he was better than he's been in years. check out this tour if you get a chance, y'all.

Were you there early enough to enjoy Martha Wainwright?

Pleased to hear you witnessed a good show, bc this past Sunday night in Minneapolis, he stunk up the First Ave. stage in a way I've never seen before. Paik, the opening band I've been trying to like since Corridors, stunk equally as bad, and I'm usually down with loud acid rock-like instrumental acts - even those with loop pedals percolating the whole set through. The drummer & his ginormous kick drum was probably the only saving grace. Swiateck, am I missing something with these Detroit folk?

Pretty typical Malkmus a couple nights ago, but he seemed to be in an extra despondent mood this day. The crowd was energized and relatively giddy. Much younger and sillier than the audience for Spoon/Clientele during the the early show that evening, but everyone was amped to see a nice performance all the same. He unenthusiastically slogged through Face The Truth in it's entirety (save 'Mama' and 'Kindling for the Master' and two others I only know by track number) with an ultra-flat guitar and indistinguishable synths. Joanna was her usual aloof self, but Jicks drummer was fun and pretty much spot-on. That is, until he fucked up Post-Paint Boy (I think) four songs in which prompted SM to quit midway through and proceed to give the percussionist a very brief toungue-lashing. Shot him dirty looks the rest of the night. This was the first of three songs he quit early. He did play a strong version of 'Dynamic Calories', which is one of my favs, but the botching of his proggy guitar solos and an all-around bad attitude ruined the set for the wife & me. He did mention he was kind of in a bad way bc TGIFriday's closed early & he couldn't get his pre-game Chicken Fingers. I laughed, but we finally called it a night about 45 minutes through. It was that terrible. (I rarely leave early - I always try to find something redeeming at shows.)

I've seen Pavement twice and Jicks numerous times at home & abroad yet never witnessed such a spectacle as this one. I mean, I know he's a prima donna and a difficult person to play with, but a bratty cunt on stage? It pains me to say this bc I really like the guy, but he probably needs to get over himself. I won't ever shell out money to see him live again.

bummer, moxie. i used to go see pavement all the time and there was always a night or two where they were way off or disinterested. from what i saw last night, though, i was very impressed. the band sounded better than they ever have, his playing was outstanding (loose at times, of course), and he seemed to be enjoying himself quite a bit up there.

i did see a little of martha wainwright, but she didn't really do much for me.

He must've been having a good day. I'm a bit of a drama queen sometimes, I admit, but it sucks when your favorite players just don't produce.

I will probably see him again.

i'm retarded. i totally thought malkmus was tonight, so i chose to go to another show since my friend had an extra ticket. then i realized it was the same night. doh!

I am seeing him tonight at Fillmore... site of some of Pavement's best moments. Will report.

Please do.

Malkmus at the Fillmore:

malkmus was good... occasionally very good, but uneven.... he has always "lost interest" in songs while performing them, in the geekish, endearing, ADHD-slacker-guitar-god persona he's been peddling for 15 years. A few times there were melodic and intense moments, emotionally driven vocals, that almost were not ironic... he has slowly matured in this solo career he now has. He perfomed almost the entire "Face the Truth", and many in the audience knew all the words, I was impressed. He performed no Pavement, though Dark Wave and Jo Jo's Jacket were greeted as "hits" and I had to remind myself that they were not Pavement.

Although actually the Jicks are much more a band than are Wilco (whom I saw at the Greek on Saturday.... Tweedy's back-up band doesn't even get introduced). The tension between the drummer and little stephen is mostly a pose, and the drummer is funny... and good. The band sounded very good. Although a couple of times when they almost got close to a jam... malkmus cuts-up and deconstructs, and more and more I see that as his fear of success. And maybe he doesn't quite have the chops he wants us to think he takes for granted and throws away.

Not the best I've seen malkmus, but very very far from the worst. I like when he did the springsteen pose... and also the fairport convention encore. Mr. Showbiz, however, he is not. That would be Tweedy...

i caught him at the d.c. date 2 weeks ago and it was awesome. the crowd and the band seemed to love every minute of the performance, not to mention catching a glimpse of steve west and mark ibold standing offstage. they may not have participated, but simply standing in the same room as 3/5 of pavement was enough of a thrill for me.

hey, i wrote a shitty review!