Saturday night with 70s AM Rock

Saturday, my baby doll and I saw the double-bill of Ben Kweller and Sam Roberts at the Showbox. An interesting matchup of 70's rock appreciaters, with Kweller more in tune with 70's AM Pop and Roberts in line with Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones... where they both meet squarely, though, is in their love for The Beatles.



09.30.2006 @ Showbox, Seattle:
Ben Kweller - Best Guess Setlist
Sam Roberts - Best Guess Setlist

They both hooked up on their tour a couple weeks ago at the Austin City Limits festival, where Kweller had THE rock moment of 2006 when a runaway nose bleed cut his set short. Kweller bloodied his guitar and piano playing through the bleed until it was apparent that too much bood had been lost, and he was rushed to the hospital. (photo from project d.u.) Here's Kweller talking about the nosebleed:

1 hour in, a festival paramedic was pinching my nose while her walkie talkie was blaring with other medical emergencies like a snake bit girl and a passed out drunkard. The minutes were flying by and all of a sudden it was 2:30 - my scheduled time to hit the stage! Everybody wanted to put me in an ambulance and cancel my show. Fuck that! There's 20,000 people out there, I'm not gonna cancel a show because of a nose bleed. What kind of excuse is that? I'm certainly not gonna make up some bullshit Axl Rose excuse!

Meanwhile, back to Saturday night, Sam Roberts played a great set, even if they had to squeeze their fire into a shorter set. My fellow USA compatriots still don't seem to get Sam Roberts... I hope opening for Ben Kweller will give them the exposure they're looking for, but I'm not sure it will.

Previously:
Dwell on the swell Kweller feller (Ben Kweller preview)
A case for modern classic rock (Sam Roberts' Chemical City)

tags: playlist, music, sam roberts, ben kweller, live music, concert review, indie rock, nose bleed, seattle, classic rock, rhapsody