Bon Jovi
Giants Stadium II
July 25th

Jon Bon Jovi tells us to have a nice day, but he really means it, and he ensures that you will have a nice day, even if it’s night.  When you go see a Bon Jovi concert, Jon Bon and company (minus Richie Sambora, but his absence hardly mattered) give you their all, and exactly what you want – those acid-washed jean stadium anthems that have somehow survived the test of cheesy time.  Granite, we are no fans of the BJ, and while 2.5 hours of BJ rocking and rolling in his home state didn’t turn us into a convert, we were kinda shocked at how unbored we were.  Unbored!!  You did it Jon Bovi!!!  Those 8ish songs we know and don’t hate sounded great, but we coulda done without the other 17ish songs, which to us sounded like generic Bon Jovi songs with endless ‘heys’ ‘yays’ and stuff and things.  Still, it’s hard not to be impressed at how nice Jon Bon’s smile is, and the bigger ones he’s eliciting from his rabid fanbase.  hairing is caring

setlist

That’s What the Water Made Me / You Give Love a Bad Name / Raise Your Hands / Born to Be My Baby 
/ Lost Highway / Whole Lot of Leavin’ 
/ It’s My Life 
/ Because We Can 
/ What About Now / We Got It Goin’ On 
/ Keep the Faith 
/ (You Want to) Make a Memory 
/ Bed of Roses 
/ Captain Crash & the Beauty Queen From Mars 
/ We Weren’t Born to Follow 
/ Who Says You Can’t Go Home 
/ I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead 
(with ‘Start Me Up” and ‘Oh, Pretty Woman”‘ excerpts) / Bad Medicine 


encore – Runaway 
/ Wanted Dead or Alive 
/ Someday I’ll Be Saturday Night 
/ Have a Nice Day 
/ Livin’ on a Prayer 


second Encore – Always /  These Days

Three Dog Night
Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway
July 21st

To hell with One Dog Night or even TWO Dog Night, and who needs Four Dog Night when there’s THREE DOG NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!  You may scoff at their name, but you’d be ashamed at how many of their songs you know AND love (and if you don’t love them, then you must hate joy, and the world, AND joy TO the world).  And how bout this fact – from 1969-1974, nobody had more Top 10 hits, moved more records, or sold more concert tickets.  EAT THAT EVERY OTHER DOG NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!  Well, the boys are still together, minus Chuck Negron and his amazing mustachio, and at 71, principal players Cory Wells and Danny Hutton are still kicking out the jams, and awesomely big hair.  I mean look at this setlist!!!

Family Of Man / One Man Band  / Black & White / Never Been to Spain (Hoyt Axton cover) / Shambala  / Out In The Country / An Old Fashioned Love Song  / You Can Leave Your Hat On / One (Harry Nilsson cover) / It Ain’t Easy / Heart of Blues / The Show Must Go On / Liar / Mama Told Me (with an awesome hip-hop remix version thrown in for fun!) / Celebrate

encore – Eli’s Coming / Prayer Of The Children / Joy To The World

and it all still soundsz so dang glorious!!

SHAMBALAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!

CELEBREX!!!!!!!!!!!! CELEBREX!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fleetwood Mac
Prudential Center Newark
April 24th

Dude, THE MAC!!  Mick, Stevie, Lindsey & John Mc totally still have it, just like they did when we saw them back in the ‘009.  TUSK!  That’s pretty much that.  What, you want to know more?  Dude, you can go your own way!

Setlist – Second Hand News / The Chain / Dreams / Sad Angel / Rhiannon / Not That Funny / Tusk / Sara / Big Love / Landslide / Never Going Back Again / Without You / Gypsy / Eyes of the World / Gold Dust Woman / I’m So Afraid / Stand Back / Go Your Own Way

Encore –  The World Keeps On Turning / Don’t Stop

Encore 2 –  Say Goodbye

Leonard Cohen
Madison Square Garden
December 18th

Oh Leonard.  You did it again.  And it was JUST as amazings as the first time, but now it was the second time.  Your voice was still gravelly, but it was still like silk gravel!!  Most incredible thing about Leonard Cohen?  He’s 78 and gets down on his knees more than a 24 hour hooker who never takes a vacation.  Lenny, you wearing knee pads or did you get robo-knee implants?  Wanna be the running back for the Jets?  Second most incredible thing about Leonard Cohen?  He may be Dustin Hoffman

Matthew Friedberger
Le Poisson Rouge
October 22nd

What was that?  Yeah Matt, what the fcuk was that?  You had like two keyboards on stage.  And you kept touching them, but you weren’t really playing them, even though music was being played from them.  One time you touched one for a second, and then moved over to the other one and touched that for a second, and then went right back to the first one and touched that for a second, and then back to the second one for a second.  Who’s on first?  More like who’s on würst!!!  Well, it wasn’t the würst, but we don’t know what you were doing Matt!!

Sure, your music can sometimes be super dense and moody boos, and REALLY hard to listen to, but you are also capable of producing wonderful sounds, that ooze with breazy fluidity and peppy happiness and playful playfullness that is so full and rich and rich of fullness.  Tonight you leaned toward the former, and it was strange.  You didn’t engage your audience, but maybe you meant to do that.  But whatever it was, it was strange, but your hair looked awesome.  It always does.  But seriously, what kind of performance was this?  You were like karaokeing to your own music, if it were microwaved in an 8-bit bowl of sonic vomitace.  What was that all that?

We always thought you were better off without your sister (who was in the audience), even though we love her and you, and your sibling riving-rule-ing.  Yer first solo album (the Winter Woman half) was brilliaaaaaaaaaaaaaaant.  Easily one of my moist flavorite albums of the 2000s.  Never got to hear it live.  Then you released EIGHT solo albums last year.  Only heard one of them, cause we don’t own a record player.  You have a new album.  It has no words, and I’ve only listened to it twice, but I looooves it already.  Are you exhausted?  You probably are.  It’s OK.  We all need rest, even when there’s no time for rest.  But what was that show all about Matt?  We want to know cause we care, cause we love you and we want you to succeed.  Is this how you succeed in the music bidness, by not really trying?  I don’t know, maybe it is, but keep on keeping on, and pleeeease, one day I’d love to hear you play Winter Woman from start to finish, or even from start to infinity.  Then I won’t have to ask questions.  I’ll just say statements like ‘THAT SH!T FCUKING ROCKEXXEEEDDDD, YO!!!!!!!!!!!!’