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This post is kinda late and it’s about his second show; suffice to say this isn’t a “fresh” post.

I saw Tom Petty’s second show at the Berkeley Greek Theater on Saturday, September 30, 2006. Being the legend that he is, even lawn seats were upwards of $45, but worth it for me, since I hadn’t seen him before.

The opening act was Frank Black of the Pixies; a pleasant surprise. I don’t think he played many Pixies tunes and most of his songs were of the alt-country/classic rock style.

Mr. Petty could have opened with a song better than Listen to Her Heart, but he corrected himself next by playing Mary Jane’s Last Dance. He played other best-of hits like Free Fallin’ and Great Wide Open and songs off of his new album, Highway Companion. Mixing it up, he also played covers of Bo Diddeley, Chuck Berry, Fleetwood Mac, and the Traveling Wilburys, which he was a part of.

The “special guest” mentioned on the ticket referred to Stevie Nicks who sang with Petty their duet, Stop Dragging My Heart Around. Stevie also sang I Need Know solo.

Overall, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks still know how to rock it but, sad to say, most of their veteran listeners (i.e. old people) don’t: the audience was a little stiff.

New Orleans rock band, Cowboy Mouth, rocked a sold out crowd at the Red Devil Lounge in San Francisco last night. I missed them when they played at the PB Block Party in San Diego in 2005, so I wasn’t going to let that happen again.

The venue is a couple of blocks from my home and the way I found out that they were playing was because, stumbling home the night prior, I saw their Southern Comfort-donated tour bus parked outside.

The opening act, a local San Francisco band, Whiskey Pills (& the PBR Street Gang?) warmed up the crowd for an hour. Their alt-country style is one that’s hard to find in the mainstream. Now that I’m aware of them, I’ll have to check them out sometime.

The Cowboy Mouth quartet took the stage shortly after and front man Fred LeBlanc riled everybody up like a summer camp counselor with his signature phrases “Are you with me?!” and “I can’t hear you!” and reminded us what a blast it is to be alive and encouraged us to go crazy.

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Cuban musical ensemble, Compay Segundo, named for the late musician from Buena Vista Social Club, played a free concert in Rosarito across from Festival Plaza hotel as part of an international cultural celebration. I was in town simply for vacation and was excited when a local informed me about the event.

The band sounded just like the Buena Vista Social Club and even played some of their songs including Chan Chan, Chicharones and El Cuarto de Tula. I’m still in disbelief that such a well-known act played for free and to such a small crowd at that. The same show in the United States would have sold out for $20 a ticket or more but due to the Cuban embargo, it never can. Their success in the United States is due primarily to a PBS special produced in the late ’90s. I remember being offered extra credit to watch the movie in my AP Spanish class (instead I went to another eligible move, Chiapas).

The concert was an opportunity for me to experience a real cultural event not included on the usual tourist to-do list. The crowd was all Mexican nationals and folks were dancing in the street and drinking mojitos. This would have to be one of the top five concerts I’ve ever been to, mostly because it was a surprise, free and on the streets of Rosarito in addition to being amazing music.

A large part of how enjoyable a concert is depends on how enthusiastic its attendees are. The performers feed off of the audience and the audience hangs on the rhythms and notes of the performers. Both Manu Chao and all the beautiful people at the Greek Theater listening and dancing to his music made this concert an unforgettable one.

A Manu Chao performance in the States is a rare occurrence so the show was a treat from the start. In America, at least, Manu Chao’s popularity was gained by word of mouth. I first heard about him from a friend who studied in Spain and came back with his CDs. I’ve also come across his music in various jukeboxes throughout San Francisco and heard it played at Cha Cha Chas.

Mexican rock band, Kinky, warmed up the audience keeping with the Latin theme. Then, one by one, the band members came out and started to play, finishing with Manu. They played with a more reggae beat that kept the audience jumping up and down for three hours.

The setlist, as best I can remember, included Mr Bobby, Por el Suelo, La Primavera, Me Gustas Tu, El Viento, Merry Blues, Bongo Bong, Clandestino, Radio Bemba and Mentira.

If you missed him, you can still catch him in San Diego, Vegas, Denver, Chicago or Brooklyn. See Pollstar.com for more details. Take advantage now, because there’s no telling when he’s coming back.

What do The Flaming Lips and Ween have in common? They both have songs on the SpongeBob SquarePants Movie soundtrack and they both played at the Greek Theater last night. Both are extremely individualistic bands, each with their own distinct style, making them a great co-headlining combo for a concert.

Opening for the two was a forgettable band, Liar (or something).

Ween took the stage first and entertained the crowd with Baby Bitch, Ocean Man and Buenos Tardes Amigo among others. I originally bought the tickets just to see Ween and even though they were awesome, I would have enjoyed them better at a smaller venue at a Ween-only show. As it happened, after I bought the tickets, they added another show, playing by themselves at a smaller venue, the Independent. This bummed me out, but not after I got to see the Flaming Lips.

The Flaming Lips put on a show complete with confetti, streamers, giant balloons and dancing girls clad in space-age mini-skirts and alien masks. To start off their set, the lead singer got into a life-sized inflatable hamster ball and rolled around in the crowd; I had never seen a stunt quite like that at a concert before. They played all their single hits including Do You Realize, She Don’t Use Jelly, and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

I must admit I was a little uneducated about each band before the concert but I had a hunch that each would put on a performance in addition to merely playing their instruments. Now that I’ve seen them live, I know their personalities much better and won’t miss them the next time they pass through town.

I saw my third Pearl Jam show last night and the $50 ticket proved well worth the price. I avoided the bullshit $10 surcharge by buying my ticket at the venue. (Speaking of which, what ever happened with your crusade against Ticketmaster, Pearl Jam?) Their debut album came out when I was in the 5th grade, making me one the youngest members of the audience last night.

Already drunk, Eddie started the show off right by forgetting the lyrics to the first song, but the audience cheered him on despite. I’d say the next highlight was when he appeared after the second encore break amidst the crowd to sing Last Kiss. Once the spotlight fell on him, the crowd contracted around him like he was a magnet.

The setlist consisted mainly of songs off of their latest album and from their second album, Versus, including Animal, Leash, Dissident, Blood and Rear View Mirror. They played the two staples off of Ten: Alive and Evenflow. And what Pearl Jam show is complete without them paying tribute with a cover? They played Fucking Up by Neil Young, one of their favorite artists to cover. There was also a guest appearance by the Avengers, some obscure punk band that inspired the guitarist.

All in all, I’d say Eddie brought the energy but now that the gen-Xers have square jobs, mortgages and children, they were a little too well-behaved for a rock concert, reminiscent of the audience at a Stones concert. Oh well, I guess that’s how it goes; I’ll be old and lame one day, too.