Concert review: The Aquabats! - 10/9/26 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ

 Once again, it is time for a concert review. This time, it focuses on The Aquabats!, a ska punk/new wave-inspired band from Orange County, CA, that has its own lore and has its members perform under kayfabe names. On this tour, which had a special Halloween theme, they were supported by fellow SoCal bands sullvn and Manic Hispanic.

sullvn (pronounced like "Sullivan"), led by Robert "Sully" Sullivan and featuring members who've worked with Elton John, No Doubt and The Beat, among others, was the first band of the night. Pretty decent-sounding band, I think. Their sound blends ska punk with other influences, including R&B and soul music. During the later part of their set, they brought out The Aquabats!' own MC Bat Commander (albeit in plain clothes as opposed to the spandex he wears when performing with his own band) to help them with a Mighty Mighty Bosstones cover, as well as one of their original songs. That was pretty nice to see, I have to say. I may possibly check out more of their music if I can find time to.

Next up was Manic Hispanic, a punk supergroup that I would personally describe as Weird Al meets the Ramones meets Cheech and Chong. I say this because they predominately play parodies of old punk and other rock songs, but with a lot of Chicano humor and slang added to the mix. That is quite interesting, to say the least. It's not really my thing overall, though I did laugh at their humor and I also recognized two of the songs they parodied: "Pinhead" by the Ramones, and "American Girl" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Notably, they did have fans in the audience. Also, like sullvn, they brought out the MC Bat Commander to help on a song.

Last but not least, it was The Aquabats!' time to entertain us. They are another band I had seen live before, in the same venue, but that was way back in 2008. A lot has happened since then. The members of The Aquabats! are: The MC Bat Commander on lead vocals, Eaglebones Falconhawk and Chainsaw the Prince of Karate on guitars, Gorney (filling in for regular member Crash McLarson) on bass, Johnny Christmas on trumpet (he is also the trumpeter for Reel Big Fish), Jimmy the Robot on saxophone, and Keymaster Minh (filling in for regular member Catboy) on keyboards.

As this was a Halloween show, a lot of the setlist reflected this. songs such as the set opener "Fashion Zombies!", from their 2005 album Charge!!, along with older songs like "Cat With 2 Heads!", "Tarantula!" and "Attacked by Snakes!", and newer songs like "Skeleton Inside!", "Dr. Space Mummy!" and "Where Is Walter Fang?!" really hammered in the point very well. 

No matter if the show has a theme or not, one thing that is always guaranteed at an Aquabats! performance is audience participation. On this night, there was a costume contest, which was won by a boy dressed as a monster from a movie I didn't recognize, as well as a young lady dressed up as the titular Martian girl from their song "Martian Girl!". In keeping with the Halloween theme further, they threw candy into the audience at various points. Other audience participation elements included the use of inflatable pooltoys during "Pizza Day!", "Attacked by Snakes!", "The Shark Fighter!" and "Pool Party!". At certain points, the MC Bat Commander also opened up water bottles and splashed the audience with them; this specifically happened to me during "Tarantula!". Thankfully, I was able to prepare for it.

They kept with the Halloween theme once more when they opened the encore dressed as the members of Korn while performing their nu metal parody song "I Fell Asleep on My Arm!". The band introductions came after this. Each member performed a snippet of a song on their respective instruments; these included "Immigrant Song" by Led Zeppelin, "Brass Monkey" by the Beastie Boys, and "Take on Me" by a-ha.

A 1-2-3 punch of "The Shark Fighter", along with the classics "Super Rad!" and "Pool Party!", ended the encore, which is a great way to end a show, I think. During "Super Rad!", the MC Bat Commander came off the stage up to the front barricade to interact with everyone. During the first part of the song, he gave us high fives, and then he gave hugs to the kids he saw. I also ended up getting hugged. There was a young girl behind me but since I was there at the front, I ended up getting most of it. That's alright.

One final highlight came during "Pool Party!", when the MC Bat Commander crowdsurfed into the audience. While I've seen this happen before at metal shows, I don't recall anyone getting as deep into the audience as he did. It was really impressive.

If you have not seen The Aquabats! live before, what are you waiting for? It's not your typical concert. It's a whole experience.

Full setlist:

Fashion Zombies!

Cat With 2 Heads!

Martian Girl!

Mechanical Ape!

Personal Property!

Skeleton Inside!

Pizza Day!

Dr. Space Mummy!

Where Is Walter Fang?!

The Lovecats (The Cure cover)

Tarantula!

Spider Love!

Attacked by Snakes!

======

I Fell Asleep on My Arm!

Band intros

The Shark Fighter!

Super Rad!

Pool Party!

Concert review: Old 97's - 8/9/26 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ

It's time once more for a concert review on this here blog. This time, it's Old 97's (a favorite band of mine for many years now), seeing them for the second time ever, the last time being in 2014 at the same venue, the Crescent Ballroom, a 525-capacity bar in downtown Phoenix. This was my 4th time total seeing a show at the Crescent, and it's truly one of the best small venues in this whole metro area. Pretty much my only complaint is the prices for booze at the place; I paid $16 for a rum and Mexican Coke, one of the simplest cocktails to make. But that's how bars make their money.

As for the show itself, there was one opening act, nonbinary alt-country musician River Shook. They were quite alright and did have a song that was pretty memorable entitled "The Nail", about a person they were dating one time. River was done with their set in about 25 minutes or so and did get some cheers from the audience.

Sometime after 8 PM, the Old 97's took the stage and rocked right through 21 songs in what felt like was no time at all. This is how you know the show was great; it leaves you wanting more and more. They began their set with a couple older songs that they did not play in 2014, "Jagged", and a fast rocker called "Melt Show". A lot of songs they played were not done in 2014, thankfully. Having close to the same setlist 12 years later would've been disappointing. A deep cut from their 2nd album Wreck Your Life entitled "The Other Shoe" was played in both shows, presumably because Phoenix is mentioned in the song's chorus. Not complaining, though, it's a great song. 

The band brought River Shook back out for a mid-set rendition of 2017's "Good With God", in which River on this night provided the singing voice of God (the honors on the album version went to another openly queer singer, Brandi Carlile). The 97s' bassist and sometimes lead vocalist, Murry Hammond, got 3 turns in the spotlight on this night, including a soulful rendition of what I think is his best song, "Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue", from 2008's Blame It on Gravity. It was really nice to finally hear that one live.

Speaking of lead vocalists, Rhett Miller has got to be one of the most animated frontmen in rock music. He jumps around on stage a lot, he shakes his ass sometimes, and also has this physical stim he does when he's playing guitar. He is just downright amazing.

I sadly did not get a physical copy of the setlist, despite being literally front and center, because people got greedy and grabbed them from the stage before the last song was even over with. Super disappointing. Thankfully, I took a picture of it before the band took the stage, so I present the full setlist right here:

Jagged

Melt Show

Dance With Me

The Other Shoe

W. TX Teardrops (Murry vocals)

Designs on You

Somebody

Big Brown Eyes

Good With God (w/ River Shook)

Longer Than You've Been Alive

Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue (Murry vocals)

Lonely Holiday

Champaign, Illinois

Rollerskate Skinny

Up the Devil's Pay (Murry vocals)

Barrier Reef

Four Leaf Clover

Doreen

======

Question

Murder (or a Heart Attack)

Timebomb

If you enjoy rock music and don't mind a bit of country influence, please see Old 97's live. They put on one hell of a show.

Concert Review - Kathy Mattea - 6/28/25 - MIM Music Theater - Phoenix, AZ (8:30 PM show)

 Hello everyone, it's time for another live review. I was raised on country music, having been born in eastern Kentucky, also the birthplace of many a country artist. Though for whatever reason, I've never really attended that many country concerts in my lifetime. I can count the times on one hand. However, I at least added to the total on June 28, 2025 when I saw Kathy Mattea, who was a favorite of mine when I was a child. Kathy hails from Cross Lanes, which is a tiny suburb of Charleston, West Virginia, and is very proud of her roots. She has also hosted the NPR program Mountain Stage since 2021, and she's very proud of that as well. The sounds of Appalachia are well-incorporated into her sound, with plenty of fiddle and mandolin, and having grown up in that region, it's really nice to attend a show with that kind of music.

Kathy did two shows on the night; I attended the later one. She began the show with two covers from her 2008 concept album Coal; Jean Ritchie's 1965 song "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore", and Darrell Scott's 1997 release, "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive". Both of these songs have been covered by many artists over the years. Johnny Cash, Billy Bragg and others recorded "L&N", while artists like Patty Loveless and Brad Paisley have also recorded covers of "Harlan". Both songs relate to the coal mining industry and the plight suffered by coal miners and their families; these two in particular are relevant to eastern Kentucky.

Nanci Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime", a cover of which was a 1986 hit for Kathy, was next, and it provided one of two audience singalong moments on the night. This was followed by the Pat Alger co-write "Goin' Gone" (coincidentally first recorded by the aforementioned Nanci Griffith) and Tim O'Brien's "Untold Stories", both of which can be found on Kathy's 1987 release Untasted Honey. Also in the first half of the show were "Mercy Now", a Mary Gauthier cover which is on Kathy's 2018 release Pretty Bird, as well as an as-yet-unreleased tune that might be called "My Kind of People".

Right in the mid-set slot was her signature song "Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses", a song about a trucker who misses his wife, but he's about to come home to her for good, as he is about to retire from the road. This song provided the other singalong moment of the night. This was followed by an interesting version of "Come From the Heart" (also a huge hit for her and originally recorded by Don Williams). Another unreleased song that may be called "Green Side of the Grass" came after this one-two punch of hits. This song was co-written by the aforementioned Pat Alger, along with Kathy's husband, Jon Vezner. 

We then got another cover, "I Can't Stand Up Alone", which was written by gospel singer Martha Carson, but is mainly associated with the late Jesse Winchester (Kathy's version is meant to be a tribute to him). One final one-two punch of hits rounded out the main set; "Where've You Been", another song co-written by Jon Vezner, a song about lifelong lovers that takes place at three different points of life and was based on Jon's grandparents, and then Kathy's final mainstream hit before she began to incorporate less radio-friendly sounds into her music, "455 Rocket". This song was co-written by Gillian Welch and is a song about the love between a person and their car and is a lot of fun live.

There was one encore song, a cover of Bobbie Gentry's 1967 hit "Ode to Billie Joe". This version is more upbeat than the original is, but she sings it a lot better than I would've expected.

This was a really fun night, and even if you're not into country or folk music, may I ask you at least give her a chance? There is a reason I've been a fan practically my whole life, and she definitely did not disappoint. I do wish she could've played more songs, but with time constraints, it's only natural to have a shorter set than normal.

The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore

You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive

Love at the Five and Dime

Goin' Gone

Untold Stories

Mercy Now

My Kind of People

Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses

Come From the Heart

Green Side of the Grass

I Can't Stand Up Alone

Where've You Been

455 Rocket

======

Ode to Billie Joe

Concert Review: Laura Jane Grace and the Mississippi Medicals - 4/9/25 - Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ

 After months of delaying it due to not having the motivation, I am finally reviewing something. I attended the April 9, 2025 performance by Laura Jane Grace and her current band, the Mississippi Medicals, with supporting acts Rodeo Boys (who come from Michigan) and Melbourne, Australia's Alex Lahey. And what a night it was. A night that was so great that what was a few hours felt like it passed by in minutes and left me wanting even more. These are the best kind of nights when attending any gig.

Rodeo Boys were on first and they played around 8 songs or so. They were alright. Not necessarily my type of music, but their singer (Tiff Hannay, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns) engaged with the crowd quite a bit and one could easily see that they were happy to be playing for us and opening for Laura Jane Grace. The band's set was marred by a technical issue that resulted in a song being aborted and skipped over.

Alex Lahey was on next, and you know what? I think she's gained a new listener in me. She is not trans but does identify as gay, which meant that all three acts on the bill were fronted by someone who is LGBTQIA+ in some fashion. Her music sounds like a hybrid of pop and alt rock and it works really well. One of the songs she played ("Don't Wanna Know") is one of two songs she released at the end of March 2025 as an exclusive to her Bandcamp site (which can be found here) and all sales of these two songs during the month of April will be donated to Trans Lifeline. Yeah, I'm quite impressed with Alex Lahey.

Finally, it was time for Laura Jane Grace and her current backing band, the Mississippi Medicals (it's a weed reference). The band consists of Laura on guitar and lead vocals, Matt Patton (also of Drive-By Truckers) on bass guitar and backing vocals, Mikey Erg on drums, and Paris Campbell Grace (Laura's wife) on backing vocals. They started their set with "The Swimming Pool Song", a track from Laura's 2020 surprise release album, Stay Alive. Next came a couple of Against Me! songs, the classic "True Trans Soul Rebel" and the newer "Crash", followed by a lot of Laura's solo tunes done in rapid-fire succession. A highlight of the night came in the form of a new song, "Your God (God's Dick)", which Laura hilariously introduced as "a spiritual... a song about finding God in the most unexpected of places, in your fucking pants". This song has gotten a certain part of the population ticked at her, so she must be doing something right. The crowd behind me started getting super active during the Against Me! classic "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" and they didn't let up the rest of the night. 

I got Laura's copy of the printed setlist after the show, although it was taped to the stage pretty good and I had a little trouble removing it. All the songs are still present on it, though, which is all that matters. This was easily one of the best nights of my life and I want to do it again.

The full setlist:

1. The Swimming Pool Song

2. True Trans Soul Rebel (Against Me! song)

3. Crash (Against Me! song)

4. Birds Talk Too

5. Hole in My Head

6. I'm Not a Cop

7. Mine Me Mine

8. Mercenary

9. All Fucked Out

10. Karma Too Close

11. Hoka, Hoka - One, One

12. Razorblade Blues

13. SuperNatural Possession

14. Manic Depression (Laura Jane Grace & the Devouring Mothers song)

15. T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)  (Against Me! song)

16. Pints of Guinness Make You Strong (Against Me! song)

17. Walking Is Still Honest (Against Me! song)

18. The Ocean (Against Me! song)

19. Your God (God's Dick)

20. I Was a Teenage Anarchist (Against Me! song)

21. Black Me Out (Against Me! song)

22. Give Up the Ghost

======

23. Baby, Baby (The Sidekicks cover)

24. Don't Lose Touch (Against Me! song)

25. Sink, Florida, Sink (Against Me! song)

26. Thrash Unreal (Against Me! song)

The Setlists for all artists I have seen live

Alright! This will be a long post, considering my whole concert history. But here goes, beginning with P.O.D. in 2004, ending with Chris Barron this year, the (known) setlists of every single show I've attended over the years. Due to formatting limitations, encore breaks will not be listed.

P.O.D. - 6/17/04 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe. AZ

1. Boom
2. Set It Off
3. Sleeping Awake
4. Lie Down
5. Without Jah, Nothin' (partial)
6. Execute the Sounds
7. Freedom Fighters
8. Space
9. Wildfire
10. Will You
11. Southtown
12. Satellite
13. Revolution
14. Find My Way
15. Youth of the Nation
16. Alive
17. Asthma
18. The Messenjah

DIR EN GREY (FVT 2006) - 8/18/06 - Cricket Pavilion - Phoenix, AZ

1. G.D.S. (over PA)
2. CLEVER SLEAZOID
3. THE FATAL BELIEVER (unreleased early version)
4. Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.
5. Ryoujoku no Ame
6. dead tree
7. The Final
8. THE IIID EMPIRE
9. -saku-

DIR EN GREY - 2/21/07 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ

1. G.D.S. (over PA)
2. THE FATAL BELIEVER
3. Agitated Screams of Maggots
4. Mr.NEWSMAN
5. DISABLED COMPLEXES
6. GRIEF
7. -saku-
8. Itoshisa ha Fuhai Nitsuki (alternate lyrics)
9. Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.
10. Ryoujoku no Ame
11. The Final
12. Shokubeni
13. Merciless Cult
14. dead tree
15. OBSCURE
16. C
17. THE IIID EMPIRE
18. Beautiful Dirt
19. CLEVER SLEAZOID

Goo Goo Dolls - 10/16/08 - Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum - Phoenix, AZ

1. Long Way Down
2. Here Is Gone
3. Big Machine
4. Slide
5. Another Second Time Around
6. Tucked Away
7. Feel the Silence
8. Black Balloon
9. We'll Be Here (When You're Gone)
10. Name
11. Stay With You
12. Naked
13. Become
14. Real
15. Slave Girl (Lime Spiders cover)
16. Before It's Too Late
17. Broadway
18. Better Days
19. Let Love In
20. Iris

DIR EN GREY - 11/28/08 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ

1. SA BIR (over PA)
2. OBSCURE
3. DOZING GREEN
4. Agitated Screams of Maggots
5. DISABLED COMPLEXES
6. THE FATAL BELIEVER
7. Toguro
8. Ryoujoku no Ame
9. AGITATED SCREAMS OF MAGGOTS -UNPLUGGED-
10. CONCEIVED SORROW
11. GLASS SKIN
12. The Final
13. HYDRA -666-
14. Merciless Cult
15. Spilled Milk
16. GRIEF
17. REPETITION OF HATRED
18. Kodou
19. Gaika, Chinmoku ga Nemuru Koro
20. -saku-
21. CLEVER SLEAZOID
22. THE IIID EMPIRE

The Aquabats! - 12/13/08 - Marquee Theatre - Phoenix, AZ

1. Fashion Zombies!
2. Martian Girl!
3. Lovers of Loving Love!
4. Look at Me, I'm a Winner!
5. Super Rad!
6. Tiger Rider vs the Time Sprinkler!
7. Pizza Day!
8. The Story of Nothing!
9. CD Repo Man!
10. Pool Party!
11. Magic Chicken!
12. Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates!
13. Awesome Forces!

U2 - 10/20/09 - University of Phoenix Stadium - Glendale, AZ

1. Breathe
2. Get on Your Boots
3. Magnificent
4. Mysterious Ways
5. Beautiful Day
6. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
7. Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of (acoustic)
8. No Line on the Horizon
9. Elevation
10. In a Little While
11. Unknown Caller
12. Until the End of the World
13. The Unforgettable Fire
14. City of Blinding Lights
15. Vertigo
16. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix version)
17. Sunday Bloody Sunday
18. MLK
19. Walk On
20. One
21. Where the Streets Have no Name
22. Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
23. With or Without You
24. Moment of Surrender

Mike Doughty - 2/27/10 - Buffalo Chip Saloon & Steakhouse - Cave Creek, AZ

1. Tremendous Brunettes
2. Like a Luminous Girl
3. Busting Up a Starbucks
4. Put It Down
5. White Lexus
6. Sunken-Eyed Girl
7. (You Should Be) Doubly (Gratified)
8. Year of the Dog
9. Looks (Student Teachers cover)
10. Shunned + Falsified
11. (I Want to) Burn You (Down)
12. Madeline and Nine
13. Unsingable Name
14. Pleasure on Credit
15. 40 Grand in the Hole
16. Down on the River by the Sugar Plant
17. I Hear the Bells
18. I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing
19. Nectarine (Part Two)
20. (I Keep on) Rising Up
21. Train to Chicago (Drink Me cover)
22. Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well
23. 27 Jennifers

They Might Be Giants - 1/29/12 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ

1. Can't Keep Johnny Down
2. Celebration
3. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (The Four Lads cover)
4. The Mesopotamians
5. Damn Good Times
6. Clap Your Hands
7. Ana Ng
8. Birdhouse in Your Soul
9. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (audience participation segment)
10. Withered Hope
11. Old Pine Box
12. Marty Beller Mask
13. We Live in a Dump
14. Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne cover - partial instrumental)
    
15. Paranoid (Black Sabbath cover - partial)
16. Spoiler Alert
17. Cloisonné
18. Alphabet of Nations
19. Fingertips
20. Stand on Your Own Head
21. Particle Man
22. Careful What You Pack
23. When Will You Die
24. How Can I Sing Like a Girl (John & John duo version)
25. Doctor Worm
26. The Guitar
27. Dead

Mike Doughty - 4/14/12 - The Camp at Cave Creek Coffee Company - Cave Creek, AZ

1. I Hear the Bells
2. Grey Ghost
3. Telegenic Exes, #2 (Astoria)
4. Day by Day By
5. Madeline and Nine
6. Na Na Nothing
7. Your Misfortune
8. Sunken-Eyed Girl
9. Unsingable Name
10. Busting Up a Starbucks
11. Rising Sign
12. Real Love / It's Only Life (Mary J. Blige / The Feelies mashup)
13. Shunned + Falsified
14. I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing
15. Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well
16. White Lexus
17. Russell
18. 27 Jennifers

Hey Ocean! - 2/8/13 - Hard Rock Cafe - Phoenix, AZ

1. I Am a Heart
2. New Love
3. Change
4. Fish
5. Islands
6. Jolene
7. A Song About California
8. Make a New Dance Up
9. Be My Baby (Ellie Greenwich cover)
10. If I Were a Ship
11. Last Mistake
12. Big Blue Wave
13. Too Soon
14. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains) (Arcade Fire cover)

Old 97's - 5/7/14 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ

1. If My Heart Was a Car
2. Dance With Me
3. Longer Than You've Been Alive
4. Salome
5. The Ex of All You See
6. The Other Shoe
7. Bird in a Cage
8. Indefinitely
9. Give It Time
10. Can't Get a Line
11. Nashville
12. Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)
13. Wish the Worst
14. This Is the Ballad
15. Up the Devil's Pay
16. Niteclub
17. Brown Haired Daughter
18. Guadalajara
19. Champaign, Illinois
20. Iron Road
21. Big Brown Eyes
22. Let's Get Drunk and Get It On
23. Doreen
24. Four Leaf Clover (w/ Nikki Lane)
25. Most Messed Up
26. Barrier Reef
27. Timebomb

Mike Doughty - 10/20/14 - MIM Music Theater - Phoenix, AZ (two sets)

1. Your Misfortune
2. 27 Jennifers
3. Janine (Soul Coughing song)
4. These Are Your Friends
5. Circles (Soul Coughing song)
6. Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future
7. Busting Up a Starbucks
8. Rising Sign
9. Put It Down / Pleasure on Credit
10. Year of the Dog
11. Madeline and Nine
12. Looking at the World From the Bottom of a Well
13. Super Bon Bon (Soul Coughing song)
14. When the Night Is Long
15. White Lexus
16. Thank You, Lord, for Sending Me the F Train
17. Lazybones (Soul Coughing song)
18. Navigating by the Stars at Night
19. Down on the River by the Sugar Plant
20. Unsingable Name
21. I Just Want the Girl in the Blue Dress to Keep on Dancing
22. Looks (Student Teachers cover)
23. Train to Chicago (Drink Me cover)
24. I Hear the Bells

Against Me! - 9/26/15 - Nile Theater - Mesa, AZ

1. True Trans Soul Rebel
2. Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
3. Unconditional Love
4. Walking Is Still Honest
5. Cliché Guevara
6. You Look Like I Need a Drink
7. White People for Peace
8. FUCKMYLIFE666
9. Transgender Dysphoria Blues
10. White Crosses
11. Spanish Moss (Goldentone Studio version)
12. Two Coffins
13. Bamboo Bones
14. T.S.R. (This Shit Rules)
15. Pretty Girls (The Mover)
16. Because of the Shame (first verse only)
17. Thrash Unreal
18. The Ocean
19. Black Me Out
20. I Was a Teenage Anarchist
21. Wagon Wheel (Old Crow Medicine Show cover)
22. New Wave (may not have been played - I don't remember hearing it, others insist it was)
23. Drinking With the Jocks
24. Sink, Florida, Sink

Martina McBride - 7/28/16 - Celebrity Theatre - Phoenix, AZ

1. Reckless
2. Blessed
3. Valentine
4. Just Around the Corner
5. I Love You
6. Safe in the Arms of Love (Gail Davies cover)
7. My Baby Loves Me (Gretchen Peters cover)
8. Diamond
9. Rose Garden (Joe South cover)
10. In My Daughter's Eyes
11. From the Ashes
12. Love's the Only House
13. This One's for the Girls
14. Wild Angels
15. A Broken Wing
16. Independence Day (Gretchen Peters cover)
17. When God-Fearin' Women Get the Blues
18. Two More Bottles of Wine (Delbert McClinton cover)
19. We'll Pick Up Where We Left Off (O.A.R. cover)

Mike Doughty - 1/31/17 - Crescent Ballroom - Phoenix, AZ (w/ Wheatus as backing band)

1. Lazybones (Soul Coughing song)
2. Sleepless (Soul Coughing song)
3. Sugar Free Jazz (Soul Coughing song)
4. Rational Man
5. Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago (Soul Coughing song)
6. Raging On
7. Bus to Beelzebub (Soul Coughing song)
8. Wednesday (no se apoye)
9. Circles (Soul Coughing song)
10. Shunned + Falsified
11. I Can't Believe I Found You in That Town
12. How Many Cans? / Monster Man (Soul Coughing mashup)
13. Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future
14. So Far I Have Not Found the Science (Soul Coughing song)
15. St. Louise Is Listening (Soul Coughing song)
16. True Dreams of Wichita (Soul Coughing song)

P.O.D. - 11/21/18 - Marquee Theatre - Tempe, AZ

1. Soundboy Killa
2. Rockin' With the Best
3. Babylon the Murderer
4. Satellite
5. The Messenjah
6. Boom
7. Murdered Love
8. This Goes Out to You
9. Always Southern California
10. Youth of the Nation
11. Circles
12. Rock the Party (Off the Hook)
13. Panic Attack
14. Will You
15. Southtown
16. Alive
17. Listening for the Silence

11/5/22 - Dropkick Murphys - Orpheum Theatre - Phoenix, AZ (acoustic show)

1. Ten Times More
2. Two 6's Upside Down
3. Middle Finger
4. Talking Jukebox
5. Citizen CIA
6. Take 'em Down
7. Cadillac, Cadillac
8. We Shall Overcome (traditional song)
9. Worker's Song (Ed Pickford cover)
10. Waters Are A'risin
11. Where Trouble Is At
12. Never Get Drunk no More (w/ Jaime Wyatt)
13. All You Fonies
14. The Last One
15. Rose Tattoo
16. The Fields of Athenry (Pete St. John cover)
17. Barroom Hero
18. Boys on the Docks
19. Skinhead on the MBTA
20. I'm Shipping Up to Boston
21. Dig a Hole (accompanied by video of Woody Guthrie performing the song)
22. Kiss Me, I'm Shitfaced

Chris Barron - 5/23/24 - MIM Music Theater - Phoenix, AZ (incomplete setlist!)

1. Angels and One-Armed Jugglers
2. To Put the Love of You
3. Little Miss Can't Be Wrong (Spin Doctors song)
4. The Blue
5. Sweetest Portion (Spin Doctors song)
6. Sometimes It's Tiring to Be Me
7. Laraby's Gang (Spin Doctors song)
8. Still a Beautiful World
9. Princess of Whatever
10. Two Princes (Spin Doctors song)
11. Portrait of a Young Dog as Bob Dylan
12. Jimmy Olsen's Blues (Spin Doctors song)

And there you have it, every known setlist to each show I've ever been to. If you actually made it this far, I salute you.

Shiloh's Concert Chronology, 2004-2024

Hello, it's been a long while since I last posted in this thing. I've never been able to until now, really. There is a massive backlog of album and concert reviews I want to publish here, but first, I want to list all concerts I have ever attended, beginning in 2004. I will also provide setlists for headlining artists (except for if the artist I went to see didn't headline, e.g. as part of a festival) in a separate post.

6/19/04: P.O.D. (with Blindside, Hazen Street and Lacuna Coil) - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

8/18/06: Family Values Tour (I specifically came to see DIR EN GREY, and also watched sets from 10 Years and Deadsy) - Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix, AZ

2/21/07: DIR EN GREY (with Fair to Midland and Bleed the Dream) - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

10/16/08: Goo Goo Dolls - Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Phoenix, AZ

11/28/08: DIR EN GREY (with The Human Abstract) - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

12/13/08: The Aquabats! (with Suburban Legends, Dusty Rhodes and the River Band and a mini Yo Gabba Gabba! set) - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

10/20/09: U2 (with The Black Eyed Peas) - University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ

2/27/10: Mike Doughty (with Christina Courtin) - Buffalo Chip Saloon & Steakhouse, Cave Creek, AZ

1/29/12: They Might Be Giants (with Jonathan Coulton) - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

4/14/12: Mike Doughty - The Camp at Cave Creek Coffee Company, Cave Creek, AZ

2/8/13: Hey Ocean! (with Her & Gold) - Hard Rock Cafe, Phoenix, AZ

5/7/14: Old 97's (with Nikki Lane) - Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ

10/20/14: Mike Doughty - MIM Music Theater, Phoenix, AZ

9/26/15: Against Me! (with Cayetana and Annie Girl and the Flight) - Nile Theater, Mesa, AZ

7/28/16: Martina McBride - Celebrity Theatre, Phoenix, AZ

1/31/17: Mike Doughty (with Wheatus) - Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ

11/21/18: P.O.D. (with Nonpoint and Islander) - Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

11/5/22: Dropkick Murphys (with Jaime Wyatt and Jesse Ahern) - Orpheum Theatre - Phoenix, AZ

5/23/24: Chris Barron - MIM Music Theater, Phoenix, AZ

Mike Doughty and Wheatus in Phoenix, Jan 31, 2017

I've been a fan of Mike Doughty since 2005, and had seen him live 3 times between 2010-14, when he first really started to play shows in my area. To me, there wasn't a better way to kick off one's 2017, and better yet, he brought 2000's one-hit wonders Wheatus on tour with him this time.

As for Wheatus, I must confess, I had only ever heard "Teenage Dirtbag" a number of times when it first came out, but man, I loved that song and still do. It's the quintessential alt-rock tune dedicated to all the losers out there, of which I've always been one. Really, anyone who's felt like they've never fit in can relate to that song. On this night, Wheatus (or, at least 3 members of Wheatus) played a solid 8-song opening set, with "Teenage Dirtbag" being their last song. Before they started "Teenage Dirtbag" they thanked the audience for remembering it, and also thanked Mike Doughty for bringing them on tour with him, mentioning that they would be serving as most of Doughty's backing band for the evening, and that this meant a whole lot to them. When "Teenage Dirtbag" did start, I enthusiastically sang along to every word. This was a great rendition of the song, and Wheatus frontman Brendan B. Brown can really sing. I'm honestly envious of his falsetto skills.

After about a 25-minute wait, Doughty's long-time sideman and cellist Andrew "Scrap" Livingston, complete with a walking cane needed due to a medical thing he went through a year ago, began setting up his cello. Another 10-minutes or so later and Wheatus members Brendan B. Brown, Matthew Millegan and Gabrielle Sterbenz came back onstage and set up once more, followed by Doughty's drummer "Indiana" Pete Wilhoit, and finally the man himself, Mike Doughty.

Mike opened his set with a solo rendition of the Soul Coughing song "Lazybones", played on this mini synthesizer that he reinvented the song with in 2013. I had heard him play this live before in 2014 so it was nothing new. Mostly everything else played on this night was new to me, however. Doughty completely ditched his usually heavy-on-Haughty Melodic (Mike's 2005 album) setlist, and instead played what was essentially Soul Coughing with a few Doughty solo tunes added in. What went on through the set was interesting to me and something I'd never seen before; Doughty conducts the band via certain hand signals, essentially making the performance a live remix show. Overall his set did feel slightly short to me, but I can't complain. I had never seen Doughty with a band before, only solo or as a duo with Scrap. Despite the short-ish set, it was still an amazing night and I will never forget it.

Wheatus setlist:

The London Sun
Real Girl
Lemonade
Texas
Sunshine
Pretty Girl
Valentine
Teenage Dirtbag

Mike Doughty setlist:

Lazybones
Sleepless / Sugar Free Jazz
Rational Man
Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago
Raging On
Bus to Beelzebub
Wednesday (No Se Apoye)
Circles
Shunned + Falsified / I Can't Believe I Found You in That Town
How Many Cans?
Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating in the Future
So Far I Have Not Found the Science
Oh My God Yeah F*** It / St. Louise Is Listening
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True Dreams of Wichita