A Few Concert Reviews

Begpardon. I’ve been lax in my concert reviews. Following are the reviews of four concerts I’ve attended since 18 March 2006 (three days ago), from newest to oldest. Deep down, though, you and I both know this is merely a transparent excuse to foist another questionably informative HTML table onto your eyes. Behold:

Concert Reviews For Period Spanning 18 March – 20 March 2006
Artist Venue Grade Notes
Jose Gonzalez Hotel Cafe A- Neither rain nor the shaggy-headed dude from SNL’s Chronicles of Narnia Rap could get in the way of bearded Gonzalez’ brand of hispanic-swedish goodness. Purée Dan Fogelberg, Bread and Nick Drake, garnish with groomed three-day beard and white pepper and strain over ice. This cocktail is called the Jose Gonzalez. Points added for covering Massive Attack. Points subtracted for taking stage late. I missed out on the 75-Cent Canter’s sandwich because of this. Goddammit
Orb/DNTEL/Etc Etc Disney Haunted Mansion Hall B While any sighting of Daedelus’ Bushy Sideburned Goodness Et Al lifts spirits, particularly at 1am in downtown Haunted Mansion, I was waay too tired to enjoy this show. Left early. B grade = didn’t stay awake long enough to catch the main act. As such, probably missed the whole point. I give myself a C for effort.
Tux-Clad Ivory Tinkler Cafe Del Rey B+ Exactly how I came to find myself curled on a couch in front of a fire, Marina Del Rey, tasting various 18-year-old single malts is still under scrutiny. The venue, while cozy, smacked of an unmistakeably grainy Marina vibe. Were I to turn to find myself seated next to Robert Wagner or Blake, I wouldn’t have batted an eye. That said, Tuxedo-Clad Ivory Tinkler put on a good show. Points subtracted for unintentionally visiting Desafinado twice during the 45-minute-long medley.
Books b/w Califone Getty Books: A-
Califone:B-
The Books were good. Background video footage was captivating and they were overly pretentious only a handful of times. I could have probably lived without the braying of Califone’s singer, but otherwise a solid event. Points to Califone for incorporating two drummers in a very Grateful Dead-like fashion. One girl in the audience looked like Ronald Mcdonald, and that wasn’t bad.