kevin barnett

The box seats during The White Stripes’ set at MSG (photo: central village)

Late yesterday afternoon, I get an invite from a friend who has an extra ticket to her company’s corporate box in MSG for the show tonight. There wasn’t much to think about so, schedule cleared and I’m seeing The White Stripes. This was my first time in MSG, much less a concert at the venue and not to mention a concert from a corporate box seat. The box itself was the best one in the house for a music performance positioned directly across the stage. And although the beer was free and we had the comfort of a room, private bathroom, etc. etc. it was hard for me to stay seated. I looked down at the crowd in front of the stage somewhat envious of their proximity. The irony is, I always catch myself gazing at the VIPs in the balconies of every other venue I see rock shows in, envious of their comfortable perch.

Except this time, it’s an arena where the sound loses quality fast not to mention the lo-fi music we’re listening to maybe best experienced in a more intiment setting. But I’m not complaining - I had a great time.

I was tipped off before the show that the opener Porter Wagoner used to be on Hee Haw. My friend’s boss claimed that can’t be true because he grew up watching Hee Haw and a lot of those musicians were in their 50s and 60s. Well, turns out Porter Wagoner was not on Hee Haw, but on The Porter Wagoner Show which preceeded Hee Haw. Suffice to say, Porter is no spring chicken. Yet we were still blown away, not just from his musical stylings, but a very powerful blue suit and prestine hair. If I make it to his age, I doubt I could be so lucky.

Porter Wagoner warms up the crowd at MSG (photo: wallyg)

Their set was short, wasn’t very loud and played to a relative light crowd. I’m not sure if very many people appreciated the legendary status he holds in old-school country music but it was cool seeing them play.

Next up was Grinderman, Nick Cave’s lo-fi version of The Bad Seeds. I’ve never seen Nick Cave play and definitely had an appreciation for his legendary status in the music world. The set was definitely a rock show, which at one point was caused Nick Cave to trip and fall on the stage. Rock-n-roll. I enjoyed their set but felt I needed to be in a small venue to really get into it.

Nick Cave rocks during the Grinderman set at MSG (photo: wallyg)

After Grinderman finished their 45 minute set, the White Stripes stage was revealed: the standard monitors and guitar amps covered in red and white with Meg’s kit on the left. I noticed they didn’t have quite the range of instruments on their last tour so I assumed we were not going to get more of the eclectic tracks from Get Behind Me Satan and Icky Thump. They definitely focused on the rock, switching from the electric guitars to the acoustic with only one of the bluegrass, mandoline tracks: Little Ghost. As usual, tons of energy from Jack White who appeared to enjoy playing in the huge arena. Well into the set, he joked “I don’t think we’ve ever played this bar before.”

It was a great show with plenty of energy from the crowd, plenty of sound to fill up the venue and a minimal visual asthetic with bright lights casting Jack and Meg’s big shadows on a huge red catwalk and backdrop which Jack made the stroll across only once. A mirrorball hanging on the rightside of the stage filled the venue with white and red lights at sparingly but appropriate moments.

All in all, a memorable show that I left feeling like I had been witness to a great performance yet lacking in the energy from having watched it from such a distance. For others that were not on the floor of MSG, I wonder if they felt the same.

Jack and Meg rock it peppermint style (photo: wallyg)

Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground
When I Hear My Name
Jolene (Dolly Parton)
Hotel Yorba
Cannon
Icky Thump
Do
Death Letter
In The Cold, Cold Night
A Martyr for My Love for You
I’m Slowly Turning Into You
I Think I Smell A Rat
Wasting My Time
300 MPH Torrential Outpour Blues
You Don’t Know What Love Is
Fell in Love With a Girl
Ball and Biscuit

Blue Orchid
I Just Don’t Know What To Do with Myself
Little Ghost
We’re Going to Be Friends
Little Bird
Catch Hell Blues
My Doorbell
Seven Nation Army
Boll Weevil (trad.)

I was just listening to The White Stripes - Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine

The first in a series of posts in which I ask “Why?”

Why does the possum fall so high on the list of animals I consider revolting?

Let’s hope nobody actually wants to create this disturbing concept of computer interfaces and possum.

I was just listening to Grand National - By The Time I Get Home There Won’t Be Much of a Place For Me

Yesterday, a colleague had returned from Thailand bringing some freeze-dried and packaged Durian fruit to offer to anyone willing to try it. I consider myself somewhat bold in trying things to eat. When it comes to fruit, how bad could it be?

Now that I’ve tried the fruit, I think Bourdain said it best when he said, “The smell can only be described as – indescribable…sort of like French-kissing your dead grandmother.”

I would go further and describe it as tasting like you’ve just thrown up something really, really sweet. If you’ve ever wondered what that funny smell is in Chinatown, look around for the Durian fruit.

I was just listening to Modeselektor - The White Flash

Congratulations to Harry Knowles for getting married. He broke a big rule by discussing what (might have) occured at his bachelor party. And of course, he lets us know the last movie he watched as a single man — 300. Interesting choice…

*update: The wedding invitation video, directed by Peter Jackson, has been made available on YouTube, courtesy of the happy couple.

I was just listening to I am X - Skin Vision