Two weeks ago I went to two concerts in one night. Why would I do this? First of all, Andrew Bird scheduled a show at Tipitina’s for October 3rd. I have been hearing about how great AB is live for a couple of years, so when he scheduled a show in NOLA I bought tickets. Also part of the AB madness, his show last year sold out, so going to his show was almost to the quest realm. (quest realm = doing something no matter the cost, like driving to Houston to see Coldplay and paying $72 for a ticket) A couple of weeks after the AB show was scheduled, The Dead Weather scheduled a show at the HOB. There had actually been a listing for a DW show over the summer, but it got changed to ‘canceled’ soon after. I was stoked about the DW show, but when I realized the date was the same night as AB, I didn’t think it would work. The tragedy of it all!
Later in the week after the DW show was announced, I was looking at the Tipitina’s website and noticed the AB show was scheduled to start at 10. HOB shows usually start at 8 and are done by 11, so if there was an opener, then I figured I could theoretically hit both shows. This idea was strengthened when an opener was listed for AB. With an opener at Tipitina’s, AB probably wouldn’t come on till at least 11, probably closer to 11:30. It was on. If I had known the phrase I would have said WATCH THIS HAPPEN!
The night of the shows, I wasn’t really keyed up for either. The adventure was more interesting. I had gotten the DW album over the summer and liked it, but by October I had moved on to things like new David Crowder. When we got to the HOB, I realized while I was waiting that I was really excited to see Jack White in person. I mean REALLY EXCITED. I couldn’t wait to actually see him on stage. The opener was decent, but nothing memorable. When DW came out, I couldn’t stop smiling. There was Jack White! I was there! I definitely was not the only one amped up for JW. I had worn my glasses that night and realized very quickly that a lot of people had similar glasses. It was music elitist night at the HOB. DW plowed through most of the songs on their album except a couple that I didn’t care about. They also did a couple of covers including one called “You Just Can’t Win” with you know who singing. It was fabulous. It was so great that I went up and bought the 45 with that cover as a B-side after the show was over. The sound was incredible and the show had a driving intensity, even the bluesy songs. I definitely don’t think DW can be a long term project because the chick lead singer can’t possibly sing that way forever. She was killing her voice, and I’m sure the cigarettes weren’t helping either. The last two songs they did were New Pony and Treat Me Like Your Mother. Both were incendiary! I checked my phone for the time and it was around 10:45, so we were going to make it to AB.
Getting to AB was pretty easy, although nerve wracking because we seemed to get behind slow drivers and catch EVERY red light. My sister was texting me though and had told me the opener finished while we were driving, so that calmed me down a little. We parked and met up with my sister and another friend. High Life in a bottle was $2. At the HOB, they sell it for $4 in a can. Tipitina’s Win. We had made it with plenty of time to spare, and AB came on about 10 minutes after we got there. It wasn’t nearly as insane as Wilco crowd wise, so we were able to relax near the back by the bar and still be able to see. I was amazed at AB’s whistling. Seriously, I remember standing there with my mouth open just staring. He played so many instruments, and he had a double gramophone thing behind the band that would spin at what seemed random times. It was great! Of course, it was a lot more mellow than DW, and it was cool to wind down with good friends, more space, and $2 High Life. I bought AB’s latest album on vinyl on the way out, but probably should have gotten Armchair Apocrypha. Oh well, next time.
I got home about 2 am. Things worked out just as I had planned and everyone involved had a great time at the shows. That’s another thing, I was nervous because I was going with people who weren’t necessarily familiar with DW or AB, namely my sister who usually just goes to shows of well known names. The past year though she’s actually gone to see Ten Out of Tenn and really dug it, so there is hope for her! Everything worked out well and the night ended up being a landmark evening. Also, I ended up with New Pony stuck in my head for three days after.
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