Barely Live, Hopped Up and Exhausted Concert Updates and Reviews

From moderately deep in the heart of Texas, brief review of the week that was in shuffling, stumbling through some good good shows, and decent times.


Los Hispanos UK @ Flamingo Cantina, Austin, TX
Monday, October 30th, 2006
Los Hispanos UK website

So I figure most of the contributors (in spite of and besides their Texas based name) are out on the left side, but have no fear Los Hispanos make it out your way before. A lil background: these guys have been together a couple of years, and it's been great to see their sound get tighter and bigger. Super high energy, super fun, tight, straight ahead rock. Over the last year this is my second time seeing them, and their performance has just grown to deliver.

Fronted by natural rocking showman Orestes (high kicks), with Mio (shredding licks) on lead guitar, Kali (bass line quick and thick), and Jeromy (lightning fills amid heavy kicks) filling out the head-bobbing fist pumping fun. No somber tears in your beers here. Even if it's just popping up on the balls of your feet, you will get moving.

So enough background, the show was fantastic. Couldn't help but turn my side to side rocking into up and down hopping and responding to their calling as the harder than power pop jams cranked on. It started off with a big punch. The quality is a bit rough but you can get a feel from this video of Wail I was Driving. The sound and video are pretty bad on this clip but you can kind of check out their Halloween costumes. Orestes and Kali came as Cheech and Chong from the talent show in up and smoke. Mio and Jeromy can as Rick Nielson and Bun E. Carlos, respectively and I might add respectfully. ‘Nuff said for my first attempt at a concert review. On to Halloween.


Trey Anastasio @ Stubbs BBQ, Austin, TX
Tuesday, All Hallows Eve, 2006
Trey but, c'mon really

Is it ok to say Trey Band? I dunno. Look, it's Trey. It was the 10 year anniversary since I and an unidentified player only referred to henceforth as "beer ninja" watched the Phab Pho blow up the Omni in Atlanta (so high on Bart Simpson’s I might add that I went around telling everyone I was Jesus Christ). Was it nostalgia that brought me to the creek side amphitheater? I hoped not.

Ten years down the road... i'm fatter, i think a wee bit more sane, and had traded in my "flower" costume, dilated pupils, and rodeo clown compadres, for tall lonestars, a rolled number of Mexican brick, and what myself and my concert compadre considered clever "Hawaiian punched" costumes (Hawaiian shirts and burnt cork around the eye... one girl even got the "punch you in the eye reference").

So we walk in to Trey going into "First Tube". Good stuff, besides a few extended jams it probably most smacked of stuff T did with his old band. So it was off to a good start... settled in and lit up. Trey was joined by Jeff Sipe on the traps (aka Apartment Q58 of the Aquarian Rescue Unit), Ivan Neville sat in on keys a bit, and various others on some back up vox and horns and of course bass. Sorry for not listing the names, but I gotta get back to work. So here's the set list:

Set One: First Tube, Dragonfly, Dark & Down, Heavy Things, Money Love and Change, Spin > Tuesday, Drifting, Simple Twist up Dave

Set Two: Mud City@, Plasma$, Bar 17>@, Mud City@

Encore: Push on Til the Day@

Show Notes
@ - with Russel Remmington, Fernado Castillo, Carlos Sosa, and Raul Vallejo on horns and Ivan Neville on Keyboards
$ - with Russel Remmington on saxophone

So for the review, well the only Phish track he hit us with "Heavy Things" a Farmhouse number. I know, know, it's not Phish it's a different thing. But it took a few lone stars, and constantly reminding myself "It's not phish" to get best a deep seated want of a lil Chalkdust... in fact I was hurting for a 30 minute tweezer. It's cool, but Trey at least gave Ithaca "Wilson" three days later, and Binghamton got "Sample in a Jar" into "Waste". I know, I know, it's a new thing, and a new direction. So I'll close with an open letter to T.

Dear Trey,

Fat show man. Definitely see that you are doing "different" stuff and I had a blast. I gotta be honest though man, quit teasing. I mean relax, man. You're giving me blue balls over here. You had to tease with Prince Caspian? Don't do that man. You know how fragile I am.

I think everyone gets it now, about different directions and stuff. Why not settle down a bit and hit us up with some covers of The Band and or how about a rendition of "How sweet it is"? Ah wait... it's been done, eh? Look I know that other guy already did a bit of that. But man, folks loved it. We, um, I mean I, the royal We, love it.

Yours truly,
The Guy who was Dressed Like a flower.


Children In Heat (as the Misfits), Big Mess (as Devo) @ Room 710, Austin, TX
Tuesday, All Hallows Eve, 2006

YEAH FOR TRIBUTE SHOWS! Mansheet, we’re working out the VH tribute for next year right? I call dibbs on Diamond Dave... I'm already working on my Katana Sword routine.

We made it to the bar just as Devo was going on. Good times, woulda loved it a lil louder, but "Gates of Steel", "Uncontrollable Urge", and "Monogoloid" got the devolution a pumping.

Then onto the Misfits, I mean children in HEAT! I haven't seen that much black... anywhere, ever. They were in the now for sheez, and only lil weak point was their Danzig... but c'mon, there's only one Danzig, yah?

So I’ll close this post with the lyrics to Skull by said Misfits:

The corpses all hang headless and limp
Bodies with no surprises
And the blood drains down like devil's rain
We'll bathe tonight

I want your skull
I need your skull
I want your skull
I need your skull

Demon I am and face I peel
To see your skin turned inside out, 'cause
Gotta have you on my wall
Gotta have you on my wall, 'cause

I want your skull
I need your skull
I want your skull
I need your skull

Go

Collect the heads of little girls and
Put 'em on my wall
Hack the heads off little girls and
Put 'em on my wall

Oh oh...