World Cafe Live, Philadelphia, PA.... The Pixies were terrific, and definitely the most on-point performance of the three times I've seen them live to this point. They were pretty ferocious (I'm not sure if it had anything to do with the band being in the era of Paz Lenchantin on bass). I really enjoyed Real Estate and Laura Marling, and The Mavericks were fun as always. Nancy & Beth were alter egos for actors Megan Mullally and Stephanie Hunt, and late in their set, Nick Offerman (of Parks & Rec fame) came on stage beating a big bass drum strapped to his chest. Pixies Nick Offerman on bass drum Pixies setlist : All the Saints La La Love You Where Is My Mind? Winterlong Gouge Away Bel Esprit Classic Masher Wave of Mutilation Tenement Song All I Think About Now Caribou
State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ.... Before Tori's show (the second time I was seeing her live), my then-wife Christine and I were meeting my WHTG colleague Matt Pinfield, Atlantic Records' Tod Elmore, and a few others for dinner at a restaurant next to the State Theater. The hot topic at dinner was discussion about whether O.J. Simpson might be guilty of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson, which had taken place the previous Sunday. Someone at the dinner table mentioned they had heard on the radio earlier that O.J. was missing. Speculation was interrupted when Matt realized he had to head over to the theater to introduce Tori on stage. Tori and I, after the show Christine and I strolled over to the theater and saw the show, with Tori performing alone with her Bosendorfer on one side of the stage and a harpsichord facing the other direction. It was perhaps the best Tori show I've seen. After the show, we went and spoke with Tori's tour manager and went backstage to meet Tori...
Surf Club, Ortley Beach, NJ.... Surfstock 4. Below is a contemporaneous review of this show I wrote for injersey.com. Surfstock 4, the July 4th concert at the Surf Club in Ortley Beach, was a worthy successor to the fine previous shows on the beach. This year, sponsoring radio station FM 106.3 selected bands to give the show a well-rounded diversity of styles, and the approach seemed to work well for most audience members. The whole of Surfstock was greater than the sum of its parts, and each performer contributed a great deal to the fun and energy of the event. Not only was the music terrific, but the atmosphere was appropriately party-like. The weather was ideal, the crowd was eager and receptive, and the bands and artists themselves were largely accessible to fans--most of the performers strolled around the beach when they weren't on stage, gladly signing autographs or simply chatting with admirers. The headliner, former Dramarama frontman John Easdale was clearly the crowd favo...
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