Jul 09

#LOTD2013: June Playlist

#LOTD2013: JuneThere’s no doubt: it’s a heck of a lot easier to catch up on the #LOTD2013 playlists on a monthly basis than it is to do so on the weekly Photo-A-Day posts. Without further ado, here are June’s Lyric-of-the-Day Tweets (find the Spotify playlist I’ve created from these lyrics linked at the end of the post or on the clickable image at right), with some brief explanations (in italics) for a number of the lyrics. Remember, if you want to see the lyrics as they pop up daily, just give me a follow on Twitter!

  • “Stretched to the limit attention spans/Snap back retract/Collapse into laugh tracks/Noise response applause” #Beck “Hell Yes” #LOTD2013 6/1
  • “Laughing on the bus/Playing games with the faces/She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy” #SimonAndGarfunkel “America” #LOTD2013 6/2
  • “If there’s something inside that you want to say/Say it out loud it’ll be okay” #TheBetaBand “Dry The Rain” #LOTD2013 6/3
  • “She looks me in the eye & says/We’re gonna last forever/And ya know I can’t begin to doubt it” #TomPetty “Here Comes My Girl” #LOTD2013 6/4 (The most special and personal treat of a great Petty show at the Fonda Theater in Hollywood.)
  • “Under a big old sky, out in a field of green/There’s gotta be something left for us to believe” #TPATH “Kings Highway” #LOTD2013 6/5 (And the second best personal treat from the night before.)
  • “Stand up and deliver/Your wildest fantasy/Do what the fuck you want to/There’s no one to appease” #Muse “Panic Station” #LOTD2013 6/6
  • “Our god is a sinner, our king is a con/The room’s about to crumble as I burst into song” #TheHives “Go Right Ahead” #LOTD2013 6/7
  • “Sold me out for chump change/Told me they had it all arranged/You handed me down, that’s a fact” #JamesBrown “The Payback”
  • “Eight miles high/And when you touch down/You’ll find that it’s/Stranger than known” #TheByrds “Eight Miles High” #LOTD2013 6/9
  • “Love don’t play any games with me/Anymore like she did before” #RyanAdams “New York, New York” #LOTD2013 6/10 (A week of NYC-related tunes kicks off with a rocking choice for the arrival in town.)
  • “There’s a woman/On the outside/Looking inside/Does she see me?” #SuzanneVega “Tom’s Diner” #LOTD2013 6/11
  • “Wearin’ the cross of my calling/On wheels of fire I come rollin’ down here” #BruceSpringsteen “The Rising” #LOTD2013 6/12 (After a business meeting in lower Manhattan, I got a chance to walk down and check the progress of the new World Trade Center building.)
  • “Subway steam, like silhouettes in dreams/They stood by me, just like moonbeams” #TheWallflowers “6th Avenue Heartache” #LOTD2013 6/13
  • “Tom, get your plane right on time/I know you’ve been eager to fly now” #SimonAndGarfunkel “The Only Living Boy In New York” #LOTD2013 6/14 (Got my plane back to L.A. on time. Unfortunately, American Airlines was into their own delays — as usual — on this long Friday.)
  • “It’s the room, the sun and the sky/It’s the room, the sun and the sky” #SilversunPickups “Lazy Eye” #LOTD2013 6/15
  • “You’re the reason I sing/You’re the reason why the opera is in me” #U2 “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own” #LOTD2013 6/16 (For my dad.)
  • “The first mate he got drunk/Broke in the cap’ns trunk/The constable had to come and take him away” #BeachBoys “Sloop John B” #LOTD2013 6/17
  • “I knew it when I met you/I’m not gonna let you runaway/I knew it when I held you I wasn’t letting go” #Killers “Runaways” #LOTD2013 6/18
  • “What a gas it was to see him/Walk her every day/Into a shady place/With her lips she said” #ThePixies “Gigantic” #LOTD2013 6/19
  • “Before anybody wanted K-West beats/Me and my girl split the buffet at KFC” #KanyeWest “Touch The Sky” #LOTD2013 6/20
  • “At the drive-in/In the old man’s Ford/Behind the bushes/Until I’m screamin’ for more” #Poison “Talk Dirty To Me” #LOTD2013 6/21 (Thanks to that post-game jukebox in Wrigleyville.)
  • “People talking, people laughing/A man selling ice cream/Singing Italian songs” #Chicago “Saturday In The Park” #LOTD2013 6/22 (As I posted that day, I was eating brunch in Chicago on a Saturday in Wicker Park when this song came on the diner’s loudspeakers. The start of a really good day.)
  • “Mercury is rising still/Turn the fan on high/I won’t step on my own shadow/No one wants to cry” #REM “Summer Turns To High” #LOTD2013 6/23
  • “And I’ll be workin’/From sun up to midnight” #MichaelJackson “Workin’ Day And Night” #LOTD2013 6/24
  • “There been times I thought I couldn’t last for long/But now I think I’m able to carry on” #SamCooke “A Change Is Gonna Come” #LOTD2013 6/25 (After this day’s, um, amazing(?) Voting Rights Act decision by the Supreme Court, I guess the change is going to have to come … again.)
  • “But no matter what you do/It always feels as though you tripped and fell” #TheRaconteurs “Steady, As She Goes” #LOTD2013 6/26
  • “She’s a Georgia Peach never within reach/He’s a felon from Baton Rouge” #BetterThanEzra “A Southern Thing” #LOTD2013 6/27
  • “Door is locked just you and me/Can I take you to a restaurant that’s got glass tables” #EnglishBeat “Mirror In The Bathroom” #LOTD2013 6/28
  • “The temperature’s about 88/Hop in the water plug just for old times sake” #DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince “Summertime” #LOTD2013 6/29 (SoCal’s first summer heat wave of 2013 hit hard on this sunny Saturday.)
  • “Maybe you’re the same as me/We see things they’ll never see/You and I, we’re gonna …” “Live Forever” #Oasis #LOTD2013 6/30

Here’s the Spotify playlist if you’d like to listen along: #LOTD2013: June

Jun 18

Tom Petty Concert Recap: Fonda Theater 6/4/13

Click the image to watch American Girl live from the Fonda Theater on June 4.

Click the image to watch “American Girl” live from the Fonda Theater on June 4.

Two weeks ago tonight brought an opportunity that I was so excited to jump on the moment I heard about it a few days before the ticket on-sale date a few months back: seeing the legendary Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers at the intimate Fonda Theater on Hollywood Blvd. Tuesday was the second of six sold-out shows for Petty and crew, just a couple weeks after knocking out five sold-out gigs at New York’s Beacon Theater.

Suffice it to say, the show didn’t disappoint, as Petty and his venerable band mates crushed a 22-song set that featured a number of familiar classics, some powerful deep album cuts and a few enjoyable covers thrown in for good measure.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Fonda Theater, Hollywood, June 4, 2013

  • So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star: A nice emotional start, what with this being the band’s leadoff song the very first time I saw them back in the mid-80s. Plus, the Byrds’ cover always has a special resonance in L.A.
  • Love Is A Long Road: A solid, well-worn rocker from “Full Moon Fever,” I’ve always felt this song was one that didn’t perhaps receive all the credit it deserves. A rocking version here tonight.
  • Here Comes My Girl: Special. Its first appearance in the setlist on this tour, I believe. One of my all-time favorite Petty songs and it holds some amazing memories. Great to share it on this night.
  • Baby Please Don’t Go: The great blues classic from Big Joe Williams, played in the vein of the song’s most famous rock version, by Van Morrison and Them. The Heartbreakers — and especially Mike Campbell — really got to stretch it out on this one. Perfect.
  • When A Kid Goes Bad: A deep cut from “The Last DJ” (2002), this is such a great sample of the funky, bluesy side of the band.
  • The Best Of Everything: I’m pretty much always up for anything from the “Southern Accents” record, and this one was fantastic on this night. A kind wish to a lost lover wrapped inside a “what might have been” story, it’s a perfect example of the Petty and the Heartbreakers’ style of balladry.
  • I Just Want To Make Love To You: More bluesy goodness in this excellent cover of the Muddy Waters classic.
  • A Woman In Love (It’s Not Me): It’s interesting that this song shows up in the same setlist as “Love Is A Long Road.” They both fit in that same “underrated rocker” category among Petty’s catalog. People really love the Heartbreakers’ trademark “jangle” — and rightfully so — but the band knows how to play with a damn edge too.
  • Kings Highway: Another big highlight for me. From “Into The Great Wide Open,” this song has long spoken directly to me thanks to where I was as a person when it first entered my consciousness. And now, after a long ride, where it feels I may have (in recent years) finally turned on to this tune’s title road, it’s even a bit more enjoyable.
  • I’d Like To Love You Baby: The band is in love with J.J. Cale covers on this tour, and this one — though a bit down for where it fell in the flow of the show — was another opportunity for the band to show off its musicianship.
  • Tweeter And The Monkey Man: One of the deeper cuts on the first Traveling Wilburys album, this has always been a personal favorite. Penned by Bob Dylan, with a great deal of assistance by Petty, the song is really an homage to the lyrical stylings of Bruce Springsteen. On this night, the real showcase here was Campbell and Petty trading licks on one of the dozens of guitars used during the show — really mesmerizing work by both.
  • Rebels: Another “Southern Accents” favorite, this acoustic version really plays up the power of the lyrics. Fantastic.
  • Two Gunslingers: Continuing the acoustic break, this cut from “Into The Great Wide Open,” while not overly well known, is a Petty favorite and fit well right here.
  • Time To Move On: The first of two cuts tonight from my favorite Petty record, “Wildflowers.” This song has meant so many different things over the years, depending on my station in life. Tonight’s gorgeous version pointed that out rather well.
  • Friend Of The Devil: I’m not quite sure how many bands I’ve seen cover this song, but tonight’s version was right up there among the best. I’m not the world’s biggest Dead fan, but this one has always been a favorite of sorts. The Heartbreakers are very familiar with it, and this version showed off their comfort level.
  • It’s Good To Be King: There’s not really a better way to describe this performance than the Tweet I sent an old friend on the night of the show: Perfect Song? Yes.
  • I Should Have Known It: This cut from the band’s most recent studio album, “Mojo,” rocked just right in this transitional spot. Underrated track, great placement in the setlist.
  • Refugee: Singalong? Ok. Singalong!
  • Runnin’ Down A Dream: The crowd certainly jumped right on into this one as well. For me, it’s been a bit of an up-and-down run for this song, which at times gets a little worn out. But it was hard to argue with it on this night.

******

  • Listen To Her Heart: Right up there with “Here Comes My Girl” earlier in the setlist. It was a special treat to hear this personal favorite dropped — from among many legendary options — into this crucial encore kickoff spot.
  • Carol: The Heartbreakers love this classic Chuck Berry rocker and its playfulness fit right in tonight.
  • American Girl: “We’ll finish up … where we started out.” Oh yeah! All right! Here’s the iPhone video I shot of the performance: American Girl — Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (live)

Follow this link to a Spotify playlist I created from live and studio cuts of the evening’s setlist here: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Fonda Theater 6/4/13 Setlist