I realize that these summer concert reviews are a little late and out of order. Life has been so complicated lately that I haven't had the time to write. This is probably why I feel so unbalanced. Writing is my favorite form of therapy - that, and drinking wine. Back to business.
Concert # 4 Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson @ Harvey's Outdoor Arena
This show was an interesting one. I have seen Dylan before and it's always a crapshoot. I have seen him shine and I have seen him bomb. This particular night he sounded like a duck. The music he played was mostly new stuff that I had no clue about. The instrumental part was great. His voice was full of slurs and VERY hard to understand. For the encore, he did Like a Rolling Stone. And even though I know every word to this song, it was completely muddled. Everyone was complaining. On the other hand Willie (who I am not a huge fan of) sounded crystal clear. I was impressed with his entire set. Luckily, these tickets were free and I had a great time anyway. I heard from a friend that 2 weeks later they saw him in Berkeley and he was amazing. I am not surprised.
Concert # 5 The Killers @ Shoreline
This will be final review and the last show I saw this Summer/Fall. This was my fourth time seeing The Killers live, and this review is totally biased. They are one of my favorite bands. I have seen them on every stage. The first show I saw was at the Joint in Vegas during the Hot Fuss Tour. That was an amazing show but Brandon Flowers hadn't really become a performer yet. He was shy and awkward. The next time I saw them was for the Sam's Town tour @ the Bill Graham. That show was decent, but the acoustics of the place made all the distorted songs hard to hear. The third time was at San Jose State. That was a great show. Sweaty, raw, fun, and loud. A true general admission tour.
This fourth time was an entirely different experience. We had VIP tickets. It felt like the time I flew first class cross-country and you had great food, drink, and fresh baked cookies. Then, when you fly coach you can smell those cookies but know they are not for you, it sucks. We had VIP parking, so we didn't have to park in the dirt ditch where all the bodies are buried. Then we had passes to the VIP terrace. That is where the free food and drinks were. They had a Vegas style buffet with an amazing spread and free beer and wine. Our seats were 8 rows back. The sound and energy was first rate. My moment of glory came in the middle of the show during the song Bling. Brandon Flowers, the hottest Mormon ever, came into the crowd to be "touched". The sweet Australian guy sitting next to me picked me up and pushed me to the front of the row. Low and behold, Mr. Flowers stopped right in front of me and climbed up on the chair to sing. I touched his leg for about 5 minutes. It was probably the best five minutes I've had in a long time. All in all the 4th time was the best for me. I don't think I will be able to see in them again. Once you have flown first class it's hard to go back to coach.
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