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vovatLast night, I went to see Camper Van Beethoven at the TLA in Philadelphia.
This was where someone sprayed David Lowery with Mace at a concert last year. Fortunately, nothing like that happened this time. Near the beginning of CVB's set, some people were shouting, "No Mace!" or something along those lines. I think the band might have preferred not to be reminded of that at all, but oh well.
I was hoping there wouldn't be an opener, since there wasn't one last time. As it turned out, though, there were TWO openers. The TLA seems to like to have multiple openers, for some reason. The first one was a Philadelphia band called Cordalene, whom I had earlier seen open for Sloan at the same venue. I wasn't thrilled by them that time, and I wasn't this time either, but at least their microphones worked last night. The second opener was another Philly band, Dr. Dog. They weren't that great, but they WERE better than I had expected from their name, so that's something. Pretty much all I can remember about them was that one of the band members had put a teabag in a bottle of water, and it (the bag) broke. He said the resulting mixture was like mud. Also, their drummer used Cordalene's drum set.
CVB came onstage at around 10:45, and played for about an hour and 45 minutes. I was right up near the stage, close enough to look at the setlist, which I did a few times. They followed the setlist exactly, although the encores weren't written on it. There were some technical difficulties during the set. It seemed like the instruments had been turned up too much and the microphones not enough, because the vocals were hard to hear during the first few songs. Of course, David was the only one singing on most of those songs, and he was on the opposite side of the stage from where I was standing (I was close to Jonathan Segel and Victor Krummenacher), so that might have had something to do with it. It wasn't as bad during later songs, but I'm not sure whether they did some adjusting, or I just got used to it. There were only five band members on stage this time, while I think there were six last time. There was no keyboard player, but Jonathan did fulfill keyboard duties on a few songs.
Here's what they played (not necessarily in order, but probably pretty close to it):
R 'n' R Uzbekistan
Tania
Turquoise Jewelry--No horn players were present, so Jonathan played the horn parts on his violin.
Waka
Eye Of Fatima (both parts)
51-7--This worked better as a live song than I thought it would. It was powerful and energetic once the louder part kicked in.
All Her Favorite Fruit
Sweethearts--I've started appreciating this song more since Ronald Reagan died. Is that wrong?
Hippy Chix
That Gum You Like Is Back In Style
Tina
Might Makes Right
Militia Song--One of my favorites from the new album. It's really catchy, and I'm glad they played it live. I think David messed up his lines at the very beginning, but I couldn't tell for sure.
Ambiguity Song--If only they had followed this with "Axe Murderer Song," they could have done the full complement of CVB songs with "Song" in the titles.
L'Aguardiente--One of the band's longest and most intricate instrumentals
Take The Skinheads Bowling--This was on the setlist as "Skin," and I couldn't figure out which song was meant until they started playing it. I should have been able to guess, since I think they play this one at every show.
White Riot--A Clash cover. Victor's bass amplifier apparently blew out during this number.
Wasted
Shut Us Down--David introduced this by saying that it was appropriate, since Victor's amp had been shut down during "Riot." They did have a backup amp, fortunately.
One Of These Days
The History Of Utah
The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon--During this song, Jonathan was trying to get his keyboard to work, but it didn't. He ended up playing the guitar. I'm not sure if he was going to play the keyboard on "Lassie," though, or if he was just getting it ready for a later song.
Club Med Sucks--Without the "Opi Rides Again" introduction
Pictures Of Matchstick Men--The last song of the regular set
Flowers
Interstellar Overdrive--Jonathan played both keyboard and guitar on this one.
I don't think there was as much between-song banter as last time, but there was some. A guy in the audience was jumping around, making weird hand motions, and otherwise acting high. Victor asked if they still sold ecstasy in Philadelphia, and then David introduced the guy as the interpreter for the deaf.
There weren't as many instrumentals in the setlist as last time, but that's probably largely just because the set was shorter. They did play five instrumentals ("Uzbekistan," "Waka," "Fatima Part 2," "L'Aguardiente," and "Interstellar"), which is kind of a lot. Not that I mind, since CVB's instrumentals tend to be good.
I expected them to play a lot of songs from the new album, and they ended up doing five of them. They fit in well with the old songs, though. The band also played a good amount of earlier stuff, although there were only two songs from the third album ("Utah" and "Shut Us Down"), and none from the second. I think these were the two albums that were out of print for the longest. Coincidence? I don't know.
At the merchandise table, I bought a "CVB Revolutionary Manifesto 2004" T-shirt, and a copy of In the Mouth of the Crocodile: Live in Seattle. I also got a free poster, which I got Jonathan, Victor, and David to sign. All I said to them was "thank you," and I'm not sure David even heard that, since he was talking to someone else at the time. Oh, well. I do have to wonder whether, when musicians talk to someone for a long period of time, it's because the fan takes the initiative, or because the musician likes them better than other people. I'm always nervous around musicians, although I have managed to get autographs from a few.
Overall, it was a great show. I'd definitely recommend that any CVB fans who might be reading this see them if they come to your area. A review of their new album will probably be coming soon. (I'm listening to it right now.)
This was where someone sprayed David Lowery with Mace at a concert last year. Fortunately, nothing like that happened this time. Near the beginning of CVB's set, some people were shouting, "No Mace!" or something along those lines. I think the band might have preferred not to be reminded of that at all, but oh well.
I was hoping there wouldn't be an opener, since there wasn't one last time. As it turned out, though, there were TWO openers. The TLA seems to like to have multiple openers, for some reason. The first one was a Philadelphia band called Cordalene, whom I had earlier seen open for Sloan at the same venue. I wasn't thrilled by them that time, and I wasn't this time either, but at least their microphones worked last night. The second opener was another Philly band, Dr. Dog. They weren't that great, but they WERE better than I had expected from their name, so that's something. Pretty much all I can remember about them was that one of the band members had put a teabag in a bottle of water, and it (the bag) broke. He said the resulting mixture was like mud. Also, their drummer used Cordalene's drum set.
CVB came onstage at around 10:45, and played for about an hour and 45 minutes. I was right up near the stage, close enough to look at the setlist, which I did a few times. They followed the setlist exactly, although the encores weren't written on it. There were some technical difficulties during the set. It seemed like the instruments had been turned up too much and the microphones not enough, because the vocals were hard to hear during the first few songs. Of course, David was the only one singing on most of those songs, and he was on the opposite side of the stage from where I was standing (I was close to Jonathan Segel and Victor Krummenacher), so that might have had something to do with it. It wasn't as bad during later songs, but I'm not sure whether they did some adjusting, or I just got used to it. There were only five band members on stage this time, while I think there were six last time. There was no keyboard player, but Jonathan did fulfill keyboard duties on a few songs.
Here's what they played (not necessarily in order, but probably pretty close to it):
R 'n' R Uzbekistan
Tania
Turquoise Jewelry--No horn players were present, so Jonathan played the horn parts on his violin.
Waka
Eye Of Fatima (both parts)
51-7--This worked better as a live song than I thought it would. It was powerful and energetic once the louder part kicked in.
All Her Favorite Fruit
Sweethearts--I've started appreciating this song more since Ronald Reagan died. Is that wrong?
Hippy Chix
That Gum You Like Is Back In Style
Tina
Might Makes Right
Militia Song--One of my favorites from the new album. It's really catchy, and I'm glad they played it live. I think David messed up his lines at the very beginning, but I couldn't tell for sure.
Ambiguity Song--If only they had followed this with "Axe Murderer Song," they could have done the full complement of CVB songs with "Song" in the titles.
L'Aguardiente--One of the band's longest and most intricate instrumentals
Take The Skinheads Bowling--This was on the setlist as "Skin," and I couldn't figure out which song was meant until they started playing it. I should have been able to guess, since I think they play this one at every show.
White Riot--A Clash cover. Victor's bass amplifier apparently blew out during this number.
Wasted
Shut Us Down--David introduced this by saying that it was appropriate, since Victor's amp had been shut down during "Riot." They did have a backup amp, fortunately.
One Of These Days
The History Of Utah
The Day That Lassie Went To The Moon--During this song, Jonathan was trying to get his keyboard to work, but it didn't. He ended up playing the guitar. I'm not sure if he was going to play the keyboard on "Lassie," though, or if he was just getting it ready for a later song.
Club Med Sucks--Without the "Opi Rides Again" introduction
Pictures Of Matchstick Men--The last song of the regular set
Flowers
Interstellar Overdrive--Jonathan played both keyboard and guitar on this one.
I don't think there was as much between-song banter as last time, but there was some. A guy in the audience was jumping around, making weird hand motions, and otherwise acting high. Victor asked if they still sold ecstasy in Philadelphia, and then David introduced the guy as the interpreter for the deaf.
There weren't as many instrumentals in the setlist as last time, but that's probably largely just because the set was shorter. They did play five instrumentals ("Uzbekistan," "Waka," "Fatima Part 2," "L'Aguardiente," and "Interstellar"), which is kind of a lot. Not that I mind, since CVB's instrumentals tend to be good.
I expected them to play a lot of songs from the new album, and they ended up doing five of them. They fit in well with the old songs, though. The band also played a good amount of earlier stuff, although there were only two songs from the third album ("Utah" and "Shut Us Down"), and none from the second. I think these were the two albums that were out of print for the longest. Coincidence? I don't know.
At the merchandise table, I bought a "CVB Revolutionary Manifesto 2004" T-shirt, and a copy of In the Mouth of the Crocodile: Live in Seattle. I also got a free poster, which I got Jonathan, Victor, and David to sign. All I said to them was "thank you," and I'm not sure David even heard that, since he was talking to someone else at the time. Oh, well. I do have to wonder whether, when musicians talk to someone for a long period of time, it's because the fan takes the initiative, or because the musician likes them better than other people. I'm always nervous around musicians, although I have managed to get autographs from a few.
Overall, it was a great show. I'd definitely recommend that any CVB fans who might be reading this see them if they come to your area. A review of their new album will probably be coming soon. (I'm listening to it right now.)
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Date: 2004-10-15 02:14 pm (UTC)I'd marry him. But Jay might object.
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Date: 2004-10-16 08:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-16 05:37 pm (UTC)