BUNNYMEN PLAY SAN FRANCISCO

The snow had stopped by the time I awoke and there were signs that the sky would clear later in the morning. By the time I returned to the highway and the park entrance, the roads were plowed, with nearly 2 feet of fresh snow in the visitors center parking lot, the end of the plowed section of road through the park. There was no way I could break trail in this heavy powder 6 miles to the base of the volcano, nor would I want to risk exposing myself to the clear avalanche danger present this day, so a decision was made to skin up and ski the slopes of the old ski area above the parking lot. A tiring experience that yielded some nice turns in the snow, but only with effort considering the depth and quality of the snow. I was originally expecting "Cascade concrete" that would offer easy traveling and nice turning in warmed up corn snow, but today was very different.

By noon I had enough and returned to the road and drove around the park to see the sights and visit Subway Cave, a walk through lave tube north of Mt. Lassen. Dinner in a local restaurant, after which I found a nice parking spot near the top of a cinder cone on the western flank of the Cascade Range overlooking the north end of the central valley, one of the few unfenced public access roads outside the national forest. Fantastic clouds, rain showers sweeping through the valley, views across to the Coast Range and up to Mt. Shasta. I already forget what music I listened to this evening but I was rocking for at least a couple hours before calling it a night.
















The following day, Thursday, I continued my journey south, stopping in El Macreo near Sacramento because I had the time, hoping to make an unannounced stop at Murry and Laura's home. But alas, they were out and I continued onto San Francisco, navigating the fast moving traffic and array of highways that dropped me off a short distance from Market Street. I found a parking spot on a side street that did not require payment considering the time of day and my plans. I immediately noticed that this quiet location was ideal for periodic drug deals happening the short time I was there, the street patrolled by a tall individual who carried a bamboo pole. This did not bother me, retreating to the back of the truck to change. Then onto the streets to sight see in the few hours I had before the show.

I didn't do much other than have dinner, visit Dick Blick's art supply store and drool over all their products and smoke a cigar right on the street in front of the theater, watching all the "beautiful" people pass by. I did run across a hole-in-the wall community arts center run by the Central City Hospitality House. Some really interesting pieces were on display in the store front window, including "33 1/3 Degree" by Robert Chambers. I liked it so much that upon my return home I immediately contacted them and bought it. See their other art works that were on display and for sale here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cchh_cap/sets/72157626257729956/

By 6 PM I was standing in line with others, ready to get inside and start the party!


The Warfield is a really nice music venue, great interior and good acoustics. I found a spot standing behind someone at the front rail, only feet away from the central stage. The guy next to me was this dude who appears on a short video on the Bunnymen's website:






One reviewers comments:

At their date at San Francisco's Warfield Theatre, Echo & the Bunnymen masked themselves behind abundant smoke and non-existent front lights, leaving the audience mostly squinting at a stage of shadowy silhouettes without any interesting projections or anything else to fill the gap visually. But a loquacious, nearly bubbly Ian McCulloch made up for that bashfulness, spouting off frequently during the set and introducing encore tunes as 'the best song of all time' : "The Killing Moon" However, after a false start, he admitted 'that was not the best version of the best song ever'. He then announced 'the second best song of all time': "The Cutter" as well as declaring Heaven Up Here his favorite album to make.

The Bunnymen's signature style of wandering into other songs in the middle of their own was leveraged exactly where a long-time fan would expect: "Crocodiles," "Rescue" and, most memorably, "Do It Clean," in which Ian McCulloch traditionally croons his way into a little Nat King Cole with "When I fall in love... it will be forever..." during the breakdown, then geared it back up with a few lines of James Brown's "Sex Machine" before crescendoing into a frenzied finale to the song. There was also the obligatory Doors reference with a chorus of "Let It Roll Baby" in the middle of "Villiers Terrace."

Although one might expect a (ahem) middle-aged band to start strong and lose momentum as the night wears on, the Bunnymen started strong and truly hit their stride during the second set; “A Promise” at the core of Heaven Up Here sounded exactly like it did 25 years ago, with Will Sargeant’s ringing guitar underpinned by the perfectly gothic rhythm section and dovetailed with McCulloch’s surprisingly strong wail. Between the two full albums with their own flurry of classic singles, plus encores of additional hits including "Bring on the Dancing Horses" as well as "The Cutter" and "The Killing Moon" (rejuvenated by being featured in the opening scene of cult classic Donnie Darko), it ended up being nearly two hours of well-wrought post-punk deliciousness. Now to dig up the fishnets, eyeliner, and trenchcoat…

Read it here:
http://www.buzzinemusic.com/reviews/music-review-echo-and-the-bunnymen-live-warfield-theater-san-francisco-05202011

Other reviews with some awesome pictures:
http://spinningplatters.com/2011/05/20/show-review-echo-the-bunnymen-with-kelley-stoltz-at-the-warfield-5192011/

http://thecolorawesome.com/2011/05/22/review-echo-the-bunnymen-at-the-warfield/



For me it was a wonderful experience, after months of waiting and the fun events of the last several days. Once the music started I released all ties to reality and fully entered their world. My apologies to the people around me, I may have been having too much fun in front of the stage, the out of control dancing guy. But for me that's the only way to go, to become totally immersed in the experience.

Kelley, a resident of this neighborhood in San Francisco, and his band came on first and did a fine job warming up the audience. I certainly enjoyed his performance. Download a great recording of his complete, uncut show here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VS9GL8XN







By the time the Bunnymen took the stage I was flying. Everyone put a superb performance and Ian was especially chatty with the fans in the audience. He too was clearly having a good time.

After the show I hung out at the side door of the theater where I shook Ian's and Will's hands and thanked them for their performance that evening, also greeting the other members of the band. I then went back to the truck and settled down for a quiet, undisturbed sleep in the cool evening air. Someone tagged the truck, writing in the dust on the rear window.









Download it here:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C2EJO4AU

LONDON CALLING

The day I waited for finally arrived. I boarded a British Airways flight in Denver at 5 PM and stepped out of the airplane in London at 9 AM the following morning, the day having just begun. These overnight flights are OK, but only because one can fall asleep and make the long flight seem that much shorter.


With a full day ahead of me I took the tube to Brixton to check out the concert theater in the daylight, noting the location of the exit where the band would depart and becoming familiar with the route back to the hotel, which was a half mile away. Not far, unless one is impaired by the consumption of many shots of tequila.

Once I was set up in the hotel, I grabbed my camera and made my way to the Thames River, wanting to visit the Parliament Building and Big Ben. What I did not know was that a large student protest was underway in front of the aforementioned buildings in New Palace Yard, a protest meant to persuade a vote on tuition fee increases scheduled for later that day. A large crowd of students, lines of police blocking entry (and exit) into the area, charges and counter charges, swinging batons, with rocks, bottles, sticks and burning road flares being thrown. I avoided getting drawn into the melee, going around the edge looking in and trying to find a way across the Westminster Bridge. Found the one open bridge entrance and made my way back to the hotel where I needed to prepare for this evenings show.


High winds aloft
Cold air streams over mountains
Saucers fill the sky


Ripples through a life
Positive and negative
Fate's ebb and flow


Thin walled metal tube
Hurtling through the night air
A heart beating fast


So far below us
Island archipelago
Two weeks in minutes


Forest wilderness
Locked in winters grip below
Sipping his red wine

Cross the Hudson Bay
Its shores rimmed in pan ice
Stewardess serve tea

Across an ocean
Just past Greenland's southern shore
Dreams fly overhead

I walked to the theater, arriving minutes before it was scheduled to open. Upon entering, I took my place a few feet from the stage where I parked myself for the remainder of the evening. I once again met KOK and we talked about the events of this past year in our lives.

Kelley Stoltz and his band opened up the show for the Bunnymen, just as he did back in New York back on May 1st. Kelley is an American singer, songwriter, musician and big fan of the Bunnymen who hails from San Francisco, California. He put on a great performance.

Download his opening act here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M27GEORO

Up next is what I was waiting for months to hear and see, Echo & The Bunnymen perform their first two albums, Crocodiles and Heaven Up Here, in their entirety. The theater darkened, fog rolling off the stage, a Gregorian chant coming out of the speakers. They take the stage and the magic begins. The crowd went wild and shortly thereafter and for the remainder of the evening I held onto the front railing to prevent from being swept aside by the surging crowd.

London On The Inside wrote this about the show:

2010 is the 30th anniversary of gloom pop legends Echo and the Bunnymen releasing their seminal debut record ‘Crocodiles’, and in homage to this landmark in modern British music the band have set out on a full UK tour to play the record cover to cover along with their follow up 1981 release ‘Heaven Up Here’ also in its entirety. LondOnTheInside was lucky enough to get tickets to the bands only show of the tour in the capital last Thursday (9th Dec) in the legendary Brixton Academy.

From the moment we stepped out of Brixton underground station excitement was in the air as we joined the crowds of people who’d braved the sub zero conditions and were flocking towards the venue. Once inside coats off and beer in hand we had chance to really observe the crowd, who as expected for a Bunnymen 30th anniversary show were predominantly gents of a certain age; but as soon as the band took two the stage for the mammoth two hour set the audience packed tight and jumped around like they were 21 again.

The stage itself had been decked out in camouflage netting circa the ‘Crocodiles’ cover shot and lit by powerful white lamps at the back silhouetting the band for the whole show similar to the cover to ‘Heaven Up Here’. The songs themselves sounded great, nothing has been lost in the thirty years since there release, crisp and as haunting as when they were first committed to record. The Guitars soaked in reverb and delay and Ian McChulluchs voice sounding as good as it ever has. Although the albums work together respectively as a whole the singles shone out; ‘Rescue’ and ‘Pictures On My Wall’ (Crocodiles) and ‘A Promise’ (Heaven Up Here) were particular favourites.

After completion of the fist two albums back to back the band left the stage to a roaring ovation only to re-appear again a few moments later to treat the crowd to their full monies worth by playing an encore of greatest hits from there other records including ‘The Killing Moon’ and ‘Lips Like Sugar’.

Watching a legendary band of this stature play their first two seminal records the way they were meant to be heard was an absolute pleasure and to be treated to an encore of other hits really was the icing on the cake. Echo and the Bunnymen have influenced hundreds of bands over their career and are still as relevant now as they ever were. Here’s to the next thirty years.

http://londontheinsidemusic.blogspot.com/2010/12/echo-and-bunnymen.html

The show ends and I make my way to the alley behind the theater where I expect the band to exit. Ian stands with the window to his back, silhouetted against the rooms light. Kelly and his band depart. Gordy takes off too. I was very surprised to see Ian come out much later and stand there on the sidewalk while the band's manager Peasy runs all over the place hoping to hail down a passing taxi. And there's Ian, who graciously gave me his autograph and confirmed they be coming to the US in May. Will then pops out of the theater and he signs the same concert schedule for the O2 Academy. By then it was well after midnight and I walked back to the hotel where I quickly fell asleep after such a long and busy day.

Download this nights show here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IDSKBL7R