Show #103 June 29, 2013

This one's for Natalie!

Natalie- The Sidewalks Natalie 
7 Digits- Orbits Q: What... Ans: Nothing... 
It's in You, It's in Me- Sloan Hardcore 7˝ 
All The Rage- The Producers The Producers 
Don't Ask Me Love- The Madd Are Pretty Quick!
Pitbull Cruiser, Blue- Big Dipper Crashes On The Platinum Planet 
It Won't Be Long- The Quick Mondo Deco 
Midnite Snack- The Donnas Turn 21 
^5-7-0-5- City Boy 5-7-0-5 
Out To You- Numbers Add Up 
Monument Of Me- The Merrymakers No Sleep 'til Famous 
The Others- Paul Warren and Explorer One Of The Kids 
Apply Some Pressure- Maximo Park A Certain Trigger 
Burnin' Up- Tom Dickie and the Desires Competition 
*6060-842- The B-52's The B-52's 
*634-5789- Ry Cooder Borderline 
*2-6-5-8-0- Kim Wilde Kim Wilde 
*Echo Valley 2-6809- The Partridge Family At Home With Their Greatest Hits 
*853-5937- Squeeze 853-5937 
*(619) 239-KING- Mojo Nixon (619) 239-KING 
*Star 69- R.E.M. Monster 
*5035- Toronto Lookin' For Trouble 
A Friendly Goodbye- Bowling For Soup The Great Burrito Extortion Case 
He's My Best Friend- Jellyfish Spilt Milk 
I Return- The Moberlys Sexteen 
>66 5 4 3 2 1- The Troggs Hit Single Anthology 
Going Thru The Motions- London Cowboys Animal Pleasure 
Wish Upon A Star- Robert Johnson Close Personal Friend 
I Hope You're Happy Now (Without Me)- Big Kid You Must Be Kidding 
Breaking It Down- The Jetz Catch Me 7" 
Hold My Hand- Jerks Get Your Woofing Dog Off Me 7" 
867-5309/Jenny- Tommy Tutone Tommy Tutone-2 

^Power Pop Peak:  #27 Billboard Hot 100 10/10/78

*SacroSet:  Telephone Numbersongs

>Power Pop Prototype:  1966

My son Jack and I had an amazing time on Thursday at the Napa Valley Bottle Rock Music Festival (read about it in the post for Show #102).  My only regret was that my daughter Nica didn't get to go.  So, needless to say, I jumped at the chance when I was offered three passes for Sunday.  At one point, the three passes shrank to two and Jack graciously agreed to stay home, but by Sunday morning it was back to three.  The only thing was that Sunday was also Mother's Day.  Here's how great my wife is:  after a morning and early afternoon of Mother's Day activities, Jaime drove us over to Napa and dropped us at the front gate.  No parking nightmare- we just strolled right in.  

Michael Franti and Spearhead had just started playing and I was expecting some resistance as we moved through the crowd but everyone was very easy going- several people even invited us to step over their blankets as we made our way to the front.  I know a lot of people who are Franti fans and a few years earlier

Michael Franti takes it into the crowd!

I'd put his song "Say Hey (I Love You)" on one of the mix CD's Nica gives out as birthday party favors.  Even so, I went in with the low expectations of a neo-hippie/reggae mash-up that I probably wouldn't like.  Man, what a smug bastard I am sometimes.... Michael Franti and Spearhead are AMAZING!!  It was one of the most fun, positive, inspirational performances I've seen in years.  I was blown away by Franti's ability to work the crowd and connect with each and everyone of us.  I don't think I'll ever forget Nica and I dutifully following Franti's requests throughout the set to "JUMP UP AND DOWN!!"  Jack had gone to scout for a better view up front which was too bad because during one song Michael Franti left the stage and showed up about ten feet behind Nica and I!!!  It was pretty thrilling though unfortunately none of the photos of Nica with Franti in the background came out.  I'm always telling Nica and Jack how transformative (not the word I use) a great show can be and they got to see it first hand with Michael Franti and Spearhead.

Grouplove sweatin' it out!

After Franti we rushed over to catch the last of Grouplove's set at the Citi Stage.  They are a newer LA band the kids have gotten into thanks to songs like "Itchin' On A Photograph" and "Tongue Tied," the latter of which they were playing when we got there.  Like Joan Jett on Thursday, Grouplove was facing right into the sun and they were completely drenched in sweat.  I don't know how the bass player, in long sleeves and sporting about 15 pounds of head/face hair,

didn't succumb to heat exhaustion (I didn't take this photo of him but I wanted you see what I mean).  I'm happy to report that Grouplove lead singer Christian Zucconi can hit all the high notes live, just as he does on record- that guy has an incredible voice.  Grouplove are very energetic and fun, I would have liked to see more of them but three songs is all we caught.  

Train were up next on the same stage we saw Michael Franti, so we headed over there after Grouplove.  As we were walking I noticed a booth for San Francisco radio station KFOG and thought I'd drop by to see if my friend Dred Scott was working.  Jack got there first and turned to Nica and I saying "Oh my God- it's Michael Franti!"  Sure enough, Franti was finishing up and interview while six or seven people watched.  When he was done he signed some autographs and I got this, which makes me smile every time I look at it:

Nica, Michael and Jack

I shook Michael Franti's hand and we thanked him for the photo.  We may have missed him earlier but this picture is a hundred times better.  As we were walking over to see Train, Nica could barely contain herself saying "did that just happen?!?"  It was awesome.

The crowd for Train was the polar opposite of the audience for Franti and Spearhead.  As the kids and I walked up to the front we must have been told twenty times "you CAN'T stand there," "keep walkin'," "no way, move on," "forget about it."  I even heard seated people complaining when the crowd stood up as the band took the stage.  Anyway, Train started with a couple of mid-tempo songs I didn't know followed by their hit "Drive-By."  They were four songs in before lead singer Pat Monahan even acknowledged the crowd, with a lackluster "how's everybody doing!"  After Michael Franti and Grouplove, Train seemed very workmanlike and flat.  I was planning to hang around for Nica, figuring she would want to stay for "Hey Soul Sister" and "Marry Me."  Yet after the fourth song Nica and Jack walked out of the crowd saying "this is boring, can we go see something else."  I have to admit I was proud of them- they saw the same thing in Train I did and on that Sunday it wasn't going to cut it.  (I didn't even bother to take a picture of the band).

Cake finishing up on Sunday

The kids weren't any more enamored with The Wallflowers.  We caught a couple of slower mid-set songs; I would have hung in there hoping to hear "The Difference" but we were hungry and left for food.  (As we were eating we heard The Wallflowers play "One Headlight" and it sounded pretty good.)  We had an hour until Cake so we went to see a couple of comedians who were very funny- J. Chris Newberg, who performed with a guitar, and Rob Delaney.  Then a little before 8pm we went to see Cake.  The first half of their set was new material which sounded good but we were hoping for the hits.  Lead singer John McCrea is a true showman banging on his vibraslap while urging the crowd into complicated clapping and singing arrangements.  It was fun, but we were still hoping for the hits.  Then about 40 minutes in the band switched into "crowd pleasing mode" and played all their hits starting with "Never There."  The crowd went nuts- Nica, Jack and I included (that's me in the background):

We rocked at Bottle Rock!

Hearing "Short Skirt/Long Jacket" was especially cool because it was the theme to Chuck, Nica's first favorite TV show that she and I would watch together.  Cake closed with an amazing version of "The Distance" that had the three of us jumping up and down- a perfect close to Bottle Rock.  Thanks again to my friends for the passes and another memorable day I got to share with my kids.

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ALL KINDSA GIRLS #103