LIVE SHOW REVIEW Lindsay Buckingham 9/12/2011 Egyptian Theater Boise, ID SETLIST: My girlfriend Kymm suprised me with tickets to see Lindsay Buckingham for our two year anniversary and told me the morning of, so I had little to no time to geek out about it, just a countdown till 8 o'clock p.m. Despite a little wind, we rode our bikes down to the Egyptian Theater and found some decent seats on the left hand side of the stage about 4 rows up. Lindsay came out and played solo for about five songs, but I guess you could have probably figured that out on your own (see above). I took little notes on my iPhone during the concert. Here they are: 1. Well, this first song sounds like an Evan Phillips song. Epic long and beautiful. Standing ovation from 1/4 of crowd. There's two guys down front that are going to stand up after every song, Buckingham worshipers they. 2. Hello fancy chords - here is Buckingham showing off his classical guitar badassery. Saying, I am up here solo, showing you I've still got it, here listen to this. 3. Think I'm in Trouble...another strong solo song. 4. Never Going Back Again. A classic. One of my all time favs...and apparently many others. He slows it down a bit. There is a capo on 3rd fret. Good to hear something very familiar early in the set. 5. Did I mention the hairline? He's got a Garfunkel meets Beavis thing going on. Note to Hollywood: get Vince Vaughn to play lead in biopic. "This may be the biggest little audience ever" says The Buck speaking of the stoked Boise, ID audience. Egyptian is maybe about 85% sold out. There's definitely evidence that he gave birth to a one James Glaves. Glaves, learn from your Jedi/Darkside father! Looking out for love...he's playing mostly classically stringed instruments during solo portion of night. Here's the intro to the song. 6. Band is out by this song. It's a bit of a snoozer and I have pee anyway. Hoptober Beer, try it. 7. Dreamy, slow jam. The other two dudes up front can sing! Lindsay still has acoustic guitar, other has strat. LB is still wearing his leather jacket. His neck is so sweaty. He looks like a doll. 8. At this point he takes a break to promote the new record...a few new songs. Nice pre-chorus on this one, decent chorus. I think I could be his lead guitarist if he ever needs a new guy - the parts are cool but seemingly competent background work. LB shines on his super fast rhythm playing. He exclaims that he's suprised to get a "standing O for A New One"...Boise is lapping up his every move. Listen here to Buckingham exclaiming "best work I've done." 9. An electric Hofner-solid body shape guitar on this one, little more rocking. He should have used a Les Paul though. He's still getting standing ovations. 10. Drum machine intro! 1-2-1-2-3-4. Second Hand News. One dude literally LOSES it in the front row. I mean GOES APESHIT. This is a huge song and you can tell everyone kind of wants to go crazy too. We're all on the verge now. When he's done he does this big ending where he kind of bows and he let's out a big "Ohhhhhhhh yeah". You can tell he is feeding off of the energy of this crowd and he is loving it. 11. Four people remain upfront after the hit song. We join as he launches into TUSK...the crowd up front quickly fills in. Tell me that you want me... 12. Now that I'm up close I definitely think he is Glaves' father. I get some video, someone tells me to stop. 13. After some talking, he does something from Small Machine. With you in my arms...I guess the song is called End of Time. Here is LB talking about "The Small Machine." 14. He really seems genuinely stoked to be playing by now. It's the end of the line. I am happy for him but also happy to refuel. He sounds great from the bathroom as well. 15. No bass on this one. Just three guitars!!! 16. Slow jam. Bass sounds awesome after not hearing it. Double harmony solo is very pink Floyd sounding. 17. Epic solo on So Afraid. I am so close to him, probably 5 feet away and I am yelling at this point for him to take me to another level and he does with a solo...he comes right up to the edge of the stage and solos for like 5 minutes strait and it is AWESOME. I can tell he can tell I'm kind of getting off on his amazing solo work. He makes some faces that I've only seen on James Glaves while he's doing it. At this point I must note I have stopped writing in my iPhone - I am literally swept up in hearing this legend do his thing right in front of me. 18. After turning us all on with that killer solo the band launches into possibly his biggest hit ever - GO YOUR OWN WAY. Everyone is just freaking out. He returns again to our side of the stage for another epic solo and I literally REACH OUT AND TOUCH HIS GUITAR WHILE HE PLAYS IT. I can't believe I am this close. I am yelling, flashing my "L" rock sign, touching his guitar, and just getting him as pumped up as possible with my enthusiasm. He knows he is touching us all and he can feel that power he has over us...he is like a generous prince giving us what makes us happy. I can't stop telling people after the show, "you know that song You Can Go Your Own Way?" "Well, I touched his guitar during the solo." I really hope some of that guitar playing wizardry channelled into my body through his guitar. 19. After a brief break backstage, the band returns for an encore. Turn It On is the song and it's awesome. Here's LB talking before the encore starts. 20. Long intro of band before the next song. Hilarious! These guys have been together something like 25 years now...his 2nd favorite drummer ever. :) BAND INTROS FOR YOUR EARS. Lindsay was giving away all his guitar picks and someone wanted his pants... 21. Solo, acoustic outro song - the title track to the new record with a little bit about the seeds we sow. A great ending to a great night. Listen to the intro and part of the song here. P.s. Kymm got the setlist! P.P.S. Listen to a juicy story of "what almost happened".				4/27/2011 Making some adjustments to this website. I realized some of my wording was off, this isn't a gossip site for one - more of an avenue for artistic expression , writing, reviewing, commenting, and general musings. I am going to start pulling my musical musings into a seperate group, you will see it above as "noise". This will be a combo of music related album reviews, live show reviews, and general musings about music in general. As for this website, I hope to take it into a great new frontier of instant publishing. I hope to one day have contributors - if you're interested in getting in on this action, let us know. Caribou Bill is an idea. That idea is still developing and might continue to develep until there is no further need for a website. You never know where the road ahead will take you.			Do you remember your biggest gripes with your chosen media format. Vinyl got scratched and repeated over and over. Tapes wore out, got warped in the sun and got turned upside down. Compact Discs skipped in that annoying digital style. The biggest plus with an MP3 is that it is forever in perfect condition - it doesn't fade away. Listening phases come and go. Favorite artists make their mark then fade away only to be reawakened by some slight fate - hearing their song on an old mix, digging up an old hard drive full of early 90s music, or moving in with a roommate that still has all that vinyl your Dad got rid of in a Christian cleansing ceremony. In my junior year of high school I only had a tape player in my red Chevy truck and the only tape I ever really cared for had Live's "Throwing Copper" on one side and The Cranberries' "There's No Need to Argue" on the other. I listened to it through the entire year over and over and over. It would be with me on dark, icy, bone chillingly cold, sun barely rearing its head up mornings before school. It would be with me on long dark drives through the night on my way home from a party or basketball game or the closing shift at Subway. I hated most of the music I had to listen to at work because I had to hear it wether I liked it or not and usually the same shitty songs week after week. John Mayer may have made a lot of teeny bopper fans with his first radio single, but it only made this guy furiously frustrated with the status quo of music. Mayer eventually landed in front of my face many years later as the opening act for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. I didn't want to like him, I still held a grudge, but after his set, I took back all those bad things I said about him and opened my heart back up to his music. Songs like "Gravity", "Vultures" and "Slow Dancing In a Burning Room" finally made me see what I was missing out on. Some might laugh at my obsession with The Cranberries which started from a young age when a cute older student let me borrow her Walkmen for a little while so I could listen to their first album for awhile. I was instantly drawn into O'Riordan's angelic, soothing world and never wanted to leave. I found most of their music honest and direct, bare emotionally and wrapped in lush reverbs and THAT VOICE. I could listen to their music for hours. Luckily every time one side of the tape finished it would kick back into the darker and more emotionally charged "Throwing Copper" I would marvel at the powerful sound they came up with and the questioning, raging lyrics that filled their lyricist's head and mine. Music can soothe the soul, breathe new life into it, inspire it and also do all the opposite of these things. In honor of this old circa late 1990s mix CD I am going to list all the names of the bands on it just so you can remember how awesome music is (check out all of these artists if you haven't heard of them): The Rentals, Mojave 3, Wilco, Luna, Joy Electric, Joseph Arthur, Fountains of Wayne, Bon Voyage, Ash, Afghan Whigs, Mark Langegan, Maplewood Lane, Live, Elliot Smith, Esthereo. I didn't hyperlink these cause all you have to do is Google the name. You do the work.				AND THEN YOU END UP IN A DITCH There once was a band that went by the name U2. They were a bunch of dorks with a good looking lead singer who came out to rock you...and they were good. They came over to America from Ireland and rocked everyone so hard that the demand grew for this fresh sound. They kept putting out great records. Eventually they grew so big that they really couldn't get any bigger. Then they may or may not have made some pretty lame records, everyone has an opinon, this is mine... POP was soooooo good. As was Zooropa. Boy and War also amazing. The live records, so good. Rattle and Hum, c'mon! These guys paved the way for Coldplay. I'm listening to their new record right now on some tiny headphones off of Myspace streaming and so far the first song is reaffirming my faith in these 4 lads. It's been an interesting new year so far. Was selected as a finalist to open for the Kings of Leon and lost via fan voting to a band from Southern California called The Jakes. The thing about the Jakes is that they are managed by Red Light Management, who can pull a few strings, and also clients of the promotion company that was sponsoring and organizing the event. I should have seen the false treasure from a mile away but I wanted to believe that there was some fairness at play. My suspicions were re-affirmed while talking to a producer who works with these caliber of folk. He said it was probably a handshake deal for the good of the client. Make money, money. My only goals this year are to get my next record out, progress as a human being, be accepting of my fate and live life to the fullest capactity that I can handle. Turning thirty can be a bitch when your friends are spread out all over America. Thankfully some people showed up to my (pity) party. Someday you gotta realize that life does not revolve around you I guess. But sometimes, in your orbit, you revolve around something else...like a Todd Snider concert. I normally shun paying over $20 for a concert, in fact, as a poor, struggling musician I can't really even afford these sort of luxuries most of the time...but tonights concert was $23 at the door. I even got a buzz from a girl who gave me her number last week here in Boise. She wanted to hang out, I told her I was going to Grizzly Rose, and it would be worth it. I was sweating the bottom line...$46 for both of us to listen to some songs, not to mention roughly six drinks for my date and I, this night was going to run me up something fierce. Luckily she cancelled, although I'm sure she would have not expected me to pay. Coming down with the flu, yet asking if I wanted to come over after the show...whaaaaaat? Thomas Paul is a local Boise musician of great talent. He was covering for an ill or missing Keith Sykes, and performed a great set of original material. His vocals were a bit hard to understand at times, but his playing was solid and he hit some heart chords on a few songs that resonated with the crowd. I would crown the set a great success. Todd Snider was everything I remember and more. It has been about eight years since I had a chance to open up one of his shows in Anchorage, AK...and I still remember the night clear as day. I was nervous as hell about to sing some duets with the lovely and talented Annalisa Tornfelt. I normally don't get nervous but backstage before the gig she was breathing deep breaths in a nervous fashion and it rubbed off on me. I couldn't help but notice the old lady who entered Snider's backstage room because she was not attractive. I eventually figured out what was going on when Snider emerged to the side of the stage as the biggest, whitest cloud of smoke emerged behind him. This man was stoned out of his mind on the good stuff from backwoods, Alaska and he sat there and watched us perform from the side of the stage. I was nervous but enjoyed the personal attention from a master of the craft. Tonight he performed some of the same songs that won me over that first night. Talking Seattle Grunge Blues, DB Cooper...stories that made me laugh outloud, remarks that made me smile...this guy is one smooth character, and his talent is enormous. HUGE. BIG. One man and a guitar, some songs and a smile...and he had that room begging for more. Kept us wrapped up in the palm of his hand from the first song till when he decided it was time to grab a snack from backstage and a gulp of whatever before answering the din roar for an encore. He plays Fogerty's "Fortunate Son", he's political in a really approachable, non-agressive way and by the end he's everyones friend. You know this guy would be a hell of a fun friend to have. All my friends are floored, I am floored. This is how its done. Thank you, Todd for writing songs. I'm halfway through the new U2 record. It's great. I am happy there are so many great artists making me smile out there.		WERE ON A ROAD TO NOWHERE Those that romance the road get a stiff feeling in their soul at the prospect of a drive that will take their breath away, and I had the pleasure of taking on two of the most beautiful drives in the United States this past week - one in the southern direction of Homer, AK and the other in the northern direction of Fairbanks, AK where the temperature was near -40 degrees...trouble for a Gretsch guitar and a person about to run out of gas near Pass Creek. These drives drive lines through the last frontier like a vein reaching for the heart. It doesn't take long before everything disappears and all you hear is the beat - all you see is the beat - all you feel is the beat of another mile ticking off your odometer while epic skylines reveal themselves, mountains surround, and frozen rivers wait for the spring of thaw, in the meantime posing as statues at the foothold of nature's beautiful scene. My first drive is with an old friend, songwriter Steven Bacon who is up in Alaska clearing his head from a seperation from his wife and feeling the call of the road. Much like the call of the wild, it springs forth in his conversation wether intentionally or not - in his desire to learn, share, and cultivate lessons learned of progress and success. We see many eagles on the trip to Kenai for the first round of shows, a sign of good luck in my book. My band breaks down somewhere in between Anchorage and Sterling. We send a car to rescue and they barely make the gig. We are performing in a small playhouse with a basement full of costumes. It is with great joy that we spring forth on stage wearing the latest in medival fashions and funky wigs. I am somewhere between the Tin Man and a Perusian farmer...with cowboy boots. The next day I retain the drummer for tracking while the rest of the guys venture out to fix the vehicle or figure out a plan to get it back to the Mat-Su Valley where the owner will surely want his ride back. We track drums quickly and lay down some guitars and before long its time to head towards Homer. The father of the 18 year old guitarist and his brother the drummer has come up to rescue the boys and comes out to Homer for the gig. He is a helpful, cheery, and good natured fellow who seems to be enjoying his sons allowing a crazy road warrior over to their family garage for rehearsals. We enter the bar to a few stares and the smell of smoke...it's a small place called Kharacters Bar and it's full of exactly that from the looks of it. We set up our gear and make for the nearest restaurant open which happens to be a Don Joses - some crappy mexican food that makes me dream of San Diego burritos. Our buddy Bacon has already kicked off the show by the time we get back. His voice is a steady shot of mellow, and combined with winning melodies and lyrical substance, his set is quite enjoyable. He's a few drinks in. Our aux man Le James is infatuated with the silky sounds, which he describes as "like a milkshake pouring down your throat" on the mic later on to the delight of the won over crowd. Soon it is time for our rock spectacle and we approach it with confidence and dread - it seems there is a real lack of rock and roll in Alaska, while bluegrass, folk, and generally hippie strains of rock seem to abound - Greatful Dead style noodling and long beards, small spectacles, and a built in crowd...what will these people think of our looping pedals, distortion, and pop tinged garage rock? They seem to love it and express themselves beyond normal by diving in front of us on the floor. You can't call it stage diving because there is no stage - instead we watch with delight as one person runs up from the bar and dives out in front of us only to be followed by their friends and eventually there is a big pile of smiling, happy faces and arms. I even join in on one song - my guitar was already so out of tune it didn't matter and I dived in. Bacon meanwhile is pounding back the drinks enjoying some old friends' company and the spectacle of our rock escapades. We get him up for another set and he's visibly woozy, his first time drunk in years. I find it quite entertaining. He's wanting us to sing along with every song, so we do our best and hop up for a few folky jams. He is happy. There is a sense of a bunch of people staying warm and having a good time on a Saturday night in the heart of a cold, frozen Alaskan winter. We crash at a stellar four story enclove with a sauna and hot tub, a pot full of ham and potato soup, and beds and couches for all. The next day we head to the Caribou for breakfast, I wait as I've got a promise for a free lunch at Duggan's Pub, and Steven joins us there to let us know of his horrible night spent puking in the parking lot and sleeping with 13 puppies an unknown guest fisherman who was apparently the roommate of his friends. The guy sat staring at Bacon and when he opened his eyes sometime around 6 a.m. because of the noise he found this bleary eyed fellow knee deep into a bottle of whiskey and holding a bong with his free hand. He talked to Steven and wouldn't stop. Our poor friend had a splitting headache the size of five beers, three jack and cokes and a hit off some good old fashioned Homer ganja.		WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR Welcome to a new adventure blog for 2009. Caribou Bill is a character you will become well aquainted with if you continue to read this blog. He is a literary figure much like Tom Sawyer or Luke Skywalker. The people behind this website & blog include you and your sense of imagination and adventure - we encourage feedback, submission, and the chance to publish your work. Caribou Bill loves to talk about music, travel, movies, trends, business, and many other things as you will see...and he will do so with blunt force. Journalism, writing, and blogs are always opinons. Please respect ours and we'll always respect yours. Alaska is reminding us of her cold, desolate, beautiful and treacherous ways on this new day in a new year. -14 degrees, -40 in Kasilof, -45 in Fairbanks. Amazing winter landscapes around every corner, transmissions cracking, breath hanging in the air. Caribou Bill is late for a radio interview because he had to pick up a present from a friend named Otis, out of the edge of a small, but fast growing city named Wasilla. The interviewer is upset, and she makes it hard to keep a good vibe going, so he's off into the night, last day of 2008. Swings by a party, eats some goat cheese mini-sandwiches, drinks some wine and is off to soundcheck for a gig. After the soundcheck, he gets in his car and drives around this city he used to call home. He drives past the first place he ever played here - Gig's Music Theatre on 4th Ave. This is the venue he first saw 36Crazyfists, back when their original bass player was still alive. This is the venue that disappeared sometime in early 2000s, leaving local bands no choice but to throw their own concerts and promote their own shows...and some did it very well.... He drives past the 4th Ave Theatre. Its lack of light and bluster leaves a thought hanging in the air - how come this place is closed on the eve of Alaska's 50th Year celebration while the new De'anina Center gets all the attention? He drives past spots where he used to park his car and his hands, lips, and tongue. Most of these memories have not faded at all. All it takes is a smell, a sight, a touch, a sound and it all comes rushing back in technicolor. Soon he is back to the gig. A drummer sets up drums to play with a guitarist and singer he hasn't played with in over six years. They exchange a few nods after a quick chat in the bathroom and begin the set. Six songs later they say goodnight and pack it in. Bill is off to the next adventure...and it comes in the form of a free ticket to catch David Grisman and Sam Bush at the Bear Tooth Theatre...he arrives just in time to ring in the new year and he remembers how exciting it was to once have a gig at this very place back in 2002. He likes the size of the room, the sound guy, and the packed house. What he doesn't like is the lack of beautiful young women looking for a good time. Everyone here is married or with somebody or working. The people that could afford a $60 ticket to see 10 noodlers onstage are not the cutting edge type - they are content to dance in a mumbly way, sometimes twirling, and sometimes just staring off into space. Bill takes the scene in and no parties reveal themselves. He has no house to invite people over to, only a friendly invite from a friend thats its ok to crash over if needed. And that he does, because come tomorrow...he will wake up in the new year and hit the ground running....		PORTUGAL. THE MAN Alaska has a few claims to fame here and there, and musically its rare that something really great comes out of our state - I don't know why, except that the good bands get discouraged at having to reach a glass ceiling and eventually have to move to a bigger pond to get anyone to take notice of them. Way back in the day a bunch of friends moved to Portland and formed the band Anatomy of a Ghost. They played hard and made some smart moves and finally released a record on indie Rise Records. In 2003 they took my band out on tour to open up and we had a good time watching them play every night. As they grew in popularity over the next few years so did their sense of direction and eventually a split was made and John Gourley and Zach Carothers went on to form Portugal. The Man. Their music was a step into a more experimental direction and I enjoyed their first record and the changes to Gourley's sound - he was playing guitar for once and singing as strongly as ever some catchy hooks. Due to my busy schedule, I haven't ever caught a PTM show so it was with great joy that I ended up on the same bill for a show at the Mat-Su Resort in our hometown of Wasilla, AK. Before gig time I caught up with Zach and John. We hadn't seen each other since our last show in 2003. I requested a song of theirs that I love "Shade" but they weren't ready to play it with a new drummer. They had only about an hours worth of rehearsed material John explained, and it was an hours worth of rock. They took to the stage with lights and steam and put on a hell of a show. Zach has these great bass moves that you have to see to appreciate. Unfortunately, the sound that night was pretty bad and I couldn't hear much in the way of vocals, but I could tell it would have been good, let's say at Mercury Lounge in NYC. The next night Zach hosted a bad Christmas sweater party and I got a chance to drink some hot buttered rum and catch up even more...the new members are hilarious and talented dudes. John was excited about a trip to Boston in the new year to record with Paul Q. Kolderie - a good move on all fronts - and also their signing with esteemed independent booking ageny High Road Touring. All is looking up for the Man and it was good to see a great band getting things done the right way. Godspeed.		Caribou Bill, meet Lou Doillon 10/01/08 - New York City plays host to countless world travelers, icons, musical heroes and a brisk night last fall, Caribou Bill met luscious French actress, model, and designer Lou Doillon on the outdoor patio at the Bowery Hotel. A promised free vodka and concert performance by Diego Garcia of the band Elefant. Our hero takes the subway from Williamsburg with Russel The Mussel only to find out the promises were a lie - was THIS A TRICK someone is thinking to themselves. A shocked Lemkin pays for the two drinks, twenty-eight dollars lighter. The two did nurse their drinks like some sort of parting shot in a Woody Allen movie. Nearby designer Robert James chats with a twin of a person that I know. The night drags on, we wonder if if its time to split... What the guys didn't know was that their friend Mandalin was a bartender at another, cooler bar patio below and when she spotted Bill and Russ, she offered drinks on the house if they'd only follow her to a comfortable back corner section of the lower bar. Excited to be free of financial worry relaxed as an order of house specialties were rushed to be created. Nearby the sounds of an acoustic guitar drifted gently in and out of focus. A small group of fellow musical patrons hanging out nearby. It wasn't long before Caribou Bill heard a question thrown his way- "Do you play music?" and when they turned to talk, it was a face that could launch a thousand ships that stared in their direction. There was something about this angelic creature that set everyone around her at ease and brought out the best in all as well. A dark-skinned beauty named Akin eased up alongside Bill and wanted his number, but all this did wasincrease his courage ten fold. Soon the singing voices gave way to conversation and before long Bill was engaged in teaching Doillon a Violent Femmes song so she could teach her six-year-old son back in Paris a song about people talking behing other people's backs...you could always KISS OFF into the air, behind my back I can see them stare, they'll hurt me bad but I don't mind they'll hurt me bad they do it all the time, yeah yeah, yeah they do it all the time...a catchy little tune. Reminds me, Gordon's less talented brother Glen once came up to me and said he liked my tunes and that I reminded him of his brother at a young age. Thanks Ganos. The night folded itself in on itself and Bill and Russ, along with Doillon and several of her friends, found themselves in her hotel room partaking in two perfectly rolled j-----sprinkled with h--- and passing the guitar around some more. United over music and now finding out more about each other and our musical past, present, and futures. The music was good, we were all excited for each other. But at this point our two heros hadn't realized who this tall beauty was... When the crew returned to the patio bar, there was a cheer from the assembled and a demand for more live music. Soon the groups circle jam was providing a soundtrack for the night, and eventually the idea for the song "Sound of the City" had been planted in Bill's mind. Eventually Russ made the comment to Doillon that she sounded similar to an artist Russ was a fan of, Charlotte Gainsburg, and with that we found out that we were hanging out with Gainsburg's half-sister. Suddenly, you realize that you're with the cool crew and you wonder if you've got enough to be in the same room with these people, but they treat you like a gem, so you extend the courtesy. The one with the big curly hair and beautiful voice is Filipa, an agent for Elite Models in Paris, another Chris, a musician/producer known for his work with Milla Jovanovich, and the lovely singer daughter to Jane Birkin and Jaque Doillon, a French film director. They stayed talking and sharing music and around 5 a.m. the night called everyone to bed. Caribou Bill left with Lou Doillon's phone number and address on a piece of Bowery paper. Later on that night, our two adventuresome musicians ate from the tree of "we gotta know who Lou is" and googled Doillon into the wee hours of morning. They were amazed to find out that she was in town renting a room at the Bowery due to her upcoming peformance in a Samuel Beckett play that was already sold out. Two days later, Lou and Chris showed up at 25 Ave B to catch a rock and roll show by Matt Hopper & The Roman Candles.     . to be continued. ...