Peter Murphy @ HOB Sunset 6/10/09

Yes according to Peter Murphy, the Father of Goth, goth is extinct. Perhaps this is why the 2009 tour has been dubbed the “Secret Covers Tour.” Peter Murphy follows the trend of distinct voices recording an album of covers, which is soon to be released.

Murphy started the show by rocking the house with some new tunes, then went into an old favorite Fall With Your Knife which had the whole crowd singing along. In fact, that probably is my favorite PM song of all time. Up next was the first of the “secret covers”. You may have heard this track played in a new commercial by Chase Bank. It’s PM’s cover of Instant Karma, which I’m embarassed to say was a duet with a singer that I don’t know the name of. Also played was PM’s rendition of NIN’s Hurt. No doubt that touring with NIN influenced this track. Other tracks I remember were Deep Ocean Vast Sea, Dragnet Drag, and an old Bauhaus favorite Passion of Lovers.

Halfway during the set, PM told the crowd why it is that he hardly interviews… “You expect my voice to be low and deep like this… but I actually have a really high voice. It’s rather embarassing. This is why I don’t do interviews.”

The double encore began with PM lying on the floor singing Bowie’s Space Oddity. Then Strange Kind of Love to which he began singing the lyrics to Bela Lugosi’s Dead as the song was ending. The music of Strange Kind of Love have an amazing flow to the lyrics of Bela Lugosi’s Dead. The band ended the night by rocking out to She’s In Parties and ending with the Joy Division’s Transmission.

I was hoping for the night to never end, especially since he hadn’t played many old favorites such as Cuts You Up, All Night Long, Gliding Like a Whale, Keep Me From Harm, etc etc… I didn’t think you could see Peter Murphy without hearing All Night Long, but Transmission definitely made up for that.

:Q:

Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Irvine, June 5, 2009

The Orange County punk rock band, The Offspring rocked Friday night.  They played loud, fast and hard to what seemed to be a sold out venue.  They opened with “Stuff is Messed Up” (which isn’t really what he sings) and blasted through about an hour and a half of the radio hits, their classics, “Bad Habit,” “Pretty Fly (For a White Guy),” “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?,” and “Gone Away” for which a piano was rolled out on stage and Dexter played solo.  That was amazing; he has still got a strong set of pipes!  Noodles jammed on guitar!  He also had the occasional shout out to his home town, “There’s a reason why I live in Orange County, and it’s because they are the sexiest people in the whole world!”

They even delighted the crowd with the kinda dorky but still entertaining “Intermission.”  On the big screen they had a hotdog dancing with an intermission sign and on stage they had someone on a unicycle juggling balls as well as someone throwing huge beach balls into the crowd.

I think the concert would have been better if I would have been in the mosh-pit. Oh, and what’s a concert at Irvine without the fire pits on the lawn that I don’t think were ever put out.  I think the concert was great from pit to lawn!!!

I do have to point out that The Offspring’s fan following is from one extreme to another.  I kid you not, I saw a woman in her late 50’s rocking out to them and just a few seats away a boy that must have been at least 10 years old.  I had my friend tell me that would be me when I get to my late 50’s, and you know what, she is probably right. J

And for those of you that might be interested I’ve added the set list.

The Offspring Set List:

1.                  Stuff is Messed Up

2.         Bad Habit

3.         You’re Gonna Go Far Kid

4.         Come Out and Play (Keep ‘Em Separated)

5.         Walla Walla

6.         Have You Ever

7.         Starring at the Sun

8.         Gone Away (Dexter on Piano)

9.         Kristy, Are You Doing Okay

10.       Got to it Away

11.             Half Truism

12.       Why Don’t You Get a Job?

Intermission

13.       Americana

NIN/JA May 20, 2009 at Verizon Amphitheater

There were a lot of upset people at the Irvine show on May 20, 2009. NIN opened for Jane’s Addiction! I, like many people in the audience, was not expecting that at all. The show was promoted as NIN with Jane’s Addiction. (NIN/JA 2009 Tour) I did not pay to see Jane’s headline. I guess my fault for showing up late, got there and NIN was already on stage. Trent had a stage made up of only bright white lights, very simple. Only songs I got to hear were, Echoplex, Day the World Went Away, The Hand that Feeds and Head Like a Hole. I tried to enjoy what was left of the show but was so disappointed that I had pretty much missed their last show.

After a short stage change, both bands keeping it simple; Jane’s had a movie that showed the importance of the band’s return to children who never got to see them live. Jane’s also had huge Betty Paige/pin-up look a likes as part of their set. They started their show with, Three Days. Watching Perry Farrell is always entertaining, he is so eccentric! Dave Navarro was great on lead guitar and didn’t look bad shirtless!

The only highlight for me was watching someone throw a shoe at Perry Farrell and him throwing it back and it getting tossed back to him.

NIN final tour and they open for Jane’s Addiction……wtf!

Zyner