Thighs Wide Shut

Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam 
Beacon Theatre
September 20th, 2016

We saw Cat return to form(/American soil, on his first official North American tour since 1976!) in Boston back in the winter of 2014, and it was an unforgettable night filled with much wisdom, soul, and incredible music.  We had only one want after that night – to see him again, mainly cause he didn’t play ‘Matthew & Son‘ (my favorite Cat song that isn’t ‘Lady D’Arbanville‘, which he hasn’t played since… 1976!)

Well, the opportunity arose and we seized it, and Mr Cat/Yusuf/Amazing came thru with his end of the bargain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKmWw4mDR_H/

not only that – but he took a little dig at Tears For Fears while playing it, for their song ‘Mad World’ sounding quite like his ‘Matthew & Son’ – mouthing ‘I think it’s kind of funny, I think it’s kind of strange, yes I think it’s kind of funny, that this sounds the same!‘  YOU FCUKING GO CAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 2014 tour’s name was ‘Peace Train…Late Again’, as in, he’s still be riding that train, but that train and its conductor was a little past due at its American stations.  Well, this year’s tour is called ‘A Cat’s Attic: 50 Year Anniversary Acoustic Tour’, and with less explaining about his absence this time around, he played the true troubadour, taking us on his musical life story with his 60s catalog as its soundtrack.  The cuts he dropped were a bit deeper than when we saw him before, and luckily he didn’t bother with the tunes on his last album, which were in heavy rotation on that 2014 jaunt

In these uncertain times, it’s wonderful that we can take solace in a musical genius who promotes peace, love and understanding, and so happens to be a Muslim.  The (probably not very Muslim) crowd was with Cat/Yusuf from start to finish.  The world would be a better place if it was with Cat/Yusuf’s music and its message from here on out.  Never too late to board the peace train.  WOOT! WOOT!!

Here’s hoping the next tour is called ‘I Want To Be Your Man/Lady D’Arbanville’.  And if so, that tour – oh you tour - you will be my fill, yes, you will be my fill

Set 1 - Lilywhite / Don’t Be Shy / America (Leonard Bernstein song) / Up on the Roof (Carole King cover) / Love Me Do (The Beatles cover) / Here Comes My Baby / I Love My Dog / Matthew & Son / Blackness of the Night / A Bad Night / Trouble / Katmandu / I Wish, I Wish / Miles From Nowhere / On the Road to Findout

Set 2 - Tea for the Tillerman / Sad Lisa / If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out / Into White / Father and Son / The Wind / How Can I Tell You / Sitting / The Boy With a Moon and Star on His Head / Angelsea / Oh Very Young / Novim’s Nightmare / People Get Ready (The Impressions cover) / Be What You Must / Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (Nina Simone cover) / Maybe There’s a World -> All You Need Is Love / Peace Train

Encore  - Wild World / Moonshadow / Morning Has Broken

The Beach Boys
Beacon Theatre
May 9th

They do it-ed!  Again!  Just like the song says!  They old, but they no moldy.  They the Beach Boys, the ultimate American band, and if you think otherwise, we’re gonna get the House Un-American Activities Committee to come ittee to your house and make your activities nothing but American!!  Carl & Dennis Wilson are gone and surely missed, but the Boys of Beach didn’t miss a beat.  Sure, they aint those golden haired boys catching waves no more (although Dennis was the only surfer in the band), but these gray haired gentlemen were true to their school and their roots and to their fans and even to John Stamos who made like 2188282 cameos

We had seen Brian twice and the Mike Lovely version of the BBs at Coney two years ago, but not together, WITH AL JARDINE’S FACE, since the 80s, when wees was a child and they seemed to play DC’s 4th of July thing year after year. Now we old(er) and appreciate them more, and happy they put their greedy differences behind them and reunited to tour and roar, and roar they did.  Sure, a lot of the hactual music work is supplied by Brian’s usual and brilliant touring band, with them falsetto spots hit up by long time associate Jeff Foskett, but who cares, as long as a Beach Boys concert sounds like a Beach Boy concert, no?  Well, it did, and it sounded flawless!  Honestly, when all the Boys pass on (which we hope is never), we’d pay to see Brian’s backing band in concert.  They’re already pretty much the greatest Beach Boys cover band going!

They played 44 songs(!!!!!) and outside of ‘Disney Girls’ (it’s fine and all, but the one song you can use to take a pee break during) and ‘Kokomo’ (sure, it blows-a-mo, but we understand why it needs to be included), the tracks they choose were solid choices from a catalog that offers too munch goodness to choose from, and choosy moms choose JIF AND THE BEACH BOYS!!!!

First Set - Do It Again / Catch a Wave / Hawaii / Don’t Back Down / Surfin’ Safari / Surfer Girl / Please Let Me Wonder / You’re So Good to Me / Wendy / Then I Kissed Her / The Little Girl I Once Knew / Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers cover) / When I Grow Up (to Be a Man) / Cotton Fields (Lead Belly cover) / Disney Girls / Don’t Worry Baby / Little Honda / Be True to Your School / Little Deuce Coupe / 409 / Shut Down / I Get Around

Second Set - California Dreamin’ (Mamas & the Papas cover) / Sloop John B / Wouldn’t It Be Nice / Forever / Sail On, Sailor / Heroes and Villains / In My Room / All This Is That / This Whole World / I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times / God Only Knows / That’s Why God Made the Radio / California Girls / All Summer Long / Help Me, Rhonda / Rock and Roll Music (Chuck Berry cover) / Do You Wanna Dance? (Bobby Freeman cover) / Barbara Ann (The Regents cover) / Surfin’ USA

Encore  –  Kokomo / Good Vibrations / Fun, Fun, Fun

if you have ears and eyes, it is your American civic/cervix duty to see these Boys on tour this summer

Paul Simon
Beacon Theater
May 10th

Paul Simon really aint that crazy after all these years.  He’s juss solidly normal, and mad awesomeszsz.   And he still sounds eggzactly like he always has.  And he still loves his frikkin slow jams.  We do too, but kindsa only the S & Garfunkel stuff (he gave us only 2 of them bones), and not that boring-a$$ ‘Slip Sliding Away’ type shaz or the snail-like tracks he chose to play from his new album, which is hactually a pretty good one… for a 69 year old!!  LETS SEE YER DAD COME UP WITH SOMETHING BETTERER!!!

Simon’s solo catalog is vast, and at its best when he breaks out the latter Graceland & Rhythm of the Saints stuffs.  Oh man, we almost jazzed in our pants when he kicked out ‘Obvious Child’ and ‘Boy In The Bubble’ (which made up for that concert that could have been the greatestest concert of all time if he didn’t let other people sing his songs)

We were kinda expecting a sirprize guest at the show.  Maybe some Art G-ness?  Or how bout Chevy Chase for some ‘Al’ calling (it’s the song that made us fall in love with Paul as a youth)???  There was none of that, and it really wasn’t necessary anywayz, cause we all got a beautiful 2 hour show from one of music’s all-time greeeeeeeeeeeaaattts

Speaking of his iconic status… we don’ts thinks he gets the kinda love that he should from the world.  THIS IS A LIVING LEGEND, FOLKS!!!  WE MUST CELEBRATE THE/HIS LIVING!!!!  ONE DAY PAUL SIMON WON’T BE ON THIS EARTH AND YER GONNA BE SO PISSED YOU DIDN’T CARE THAT MUCH ABOUT HIM WHEN HE WAS LIVINGS!!!!

We literally pray night & gay for his health and for the day that S & G hit the road again and drop some MSG dates on us.  we’d honestly pay $300 to see them.  only thing else we’d pay that much for is amour et spaghetti con Leonor Watling [lightly NSFW]

set list

Crazy Love, Vol. II / Dazzling Blue / 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover / So Beautiful or So What / Slip Slidin’ Away / Vietnam (Jimmy Cliff cover) / Mother and Child Reunion / That Was Your Mother / Hearts and Bones / Mystery Train-Wheels / Rewrite / Peace Like a River / The Obvious Child / The Only Living Boy in New York (Simon & Garfunkel song) / Love Is Eternal Sacred Light / Father and Daughter / Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes / Gumboots

Encore – The Sound of Silence (Simon & Garfunkel song) / Kodachrome / Gone At Last / Here Comes the Sun (The Beatles cover) / The Boy in the Bubble

Encore 2 – Still Crazy After All These Years / Late in the Evening

The Swell Season
Beacon Theatre
November 19th

The Swell Season are Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. If you don’t recognize those two names then you probably haven’t seen the movie the duo star in, which has quietly entranced audiences worldwide this past year. The movie in question is called Once [TWS.org review], and while I wouldn’t dub it a muss see, I will say that the sweet music the two create in and outside of it is a muss hear. In promotion of the film, they hit the road, but we missed them last time around (dearest Uncle Grambo didn’t). Luckily, the response was more massive than two shitz from Massachusetts and they embarked on a much larger tour of these United States. Last nite they took owned the stage at the Beacon w/their swell music and sweet melodies, all with the backing help from three of Glen’s Frames’ bandmates. Sirprizngly, they had enuff material to put on a full show. If you swooned to the flick and/or the soundtrack, then their show is your natural next destination. And if you already did that, then I guess we’ll juss have to wait for the movie sequel, Twice!!