Tag: dover downs

The Killers, Cold War Kids 6/21/15

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(i) lineup

(1a) Cold War Kids
(2b) The Killers

(1a) (Cold War Kid’s) setlist

  1. All This Could Be Yours
  2. Miracle Mile
  3. One Song at a Time
  4. We Used to Vacation
  5. Audience
  6. First
  7. Louder Than Ever
  8. Hot Coals
  9. Hang Me Up to Dry
  10. Minimum Day
  11. I’ve Seen Enough
  12. Drive Desperate
  13. Hospital Beds
  14. Something Is Not Right With Me

(1b) highlights

  • seeing Cold War Kids in a festival setting for the first time
  • realizing that the token Cold War Kids’ intimacy and jam session-vibe live isn’t lost on a massive stage; their passion and fun was completely still there
  • the setlist killed and the crowd was totally into it

(1c) lowlights

  • apparently their piano broke before the last song? the band was down about it, but admitting full ignorance here, I totally did not notice

(1d) overall thoughts

When you’re standing in the sun all day, waiting at the main stage for the headliner to come on, you’re willing to sit through some garbage acts. Luckily, thank god, I didn’t have to deal too much with that because my Cold War Kids played a mid-day set and totally killed it. Their newer material from the album Hold My Home really resonated with the audience and I was happy they had such a good-sized crowd. Their passion and live fervor didn’t get lost in the open field and on the big stage; in fact, it gave them more room to move around and let the songs breathe a bit. So many mid-level bands phone in festival performances when they aren’t at the top of the bill, but Cold War Kids don’t deal with that mess. They showed up, performed super well, and definitely made more fans that day.

Bottom line: Seeing Cold War Kids is always a complete joy, and seeing them for an hour in the middle of a Delaware field on the hottest and longest day of the year was no different.

(I’m in this pic!)

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Photo by: Ilya S. Savenok

(2a) (The Killers’) setlist

    1. Mr. Brightside
    2. Spaceman
    3. The Way It Was
    4. Smile Like You Mean It
    5. Bling (Confession of a King)
    6. Human
    7. Somebody Told Me
    8. Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover)
    9. The Bucket (Kings of Leon cover)
    10. For Reasons Unknown
    11. From Here On Out
    12. A Dustland Fairytale
    13. Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover)
    14. Read My Mind
    15. Runaways
    16. All These Things That I’ve Done

Encore:

  1. This Is Your Life
  2. When You Were Young

(2b) highlights

  • “This Is Your Life” is always such a beautiful song and wonderful experience live – Brandon gets the crowd to wave their hands before the last bridge and it’s so freaking beautiful every time
  • seeing The Killers front row at huge festivals with gigantic crowds is always a memorable experience; it’s so great seeing how far they’ve come from their little Vegas roots

(2c) lowlights

  • Kings of Leon’s set was cancelled the day before at Firefly because of the weather; The Killers thought it would be cool to cover a few of their songs so people could still see them; I liked Kings of Leon’s first two albums but haven’t liked anything they’ve done in awhile; I paid to see The Killers, not Kings of Leon, but whatever
  • the band came on late, why why why are they always so damn late
  • I was so tired and it was so hot and the weekend was so long, I kinda lost it at different parts of the set

(2d) overall thoughts

I’ve seen The Killers headline many festivals many times and even though this wasn’t one of my favorite experiences, I know I can’t complain because it was really solid performance. Most of my complaints have little to do with the band and mostly to do with the circumstances (namely, the weather was awful and the Firefly promoters were pretty damn disorganized all weekend, which sucked for a lot of us). So, I’ll just say this: being front row at a festival where your favorite band is headlining and closing out the weekend playing an awesome set is kind of a dream. The Killers were showmen, added so much to the experience, and I got to hang out with all my friends seeing great live music all weekend. What more could anyone ask for?

Bottom Line: Being a part of 30,000 people waving their hands in the air during “This Is Your Life” is probably one of the best feelings ever, and also Kings of Leon are passed their prime so let’s stop giving them a spotlight please thanks.

Note: I took photos of both Cold War Kids and The Killers but my phone malfunctioned at the end of 2015 and for some reason, all the photos from this weekend were lost except this one below.

20150620_214653

Paul McCartney, Morrissey 6/19/15

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(i) lineup

1a. Cage The Elephant
2b. Morrissey (!!)
3c. Paul McCartney (!!!)

(1a) (Cage the Elephant’s) setlist

    1. Spiderhead
    2. In One Ear
    3. Aberdeen
    4. Take It or Leave It
    5. Cigarette Daydreams
    6. Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked
    7. Halo
    8. Telescope
    9. Back Against the Wall
    10. It’s Just Forever
    11. Teeth
    12. Come a Little Closer
    13. Shake Me Down
    14. Sabertooth Tiger

(1b) highlights

  • seeing Cage The Elephant for the first time and damn, they put on a show
  • “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” is a killer tune; loved it since I first heard it in 2008ish, I believe
  • they had a crowd four times the size of Morrissey’s crowd…and they were before him

(1c) lowlights

  • they had a crowd four times the size of Morrissey’s crowd…and they were before him
  • it was SO. GODDAMN. HOT.
  • I was legally one gigantic mosquito bite at this point

(1d) overall thoughts

Jesus, this band has a lot of fans and it’s pretty clear why. They have big songs, even bigger crowds, and some straight up memorable numbers. Great show.

Photos by: Joe Papeo and Joe Del Tufo

(2a) (Morrissey’s) setlist

    1. Suedehead
    2. First of the Gang to Die
    3. Alma Matters
    4. I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris
    5. Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before (The Smiths cover)
    6. Ganglord
    7. Kiss Me A Lot
    8. World Peace is None of Your Business
    9. The Bullfighter Dies
    10. You Have Killed Me
    11. Speedway
    12. The Staircase at the University
    13. The World is Full of Crashing Bores
    14. Everyday is Like Sunday
    15. Meat Is Murder (The Smiths cover)
    16. What She Said (The Smiths cover)

(2b) highlights

  • MORRISSEY!!!11!!!1!
  • I cried when he walked out, I love Morrissey so much, this was the first time I was seeing him, I legit cried
  • every Smiths song. all of them. I was overwhelmed.
  • it’s a long story, but “Ganglord” is an inside joke with my friends and we died
  • MORRISSEY, GUYS
  • seeing “Everyday is Like Sunday” standing in mud on the sunniest day of all time in the middle of Delaware is never something I imagined would happen, but god, it did
  • MORRISSEYYYYYY

(2c) lowlights

  • the festival was selling meat literally at the closest vendor and we were all TERRIFIED Morrissey would smell it and walk off stage
  • Morrissey eventually got annoyed and walked offstage (but it was at the end anyway!! we think!!)
  • there were less than 100 people in the crowd. at the main stage. for Morrissey. the final act before the headliner. WHAT THE FUCK, PEOPLE.

(2d) overall thoughts

Seeing Morrissey live was a hugely emotional experience for me as a long-time Smiths fan and long-time Moz fan and I feel like maybe only a dozen others felt the same in that crowd in Dover. He sounded like heaven to me; I was beside myself every time a Smiths’ song played, and I’ll never forget that he was actually physically standing and singing right there in front of me. It was a dream. A very anxious dream where I prayed he wouldn’t storm off because Firefly was definitely not meatless and I’m pretty sure I ate a chicken sandwich that day and felt like is Moz looked at me, he would immediately know, but IT WAS STILL A DREAM.

mozfirefly

(3a) (Paul McCartney’s) setlist

    1. Birthday (The Beatles cover)
    2. Save Us
    3. Got to Get You Into My Life (The Beatles cover)
    4. Let Me Roll It (Wings cover)
    5. Paperback Writer (The Beatles cover)
    6. My Valentine
    7. Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five (Wings cover)
    8. The Long and Winding Road (The Beatles cover)
    9. Maybe I’m Amazed
    10. I’ve Just Seen a Face (The Beatles cover))
    11. We Can Work It Out (The Beatles cover)
    12. Another Day
    13. And I Love Her (The Beatles cover)
    14. Blackbird (The Beatles cover)
    15. Here Today (The Beatles cover)
    16. New
    17. Queenie Eye
    18. Lady Madonna (The Beatles cover)
    19. Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles cover)
    20. Being For Benefit of Mr. Kite! (The Beatles cover)
    21. Something (The Beatles cover)
    22. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da (The Beatles cover)
    23. Band on the Run (Wings cover)
    24. Back in the USSR (The Beatles cover)
    25. Let It Be (The Beatles cover)
    26. Live and Let Die (The Beatles cover)
    27. Hey Jude (The Beatles cover)

Encore 1:

  1. Hi, Hi, Hi (Wings cover)
  2. Can’t Buy Me Love (The Beatles cover)
  3. Helter Skelter (The Beatles song)

Encore 2:

  1. Golden Slumbers (The Beatles cover)
  2. Carry That Weight (The Beatles cover)
  3. The End (The Beatles cover)

(3b) highlights

  • CAN YOU SEE THAT SETLIST, DO YOU HAVE EYES, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE HIGHLIGHT WAS, OH WAIT, THE WHOLE GODDAMN THING WOW WOW WOW
  • standing in a stupid muddy field in DELAWARE with 30,000 people, sobbing my eyes out with my best friends, watching a freaking LIVING BEATLE sing the most beautiful song in the world that even aliens in space have probably acknowledged its beauty, HEY JUDE
  • Paul McCartney having no clue whatsoever that he’s Paul McCartney
  • people who act like Wings is a real thing
  • when he would casually mention John Lennon or George Harrison or his “good friend Jimi” (Hendrix) or his “great pal Keith” (Richards)
  • the entire thing, seriously, I’ll never really be able to explain this perfection – it was seriously life-changing

(3c) lowlights

  • nothing.

(3d) overall thoughts

I really cannot underscore enough that this Paul McCartney performance was the greatest show I’ve ever seen in my life. Nothing will every really touch this show for reasons I can’t even put into words, but it really all comes down to a feeling. And that feeling is this: standing in a muddy Delaware field late at night with 30,000 people, covered in mosquito bites, so freaking tired from the hottest and longest day ever, being with my three closest concert buddies who I’ve all known for more than 10 years and who knowingly or unknowingly have gotten me through some of the toughest times in my life, crying my freaking eyes out, and singing in perfect unison “Naaaaa naaaa na na naaaaaa, na na na naaaa, hey Juddddeeeee.” That’s not a feeling you forget for the rest of your life.

The Kooks 6/18/15

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(a) setlist

    1. Around Town
    2. Bad Habit
    3. Ooh La
    4. Down
    5. It Was London
    6. She Moves in Her Own Way
    7. Westside
    8. Always Where I Need to Be
    9. The Saboteur
    10. Sway
    11. Sweet Emotion
    12. Forgive & Forget
    13. See Me Now
    14. Junk of the Heart (Happy)
    15. Naive

(b) highlights

  • seeing the Kooks for the first time!
  • solid setlist and really good crowd
  • being one of the smart people and wearing rainboots to avoid the tons of gallons of mud that basically no one anticipated at Firefly
  • watching the show from a nice patch of grass and blanket

(c) lowlights

  • was totally covered in more mosquito bites than actual skin

(d) overall thoughts

This was the first day of the Firefly Festival – the Thursday before all the major action starts taking place – so everyone was still happy and alive. I loved The Kooks when they first came out, but I had never seen them, so this was a pretty cool opportunity.

I always loved The Kooks – clearly I was and still am fond of the mid-2000’s British indie alternative – and especially loved their 2005 album Inside In/Inside Out. I liked quite a bit of their later work, but hadn’t really pursued a lot of it. So, I was pretty shocked by the crowd’s reaction at this show. Almost everyone was super into every song – newer and older. In my mind, the band were still hanging out in the 2000’s, but I guess the joke was on me because The Kooks have secretly been rising under the radar. It was so refreshing to see so many people involved in the performance – and not just for the big hits and classics like “Naive,” “Ooh La,” and “She Moves In Her Own Way” but practically every song. How cool is that.

Bottom Line: The Kooks have apparently gotten huge over the years and that is such a cool thing to experience as a long-time fan. Wish them nothing but the best – their live show certainly is worth it.

Photos by: Claudia Heidelberger