Tired. So very tired. It’s raining today. That sucks. I’m tired… Want to know why I’m so tired? Read on…
First, I went to the super exclusive Spin Party filled with free vodka. Don’t ask how.
Fucked Up
There is something really glorious about a band that has a reputation for making people uncomfortable at a swanky industry event. Lead singer Pink Eyes over the course of the set ended up smashing every possible can, bottle, or glass against his head, then running to the back of the audience to buy a Pepsi, and then grabbing a case of water to pour on to the dirt floor, then proceeded to wallow in the mud. Next? He ran around and hugged as many people in the crowd as he could. (Including me)
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Played the same basic set as yesterday. Didn’t watch much of it. She’s really good.
Free Energy
Free Energy played the side stage, and played an explosive set of power pop. I was surprised by how receptive the crowd was! Half the room knew all the words to everything, and everyone was dancing frantically. First big surprise of the day!
Hole
This was Courtney Love’s first set in North America in many years. Her voice was in great form, and the band was really solid. The crowd was about 20% fans and 80% curious onlookers. Love did spend some time doing her usual banter, including yelling at the roadie for putting her picks in the wrong place. She also complained about a fan asking for her to play singles like “Violet” and ranted about the fact that “Violet” wasn’t a single.
Setlist:
Skinny Little Bitch/Sympathy For The Devil
Miss World
Nobody’s Daughter
Violet
Letter To God
PCH
Reasons To Be Beautiful
Dirty Girls
4 songs were cut for time, including Malibu & Celebrity Skin
The Young Veins
I was really interested in this project. This was a new project by the former chief songwriter for Panic At The Disco. I was expecting this project to be an extension of the version the band that did Pretty. Odd. but instead was a basic 60’s power pop group. They were good, but not great. I actually stopped paying attention after a while.
Travis McCoy & The Lazarus Project
Frontman of Gym Class Heroes doing basic hip hop, accompanied by a drummer and backing tracks. He was really animated and the songs were good. There was a little bit of rap metal, and he brought out some hype guys to start a pit. It didn’t work, but it was a fun attempt. I would see this show again.
New Politics
Ever watch a band and really enjoyed it, but realized that it was a pretty awful band that you were digging? That was New Politics. Frat-boy rap rock. Nothing more, nothing less. The women in the crowd thought that they were utterly disgusting, which means that they will never succeed.
Patrick Stump
This set had nothing to do with Fall Out Boy. It was just Stump playing alone. He played the drums, bass, keys and guitar, all looped. It was awesome! He looked slimmer than he has in years and sounded great. It was pure funk music, and I he has some great stage presence. I kind of hope that when he tours this project, he does it like this.
Foxy Shazam
Foxy Shazam were the best thing I have seen all week. The stage show was pure craziness. They were totally in sync, even down to the dance moves. I couldn’t believe how amazing they were. It was pure silliness that stayed interesting the whole set. The shtick never wore thin. As for their sound? Imagine if The Darkness did a set of Polyphonic Spree covers.
Hole
Yes, I saw them again. This set was totally different. The crowd was all fans, and the band was in a completely different mood. Love’s voice was a bit hoarse, which she blamed on the venues air conditioning, causing them to change out the original set list (which was going to be the same as earlier) and instead played a bunch of other, odder tracks. Love spent a lot of time complaining about her picks and also yelled at her guitar player an awful lot. She closed the set by jumping in to the crowd, then getting carried by the man standing next to me (whom she asked him to take to her to her hotel room) and brought her to the back bar instead.
Set List:
Codine
Sympathy For The Devil (Rolling Stones Cover/Full Song This Time!)
Skinny Little Bitch
Doll Parts
Malibu
Gold Dust Woman (Fleetwood Mac Cover)
Northern Star
Bette Davis Eyes (Kim Carnes Cover)
So extremely jealous you got to see Hole — twice! I’ve only seen them once, when the Celebrity Skin tour came to Pittsburgh in 1999. I hope Courtney keeps it together enough to come to SF.