Wow. I’ve been to a lot of shows, but for many reasons this show was one of the best I’ve seen. First off we should talk about the venue. Mesa Arts Center is absolutely beautiful and the room sounds incredible…no I mean it, incredible! Not to mention the fact that we were right in front, as in our seats, then the stage, then Bon Iver. The room had all wood floors, wood paneling on the walls, it was just a musician’s dream of a venue. Both bands were extremely grateful for the chance to play there which was cool to hear as they mentioned it several times throughout their respective sets.

I had never heard of Megafaun previous to the show but as soon as they hit the first line of the verse on song 1 I knew I was gonna dig em. 3 piece band which usually stuck to a lineup of drums/percussion, guitar and banjo, but each member played multiple instruments so you had a mix of bass, electric, synths, piano and other goodies. Their 3 part harmonies were rich, on point and almost as majestic as their beards. Their sound is very eclectic, always containing a strong front porch folk element reminiscent of The Avett Brothers, their harmonies would remind you of the Fleet Foxes but then there’s also a subtle rock/experimental element that comes across very Wilco‘ish at times. I don’t think they are confused as much as excited about music and they seem to follow their inspiration no matter what musical alley it leads them. Kudos for that, it was thoroughly enjoyable listening to them take those journeys. Their latest record is “Gather, Form & Fly” and I’m giving it a spin now and loving it.

Then out comes Bon Iver and opens up with Flume, one of my favorites. The band is killing the harmonies, and I mean killing as in nailing them. The textures they create with the keys, guitars and percussion are really incredible. I was afraid they’d come off disorganized and lazy in a live environment but the arrangements are complex and the instrumentation and vocals are layered so richly. I can’t say enough about the quality of the vocals, especially Justin Vernon’s voice. I didn’t know how his falsetto would hold up for an entire show, but wow, I was blown away. He was singing his guts out and sounded incredible all night.

Now for my favorite moments of the night, first was his electrified version of Blood Bank. They rocked that song out and I really hope they consider releasing a live album cause that arrangement was incredible. Second was the insane epic ending, again with an electrified version of The Wolves. Justin had the entire crowd singing “what might have been lost” at the top of their lungs and then all hell broke loose as then entire place just started yelling as they washed out the ending in a giant indie, feedback filled rock fest. Certainly a concert memory I won’t soon forget.

Then as a sweet nightcap, Megafaun came out and joined Bon Iver for an acoustic, gather around the campfire(or a small condenser mic), family song. It was a great way to end the show.

Thank you Bon Iver and Megafaun for one of the best shows I’ve ever been to, you guys were amazing.

I don’t think if I’ve ever seen a cooler way to kickoff a tour, gotta love Tom Waits. And he’s kicking off the tour in Phoenix!

Below are a few pics from the John Mark McMillan concert, you can see the entire Flickr set here. What a night it was.

Helio Sequence will be at the Rhythm Room in Phoenix again. A bunch of us went to the last show they had at the Rhythm Room and I think my hearing should be fully restored by the time this next show comes up on June 11th. I won’t forget my ear plugs this time. I’m no sissy, but my face was about a foot away from the dude’s crash symbal.

Then 8 days later Death Cab for Cutie will be playing at the Mesa Amphitheatre. I finally get a chance to see Death Cab, just never worked out before. From what I hear the Mesa Amphitheatre is one of the best, if not the best, venues in AZ. As an added bonus after I got the tickets I see that Rogue Wave is opening, nice!

As always I’ll be reporting from the front lines of music and give you my full review after the shows.

It’s here folks! We will be selling tickets at the door if you’ve slacked and haven’t already bought your tickets. There are a few VIP tickets left, just a few. VIP Q&A session starts at 5pm, doors open at 6pm, concert starts at 7pm. Go here for full ticket information.

See you tonight!

Mark and I attended a very interesting and entertaining concert last night, Bon Jovi with Chris Daughtry as the opening act. Mind you, we would never have purchased tickets for this show as I think Bon Jovi is one of the cheesiest rockers out there but we were not going to turn down free tickets and a suite with free food and drinks. We went with the mindset that it was probably going to be pretty bad but a chance for some great people watching and another opportunity to see what we can receive, redeem and reject from the experience. So with that being said here is some feedback on the show:

Daughtry’s music was good, not great, in the words of Randy Jackson, “it was just alright for me dog”. The songs were clean and rockin but I realized after each one of them ended I had no interest in hearing them ever again so that’s never a good sign. The thing I liked the most about them was their humility and their camaraderie as a band. It seemed like they were just a group of close friends getting to live out a dream playing in front of a packed crowd of 18,000 and loving every moment of it. They were fun to watch and their sound was tight so all in all I give their entertainment factor a C+.

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