Paul Jam - Paul Andrews' Blog - Dunsborough, Western Australia

As expected, KISS went hard at Madison Square Garden, but for me did not capture the excitement or emotion of the previous three concerts I'd witnessed this week. KISS is not a band in the sense of Pearl Jam or The E Street Band, where a band of brothers bounce off one another and the audience and where anything could happen. KISS is Paul Stanley telling everyone how good they are and three other guys doing their thing on cue to the plan. To give them their credit, it was a good 'show' – but more along the lines of a Broadway Show - not a spontaneous rock concert. It was scripted, it was clichéd and it was all songs about about their dicks.

No doubt, KISS put on a spectacular show and have influenced many glam bands since - there are pyrotechnics, fireballs, a massive light show and theatrics, but you can’t help thinking that apart from the obligatory: ’We love you New York, you’re the best’, this show really was paint by numbers. None the less, the New York crowd of KISS Army devotees lapped it up and truly believed they’d witnessed the best show of all time. I, however, walked away knowing I’d never again bother to see KISS - even if they do make it out to Perth. Their best days were in the 70s, but now they are a parody of themselves and they, and their fans are the ones who don’t yet get the joke - but as long as the cash registers are ringing, they'll be playing.

This biggest concert of my life has come and gone and I’m pretty impressed. Hanging with 80,000 New Yorkers and New Jersey natives to see their favourite son was an experience that was every bit as big, bold and brash as I thought it would be. Called “The Wrecking Ball”, I can assure you, I had a ball, especially as they played the entire “Born In The USA” album in order, highlighting the emotion and political undertones that Springsteen felt during the Regan era.

The show saw The E-Street Band, who again, must be one of the best rock outfits on the planet put on a three hour plus show with hits, special requests and surprises that was a fitting end to the life of this massive stadium. The show was the final one to take place before they tear it down to turn it into a car park for the new stadium that has been built next door. 

Yesterday I had a fairly low key day. I caught up on some work and rested myself for what I knew was going to be a big night at the second Pearl Jam concert. I went and had a go at iFly, which is like an indoor version of skydiving where a wind tunnel basically blows you in the air. This was great and I have some great pics and a dvd of the experience.

Today I went out on the metro subway to Hollywood and did the tourist thing. I just went down to Hollywood Boulevard and strolled around for a couple of hours meeting the locals and checking out movie history. I even got a little tattoo at a Hollywood Boulevard tattoo shop by a cool guy called Diablo which is one I’m going to find pretty hard to hide. I’m sure Toni will like it.

After an amazing performance the previous night, the anticipation was incredible as to what Pearl Jam would do to make their last Los Angeles performance even better. This was the forth LA show and people who has seen the previous three were predicting all kinds of mayhem.  There were dozens of people trying to purchase tickets outside the venue – I could easily have sold my ticket for $500 – but no f’n way was I going to miss this show.

Celebrity appearances and rumours that the entire line up of Soundgarden would appear for a song were rife, but ultimately were unfounded – even though the entire Soundgarden line up were at the venue to watch the show as well as a number of A-list stars. What Pearl Jam delivered was a super high energy show with so many songs I’d never seen played live before and a crowd that was even more intense than the previous night.

I just witnessed one of the most amazing concerts of my life. If this is not one of Pearl Jam’s finest shows ever, then this band is even more incredible than I can comprehend. The show I witnessed, from about 15 metres from the stage has left my ears ringing, my throat hoarse and my heat pounding.

A show of hits, album tracks, rarities and three incredible guest appearances including an extremely rare reformation of all the members of Temple Of The Dog, for probably the finest ever version of the pre-ten classic, Hunger Strike – featuring the one and only Chris Cornell. This one song will go down in Pearl Jam folklore – and I was there to see it. I’m totally awestruck baby!

I’m in Hollywood – or at least ‘Universal City’. After avoiding this place for the last few trips I’ve done over here, I’m glad the prospect of seeing Pearl Jam twice in the USA brought me back. I’m enjoying it.

The day started well enough with a great sleep and some time to catch up on work I needed to do on the SSTUWA website. But then the bill for my hotel was slipped under my door. As well as the charge for he room, there was a $500 fee for ‘international phone calls’. Considering I’d made a total of about 20 minutes of phone calls to Australia, I was not very happy. Needless to say, after a shower, my first stop was the hotel reception.

Day two has been a chilled out exercise day. Wanting to keep a tight rein on my spending I decided to hot foot it around the place and walked the 3 or 4 mile journey into Valencia town centre and had a gawk at this fairly privileged community. I plugged the ipod in my ears and took off to the sound of the Angels “Dark Room”. A bogan till the end!

I made it into the local shopping mall and my first task was to purchase a t-shirt. I don’t know how, but I managed to only pack three t-shirts even though I’m sure I put about half a dozen out. After a few days even I can’t put up with my own smell any longer and a newie was needed. I tried washing the two I have worn so far but only succeeded in spreading the B.O smell over the entire t-shirt. There goes doing my washing in the tub while I shower idea!

My first real day of being a tourist in USA is officially over and Magic Mountain has been climbed and conquered!  Been there, done, that and didn’t even bother with the T-Shirt.

For those of you who came in late, Six Flags Magic Mountain is the home of the of the worlds wildest and scariest rollercoasters. It was featured on National Lampoon’s “Vacation” where it was called ‘Wally World’. I didn’t punch the moose!

I got there bright an early at 10 am after a quick walk from my hotel. Staying near the park was a good move as the park was still quiet before the tourist buses arrived. I got straight in, picked up my Gold Flash Pass which allowed me to jump the lines and go directly to the loading areas of all the rides and was on my way.

I made it! I'm in the land of the brave and home of the free. I'd forgotten what a mission it is going directly from Perth to Los Angeles and then onto my hotel via public transport.

My 5am flight from Perth to Sydney was uneventful and my window seat made for some nice views and a little sleep. I awoke somewhere over western new South Wales and had a nice view of Sydney as we came into the airport. It was good to have no access to computers, internet, phones or any technology at all.

 

Well, the first speed hump in the Rocktober itinerary- AC/DC have had to postpone six shows in the US after singer Brian Johnston was forced to undergo an undisclosed medical procedure and was ordered by his doctors to rest and recover for a couple of weeks.I think it has something to do with him being born with a Stiff... Upper Lip   

Typical, the guy drinks like a fish, smokes like a train and doesn’t look like he dislikes his food and then suddenly, when I have tickets to see Australia’s biggest band in America’s trashiest city, he decides to take doctor’s advice! Isn’t AC/DC a band founded on ignoring doctor’s advice? I’m sure any right minded doctor (with maybe the exception of Elvis’and Michael Jackson’s ) would have been giving these boys ‘advice’ to curb their ways for decades – why do they have to start listening now???

Backspacer, the new album by Pearl Jam is out today and it ROCKS!!!  I downloaded it from itunes at 4am this morning and the office was rocking all morning.

This would have to be the first time I’ve been able to describe a Pearl Jam album as fun, upbeat and almost ‘poppy’. If you loved Unemployable, Green Disease, Given To Fly, Worldwide Suicide, Spin The Black Circle you’re going to love this.

I can yet workout what song is my favourite on the album, they are all wild – there is no filler. The influences appear to be based in solid rock with a fair slab of 80s rock (the good stuff).

Well, the reality of what I’m about to do has finally set in: Two weeks in the states in three big cities and six big concerts. Plus the work I am doing over there. This must be some kind of midlife crisis – but I’m looking at it as a reward for a handful of years of hard slog getting my own business off the ground and surviving. I’m getting to the end of the work projects I had booked for clients and have even found time to mess around on this site and add some videos from the bands I will be seeing.

I’ve also added Lenny Kravitz at the Fillmore on Irving on the 14th of October to my list of shows – bringing it to six concerts. By the looks of the video I’ve seen of Lenny’s 2009 shows – they look awesome and seeing him at this legendary venue will be great. Ben Harper on the Relentless Seven are supporting Pearl Jam for both gigs so this looks like being a huge double header in Los Angeles.

My ticket for Bruce Springsteen. Incidentally, this was delivered to my hands only three days after I purchased it online from Stubhub. I was pretty impressed. Ticketmaster can't get a ticket for a Perth show to me that quickly and I'm only a three hour drave from them.

To make it easier, I'll be picking up my KISS and AC/DC tickets at the venue's will call windows. Becasue I have Peal Jam Fan Club tickets to the two Pearl Jam shows, a similar process wil ltake place but i wont know until I open the envelope where my seats are. At the 2006 Subiaco concert we were row 6 right in front.

 

The countdown to Roctober 2009 has begun and I'm still flat out with work, sport and family life to put much thought into the finer details of the trip. We're still in the stormy winter months here so getting away might be nice.

I really need to work out local travel plans on the ground in USA. I'm hoping to use local public transport where possible and given the number of travel advisor websites and google maps, you can pretty much do it all yourself these days - on the cheap. We got away with it pretty well last time and it was an experience sharing local public transport with the citizens of a city.

I leave Perth Airport at about 3am on the 2nd Of October, touching down in Los Angeles at 9am and hopefully sleeping most of that journey across the Pacific so I can wake to breakfast on the plane followed by a quiet day in or around my hotel getting used to the new timezone. This has never proven to be a problem in the past as I can usually change my sleep cycle a few days before the trip.

Luckily some major acts are touring while I an in USA for work purposes. The gigs look awesome!