Paolo Nutini at the Fox Theater in Oakland

This past weekend, we attended our first concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland. The theater opened earlier this year. It’s located down the street from The Paramount, a theater we have been too often. There is no dedicated parking for the show, but there are several parking lots listed on their website. We easily parked in a lot just down the street.

We passed by The Den at the Fox, a lounge connected to the theater. They offer drinks and some food, but we didn’t have time to look into there. When we entered the theater, an usher promptly greeted us. Our tickets were for loge seating. But the usher told us we could also access the standing general admissions area on the floor. If we had a Visa Signature card, we could be seated in the limited seating area on the first floor. We opted to take our seats in the lodge. The lodge seating is unusual. The seats are grouped in pairs, with ample space between the next coupled seats. We were in the first row of the lodge, our view partially blocked by the railing, but still a decent view of the performers. The layout of the Fox is very similar to the Warfield in San Francisco, but the Fox is quite larger.

We were seated during the middle of the opening act, Anya Marina. She was roaring through her set, rocking with her electric guitar. She was very crowd friendly, talking and often interacting with the crowd between songs. At one point she asked if the crowd was an “all ages” crowd because she wanted to explain the origin of a song she wrote. The actual meaning of the song could only be described with profanity, which she chose not to utter. Later in her performance, she noticed a Brazilian flag in the standing audience. She asked the pair of Brazilian girls who were holding the flag if it’s true they like anal sex – meaning if Brazilian girls do. (I guess she never got the answer to the “all ages” question.) One of the most interesting songs she did was a cover of T.I.’s “You Can Have Whatever You Like”.

Paolo Nutini came out next. His set was a good mixture of songs from his first album, These Streets, and his latest album, Sunny Side Up. We were very familiar with songs from These Streets and were happy to hear them live. We haven’t listened to his latest album, so they rang as new to our ears and were harder to get into. But Paolo performs with such enthusiasm and passion. It would be difficult not to enjoy his performance.

The big letdown at the Fox was the sound. I don’t have golden ears, and rarely notice bad sound at a concert, but from where we were sitting the vocals sounded muddled for both performers. At times it is hard to make out any lyrics at all, let alone the blend of instruments. I’m not sure if the sound sitting the center lodge or on the floor would be better. I’ll need to go to another concert to find that out.

Overall it was a good first-time experience at the Fox. It looks as if several performances are coming up that we’d be interested in attending.

Big Fish in a Small Pond – Summer Concerts

This is going to be a long post. Forgive me, I’ve been a bit behind on posting this and decided to just lump these all together.

Is a bigger venue better when it comes to a concert? I prefer the small places around here, like the Warfield or the Filmore.

This summer we have managed to see four big concerts: John Mayer, Diana Krall, The Police and The Smashing Pumpkins. Two played in arena settings and the other two in smaller clubs.

Guess which performances I enjoyed the most?

The Smashing Pumpkins @ The Filmore 07.16.2007

BossaNova and I caught the second Smashing Pumpkins shows at the Filmore. He was kind enough to get tickets when Farrah and I were in England. Actually, BossaNova is responsible for my best concert experience: The Smashing Pumpkins at The Warfield in support of the Siamese Dream album. BossaNova sums up the concert experience very well on his blog entry.

Here is the set list from that night courtesy of http://www.blamo.org/sp/

Main Set :

  • The Leaving Lament
  • Mama
  • Promise Me
  • With Every Light
  • Blue Skies Bring Tears
  • Tonight Tonight
  • Tarantula
  • Cherub Rock
  • Shame
  • The Aeroplane Flies High
  • Hummer
  • Bullet with Butterfly Wings
  • United States
  • To Sheila
  • Death from Above
  • Thirty-Three
  • Rocket
  • Translucent
  • Starla
  • Doomsday Clock
  • 7 Shades of Black
  • Today

Encore 1 :

  • That’s the Way (My Love Is)
  • Heavy Metal Machine

Encore 2 :

  • Zero
  • Gossamer

The Smashing Pumpkins came on a little after 10 pm, a late start for what I heard was a 3-hour gig! We only lasted through the main set which took us to about 12:15 am.

As BossaNova pointed out the show started slow. But when they started kicking into Tonight Tonight the show turned into something more. It was great to see Billy and Jimmy in action again. The new group seems to click especially when Billy went on his little time of reflection rants – which he did twice during the show.

Rating: *** (out of 5)

The Police @ The Oakland Coliseum 06.13.2007

I have seen Sting perform several times, but I never saw The Police play – until now. Seats opened up one week before the show, and Farrah and I were lucky to score some last minute tickets. The seats were excellent – behind home plate slightly right of the stage.

In such a large setting it ‘s hard to feel any energy from almost any band, and The Police were no exception. After the initial excitement of the opening songs, the show went into a slight lull, then rebounded back again to finish strong. Sting, Andy, and Stewart seemed to be clicking on mostly all cylinders, enjoying themselves and each others company on stage.

Here is the set list courtesy of The Police Tour 2007 blog

  • Message in a Bottle
  • Synchronicity II
  • Don’t Stand So Close to Me
  • Voices in My Head / When the World Is Running Down
  • Spirits in the Material World
  • Driven to Tears
  • Walking on the Moon
  • Truth Hits Everybody
  • Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
  • Wrapped Around Your Finger
  • The Bed’s Too Big Without You
  • De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
  • Invisible Sun
  • Walking in Your Footsteps
  • Can’t Stand Losing You
  • Roxanne
  • King of Pain
  • So Lonely

Encore:

  • Every Breath You Take

Second Encore:

  • Next to You

I’m happy I had the opportunity to see The Police, albeit almost 20 years after their prime.

Rating: ** (out of 5)

Diana Krall @ Yoshi’s

I believe the first and last time we saw Diana Krall perform was in the outdoor Mountain Winery venue. She put on a great show under the night sky. So when I saw she was playing at a smaller venue, at Yoshi’s in Oakland, I had to buy tickets.

She had not performed in a while since having her kids. The tickets were for her last set at Yoshi’s. An excellent review of the night’s events can be found here.

What I enjoy most about a Diana Krall show is that she knows how to interact with an audience. She is constantly aware of what is going on, especially in a small place like Yoshi’s. She can be humorous, both while talking to the crowd and while performing. During “a talk with the crowd” people started shouting out song requests – one of which was Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Farrah and my song. No, I didn’t scream this out.) She quickly responded, “I don’t have the range for that song.” Then during her solo in the following song, she proceeded to play a few measures of, you guessed it, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Diana Krall at Yoshi’s. What more can you ask?

Rating: **** (out of 5)

John Mayer @ The HP Pavilion 06.05.2007

I have never seen John Mayer perform live. I have often heard he puts on a good show, but I wasn’t trying to set my expectations too high. I’ve seen a few shows at the HP Pavilion. Most have my experiences have been fair at best. The two U2 shows I recall seeing there were great experiences because of the seat location that offered both a great view and great sound. For John Mayer, we were sitting in section 128, which is on the right side of the stage, and good seats. Though the seats were not bad, they don’t allow you to have the best audio experience.

We arrived at the Pavilion as Ben Folds was performing the opening set. His band’s performance was erratically energetic, trying to keep the crowd interested. He tried to unsuccessfully to interact with the crowd through some stories and small talk. This seemed successful on a small level. He did score points with some songs, a cover of a Dr. Dre song and a cover of The Postal Service’s Such Great Heights. Overall, an uneven performance for me.

After a half hour wait, John Mayer and his band hit the stage. The crowd rose to their feet as the band took the stage.

His set list, according to his web site, was:

  • Belief
  • No Such Thing
  • Good Love is On the Way
  • Gravity
  • Bigger Than My Body
  • Dreaming With A Broken Heart
  • Vultures
  • I Don’t Need No Doctor
  • Wheel
  • Why Georgia
  • Waiting on the World to Change

— encore —

  • Slow Dancing (acoustic)
  • 83 (acoustic)
  • Who Did You Think I Was (acoustic)
  • I’m Gonna Find Another You

John brought energy to the stage which encouraged the crowd to its feet, in particular through his more familiar songs. But the power is hard to sustain throughout the show. He knew most people wanted to hear the hits and tried his best to please the crowd. At times he appeared to be goofing around with his band mates, then he would turn around to play a deep-from-the-soul guitar solo.

Between songs small talk he seemed to want to vent, often referring to dreams, anger, and heartache. It seems he still might be recovering from his break-up with Jessica Simpson – Eck, did I just write her name on my blog? – and was channeling that energy into his performance.

Though he provided a good effort, the performance felt as if something was missing. I think the HP Pavilion is too big of a place for John Mayer (most of the 200 section was empty) – at least for now. An indoor venue like the Warfield or even the outdoor Shoreline Amphitheater might be better suited for his talents.

Rating: ** (out of five)

Regina Spektor – The Warfield

Photo Title: reginaaa3 which was initially uploaded by beisenhood

You are my sweetest downfall
I loved you first, I loved you first
Beneath the stars came fallin’ on our heads
But they’re just old light, they’re just old light
Your hair was long when we first met

The Warfield is always an excellent place to see a show, and seeing Regina Spektor there was a treat. The little Russian born redhead with a powerful voice started off with a capella number. (Sorry, I’m not too familiar with her song titles). I cribbed a list of her song set from here:

  • Fidelity
  • Better
  • On the Radio
  • Field Below
  • Apres Moi
  • Hotel Song
  • That Time
  • Summer in the City
  • Uh-merica
  • Music Box
  • Baby Jesus
  • Poor Little Rich Boy
  • The Flowers
  • Human of the Year
  • Us
  • Bobbin’ for Apples
  • Prisoners
  • Ghost of Corporate Future
  • Real Love (John Lennon)

She was without a band, mostly performing on her piano. She did use a guitar for a couple of songs. On “Poor Little Rich Boy” she played the piano with her left hand while beating a drumstick on a wooden chair placed next to her, and stomping her left foot for emphasis, through the song. I wish I could remember which song that was.

She does have some quirky, funny lyrics (see lyrics for Baby Jesus). Couple this along with her powerful voice, and sometimes unusual phrasing, it makes for a pleasant experience. You can often tell she is not entirely comfortable with a crowd, but she does warm up as the show continues. She was comfortable enough to say the Warfield is located in a “sketchy part of town.” (Really? I guess she didn’t travel to other areas of the City.)

Try to see Regina Spektor in a small venue if you can.

concerts we’ve attended

this is a ‘concert’- me list listing all the concerts we’ve been to (so far). updated when another concert comes along.

[Bill Graham Civic Auditorium]
99 Grove Street, San Francisco CA 94102

Who we’ve seen there:
Tori Amos (12.21.2002)
Oasis (4.13.1996)

[Bimbo’s 365 Club]
1025 Columbus Avenue San Francisco, CA 94133

Who we’ve seen there:
Cardigans (6.19.96)

Berkeley Community Theater
1930 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA 94704

Who we’ve seen there:
Dido (05.23.04)
Cranberries (04.05.95)
Jewel
Chris Cornell (11.30.99)
Ani Di Franco (10.31.97)

[Concord Pavilion]
2000 Kirker Pass Road, Concord, CA 94521

Who we’ve seen there:
Tori Amos/Alanis Morrisette (09.19.99)

[The Filmore]
1805 Geary Blvd. S.F. CA 94115

Who we’ve seen there:
Fiona Apple (03.18.97)
Sundays
Lush (04.15.96)
Morcheeba (4.11.2008)
Lorde (9.27.2013)
Greek Theatre-U.C. Berkeley
Gayley Road, Berkeley, CA 94720

Who we’ve seen there:
Alanis Morrisette
Black Eye Peas/Macy Gray

Oakland Arena
7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA 94621

Who we’ve seen there:
Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel w/Sinead O’Conner sing backup(11.22.93)
U2 (11.15.01)

Oakland Coliseum
7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA 94621

Who we’ve seen there:
Sugarcubes/Public Enemy/U2 (07.11.92)
Oasis/U2 (06.18.97)
Oasis/U2 (06.19.97)

Orpheium Theater

Who we’ve seen there:
Sarah McLaughlin

Pac Bell Park

Who we’ve seen there:
Macy Gray/Dave Matthews Band (5.18.01)

[Paramount Theatre]
2025 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612

Who we’ve seen there:
Bjork (10.17.01)
Sarah McLachlan (10.30.97)
Tori Amos (11.11.01 and some other date)

San Jose Arena

Who we’ve seen there:
Garbage/Smashing Pumpkins (08.18.96)
INXS (04.08.94)
U2 (4.19.01)

San Jose Event Center

Who we’ve seen there:
Pearl Jam
Soundgarden (06.03.94)
Tori Amos (09.19.98)
Sarah McLachlan (03.9.98)

Shoreline Amphetheater

Who we’ve seen there:
Sting
Lilith Fair 97 (07.08.97) (Sarah McLachlan, Tracy Chapman, Jewel, Paula Cole, Suzanne Vega)
Lilith Fair 98 (06.24.98) (Sarah McLachlan, Indigo Girls, Natalie Merchant, Erica Badu, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Bonnie Raitt)
Lilith Fair 98 (07.14.99)
Santana
Lollapaloza ’94 (Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, George Clinton & P-Funk Allstars, The Breaders, Green Day…) – [http://www.jamesiha.org/interview/1994lolla.htm]
Lollapalooza ’95 (Hole, Sonic Youth, Beck, Cypress Hill, Elastica,…)
REM (05.17.95)
Sade (07.18.01)
Sting (08.05.00)

Slims

Who we’ve seen there:
Julianna Hatfield (http://www.julianasite.com/touragraphy.html#city)
LLoyd Cole
Garbage
Cibo Matto (10.09.99)

[Villa Montalvo]
15400 Montalvo Road, Saratoga, CA 95071

Who we’ve seen there:
Diana Krall (7.19.01)
Norah Jones

[Warfield]
982 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Who we’ve seen there:
Smashing Pumpkins (10.18 0r 19.93)
Bjork (05.21.98)
Portishead (05.31.98)
Cardigans
Crowded House/Sheryl Crow
Garbage (05.20.98)
Sundays
Dido (08.10.00)
PJ Harvey (05.19.95)
Sonic Youth
Sara Bareilles (12.16.2010)

I know I saw them, but where….

Hole (the Edge)
Filter (somewhere in San Jose)
Lisa Loeb (well, actually didn’t stay for that one)
Pearl Jam @ Golden Gate Park (06.24.95)
WOMAD (ft. Peter Gabriel) Golden Gate Park
Smashing Pumpkins (2. 7.96) Kezar Pavilion

Tori Amos at the CPA
TLC and MC Hammer (Hawaii)
New Kids/Tiffany at Great America
David Spade (05.30.98)
Cassandra Wilson @ Nob Hill Masonic Center(10.24.97)
Pharoah Sanders Quartet @Yoshi’s (03.17.01)