Veruca Salt – July 30, 2015 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club

My first blog post, yet my 400th (ball park guess) concert.

Just a couple hours ago, the original line-up of Veruca Salt killed it at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, MA. Louise Post, Nina Gordon, and (just call it like it is) the two dudes in the band were on their game. The band sounded great, the girls looked great, and the crowd was definitely digging it. They played old stuff, the hits, tracks off their biggest albums, and a lot of new stuff from the Ghost Notes album. Not surprisingly, they didn’t play anything off of the Resolver album which was Louise Post and a whole new lineup. It’s a shame though, because Born Entertainer is a solid track from Louise. Had they played that, they could have balanced it out with Nina’s solo hit Tonight and the Rest of My Life in my humble opinion. Anyway…

Throughout the show, the girls bantered about their past, their break up, their reunion, the new album, and shopping in Boston. Nina apparently spent a lot of time shopping in Boston after the band broke up while Louise sat home watching All in the Family and Sanford and Son reruns.

Both girls sounded amazing. Louise showed a bit more range by singing soft and sweet and also letting out some good ole rock n roll screams. Nina was more consistent on the sweet side. Thanks to some technical difficulties with the bass drum mic, we got to hear just how good Louise sounds when she broke in a solo vocal performance of One Last Time in order to fill the void. She did a beautiful job with it.

I saw Veruca Salt in 1997 at their stop in Providence, RI and to this day it’s one of my favorite shows. I remember them coming out and opening up with Straight, one of their heaviest tracks, and rocking Lupos Heartbreak Hotel. I arrived early to that show and waited in line so I could get right up front. It worked and I snagged a guitar pick directly from Louise’s hand. 18 years and 5 days later, I wasn’t disappointed. I had a great time in Boston, although no souvenirs this time. Thanks for the great night Nina and Louise!

So what did they play? Here’s my recollection. For those of you who just care about the hits, they played Volcano Girls somewhere in the first half of the show and then played Seether in the second half; easily their two biggest hits. Neither were the opener or closer for the show which surprised me, but it worked. For the most part, I do recall what they played just not the order. So instead I listed everything in order by album instead of the set list (which I didn’t keep track of). If you were there and I missed something, let me know!

Blow it Out Your Ass

• Shimmer Like a Girl
• I’m Taking Europe with Me

American Thighs

• All Hail Me
• Seether
• Spiderman
• Forsythia

Eight Arms to Hold You

• Straight
• Volcano Girls
• Don’t Make Me Prove It
• One Last Time – Solo Vocal Rendition
• Earth Crosser – last song main set

Ghost Notes

• Black and Blonde
• Prince of Wales
• The Sound of Leaving
• Love You Less
• Laughing in the Sugar Bowl
• The Museum of Broken Relationships

Check out my Instagram page for photos from the night, and here’s a video of Seether from the show:

This Saturday, August 1, I’ll be checking out Smashing Pumpkins with Marilyn Manson. So we’ll talk soon.