Not related; your avatar is horrifying. Is SJ face shopped in some way there?Originally Posted by tonyrox
Not related; your avatar is horrifying. Is SJ face shopped in some way there?
Nope.
(Shopped by a cosmetic surgeon's knife.)
@david_d_jones
You mean like a
(sharp knife...?)
-I shame the devil cause I throw it down so hard-
There's a botox you can't erase...
All alone on his face.
Went to the show in Indy last night, standard set list:
Weightless (Incomplete)
Company of Strangers
Horror Show
Wounded
Queen of Daydreams
Shipboard Cook
Losing a Whole Year
Narcolepsy
Semi-Charmed Life
Jumper
Graduate
How's It Going to Be
Thanks a Lot
Burning Man
Good for You
London
I Want You
The Background
Motorcycle Drive By
Encore:
Never Let You Go
God of Wine
The openers were lackluster and not much to write about. The crowd was impartial to the pre-S/T stuff that SJ played. He didn't really speak until that bit was over and then he went on a long diatribe that the crowd became very tired of...he just kept talking. The S/T was good and he remembered all the words throughout the set. I was told when entering that SJ, personally, had asked that no one in Indy be allowed to record the show which was a bummer. Playing GOW as the encore with NLYG in between was sacrilege. It was a great sized crowd and they were into the S/T stuff. He mentioned the EP being delayed "because well we are 3EB and we fuck stuff up." Got a video of Motorcycle Drive-by that I will try and post shortly.
Interesting. Why the hell would he care unless it was being professionally filmed? (highly unlikely).
-I shame the devil cause I throw it down so hard-
No clue - I called the venue yesterday and they had no problem with my camera and the audio recorder attached but when walking through security the guy stopped me and then called over his boss and said they would not allow it in with the audio recorder attached (the camera itself was fine)...despite everyone having an smart phone that can record audio and video. There was a drone overhead for a large portion of the show so maybe the band was recording something?
The only song that I think Kryz consistently underwhelms on is "Wounded". It's like he stripped out all the depth and resonance on the guitar and made it this plucky, thin shell of itself. That song used to kill live, even with crowds that didn't know it, and now it's more of a head nodder.
Someone mentioned XEB to Brad and SJ at meet and greet and Jenkins punched them in the face
-I shame the devil cause I throw it down so hard-
can we try and take the high road?
POWR
AFTW
SD
PBN
TSYS
Watch ANY recordings of Jumper or Wounded and you'll see. He's fucking terrible with those two.
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We never are what we intend or invent
I was at the show, but I was not in the front row. Also, I'm not as hot as I used to be. I look a little too manly now...must be the beard.
__________________
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Saw them tonight at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, CA. Small venue with a couple of hundred in the sold out crowd. A charity fundraiser for the Jimmy Miller foundation. This is the vehicle Stephan has been referring to when he has spoken of surfing and wounded warriors. They raised over $20,000 for this charity and much respect to them for their efforts. As much as I have a problem with Stephan's politics I commend him for seeking out this chance to give of his time and energy.
The set was about an hour and 20 minutes and great because it wasn't a greatest hit throw away. Plenty of fans were there and we were rewarded with some secondary songs to the hits, but ones we love:
Weightless (snippet)
Company of Strangers
I Want You
Dopamine
Horror Show
NLYG
Shipboard Cook (with a little girl singing as a duet)
Back to Zero (including spoken word portion)
Jumper
Why can't you be (acoustic solo)
HIGB (acoustic until the ending)
MDB
I'm sure that I forgot something. It was a great intimate show with good sound. Many of you probably saw it streamed live.
Tomorrow will be much different at the Greek Theater. Looking forward to that!
LB
was a good show and nice that it was streamed. was hoping one of the self-titled shows would be streamed on this tour but this was a nice treat at least. Only song you left out was the Queen of the Stone Ages cover of "In the Fade" which I thought was pretty good. Wish he would do more random covers (without then playing them at every show) and the duet with the girl on Shipboard was really excellent. That was another strong addition to the set. Was thrilled to hear Back to Zero (especially with spoken word as you point out) - that one has been out of the rotation for too long and thought it might have been done for good.
Anybody going to the Berkeley show this weekend? Would be fun to meet up for a beer before or something!
The Greek in LA show was well put together. The lighting and set are the best I've seen from this band. Stephan's energy was way up. And it was impressive to see that venue full for the show. It must have felt kind of triumphant for him.
Stephan mentioned that you'll never be able to capture this moment in your phone. Amongst his generic banter I thought that that was a good point. It's sometimes frustrating, sometimes silly to see so many people standing and holding up their phones. Depending if I'm standing behind them or not (and I'm tall). But to the point he was making, it's true. Many experiences these days are overtaken by the desire to capture it on our camera/phones to post online. Being present in the moment is a good, real thing. He spoke of that.................. but one designee should be able to get the boots of new songs
As to the negative stuff. After seeing XEB up close, Arion's presence is the biggest thing missing in the current show. He brings an energy, funkiness, strength, joy, vocals, and overall musicality that's lacking on stage now. Sad to witness him not there, again. Kevin of course produces pure sounds that Kryz just kinda muddles through, but I don't miss him as much as Arion.
As to the night before I remembered a couple of things. This actor guy Ed Quinn was the emcee for the charity auction prior to the gig. The first item was a band signed guitar. It went for $3,000, but the guy went on about how he was from Berkeley, he was instructed by Joe Satriani, etc. I thought how ironic. Speaking of which, I'm sure that the Berkley show will be the best of the tour. Must be difficult for KC to have them in his backyard. How they all effed up the promise of this band. I hope that Stephan's group never plays more than a few songs from ST again, it's just too sad.
Lol don't say that, I'm determined to skip the Berkeley show! (Not because I hate the band, but because I'm wayyy behind on my dissertation and took last Saturday off for XEB already). I agree with you about Arion. I never got to see him play with 3eb and was blown away when I saw him in January.
Indeed. The day Arion left, 3eb died. It took me a while to realize that, especially because Tony, no doubt sensing a need to fill his void, really stepped it up -- which was arguably the beginning of his demise as well. But Arion leaving left a hole in the musicianship of the band, along with a power vacuum that Stephan was all too eager to fill.
I would hope it felt like a hollow victory, although I can never get a clear sense of how self-aware Stephan is, or isn't.
Most of his hardcore fanbase has abandoned him, but there are still plenty of 90's nostalgia driven casual "fans" willing to see him in what even they surely realize is a glorified cover band, there purely for the novelty of it all. (Ironically, they're probably mostly there to shoot shitty, nauseating cell phone videos of Semi-Charmed Life to share on Facebook).
He's always quick to say he wanted 3eb to be an underground, intimate band and that the explosion and exposure was unexpected and perhaps even unwelcome. It never rings true though. As someone that knows Stephan better than anyone on this board once said...
You say you see through the folly but you did it for the fame.
(Jesus this post is negative. Sorry. Happy Friday everyone!)
Last edited by tonyrox; 07-21-2017 at 10:20 PM.
@david_d_jones
really solid posts above - and I agree wholeheartedly regarding Arion. Not to say Kevin isn't missed - he really is. He is the the most pure and vital talent the band has ever known (with all due respect to Stephan's abilities as a front man). That said - having gotten the chance to see Arion play up close it confirmed my belief all along that he has always been the heart beat of this band. His energy and attention to detail from start to finish was just amazing to see. And let's face it, Tony and Kryz while not Kevin are pretty damn guitarists in their own right. The replacements for Arion have some been major downgrades, one after another. 2017 is proving to be one of the most historic yet bittersweet years in the existence of the band. The fact that all four original members (and Tony!) have played the entire album start to finish (in some cases on the same night) but are completely unable to mend the fences is just incomprehensible at this point.
I'm generally a total pessimist, but I actually see the "mending fences" aspect in a very positive light. KC was pissed at AS for voting him out of the band, AS used to think KC was kind of a dick, KC hated TF for replacing him, TF only said positive things about KC and AS but he's had more than his fair share of demons to work through... and yet the three of them came together, put all that shit behind them, and reclaimed their music. With Kevin's encouragement, Arion started playing bass again after years of abandoning music. Arion helped Tony get back on his feet and convinced Kevin to let him in the band. Tony seems to have, in his own way, forgiven Stephan. For the first time, Kevin seems more fulfilled than bitter. It's redemption. The only asshole who can't mend fences is Stephan because he has absolutely no interest in doing so.
In a way I think they all got what they wanted this year. Stephan has his solo band with full artistic control over the music, and KC/AS/TF are doing what they love, re-connecting with songs and fans that changed their lives.
you're right - across the board here. And in a way that's a great thing. But it still leaves a void. The guys in XEB deserve so much credit for the band's success throughout the years each at varying points (with full credit due to SJ as well). I think this year has done a lot of good for Kevin but in his mind he should be up there in front of 5-10 thousand fans soaking in the glory like those replacements are.
Berkeley Greek Theater
Setlist
Dopa-weightless intro
COS
Horror Show
QODD
Shipboard
rant
lawy
narc
scl
jumper
higtb
grad
tal
bm
g4y
london
iwy
back
mdb
never let you go
gow
Notes/musings:
You could tell it was a special show because all of the bands were saying how this was the last night of the tour.
They sounded really, really good. I think Krys and Alex bring a whole new sound that is awesome for the newer songs. They played the ST songs well, but it's just different from KC and AS. It's not bad, just different. They bring some things that AS and KC did not, and you can hear it on certain songs like higtb and g4y. I like KC's style but Krys is better live IMO. He's much more fluid than KC live, just as Tony was.
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