strange talk @ the satellite (11/7/13)

I'm not sure if it was superior sound, or whether these guys have really been rehearsing since August, but they totally killed it tonight.

My only gripe is that their set -- which is a similar, possibly identical, 45 minutes to what they played a couple months back -- is too short for a headliner, and could be augmented by one or two more songs (specifically, "Picking Up All the Pieces" and "So So La La," but that's my bias talking).

It's tricky setlisting with your phone in one hand and a can of PBR in the other while the body convulses in dancelike spasms, but these are the special skills my generation comes equipped with.

Setlist:
Cast Away
Take Me As I Am
Is It Real?
Wanted (Dead or Alive)
Eskimo Boy
Cosmic Synchronicity
We Can Pretend
Sexual Lifestyle
Climbing Walls
Falling in Love

No encore this time. I seem to recall the crowd coaxing "Another Day" out of them last time, but so it goes.

holy ghost! @ the henry fonda (10/20/13)

Decent DJ + way above-average opening band (if an opener is supposed to be a similar artist that gets you in the mood, Midnight Magic killed it) + high-energy, six-piece headliner playing an exemplary selection = an evening well spent. It was, coincidentally, also lead singer Alex Frankel's birthday.

Setlist:
Cheap Shots
It's Not Over
Hold My Breath
Say My Name
Okay
Slow Motion
Do It Again
It Gets Dark
Bridge and Tunnel
It Must Be the Weather
Hold On
I Will Come Back
Wait and See

Encore:
[crowd sang Happy Birthday to Alex]
Dumb Disco Ideas
Don't Look Down
Jam for Jerry

Yep. That's pretty much everything I could have asked for this band to play. Not one dud in the bunch. An uplifting, much-needed hour and a half of live music.

yeasayer @ el rey (8/11/13)

or, My, Mr. Keating, What Nice Legs You Have

We were really close to Chris Keating's legs. Closer than you are to your computer screen. We were also, occasionally, equally close to Anand Wilder as he busted out some sweet guitar solos. Fire alarms went off, calves were massaged. Great night.

Setlist:
2080
Henrietta
Longevity
Blue Paper
O.N.E.
Don't Come Close
Madder Red
Demon Road
Folk Hero Shtick
Reagan's Skeleton
Ambling Alp

Encore:
Devil and the Deed
Fingers Never Bleed
Tightrope
Wait for the Summer

El Rey, you're two for two.

the national @ the greek (8/10/13)

SO MUCH PRETTY.

Setlist:
I Should Live in Salt
Don't Swallow the Cap
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Sorrow
Sea of Love
Demons
Afraid of Everyone
Conversation 16
Squalor Victoria
I Need My Girl
This Is the Last Time
Slipped
Baby, We'll Be Fine
Abel
Slow Show
Pink Rabbits
Graceless
England
About Today
Fake Empire

Encore:
Humiliation
Mr. November
Terrible Love
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

foals @ el rey (4/16/13)

or, Holy Shit I Had No Idea How Fucking Awesome These Guys Are Live

Setlist:
Prelude
Total Life Forever
Olympic Airways
My Number
Bad Habit
Milk & Black Spiders
Blue Blood
Late Night
Providence
Spanish Sahara
Red Socks Pugie
Electric Bloom

Encore:
Moon
Inhaler
Two Steps, Twice

or, Holy Shit You Are One or Two Trivial Changes Away from a Perfect Setlist

The bar has been re-set for concertgoing. I haven't had this much fun at a show in a while, and I've been going to some pretty awesome shows.