The Roxy: 2012 Calendar

It’s almost January 2012, so it’s time to start looking for upcoming shows.

Check out The Roxy’s upcoming concert calendar.

What city enjoys the best concerts?

When a band embarks on a nationwide tour, audiences in 20-30 cities will get to buy a ticket and see the concert. Ideally, the band’s performances in all of these cities would be of similar quality and content.

But, bands are composed of people, and people can get sick, run down, tired of sleeping in vans and hotels, and fatigued from the demands of touring life (not getting normal diet and exercise, for example).

Given that most cross-country tours either start on the west coast (Los Angeles) or the east coast (New York), at what point during the tour is usually the best time to see a band play?

LA and NYC shows certainly get more press coverage than shows in Kansas, for example, but maybe a band’s performance in Kansas is actually their best of the whole tour.

Of course, sound equipment and quality greatly affect the show, but I’m talking about the performance itself.

At the beginning of a tour, a band is still warming up, getting any kinks out of their set, and getting back into the swing of things. At the end of a tour, a band is generally exhausted from traveling and not being home in months, which can affect the quality of the music that they play.

I’ve only been to shows in LA and NY, but maybe audiences in the midwest actually get to enjoy the best concerts because the performers have already settled into the routine of playing each night but still have lots of energy.

Here’s a recent example from the current Lemonheads/Shining Twins tour, which started on the east coast a month ago and has now made its way to the west coast.

The opening band Shining Twins seem to play their song “Greasy Bear” much slower and with less energy at their LA show at the end of the tour. This slight difference actually has a big effect, though, since the song isn’t as good/interesting at the slower tempo.

Maybe the band was tired, or maybe they decided to alter the tempo of the song. Hear the difference below — the lethargic version of the song is first:

Scarlett Johansson & Pete Yorn: “Relator” Live

We recently wrote here how Scarlett Johansson & Pete Yorn’s song “Relator” was THE #1 best song we discovered through Pandora.

Here’s a great live version of “Relator” that Johansson and Yorn performed on a French tv show. It definitely lives up to the recording and puts to rest any doubts about Johansson’s singing abilities.

Portions for Foxes Live

Check out the video below of Jenny Lewis (Rilo Kiley) joining Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band onstage at Sunset Junction in Hollywood. They play a cover of one of Rilo Kiley’s best songs, “Portions for Foxes,” and they turn the song into a duet between Jenny and Conor.

Added bonus: Jason Boesel, drummer of Rilo Kiley, is also the drummer for Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. So, half of Rilo Kiley is playing onstage.

This video has great sound quality and features some really close up shots of the guitars.