I late August of 1998, I moved to Columbus. And how did the city welcome me? By pairing two of my favorite all-time bands in a free concert, that how.
I don’t know who decided, but at the 1998 Taste of Columbus Festival, The Tragically Hip opened and Wilco headlined, which is like pairing peanut butter and jelly, or chocolate and peanut butter, or anything with peanut butter, because peanut butter is pretty freakin’ awesome.
Both bands had new albums out that Summer. The Hip had just released the Phantom Power in July, and Wilco’s collaboration with Billy Bragg, Mermaid Avenue, was also just a few months old as well. The Hip’s set was the usual mixture of new tunes and old favorites, and Wilco drew equally from their first two records, mixing in some of the Mermaid Avenue tunes.
For some reason too bizarre for me to understand, their was hardly a crowd for either band, and I was, along with my friends, able to get relatively close to the stage. Hence my pictures, which were shot with a relatively crappy disposable camera, are way closer than pretty much any show I’ve ever been to.
It wasn’t the last time I’d see The Hip in Columbus, and there were plenty of shows to come, but it was a helluva way to kick off a move to the city.
THE TRAGICALLY HIP SETLIST
Grace, Too
Save The Planet
Twist My Arm
Poets
Chagrin Falls
Nautical Disaster
Ahead By A Century
Something On
Courage (For Hugh Maclennan)
Fireworks
Gift Shop
Springtime In Vienna
At The Hundredth Meridian
Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin’ Man
This Week In Music (2/6-2/12)
This week in music listening, featuring patent-pending two-word reviews:
Boston Spaceships: Let It Beard – band’s best
Funkadelic: Free Your Mind…And Your Ass Will Follow – groovy weirdness
Green Day: Nimrod – too long
Mike Rutherford: Smallcreep’s Day – interesting prop-pop
Peter Gabriel: Untitled 1977 (Car) – excitingly diverse
R.L. Burnside: Come on in – beatified blues
Semisonic: Feeling Strangely Fine – strangely good
Swervedriver: Juggernaut Rides 89-98 – strong collection
The Smithereens: Green Thoughts – powerful pop
Urge Overkill: Americruiser – nothing essential
Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth – fantastic return
Boston Spaceships: Let It Beard – band’s best
Funkadelic: Free Your Mind…And Your Ass Will Follow – groovy weirdness
Green Day: Nimrod – too long
Mike Rutherford: Smallcreep’s Day – interesting prop-pop
Peter Gabriel: Untitled 1977 (Car) – excitingly diverse
R.L. Burnside: Come on in – beatified blues
Semisonic: Feeling Strangely Fine – strangely good
Swervedriver: Juggernaut Rides 89-98 – strong collection
The Smithereens: Green Thoughts – powerful pop
Urge Overkill: Americruiser – nothing essential
Van Halen: A Different Kind of Truth – fantastic return
Concert Review: Buzzardfest @ Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls, OH (5/18/96)
If there was one thing you could count on in the 1990s, it was the destination festival. Sure, big music festivals had been around since seemingly the invention of rock ‘n roll, but the ’90s added a twist with Lollapalooza. Instead of a genre festival (think blues, metal, folk, etc.), or some giant benefit concert that attracted lots of big name acts, Lollapalooza took the concept in the direction of “let’s see how many disparate acts we can cram into one day.”
As the ’90s went on, instead of giant traveling concerts, alternative radio stations got into the business of putting on their own annual festival to show off the bands currently in rotation/being pushed by major labels. Hence, Buzzardfest. Here’s the line-up for this particular show:
The Tragically Hip, 311, Candlebox, No Doubt, Holy Barbarians, Poe, The Refreshments, Triple Fast Action, Berlin, The Nixons, Berlin, Goldfinger, God’s Child, Dash Rip Rock
Let’s see, you’ve got some ska/punk, some alt.rock, some straight-up rock, some new wave and whatever the hell Poe is classified as.
My draw for this show was seeing the Hip and Candlebox, which is ironic because as Candlebox closed the long night, my college roommate Charlie, his little brother and I left halfway through their set out of boredom, most likely due to the fact that their second album Lucy was a huge letdown compared to their singles-strong (Far Behind and You, of course) debut.
Most of the afternoon was spent bouncing between the main stage and the side stage, trying to avoid the duds. Mainly, that would be No Doubt, who had reached a level of annoying that years of avoidance have only recently started to reduce to acceptable levels. I still, however, cannot listen to Don’t Speak without wanting jam my ear with a fork.
At one point, we trudged over to the side stage just as The Refreshments were starting their set. As there had been rain the day before, the ground was a bit moist, making the sod easy to pull up. I’m not sure who instigated it, but at some point, concert goers started flinging chunks of earth at the band, knocking out instruments and finally the lead vocal microphone. I’m not sure if the band even made it through much of their set before giving up.
My main reason for going was, as I mentioned, to see The Tragically Hip, who never seemed to find their groove and seemed out of place with the rest of the acts. To be honest, this was a first and, as a remind myself to remember, last festival show. I’m often tempted by the line-ups at modern Lollapalooza shows or Cochella or Bonnaroo, but ultimately I don’t have enough ADD to want that sort of experience.
I should mention that, as far a music venue bathroom experience go, Blossom used to (don’t know if this is still the case) have one of the most disturbing in existence. Instead of a simple urinal trough, they had a massive round tub in the middle of the room with a primitive water fountain in the middle, which meant that at crowded times, you would have to urinate with some urinating across from you. Just one giant circle of urination. Disgusting.
TRAGICALLY HIP SETLIST
Grace, Too
Springtime In Vienna
Nautical Disaster
Flamenco
Fully Completely
Ahead by a Century
Don’t Wake Daddy
Fire In The Hole
As the ’90s went on, instead of giant traveling concerts, alternative radio stations got into the business of putting on their own annual festival to show off the bands currently in rotation/being pushed by major labels. Hence, Buzzardfest. Here’s the line-up for this particular show:
The Tragically Hip, 311, Candlebox, No Doubt, Holy Barbarians, Poe, The Refreshments, Triple Fast Action, Berlin, The Nixons, Berlin, Goldfinger, God’s Child, Dash Rip Rock
Let’s see, you’ve got some ska/punk, some alt.rock, some straight-up rock, some new wave and whatever the hell Poe is classified as.
My draw for this show was seeing the Hip and Candlebox, which is ironic because as Candlebox closed the long night, my college roommate Charlie, his little brother and I left halfway through their set out of boredom, most likely due to the fact that their second album Lucy was a huge letdown compared to their singles-strong (Far Behind and You, of course) debut.
Most of the afternoon was spent bouncing between the main stage and the side stage, trying to avoid the duds. Mainly, that would be No Doubt, who had reached a level of annoying that years of avoidance have only recently started to reduce to acceptable levels. I still, however, cannot listen to Don’t Speak without wanting jam my ear with a fork.
At one point, we trudged over to the side stage just as The Refreshments were starting their set. As there had been rain the day before, the ground was a bit moist, making the sod easy to pull up. I’m not sure who instigated it, but at some point, concert goers started flinging chunks of earth at the band, knocking out instruments and finally the lead vocal microphone. I’m not sure if the band even made it through much of their set before giving up.
My main reason for going was, as I mentioned, to see The Tragically Hip, who never seemed to find their groove and seemed out of place with the rest of the acts. To be honest, this was a first and, as a remind myself to remember, last festival show. I’m often tempted by the line-ups at modern Lollapalooza shows or Cochella or Bonnaroo, but ultimately I don’t have enough ADD to want that sort of experience.
I should mention that, as far a music venue bathroom experience go, Blossom used to (don’t know if this is still the case) have one of the most disturbing in existence. Instead of a simple urinal trough, they had a massive round tub in the middle of the room with a primitive water fountain in the middle, which meant that at crowded times, you would have to urinate with some urinating across from you. Just one giant circle of urination. Disgusting.
TRAGICALLY HIP SETLIST
Grace, Too
Springtime In Vienna
Nautical Disaster
Flamenco
Fully Completely
Ahead by a Century
Don’t Wake Daddy
Fire In The Hole
This Week In Music (1/30-2/5)
This week in music pleasure, featuring patent pending two-word reviews:
Ace Frehley: Second Sighting - better EP
Black Rainbows: Twilight in the Desert - overly stoned
David Usher: Morning Orbit - musical letdown
Firehouse: Category 5 - mellow snoozefest
Fu-Schnickens: Nervous Breakdown - underrated fun
Genesis: Duke - Collins best
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Jukebox Explosion - incendiary cuts
Megachurch: Megachurch - preaching metal
Mooney Suzuki: Have Mercy - mercy kill
Mouse on Mars: Radical Connector - fuzzy beats
Patti Smith: Horses - poetic punk
Radio 4: Enemies Like This - danceable punk
Rainbow: Stranger in Us All - average rock
Redd Kross: Born Innocent - fun bursts
Sahara Hotnights: Sahara Hotnights - overly relaxed
Saigon Kick: Saigon Kick - unexpected results
Stereolab: The Groop Played “Space Age Batchelor Pad Music” - unengaging slightness
The Devil Rides Out: Heart & the Crown - Lemmy licks
The Jesus Lizard: Shot - overly polished
The Life and Times: Suburban Hymns - powerfully dreamy
Treysuno: The Sexual Deviance Record - energetic weirdness
Velvet Crush: A Single Odessey - endless gems
White Lion: Big Game - essential 80s
Ace Frehley: Second Sighting - better EP
Black Rainbows: Twilight in the Desert - overly stoned
David Usher: Morning Orbit - musical letdown
Firehouse: Category 5 - mellow snoozefest
Fu-Schnickens: Nervous Breakdown - underrated fun
Genesis: Duke - Collins best
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion: Jukebox Explosion - incendiary cuts
Megachurch: Megachurch - preaching metal
Mooney Suzuki: Have Mercy - mercy kill
Mouse on Mars: Radical Connector - fuzzy beats
Patti Smith: Horses - poetic punk
Radio 4: Enemies Like This - danceable punk
Rainbow: Stranger in Us All - average rock
Redd Kross: Born Innocent - fun bursts
Sahara Hotnights: Sahara Hotnights - overly relaxed
Saigon Kick: Saigon Kick - unexpected results
Stereolab: The Groop Played “Space Age Batchelor Pad Music” - unengaging slightness
The Devil Rides Out: Heart & the Crown - Lemmy licks
The Jesus Lizard: Shot - overly polished
The Life and Times: Suburban Hymns - powerfully dreamy
Treysuno: The Sexual Deviance Record - energetic weirdness
Velvet Crush: A Single Odessey - endless gems
White Lion: Big Game - essential 80s
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