Crawfish Boil May 5/1-2/09

So the Crawfish Boil in Birmingham always manages to book a very… eclectic group of acts. And the way they are placed in the line-up is well, interesting. The first band of the day was Saving Abel. They played In God’s Eyes, New Tattoo, 18 Days, Drowning (Face Down), Out Of My Face, and Addicted. I love Saving Abel, but something about their live shows just does not do it for me. It makes me feel bad because they are from the next state over. Anyway, after Saving Abel was Shinedown. They were the main reason I wanted to go to this show in the first place. Even though their sound system kept going out, it was still a pretty solid set. It was also good to know that Brent Smith does not lip sync. They opened with the Sound Of Madness and followed it with Heroes, I Dare You, Left Out, 45, Save Me, Second Chance, and Devour. Every time I see them, I always hold out for Burning Bright. But, sadly, I never get it. I am still keeping hope alive. After Shinedown was (Drum Roll Please) LL Cool J. Yes, LL Cool J. When I said eclectic, I meant it. He was actually a lot better than I thought he would be. I do not know all the songs he played because I do not know many of his songs but I do know that he played Headsprung, Going Back to Cali, Luv You Better, and Mama Said Knock You Out. At the end of his set he threw money into the audience. That was the first and only time I have ever seen any artist do that. After LL was Jason Mraz. He was just ok. He played The Remedy, Mary Jane (Rick James Cover), The Dynamo of Volition, I’m Yours, and Lucky. Anya Marina came out and did Colbie Callait’s part. And to close out night one was 311. They played Beautiful Disaster, Freeze Time, All Mixed Up, You Wouldn't Believe, Taiyed, Love Song (Cure Cover), Applied Science, Prisoner, Hey You, Come Original, Beyond The Gray Sky, What Was I Thinking, Amber, Down, Creatures (For A While), and Feels So Good. After 311 was over, the first day was over. So off to the hotel my mother and I went. When I woke up the next morning, I was so excited because I knew I would get to see the All American Rejects. When we got there Bushwalla, the first act, was already on stage. He played Ghetto Blaster and Gangsta. He was a really fun person to see live. He balanced his guitar on his nose. It was funny. After him, Shiny Toy Guns came on. They were wild. It even rained a little bit during their set. They played Le Disko, You Are The One, Rainy Monday, and Ghost Town. Their singer, Carah Faye Charnow, had on a really cool outfit. After STG, it was time for Filter. They were really loud. I only know a few Filter songs and all I can tell the readers of this blog is that they played American Cliché, Take A Picture, and Hey Man, Nice Shot. After Filter was Everclear. Even though I knew most of the songs they played, they were really boring. I heard several people talk about how they lost their touch. I would not know if this is true, though, because I have only seen them one time. They played Father Of Mine, AM Radio, Wonderful, Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison cover), and Santa Monica. After them, it was time for Katy Perry. She opened with Fingerprints. Afterwards she played Hot N Cold, Waking Up In Vegas, Thinking Of You, Ur So Gay, and I Kissed A Girl. She told us that it was the first time she had ever played in Alabama. She also told us that her parents were in the crowd and that she grew up in a very religious household and how that made here the person she is today. During the opening song, she had these huge blow-up strawberries and during I Kissed A Girl, she had a huge blow up lipstick. She kicked it into the crowd and it was pretty funny. I also gained a little respect for Katy because she plays guitar and during most of the set, she did it herself. At some point she crowd surfed as well. Then it was time for The All American Rejects. Go figure that when they started a crowd surfer knocked the camera out of my hand. Luckily, I found it. Tyson Ritter graced the stage with his beautiful self and about made me cry. They opened with I Wanna. They also played Fallin’ Apart, Dirty Little Secret, Top Of The World, My Paper Heart, Believe, Swing Swing, Mona Lisa, It Ends Tonight, Real World, Damn Girl, Move Along, The Wind Blows, and Gives You Hell. During Mona Lisa, he pulled a girl on stage and serenaded her with the song. At the end of the song, he kissed her on the cheek and she cried. I would have too. Needless to say, I was super jealous. Finally, it was time for the last act of the night. Snoop Dogg. He was very interesting. He played I Wanna Love You, Gin and Juice, Ridin’ In My Chevy, Sensual Seduction, and Drop It Like It’s Hot. There were all of these crazy people around me dancing and every time Snoop Dogg would say “Make some noise!” I would laugh. So, in conclusion, this weekend was filled with many interesting characters. Some bands I would definitely go see again. Others, (*cough* Everclear *cough*) not so much.