The final show on my recent US trip was to see the magnetic and magnificent Father John Misty at the iconic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. This superb venue is set at the foot of Griffith Park and is a special place to see a show. It was fitting that the show in question was also special. I have seen Father John Misty a few times over the years and he always delivers live. But this was the first time that I have seen him since 2018, so it was extra nice to see him again. Last year he released his sixth album in Mahashmashana, an album that I love. Through the night he played all eight tracks from the album. They all sounded great, especially the title track and the epic 'Screamland'. Of course he delved into his now extensive back catalogue. Songs like 'Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)' and 'God's Favorite Customer' were especially resonant. Josh Tillman is such a commanding performer. He owns the stage with larger than life personality and incredible voice. His band is also wonderful, making for a great night. The two song encore completed a great night with 'I Love You, Honeybear' a perfect closer.

The two support acts were world class too. First up was Hamilton Leithauser, former lead man of The Walkmen. Hamilton has carved out a successful solo career and it was great to hear those songs live. He played a short seven song set, with five songs picked from his latest album in 'This Side of the Island'. Following him was the country legend Lucinda Williams. Lucinda suffered a stroke in 2020, so she needs assistance to walk on stage. But her voice has lost none of her power and it was a true honour to see her live. She played some of her great songs plus a Beatles cover and a Neil Young cover to close. A triple bill of greatness that I will never forget.

Set List
I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All
Josh Tillman and the Accidental Dose
The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt.
Being You
Mr. Tillman
Nancy From Now On
Goodbye Mr. Blue
Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)
Mental Health
Ballad of the Dying Man
God's Favorite Customer
Nothing Good Ever Happens at the Goddamn Thirsty Crow
She Cleans Up
Screamland
Summer's Gone
Mahashmashana

Holy Shit
I Love You, Honeybear
 

The next stop on my July trip to the US was Milwaukee, a city I had never visited before. I was excited to visit the city and I enjoyed its history, food and beer. But the main reason for visiting was to see two legendary American bands. Yo La Tengo and Built To Spill are icons of the Indie Rock scene and they joined forces to do a co-headlining tour where they would swap who goes last each night. In Milwaukee Yo La Tengo had the last spot. The show was in the impossibly beautiful Pabst Theater. It was built by the Milwaukee beer baron in 1895 and word can't describe its stunning inner beauty. Yo La Yengo as expected put on a stellar show. They have existed for nearly fourty years and show no signs of slowing down. They are as inventive as ever and the New Jersey trio dug deep into their catalogue for a brilliant show. A highlight was Doug Martsch from Built To Spill joining them for an epic rendition of 'I Heard You Looking'. Their encore was beautiful too with them covering a local musician, before paying tribute to the late great Michael Hurley. A wonderful end to a great show.

Set List
Apology Letter
Sinatra Drive Breakdown
Madeline
Stockholm Syndrome
One PM Again
Alyda
Nowhere Near
Tome Courtenay
We're an American Band
Fallout
This Stupid World
I Heard You Looking

Griselda (The Holy Modal Rounders cover)
The End of the Road (Michael Hurley cover)     

 

Built to Spill opened the night and it was perfection in sound. If they are not my favourite band of all time, they are certainly in my top two. They managed to pack 13 brilliant songs into their hour long set. I have seen them several times now and they never disappoint. It was a brilliant display of why they are just so great. I loved every minute but I was especially gratified to hear 'Twin Falls' and 'Randy Described Eternity'. They were just stratospheric. Happily they closed with the blissful 'Carry the Zero', which had everyone standing and dancing to this supreme band.

Set List
Goin' Against Your Mind
Reasons 
Never Be the Same
Bad Light
Hindsight
So
Gonna Lose
Get a Life
I Would Hurt a Fly
Twin Falls
Some
Randy Described Eternity
Carry the Zero 

Red Rocks near Denver was always a venue I long wanted to visit. So when I was in Denver in July I took the opportunity to see a show there with open arms. To make it even better it was The Avett Brothers, one of the best live acts on the planet. This show on a Sunday night was the third of a three night stand. It was a special night, full of fun and joy and happiness. The venue is about 30 minutes outside Denver and I caught a shuttle bus to get there. It holds about 9500 people and my seat was about a third of the way back from the stage. It's truly a spectacular setting. The venue is set amongst massive rocks and as the sun sets it just glows. The Avett Brothers were wonderful as expected. They played for about two hours and it was all wonderful. They are such great entertainers with warm and lovely personalities. They played a long set that gave a good spread from their vast catalogue. Special mention to 'I and Love and You', 'Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise' and 'Laundry Room' which were especially great. They even called on their father Jim to sing a couple of songs with them. This made a wonderful night even a bit more special.  

Set List
Pretty Girl From Feltre
Talk on Indolence
Go to Sleep
Gimmeakiss
February Seven
Pretty Girl From Chile
No Hard Feelings
Movin' Out (Billy Joel cover)
Murder in the City
Shame
Die Die Die
Hard Worker
The Weight of Lies
Ain't No Man
I and Love and You
Here I Am, Lord
Signs
Country Kid
Laundry Room
Old Joe Clark
Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
Living of Love

We Are Loved
Nothing Short of Thankful
If It's the Beaches
 

Car Seat Headrest are a very important band to me. As they rose to prominence in the late 2010s I became infatuated with their music. It was pure Indie Rock, written with flair and emotion. I was lucky enough to see them a couple of times and they were spectacular live. But then COVID hit and things took a turn. They released a new new album in 'Making a Door Less Open' but they weren't able to tour it a lot as lead man Will Toledo was struck down with severe COVID. His health was in a bad way and I believe there was some doubt if the band could continue. But Will slowly got better and they released a new album in May named 'The Scholars', which I love. Then they announced a US tour, with dates quite well spaced. As I hadn't seen them since 2018 and being unsure if they would tour Australia anytime soon I made the spur of the moment decision to fly to the US to see them. I built a holiday around them with other live shows included but Car Seat Headrest were the centrepiece. So on a Saturday night in Denver I went along to see them and it was magnificent.

They played the Mission Ballroom, which is a large and spacious venue with very good lighting and acoustics. This was the second show of the tour, outside festivals, and it looks like they are playing a similar set each night. Which means, understandably, a huge chunk from 'The Scholars'. It's a concept album of sorts and it seems like the band really want to get out there and show it off. Which I was happy with and the new songs were just spectacular live. I especially loved 'Devereaux' and 'Gethsemane'. As the new songs are quite long there wasn't much time for older tunes, but we did get a great version of 'Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales' which the enthusiastic crowd song along with full force. The encore has become mainly a medley of older songs. It was great to hear the seminal 'Beach Life-In-Death', even if it was only a part of the song. The transition from it into 'My Boy' will stay with for a long time. I loved this show, it met all my expectations and then some. I can safely say it was worth flying half away around the world to see them. 

Set List
CCF (I'm Gonna Stay With You)
Devereaux
Lady Gay Approximately
The Catastrophe (Good Luck With That, Man)
The Colossus
Gethsemane
Reality
Drunk Drivers/Killer Whales
Planet Desperation

Happy News For Sadness/Stoop Kid/Something Soon/Beach Life-In-Death/My Boy
True/False Lover 

Well that blew up quickly. About a year ago I saw MJ Lenderman at a small venue in Melbourne. He was here as part of Wednesday but also did some solo shows. The shows were amazing, primarily drawing from his excellent album in 'Boat Songs'. At the Melbourne show though he did play a few new songs that were to be part of his upcoming album. They were sensastional to be sure. Those songs were to on the groundbreaking album in 'Manning Fireworks', an album that deservedly received great acclaim. So much so that a year later he and his band The Wind were playing a sold out show at the iconic Sydney Opera House. I didn't think a venue like this suited a southern rock band, but thankfully Lenderman got the crowd to stand and then it felt like a true rock show. A great rock show to be sure. Naturally he gave us plenty from the new album, with songs like 'Wristwatch', 'On My Knees' and 'She's Leaving You' hitting the sweet spot. But we still got plenty of older stuff too. 'TLC Cage Match' was unmatched beauty, whilst 'Hangover Game' was as catchy as hell. They also performed their just released This is Lorelei cover. But my favourites were 'Rudolph, which was stretched out to an ecstatic jam and the deep cut in 'No Mercy', which closed the show and was just phenomenal. Encore was great too with a Neil Young cover. I was expecting 'Tastes Just Like It Costs', but perhaps they ran out of time. Lenderman is just an incredible talent. He really hits my sweet spot. Catchy songs, relatable lyrics, great guitar. It's the complete package. The Wind are great too. A true rocking band that compliment him perfectly. Special mention to slide guitarist Xandy Chelmis, part of Wednesday too, he adds that extra layer that make the band so special. A truly exceptional night.

Set List
Manning Fireworks 
Joker Lips
Wristwatch 
Rudolph
Toontown
You Have Bought Yourself a Boat
TLC Cage Match
Pianos
She’s Leaving You
Dancing in the Club (This is Lorelei cover)
Rip Torn
You Don’t Know the Shape I’m In
On My Knees
Bark at the Moon
No Mercy

Lotta Love (Neil Young cover)
Hangover Game
Knockin

Thursday night was purely a spectacular night of music under the stars. On the Sydney Opera House Forecourt the iconic PJ Harvey had a sold out crowd spellbound for ninety minutes. Harvey is a singular performer. She has a presence on stage that very few performers possess. She is quiet, she barely spoke, but her aura is dominant. Dressed beautifully she entered the stage to loud applause. The first portion of the show would be a full rendition of her excellent 2023 album in 'I Inside the Old Year Dying'. It's a stately album so I was a little concerned it wouldn't translate live. But I was very wrong, it captured us through out. The arrangements from her excellent band of four were wonderfully put together, creating a wonderful atmosphere. Harvey and the band then had a very short break before they returned to play the 'hits'. It was a wonderful set with many classic songs from her thirty year plus career. It ranged from great songs from 'Let England Shake'  to thunderous songs like 'Dress' and '50ft Queenie'. It was a total unforgettable set of music from a huge talent. What a wonderful night of great music.

Set List

Prayer at the Gate

Autumn Term

Lwonesome Tonight

Seem an I

The Nether-Edge

I Inside the Old Year Dying

All Souls

A Child's Question, August

I Inside the Old I Dying

August

A Child's Question, July

A Noiseless Noise

The Colour of the Earth

The Glorious Land

The Words That Maketh Murder

50ft Queenie

Black Hearted Love

The Garden

The Desperate Kingdom of Love

Man-Size

Dress

Down by the Water

To Bring You My Love

C'mon Billy

White Chalk

Osees are just a pure and spectacular force of nature. One of the best bands that you could ever see live. They proved it again Friday night at a sold out and very sweaty Metro Theatre. This is the fifth time that I have seen them live and I will never tire of seeing them. For close to two hours they played with the force of three suns. The five piece band have incredible energy and don't stop from open to finish. With such a wide and vast catalogue they have plenty of songs to choose from, but I appreciate that they try to play from all eras and play the 'hits'. John Dwyer is a manic and committed leader and guitarist and is magnetic to watch. Of course they have the two drummer set up which is unique and powerful and centred up front. But the bass is also important and the keyboard adds plenty of lovely flourishes. It all adds up to an intoxicating mix. I loved every minute, but thumpers like 'I Come From the Mountain' and 'Toe Cutter-Thumb Buster' are especially memorable. If you have never seen the Osees live I implore you fix that at your next opportunity. 

Set List

Plastic Plant

The Static God

Funeral Solution

A Foul Form

Scum Show

Tidal Wave

The Dream/The Daily Heavy

Chem-Farmer/Nite Expo

Intercepted Message

Rogue Planet

I Come From the Mountain

Sticky Hulks

BLIMP

Drug City

Withered Hand

Toe Cutter-Thumb Buster

Ticklish Warrior

You Will Find It Here

Encrypted Bounce

C

Minotaur