Made In Japan

Deep Purple
Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California
August 13, 2014

Yes, I'm behind with updating this space... but sometimes real life interrupts things and you have to take a break.  Hopefully the following show rant won't seem too stale after several weeks.

For the newbies, Saratoga is Silicon Valley 1% territory.  Example:  We were running late and decided to get something to eat in downtown Saratoga before heading up the hill to the winery.  After parking I asked a local Saratoga man walking his Saratoga dog if there was a Saratoga burger place where we could get something to eat.  His immediate response, and I am not making this up, was "Burgers aren't really a Saratoga thing..."  HE ACTUALLY SAID THAT!  The Saratoga man then said there might be a burger at a place at the end of the block... but when we checked it out the place literally had a $40 (forty dollar) burger on their menu.  Pass.  Then, almost immediately after this, an SUV of young Saratoga dudes stopped before making a right hand turn.  They noticed my Motörhead t-shirt and the young Saratoga dude in the passenger seat immediately, and I am not making this up, started singing "Motörhead..." to the chorus from the Night Ranger song 'Sister Christian' before they drove away.  Think about it...  I. Am. Not. Making. This. Up..  Sometimes this blog writes itself, man.  A dubious start to the night, right?

Anyway, long story short:  I had vowed never to attend another winery show after my last one a year ago.  However, the Rock Godz work in mysterious ways... and if only all shows were this easy:

I was put off that the intimate venue was only around half full... but as soon as the band started it didn't matter.  Purple opened with 'Highway Star' and for most of their 90 minute set I was entranced.  Ian Gillan had to work hard but he sounded great.. Don Airey is on keys in place of the late Jon Lord (R.I.P.) and he played an old school setup and even threw in a snippet of his 'Mr. Crowley' intro at one point.  Nicely done.  Steve Morse is still the weak link in this lineup but I suppose no one will ever completely fill Ritchie Blackmore's shoes in this band.  His guitar styling simply don't fit the classic Deep Purple sound... However, watching Roger Glover and Ian Paice dig into their rhythm section groove more than made up for any nitpicking. Glover & Paice:  The greatest original rhythm section still going IMO.  Discuss amongst yourselves.

As I said a moment ago, the venue was half full or half empty depending on how you looked at it... and Umlaut had a private rock row the entire night. 

Although I am not a musician, watching Ian Paice play again made me realize how "technique" is not something most post-20th Century drummers have.  Like most drummers of his generation he comes from a Jazz background... something that was lost to anyone born after 1970.  As overplayed as 'Smoke On The Water' is I still love when Paice's hi-hat part kicks in at the beginning.  He's still one of my favorite drummers... and still no drum riser. 

[Shitty pic courtesy of Umlaut's iPhone]

The versions of 'Strange Kind Of Woman' and 'Lazy' were really good tonight but my fave part was 'Woman From Tokyo' into 'Hush' to start the encore.  A crew guy said later that 'Woman From Tokyo' hadn't been in the setlist on this tour... which was special... and I was reminded how the song's drum intro was lifted by Maiden for 'Run To The Hills'.. or maybe it was a "homage".  After the show this happened:

Not Lars Ulrich

Ian Paice... who offered me a German beer.  You can't tell from this pic but my Inner Teenage Metalhead was losing his mind meeting him.  I guess the younger generation feels the same way about Lars... I guess.

Thanks to English Bob for the hook up.  If you bought one of every Deep Purple merch item you would have paid around $300.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags.  As good as Purple were on this night in 1% Saratoga, I was reminded how the majority of even "Rock Music Fans" only know the band for that one song with the riff that everyone has learned how to play on guitar... which is sad.  Listen to the Made In Japan album... right now.

Hell Is For Children

Pat Benatar / Cheap Trick 
Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California 
June 11, 2013 

The Mountain Winery is a beautiful but also a pain in the ass venue.  Nestled on top of a mountain that overlooks Silicon Valley it's a venue that does not host many shows Umlaut finds interesting or affordable.  However, for better or worse, Cheap Trick seems to play the Winery every year these days.  I assume they get paid very well for these winery gigs but it would be awesome if they played The Fillmore or another standard concert venue in front of an audience of general admission peasants instead of entitled winery types.

Long story short, this was a totally weird show.  First off, Cheap Trick were supporting Pat Benatar tonight.  As a result, something felt *off* with the crowd and I didn't realize until later that the vast majority of the audience were Pat Benatar fan-a-tics.  The silver lining was that I was sitting in the 3rd row but it might as well have been a front row seat; the seating configuration made it so there were no chairs or people in front of me.

Cheap Trick walked onstage.. launched into 'Hello There' and then into 'Elo Kiddies' and the crowd... DID NOTHING!  Of course there were a few Cheap Trick fans but the vast majority of the crowd just sat in their seats and did nothing!  I could not believe it.  I know.. I know.. It was a winery crowd.. but I've seen Cheap Trick at this venue before and it had not been this lethargic at all.

SIT DOWN!!  DOWN IN FRONT!  We're trying to watch the Rock band!  Yes, that iPhone pic was taken during a song... Pathetic.

Indeed.. a winery show.. but even by that standard this was a weird gig.  The crowd was completely anemic during Cheap Trick's set.  It was bizarre and it was obvious the band were annoyed by it too.   At one point in between songs Rick wandered into the crowd and handed out guitar picks to people in their seats while his tech tuned his guitar.  Rick and Robin also both went into the crowd to try and get some "excitement" going.. but to no avail.  

 

It wasn't until they played "the hit" song  'I Want You To Want Me' that the crowd stood up en masse... but then the masses sat back down when the song ended!  From a fan's perspective it was annoying because Cheap Trick were great as usual and also busted out deep cuts like 'Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peace' from their first album.  Anyway, I know the kidz reading this could care less about all of this.  Sorry, kidz... but Cheap Trick still rules for this Old Fart.  For the old Cheap Trick fans like Umlaut:  Yes, Bun E. is still retired from performing and Rick's son is on drums... and they're still GREAT!!  Unfortunately, the awesome creepiness of 'Heaven Tonight' (performed with a roadie looking guy on cello... yes.. a cello..) was completely lost on the winery crowd.  Me love Cheap Trick long time.

 Where are we?? 

[Photo courtesy of Bret]

Thankfully the buzz kill audience didn't deter me from having F-U-N and the highlight of the night was being caught in the middle of the Rick Nielsen guitar pick storm during 'Dream Police'..

The Dream Police.. they live inside of my head... still.. after all these years.

After the lack of energy during the Dream Police's set I was shocked how completely different the crowd was for Pat Benatar.  The crowd went nuts as she took the stage.  Shocking.. but I was also surprised how many young women were in the audience worshiping the woman who sings 'Heartbreaker'.  Unfortunately, while Benatar undoubtedly still has a great voice, her songs sounded painfully 80's and dated.  It was also ironic how her longtime partner guitarist Neil Giraldo bit Rick Nielsen's style and tossed guitar picks to the audience during every song.  LAME.  After a couple of songs it was time to head back to the Prius and beat the traffic out of the horrific Mountain Winery parking lot ahead of the masses.  As we walked into the darkness, Benatar played that song I think is from the Top Gun soundtrack..... What?  Oh.. right.. that was Berlin...  I liked Pat Benatar more when she sang for Berlin.......... (cue rim shot).

If you bought one of every Cheap Trick merch item you would have paid $125... but their merch was pathetic!  They didn't even have the classic "Cheap Trick Cheap Trick Cheap Trick Cheap Trick" black tee for sale!?  WTF...  Their merch company is doing an awful job.  On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags.  It's always amazing when songs instantly transport you back to a specific time in your life; I was a 15-year old Cheap Trick dork again in a flash tonight... at least for an hour or so.  Meanwhile back in the 21st Century... Umlaut is old.

Not At Budokan

Cheap Trick
Mountain Winery, Saratoga, California
Rocktober 8, 2010

Umlaut is old and I grew up in a time before Iron Maiden... and before Metal there was Cheap Trick. Cheap Trick are one of Umlaut's all-time favorite bands, but I didn't know they were playing this show until 4 days before. To be honest, I generally ignore the annual schedule at The Mountain Winery because it's the type of venue that just isn't my scene: expensive tickets in a beautifully expensive location. However, The Rock Godz work in mysterious ways and 48 hours out I unexpectedly found myself with comps to the show.

Back in August, The Mountain Winery was the scene of a bizarre suicide by an audience member during a set by the band Swell Season (Click HERE for the full story). Morbid... but also pretty Metal as well. Just saying... According to the Umlaut Archives, this was my 9th time seeing Cheap Trick dating back to my very first concert in 1979. Here in the 21st Century I'm a jaded old fart... but Cheap Trick are the one band that I still become a complete dork over... and I broke the unwritten concert code and wore my weary Cheap Trick shirt to the show.

We thought we'd run into nightmarish South Bay Friday, holiday weekend, commute traffic but the run down to Saratoga wasn't that bad. One thing I didn't take into account was that even though The Winery is one of those enclaves of yuppie hoity-toity entertainment, that also means it's not run like your usual concert venue. The security search at the entrance was beyond polite and couldn't even be called a "search"... and Will Call took literally 10 seconds. I'll think fondly of this the next time the security dude at The Regency is grabbing my ass checking for a shiv or a contraband pack of gum.

For the newbies: Back in March, Cheap Trick announced that Bun E. Carlos had retired from touring. He's still a member of the band but drumming on the road is now handled by Rick's son Daxx. This was a huge bummer because part of the ongoing magic with the band was that it was still the original lineup AND they were still great. So, going into tonight I was prepared to be distracted by Bun E.'s absence... but I ended up being pleasantly blown away.

The time machine kicked in right at 8:30pm as Rockford's finest bounced onstage and slammed straight into an opening Power Pop punch of 'Way Of The World' > 'California Man' > 'Clock Strikes Ten' back to back to back. It's always amazing when songs instantly transport you back to a specific time in your life; I was a 15-year old Cheap Trick dork again in a flash.

I feel weird saying this, but I kept forgetting that Bun E. wasn't behind the drums. Daxx Nielsen NAILED it and his playing was dead on with the songs and the band. At the conclusion of 'Clock Strikes Ten' I expected Daxx to pull out the giant baseball bat-sized drum sticks like Bun E. used to do back in The Day. Daxx's drumming was a clone of Bun E.'s and all he needed was a cigarette between his lips to make it complete. You have to admit that it's pretty cool that Rick's son is enabling Cheap Trick to keep their flame alive... Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, etc.

As far as the rest of the band: Robin's voice was amazing and he was the star of the performance for me and worked the stage like it was 1979. How old is that guy!? As always, Tom held down the bottom end with his 12-string bass as the not-so secret weapon of Cheap Trick; they're a Power Pop band driven by the firepower of 3 bassists! HEAVY. Rick was rock solid as always and played a different guitar for every song as usual... Although he kind of fucked up the solo during 'The Flame' he saved his 5-neck guitar for 'Goodnight Now'.

Tonight was a robust 90-minute, 20 song set and, while the 3 new songs were good, it was scary how I can still identify an old song within seconds... My Inner Teenage Cheap Trick Dork instantly recognized the start of the extended intro to 'On Top Of The World'... How do I still have that in my head?? Time Machine stuff, man...

Rockpalast, Germany - 1979

These days Cheap Trick pull out an obscure old school rarity each night... and tonight it was 'The Ballad of T.V. Violence' from their 1st album and my Inner Teenage Cheap Trick Dork jumped up and down like a little school girl. After the set closing 'Surrender' the encore sprint to the finish surprised me by how lengthy it was... 'The Flame' > 'Dream Police' > a GREAT extended version of 'Gonna Raise Hell' > Goodnight Now'... During the encores Tom and Rick came out wearing San Francisco Giants caps! NICE... even though the Giants had blown a 4 run lead as they played their set. Then my childhood heroes were gone and my time machine journey ended and my head returned from 1979 back to the 21st Century. Bummer.

No one committed suicide during the set... and if anyone was considering it they should have done it during 'Auf Wiedersehen' but (for better or worse) that song was not in the setlist tonight. Unfortunately, there was a tight photo policy in effect so Umlaut doesn't have access to any killer shots from the show... So this will have to do:

From the Umlaut Archives

An original At Budokan 2-sided, promo, cardboard thing (17" x 13")..."The Biggest Thing Since Transistors".. I need to get it framed.

This was the 3rd consecutive year that I've seen Cheap Trick and it's the first time I've followed the band this closely since my Salad Days. Here in the 21st Century, most Rock bands of Umlaut's generation are considered "oldies" bands. For most of them that title is warranted; the relentless march of time as aging Rockers play for aging Rock fans. It's the way of the world. However, an exception to this is Cheap Trick; tonight they were as energetic, engaging, spry, and GREAT as they ever were when I first saw them as a pimply-faced teenager! Cheap Trick are the one band who still makes me want to wear their concert shirt to school the next day after their show. Hope I die before I get old.

If you bought one of every Cheap Trick merch item you would have paid around $400. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. On the drive out of Saratoga we listened to the closing moments of Game 2 of the NLDS as the Giants lost in extra innings... Buzz kill... but me still love Cheap Trick long time.

Click HERE to see Photo Ray's shots from the night!