An Evening with Cake @ Cental Park Summerstage 9/16/10

Someone needs to buy me one of those things John McCrea is rolling around with-I could probably learn how to play it.. unlike guitar, an instrument I've had since I was 7.  Anyway, what goes on ...Everybody welcome themselves  to The 34th installment of the Jay Porks never ending concert series and the 2nd of our "Three Nights of Weirdness" tour, tonight bringing us to see the band Cake at the Central Park Summerstage...

This show comes with a slight backstory. Back in March 2009 I had tickets to see Cake at Terminal 5.. Up the street before doors opened, a friend and we took it upon ourselves to participate in the recreational use of Marijuana. The police, safe to say were not too thrilled and put us in jail- hence us missing the show. From then on when I listened to any Cake song I would be reminded of sitting in a cell until roughly 1:30AM being made fun of by police who didn't believe that we "found the stuff on the floor". So since I heard they were coming back I got on it- and tonight is the night. And I will not go to jail tonight! I am finally going to see Cake...

After the riding the Ferry through a “tornado watch” with sideways rain, I made it to theentrance of Central Park on 5^th ave and 69^th st slightly before 8PM- 'Doors' opened at 7, and their were herds of people filing into the park. Ticketmaster had this billed as " An Evening with Cake", their were no openers listed.

Walked into this epic park that is Central Park(you know a park is huge when you each entrance is in a different neighborhood), and found my way to Rumsey Playfield, where there was a ginormous stage set up, with surrounding concessions. Have to mention I had a kick ass slice of Pizza on the way out.. Who would've thought the best things in life are served outside. The ground is covered with what looks and feels like a carpet- it's some sort of comfy tarp. I guess it's there because of the afternoons heavy rainfall, to protect us from the mud.. Shortly after 8 I notice the stage looks to be set up for Cake already-really? There really are no openers? This is awesome!

Stormed into the set with “Building a Religion”, I heard it as I was buying a water.. I still couldn't believe there wasn't an opener-how late can they run this? Moving along, “Sad songs and Waltzes” was the 2nd song they played. Something far from sad was when they got into 'Wheels' and couldn't pretend it wasn't there- somebody is smoking some pot somewhere near me and I have to find out who. Then I thought to myself “Stay focused- eyes on the prize, don't do it" . So I investigated no further and went back to taping... Started enjoying myself to the point where I forgot to take notes for a few minutes, which is odd for me. But somewhere before they went into "Frank Sinatra", John McCrea was lamenting about how the rain(which was at it's heaviest a hour to two earlier in the day) had finally stopped. Way to jinx it, halfway through “Frank Sinatra” I looked up at the lights and noticed the rainfall.. Wasn't raining hard but it was steady, really steady. All of us with cameras started a " No Um-brellas!" chant for all the people who needed to shelter themselves from the rain hence putting another annoyance in front of those who are taking pictures for the various websites we all contribute to.. Next was "Love you madly", and they ended the first half of their set with “Sheep go to Heaven” which I was really getting into.. Looked at my phone and it was 8:58..

During the little intermission I guess we'll call it an intermission, I looked down to notice the mud is seeping through the carpet..looks like there's puddles of coffee all over the place. Everywhere I stepped it's like quicksand-only real, and disgusting. Not the fashion connoisseur, but consider these sneaker done for. Also, there was a tree on the side of the stage that McCrea had some fun with. It's one of those trees you buy in the stores with the promise that you'll plant it somewhere and help earth blah blah blah.. He grabbed it and put it in the middle of the stage- saying it looked better there. There was many funny moments the lead singer granted us tonight.. from conducting  sing alongs from the stage, having different sides of the crowd sing different parts of the chorus to the continuous banter about the store bought tree. Think about it, Central Park-a place full of trees-when to Home Depot's home and garden dept. and bought a tree. It is truly a crazy world. Believe it was a figi apple tree, but not well versed in botany so I would double check that if you really care.

Came back out at 9:14 and played "Shadow Stabbing" and I have say for lack of a better term- it's getting pretty funky out here. Every Cake song comes equipped with a kick ass baseline that you wish you could insert into all your favorite songs. And how could you not be diggin' that trumpet action. Amazing.... Now, on to a not-Cake song, Black Sabbaths "War Pigs", which has been a staple of Cake's live set for a number of years...then an odd one- the lyric-less "Arco Arena”., a song where McCrea kills it playing lead... Jay- Z actually uses this song as the instrumental for a song on The Blueprint 2 called "Guns & Roses".. The 'vibraslap' wielding McCrea is credited for songwriting on The Blueprint 2's inner sleeve- odd facts that I know.. hey it was in my album collection in high school. Anyway on to "Jolene" the extended version I guess, as I turned to Pam and said “Wait, still Jolene right?”.. after which they play "Pentagram". Then, in a shocking turn of events-they played a new song off an upcoming new album! It was awesome. I stuck my camera in my pocket for this one. They made me like “Stick shifts and safety belts”, where as I was never that big a fan of the song. But they sucked me in tonight.. They then followed with “Never There” and tried to go off 9:54..

When they ran back out at 10 o'clock, I turned to Pam and said “ Short skirt Long Jacket and the Distance then home”. Well I was right on two of those three. As the got back on McCrea said something to the effect of “we're being told we need to get this one song done quickly and get outta here” before jumping into the one, the only, “The Distance”.. Show over roughly 10:05...

Besides no Short Skirt Long Jacket and some other obscure covers, cannot be disappointed with a full Evening with Cake.. had the little break in between and everything.. it was awesome and the best part was I didn't go to jail! So I can now listen to Cake's music with better memories.  

It also completes the 2^nd night of the Jay Porks “Three Nights of Weirdness”. Tomorrow night, at the same destination we will be rocking out to the music of Ween. Attending this show on high recommendation from people I know and people I don't know. Should be awesome-going to show up extremely early and try and get some better pics and videos for everyone, as tonight could been better in the sightlines category. Well, I'm tapped out for now, thanks for putting up with this non sense for a few minutes.. LATE..

Toadies LIVE at Gramercy Theater 9/15/10

The Toadies-Who knew they were that cool? What goes on, and welcome yourselves to the 33rd edition of the Jay Porks Never Ending concert Series as we begin our "Three Nights of Weirdness" tour at the Gramercy Theater to see the Toadies. Billed as the "Three Nights of Weirdness" because it covers three completely different ends of the music spectrum in three consecutive nights with Cake tomorrow night at Central Park and Ween Friday also in Central Park. This is going to be a blast, lets dance shall we?

I got out front and waited for Pam (Fellow Jay Porks Experiencer) to arrive.. Not much of a line out front as doors open at 7. I did my best to try and get wasted before I got in there- did not want to subject myself to $10 Bud Light. When I got in I went to the will call/information booth thing to check on my allegded photo pass- the girl working that area said that " There was only one person on the list", and that person was obviously not me. She then told me that I shouldn't have a problem considering I don't have one of those thousand dollar cameras with a removable lense. So we made our way to the main floor- the main flood which I came to realize is slightly slanted so it's as of you're walking downhill towards the stage. I can get on board with this... We leaned up against the right side railing ( to paint the picture, for the Local H show May 18th-reviewed right here on this website- I was on the far left, the opposite of tonight)


The first opener was a band called  ‘The Clox’ (I originally had listed “Clocks” as there name and said they were from London.. Through email from the band, I got the correct spelling of the name and their actual hometown, Brooklyn. Apologies to “The Clox” for that little typo…). They hit the stage shortly after 8pm, working with the 3 piece standard bass, guitar, drums. The drummer looked like the dude from the presidents of the united states of America, bald with a white shirt and tie. They did what they could-to all 20 of us. Won the crowd over by the end of the set, I didn't know the name of the band until I caught the drummer outside. He was making hand signals to me, didn't know what he was doing til everyone else starting pointing at my cigarette-I had it hanging out of my mouth backwards. So I flipped it over, and found out the name of the band, I thought he said the Clucks until I looked it up-must be the accent(The drummer is originally from Kazakhstan) .

Didn't know there was a second opener, but the dude to my left had said they were selling merchandise for three bands downstairs, this band being “Gringo Star”, went on around 8:40.. They had one more guy than the previous band, opting to go with Two guitars, a drummer with a bassist and the second guitarist doubles on keyboard.. They got heavy at times, played a song called “Transmission” towards the end. I got one of their first songs on video, and didn't plan on uploading it but it's such a jangly tune. I usually denounce bands with a keyboard but they worked it in. They have a MySpace page and are/have been opening for the Toadies this whole tour.... They went off about 9:15 maybe a little after having entertained most of the room, which is now substantially larger than it was last time I turned around.

Who would've thought? The freaking Toadies.. Going into this set with the knowledge only stretching as far Possom Kingdom, you could understand my skepticism.. But I was way more than impressed a few songs in.. Where have they been? I mean, they were in Texas I know where they were-but where have they been this decade? Their sound folds in so nicely with the rest of my musical taste..

Kicked off the set with 'Backslider' a few minutes before 10, which I was getting some killer video of until event staff jerk-off tapped me on the shoulder and told me to please stop taking video. All of us concert-goers know this feeling you get when that happens. Don't you just want to punch that dude in the face? I know the rules of venues and all that and I know I'm breaking them, but I'm just about fed up with this shit- how am I suppose to upload video to YouTube and share my experience if event staff douche bag who has no idea what a freaking guitar is keeps tapping me on the shoulder- not to be a whistle blower, but there are clouds of pot smoke about three heads over from me- why don't you go do something about that, it's a fucking fire hazard. Doubt the band cares that much about me taping Backslider- not like it hasn't been released!

Okay so off my soap box, but that really had me fuming. So seemingly relegated to still frame photos the rest of the night; which isn't so bad considering the Toadies are up there kicking ass. All their songs so well weaved into one another.. And everyone was into it- like I said before, who knew? Who knew the Toadies kick ass like that? I sure as hell didn't and I'm suppose to be Mr Music Critic over here..

Possom Kingdom, did they really think I wasn't going to risk my night by getting that song on tape? I got that, an awesome version as a matter of fact. Except for the fact that there was one douche in front of me putting his head in my video by jumping up and down like a pansy. Oh, did I forget to mention that this person is the recipient of the “one photo pass” that was issued for tonight's show. I saw him in front of the barricade five minutes ago-dude what are you doing in front of me right now in the crowd? Being a douche. Still, great times. They got into “Dollskin” after that, an amazing song that I'm glad I came upon during tonight's set, as Pam tells me they didn't play it when she saw them at Irving Plaza recently.. I noticed at 10:46 a lit cigarette gets chucked at Clark Vogeler (guitar), and he just keeps whaling out sonnets of feedback without skipping a beat or going Axel Rose on somebody.. He was a beast tonight, we were right in front of him and he was killing it.. the funny thing about this band is that their personality doesn't reflect their music at all.. Like, in between songs when the band would hear requests being screamed out and cracking jokes-it was a fun atmosphere-when the music played it was gear twisting, heavy, distorted hardcore awesome guitar rock. Then after the song everyone's in smiles.

A short while after that they tried to go off at 10:57.. They came back like two minutes later and, in a striking turn of events, Todd Lewis says “Okay we're gonna play a cover song now for you... by a band called the Beatles”.. What! This I have to see. And we did, it was “Don't let me down”, and it did not let any of us down one bit. This band is so cool! And luckily, that is the 3^rd and last full song I got on tape. After that they went into “Got a heart” Awesome song. They ended the show with “I come from the water”, which was a good way to end based on everyone's enthusiasm. It was rocking in there most of the night-from what I understand not as much as the aforementioned previous Irving show, but Gramercy only hold 600 give or take so take that into consideration. They said their goodnight at about 11:15.. Awesome show-Definitely didn't let me down one bit..

Amazing show, glad I got to see them.. This was part one of the Jay Porks “Three Nights of Weirdness” tour. Quick turn around, as the 2^nd night of this brings us to Central Park tomorrow to see a band called 'Cake'.. There's a Jay Porks backstory to making attempts at seeing this band that we'll get into tomorrow, for now.. Thanks for putting up with my non sense for a little while-Late.

Mudhoney LIVE at Bowery Ballroom 9/04/10

Just as that slightly overweight chick dove off stage right into an unsuccessful crowd surf that landed her on the floor-I realized that there's truly nothing pretty about Grunge.. except the sounds.

Welcome back, and come take a stroll along the Jay Porks Never Ending Concert Series in it's 32^nd edition as this night takes us to the Bowery Ballroom to see none other than Mudhoney: The ONLY grunge band. Other bands use elements of grunge in their music, but there is no other band without an added sub-genre. Anyway, the doors open at 8PM and the only opener I heard about was 'Pissed Jeans' as per the 'Bowery Presents' website. I step out of the cab and on to the sidewalk, take a look across the street to check out how the line is doing.. there is none, BECAUSE IS NOT EVEN 6PM-mistimed my trip a bit, so found a some bar around the corner to duck into until it was remotely close to doors opening..

Headed back to Bowery Ballroom at about 7:15pm to stand in front and I hear through the walls there's a band doing soundcheck- Probably one of the openers.. Walked past a sign outside that said Mudhoney will be going on at 11PM.. Had to show up early to reserve my spot by the stage.. Myself and about six other people are here sitting at the bar.. Got acquainted with my friend Jack(and Coke) and started chatting with a girl visiting from Argentina. Nice girl, we shared a mutual interest in Iggy Pop, and being at shows by ourselves...

I think Mudhoney's playing a set in Upstate New York at the All Tomorrows Parties festival (A festival featuring the likes of The Stooges and Sonic Youth) in the afternoon- so are they even here yet is the question. Anyway, also came to find out there's a 2^nd opener-name “White Hills”, and they're about to go on.

White Hills went on about 9:05.. They had two hot chicks in the band(the more prominent one on bass, sporting a red dress and the other on keys) they played some heavy tunes.. They're set up with a guitarist, drummer, and the two aforementioned ladies. Bassist also sang(screamed) on some songs and the effects keyboard seems to be incorporating heavy experimental noise into there sound.. They did not suck at all.. I'm actually getting into some of this stuff.. And the hot blonde was playing a clear transparent bass.. It was pretty cool.. .. I was nodding my head Half was through.. It was during this set I realized actually how bad I needed to get to a men's room, as my bladder had held all it is able to- so I hit the head.. As I came back I realize that this band gets into extended noise jams inside or in between songs.. Can't understand one lyric but I'm loving this.. So heavy yet not death metal.. Gotta love to meet you half way... They went off at about ten to 10.. And I met a friend to save my upstairs seat.. Oh did I mention? There's a 2^nd floor with tables set up with two chairs at each overlooking the stage, and these seats are a first come, first serve basis: Consider me served.... This is working out well.. Dropped 6 bucks outside - someone returned it to me.. Nice guy- I gave him the Jay Porks Experience business card and told him to visit ConcertConfessions.com as well.. Still not sober enough where people can understand what I'm saying but I'm hoping by the time Mudhoney gets on I'll be good to go- but 'Pissed Jeans' hits the stage at 10 or so the flyer says..

Pissed Jeans hit the stage a little after 10.... I read that they were experimental/ noise rock.. Sounded like a harder version of Mudhoney.. Got some slam dancing going on downstairs and my ears are already shot first song in.. They're set up with the traditional bass, guitar and drummer with the lead singer strutting no instrument but his vocal chords.. Lead singer made a joke " you know what the problem with tight jeans is you can tell what cell phone everyone has".. Yea, I know I'm also waiting for the punchline-but attempts at humor get points in my book- but these guys rock really hard.. Like the type of hard that makes you wanna check and see if their music is available on iTunes.. Gotta love when you see the lead singer of an opener wearing a 21wristband.. The bar knows as much about this band as I do- but Pissed Jeans seemed to be drowning in the aesthetic of Punk rock- at 10:16 the lead singer removed his shirt Iggy Pop style.. Looks like the guitar player is playing a Fender Jaguar.. That's pretty cool.. These guys got harder and louder as the set progressed. And I started to noticed some of the photographers (hot chicks who own cameras), focusing on the insane slam dancing that was taking place.. I saw one girl get pissed and go after some of these dudes.. Must be her first show- if you get slammed into, you slam back- don't get all serious. We're at a rock show for Christ sake...Anyway Pissed Jeans rocked it til about 10:35.. Now we await- the only true grunge band to ever exist- MUDHONEY

As 11:04 hit- I was starting to realize that I'm about to see frickin Mudhoney- .. Is anyone as pumped as me? Well, besides this dude sitting next to me who is equally pumped- I can't see anyone in the building more excited than I.

At about 11:15 or so Mudhoney hits the stage and jumps right into “The Money Will Roll Right In”, a 'Fang' song they've been covering for years.. Mark Arm started the set not playing guitar, opting to go for his Iggy Pop gyrations.. A few songs in he grabbed his guitar and added to the madness. I started recording and never looked back.. I had a great view of the stage without having to zoom in.. “Next Time” off their latest effort 'The Lucky Ones'.followed not far behind... and by the time we got passed “ Inside out over you” the energy began to feed off the band into the crowd.. During songs like “Suck You Dry” people would try to climb on stage to crowd surf.. there was a roadie pushing everyone back into the crowd-or if they made it on stage walking them off stage.. So the jumpers would have to be quick.. when they dove, they were rarely caught.. I saw some chick get up there (not the thinnest of women) and take a jump and disappear into the floor quickly-there was nothing pretty about it: The essence of grunge. She didn't care that she looked like an Asshole-she's rocking out. And we all salute her(and chuckle).

Mudhoney was too busy kicking ass to pay attention to this stuff, as they were showing  that they without a doubt still had it. I mean think about it, they played a set 2 hours away earlier on this same day and came to play this one and didn't sit there and mail it in. Steve Turner's tight riffs along with Dan Peters and bassist Guy Maddison keeping the solid rhythm section going-put aside the notion of possible fatigue or lack of interest.. I mean the stuff Turner would do on songs like “Sweet Young Thing” was awesome ..by the time they got into “Let it slide” it was already an awesome set, and I hadn't even heard my favorite Mudhoney song yet.. “Blinding Sun” showed up in there eventually, along with the title track from 'The Lucky Ones'.... “Inside Job” and “Good Enough” both had me turn to the dude who I was sitting next too (took turns saving each others seats on beer and cigarette runs) in giddy excitement.. felt like a child.. more than this was wanted this was needed.. That fact especially was pointed out when right after they played 'Good Enough' they jumped in probably their biggest hit and my favorite song “Touch Me I'm Sick” which was the loudest that place got tonight. I can't believe the camera's microphone didn't pick up me screaming like a little school girl when I heard the riff..So Awesome.... they followed it with “This Gift” and then “F.D.K”-which was another crowd pleaser.. “Hard on for War” had people holding up peace signs seriously. Good song and everything but lets not get corny about it.. they played a few more before playing the energetic “Hate the Police” running off stage like 12:20ish.. Chants of “MUDHONEY-MUDHONEY-MUDHONEY” went on for a good ten minutes before they came back out and played few more ending the night with “Here comes Sickness”.. they thanked the us along with White Hills and Pissed Jeans and called it an evening..

Lights came on as my new buddy and I exchanged in a high five as we got up from the table and headed outside.. when I hit the street I looked at my phone and it was 12:43AM.. that's what I call a rock concert. Going on at 11 as oppose to ENDING before that time.. What a night.. I've got all these songs on video.. a few songs I need to decipher what is what-song titles and what not.. and some videos are two songs but it'll all be up on my YouTube channel.. Mudhoney fails to disappoint-and give them all the credit in the world. 2 sets in one day 2 hours away from each other.. So worth it, even if I did get home at 3 o clock in the morning.. Well, if you made it this far, then why don't you come back soon? How's September 15^th sound? I will be checking out the 'Toadies' with a good friend of mine.. word on the street is that I may get to take some great pictures-it's at Gramercy, which is a tiny place.. Love it.. Thanks for listening to my non-sense for a little while..Late.

r 15^th sound? I will be checking out the 'Toadies' with a good friend of mine.. word on the street is that I may get to take some great pictures-it's at Gramercy, which is a tiny place.. Love it.. Thanks for listening to my non-sense for a little while..Late.

Sonic Youth w/ Talk Normal and Grass Widow 07/31/10 Prospect Park

When you get a chance to see art at it's purest form- live and in person, you can't miss out on the opportunity..The thirty first edition of the Jay Porks Never Ending concert series brings us to The Prospect Park Bandshell to Celebrate Brooklyn with Sonic Youth! With supporting acts Talk Normal and Grass Widow.. The price for this show is definitely right: Free w/ a $3 donation.. More than manageable. Gates are set to open at 6PM and the show should kick off at 7PM..  

Running a little late due to NYC subway construction, I walk up to the entrance to Prospect Park a little after 7.. There's a line over a hundred deep to get in, so I figured I'd try out my new trick first hand. Went to the front of the line and asked about press check in- that's when I was  allowed to enter without waiting on the line or getting searched..Sweet.  Talk Normal was already on as I walked in and got my wristbands and stuff.. They're a two man band( two woman band), who happen to be touring with a bassist. Looked like a roadie, they're songs were filled the harsh angst we all appreciate in our rock music..  Tempo of their songs varied from slow quiet to fast and loud.. In the short time I was watching them I didn't say to myself 'this is annoying', like I normally do..They went off at 7:30..

Prospect Park, when fixed up for live concerts, really out does itself.. There's several tents set up to buy stuff, in front of the stage there's lawn chairs set up stadium style that go about 30- 40 deep surrounding the stage.. In back of that is a walk way which alot of us are standing on and behind that is a lawn section sort of, with people spread out on blankets laying across.. Can't be much of a view from there but if you're just looking to listen to some good tunes..

Grass Widow goes on at 7:45.. First song they played they sounded like the Breeders so I was liking the aesthetic.. They have three girls- bass, guitar, drums. No keyboards no bullshit.. Crowd was getting into them too, and by the 4th song in I noticed the applause becoming real and not 'let's clap so they finish" sort of thing.. Harmonies are cool as all three band members sing lyrics.. By the end of the set I felt like I just saw the Breeders mixed with Shonen Knife.. The last song they played, which they dedicated to their moms, had a baseline reminiscent of "God Save The Queen "  

About half way through Grass Widows set, a sudden rush of excitement came over me.. I'm about to see Sonic Youth! Can you believe it? And for free?! How can the rest of this day disappoint?  

Grass Widow went off at about 8:23 and a guy came on stage to thank us for coming to celebrate Brooklyn , and to introduce tonights sponsor, which is Limewire (is the music still free?).. This made it seem like a Jr High School assembly for a few minutes. They called out the names of contest winners.. Now we wait  

Moore, Renaldo, Gorden, Shelley- Sonic Youth hit the stage a couple minutes before 9.. By this time, there is not a place to move around in this joint..they didn't start the set- they BLASTED into it. This was like watching picaso paint a mural- the guitar work on stage was complete artistry.. Led by the duo of mad scientists- Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo.. Song by song we get louder, heavier and then louder again.. With every note of every song being hit with more passion than newlyweds on their honeymoon. I've never seen musicians beat the crap out of their instruments like they did.  After each song shaking every ounce of feedback out of the amps.. Halfway through the set I noticed Lee playing his guitar like a violin- like Jimmy Paige or something. It was awesome.. And Kim Gordan is still hot! She has to be pushing 50 by now, but she can still move.. Made playing the bass parts of these songs look effortless..  

A little while later, Kim and Thurston switched, so Thurston was playing bass with Kim on guitar.. She can shred too.. It's like a orchestral guitar ensemble on stage.. I never thought you can make noises like that from amps and guitars.. Songs pass unbeknownst to me, because Sonic Youth, like other bands I've seen (Meat Puppets, Dino Jr, Etc) have barely any spaces in between songs- letting sounds linger into the next song or back into the same song. This makes getting a set list very difficult- so if I find one of validity on the web somewhere in the near future I will post it here.. "Trilogy:The Wonder" is one of the songs Thurston mentioned the name of before they played it.. They played other tunes like "Mote", "The Sprawl", "Silver Rocket" And I didn't realize that Lee has songs where he sings lead.. Honestly, he sounds like Thurston so I wouldn't have known had I not been watching..  

About 10pm, Sonic Youth ducks off stage to a huge roar.. No one in the park even blinks. We're not leaving until we get some more, and Thats what we got a few minutes later. Came back out and played two songs, then went to duck off again.. But Thurston is waving the band back on stage, as he says " No we're gonna do one more" into the microphone.. Kim hasn't made it back on stage, so Thurston says " Lets get Kim out here" as he starts a chant "KIM- G.. KIM-G"... And we of course join in.. Then in a humorous turn of events, Thurston goes- " You know what, maybe she's taking care of business back there. So this probably isn't cool". Some douche behind me screamed " Number one or number two!" as nobody laughed.. They played 'Expressway to Yr Skull" when Kim came back out on stage, and at 10:30PM,after the band let the feedback ride out fully (Lee spent 10 minutes dragging the head of his guitar against the stage scratching out every last drop of feedback) with distortingly beautiful noises squealing from their weapons of tonights mass destruction and our enchanted night had ended..  

Absolutely amazing. Still humming those songs I hardly even know.. If there was one criticism  of this crazy night, it was that the band stayed away from it's latest effort, 'The Eternal', which was the Jay Porks Experience top album of 2009.. I don't think they played one song off it.. But still far from disappointed. I've missed this band so many times in the past-i wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I didn't come to this tonight.. So worth risking my life walking the streets of Brooklyn by myself on the trip home...   

For those of you who made it this far, take your hand and pt yourselves on the back for being good soldiers and color me impressed. Thanks. The next scheduled meeting between us ( Me: Jay Porks and You: The Reader)  is September 4th at the Bowery Ballroom for another great band- Mudhoney... Thanks for putting up with my non sense for a little while..

Weezer @ Williamsburg Waterfont July 16th 2010!

Tonight we embark on the 30th edition of the Jay Porks Never Ending  concert series, where we go to Brookyln, NY- The Williamsburg  WaterFront for Weezer ( try saying that 5 times fast). Here we have  ourselves a newer venue in the hipster town of Williamsburg- home to a  few cool places to see shows such as 'Brooklyn Bowl' and the 'Music  Hall Of Williamsburg'.. Bands booked at the Williamsburg Waterfront  this summer are the likes of Faith No More, Band of Horses, Silversun  Pickups, Modest Mouse, Pavement and tonight, the Weez.. Let's hope this  lives up to the hype of $55 tickets ( 3 of which I had to sell for way  less then face value)-not to mention having to evade a brawl that  ensued on the bus back in Staten Island on the way over.. To add  insult to injury, about halfway to Brooklyn I realized I forgot my  SD memory card, basically making my camera usless! I'm not sure how  many still frames this can hold without extra memory...I feel like  it's 2008 all over again... Let's hope for better times ahead!  

After getting lost in Williamsburg, I heard a familiar voice blasting  through the streets.. It was Matt Pinfield, welcoming everyone to this  WRXP sponsered event.. So there, I found myself outside the venue at  about 8PM.. Fresh after Rival Schools went off.. There's a paragraph I  won't have to waste..as for the Williamsburg Warerfront- what a  frigging dump this place was.. What are they renting a park for the  summer.. It overlooks the East River, which is a good look- but the  rest of this place is like a slab of concrete with a stage equipped..  It's all standing room, right in front of 40 Porta-pottys(Spell check is telling me that's the correct spelling)  giving me the feel that I'm in the parking lot at a Jets game.. with an area  they called ' the Beer Garden', a concessions section which is roped  off.. This place is packed.. The stage is huge, but looks so out of  place in the middle of a crummy neighborhood. It's a great view when your NOT facing the stage, but everything else is abysmal .. 

Showed up late enough  where even though I feel like I've been here 5 minutes- Weezer is  about to go on.. 

And at about 820- Weezer hit the stage and kicked the set off with 'Hash  Pipe' Sweet, I love this song.. From back here, looks like avid soccer  fan Rivers Cuomo is wearing a New York Red Bulls soccer jersey... If only someone  gave a crap about soccer..after Hash Pipe, the band got into  'Troublemaker'.... Then a stage hand gives Rivers a guitar as they go  into 'Undone(the sweater song)... Rivers has tried to get away from  playing guitar at shows recently, so he started without one and was  given it as needed.. I can't say that this isn't pretty cool so far  as we get into 'Surf Wax America"..then a newer, surprisingly likable  song-'Tripping down the Freeway'.. Towards the end of the song Rivers  had grabbed an Emergency Exit sign and planted it mid-stage... Now Rivers back to Guitar as next  up 'Perfect Situation'.. Now everyone around me goes from excited to  borderline giddy... Where are all those crappy Weezer songs I hate?  Absent so far.. 'Dope Nose' followed, then "Say it ain't so"- one of  Weezers like top 3 songs ever.. this rocks right now- how did I have  so much trouble selling these extra tickets?  

There it is! Weezer crappy side surfaces with "I can't stop  partying'.. Never thought I'd say these words- I'd rather hear the  version with Lil Wayne!.. Then we hear a "this ones for you for" as  balloons and a few clear beach balls fly from stage and they get into "Island in the sun".. When  the balloons surfaced- I said aloud "what are the Flaming Lips in  town?".. I got looked at by spectators.. I can't believe nobody got  that joke.. 'El Scorcho' was next.. Sometime during the last few  songs Pat Wilson jumped out from behind the drums and grabbed a guitar  to be replaced on drums by some other guy..next in the set came 'My  name is Jonas'.. The crowd is beginning to cram more towards the front,  I notice because I keep obtaining more room in the area in front of  me.. Now it's time for us to channel our inner Hollywood with "Beverly Hills".. I can't tell if Brian Bell is really using that talk box for the solo like Peter Frampton-or is he just mouthing the sounds.. I'm too far away to tell.  

9:20 Weezer ducks off stage for what seems to be the first encore..  Came back out and started with Pat Wilson soloing something wicked(I think it was EVH but I'm not 100% because I hate Van Halen).. That lead into "Pork and Beans", fitting for a Jay Porks Experience.... Then something really fun happened- Weezer doing MGMT- Kids/ Gaga's Pokerface.. With Rivers sporting  a platinum wig....

930- they head off for what seems to be the 2nd encore- because I  didn't hear Buddy Holly yet- and I'm not leaving til I do! Now all the  lights on stage are off and I this is when I finally notice that there is an abandoned building  behind the stage- and it's full of spectators(If you look at the top picture, you can seriously see the buildings behind the stage).. How much do those seats cost?  

Now a fan is on stage, it's 9:33 and they let the fan:' Chris from New  Jersey', sing lead on "If your wondering If I want you to (I want you to)'.. Guy didn't do half bad- I wish I could do that-Looked like he had a good time.. that must be the VIP package.. NOW we can get into the climax of the night: 'Buddy Holly'.. A song I can never get tired of.. By this time  everyone in this place is drunk on the Weezer kool-aid.. Everyones  having a blast.. After they played Buddy Holly it was followed by an impromptu drum jam- and off stage at 9:42...

Can't call myself disappointed  with the set.. played several songs I was hoping they would (they didn't play 'The Good Life', but I'll live).. I can't say anything that Weezer did pissed me off.. The schlep to the slums of Brooklyn, the heat, and the bums grubbing cigarettes, well, that can get tiring and make you never want to hit the borough again.. But we will, as this party will be continued at Prospect Park July 31st, where Sonic Youth is playing a FREE show.. Til then-if you made it this far, you've made me proud.. LATE...

The Flaming Lips at the House of Blues, Atlantic City: July 4th 2010

Did you hear? Lady Gaga is playing a show in AC tonight.. If you want to hear all about that-then exit this site and go somewhere else. As for the rest of us-all signs point to this night being crazy. Jay Porks here to welcome all of you to the 29^th edition of the Jay Porks Never Ending Concert Series for the Flaming Lips at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. I'm coming to you live from my hotel, the Trump Marina here in the lovely Atlantic City. This is going to continue with the 'Summer Series' section of the little blog thing we have going on here considering the weather: It's 90+ degrees outside- a good day if your in shape. If you're me, then your stationed 21^st floor in your room with the Air Conditioning pumping, set to a steady 65. The House of Blues website says that the Doors open at 9PM and the show is also listed to start at 9PM. Opening act is 'Fang Island', a band I haven't yet heard of. The House of Blues I located in the Showboat Casino, which is sort of a distance (a bus called the 'Jitney' goes there for $2.25) as oppose to the last time I stayed here, when I was attending Stone Temple Pilots and The Meat Puppets right across the way at the Music Box at the Borgata back on July 18^th of last year.

For those who don't know anything about the Flaming Lips, they are a freaking amazing band from Oklahoma..Wayne Coyne, Micheal Ivins, Steven Drozd and Kliph Scurlock make up the band. The Flaming lips can be described as the, for lack of a better term, the weirdest band of their time. From their inception in the early 80's still rolling strong today. Last year saw the Lips release two albums- one being the critically acclaimed “Embryonic” in October; a double album containing contributions from 'Yeah Yeah Yeahs' frontwoman Karen O and Brooklyn's own MGMT The other release from the Flaming Lips camp in 2009, was 'The Flaming Lips and Stardeath and White Dwarfs with Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon'. Long story short, there are two sides of the fence with this one. My “Pink Floyd die hard” sources are extremely pissed for all the obvious reasons you can name. Myself on the other hand have found myself with the Flaming Lips giving me new appreciation for Pink Floyd. The record is brilliant, and I suggest everybody checks it out.

The Flaming Lips performed 'Dark Side of the Moon' in it's entirety at this years Bonnaroo Festival. I got my hands on the audio days after the performance and was enamored. This is what's bringing us to the question of the night-Will the Flaming Lips do 'Dark Side of the Moon' here at the House of Blues for the 4^th of July? Weeks of searching Google for show reviews and artist released info has left the hand un-tipped, as there is no inkling to what they will do tonight. The beauty of this band-I mean seriously: Who knows what they're going to do? Will Wayne pull out the gigantic hands or tell us that we must do our part to fight for the legalization of Marijuana in America, who knows? Hell-they could come out and play a set containing not one song I know the name of and this shit is probably still going to be a life changer. At least one credible rock music publication has them on their list of “Bands you must see before you die”. Well then, lets get to it.

Lets not overshadow the opening act, Fang Island- a band that just released it's debut album, which was self-titled, on Sargent House records in February of this year. They have to be cool if they're opening for the Flaming Lips right? Well, lets see how the night turns out

I finally got to the House Of Blues at like 9:30PM- and sure enough, show is at 10 not the 9 o clock it was listed on the website. Never a surprise. So I run into the Showboat casino to find this place and of course it's way deep in there- what felt like a mile.. I get there and it's this elaborate place- with a concourse downstairs from it and an escalator leading up to the venue.. When I got there I was greeted by an old fashioned cowboy sort of feel to the room. Imagine if there was a perfect looking place to see a concert-now picture a bunch of high rollers trying to imitate that kind of look to their establishment. It was a little overdone(the inside section where the shows take place is flawless-sound was top notch, sight lines are great and they didn't hassle me about video).. Concessions everywhere but since I thought I was late I was in a dash upstairs and not shopping around- I finally find the stairs that lead up to the balcony where my seat is and then proceed to head up four flights of steps at which point I was light headed-but I made it. here I am Row M- aisle seat.. The balcony seating is steep and elevates quite a bit- there is no way I can be blocked by anyone's head-Awesome.

So the story goes from what I heard from some security guy is that the "Opening act is at 10, The Flaming Lips at 11".. So here I am in my seat- at 9:44PM- as I await the set to begin.. And the crowd gets into the Star Spangled Banner before the bands hit the stage then clap for themselves.

Fang Island came on 10:03 and now I notice we have video screens to the left and right of the stage.. By 10:42 I had enough of these guys.. What's up with the keyboards? You guys have three guitarists- you have potential to rock and you choose not too. They played a few songs- not sure how many were songs and how many were just flat out noise jams.. Half way through the set I notice the balcony seating not even be half full- leaving people to pretty much sit where they want. I'm right where I need to be- the highest row you can be-awesome view..

Fang Island went off a quarter to 11 with roadies running on stage to set up for the act we all came here to see - the one, the only, the kings of the weird- THE FLAMING LIPS!!!

It's not until 11:10 that they start inflating the giant bubble Wayne uses to walk the crowd in.. Then a ramp was set up where all the other band members walked through a door that opened in the video screen and out on to stage to a big hand.. Then when they went into the first song with Wayne( after he stepped out of his bubble) fires streamers into the crowd, keeping with the 4th of July theme. The stage is set with almost everything orange, with tube/cannon shooter looking things on each side of the stage. These things shot out what must have been 1000's of balloons in all different sizes and they were everywhere. The balloons were filled with confetti which burst out from each when popped- I gotta say it was a sight. You got the light show going with the visuals on a big screen behind the band which varied between visual effects and a close up of Wayne's face.. He gave an emphatic 'thank you' after pretty much every song along with thanking the crowd for "being such freaks". Every song they played seemed to have a different feel to it.. constant vibe shifts..  

The set got more epic as the night progressed. We had “Mr. Catfish” on the side of the stage-one of the roadies in this big cartoon looking costume-its a great shot with that dude watching from the side of the stage. The later it got the more people started showing up and when I thought the props done I was so wrong.. Wayne heads off stage and comes back with the gigantic hands.. Those things are so great. I have it on video- he comes out with the hands and as the stage goes black each gigantic finger tip has a green light beaming onto the two big disco balls floating over the stage.. It was freaking crazy- I haven't seen that one on YouTube. 

They did a basic Flaming Lips set- no dark side- but was still something that needed to be witnessed.. They played alot of songs off 'Embryonic', like 'I can be a frog', 'Convinced of the Hex'. 'See the Leaves', 'Sparrow Looks up at the Machine', 'Powerless'...I recorded a great version of "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots' .. They did that song 'the W.A.N.D.'- it was in a Dell commercial, 'The Yeah Yeah Yeah song'.. The show went on til about 1:10AM, when they ended with “Do You Realize?”- a song that will be stuck in my head probably until the next time I get my bank account out of a negative balance.. and that's a long, long time from now

Bonkers.. Complete shock that the show was that good-I thought there would be times where I would get lost in the deep cuts section of the show. Not so. This was everything I've seen in videos, everything from all the stories I've read and heard about seeing the Flaming Lips-it lived up to the hype.. what an awesome band. Also was great that by the end of the night it was like we all just saw 'Blue Man Group' as everyone was covered in confetti, streamers and pieces of balloons...What a night!

Flaming Lips-"She Don't Use Jelly" 7/4/10 House of Blues, Atlantic City!

Stone Temple Pilots w/ Jerry Cantrell- Sex Type Thing 5/23/10

STP & Alice In Chains w/ Three Days Grace, Fuel and more 5/23/10 Camden, NJ

What a day leading into an insane night... onSunday, in the 28^th edition of The Jay Porks Never Ending Concert Series, we debuted the third annual Summer Concert Series section of the little thing we have going on here. Out to the Susquehanna Bank Center for the MMR(93.3FM) BBQ in Camden, NJ for Stone Temple Pilots & Alice In Chains with Three Days Grace, Fuel, Skillet, Dive and Automatic Fire.. Doors open at 12 and the first band (Automatic Fire) set to hit the stage at 1:30PM... I had a few questions coming into this show. For one thing, 1:30PM? So then how late exactly will this run, will we be exiting at 8:30 or something? Another thing, this is the first time the Jay Porks Experience has made its way to this venue, the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ.. We had no idea what to expect besides being told that it was “just like PNC”, referring to the PNC Bank Arts Center in Homdel, NJ.. So lets check it out shall we?

About an hour and a half ride from my house in Staten Island, we rolled into the parking lot before 2PM, and the scene is one for the ages. For all the non-New Yorkers out there reading this a quick back story.. frequenting shows in New York City-We wait on lines to be squeeze into 800 person capacity venues-going from freezing on a city street to sweating in an oversold rock venue within seconds only to spend money on $7 beers and $13 shots for anyone to get their “buzz” on before their favorite band hits the stage.. Even at PNC in Homdel, NJ-due to an altercation that occurred during a 2007 Ozzfest show-you cannot tailgate in the parking lot. That means NO pregaming what so ever. So believe it that when Pam and I rolled into this parking lot and saw, what was basically one big party, we were pumped as ever.. reached into the cooler and cracked open some beers-at Supermarket discount prices...

Everyone is just having a great time.. there are some older people a few spots to the left of us, and a 'Smart Car' on our right.. So we're just hanging there, figuring we're going to head in when everyone else starts heading in (or at least until we each get through a six pack).. the row in adjacent to ours we're looking at has a few chicks dancing on the back of a pick up truck with others tossing a beach ball around and all the way to the right of us is a few other girls standing on top of vans-everyone screaming in joy with music blasting from their cars.. a few guys in the older group to the left of us started screaming to this moderately attractive girl with a hat on-sort of like a top hat.. they start screaming “SHOW US YOUR TITS!!”.. Finally I'm next to some people that I can hang with.. So when I reached into the car for another beer, a roar from the surrounding crowd begins-she flashed everyone, and I MISSED IT! Damn. A dude from the older group to our left went over and handed her a beer, she was resistant to take it since she was drinking what appeared to be that Mikes hard Lemonade stuff-the thing we all drank before we choose the crappy taste of normal beer over days of acid indigestion.. Continuing on, one of the women in the older group to our left is being asked to “show us your tits” by the girl who just flashed everyone and her surrounding group.. that's when this women, who honestly was not an eye sore at all, answers them by screaming “You don't want to see them trust me-I've been through child birth!”.. a few minutes later, she's next to the younger chick who flashed everyone( but me) before with a couple of surrounding dudes and chicks looking on and I said “Wait a second!” and ran over there to get in good view and said “I can't miss this”.. the two girls standing next to each other- the top hatted party girl and the early 40's looking woman who claimed we didn't “want to see these” with hands at the bottom of their shirts ready to go with about 10 of us looking on from the close up.. and then they whipped em' out.. Great stuff... and the woman who said we didn't want to see them-lets just say we enjoyed her's more than the top hat party girl chick.. a few minutes after this it was already past 4 o clock believe it or not and we headed inside after the groups around us had already done so..

The parking stub said things like “Cameras”, “Illegal Drugs” and “Sharp objects” are prohibited.. yet somehow after I was patted down and forced to open my cigarette pack to show insider contents, somehow I'm walking into the venue with all of the above... Pam and I grabbed a couple of those frozen alcoholic flavored beverages in a yard glass for $11.. looking over at the tee shirt prices of $35 and $45 listed, I didn't even get myself on that line-I can't exactly take out a loan for a tee shirt.. we sat in the concessions area with everyone else who was standing around people trying to hit the target on one of those dunk tanks-a few moderately attractive girls were taking turns on the hot seat... as this is going on, Pam says “I guess we missed Shimmer”, referring to Fuel being on stage at the moment.. they played from 4:20 to about a quarter after 5pm.... we then decided to head to the lawn section of the venue, which surrounds the area behind the 7000 seat weather-proof section with a 'Pit' section in front of that, which standing room and closest to the stage...

I bought two lawn tickets and Pam had two 'Pit' tickets, and since it was just the two of us we were going to take full advantage of both sections of this venue.. we went to the lawn first to sit on the grass for a little bit while Three Days Grace was on-this is in the 6 o clock hour.. all I kept saying was “Come on play those two or three good songs you guys have”.. I heard them playing “I hate everything about you” and I was like “Yea! That's what I'm talking about!”.. then as we started into some recreational use of Marijuana, I turned to the various people around me and asked who wanted to engage-about six people did, and we were all chatting it up sitting on the grass not being annoyed by event staff or anything enjoying a show.. it was cool for that moment.. then we realized in a little while, this crazy day would turn into an even crazier night.. the plan is to move down to the “Pit” after Three Days Grace finishes their set at about 6:55 PM, and that's when we set the plan and motion-and headed towards the 'Pit' for the main events of the affair...

At about 7:25pm, Alice In Chains hit the stage an emphatically put their stamp on the evenings proceedings about two songs in-kicking it off with “Them Bones” and “Dam That River”-Alice In Chains probably the heaviest band I've ever seen live-we were deafened immediately.. They were doing it-like they never skipped a beat... William DuVall isn't imitating Layne Staley-that's just the way he actually sings, which is what makes it so eerie...And he and Jerry can trade leads when he's playing guitar on songs... Now Jerry Cantrell-there is a guitar player. It's a shame that he spent years inactive on the shelf without a band-his playing is on such a level that it's a travesty it was absent from society all these years... I mean when they start playing “Angry Chair” then lead that into “Man In The Box” you don't hear the message board junkies screaming “it's not the same without Layne!”.. all you have is all of us, some younger and some older than others-you have this crowd rocking to one of the greatest bands of our lifetimes.. I'm going to get in trouble for saying this, but: Layne who? Come on-'Black Gives Way to Blue' was a great record (#3 on the Jay Porks top 10 of 2009).. the two hit singles off the record they played mid-set: “Your Decision” and “Check My Brain” were amazing live with DuVall strumming the opening chords on an acoustic then sticking with the electric the rest of the song.. it was brilliant all around.. Alice In Chains(This was known to me already but was announced by the band during the set) is embarking on the biggest tour they've ever been on..with Layne, they hardly were able to tour due to his(and probably other band members at times) drug issues.. now, on the “BlackDiamondSkye” tour, with the Deftones and Mastodon, they are set to headline Madison Square Garden on September 24^th of this year-that's going to by far be the biggest Alice In Chains show in history-they are back. This is NOT a reunion tour.. when they played “We Die Young”-there was nobody there including ourselves who thought this was anything but slightly beneath heaven what was being experienced... the epic set continued with hard hitting song after hard hitting song til about 8:40PM when they played a kick ass version of “Rooster” and exited into the night-freakin epic.... consider us and everyone else around completely blown away... WOW... gotta get BlackDiamondSkye tickets.....

      After we grabbed drinks and pit stops at the bathrooms, we headed back towards the 'Pit' area and I saw written on a piece of paper that STP hits the stage at 9:15.. much to my surprise, they came out around 9:20, which isn't so bad if we're going by Scott Wieland time. They kicked it off with “Vasoline”, with the screen behind them getting lit up with weird visuals in tune with the light show and song.. Alice In Chains had some slight stuff going on this screen but STP had a whole schpeel going.. it was cool I guess.. and here's the thing that STP does best of bands I see live-they play all those songs you want to hear.. they have a new record coming out-they played like 4 songs off it tops, and they kicked it til about 10:45.. kick ass versions of “Sour Girl”, “Interstate Love Song”, “Big Empty”.. Dean Deleo kicking ass over there and for some reason reminding me of Joe Perry-maybe the hair style.. then we got Robbie Deleo on Bass and he's got the 'Joe Cool' look going-big sunglasses-leaning over conveniently towards people holding up cameras.. I got them doing “Between the Lines”, which if you listen to the bridge part of the song it's an exact copy of the bridge part of Nirvana's “Stay Away”-but that's what STP is known for.. doing what others do best.. Scott looked like he's clean I guess-one can never quite tell.. he had the megaphone going in full effect all night.. “Crackerman”, “Creep”, “Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart” all serious crowd pleasers.. they played “Tumble in the Rough”-thats a song I happen to like but Scott said they hardly do it live, and the two previous times I've seen them they didn't play it.. but STP was upstaged in the highlight of their set, when they invited Jerry Cantrell out on stage to play “Sex Type Thing” with them.. That was beyond epic.. imagine “Sex Type Thing” with that Alice In Chains sounding riff that Jerry provides.. I have it on video of course...Jerry and Dean facing each other and playing viciously-then trading solos.. this is the definition of tearing the house down... After that Jerry left stage but no one forgot-they played “Dead and Bloated” before ending the night at 10:45 after the aforementioned 'trippin on a hole'... great set... amazing night... I can't believe Jerry Cantrell totally blew them off stage by himself.. brilliance....

Seriously-what more can be said? Just go to the Jay Porks Experience YouTube Channel-link is in the side bar somewhere over there and take a look at all the videos I got from the show... Until then check back here for late editions to the concert calender and chances to get free tickets to shows-LATE...