2012 was supposed to be the year of the Mayan apocalypse, but instead, we got the Presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney, who went on to lose to Obama (but by a smaller margin than predicted). It was also the year where I thought my friend Graham would be hired by NCMC (he wasn't), and it was my last full year as a single white male. So I also plugged my ears and went to some shows:
Cinematic Titanic Early Show [Royal Oak Music Theatre 2.25.12]
There's just something about a live MST3K-ish experience, surrounded by infectious laughter and giggle pros at the top of their games. This was about the time where the CT gang were winding down the live show, so it was nice to get another one in.
The Black Keys wsg Arctic Monkeys [Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids 3.10.12]
It's always nice when the opener is a band you'd like to see, and so it was at this show. In fact, as much as I like the Black Keys, they just don't have the advantage of a natural-born and battle-honed frontman in Alex Turner. Score one for the Monkeys, one of the last bands to say that they started out on MySpace.
Chairlift wsg Nite Jewel [Magic Stick, Detroit 3.29.12]
Good headliner, good opener, good time in a small space.
The Ting Tings [St. Andrews Hall, Detroit 4.5.12]
A catchy pop debut made for a solid (if relatively short) show in one of my favorite old school live music venues.
Coachella Music & Arts Festival [Empire Polo Club, Indio 4.13-15/20-22.12]
Back in 2004, when I first started to make the pilgrimage to Coachella, the festival was a two-day affair on Saturday and Sunday. Then they added a Friday to the weekend to stretch it out a bit. But 2012 was the first year where they did the double -- two consecutive three-day-weekends -- so I decided to bite the bullet and do both weekends. Weekend One was with my Coachella bud Brian, and Weekend Two was with my soon-to-be-wife Coco. I flew there and back and there and back, spending too much time and money. But what can you do, let the terrorists win?
Weekend One had some of the most inclement weather I can ever remember in Indio, with rain and wind and cooler temperatures (like, highs in the 70's cooler). It was nice not to be sweating among strangers, but I didn't quite have the clothing to accommodate the chill, so it was a bit uncomfortable at night, when the temps dropped further. This was also the first line-up (Black Keys, Radiohead, Dr. Dre) where the headliners and the undercard was good-but-not-great, where the fest became more about the experience than the music. And while that's fine for the kids, I always liked having a bunch of music that I wanted to see in one fell swoop. Regardless, Brian and I still had a great time.
Weekend Two, on the other hand, was the hottest Coachella roast I ever experienced in my decade-plus tenure, as every day topped 100 degrees, with no clouds or wind to offer relief. While Coco and I managed to eke out some sweaty fun the first two days, her rage thermometer went into overload on Sunday afternoon, and we did something I've never done before at Coachella -- we left early. The benefit of that was getting to actually chill out in Palm Springs on a Sunday night. We showered, hit the pool, went out to eat at a place called (wait for it) Coco's, and got some sleep that we missed the days before. On the flight back, Coco said that her first Coachella was her last, and it was hard to blame her. I never did a double weekend again.
Detroit Tigers v. Chicago White Sox [Comerica Park, Detroit 5.6.12]
The 2012 Detroit Tigers were swept in the World Series, but even though the ending was flat and the season was a bit of a struggle (first place again, but they didn't top 90 wins), the season was fun to watch, with a lot of talent on display from start to (weak-ass) finish.
Rammstein [The Palace of Auburn Hills 5.6.12]
If this ends up being the last time I ever see Rammstein live, what a way to go. The crowd was plugged in, the band was firing (emphasis on "fire") on all cylinders, and my concert buddies were Coco and my old college roommate / WHR worker Jeff Vincent, a.k.a. "DJ Towel." Like Kiss, but with better tunes and an ocean of flames.
Against Me! [The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids 6.2.12]
Not sure if it's rock-influenced punk or punk-influenced rock, but either way, AM! can (and did) put on a high-energy show.
The Dandy Warhols [Royal Oak Music Theatre 6.8.12]
Yep. Not as fun as seeing them the first time in '00, but it could have been worse, I suppose.
Sleigh Bells [The Intersection, Grand Rapids 7.10.12]
Cheerleader competition music played on blown speakers, rock guitars over programmed beats, boom bap and pounding riffs. Fun, but not the first time I thought "I'm getting too old for this shit."
Detroit Tigers v. Chicago White Sox [Comerica Park, Detroit 7.22.12]
I guess '12 was only a White Sox year. Of all the teams I could have seen the Tigers play, I saw two games with the White Sox. Huh.
The Dukes Of September [Kresge Auditorium, Interlochen 8.18.12]
For some context, this was a package tour featuring Donald Fagen from Steely Dan, along with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. (It's similar to what these three did in '92 with the New York Rock and Soul Revue, before Steely Dan officially reunited in '93 for the lucrative touring dollar.) And while all three sounded better two decades before, it was still a nice gig. But the real fun for me was watching my dad, who went with me, try to reconcile his love of the music with his unease at being surrounded by people who were his age but looked much, much older. I, on the other hand, look older than I am, but as such, am invisible to the world at large. So there's that.
Metric [The Fillmore Detroit 9.8.12]
An underrated Canadian band with a magnetic frontwoman, playing one of my favorite albums of the '10s in Synthetica, along with choice cuts from their catalog. It's damning the show with faint praise to say "nice nice nice," but there you go.
Dinosaur Jr. [The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids 10.20.12]
I could wax poetically about the recently reunited trio having stood the test of time and tide playing a victory lap, but if you know anything about singer/songwriter/guitarist J. Mascis, you know one thing: JESUS CHRIST THE FUCKING RIFFS THIS GUY HAS, RIFF AFTER RIFF, GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO. The songs are vehicles for the riffs, fluid and meaty and serrated and bucolic, and J. brought the riffs. Delightful.
Magnetic Fields [The Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac 11.15.12]
A bucket-list show for me, featuring the talents of one of the most slept-on singer/songwriters of the 21st Century (and a bit before). Bonus points for elegant and tasteful playing and arrangements, as well as a volume level that wasn't bludgeoning. It would have been nice to have not endured the stranger danger pre-show conversations, but you can't have everything, right?
Lindsey Buckingham [Saugatuck Center for the Arts 11.16.12]
Or maybe you can have everything, especially when the next night, after a great Magnetic Fields concert, you get to sit in a small performance space twenty feet away from the guy who helped make Fleetwood Mac one of the biggest bands on the planet. A one-man show mixing solo work with re-arranged FM classics, it was non-stop bliss. And the show was done by 10pm, making it the most civilized concert-going experience of 2012 bar none for a forty-something dude with declining hearing and receding patience.
And then there was 2013.
Cinematic Titanic Early Show [Royal Oak Music Theatre 2.25.12]
There's just something about a live MST3K-ish experience, surrounded by infectious laughter and giggle pros at the top of their games. This was about the time where the CT gang were winding down the live show, so it was nice to get another one in.
The Black Keys wsg Arctic Monkeys [Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids 3.10.12]
It's always nice when the opener is a band you'd like to see, and so it was at this show. In fact, as much as I like the Black Keys, they just don't have the advantage of a natural-born and battle-honed frontman in Alex Turner. Score one for the Monkeys, one of the last bands to say that they started out on MySpace.
Chairlift wsg Nite Jewel [Magic Stick, Detroit 3.29.12]
Good headliner, good opener, good time in a small space.
The Ting Tings [St. Andrews Hall, Detroit 4.5.12]
A catchy pop debut made for a solid (if relatively short) show in one of my favorite old school live music venues.
Coachella Music & Arts Festival [Empire Polo Club, Indio 4.13-15/20-22.12]
Back in 2004, when I first started to make the pilgrimage to Coachella, the festival was a two-day affair on Saturday and Sunday. Then they added a Friday to the weekend to stretch it out a bit. But 2012 was the first year where they did the double -- two consecutive three-day-weekends -- so I decided to bite the bullet and do both weekends. Weekend One was with my Coachella bud Brian, and Weekend Two was with my soon-to-be-wife Coco. I flew there and back and there and back, spending too much time and money. But what can you do, let the terrorists win?
Weekend One had some of the most inclement weather I can ever remember in Indio, with rain and wind and cooler temperatures (like, highs in the 70's cooler). It was nice not to be sweating among strangers, but I didn't quite have the clothing to accommodate the chill, so it was a bit uncomfortable at night, when the temps dropped further. This was also the first line-up (Black Keys, Radiohead, Dr. Dre) where the headliners and the undercard was good-but-not-great, where the fest became more about the experience than the music. And while that's fine for the kids, I always liked having a bunch of music that I wanted to see in one fell swoop. Regardless, Brian and I still had a great time.
Weekend Two, on the other hand, was the hottest Coachella roast I ever experienced in my decade-plus tenure, as every day topped 100 degrees, with no clouds or wind to offer relief. While Coco and I managed to eke out some sweaty fun the first two days, her rage thermometer went into overload on Sunday afternoon, and we did something I've never done before at Coachella -- we left early. The benefit of that was getting to actually chill out in Palm Springs on a Sunday night. We showered, hit the pool, went out to eat at a place called (wait for it) Coco's, and got some sleep that we missed the days before. On the flight back, Coco said that her first Coachella was her last, and it was hard to blame her. I never did a double weekend again.
Detroit Tigers v. Chicago White Sox [Comerica Park, Detroit 5.6.12]
The 2012 Detroit Tigers were swept in the World Series, but even though the ending was flat and the season was a bit of a struggle (first place again, but they didn't top 90 wins), the season was fun to watch, with a lot of talent on display from start to (weak-ass) finish.
Rammstein [The Palace of Auburn Hills 5.6.12]
If this ends up being the last time I ever see Rammstein live, what a way to go. The crowd was plugged in, the band was firing (emphasis on "fire") on all cylinders, and my concert buddies were Coco and my old college roommate / WHR worker Jeff Vincent, a.k.a. "DJ Towel." Like Kiss, but with better tunes and an ocean of flames.
Against Me! [The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids 6.2.12]
Not sure if it's rock-influenced punk or punk-influenced rock, but either way, AM! can (and did) put on a high-energy show.
The Dandy Warhols [Royal Oak Music Theatre 6.8.12]
Yep. Not as fun as seeing them the first time in '00, but it could have been worse, I suppose.
Sleigh Bells [The Intersection, Grand Rapids 7.10.12]
Cheerleader competition music played on blown speakers, rock guitars over programmed beats, boom bap and pounding riffs. Fun, but not the first time I thought "I'm getting too old for this shit."
Detroit Tigers v. Chicago White Sox [Comerica Park, Detroit 7.22.12]
I guess '12 was only a White Sox year. Of all the teams I could have seen the Tigers play, I saw two games with the White Sox. Huh.
The Dukes Of September [Kresge Auditorium, Interlochen 8.18.12]
For some context, this was a package tour featuring Donald Fagen from Steely Dan, along with Michael McDonald and Boz Scaggs. (It's similar to what these three did in '92 with the New York Rock and Soul Revue, before Steely Dan officially reunited in '93 for the lucrative touring dollar.) And while all three sounded better two decades before, it was still a nice gig. But the real fun for me was watching my dad, who went with me, try to reconcile his love of the music with his unease at being surrounded by people who were his age but looked much, much older. I, on the other hand, look older than I am, but as such, am invisible to the world at large. So there's that.
Metric [The Fillmore Detroit 9.8.12]
An underrated Canadian band with a magnetic frontwoman, playing one of my favorite albums of the '10s in Synthetica, along with choice cuts from their catalog. It's damning the show with faint praise to say "nice nice nice," but there you go.
Dinosaur Jr. [The Orbit Room, Grand Rapids 10.20.12]
I could wax poetically about the recently reunited trio having stood the test of time and tide playing a victory lap, but if you know anything about singer/songwriter/guitarist J. Mascis, you know one thing: JESUS CHRIST THE FUCKING RIFFS THIS GUY HAS, RIFF AFTER RIFF, GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO. The songs are vehicles for the riffs, fluid and meaty and serrated and bucolic, and J. brought the riffs. Delightful.
Magnetic Fields [The Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac 11.15.12]
A bucket-list show for me, featuring the talents of one of the most slept-on singer/songwriters of the 21st Century (and a bit before). Bonus points for elegant and tasteful playing and arrangements, as well as a volume level that wasn't bludgeoning. It would have been nice to have not endured the stranger danger pre-show conversations, but you can't have everything, right?
Lindsey Buckingham [Saugatuck Center for the Arts 11.16.12]
Or maybe you can have everything, especially when the next night, after a great Magnetic Fields concert, you get to sit in a small performance space twenty feet away from the guy who helped make Fleetwood Mac one of the biggest bands on the planet. A one-man show mixing solo work with re-arranged FM classics, it was non-stop bliss. And the show was done by 10pm, making it the most civilized concert-going experience of 2012 bar none for a forty-something dude with declining hearing and receding patience.
And then there was 2013.
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