Concert Reviews

Walking into the most famous arena in the world for a show headlined by Blink-182 and opened by Green Day just didn’t seem right, but it was exciting regardless. Green Day stormed the stage after an opening set by Saves the Day and simply blew the roof off of the Garden. Starting off with "Maria," from International Superhits, Billy-Joe, Tre and Mike played a mostly all Dookie set and played with the crowd throughout. After Nimrod’s "Hitchin’ a Ride," and Insomniac’s "Brain Stew/Jaded" medley, the boys dug into the older "2,000 Light Years Away," and Operation Ivy’s "Knowledge," where three kids were invited onstage to take over instrumental duties from the band. Billy Joe donated the guitar to his young counterpart, and Mike eventually gave a bass that he lit on fire to another lucky kid. After an extended rendition of "King For a Day," complete with horn players dressed as a bee and a chicken respectively as well as a cover of Lloyd Williams’ "Shout," the band ran through "Waiting," "Minority," and "When I Come Around." It was then that Mike torched his bass and Tre destroyed his drum set leaving Billy-Joe alone onstage for the closer "Time of Your Life." Green Day really showed everybody tonight why they still are one of the best bands and live acts you will ever see.

When it was time for Blink to come on, the teenagers got their tonsils ready to scream and swoon loudly for their new found heroes. The set started off with "Anthem Part 2," and "Rock Show," from the new album Take Off Your Pants and Jacket. "Dumpweed" was dedicated to Tom’s nether region, and the band stumbled through "Going Away to College," "What’s My Age Again," and "Adam’s Song" from Enema of the State. Highlights of Blink’s set included three different versions of "Happy Holidays You Bastards," "Family Reunion," from Fat Wreck Chord’s Short Music for Short People compilation and "Carousel," the only old song Blink did. The song was dedicated to everyone who knew the band before Enema, and most of the arena cheered, but then proceeded to sit down because they didn’t know the tune. Towards the end of the set, drummer Travis Barker’s drum riser was elevated over the crowd and spun around while he was still playing. That’s arena rock at its finest folks. The show ended with "All the Small Things," "Reckless Abandon," and "Dammit." Blink-182 has always been a favorite of mine and everyone seemed to go home happy, but poor sound and what I thought wasn’t a great set list made for disappointment. It’s awfully hard to follow an act like Green Day’s, but Blink seemed to give it their best try.

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A diverse crowd packed the tiny Paradise Rock Club to catch the Neptunes’ group N.E.R.D’s first tour in support of its incredible debut album In Search Of. Opening and backing up Pharrell and company was the Minneapolis based band called Spymob. Spymob is one of the new additions to the Neptune’s Star Trak label, and plays a sort of jam-band type funk and soft rock, something one wouldn’t normally associate with the Neptunes. The set consisted of songs from its upcoming album Sitting Around Keeping Score. After a little set change, Spymob came back and was followed by Pharrell Williams and Shay, two-thirds of N.E.R.D. Chad Hugo, the other member of the Neptunes, with Pharrell, was missing from the show, but the group overcame his absence amazingly.

Starting off with "Brain," Pharrell and Shay pranced around the stage with a great deal of energy, making everybody in the club move around and get into it. As expected, the set was mainly tracks off of In Search Of, mixing soulful ballad type songs with incredibly funky tracks that had the crowd and band themselves bouncing around. Shay walked around with a video camera during the ode to lesbian sex "Tape You," while Pharrell played to the ladies swooning over him with "Baby Doll." The bluesy "Bobby James," dedicated to the band’s hometown friend, sobered the mood a bit, but the uproarious "Lapdance," complete with a guest appearance by Lee Harvey, made for the most franticness on and offstage of the night. A great surprise was the appearance of singer Kelis, who did her part on "Truth or Dare," as well as performing a couple of new tracks ("Junkie," and "Popular Thug") from her upcoming album Wanderland. The highlight of the show perhaps, was a brand new song from the upcoming N.E.R.D album. It sounded like a kind of 1960’s doo-wop style, called "Locked Away," I believe. The band came back and Pharrell did his parts of Jay-Z’s "I Just Wanna Love U," and Busta Rhymes’ "Pass the Courvosier" and finished with "Run to the Sun," and "Stay Together," before exiting the stage to screams and cheers. N.E.R.D proved with that they are one of the best and most exciting and diverse bands in recent memory with a profound appreciation of their fans.

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The last time your new favorite band toured the States, they were either the first or second band on, with only a handful of people there to witness the spectacle that is The Hives. This time around, thanks to a boom in popularity, the Swedes quickly sold out a two-night stand at the Bowery. Up first was Lookout! Records The Pattern, from California. Though they had some good energy, singer Chris seemed to be trying way too hard to put on his best Iggy Pop impersonation, and the music just wasn’t that memorable. Sweden’s Division of Laura Lee hit the stage after an introduction by Randy Fitzimmons, the man who put together The Hives. The quartet was simply dazzling in the set, despite some equipment problems. Vocalist Per, bassist Jonas and guitarist David produced a maniacal energy onstage that was awesome to watch. They played mostly tracks from the upcoming Black City album as well as some older ones before setting the stage for fellow countrymen The Hives. Lead guitarist Nicholaus Arson, rhythm guitarist Vigilante Carlstroem, bassist Dr. Matt Destruction and drummer Chris Dangerous filed onto the stage followed by vocalist Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist. The band immediately dove into "The Hives Declare Guerre Nucleaire" and "Outsmarted," from Veni, Vidi, Vicious, before playing the older "Hail, Hail Spit N’ Drool." Most of the under-an-hour set consisted of cuts from Veni, such as "Main Offender," "Die, All Right!" "A Get Together To Tear it Apart," and the single "Hate To Say I Told You So." During most Hives shows, Howlin’ Pelle is known to make outrageously hilarious sayings and statements, but those were kept to a minimum tonight. He was right on with saying that the crowd "either got tickets right away or paid hundreds of dollars for them on eBay." The band finished with "Supply and Demand," encored with the older "Here We Go Again," and left after "A.K.A. I-D-I-O-T." Despite the surprisingly violent crowd, this was indeed one of the greatest rock n’ roll shows of the year.

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