Blues Traveler

State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ

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Old 97's/Whiskeytown/The Hangdogs

Irving Plaza, New York, NY

My WHTG colleague Glenn Vistica urged me to come along to this show. I knew the New York alt-country band The Hangdogs (especially their song "Fools Rush In"), but neither of the other bands on the bill. But I figured, ok, why not?

The Hangdogs were good, so my night was made. Then Whiskeytown came out on stage, with their sprawling richness of sound and entrancing melodies. The lineup of the band was then Ryan Adams and Ed Crawford on guitars, Caitlin Cary on fiddle, Jenni Snyder on bass, Skillet Gilmore on drums, and Mike Daly as the multi-instrumentalist. I didn't know it then, but the band's lineup was in a state of flux. Apart from Adams and Cary, the band members on their latest album Stranger's Almanac were no longer in the group; Adams and Cary had just done a few shows as an acoustic duo amidst rumors that the band was breaking up, and this concert was one of the first with the newly recruited players (I also didn't realize at the time that new second guitarist Crawford was a.k.a. "ed fROMOHIO" of the group fIREHOSE, of whom I was a fan). I don't recall the band having any difficulties with the material, but then, I wasn't familiar with it yet myself.

After Whiskeytown concluded their set, I thought, "Wow, bonus! I have a new band to like. What a great night!" And then, Old 97s performed.

Holy crap! The Texas quartet took the stage like men possessed. Guitarist/singer Rhett Miller and bassist Murry Hammond both wore glasses on stage then, so I remember thinking they reminded me of an alt-country version of The Proclaimers on speed. I very quickly became a big fan and rushed out to buy their four-month old CD Too Far to Care soon after.

This show always reminded me of a line from a Woody Allen story, something like "Each daughter was more beautiful than the last, but only if you lined them up that way."

I don't have any setlist info for this specific show, but here are sets from Old 97's and Whiskeytown from contemporaneous concerts.

Old 97's setlist from eight days earlier in Cincinnati:
Streets of Where I'm From
Sober Up
You Belong to my Heart
Sweet Blue Eyed Darling
Barrier Reef
Big Brown Eyes
It's Easier for You
West Texas Teardrops
Over the Cliff
I Just Wanna Know Where You've Been
Victoria
Niteclub
Mama Tried
The House That Used to Be
Timebomb
Four Leaf Clover

encore:
Miss Molly
The Other Shoe
Going, Going, Gone
Bel Air

Whiskeytown setlist from three nights later in State College, PA:
Today
Street with Sirens (a.k.a. Things I Heard)
Yesterday's News
Midway Park
Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight
Everything I Do
16 Days
Not Home Anymore
Breathe
Waiting to Derail
Losering

encore:
Avenues
Wither, I'm a Flower
The Battle
Theme for a Trucker
Mining Town
Faithless Street
Nervous Breakdown
Inn Town
Just One More Time

The Rolling Stones/Foo Fighters

Giants Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ

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Oasis/Fun Lovin' Criminals

Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY

setlist:
Be Here Now
Stay Young
Stand By Me
Supersonic
Some Might Say
Roll With It
D'You Know What I Mean
Magic Pie
Don't Look Back In Anger
Don't Go Away
Wonderwall
Live Forever
It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)
Champagne Supernova
Fade In-Out
All Around The World

Encore:
Acquiesce


external review:
review by Peter Vamos for Jam! Showbiz
>> In the intimate confines of the beautiful and ornate Hammerstein Ballroom in New York's Chelsea district, Oasis, the self-proclaimed "world's greatest band" arrived Tuesday night with only one goal in mind.

To crank out their biggest and best tunes at such a volume that they crack the molded plaster lining the place.

Playing the first of two nights in what will be their only headlining gigs in North America this year, the band thundered through most of their popular numbers, including Supersonic, Roll With It, Live Forever, Champagne Supernova and Wonderwall.

Guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher introduced the latter as "the song that bought me cars and houses."

But it was several tracks from their latest album, "Be Here Now", that provided the evening's highlights, likely because they play particularly well at high volumes.

Two standouts were "D'You Know What I Mean" and "Magic Pie", the latter of which saw Noel replace brother Liam at the microphone.

"Yes I am a genius, I know. Don't keep telling me," Noel Gallagher said by way of introducing "Magic Pie", showing the kind of humility that has warmed the hearts of Oasis fans for years.

Unfortunately, the band seemed rusty at times, perhaps the result of too much New York night life and it tarnished an otherwise solid performance before a capacity crowd of 4,000.

Several numbers seemed strained, while some of the harmonies, such as on "Stand By Me", were just plain awful.

It was business as usual for Liam Gallagher, standing perfectly still, hands clasped behind his back while singing, and smashing his tambourine or mike stand to the stage during the instrumental bits.

During the only encore, the B-side "Acquiesce", Liam clumsily tried to toss one of the bulky monitors that line the front of the stage before giving up and strutting off to end the show. Pete Townshend he's not.

The other three members, guitarist Paul Arthurs, bass player Paul McGuigan and drummer Alan White, were steady as ever, never blowing their parts but never standing out either.

The fabulous five were actually seven last night, with the addition of Mike Rowe and Paul Stacey on strings and keyboards whenever needed.

Aside from a pair of shows on which they opened for U2 earlier this year, this was Oasis' first gig on this side of the Atlantic since their aborted 1996 North American tour.

One would have thought there was more riding on their return.

As the crowd filed out, a cursory look indicated that the Hammerstein Ballroom had withstood the sonic assault.

Oasis get one last chance to knock the old place down Wednesday night.


source

Blink 182/Less Than Jake

Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ

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