Concert: Rob Thomas & Counting Crows at Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View, CA)

Or: Partying Like It's 1996

I go see Rob pretty much any time he's within driving distance, and my husband is a big Counting Crows fan, so this concert was custom made for us.

The show started with K Phillips, someone I wasn't familiar with, but I did enjoy his music. Definitely showed his Nashville and Austin influences.

Rob's set was mostly older stuff; the only song he did from the newest album was the latest single "Pieces." I was sort of sorry about that because I really like The Great Unknown. At the same time, however, this concert reminded me how long it's been since I listened to the other two albums and how much I like those as well.

He played "Unwell," which is a great song, but I kind of wish he'd do "Dizzy" instead. I feel like those two songs have the same sentiment behind them, but "Dizzy" is the better of the two in that it cuts closer to the bone. (Wouldn't say no to "Here Comes Horses" either, Rob, next time you're in town.)

And while I'm addressing you directly, Rt, you can stop telling that same "Smooth" story now. We all know it.

But you're looking fit, and we love you, and speaking of looking well, Adam Duritz also seemed in good spirits. This was my third time seeing him and Counting Crows in concert, and the best time. Adam had good energy. Lots of cuts from the latest album, and of course all the favorites. There was also the obligatory moment in which they were all on stage together, singing "Holiday In Spain" and "Rain King" to finish things out. It's cliché, but no less fun for all that. Adam and Rob singing together met expectations yet somehow also seemed to exceed them in that it was better than it had any right to be.

As far as stagecraft, I'd call this simple but effective. I enjoyed the pseudo-cityscape of lights in Rob's set. It was interesting to watch them turn the stage over for Counting Crows; they had it down to a science but it still took a while, and they were loading some things directly into the truck. This tour must be a bruiser. Counting Crows had a panel of lights behind them, and they were used to good effect along with the usual spots.

Overall, one of the better shows, and I like Shoreline as a venue, though it more or less looks like dozens of other similar places. It was a great night.

Concerts: Plain White T's and Rob Thomas at Mountain Winery (Saratoga, CA)

This time I wore the stripes.

Mountain Winery in Saratoga, California is one of my favorite venues. You drive up a twisty path and arrive high above everything around you, with breathtaking views. But more than that, it's like being on another planet. And though it's a large enough arena, it feels very intimate.

The Plain White T's opened, none of them wearing plain white t's at all, which I find to be false advertising. Would it be too precious if they did wear them? I don't know. I'm not sure about the politics around naming a band after an item of clothing.

Not a white tee among them.

I'll go ahead and admit I don't own any of their albums, though I've enjoyed some of their songs on the radio. Some but not all. In fact, that "Hey There Delilah" song, which is probably still their best known, is one that really irritates me. But I knew there would be no escaping it, and indeed they closed the set with it. I, for one, prefer the more upbeat. "1, 2, 3, 4" is a good one, and "Should've Gone to Bed." In truth, they put on a good show and were working hard for it, too; it's tough to be the opening band. You're almost never the one people came to see, and a lot of seats are usually still empty when you start. Tom Higgenson called people down to dance in front of the stage, hoping to get some energy going, and that helped.

Rob, meantime, put on as good a show as he ever does. This tour has been fraught with acute allergy attacks and—affecting last night's show—band member emergencies that prevented them from playing anything but the single "Trust You" from the forthcoming new album (which Rob says is due to drop in August). That was disappointing, as I was looking forward to the new stuff, but Rob still put on a robust show. He's a fine entertainer, and a large part of that is he genuinely enjoys it but also doesn't take it for granted. It's clear he's grateful for his fans and the opportunity to do what he loves, and it's equally clear there's love and respect between him and his band. That makes him a pleasure to watch and be with for a couple hours.

(I gotta give up for Rob's drummer, too, in particular; Abe kills it.)

Not a lot of change-ups in this show. What I mean is, most things came out sounding more or less like the album versions, only live, and though Rob touched on some Elvis (doing a bit of "That's All Right" coming out of "Getting Late," like usual) and some Steve Miller (skimming "The Joker") he didn't do any one full cover song. He played "Rest Stop" and "3 A.M." and from there stuck to his solo album catalogue. Well, and he played "Smooth" of course. No piano for Rob this show, either.

Still and all, it was a solid outing, and everyone left satisfied, filled up on a great experience.

I've seen Rob perform (solo and with Matchbox Twenty) more times than any other artist, and I've seldom if ever been disappointed. But this particular show—and I think the venue plays a big part here—had particularly good energy. Thanks, as ever, Rob, for another wonderful night.

Concert Review: Goo Goo Dolls & Matchbox Twenty in Concord, CA

Last night I took my 8-year-old son to his first real rock concert.

Due to traffic and the long parking process at the venue, we missed a portion of opener Kate Earl's set, but what I did hear I mostly liked. Or really, I very much liked her earnestness . . . There was something honest about her and her music that I found appealing.

And then the Goo Goo Dolls. Now, I like them, but I really only know their work through their radio hits (and the fact that Johnny Rzeznik and I were once published in the same issue of Rosebud; his was called "Iris" and mine was called "There Was an Old Woman," which is a pretty good example of why I don't still write poetry).

Anyway, I guess the short answer here is that I don't know enough about their music to say more than, yes, I enjoyed hearing and seeing them live. We had good seats, seventh row center, but the iPhone's camera is useless at concerts because of the lighting, so the few pics I can offer are underwhelming. Rzeznik & Co. played mostly songs I recognized, and they also did a really sweet new number called "Come to Me" wherein they put the lyrics up over the stage so people could "learn" the words.

(Stupid camera always makes stuff look farther away than it is, too, but whatever.)

When I asked my son what his verdict was regarding the Goo Goos, he said, "They were pretty good, even though they have a weird name."

But what he really wanted to know was when Matchbox Twenty was going to play. It was well past his bedtime after all.

The MB20 stage was kind of fun; three cube-shaped screens and a lot of neon piping.

This actually made it easier for my son to see what was going on, and the cubes more or less mesmerized him. (You have to understand that Rob Thomas is my son's inspiration for learning to play guitar and wanting to learn to sing, so his attention was divided between watching Rob and then also watching Kyle Cook play—my son was impressed by how fast he had to move his hands.)

As for the concert itself, it was all pretty rote. There was nothing by way of interesting new arrangements of old favorites; everything was played more or less radio and record style. Nor did they really play anything one might call a "deep cut," since it was all their hits and singles. ::shrug:: Give the people what they want, I guess.

Still, it was fun, and my son was so excited they played his favorite song, which is "Bright Lights." He's loved it since he was three years old and used to yell at the concert video, "No, Kyle, don't stand on the piano!" (And no, Kyle did not stand on the piano last night.)

One interesting thing, I suppose, is that they opened with "Parade," which I would have counted more as something to end with . . . Usually one might expect a show to open with something more upbeat, but it was nice anyway.

As concerts go, the night was fun but not spectacular. I suppose that says something about these bands and the people—like me—who listen to them. It all tasted of risk aversion. But then again, that worked in our favor in the parking lot as we exited in slow but mostly orderly fashion.

Eddie Izzard: Work in Progress at the Brava Theater

What you can't see in that picture are his awesome nails and his lovely heeled boots (very similar to a pair I own).

Now I've seen Eddie live twice before this night: once for his Sexie tour and once for Stripped. Both of those were very good, but I think what he did for this WIP was the funniest I'd seen him. I'm not going to give away any of his jokes, but let's just say that while the name of his coming tour is Force Majeure, it could easily be subtitled "Eddie Explains the Universe." Covering topics such as atheism, human sacrifice, squirrels on a photo shoot, and the equestrian sport of dressage (not at the same time, mind), Eddie brought his trademark marriage of encyclopaedic knowledge + common sense = "funny when you look at it like that."

Do wonder why he has it in for Steve, though. (Steve, on the other hand, knows why.)

Also, does Bacchus have horns? I thought that was Pan. I mean, I took a lot of Classical History in college (was my minor), but . . . I could be remembering wrong. And though I'm sitting here typing this on a computer, I'm too lazy to open another tab and look it up.

Now I'm curious to see how the final product turns out, though sadly I don't see the US on his current list of tour dates. May have to wait for the DVD.

In short, if you like Eddie's previous work, I see no reason why you wouldn't like this just as much. In some ways it's more of the same, but really there are a lot of interesting topics in the world, and each of Eddie's shows is just him covering more ground (or sometimes the same ground from another direction). It's a one-sided conversation to be sure—or maybe more of a lecture—but always a fascinating one. And always funny, too.