I really enjoyed Mistletoe Jam last night. Alas, I missed the band I most wanted to see--Silversun Pickups. We arrived toward the end of Shin's set.
I didn't expect to like Silverchair, but I did like them quite a bit. Daniel Johns' stage rap sort of reminds me of an Australian guy doing an impression of Fred Toucher doing an impression of Paul Stanley. I actually felt a bit sorry for Modest Mouse who had to follow them, they were so good...so high energy.
Issac Brock was a bit under the weather, but that didn't prevent Modest Mouse from delivering a great performance. It's always strange when a band doesn't do an encore, but I suspect it was to preserve Brock's voice.
One thing that I've observed about the general admission floor is that for a five hour concert, by the time the final act hits the stage, the people who have camped out in front are pretty much out of gas. I don't know what the economics of the setup are, but I can't help but wonder if it's better to have either a shorter show, or reserved floor seats.
I live about 3 miles from Philips Arena, so it's touch to get too excited about MTJ moving to Gwinnett, but it's much cooler to sell out the smaller venue than to have Philips 70% full.
I got to meet Jenners, Mrs. Jenners and Lewis (of Matt C. and Lewis fame,) all were very friendly. I got say hi to Mark, but didn't get to talk to him. People at 99X were just as nice to me after this glass-is-half-empty year of 99XWatch as they were in December 2007, when I my writing was more glass-is-half full toward the new show.
