Three days of concerts lead up to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on Sunday Night at the Riviera.

garbagecanmusic  asked if the Bad Seeds were harder rocking than when we saw them on the Nocturama tour, and the answer is "Oh yeah".  Two drummers, and Warren Ellis, maybe the most exciting sideman to watch today, rocking out like a man posessed, more like a fictional character than a sideman.  Nick has really embraced the heaviness of Dig Lazarus Dig and the recent Grinderman project.

GCM also asked if I liked the setlist/heard my favorite songs.  I was already pretty well acquainted with what Nick has been playing on this tour.  No, it's not my favorite list of songs, but it works.  He did play all my favorite songs off the quite excellent new album. 

(To answer the question JM asked as why am I surprised that I like the album so much- in the last five years, the Bad Seeds have released four albums worth of material, one Grinderman album, and two instrumental soundtracks- so yes, it is pretty amazing).

The Bad Seeds 08 incarnation is designed for a sonic assault.  The setlist (with only a couple of exceptions) is designed for maximum aural wreckage, even digging back into the catalog for "Hard On For Love" and "Tupelo".  To be honest, Birthday Party songs like  "Release the Bats" and "Zoo Music Girl" wouldn't have sounded out of place here.

Nick gives his all of course.  He is a preacher commanding his congregation, but he is also equally Iggy Stooge with some late 70's Strummer/Jones angry young man when he picks up his guitar.

"Weeping Song' is not a weeping song as it is on vinyl, but a careening rock song.  "Deanna" becaomes a soccer terrace chant.  The interludes in "We Call Upon the Author to explain" show the Bad seeds could probably cover Maggot Brain if they so chose.

Opening act Black Diamond Heavies might be worth researching.  A good band (or guy) that I wasn't sure was live or a Tom Waits cassette as I made my way into the Theater.  Anyway, I might seek them out, they show as much promise or more than similiar bands like Man Man, though one suspects the singer would be devastated if someone took his Captain Beefheart albums.

After finally being convinced that going to watch the concert from the balcony as opposed to standing on my tiptoes not seeing, I thought it was a good experience.  The last concert I saw like this (Tom Waits in St. Louis) had awful sound and annoying audience members whose priorities seemed to be anything (texting, taking pictures, making out) but watching the concert.

I thought the sound was pretty good.  The audience were into it.  I got a real kick out of the massive amount of seven-dollar Guinness (because heaven forbid, you should be at a Nick Cave concert spotted drinking a Bud Light.  Faux Pas!)

It's hard to compare my two Nick Cave concert experiences, but this one is definitely up there.  Give it a couple of years, and I am sure Nick changes gears again, however, I was pretty enamored with this group .  Hard to believe it was a 51- year old up there,  and he came back the next night to do it again.  A lot of bands could learn some lessons.

On Friday, I saw Chuck Berry and Rooney in Iowa City as part of University of Iowa homecoming activities.

I generally forgive my rock n roll heroes (with exceptions like Gary Glitter).  I admire Chuck Berry as a founder of rock n roll, and try not to think too much of the other side of him.

I always had talked about seeing him when we went to concerts in St. Louis so often.  Berry plays there about once a month, but we never went.  So, I thought it was cool I finally got to see him.  He is Rock history.

The striking thing about Berry is how soulful his voice is.  He sounds like a great old blues singer.  I could be one of a few reasons- his age certainly, the delivery, the music performed by his band, or maybe it was that way all along.

On the other end, is the rawness of Berry's guitar playing.  This is, lest you forget, the man who created Rock as we know it; without him, there's no Richards, no Thunders, and there goes my record collection.  His guitar still sounds as hard as ever.  Thunders would certainly approve.

Berry hit just about all the hits of course.  The crowd being mostly college kids- "My Ding-A-Ling" was the song everyone wanted and was the biggest hit.

Were we all that young, good-looking, skinny then before we started to lose our hair and put on the Freshmen 15?  I suppose so, though I am not sure I would go back.

Memorable audience members were the frat girl who kept drunkenly screaming "Chuck, I want to have your babies!" to the 81-year old Rock pioneer, much to the embarassment of her frat-guy boyfriend and amusement to your correspondent.

Then there was the girl ( a Maggie Gyllenahll sort) hanging on her guy, dancing with him, etc, with all the excitement of someone who hasn't seen their significant other in two years.  The guy (the backwards wearing hat sort) shared the moment with all the excitement of someone watching an infomercial.  Ah, young love.

Rooney opened.  A band that I can either give or take, and having now seen them, could still give or take them.  I thought of all the usual antecedents upon seeing them- Weezer, Cheap Trick, Badfinger- then it hit me, they're the Redd Kross for this generation.

I am quite the fan of power-pop but Rooney doesn't have any edge to them at all.  The only thing weird about the fact they opened for the Jonas Brothers, is that there is nothing weird about them opening for the Jonas Brothers.

It strikes me then that I remember Rooney coming out around 2003, and they certainly had drew fans to see them here.  However, is it just me or have their not been any rock bands to make it big since that time- '03 and '04- roughly the time, MTV2 shifted its focus away from music. 

Think about it- Rooney, Postal service, White Stripes, the Darkness, Kings of leon, the Libertines, Death Cab for Cutie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, Killers.  Name some rock bands to emerge since 03/ early 04 that have hit it big.  Can you come up with three?  VH1 has broke some new artists, but they are all decidely soft rock.  So it's Napster that killed rock music then.

Eh, Rooney was fun enough, certainly worth watching for free, and "When did your heart go missing" is one of the great singles of recent years.

Sunday

Sunday, we hit the Big Muddy Blues Festival.  A beautiful day for outdoor music and $6 beer out on Laclede's Landing in St. Louis.

For starters, I do like the Blues, but was hopelessly unacquainted with the bands playing.  It is also very rare that a festival line-up put together a series of good acts in a row.  Usually, you end up wandering to another stage, because at least one of the bands on the line-up just isn't good.

I was pleasantly surprised.  Great day of music, with the only act that was even the least bit disappointing (not bad, but not worth sticking around for) was the headliner, Sonny Landreth (who was the only person on Sunday's line-up whose name I vaguely recognized).

Still, unlike much of America, I don't have to be aware of a band to like them (nor do I need to be told to like a band), so I will give shout-outs and recommendations to the following:

1.  Jimmy "Duck" Holmes-  If you like traditional blues, you have to check this guy out.  I can't put it more simpler than that.

2.  Eddie Cotton & the Mississippi Cotton Club- A fun band that gives props to Howlin' Wolf and mixes it up with some funk and rock, and evoking Stevie Ray Vaughn at times.  Fun party music, and great stage presence.

3. Shemekia Copeland- I guess I should have been familiar with her but was not.  Great powerful soulful voice.  She gets compared to Etta James, Koko taylor, and Tina Turner, and they are apt.  All of the so-called divas who are in the Top 40 charts and collect plaudits from the critics pale in comparison when put side-to-side with Shemekia.  Unfortunately, you are not likely to hear her on any of the four commerical radio stations that sponsored this event; and there's no good reason why.  No surprise that she performs a song called "Who Stole My Radio?", and onstage plugs her Sirius radio show, and takes aim at corporate radio.  It is simply that her music doesn't fit any prescribed "format" that is popular.  

Which of course, doesn't mean she isn't the perfect singer to watch on a Labor Day weekend by the River.

4. Sonny Landreth-  I wasn't so impressed with him.  He goes for technical excellence and polish.  He was abit too Satriani for me (Yes, "Satriani" can be used as a adjective).  Although, he defenitely has the prowess on the slide guitar (and certainly deserves respect for that); it doesn't mean I want to listen to him.

All in all, pretty impressed with the whole thing.  There was talk last year that they would do away with the festival.  St. Louis was once known for its blues scene, and like so many cities I've known has done everything possible not to capitalize on or play off its strengths and history.