It’s been a long time — much too long, We’re going to try and make up for lost time tonight.”
Beck Hansen is 47 now and doesn’t seem to have aged appreciably (notwithstanding the occasional unforgiving close-up in high-def) in the interim between dominating MTV with his year-end fave list & decade-defining Odelay LP, though his publicist still made me shoot the show from the soundboard.
Before the set started I worried if I was gonna be familiar with any of the material or if he still remembers that stuff. I was completely blown away the first five songs all came from when his left-field music saturated the airwaves. Kicking off with powerful live versions of Devils Haircut & Black Tambourine, then The New Pollution, Que Onda Guero & Mixed Bizness, a dazzling showcase for his particular strain of boundary-blind alt-rock.
Seven band members, all of whom breathed life into the singer-songwriter’s famously dense compositions, backed Beck. The man himself alternated between electric and acoustic guitar, often forgoing any instruments at all to roam the stage and whip the room into something resembling wildness.
“That was a party,” Beck observed after he and the band brought “Loser” to a crashing close.
Opening the show was Twin Shadow who has amassed a strong body of work over the course of his relatively brief career, enough so that an hour show can be presented without lulls or giveaway tracks.
I’m Ready” sounded as confident as the rallying cry of its title. Lewis & Co. clearly has a lot of support from Warner Brothers at the moment & we are all better for it.
The Toadies w/ Helmet – March 2nd – The Bomb Factory – Dallas, TX
As the 90’s nostalgia continues (see above) two of my faves, old friends The Toadies & the unstoppable Helmet takes to the stage and immediately get the party started with tracks from their early years before showcasing several tracks from their most recent 2016 album Dead To The World.
And they just kept pounding, I was really wanting the light guy to fuck off with this annoying spotlight into the crowd that wasn’t doing anything but turning people off, but with my eyes closed even I could feel how powerful Helmet was as they kicked into high gear.
Setlist:
Role Model
Ironhead
Life or Death
Red Scare
So Long
Exactly What You Wanted
Unsung
Drunk in the Afternoon
I ♥ My Guru
Blacktop
Wilma’s Rainbow
Renovation
Milquetoast
Like I Care
In all fairness you can’t really call either one of the bands nostalgic acts because they never really stopped & continue to make great albums. Sure their most critical & monetary success in the mainstream came during that time but still kicking ass & the case of the Toadies, they may be more popular now than they’ve ever been, certainly that’s the case in Texas where they have established themselves of something of a Classic Rock outfit that is your birthright as a Texas to witness at least once.
Though I’ve seen them probably a hundred times since, it also occurred to me that I hadn’t seen the Toadies in this building since the night 1995 became 1996 during the Bomb Factory’s original run in the mid 90s. They struck back hard last year with The Lower Side of Uptown that this rollicking set featured most of.
Setlist:
Quitter
Push the Hand
Mexican Hairless
When I Die
Rattler’s Revival
Backslider
Mama Take Me Home
Song I Hate
You’ll Come Down
I Want Your Love
You Know the Words
Away
Take Me Alive
I Come From the Water
Hell in High Water
Little Sin
Polly Jean
Possum Kingdom
Hell Below / Stars Above
Tyler
Encore:
Pressed Against the Sky
Broke Down Stupid
I Put a Spell on You (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins cover)
I Burn
George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic – March 3rd – House of Blues – Dallas, TX
For the second straight year, George Clinton and his Parliament-Funkadelic hit the road for the funk legends’ Mardi Gras Madness Tour. The legendary songwriter, bandleader, and record producer, at 76 years young, put on a rapturous, stunning, extraterrestrial funk fest The audience of Clinton and his band Parliament Funkadelic was a delightful mix of the aged and the not-so-aged, all races and walks of life, but essentially the young at heart.
On a personal note, last Spring was my girlfriend (now fiancee’) first date & I took her to see Parliament/Funkadelic & being recently engaged, this was a special celebration for us. The show was amazing & they dug deep into the setlist, however a major critique would have to be that the actual sound (particularly the volume) perhaps not the fault of the band, though I’d be quick to defend the staff here as they have been long trusted professionals that I’ve known personally for years.
The sound was so loud at times it became distorted & while this may sound like an easy fix, at a P-Funk show, the music never stops so if theirs problems you are forced to endure them. Still couldn’t believe Blackbird did all of Maggot Brain & it made it all worth it.
Added for this tour was Brandi Scott a striking (& quite resourceful) dancer (barely) dressed in current EDM Festival attire shamelessly self-promoting as she would often walk onto the stage with a giant sign that had her Instagram account of nakid87 on it (when she wasn’t taking selfies on the wings of the stage).
Setlist:
Funkadelic Set:
Butt-to-Butt Resuscitation
Get Off Your Ass and Jam
Cosmic Slop – 1973
Pole Power – 2014
Baby Like Fonkin’ It Up – 2014
Get Low – 2014
(Not Just) Knee Deep
Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You? – 2014
One Nation Under a Groove – 1978
Maggot Brain – 1971
Dirty Queen – 2014
Alice in My Fantasies
Parliament Set:
Flash Light
Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)
I’m Gon Make U Sick O’Me
Encore:
Atomic Dog
Photos –
Roy Turner
James Currie
Susie Wolcott
Andrea Jaeckel