Writing Life

Definitely a punky feeling and some 70s nostalgia.

• Anarchy in the U.K. – The Sex Pistols
• Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones
• Crimson and Clover – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
• School’s Out – Alice Cooper
• Wild Thing (live) – The Runaways
• Land – Patti Smith

Diane & I saw the Dead Weather at Rams Head Live on Monday, August 2nd in Baltimore. What an incredible, sold-out show! They are best as a live band. The raw emotion and aggressiveness of their music just rocked.

There were songs that I don’t really like off their records such as ‘60 Feet Tall’ (Horehound) and ‘I’m Mad’ (Sea of Cowards) that were superb live. Conversely, Die by the Drop is one of my favorite songs off their new album, but I didn’t care for the live version.

Harlem, from Austin, Texas, opened. They did 10 songs and I really liked three of them. A few sucked and the rest were ok. They’re a three person band, and the lead guitarist and drummer swapped about ½ through the set. To be honest, the first guitarist wasn’t that great but the drummer-cum-guitarist rocked out on both instruments.

The Dead Weather played 13 songs and then came back out for a three song encore. Here’s the setlist they played:

1. The Difference Between Us
2. I’m Mad
3. 60 Feet Tall
4. Hang You From The Heavens
5. You Just Can’t Win (Them cover)
6. So Far From Your Weapon
7. No Horse
8. I Cut Like a Buffalo
9. Gasoline
10. Die by the Drop
11. Hustle and Cuss
12. New Pony (Bob Dylan cover)
13. Will There Be Enough Water?

Encore:

14. Blue Blood Blues
15. Jawbreaker
16. Treat Me Like Your Mother

Primarily drawing from the 1970s and 90s, but with the late 2000s coming up strong. One local band, Wye Oak, made the list. Another might join soon. The Violet Hour’s eponymous album does indeed join the list.

1. The Battle of Los Angeles (1999) – Rage Against the Machine
2. Crimes of Passion (1980) – Pat Benatar
3. Dark Side of the Moon (1973) – Pink Floyd
4. The Doors (1967) – The Doors
5. Fever To Tell (2003) – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6. Horehound (2009) – The Dead Weather (2009)
7. I (1969) – Led Zeppelin
8. In The Heat of the Night (1979) – Pat Benatar
9. The Knot (2009) – Wye Oak
10. Midnight Boom (2008) – The Kills
11. Nevermind (1991) – Nirvana
12. Powerage (1978) – AC/DC
13. Power to the People & the Beats (1987-98) – Public Enemy
14. Pretty Hate Machine (1989) – Nine Inch Nails
15. So Tonight That I Might See (1993) – Mazzy Star
16. Ten (1991) – Pearl Jam
17. Vegas (1997) – The Crystal Method
18. The Violet Hour (2009) – The Violet Hour
19. Who’s Next (1971) – The Who
20. The Yes Album (1971) – Yes

One of my new favorite bands, and their local, from Baltimore. For a mellow band that I use to help facilitate my writing, they can rock out. Can’t wait to see them live sometime:

Had a great six mile run today and a perfect soundtrack, thanks to Apple’s Genius option. I seeded it with the first song below.

Zero [Yeah Yeah Yeahs]
Cheap and Cheerful [The Kills]
Ghost Town [Shiny Toy Guns]
In One Ear [Cage the Elephant]
Connjur [School of Sevel Bells]
Great DJ [The Ting Tings]
Bull in the Heather [Sonic Youth]
The Good Ones [The Kills]
The Beginning of the End [Nine Inch Nails]
Gold Lion [Yeah Yeah Yeahs]
Wild International [One Day as a Lion]
Push It [Garbage]
Gouge Away [Pixies]
Rock & Roll Queen [The Subways]
Hang You From the Heavens [The Dead Weather]
Five String Serenade [Mazzy Star]

My friend David’s band, Porter St. Revival, played at the Second Chance Saloon on May 1st. We had a fabulous time, staying for all three sets. Here’s a quick photo of the band playing. If you have the chance, you can see them again on June 13 and July 25. David is the guitarist, up front.

Porter St. Revival at the Second Chance Saloon

Diane & I went to see The Kills down at the 9:30 Club in DC. What a freaking fantastic show. They’re my favorite band and this was the best concert I’d ever been seen. The energy between Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince was palpable, as was their connection with the audience. I loved every song they played during their set, plus the three songs in the encore.

The show was opened by Tennessee band the Magic Wands, a male-female band that reminded me of the Kills in how they carried themselves. Their music was okay, and they’re definitely a band to watch develop. I loved their song Black Magic. After they finished, the British band The Horrors played. Punky with an 80s fashion sense. But, after a few songs, I really enjoyed the band and might pick up their first and second albums.

The Kills set list for their show on April 30 was:

The Horrors played stuff off their new album, Primary Colours. Based on web reports (as I’d never heard the songs before), this is the set list they are currently using, in no particular order:

I think The Magic Wands played about 6 or 7 songs during their 23 minute set. Of them, the ones I’ve been able to put names to were: Black Magic, Kaleidoscope Hearts, Kiss Me Dead and Teenage Love.

I’ve got a few pictures below from the concert.

The Kills at the 9:30 club

The Horrors

The Magic Wands

On Sunday morning (October 19th), I ran my second 5K Race for the Cure up in Hunt Valley, Maryland. This year, Diane treated me to a timed race: an extra $5 for a chip that would give me an official run time based on when I crossed the start and finish lines. The money’s for a good cause (fighting breast cancer), so the extra $5 was well worth it on many fronts. My unofficial race time, based on the clock at the finish line, was about 26:02. Today I found the official results. N.B. My chip time differed from the starter gun time by 5.7 seconds, which is about how long it took me to get from where I was standing to the starting line once the gun fired. Approximately 32,000 people walked, ran and jogged on this beautiful and crisp morning.

My iPhone playlist for this year’s run: