This review preempts many others so that it can be posted to the official PiL website.

I actually hadn’t heard of the band PiL before 2010, though I had heard of their main member. Before forming Public Image Limited or PiL, John Lydon was known as Johnny Rotten, the lead singer of the infamous and highly influential British punk band The Sex Pistols. I know of them from music history. Their guitarist, Steve Jones, used to have a radio show on the former Indie 103.1 called Jonesy’s Jukebox. Lydon formed PiL in the late 1970s as the original incarnation of the Sex Pistols broke up. They released some singles and albums in the late 70s, throughout the 80s, and in the early 90s. Their lineup changed frequently but Lydon was always there.

My wife has much more experience with PiL. She and her sister had their greatest hits CD that was released in the early 90s. They had almost seen them live at the Ritz in New York City when they were in high school. At that concert, they saw the three opening bands: Live, Big Audio Dynamite II (BAD II, a band formed by Mick Jones of The Clash) and Blind Melon. All three would become headliner bands in their own right. But my wife and her sister left the concert before the headliner PiL took the stage because the crowd was getting too crazy, moshing and crowd surfing. They watched a bit of their set on the screen in the lobby of the Ritz that froze on John Lydon mooning the crowd.

My wife’s chance to see another PiL show did not come about until early 2010. We heard that they were playing at the Coachella festival and at Club Nokia a few days before. We decided not to go to Coachella because we would have had to purchase tickets for all three days. We weren’t yet sure if we could go to the April 13 Club Nokia show because there was a chance that I would have to travel for work on that day. At the end of March I found out that I didn’t have to travel so we got tickets to see the show from the floor of Club Nokia.

Club Nokia is a fairly new venue in the new entertainment complex L.A. Live that’s in the South Park district of Downtown Los Angeles. It’s a fairly small venue compared to the nearby venues Staple Center that seats 20,000 people, and the 7,100 seat Nokia Theater that’s often confused with Club Nokia (by me at least). It has a capacity of around 2,000 and consists of a floor for standing, a pit for standing closer and private booths on the balcony. We hadn’t been there yet so this was our chance to see it.

On Tuesday, April 13, I met up with my wife after I got off work. Our sister- and brother-in-law who live near L.A. Live allowed us to park in the parking garage for their home. After having dinner at The Farm of Beverly Hills at L.A. Live (see future review), we consulted an L.A. Live directory and found out that Club Nokia is in the same building as The Farm. It’s in the large building on the north end of L.A. Live that also contains the Conga Room, the Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley, the Grammy Museum, and many restaurants such as Flemings, Rosa Mexicano (a.k.a. the New York Mexican restaurant), Trader Vic’s, and The Yardhouse. On the south side of the building near The Farm are escalators that we took up two flights to get to Club Nokia. We left The Farm at 8:15 pm and got to the club at 8:20 pm. The doors to the show had actually opened at 7:30 pm though the show didn’t actually start until 9:00 pm according to the schedule on the Internet.

While eating dinner we had seen a few people walk by wearing PiL shirts among the many more people going to the Laker game. There were still many people entering Club Nokia when we arrived there. Security consisted of metal scanners and bag searches. Employees then scanned our tickets and we entered the lobby of the venue. I didn’t notice whether they were stilling PiL merch anywhere. My wife saw that they were selling merch. We didn’t know if there would be any opening acts. We did see a notice on the wall saying that the concert was being filmed. Coincidentally, the show my wife attended at the Ritz in NYC was also filmed as part of a BAD II video and she briefly appears in that video as part of the crowd. The Club Nokia lobby seemed very small to me and we soon entered a doorway to the club itself.

It was dark inside with long lights on the ceiling near where it met the wall. These lights would slowly change color from red to blue to purple and other colors. It was a wide space with a long bar in the back and hardwood floor. The stage was opposite the bar past a mid-level partition. In front of it was a pit area cordoned off by ropes. My wife found out that you had to have a special wristband to get inside the pit area. The balcony was above our heads and we couldn’t really see it, though we heard it had private booths. On the stage was a drum kit and above and behind it was the large black and white PiL logo. The bass drum also had the PiL logo on it. The pit was already full of people. There were many on the main club floor and most places along the mid-level partition were taken. We found a place to stand behind the sound engineer’s station. There were some flatscreens mounted on pillars and on the walls to the side of the stage. They showed ads for upcoming acts at Club Nokia such as Crowded House, Denis Leary, a-ha, Level 42, and the Buzzcocks. These screens just turned off during the concert. The canned music was hip hop versions of 80s music such as Salt-n-Pepa and “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson.

The crowd consisted mostly of Caucasian men. There were many Caucasian women as part of couples and groups. We saw one African-American man there later. Everyone looked to be around our age or older. Most people wore black or dark colors. More people entered and the place filled up though it never got uncomfortable crowded outside the pit. I checked out the restroom that was large and new though it also had an attendant expecting a tip. We kept our place behind the sound engineers’ station that had a pretty good view of the stage. Soon some sound engineers arrived on worked on the equipment and the laptops plugged into it. One engineer switched to a screen that had a setlist on it. I could just barely read some of it: 3) This is Not a Love Song, 7) Death Disco, 8) Flowers of Romance, 9) Psychopath, 10) Warrior. The engineer would switch to other screens with graphs and equalizer controls. When he switched back to the setlist screen it showed the song that was playing in larger type in the upper right corner.

At 9:02 the house lights dimmed and red lights shone on stage. Over the speakers we heard an Englishman (John Lydon?) rapping what turned out to be “The Rabbit Song”. We’re not sure if that’s a PiL song or a John Lydon solo song. Then John Lydon himself and the band came out on stage. He looked to be in his 50s, a bit overweight with bleached orange-blond hair that stood straight up on top. He wore a black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. The rest of PiL consisted of a guitarist, drummer, and bassist who looked to be in Lydon’s age range or not much younger. In a slightly condescending tone Lydon asked, “Ready for some music? Proper music?” He mentioned that since he lived in L.A. he regarded us as his neighbors and that this was a “family and friends show” to start off the tour. They then went straight into “This is Not a Love Song”, a fast song with Lydon repeating the title in the lyrics many times. He didn’t play any instruments and would dance to the music when not singing. The rest of the band helped sing the chorus. Lydon would sometimes talk during this song (and others), saying things like “Is there anybody there?” and “Oh f---ing no!”

“Before the next song he said it was “swing time for proper PiL.” The song began with loud and heavy guitar. Lydon repeated the lyrics “drive drive drive.” The song was slower than the first one with less of a pop beat and more guitar and drums. Lydon sang in a whiny voice lyrics such as “You left a hole in the back of my head” and said things like “I’m losing my body heat.” He made many wild gestures and trilled his r’s. We later determined that song to be “Poptones”. Before the next song he said it was time to “get groovy” and then said, “Journalists, the exit signs are clearly marked. Record company executives, you can lock yourselves in the toilet.” The bass player switched to keyboard for the next song that began with Lydon singing something like, “When I was born, the doctor didn’t like me.” It also included the line “You didn’t love me” and the repeated line “Tie me to the length of that” that we later determined was the song’s title. At one point he said, “9 pounds, 5 ounces.”

For the next song Lydon sang more slowly. The microphone sounded more like an echo. The song was “Albatross”. It involved a lot more shouting and guitar as purple lights shone on the background. Towards the end he said something like, “Surf’s up, California.” Before the next song he said, “Hello, still there?” The song, “Death Disco” had loud guitar parts and a fast beat. Lydon mostly shouted words that I found unintelligible. I thought he might have sung, “Never in your eyes”. The background changed to green for the next song, “The Flowers of Romance”. It involved more shouting, the guitarist playing a banjo with a bow and the bassist playing a tall, fretless bass. Lydon said, “We’re talking big time f---ing romance.” When they finished the song he said, “Let that eat into your bowels.”

Before the next song Lydon complained, “New club with no aircon! In California! And Johnny in his best polyester!” The song began with acoustic guitar but got louder. The lyrics were more understandable than two songs prior. It was called “Psychopath”. They got faster for the next song, Warrior that had a prominent 8-note beat and lots of angry lyrics and shouting from Lydon: “This is my land”, “We take no prisoners”, “Has America forgotten how to dance?”, “This is Public Image Limited. We take no quarter.” At one point I think he said, “That f---ing bitch Palin should stay in Alaska!” or something like that. Before the next song I think he said, “You’re a great audience for not spitting. The only one who spits is me.” The song also had loud guitar and bass. It made use of feedback and the echo effect on Lydon’s microphone. The chorus had him sing all four letters and the number in the title “USLS1”. It also had the lyrics, “The devil takes care of no one.”

Lydon introduced the next song by asking, “Friends, what are they for?” He went on to say, “They will let you down and you learn to forgive. That has kept me going for 30 years.” They then started playing the song “Disappointed” that had a lot of guitar and bass and the repeated line “What friends are for.” I thought the song was more melodic that the others. Lydon had the audience sing the part “What friends are for!” When they finished, he asked, “Can we take our break now? I’m dying for a piss. I should have worn my incontinence pants. That’s old age for you!”

They left the stage for a few minutes and came back at 10:15 pm. The set list on the sound engineer’s laptop said the next song was called “Religion.” Lydon told us, “You smell like f---ing beef stew.” About the next song he said, “Religion, anybody? We’re all going to hell anyway.” The song began with very loud guitar and the bassist again played the fretless bass. Not long into it Lydon said, “Walter, turn up the bass. We need more bass.” The song was obviously against religion. The stage lights all shone in red as Lydon sang, “He takes your money and you take a lie.” He shouted, “Lock up your children and turn up the bass!” and “This is religion!” The song ended with loud drumming.

The next song was a bit more lighthearted. Called “Bags” on the laptop setlist it had the repeated line “Black rubber bags!” White lights shined in the background. It was a fast song and the guy next to me said it sounded “bumpy”. At one point the drummer sang in a scratchy voice. The next song was faster, louder, and more serious. It was called “Chant” and Lydon got the audience to chant, “F---, war, kill, hate” as the guitars were played quickly. Lydon introduced the next song by saying, “Aw, memories”, the second word being the song’s title. It again had a loud and fast beat. This time red lights shone on the PiL logo and blue lights shone on the rest of the background. Lyrics included “I could be merry” and “I could be wrong.” Lydon tried to get the audience to sing along and asked, “Is that the best you can do?”

The next song was a crowd favorite, the eponymous “Public Image.” It had a friendlier, rocking sound. They finished and left the stage but not before Lydon said in a silly accent “I’ll be back” and “you’re such dummies for electing Arnold.” It was 10:44 pm. The guy next to me asked what I was writing. I said it was for a blog. Initially he didn’t know what that was but understood better when I said it was for the Internet. He asked me how long I had been a fan of PiL. He said he had followed them from the beginning and before that, the Sex Pistols. He looked older than us and I think he spoke with an accent though he may have been just drunk. The woman with him said he was from Europe. It sounded like he was familiar with the concert that my wife attended nearly 20 years ago in New York City.

Loud applause and cheering had been continuous since Lydon and the band left. They returned a few minutes later and Lydon said he wanted to get us all to sing a good old public house drinking song. He then got everyone clapping and they performed the silly song “Sun.” The guitarist played a portable keyboard with a mouthpiece. Partway through Lydon encouraged us to “do the idiot dance.” He looked up and said, “You in the balcony, in the Bob Marley cap. Come on, do the idiot dance! Join the people!” The next song was more serious but also celebratory and anthemic. It was “Rise” that sounded familiar to me when I first heard it on the PiL greatest hits CD. It has the catchy lyrics “I could be wrong. I could be right. I could be black. I could be white.” There was a part where he said he forgot the words and we tried to sing them for him “anger is an energy.” They finished the song and Lydon asked us to do the bit he had forgotten. We tried to shout “Anger is an energy!” but it wasn’t in unison. After several tries we finally got in unison and then the band started playing the song again and Lydon sang his heart out.

After finishing “Rise” for the second time the band played some ghostly music with a lot of echoes. The heavy guitar sounded a bit like The Cure’s songs off their album “Disintegration”. They then started playing a loud and fast song, “Open Up”, with Lydon shouting loudly. This actually wasn’t a PiL song but one originally by Leftfield with Lydon on lead vocals. It was another loud and angry song with lyrics such as “burn, Hollywood, burn” and “tear down Tinseltown”. It had more loud guitar and shouting and was a long song or perhaps they played an extended version. After they finished Lydon introduced his band saying “This is (either Bruce or Scott), he’s shy. This is Lu (the guitarist), he’s not shy”. Lydon then said, “Thank you and good night. May your enemies always be behind you. I intend to lose some weight.” He and the band then left the stage for the final time to loud applause. It was 11:10 pm.

We followed the crowd out of Club Nokia. There were lots of people riding down the escalators and one woman even tried to run down the up escalator to beat the crowd. The Laker game had long since gotten out. We walked back to our car and we were able to drive right out of the parking garage because they had the exit bar up. We got home at 11:57 pm.

The "Public Image” Limited concert did not leave us “Disappointed.”
This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar.

This review is actually pre-empting several others because Slash just released a CD with the song “By the Sword” featuring Andy Stockdale and Wolfmother are on the Alice in Wonderland Soundtrack.

We saw Wolfmother at the Wiltern Theater on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. They’re a relatively new band from Australia having released their first album, Wolfmother, in 2006 and their second album, “Cosmic Egg” in October 2009. Despite being new they have a hard-rocking throwback sound causing some people to believe they’ve been around since the 1970’s. They actually formed in the early 2000’s and had major lineup changes in 2008 with all band members replaced except the lead singer/guitarist/frontman Andy Stockdale. He’s hard to miss in their photos and videos with his loud pitched voice, stage theatrics, and big bushy afro. Wolfmother’s big song “Woman” was featured in one of the Guitar Hero games. They were on a 2-month tour of North America to promote their second album and L.A. was their last stop.

We heard about the show over two months before and bought tickets at a Blockbuster Video on Azusa Avenue. The tickets went on sale at 10:00 am on Friday, September 18, 2009 and we got ours at 10:01 am. We had taken the day off work to go to the L.A. County Fair (see earlier blog). Since we got them so soon after they went on sale we got the best seats in our chosen price range: front row mezzanine, very near the middle. When we bought the tickets back then we thought we would be off work on Wednesday, November 25, the day after the concert and the day before Thanksgiving. I thought I had enough vacation time but it turned out that I didn’t so it really was a “school night” for us.

On Tuesday evening, November 24 my wife and I met up at our brother- and sister-in-law’s home in the South Park area of Downtown L.A. From there my wife and I walked to Pastagina restaurant where we had dinner (see future review). We left Pastagina at 6:45 pm and continued to walk north on Hope Street. It felt fairly warm outside for November being in the 60’s or 70’s. We entered the subway station at 7th and Hope, bought a 1-way subway ticket and went down a level to catch the Purple Line subway. We arrived at the platform at 6:55 pm and the next Purple Line subway to Wilshire/Western station wasn’t scheduled to arrive until 7:02 pm. The subway arrived right on time and it wasn’t crowded at all. While we rode it I noticed a sign said “Apartese Amablement” and showed a large group of cartoon figures boarding. I think that means “board in a courteous manner” or something like that. The subway arrived at Wilshire/Western station at 7:10 pm.

We exited the subway and rode the escalators up and out of the station. Once outside we could see the queue all down the block waiting for the doors to the Wiltern theater to open. The marquee of the Wiltern said “Red Nights presents Wolfmother”. After we crossed Wilshire Blvd we noticed a poster on the lamppost for thenewno2, one of the opening acts. It showed a bunch of people wearing white asymmetric masks that looked to me like flat, jagged pieces of icebergs with two holes for eyes. As we walked down to the end of the queue we saw some people in it wearing those masks. Someone had gone down the queue handing them out. The queue mostly consisted of young men who looked to be in their 20’s. There were also many young women as part of couples or groups. They were mostly Caucasian though there were some Asians and African Americans. They mostly wore black clothing: t-shirts and jeans. I looked out of place in my work cloths: white long-sleeved collared shirt from Topman and grey slacks. I would have fit in better at a symphony concert or at the Loggins and Messina concert we attended in October. The queue went all down the block from Western Ave to Oxford Ave where it wrapped around to the south.

We queued up at 7:17 pm along Oxford near the parking garage for the Wiltern. At 7:20 pm the queue contracted causing us to move up several feet. That was interesting because the ticket said that the doors opened at 7:30 pm. I didn’t expect the queue to start moving until then. A couple of ladies walked down the queue selling t-shirts and beanies. There was no queue movement for 15 minutes. The “doors open” time came and went. AT 7:35 pm the queue moved up several feet and from that point moved in spurts of several 5-6 people. We guessed that was how many people they had got through security at a given time. As we waited a father with 2-3 young boys walked by to queue up behind us. Another guy seemed to be walking laps around the block. We saw him walk by at least three times. The queue continued to move up in starts and stops. We passed the Denny’s on the corner of Wilshire and Oxford and the restaurant Opus One Bar and Grill where lots of people were crowded around the bar watching the Laker game. We also stopped in front of the Cinema Makeup Center by 7:50 pm.

At 7:55 pm we made it to the front of the queue. Security consisted of frisking: men by men and women by women. Since there were more men in the queue, the female screeners weren’t as busy and my wife got through security earlier than I. We met up at the doors where employees scanned our tickets. I went upstairs to find our seats while my wife went to see what they were selling at the merch table. When I sat down it was 8 pm. Our seats were good: the front row of the mezzanine section, row A, seats 209 and 210 that were very near the middle. Now the mezzanine section only takes up the larger back part of the upper level. The front seats are in the smaller loge section. But those loge seats are also more expensive. The Wiltern looked very similar to how it looked at the last concert we attended there: Mika in February 2008. I think it was called the Wiltern LG back then. The ceiling had a lot of ornamental woodwork and there was a screen above the stage where the audience could have text messages posted. All they had to do was text WILT + (ur message) to 64066. They didn’t seem to be texting as much to it this time.

I could see many young people congregating on the floor in front of the stage. On stage was some covered equipment including a drum kit with the image of a the mask from thenewno2 poster. My wife went to her seat after getting a Wolfmother “Cosmic Egg” t-shirt and pieces of flair. She saw a text message on the screen saying that the show would start at 8:40 pm. The canned music played two Beach Boys songs: “God Only Knows” and “Wouldn’t it Be Nice”. I walked around a bit. They had a long bar outside the doors to the mezzanine. Near that some people had silkscreen presses set up where they sold t-shirts with artistic designs. There was no attendant in the restrooms saving me some tip money.

I returned to my seat and the first opening band soon took the stage at 8:30 pm. It was thenewno2 with lead singer/guitarist Dhani Harrison. He’s the son of the late former Beatle George Harrison. He stood in the middle of the stage. To his left were a keyboard player and drummer and to his right were another guitarist and bassist. Harrison would also press buttons on this machine near him that produced various sound effects. Their first number was very atmospheric and made use of the sound effects. It started slow but got louder and faster. Dhani Harrison is tall and thin with long, straight hair. He wore a black t-shirt and jeans. His voice is a little bit similar to his father’s. He spoke with an English accent that surprised me because I thought he grew up in L.A. After their first song he said he was glad to be back in America with the “Bastards and the Mothers” (references to the other opening act and the headliner) and that it was good to be home.

Harrison picked up a bullhorn for the next song and sang the chorus with it. The visual effects consisted of many colored spotlights that shone red for this song. He picked up a guitar for the next song that had a lot of loud, low guitar sound. He shouted the chorus and red and yellow lights blinked. The song included the lyrics “you were always watching me”. For the next song Harrison introduced an “illegitimate” member of the band, Jessie, a member of the Heartless Bastards, the other opening act. He played this sit down slide guitar that produced loud and resonating notes. I looked back into the crowd on the mezzanine level and noticed only a few of them wearing those white masks that were handed out earlier in the queue. Signs in front of the crowd on the floor said “No Moshing” and “No Crowd Surfing”.

Harrison described the next song as “somewhere between us and Wolfmother”. I think he also said that he was dedicating it to an old pal. It was a faster song with loud drumming. Harrison played the guitar solo. At one point he got everyone to clap out the rhythm. Before the next song he said it was the last one and told us to “stick around for the bastards and the mothers.” They followed with a very loud and fast song along that included blinking red spotlights and a rapid-fire chorus. When they finished to loud applause, Harrison said, “Thank you very much. We’re thenewno2.” They left the stage at 9:03 pm.

The screen returned and a guy sitting next to me saw me taking notes in my manly notebook and said, “You’re not doing homework are you?” Text messages on the screen commented on thenewno2. Their reviews were mixed: “The vocalist was poop”, “(He) looks like the English guy in (the film) Forgetting Sarah Marshall”, and “Julian Lennon was pretty good.” Another text commented on the headliner still to come: “OMG Wolfmother is so cute!” The crew rearranged the instruments on stage, moving the drums to the middle. At 9:17 pm, the next opening act, the Heartless Bastards, took the stage. They consisted of a female lead singer/guitarist, a drummer, a bassist, and the previously seen Jessie on guitar. The lead singer had a low voice and when she spoke it sounded like she had a Southern accent. Her blond hair covered her eyes slightly. Their first sound sounded bluesy and had the profound lyric “Can’t do things I used to do because I feel old.” I know that feeling well.

“The Heartless Bastards” seemed like a deprecating and negative name for a group whose music didn’t sound that negative. Some songs sounded very positive with lyrics such as “hold your head up high” and “things will work out soon”. Another song sounded like Gospel with the lyrics “hold onto what you know” and “wash my sins away”. Most of the songs had loud and fast vocals. One song had loud guitar feedback. I think that was “Mountainous” that the lead singer said was the title track to their new album. She talked a bit between songs mentioning that this was their first time performing at the Wiltern and that she liked the beautiful old theaters. Their sixth or seventh song was their last and then the lead singer said, “Thank you so much. Thank you Wolfmother and thenewno2”. They left the stage at 9:57 pm.

The crew removed the Heartless Bastards’ instruments and uncovered the drumkit on the elevated platform in the middle back of the stage. I think someone posted the text message “When does the band start?” At 10:18 pm the lights dimmed and the large “WM” Wolfmother logo was lowered as a backdrop. The screen showed an ad for Red Nights that described how a portion of the ticket proceeds was going to charity. Their slogan was “great music saves lives.” The screen then went back to showing ads and text messages. There was an ad for Guy Fieri Food and Rock. Two days later we happened to make the recipe Guy Fieri’s Holy Haluski for the family Thanksgiving potluck. The canned music played the song “Love is the Drug”. At 10:22 pm the lights dimmed, the screen rose, and this time the show started for real. Wolfmother took the stage and went straight into the loud and fast song “Dimension” that I believe is the first track off their first album. It has the line “I found myself alone” but for this performance the lead singer, Andy Stockdale, sang it as “I found myself in L.A.”

Wolfmother consisted of Stockdale on lead vocals and guitar, a drummer on the elevated drum kit behind the others, a bassist with hair nearly as wild as Stockdale’s, and another guitarist. There were parts of some songs where one of them, I don’t remember which, would play keyboard. Six spotlights on stage shined at each other to form a triangular pattern that I believe shows up as part of their main logo or one of their alternate logos. Stockdale played an extended guitar solo for “Dimension” and at one point had the audience clap out the rhythm. We didn’t immediately recall the title of their next song that began with the lyrics “walking through galleria lights.” It got very loud with the loud drumming and Stockdale singing, “Tell me every word you say.” Afterward we determined that the song was “Cosmic Egg”, the title track from their latest album. Their next song was also from this album, though we recognized it right away. It was “California Queen” that we figured they would play at this concert. Like the others it was loud and fast. During the verses the bright blue and yellow spotlights shined right at me for a few seconds temporarily blinding and causing me to see spots. Stockdale shook the microphone. Sometimes during or after songs he would wave his hands or raise them above his head. With his thick, bushy hair he reminded me a bit of L.A. Philharmonic musical director Gustavo Dudamel (root of the words Dudanomics, Dudamania, and Dudameloriffic.)

The next song was the equally loud and fast “New Mood Rising”. It started with them playing a bit lower but they quickly got louder for the choruses. I believe Stockdale again changed the lyrics for this locality by singing (or saying?) “Taking a turn at the Wiltern” and “Gonna let it burn at the Wiltern.” The next song had everyone singing along since it was a big hit on the airwaves and on Guitar Hero: “Woman”. Yellow, red, and green spotlights flashed. Stockdale moved all around the stage. Either he or another band member played keyboard for part of the song. He played an extended guitar solo and the song ended as suddenly as it began.

Between “Woman” and the next song the band played some slow atmospheric feedback. The stage was darker with only three spotlights shining blue light. The people in the loge level finally sat down. They had been standing since Wolfmother took the stage partially obscuring our view. The next song, “White Unicorn”, followed the pattern of slow verses and fast choruses, all loud. Towards the end of the song they played a long instrumental part with guitars, keyboard, and drums. At one point Stockdale climbed up to the drummer’s platform and helped play drums. The sound eventually evolved into low, screeching guitar feedback.

The next song began with a long instrumental part that was soon accompanied by fast singing. It got louder and I couldn’t identify it initially but my wife identified it as “Colossal”. While they played I was temporarily distracted by someone smoking something other than tobacco. Perhaps they were taking their medication. The song got very loud and fast at the end. After they finished Stockdale mentioned that this was the final show of their American tour. He asked, “What better place to have it than the Wiltern?” He then requested applause for thenewno2 and the Heartless Bastards and said, “We have a lot in store for you tonight” as if they were just getting started. They then played some fast guitar to begin “White Feather”, one of our favorite songs from their latest album. It has the lyrics “Dancing feet. Dancing feet. Now.” Stockdale gave the song a loud, screeching guitar solo and the song ended quickly.

Speaking of feet, the next song was “10,000 Feet” that began with loud guitar and drums and later had a loud guitar solo. They kept things rocking with the next song, “Sundial” and kept things going after that with “Apple Tree”. By that point many in the audience were standing and singing along. They slowed a bit for the verses but were still loud and fast for the choruses. I looked down at the floor below and I thought I saw people moshing despite the “no moshing” sign. Security didn’t seem to be enforcing it. Stockdale again played a very loud guitar solo. They finished the song and he mentioned that they were donating some of the ticket sale proceeds to Red Nights, a charitable organization sponsoring the concert and that this would provide “a little good karma.” They had played eleven songs so far, it was 11:25 pm, and a few people were leaving the concert.

Stockdale said something like “Take it away, Perez!” and they started slowly but soon got loud, fast, and almost explosive. People cheered and the song was “In the Castle”. When they finished, Stockdale raised his hands above his head and then left the stage with the band. It was 11:30 pm. We left soon after. We decided not to stay for the encore because we believed that the last Purple Line subway would leave the Wilshire/Western station at 12:00 am. We didn’t think we could leave on time if we left with the rest of the crowd. Wolfmother had performed most of the songs we had wanted to hear such as “Woman”, “White Feather”, and “Apple Tree”. They hadn’t yet done “Far Away” or one of their big songs, “Joker and the Thief” but we could leave the encore to the young people and the people who didn’t have to work the next day. We left the Wiltern completely unobstructed by any crowd, crossed Wilshire and took the escalator down at the Wilshire/Western station. At the bottom of the second escalator we noticed a couple of Metro security personnel. We guessed that they were there for the crowd that was soon to leave the Wiltern. Perhaps that meant there would have been trains running by the time the show got out. But it was still less of a headache to leave before the crowds.

We made it to the platform at 11:37 pm and boarded a subway train that was already there. All subway trains at Wilshire/Western go east since it’s the end of the line and people had to get out before we boarded the train. There were a few others boarding the train with us. At least one guy looked like he also came from the concert. He later got off at the Wilshire/Vermont station. The subway left Wilshire/Western at 11:42 pm and arrived at the 7th and Metro station at 11:50 pm. We walked back to the car and got there at 12:09 am. The door to the elevators at the parking garage was propped open but when we entered the elevator, the doors closed and it stayed on the ground floor beeping. We hit the “doors open” button, exited, and took the stairs. Driving home there was some roadwork on the 10. The exits to Atlantic and Garfield Avenues were blocked but the one at New Avenue was open. A sign said that the two right lanes were closed at route 605 but when we got there the two left lanes were closed. Still, the road work did not slow us down very much. It looked like the other side of the freeway was going very slow and was backed up. We got home at 12:47 am and I got up to go to work about five and a half hours later.

We don’t know all the songs we missed by skipping the encore. I did read online that at one point the former Guns and Roses guitarist Slash came out on stage and performed his song “By the Sword” with Andy Stockdale. I wonder how many of the young folks recognized Slash.

Our birthday month continued into its second weekend with us seeing a Sunny Day Real Estate concert on Saturday, October 10, 2009. This was actually my third time seeing them and my wife’s second time. My first time seeing them was at the Palace (now called the Avalon) in Hollywood with my younger brother during his visit in November 1998. They were promoting their third album, “How it Feels to be Something On”. I believe the opening bands were The Rapture and 764-Hero who sang the song “Calendar Pages”. My brother later put this song on one of the mix tapes he used to make for me. This show was Sunny Day Real Estate’s first in California though it wasn’t their original lineup. Their original bassist Nate Mendel had joined the Foo Fighters full time. At this concert all the members of the band were wore matching black suits and ties. Guitarist Dan Horner did the talking between songs. He described how they really enjoyed singing the song “The Prophet”. At another point he said, “I’m gonna be a cornball and say this is the best concert we’ve ever had.”

My younger brother had introduced me to Sunny Day Real Estate several years earlier. When I was in college he gave me a mix tape that included their song “Round”. He also got me an SDRE t-shirt. It was khaki-colored, had green and purple lettering, and had a sun-like circle on the back with these figures holding hammers on the outside of the circle. The front had the name of the band on it. Once I was at a grocery store and the cashier asked me about it saying he had never heard of the company, Sunny Day Real Estate. I said that they were actually a band. My shirt wore out after several years.

My second time seeing Sunny Day Real Estate was in July 2000 with my then girlfriend, now wife at the Troubadour on west Santa Monica Boulevard near Doheny. Getting there was a bit of a drive even back then when I lived in the Miracle Mile area of the “Trendy Rectangle” (made up by La Brea Ave to the east, Wilshire Blvd to the south, La Cienaga Blvd to the west, and Melrose Ave. to the north.) This time SDRE were promoting their new album “The Rising Tide”. They either had yet another bass player or the lead singer, Jeremy Enyck, played bass. Their opening act was the former band No Knife who I thought sounded pretty good. I remember we sat on benches on the balcony. It was a great show though the band didn’t come on stage until late and my wife got rather sleepy. They did have a couple of encores and played an early song, “In Circles” during one of them. Right before the show I bought a SDRE t-shirt at the merch table. Its color and image matched the cover of their new album, “The Rising Tide”. It was grayish blue with the image of an angel statue carrying someone. I liked that SDRE t-shirt, too, but unfortunately it only lasted for three years. I was wearing it when I had my auto accident in 2003. The EMT’s cut the shirt right down the middle to do tests for trauma one. I wasn’t quite as banged up as they thought but my shirt was totaled just like my car.

Sunny Day Real Estate had already broken up and gotten back together once by the time I saw them the first time. They broke up again not long after we saw them the second time. In 2002 or 2003 three of the original band members, singer/guitarist Jeremy Enyck, bassist Nate Mendel, and Drummer Adam Goldsmith formed a band called the Fire Theft and released a CD. Their music was a bit softer and more melodic than what they played as Sunny Day Real Estate. We enjoyed the CD. I’m not sure if the Fire Theft ever toured.

In 2009 Sunny Day Real Estate released remastered editions of their first two albums. I was familiar with their first album, “Diary”. My brother had made me a tape of before we saw them the first time and my wife got me a CD. I wasn’t as familiar with their second album that simply had a pink cover and is referred to as “The Pink Album”. My wife downloaded the remastered albums that included bonus tracks and had an actual track listing for the Pink Album. We then heard that they were back together with the original lineup and that they were touring. They were playing at least two shows in the L.A. area: one at the House of Blues Anaheim on Saturday, October 10, 2009, and another at the Music Box at the Fonda on Sunday October 11, 2009. We decided to see them again since it was the original lineup, they weren’t playing all the way out on Santa Monica Boulevard, and my wife wanted to see them while wide awake. We got tickets to the Saturday show.

The House of Blues Anaheim is becoming one of our “old haunts.” We saw three shows there in 2008: the Sunday Gospel Brunch on our cousin’s birthday, James on my birthday, and The Kooks during the week of my wife’s birthday (see earlier reviews). Still, it had been nearly a year since we went there last. We took the 210 east to the 57 south, excited at Katella going west and drove for 1-2 miles passing the Grove of Anaheim and the Anaheim Convention Center. We turned right on Disneyland Drive, passed the entrance to the Disneyland Hotel, and turned left on Magic Way. After taking a ticket at the parking booth, we turned left into parking for Downtown Disney and parked in section 4C. I think we had left home after 6:30 and arrived at Downtown Disney at 7:15 pm. It was very crowded there, I guess because it was Saturday night.

We made our way to the House of Blues Anaheim. They had opened the doors at 7 pm so there was no queue to get in, though we saw the poles and chains for a Disneyland-style queue. The staffers gave us green “House of Blues” wristbands, checked our ID’s, and scanned us with wands. We climbed up the stairs and stopped by the merch table on the patio just outside the door. They have several different t-shirts. The new SDRE one was a blue shirt with a print of a fly that I didn’t really like. They had a couple with images of cartoon people similar to the ones that appeared on their first album. They also had one designed similar to the one from their first tour. It was the same design as the one my younger brother got for me many years ago. But this new version was dark grey with the sun design on the back and the lettering in front all in black print. I didn’t like it as much as my original. My wife got a green t-shirt with a cartoon “Sunny Day Real Estate” agent, some buttons, and stickers. I didn’t get anything for me. But that’s OK because I already had and was wearing a “Sunny Day” t-shirt of sorts. It was actually the t-shirt I got from the El Monte Tour of Two Rivers a.k.a. the Emerald Necklace (see earlier blog). That t-shirt had a bunch of ads for sponsors on the back and one of them was for Sunny Day Adult Day Care.

After purchasing the merch we entered the venue. This time there were no stools set up around the upper level rail. The tickets said “standing only” and they weren’t kidding. The only seating was the stools in the restricted section of the balcony. Even without stools all the spots along the unrestricted parts of the rail were already taken. We went downstairs to the stage level and found a place to stand in front of the engineers’ light and sound station. As we waited the floor and everywhere else steadily got more crowded. I learned from the restroom attendant that I could have my parking ticket validated at the downstairs bar and get free parking for 4-5 hours. I went downstairs handed my ticket to the staffer on the other side of the velvet rope separating the concert venue from the restaurant/bar area and he had it stamped for validation. I then returned to the floor where my wife waited. The crowd was mostly Caucasian males. Most women were there as part of couples. There were a few Asians. Everyone looked to be around our age. They mostly wore t-shirts and jeans or shorts. Compared to the business casually dressed crowd at the Loggins and Messina concert the week before, the SDRE crowd seemed dressed down. Most of them wore dark colors: blacks and browns. I saw only two others in white t-shirts. One guy wore a white SDRE t-shirt with orange lettering. Many of the crowd were drinking alcohol, soft drinks, or Red Bull.

As we waited they played canned music of mostly 80’s and 90’s classic rock such as Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise”, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mama I’m Coming Home”, Tom Petty’s “Don’t have to Live like a Refugee”, and REM’s “Man on the Moon”. The curtains in front of the stage had the familiar angled panel quilt pattern that I believe I had seen at previous House of Blues Anaheim shows. At 8 pm the screens mounted on the ceiling near the bar counters showed the curtain indicating that the first opening band was about the take the stage. Soon the lights dimmed and the curtain opened to the band Dead Country. They consisted of a guitarist, drummer, singer/guitarists, and bassist. They played six loud and fast songs heavy on drum and guitar and were so loud I wished I had earplugs. After the first couple of songs the cocky, heavyset bassist asked, “What’s up Anaheim? We’re Dead Country from L.A.” Later the singer said that SDRE were “f---ing amazing.” One of their songs included the f-word frequently in the lyrics. Unlike their name, they did not play country music, but loud and fast rock. Towards the end of their set the singer said they were from near Dodger Stadium and we could get $1 3-song CD’s from the merch table outside. They finished at 8:25 pm. A man standing behind us saw me taking notes in my “manly notebook” and asked if I was a writer. He said all the Dead Country songs sounded the same.

The lights and canned music came back on. Over the PA system a woman’s voice announced that we could get tickets for just $10 tonight only for some of the upcoming shows. She then told us to “sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.” I don’t think it was possible for anyone there to sit back. The floor got more crowded. We saw a few kids at the show with their parents. The kids looked to be about as old as SDRE’s third or fourth albums. At 8:45 pm the screens again showed the stage and at 8:50 pm the curtain opened for the next act: The Jealousy Sound. Other than Dead Country’s bass player, the Jealously Sound weren’t as good looking as the first band, but they sure sounded better. Their sound was more balanced often with quieter verses and louder choruses. I could distinguish the melody from the loud and fast drum and guitar. Like the first band they consisted of a guitarist, drummer, singer/guitarist, and bassist. They all wore similar black polo shirts and at one point I think someone shouted, “You’re all wearing the same shirts!” Their songs had clearer lyrics such as “The Ambulance is Here”, “You have what everyone wants”, and “I thought this day would never come”. One of their songs was prefaced as a new one.

The Jealously Sound thanked SDRE for letting them join the tour. A big guy in front of us was waving his arms during some of the songs. A man near us was imitating him. The Jealousy Sound finished their set at 9:32 pm. Between them and the next act the floor got even more crowded. There was hardly any room to move and the worst were the people asking others to move so they could move up. I noticed that many in the crowd were taller then I. Many were drinking from these big cans of beer. We could hear guitar tuning and drumming coming from behind the curtain.

At 10 pm sharp the curtain opened to Sunny Day Real Estate and they launched right into their song “Friday” from the Pink Album. They were all wearing black t-shirts and black pants. Other than the original bass player, Nate Mendel, the others looked the same as they did nine and eleven years before, the first times I saw them. As with the first two bands, the only visual effects were colored spotlights. Their first song included the repeated line “This time . . .” and guitarist Dan Hoerner also sang some of the vocals. They followed this with “Seven” from Diary and the crowd went wild from the opening note sequence. Next came “Shadows” that’s also from Diary. It started slow and soft but got louder and faster for the choruses. They then did another from Diary, the louder and faster “Song about an Angel” as blue lights shined on stage. Jeremy announced the next song by saying, “This one’s called Grendel”. It was a quieter song and the last non-bonus track on Diary, but it got louder halfway through and ended with them really thrashing.

Before the next song Jeremy said, “Now we’re going to do one from (the album) ‘How it Feels to be Something On’.” They then played “Guitar and Video Games” that started quietly but got very loud with Jeremy nearly screaming. We could kind of relate to this song because we played The Beatles Rock Band during the first and fourth Saturdays of October. They followed this with one from the Pink Album: the subdued and surreal “Iscarabaid” with its haunting guitar and bass progression. The next song started mellow with Jeremy emphasizing the word “imagination” and red lights shining on stage. The song got loud and fast more than halfway through and had a loud and abrupt end. We believe it was “Theo B” from the Pink Album. After the song Dan Hoerner said, “That song is fun to play especially with Nate on bass.”

They also began the next song quietly: “5/4” from the Pink Album with lyrics such as “Rise and Shine” and “I know you’re coming back.” But it also got very loud by the end. Jeremy introduced the next song as a new one that they had just completed. It was loud and fast with the word “Glorious” featured prominently. Hot pink lights shined on stage and they played even louder by the end. The next song had a slow beginning and sounded familiar beginning with the lyrics “fear inside” and “against the sky”. The guitars soon got loud and fast and we figured out the song was “48” from Diary. The next song started even more slowly than the last one and never got very fast. It got louder, though, with Jeremy wailing the title lyric, “Sometimes” from Diary. After finishing the song they left the stage. It was 11 pm. We made noise for what seemed like several minutes. I remember earlier, during SDRE’s main set, a guy near us was shouting for them to play the song “Heaven”. We couldn’t remember a song with that name on any of SDRE’s four albums. Then we realized he was referring to a Fire Theft song. We didn’t think they would play it and they didn’t.

The band came back on stage to loud applause and played “In Circles” from Diary that nearly brought the house down. It seemed like everyone sang along with the chorus and the spotlights moved. SDRE then played “J-Nuh” from the Pink Album under red lights, another song that started soft and got very loud, especially the instrumental part. When they finished either Dan or Jeremy said, “We’ll be back!” and they left the stage for the night. Despite more loud cheering the canned music came back on indicating that there would be no more encores. We slowly made our way out of the venue with the rest of the crowd. I overheard someone say that they were going to see them the next day. We later learned that the show we attended was sold out. I believe that given the size of the crowd. We made our way back through Downtown Disney that wasn’t as crowded now, it being nearly 11:30 pm. We found our car, gave the attendant our validated parking ticket, and weren’t charged anything. We then drove east on Magic Way, south on Disneyland Drive, east on Katella, north on the 57 and east on the 210 to get back home.

It was a great concert. I’ve seen SDRE three times now but I never get tired of them despite their only releasing four albums. The first two times they focused on their latest albums from 1998 and 2000. This time they were comprised of their original lineup and they focused on their first two albums. So it wasn’t like I was going “In Circles” by seeing them three times. Each time was unique and great.

We saw the film The Runaways on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at the AMC Covina 30 in Covina. Before seeing it, we hadn’t seen a movie in a theater since seeing 17 Again at the Pacific Theaters at the Americana on Brand in May 2009 (see earlier review). The AMC Covina 30 is the second closest movie theater to our home after the Regency on Citrus Avenue in Azusa (where we saw The Soloist in April 2009, see earlier review). But we hadn’t seen a film at the AMC Covina 30 since we saw Blades of Glory there in April 2007 nearly three years ago. It seems like a long time ago now. I think I once read that at one point the AMC Covina 30 had the most screens of any multiplex in L.A. County.

I first heard of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts when I first start listening to Rock and Roll music in the early 1980’s. I remember the song “I Love Rock and Roll” that I learned much later was a cover. In the mid to late 80’s I remember songs by Lita Ford playing on the radio such as “Kiss Me Deadly” and “Close my Eyes Forever”, her duet with Ozzy Osbourne. But it wasn’t until the mid-nineties that I heard of The Runaways. My younger brother bought a book published by SPIN magazine that was an encyclopedia of alternative music. It included all the bands and artists that they classified as “alternative” and listed and rated their albums. I’ve always enjoyed browsing through encyclopedias and back then there wasn’t much on the Internet. The alternative music encyclopedia had an entry for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts that mentioned The Runaways and that Lita Ford was part of the group.

The idea of Joan Jett and Lita Ford working together seemed intriguing but I didn’t pursue this interest because the Internet wasn’t a reliable source for research, the music stores only carried the popular stuff, and my musical tastes were more current alternative. I hadn’t even heard any of The Runaways’ music. It wasn’t until late 2009 or early 2010 that I would hear of the Runaways again. I saw the early preview for The Runaways movie on imdb.com. It looked like the typical rock band biopic with young stars Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, a former young child star who is now a teenager. But the trailer also included a loud, rockin’, slightly silly and very catchy Runaways song “Ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry Bomb!” (I think the song is actually just called “Cherry Bomb”.) Stewart plays Joan Jett and Fanning plays Cherie Currie, the lead singer of The Runaways. Scout Taylor-Compton plays Lita Ford in what turns out of be a supporting role. It was hard to get the song “Cherry Bomb” out of our heads.

We decided to see the movie because the music sounded good and the story looked interesting. The Runaways were one of the first all-girl bands. The website for the movie, www.runawaysmovie.com, has a cherry bomb burning down and exploding for an intro and a cherry bomb wick for a scroll bar. But the best part of the site is that it plays the song “Cherry Bomb” in its entirety over and over: “Hello Daddy, hello Mom! I’m your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!” The website said that the movie would be out in theaters on March 19. This was earlier than the April release given for the film on imdb.com. It’s always difficult to catch a movie after the first few weeks that it’s out (as L.A. Downtown News would say, its “first-fun” period) because so many other movies come out to take its place. After March 19, we learned that The Runaways had only been released in a limited number of theaters and wouldn’t be released widely until April 9.

We figured we would wait until after April 9 to see the film since March was a busy month for us. But then the weekend of March 27-28 opened up. We looked up online to see what select theaters were playing the film and found that one of them was the AMC Covina 30. I guess they have so many screens that they can include limited release movies. We looked up the best times and prices and found that the evening shows cost $11, the afternoon shows cost $9, and the one morning showtime at 11:45 am cost only $6 per person. That was our choice.

On Saturday, March 27 we left home at 11:35 am and got to the AMC Covina 30 less than ten minutes later. There were other people there; many kids possibly there to see How to Train Your Dragon. The tickets really did only cost $6 each. We arrived at theater number 6 where the movie was showing. It looked like the previews had already started but they were actually just ads. I guess now they show motion ads rather than still ads that they used to show before the film started. It’s almost like watching TV commercials. There were ads for the Marines, the TV show “V”, Coca-Cola, the UFC, and a Black-Eyed Peas concert. Then they showed a scrolling ad for the AMC Movie Watchers’ Network before the previews. There were four previews, two of which I had seen before. The first was the screwball comedy Get Him to the Greek starring Jonah Hill. The next was the more sophisticated comedy, “Cyrus” also with Jonah Hill. The third was expected: the latest Twilight movie, “Eclipse”, starring Kristen Stewart and with Dakota Fanning in a cameo appearance. That one didn’t look very different from the other Twilights. The fourth preview was for The Joneses, another silly movie. So the previews consisted of three silly movies and a blockbuster.

Now to review the feature presentation itself: it begins by giving the year: 1975 and the entire film really captures that time period through the costumes, setting, attitudes, and the music. It takes place in the L.A area except for the parts where the group is on tour. The cars all look retro, the phones have dials (though the pay phones are touch-tone. Did they have touch tone back then?) My wife loved the costumes: the leather and polyester, and some of the space-age looking costumes the band wears while performing. Then there’s the resistance to all-girl rock and roll bands at the time. Even the Runaways have a male record producer calling their shots in the beginning.

The story covers about what’s expected in a biopic of a rock band: its formation, rise, and internal conflicts. The scene of their preparation for angry concertgoers is interesting. The story is paced very quickly, perhaps too quickly. I think Cherie Currie was in the band for a few years but it seems much shorter than that in the film. The story focuses primarily on Cherie Currie and Joan Jett. The band’s manager, Kim Fowly, played by Michael Shannon, plays a strong supporting role. He has some of the most humorous lines. The other Runaways play smaller supporting roles. I’m not even sure if the bass player has any full lines. Another strong supporting role is Cherie Currie’s twin sister, Marie Currie, played by Riley Keough. I didn’t think they looked like identical twins; sisters, maybe. Riley Keough looks more like her late grandfather, Elvis Presley, another Rock and Roll pioneer.

The movie is rated R for language, teen drug use, and sexuality and it contains all of these in abundance. There actually isn’t very much nudity, though they use strategic camera angles. Given the R rating and the rocker lifestyle, I expected some of this base activity to be portrayed but not to the extent that it was. I thought it got a bit monotonous and detracted from the story and character development. I would have liked to have learned more aspects of the characters. All the Runaways are young teens but we only see the parents of one of them. We see them playing music together, using drugs together, arguing, but very little conversation. Was there not much of that? Not much time with all the drugs, fighting, and debauchery? Perhaps so since the film was partially based on the autobiography Neon Angel but Cherie Currie and Joan Jett was an executive producer for the film. After building up to their success, the “lifestyle” gives the film a negative tone that it doesn’t quite recover from by the end.

What keeps the film going is the music. Not just The Runaways’ music but popular music of the time period such as David Bowie, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and even Don McLean. The film features a young Rodney Bingenheimer who looks and sounds a lot like the real one (who we saw at a Vines concert in 2002, I believe). Some of the music is what influenced the Runaways such as Suzi Quatro. Other songs such as “It’s a Man’s World” are a soundtrack to the story. But the best is that the song “Cherry Bomb” is featured prominently and even multiple times. We learn a story of the song’s origin. It’s such a silly-sounding song and yet they sing it so strongly and seriously. It strongly features Cherie Currie and Joan Jett but also Lita Ford with her guitar solo and the other Runaways. Kim Fowly is also involved. For me, “Cherry Bomb” is what makes the movie.

The actors all play their roles well, especially the two leads, Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning, along with Michael Shannon and Riley Keough. Kristen Stewart looks a lot like Joan Jett looked back then and I think the real Joan Jett couldn’t tell Stewart’s singing from her own. Speaking of Riley Keough’s family, as we exited the AMC Covina 30 we noticed an Elvis Presley pinball machine in the lobby. It had flashing squares for Elvis songs such as Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes, Jailhouse Rock, and All Shook Up. There was a picture of Graceland, and a little model of the “Heartbreak Hotel”. The best was one of the ball return paths that had the message “Elvis has left the building”. Maybe we’ll see a Runaways “Cherry Bomb” pinball machine someday.