Colin Hay: Man at Work

April 24 / Alexandria, Virginia

Recommended Beverage to go with this show:

Water. No need for alcohol; you'll be plenty entertained.

Colin Hay puts on a phenomenal show. On Monday night at the Birchmere, that show turned out to be part acoustic concert, part comedy routine and it was charming and impressive all at once. After a long wait due to technical issues, Hay finally appeared on stage before the roaring crowd. Immediately, the Scottish-born, Aussie-raised Hay began joking about how his 80s fame had fizzled over the subsequent two decades. Someone recently had told him that he must be glad about the revival of 80s music, he said, as if he's been sitting around doing nothing for the past 20 years. Although, he admits, those Men at Work hits kept paying the bills.

Hay's voice remains the powerhouse it was more than two decades ago. His soul-piercing vocals sent chills through me, particularly when he effortlessly nailed the high register. Hay has recorded several solo albums since his days as frontman of Men at Work, but his name was officially resurrected in 2004 when his ballad, "I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You" appeared on the Garden State soundtrack. He recounted that while remodeling his kitchen a few years ago, he was trying to decide between granite counters or something cheaper. Then, that song went platinum and the choice was easy: granite.

Throughout the night, he repeatedly mocked his post-Men at Work anonymity. Before singing a slow, soulful version of the band's hit "Who Can it Be Now?" he recounted a conversation he had in an elevator in Atlantic City in the late '90s en route to a Men at Work reunion show. The gentleman in the elevator said there couldn't be a Men at Work concert there because the lead singer was dead.

And before singing his mega-hit "Land Down Under," he recounted meeting a lady at a gas station who said she'd always wanted to visit the Land Down Under. He mentioned he'd written and recorded that song but, she said, that was impossible, because he looked nothing like Sting.

Hay even had the crowd laughing during songs. Introducing his own favorite Men at Work song, "Overkill," he said a fan once ran up to him on stage begging to hear the song about the goats. The fan had said, "yeah, ya know, goats appear and fade away." The crowd roared. Then, each time he came to the actual line in the song, "ghosts appear and fade away," the crowd laughed and they probably will never hear that song the same way again.

In between storytelling and performing the hits, Hay also performed several lesser-known, if at all known, songs from his solo career including the title track to the album, "Looking for Jack," which he wrote after a brief encounter with actor Jack Nicholson in Los Angeles, where the singer resides.

The opening act, Schuyler Fisk, also came by way of Los Angeles. The Virginia native was accompanied by another LA musician on guitar and her mom on backing vocals . Most notable about the brief set were the exceptional harmonies.

Hay primarily relied on his rich vocals and guitar during his long set but, occasionally, he played around with reverb and other sound effects. He had pedals for recording his riffs with playback while he played a new riff on top of it, which sounded like multiple guitars, a style that singer Howie Day has popularized in concert.

The Birchmere is an intimate venue, perfect for good storytelling, with great acoustics, perfect for a good musical performance. Hay provided both in a set that did not suggest a hint of "overkill" for even a moment.

Emmet Plays Six Points Fest at the State Theatre

Recommended beverage to go with this show:

try the Old Dominion seasonal on draft

at the State Theatre. Not bad.

Emmet Swimming, I’d argue, is one of the best rock bands to come out of the DC area in the last two decades. Though they rarely perform live these days, the foursome headlined the Six Points Music Festival on April 7, playing for a packed house at the State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia.

There was a time this band seemed destined for stardom. They started as four buddies from George Mason University and quickly gained a loyal following playing the college circuit and area clubs. They toured relentlessly, playing sold-out shows from “Arlington (VA) to Boston,” thus providing the name and inspiration for their third album. But it was their second album, the masterpiece Wake, originally produced on their own label that caught the attention of Epic Records, who signed them, re-released it under their label, and would produce their next two albums.

Seemingly poised for greatness, the band pulled out of their contract over artistic differences and went on to release a live cd and five-song EP on their own label, Screaming Goddess. Almost as a foreshadowing, lead vocalist Todd Watts acknowledges in the song “Guru” from the album Big Night Without You, “I’ll never be a star; I’ll never get that far. Got so close I could see, almost enough for me.”

Now Emmet can be seen performing sporadically throughout the year. Yet they still sell out the 930 Club and sound as tight as if they practiced daily. The band still has two of its original members, Watts and guitarist/vocalist Erik Wenberg. Watts, who stands at about 6-foot-7 yet hails from a town called Pee Wee Valley, Kentucky, has a distinct vocal, as he croons about life and love. Their bassist, Scotty, is a longtime friend of the band and comes by way of another local band, Smartbomb, but he frequently attended emmet shows for years and would come on stage every time to do a jiggy dance during the upbeat, “Birdman of Columbia” to a roaring crowd. His talent and magnetic stage presence makes him a natural fit for emmet.

Drummer Derrick Decker was absent at the State Theatre show. Nate, from Everything, sat in and did a fine job. Emmet gave him a break late in the set as Todd and Erik did a duet, bellowing out the sweet and somber, “Boston.”

The Falls Church crowd was eager and receptive. Emmet performed songs from their four studio albums. A highlight for old-school fans was a sprightly rare gem from their first album, Dark When the Snow Falls, that they seldom play live, called “South Bristol, ME.” Another song from that album, “Hey Jesse,” has become a staple at emmet shows and offers each band member a chance to showcase his talent with a long solo.

Watts sang a moving cover of Billy Bragg’s “Levi Stubb’s Tears,” which can be found on emmet’s live album, Earplugs 50 cents, so named for the cost of earplugs at DC’s 930 Club. The band recorded that album at both Alley Katz in Richmond, VA and the 930 Club. Now, those earplugs cost at least a buck. Inflation.

Emmet also performed two songs from their 2003 EP, Bathing in the New Economy: including “Don’t Call Her,” the one song that features Wenberg on lead vocals. Wenberg, whose voice is reminiscent of Sting, closed the show with a longtime favorite cover of The Police’s “So Lonely” in which he interjects a bit of Men at Work’s “Land Down Under” as the crowd happily sings along.

The band’s name pays tribute to Emmett Till, a young black boy who was murdered in Mississippi in the 1950s and became a martyr of the civil rights movement. As the band writes in its bio, “For those who know his story, his name evokes a myriad of strong emotions: anger, frustration and introspective self doubt. emmet swimming delves into these similar emotions with their vivid imagery and haunting melodies. Tosses you down the basement steps...then coaxes you to crawl back up.”

While many bands split due to infighting, emmet members remain good friends and split to start families, get day jobs, or both. Over the years, Watts has performed solo gigs at TT Reynolds in Fairfax, a tiny bar near Mason’s campus. Solo, he performs some emmet tunes and an array of covers from his Britpop influences including the Cure, the Church, Radiohead, the Waterboys, and American ones too such as John Prine. He also does a surprisingly fantastic cover of Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning.”

Longtime fans such as myself eagerly await emmet’s next appearance.

Billy Joel: Round 3

Recommended Beverage to go with this Show:
a bottle of red (or, perhaps, 2)

Billy Joel's music always has, and always will, touch my soul more deeply than any other musician. I have laughed and cried to his music since I was a toddler. My first concert was Billy Joel at the Meadowlands in December 1986, ironically the year the (cough) Bridge album came out. I was 13 and overjoyed when my older brother, then a college freshman, invited me, his pesky kid sister, along. Much later, in 1998, at Madison Square Garden, I finally heard my favorite song live, "Summer, Highland Falls," and I literally collapsed in joy. That song has comforted me hundreds of times and it still resonates with me today. "It's either sadness or euphoria."

Such was my range of sentiments at Friday night's show at the Verizon Center. Like many folks at that show, I'm a huge, longtime fan. But clearly Billy didn't plan for the fact that some of his fans who saw him that night also might have seen him there last month (see "Billy Joel: Round 2"). The setlist was nearly identical, except for two changes. One, he performed Ballad of Billy the Kid instead of Captain Jack. No complaints. I'm happy to hear either of those classics from the Piano Man album. And two—it turns out my luck ran dry and after two shows escaping the Bridge album--out came Matter of Trust. But the kids went wild for that one. Some of them were about the age I was when i first saw Billy in concert. It's inspiring to see several generations enjoying his music and deriving so much from his emotive melodies and meaningful lyrics.

My expectations had soared when, crazy fan that I am, I recently looked up recent setlists online. And I noticed that, earlier in April, Billy played Phoenix. There, back to back, he played Miami 2017 and Vienna. My pulse skipped a beat. This NY transplant hoped it would happen, and either of those songs would have made me ecstatic. But it was not to be.

I'm thrilled that he's been playing such phenomenal "oldies" like Everybody Loves You Now, the Entertainer, and Zanzibar on this tour. Since he's touring with several musicians who have toured with him for decades and given his vast repertoire, I'd hoped for even more rarities. But, in the end, I'm happy hearing whatever he performs and hope he continues to tour long into old age.

"And your momentos will turn to dust
but that's the price you pay,
For every year is a souvenir that slowly fades away."
Souvenir, from Streetlife Serenade, 1975

Give Me Franz or Give Me Death [Cab]

April 11, 2006

Recommended Beverage to go with this Show:
McEwan’s Scotch Ale (coz “if it’s not Scottish, it’s crap!”

or, in honor of the Seattle-based Death Cab,

Starbuck’s coffee with lots of cream

I’m uncool. Apparently, it’s uncool to dance at concerts in DC, though bobbing one’s head, slightly, seems acceptable. I, however, simply could not stand still during Franz Ferdinand’s exceptional set, and didn’t. FF performed first in the double bill with Death Cab for Cutie on Tuesday night at D.A.R Constitution Hall. Franz, the four post-punk lads from Scotland, rocked hard throughout their long set with zealous energy.

Fans of their debut album were not disappointed. They performed a good number of songs from it, including such rockin’ tracks as “Dark of the Matinee,” “Darts of Pleasure,” “Come On Home” “40 Feet,” and “Jacqueline” which were positively explosive live. Midway through, they performed “Take Me Out,” the hit that quickly found its way to numerous TV commercials and sports stadiums with its infectious, driving beat.

The band never relented and energetically performed several tracks from their second album, You Could Have it So Much Better with Me, including the electric Do-Do-Do-Do-“Do You Want To?” and “The Fallen.” They adeptly transformed the Beatles-esque ballad “Eleanor Put Your Puts On” into a booty-shakin’ rock song. And, they did an extended version of the already funky “Outsiders” with three of them pounding the drum kit to close the song.

Their sound instinctively moves one to dance, but not this crowd. On the floor, most folks were standing and, at times, clapped and cheered. But this clearly was a very young, overmedicated, OC-watching crowd waiting patiently, and politely, for Death Cab to take the stage. I sat behind a tall bloke whose hair resembled Howard Jones, circa 1984, surrounded by a slew of semi-comatose people on all sides and wanted to scream “What’s wrong with you people? Dance!!!” FF remained in high spirits despite their modest reception and closed the show, as they usually do, with “This Fire” as the 3,700 attendees became that much closer to their Death Cab deliverance.

After getting all riled up from Franz, the very mellow and melancholy Seattle-based Death Cab for Cutie took the stage. They’re an excellent, tight band but almost too mellow to follow such a raucous opener as Franz. Their melodies are haunting and somber. And, somehow, folks were dancing to this. Go figure.

They opened the show with “Different Names for the Same Thing,” off their 2005 album Plans, their first on a major label, Atlantic Records, after nearly a decade on a Seattle indie label. Live, lead singer Ben Gibbard sounds like a cross between the singers from Pet Shop Boys and Anything Box, with a little Lightning Seeds thrown in. Death Cab’s introspective lyrics speak to a generation. Add in their shoegazer sound and one is left introspective, in a trance.

Perhaps the juxtaposition of these bands wasn’t so unusual. Franz brings joyful anticipation and reminds us “It’s so much better on holiday” whereas Death Cab simply brings us back to reality.