BJM 2012 Tour

For setlists, memories and bootlegs etc...

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redcloud
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BJM 2012 Tour

Post by redcloud »

I saw the Brian Jonestown Massacre last Friday (May 4). The sound was excellent, which is no small feat with eight members and at any one time five guitars could be being played. The set list too has been seriously shaken up and to be honest, the new songs from the new album sounded very fresh and brilliantly psychedelic. There was also no on-stage temper bursts, no melt downs, no shenanigans and the audience was good and respectful. The gig was a solid two hours and had many musical highlights. In 2009 they played 'Jesus' in Portland for the first time in several years and last Friday they played 'David Bowie I Love You' for the first time in recent memory. It was probably the best and tightest I have seen them in quite a while. I highly recommend people catching this tour. It's a long one so hopefully they can keep it up for the duration. Thankfully, the Portland date was early in the tour so they were on fresh legs.
Hofstadter
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by Hofstadter »

Sweet! I'm seeing them on Friday at the Wiltern, and this only served to build my excitement.
shalloboi
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by shalloboi »

that clinches it- i'm definitely going to get tickets for their show here in august.
i heard that the sound was really great and got a glimpse of that setlist. i've always wanted to hear them play 'david bowie.'
angelsighs
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by angelsighs »

thanks for the report, this has also made me take a punt on tickets for their UK tour.. will be my first time seeing them
Luminescence
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by Luminescence »

angelsighs wrote:thanks for the report, this has also made me take a punt on tickets for their UK tour.. will be my first time seeing them

You won't be disapointed either way!
Hey Jayne
Hofstadter
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by Hofstadter »

Seeing them tonight at the Wiltern in LA (spz will be there in 10 days!)! Will report back.
Hofstadter
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by Hofstadter »

Excellent show. Unfortunately I missed most of the opening act, but from what I caught they sounded like they would've been a fun, loud warm-up.

The first thing that I noticed was that it was a very masculine crowd - very bro heavy, lots of guys in dark clothes in groups. Sure there were guys who brought their dates along, but it seemed like it was the guys who were super excited and the girls who were tagging along to make their boyfriends happy. Initially the crowd was really talkative and felt almost tense - even as bjm walked on stage and began to play, it was like the conversations got louder with this tense energy. I can't stand crowds that are talking over the music, but by the end of the first song it seemed like half the crowd had sparked up, and by the end of the second song the almost roar of the crowd had melted into the roar of feedback and wall of guitars. It was now a few hundred dudes who were just letting the music take them away as they blew off some steam. Quite a cool effect/experience.

Enough about the crowd though! As for the band: they played excellently. The show felt incredibly steady but also almost architectural - bass lines droned along providing steady foundations for the listeners to sort of stand on, while rhythm guitars created walls of sound that seemed to wrap around you. The frequently arpeggiated chords though are what really stuck out in almost every song - very hypnotic, something to latch onto as they took you up and down.

Almost every song started out with the sort of original layout of the recorded song in terms of vocals/structure, but then after a minute or two turned into extended vocal-less jams - nothing wild, not even 'building' jams that crescendo'd - just steady and repetitive - seemed like just the sort of medicine the crowd needed. No stage banter for the most partner - they were getting down to business.

There was only one major hiccup as something seemed to go wrong with an effects pedal - it just sounded like an awful, terribly loud screeching that came over one of the guitars. To be honest I was a bit stoned and couldn't quite follow how the tech doods were fixing it onstage after the song (also there were some tall people in front of me so I couldn't quite see what the guys were bending over to fix)/anton's jokes about it (something about thunderbolts?), but it was resolved quickly. It was pretty funny though seeing everybody's hands jerk to their ears in unison. It was pretty horrendous, but at the same time bizarrely rhythmic as it was still some effect that had just lost all tonality.

The highlights of the show for me were probably the cuts from Methodrone.

After a solid two hours, the show ended sans encore on a long solo drone piece on the keyboard after the rest of the band had left the stage. There was on odd feeling as the lights came up with the intense, low note still blasting out loud - the crowd seemed dazed.

All in all, a pretty great show in my opinion - it didn't have a quality to it that this was a 'life-changing' show for anybody in the crowd, or an unforgettable show - just one incredibly solid night of music to chill out to.
olan
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by olan »

The LA Wiltern gig from 5th May is on Dimeadozen now...
redcloud
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by redcloud »

olan wrote:The LA Wiltern gig from 5th May is on Dimeadozen now...
May 5th? That was the Seattle show.
Hofstadter
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by Hofstadter »

(He meant the 12th - I'm currently downloading it and can post mp3s to sendspace if anybody would like)
olan
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by olan »

redcloud wrote:
olan wrote:The LA Wiltern gig from 5th May is on Dimeadozen now...
May 5th? That was the Seattle show.
Sorry, I was a tad knackered when I wrote that.....
spzranger
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by spzranger »

I saw BJM at Glastonbury 2008 and they were pretty poor, but that was an afternoon set that I don't think suited them at all. Saw them again in London this month and thought they were fantastic. As I have only seen them twice was wondering how others who have seen them a few times rate the current tour compared to previous ones? Definitely looking to see them again if the chance arises. I must add the current album is excellent.
redcloud
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by redcloud »

I've seen BJM many, many times. Over the years I have seen some excellent shows, some good and some bad. Most were memorable but not all for the right reasons. I remember the 2007-8 shows as being not so great. In fact, I questioned whether I wanted to ever pay money to see them again. But, I did....and 2009 was a very good show.

2012, however, was one of the best times I have seen them. They were focused, polished and more relaxed than ever. Granted, the Portland date was early on and they were still rested but I've heard that for the most part this entire tour has been consistently stellar.
Aquarian-Time
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Re: BJM 2012 Tour

Post by Aquarian-Time »

I have seen the 5 times. First time was not long after DIG (well i tell i lie saw them supporting BJM once but took no notice) and they were awesome, locked in the groove. The next 3 got progressively worse, all due to Anton and his fairly fragile state. Then my faith was reaffirmed aftyer the recent Manchester Gig where they were outstanding.
Basically, it seemed to me Anton was sober at the first and last time I have seen them and in a drunken/drugged stupor during the others
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