MINDSET

New Blog!

2007-09-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

As of right now, the new Mindset blog is up and running over at http://ndmindset.wordpress.com. Update your bookmarks and head on over.

"They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said..."

2007-08-19T20:42:00.000-05:00

"Sure. What the heck."

Good for you, Amy Winehouse. Good for you.

Unfortunately, summer has not been a time of music festivals and rock concerts for this little Floridian. But between jobs and trips I’ve been racing to my local Best Buy to purchase some tunes. Here’s what I think.

This CD is amazing. All around one of the best sophomore albums I’ve heard. It felt like it took a while for this little group to put out something new, and there are only ten songs, but I feel like they didn’t force anything. Each track is great.

One of my biggest complaints with bands is that they try to overcompensate for their inability to follow up previous hits (ct. Infinity On High). Eisley does add a chorus for “Come Clean,” but they keep their simple piano parts, and even their beloved toy piano at times. You can really feel the band’s growth in this track; the words and melodies are still enchanting and simple, but Eisley’s not afraid to rock out, either.
A+.

I can hardly bring myself to say anything negative about this band. It hurts, it really does. But I have yet to feel the need to listen to The Needles The Space over and over. I love Straylight Run’s originality—and of course you know about my thing with piano-driven music. Sadly, though, this CD’s success will surely fall short of its predecessor, except perhaps with the band’s more loyal following.

That said, this is not a bad CD. It’s got some catchy tracks, my favorite being “The Miracle That Never Came.”

One thumbs up.

Ah, The Starting Line. Feels like just yesterday I was a middle-school kid listening to “The Best of Me,” which will probably forever be these guys’ best (and only?) hit.

I’ve heard friends say this album is a return to the “good stuff,” as if Based on a True Story was straying from all that was decent TSL music. I hear it as a combination of the past two CDs, and additional maturation at the same time. It’s kind of like watching a little kid grow up: after they’ve grown, it makes sense that they look and act the way they do, but at the same time, you never could’ve predicted it years ago.

Ken, the lead singer, has finally gained full control of his voice. The lyrics are also slightly more mature (i.e. less bitter/full of angst). What amazed me most, though, was the quality of the accompaniment parts, which often take a melody all their own, sometimes better than the vocal line.

One smiley face.

I know you saw this one coming. Yes, Paramore’s sophomore album is out, and in my opinion, a bit misnomer-ed. These guys aren’t trying to start a riot. If anything, they’re consoling emo kids with tracks like, “We Are Broken.”

So now they’re all over MTV and the covers of magazines like Alternative Press. Why? First, their first CD developed a good fan base, and touring with the right bands (see above review) helps, too. In addition, however, this album is much more commercial. The songs are notably more catchy, and I’ve already covered the teen-angst anthem “We Are Broken,” so I won’t say anything more.

More commercial doesn’t necessarily mean bad. I was quite impressed at this young band’s ability to come up with a second CD of such good quality so quickly. Besides, you can’t blame them for knowing their audience.

Three gold stars. Out of what? Oh, I don’t know.

See you soon.

Daft Punk ALIVE 2007 NYC

2007-08-16T12:16:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday I took the bus up to NYC for my personal event of the summer, the Daft Punk show at Keypspan park in Coney Island.

Keyspan park is the stadium for the minor league Brooklyn Cyclones, and ended up being a great venue for this show. As we got onto the field, we caught most of the opening act, Kavinsky, an awesome DJ duo that were the surprise of the show. They didn't play on the stage, they had a little area to the right where they were DJing. This made the transition to the next act easier.

They finished abruptly, and second opener the Rapture started playing immediately after a brief introduction. I guess they were okay, but they didn't fit with the show at all, especially after the awesome-ness of Kavinsky. They finished their set and the crew put up a huge curtain in front of the set as the trailer for Daft Punk's new movie Electroma played. Then Kavinsky reappeared at their station at the side and DJed some more while the extensive light show Daft Punk is famous for was constructed. This took a little too long, and the crowd started becoming antsy. Kavinsky countered this by unexpectedly playing "Killing in the Name Of" followed by "99 Problems" then bizarrely "Holding Out For a Hero."

They ended their second extended set and the lights went out. The curtain opened and the duo was barely visible with fog streaming around them in their robot suits. They started with a ROBOT vs HUMAN argument that went into Robot Rock. It was an unbelievable light show. It started out fairly basic, just using white lights and strobes, then the pyramid with solid colors. As the show went on the complexity of the displays continued to increase until full high resolution images were flashing on the pyramid during "Human After All". When they came out for their last encore the pyramid was kept dark while HUMAN and TOGETHER flashed on the back wall. Then two orange lines slowly worked their way through the triangle lights until it got to where Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter were. Once this happened, the lights dropped and neon orange tubing around their suits glowed while they DJed the last song before once again stepping down from their pyramid to reveal the neon orange DAFT PUNK logo on the back of their jackets.

Setlist (taken from another blog):
Robot Rock / Oh Yeah -> Touch It -> Voyager / Technologic / Television Rules The Nation / Crescendolls -> Steam Machine -> Around the World -> Harder Better Faster Stronger / Burnin' / Too Long / Face to Face / One More Time / Aerodynamic / Forget About the World? / The Brainwasher / Prime Time of Your Life / Rollin' and Scratchin' / The Brainwasher -> Da Funk -> Daftendirekt -> Superheroes // Human After All // Together -> Music Sounds Better With You -> One More Time (reprise)

Crappy video I shot of the encore, check youtube for more:

Two other things: Daft Punk enlisted people with video camera and gave them film in order to use their videos to create a live DVD of this show. In addition, they are going to be releasing a CD from when they performed in France as well. So if my weak descriptions aren't enough, check these out.

Lollapalooza Day 2 (no pictures, sorry)

2007-08-04T23:49:00.001-05:00

Never has sitting down felt so good. That was a good sit.

The final four hours of the second day of Lollapalooza turned my legs to wax, standing, jumping, pushing, and fistpumping to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Muse.

But before we get to that, my day started with an impressive performance from Tapes 'n' Tapes, one of three scheduled Twin Cities bands on the day (c'mon Hold Steady, you're not really from New York--yet). Playing a satisfying set of tunes from The Loon and a handful of new, unidentifiable tracks, they blew away a strong showing at the Myspace stage, the third biggest stage at the festival.

Afterwards, lunch was in order, and I urged Kelly and Riley to hurry back for Cold War Kids.

Most disappointing performance of the day and probably most disappointing showing of the whole event.

The set was really mellow for a hyped up-and-coming rock band. They were scheduled on far too small of a stage, causing the crowd to block walkways and hang from trees. But the worst part was it wasn't even worth it. Sound quality was really weak, as the guitar had virtually no color to it, and the vocals were nowhere near as loud as they ought to have been.

They played "Hang Me Up to Dry" second to last and then complained when people left. Dude, most of the people watching you were only there to hear that song. Deal with it. Considering it was the highlight of their set, it wasn't even that great. It's two notes back and forth, they could have jammed it up a little, improv-ed, done something different. For a band that has been lucky thus far and had at least 2000-3000 people watching them, they failed. The rest of the set was really unimpressive, and the seemed like a band that didn't even belong there.

It didn't ruin the day though. After CWC, I saw a few tunes from the Roots--a pleasant contrast to the Cold Bore Kids set. Probably the best instrumental performances of the day and one of the most fun atmospheres, even though we hung out towards the back for what we saw. But they definitely convinced me I should catch them another time. The highlight was a hip hop medley (with a subtle dig at Nas for his latest declaration that hip hop is dead) with tunes from Salt 'n' Pepa, Sugar Hill Gang, ODB, Vanilla Ice (debatable), Nas, and about four more I can't remember.

From there, it was time for Hold Steady to rock from the same stage Tapes 'n' Tapes worked it. Craig Finn sported a Twins jersey, and they played a fair amount of material from both Boys and Girls in America and Separation Sunday, as expected. But I didn't see much of it because Kelly, Riley, and I planned to get in position for a good spot for Muse three hours in advance. It paid off, but wait two more paragraphs for me to get there.

Karen O was terrific. I was a little nervous she wouldn't put on as much of a show because this wasn't a club gig, but she came out in a big silver gown, a strange leather zip-up half-sleeve corset, and black stockings. Jumping around for every song, singing with the microphone in her mouth, and screaming her brains out, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs rocked it.

They mostly played tunes from their latest EP and Show Your Bones, but they made room for the hits from Fever to Tell: Maps, Pin, and they closed with Date With the Night. Not sure if they performed any of their pre-Fever material.

Then came the big push forward to get to the front for Muse. Even though they weren't starting for at least another 60 minutes, there were easily 1000 people at the front of the lawn ready to go. Interpol was playing at the same time, and manipulation of all types came into play. Fans at the front spread rumors that Muse cancelled and this was Interpol's stage, all in an effort to get rid of some of the people. But to be honest, I don't think I would have wanted it any less crowded. Crowd surfing almost every song, jumping around, screaming, and the audience was louder than Bellamy on stage for most of the set. Easily the best experience of the festival so far. Hands down. Multiple balloon presentations, a light show probably more advanced than Daft Punk (which is saying a lot), and really great song selection and order. The set is from memory, so let me know of any inaccuracies.

JFK Intro/Take a Bow
Map of the Problematique
Hysteria
Supermassive Black Hole
Time Is Running Out
Butterflies and Hurricanes
Feelin' Good
Sunburn
Invincible
New Born
Starlight
Apocalypse Please
Stockholm Syndrome

Encore:
Plug-In Baby
Knights of Cydonia

The new songs sounded terrific live, and some mechanical problems between songs didn't hurt the experience at all. I even got to hear Dominic Howard's voice for the first time after seeing the band play several times.

I can't see Sunday topping this, but anything is possible with My Morning Jacket, Pearl Jam, and plenty more on the horizon.

P.S. For those of you who like the tune, Knights of Cydonia, I want to plug my friend's film project. If you like the song and have decent film taste, you'll enjoy this:

Lollapalooza Day 1 (no pictures, sorry)

2007-08-03T23:59:00.000-05:00

After a volunteer shift of "standing" from 9:30-1:50, I headed out to see some shows with fellow MINDsetters Kelly and Riley.

Ted Leo kicked off my lineup, and after taking an early spill in his set (not sure which song it happened during), he rocked a set consisting of mostly Living material. While Ted has a tendency to speed up even his faster songs live, some of the tempos increased ridiculously in the Chicago heat--notably "Timorous Me," perhaps the only song in every set I've seen him play.

early but unknown order (any help welcome): Me and Mia, Bomb Repeat Bomb, Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?, Army Bound, Sons of Cain

6. Colleen.
7. Unwanted Things
8. Heart Problems
9. Timorous Me
10. C.I.A.

The big disappointment was that Ted ended the set 15 minutes early. Not sure if there was a misunderstanding in the schedule or if there was another factor. But 2-3 more songs were what the crowd wanted to hear, and instead he just ended with C.I.A. "Rappaport's Testament?" "High Party?" "Under the Hedge?" "Dial Up?" Bueller? Bueller?

After Ted and a lunch at the Billy Goat Tavern, Riley and I caught the tail end of Against Me!'s set on a sidestage. The crowd was way more into Against Me! at 3:30 on a sunny and humid day. Crowdsurfing and moshing in the front, anarchy onstage, and fans of all ages climbing to get a glimpse of Gainesville, Florida's finest. Really rough on the setlist, but I know for certain they played "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong" and plenty of stuff from their latest album, New Wave.

After a short break from the punkest show of the day, we met up with Kelly to catch a spot for The Rapture. I had seen them at Curiosa Festival a few years ago and was really unimpressed. Guitar effects and vocals were weak, and they didn't have much stage presence the first time around. First things first:

1. Down For So Long
2. Get Myself Into It
3. Sister Saviour
4. The Devil
5. Pieces of the People We Love
6. Killing
7. Whoo! Alright Yeah Uh Huh
8. House of Jealous Lovers
9. Don Gon Do It
10. First Gear
11. Olio

Opened with "Down For So Long?" They would have been more successful just skipping that and going straight to "Get Myself Into It." Maybe the sax wasn't ready. But there was a strong faction of shirtless Filipino men tearing it up next to me. Then a series of crowd surfers toward the middle of the set.

On a sidenote, if someone crowd surfed at a festival, would they mind sharing what happened when they reached security? If they got booted or just sent back in?

Anyway, the guitars were off (intentionally or not) for "House of Jealous Lovers," but everything else was really strong, and probably the best crowd on the day. The bass was exceptional, especially on "The Devil" and "House of Jealous Lovers."

That's it for now. Totally exhausted. Reviews and discussion of LCD Soundsystem and Daft Punk will follow. For now, here is Murphy's set:

1. Us v Them
2. Daft Punk Is Playing At My House
3. Time to Get Away
4. North American Scum
5. All My Friends
6. Tribulations
7. Movement
8. Yeah (extended, non-crass version)
9. wtf? not sure if this was a recorded song or not, any help welcome

Goodnight!

Tomorrow's picks: Matt & Kim, Ludo, Sam Roberts Band, Cold War Kids, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Hold Steady, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, wait there (I'll see Spoon when they play a longer set), MUSE

Interpol / St. Louis / August 1, 2007 (Upstrumming and palm muting are so unnecessary)

2007-08-02T01:02:00.000-05:00

1. Pioneer to the Falls - opens their latest album, opens their set. I get it.
2. Slow Hands - definitely the biggest crowd reaction of the whole night.
3. Narc - what else would they play after Slow Hands?
4. C'Mere
5. Rest My Chemistry - eh
6. Mammoth (maybe)
7. Hands Away - interesting TOTBL choice, not a song I would expect to make the set... at least it hints that they'll play more from their best album later
8. No I in Threesome - obviously about how when you play golf with two other people, it's a team effort, even if it isn't a scramble
9. Heinrich Maneuver - not as big a reaction as I would have expected.
10. Evil
11. Not Even Jail
12. wtf interlude? - impromptu? sure seemed like it; just guitar and drums, lasted about 3 minutes.
13. PDA - please don't be the last song before the encore

3 minute break (main set = 55 minutes)

14. Leif Erikson - awesome
15. Obstacle 1 - boom goes the dynamite.
16. Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down - again, not about sex, about swimming

Overall, the show was way better than their appearance at Curiosa. Of course they didn't play as much from "Turn on the Bright Lights" as I would have hoped, but I'll take 5 tracks out of 16 when the last two albums were what made them rich. Cigarette count? Carlos D-2, Daniel-1.

The light show featured more professional looking lite-brites on stands that displayed monochromes for various songs. Appropriate since each Interpol doesn't display a whole lot of personality, but (for the most part) you can still tell them apart.

The crowd was pretty solid. The floor was a heavy mix of older teens, about as packed as it gets. Higher up you found more people in their late 20's, 30's. Overall way more men than women, maybe even 2-to-1, yet not much aggression or moving around (except to Slow Hands).

The big disappointment was how short the set was - 75 minutes for $30. I expected closer to 20, 22 tracks, maybe "Wrecking Ball," "Say Hello to the Angels," or their latest closer - "The Lighthouse."

Seriously though, how can a guitarist only strum down and never palm mute? I know it's their trademark sound, and it's really cool how every note rings with the dual guitars, but when is he going to break his right wrist? (Strumming up is for those Rastafarian types!) Carlos' bass was so smooth. He never plays fast, and he never gets fancy, but it's flawlessly done.

Opener Calla started out strong, performing some of their shorter, upbeat tracks. But then... not so much. No setlist, and I didn't take any notes. If Riley and I would have been stuck at will call waiting for the Pageant staff to figure out our situation another 20 minutes, I wouldn't have been heartbroken.

Interpol vs. Muse at Lollapalooza? I still recommend Muse for the festival setting. Riley and Kelly second and third that opinion.

Getting to Know You

2007-07-30T19:49:00.000-05:00

I had a chance to speak with Carl Broemel about his summer, Price Is Right, and the future of My Morning Jacket. Continue reading below to check out the full article.

So what have you and the band been up to all summer?
We did some rehearsing and working on some songs actually just last month, but we’re going to actually record later this year.

I’m home for the week and then we’ll head up to Chicago on Thursday.

In past years, MMJ was one of the bigger acts at Bonnaroo. Any particular reason why you didn’t play at that festival in 2007? Do you think you’ll play there in the future?

It was kind of a culmination of scheduling and [spending time] working on songs, taking a break. We love playing Bonnaroo. I imagine we’ll be playing many Bonnaroos to come. Some people say it’s not sane for us not to be there, which is flattering, but I think it’s good for that festival to fluctuate and change every year. I think it’s a healthy thing. That’s what’s fun, you never know what you’re going to see, you could have a varying experience from year to year as audience and performer. There’s a pretty good chance we’ll be back there next year.

All set for Lollapalooza? You are performing live with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. How did that happen?

It came together last time we played Chicago. We played the Riviera and somebody from that organization contacted us and I think they may have heard that we did a show with the Boston Philharmonic. So they called us and they actually sat in and did a few songs at the end of that show. It was really fun and we had a great time. It seemed like everyone enjoyed something different, and they really added something new to the show. Playing Lollapalooza we’re trying to do something interesting. We’re going to go up and be a little more organized. Last time we did it with no rehearsals. We’re going to hang out with the orchestra the day before the show. That should be really fun

Does playing with the orchestra change up your set?

Yeah, I mean, sometimes it’s just a sonic and logistical thing with sound systems. Sometimes it seems like a quieter sound works better, some of the bombastic songs work better. I think both can be done. Pretty much anything can be improved—we’re open to breaking the mold with any song that we’ve been playing for a while. We have some tricks up our sleeve for the show, too.

With the success of Z, you probably reached some younger audiences than you’re used to. Have you noticed the average age of your fanbase vary from 2003 until now?

It’s kinda hard to say, I haven’t done any scientific experiments. I’ve been lazy on my polling. But as a general feel there are some younger people in the audience. Some of the venues have gotten bigger so it’s hard to tell unless someone is in the front row. A lot of times we’ll notice certain people at the shows and sometimes I’ll notice an older gentleman or a young kid, and I’ll be like “how did he get into this club?” I think probably by the pure exposure of radio there are younger people than last time, more girls than guys than in the past.

You wrapped up a tour with Pearl Jam last year. How did the tour with Pearl Jam go for the band?

The last two years seemed like they went by in about three months. We got to play a bunch of venues and places that we couldn’t on our own, and then we played Itlay, Spain, places like that.

Any specific impressions or any lessons learned from Eddie Vedder?

Nothing super specific. I think the main thing is they’re very conscious of what it’s like to be an opening band and what are the things that make the tour fun for the opening band—just availability from some of the guys. We collaborated with Eddie a couple times on songs, and it was very endearing and cool that they acknowledged us and asked us to go at all. That’s a good lesson—more often than not, when we’re doing our own shows and we have opening bands, we try to follow Pearl Jam’s example of being cool and considerate of them.

Looking at the schedule, I don’t know if it’s coincidence or not, but you are actually opening for Pearl Jam again—playing before them on the same stage on the last night.

Maybe they changed it because they knew we toured, but I don’t know. There’s a lot of places they could have put us in the schedule, so it’s strange.

You guys have also made a name for yourselves in your performances on various late night television shows—Conan, Letterman, and Craig Ferguson. What is it like being onstage in front of a small group of people face-to-face but millions of people you can’t see?

Haha, well the whole thing ends in like two seconds. Since you’re only playing one song, you have so much energy pent up for one moment, and you hardly notice anything beyond that audience and that kind of weird camera flying around in front of you. I don’t think about it too much. You deserve to be up there for some reason.

The 2-night prom was also an interesting event. Do you guys think you’ll do something like that again? Any stories from those nights?

We had a great time, I’m not sure we would do exactly the same thing, but we love playing at the 40-Watt, just as a general rule. It was really fun to park there for a couple days and hang out with everybody that works there.

I think the craziest thing that happened was the second night when we crowned the prom king and queen, and we learned our lesson about bringing people on stage. The first night it worked really well. We crowned them arbitrarily, and they came up and danced and we played “Wonderful Tonight.” But the second night, I think the crowd was a little bit more unruly, and the prom king was shirtless. He did a somersault onto the stage and he was subsequently pulled off. He had to watch his date dance with somebody else. (laughs)

Did you ever have a high school prom? Did actually playing one bring back any memories from it?

The theme of my high school prom was “Wonderful Tonight,” but I think I stayed at my prom for about 15 minutes and left. This one lasted over two hours. And it was two days. They were not like each other.

I know “Mahgeetah” was originally used in a Coors beer commercial a while ago, and the band was upset about how it was used. Do you think the band will allow any new material to appear in commercials?

I don’t really have an answer for that, it just depends. We haven’t made a blanket statement, but I think we’re pretty careful and sensitive to use a song for something other than our record and our shows. The music industry has changed a lot in the last five, ten years in terms of getting exposure for a band. Whether it’s good or bad that you learn about Nick Drake from the Volkswagen commercials is a discussion.

But to be always associated with a product for the rest of your career—we would prefer not to happen to us. It’s a long detailed, case by case discussion. It is frustrating for people we know to try to get their music seen and heard as far as distribution. I don’t feel like we’re a radio band. We would love to have that exposure on the radio, but I feel like people are getting exposed to us from us going out and touring. But it’s a strange world we live in right now, getting your music out there other than through the internet.

I’m pretty sure I have heard some of the singles in sports highlight packages and other non-commercial TV programs. What do you think when you hear “Gideon,” “What a Wonderful Man,” or “One Big Holiday” in a commercial?

Actually, I haven’t heard it really. I think I heard that they used something on SportsCenter. I love how on NPR they do musical segues and I’ve heard a couple of our songs, just instrumentally, on that format. Stuff just happens, and I think that’s an example of good under the radar exposure—kind of like how it really seems to fit to have songs in movies at appropriate points. That to me seems like it’s serving a collaborative purpose—like a visual image and the music combining to become more poignant or intense.

I want to do some rapid fire questions because I feel like America doesn’t know enough about Carl Broemel…
So,favorite movie?

Favorite movie of this moment is Sicko. I thought it was amazing.

Least favorite movie?

I thought the Transformers movie was terrible. It was hilarious. It was so bad it was really fun to watch.

What is one thing you do that you wish you did less of?

Watch less television.

What is one thing you do that you wish you did more often?

Golf. You gotta think about the future when you’re going to be sixty—some skills for the golf course so you can make a little money from your friends.

What is with the band’s obsession with Ted Nugent?

I have no soul connection to Ted Nugent. I cannot speak for anyone but myself.

What is the best part about being from Indiana?

I don’t know, I guess one of the best things is being able to be hot and miserable in the summer.

If you could be a contestant on a game show, which one would you pick and why?

Definitely the Price Is Right before Bob Barker left. That’s just the ultimate game show. The most fun and the most fun to watch consistently. I recently went to the Craig Ferguson studio, and you can actually spin the wheel. It’s in the hallway of the studios. The mystery was that the Price Is Right was like a mini-Vegas with so many bright lights and bells like slot machines going off. So if you actually go to the set of pretty much any show, the carpet smells a little weird, everything looks kind of small and dingy and old. But on TV they make it look like this magical world.

Do any of the presidential candidates stand out as the best choice for you in 2008?

In the last month or two, things are starting to heat up. I had a commission to not paying attention at all, but it’s certainly going to be interesting. It’s wide open right now.

What is the best part about being a member of My Morning Jacket?

The best part is… (everything I’m thinking of sounds really cheesy). Getting to play music everyday for a month is fantastic. The last month, it was just awesome to hang with the guys and just get to play with no distractions, and that makes me pretty thankful.

If there is a musician from the past that you could have a conversation with, who would you pick and what would you want to talk about?

I’ll see Ted Nugent in my dreams now. But one of my favorite guitar players is Clarence White, he’s one of my absolute favorite guitarists. I don’t think he’s much of a talker, I’ve never seen any interviews with him. But I would love to just play guitar with him.

What is one thing about Carl Broemel that most people don’t know?

Most people don’t even recognize me first of all. They think I’m the sound man, or they think our sound man is me.

Vanderpalooza!

2007-07-28T23:43:00.000-05:00

How does a performer stand out at a festival as large as Lollapalooza?

“It’s not like we’re going to shave our heads and put on a bunch of costumes,” Holland, Michigan native and singer/songwriter David Vandervelde said.

The 22-year old released his full-length debut “Moonstation House Band” on indie label Secretly Canadian earlier this year. Although the album has earned the attention and praise from internet authorities Pitchfork Media and All Music, Vandervelde has yet to perform on a stage with figurative lights this bright.

“We’re going to have a keyboard player and some more guitar players,” Vandervelde said about playing “in front of a lot of people.”

Lollapalooza 2007 features veterans and popular artists from a variety of movements including Pearl Jam, Interpol, Muse, Daft Punk, and Ben Harper.

“The best part about it is the exposure in front of a lot of people who can hear what we’re doing,” Vandervelde said over the phone in a van headed for a gig in Wilmington, North Carolina. “I think that’s the obvious plus."

Vandervelde said he landed on the bill when a critic from Chicago’s The Onion recommended him to the festival’s committee “a few months ago.” His relationship with the city of Chicago might have earned him extra points with getting a spot on the three-day festival’s schedule, he said.

“I lived in Chicago for a while,” Vandervelde said. “That’s where everything came together, and that’s where I made my record.”

He is scheduled to take the stage with his band at 1:00 PM on the Citi stage on Sunday, the final day of the festival.

Bored of South Bend just thinking about it?

2007-07-26T19:33:00.000-05:00

Well... here are some shows coming through the Chicago area this August and September to keep you entertained:

25 Aug: Rufus Wainwright -- Highland Park
31 Aug: Stereo Total & The Octopus Project -- Abbey Pub
4 Sept: VHS or Beta -- Subterranean
7 Sept: Flaming Lips -- Aragon Ballroom
10 Sept: Animal Collective -- Vic Theatre
11 Sept: Editors -- Park West
12 Sept: Arctic Monkeys w/ the Coral -- Aragon Ballroom
12 Sept: Wilco -- Pritzker Pavilion
15 Sept: Rilo Kiley -- Riviera Theater
18 Sept: Simian Mobile Disco -- Empty Bottle
29 Sept: The Cure w/ 65 days of static -- Allstate Arena (Rosemont)
29 Sept: Amy Winehouse w/ Paolo Nutini -- Aragon Ballroom
30 Sept: Hanson -- Empty Bottle

Well, that gets us through September. A good start for now. Hopefully we'll be able to update the show listing on the mindset webpage soon as well so this is somewhere more permanent. I'm sure there are things I've left off as well - my apologies.

Trapped in the Closet... again

2007-07-26T19:18:00.000-05:00

R. Kelly has made it known that he will be adding an additional 10 chapters to his epic "Trapped in the Closet" saga... bringing the total number of chapters up to 22. I don't know about the rest of the Mindset staff, but I am beyond excited. Read more about this incredible news over at pitchfork.

In lesser music news, Wilco has announced some fall dates in the States to promote "Sky Blue Sky." Jeff Tweedy and company will be in the Notre Dame area (read: Chicago) on Sept. 12th at Pritzker Pavilion.

Break Up!

2007-07-08T11:45:00.000-05:00

Bullz-Eye has posted a list of bands who should "break up already." According to them, Oasis is one such band, and since I'm the new Mindset co-editor, I guess that means I have to condemn the list.

I condemn the list.

However, I think Bullz-Eye does make a good point calling for Creed's reunion. At the very least, it would give us something to write about -- a band to hate universally. After all, there has to be a limit to how much I can make fun of Panic! at the Disco and The Fray, right?

And as a reminder, next weekend is the Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago's Union Park. If you're planning on going, let us know. I'll be there along with several other WVFIers.

Hey, Hey, You, You...

2007-07-06T20:09:00.000-05:00

Read here: Avril Lavigne Sued for Stealing Tune

Say it ain't so, Avril! You are one of the most original, most creative, and most down and dirty punk musicians of our generation. I, for one, believe that you are being framed. Details for the "Save Avril Fund" will follow shortly.

25.06.07 -- Owen and The City on Film @ Arena Wien

2007-06-27T11:37:00.000-05:00

After spending time in multiple bands that helped shape the American indie rock scene, Mike Kinsella (Owen - above top) and Bob Nanna (The City on Film) find themselves now touring with nothing save an acoustic guitar (and a loop pedal in the case of Nanna). This summer the two set out on a tour of Europe, and this past Monday I caught their performance at the Arena here in Vienna.

The night began a bit early as the venue's website claimed that doors were at 7pm with an 8pm start time, so I got there around 7:15ish. Instead the show actually began around 9:30. So for a while I sat outside and watched as Mike and Bob attempted to knock a can off a fence with a ball. It took upwards of 50 throws (probably closer to 75) but finally a toss by Bob hit the can. After the show he told me it was one of his most rewarding moments then quickly relived it in his mind.

After being forced inside by a thunderstorm, the show began. The City on Film started things off and offered a set of new songs as well as songs from Nanna's previous bands (Braid and Hey Mercedes) which sounded surprisingly good acoustic. In between songs there were some entertaining sound clip loops and Bob frequently shouted "oww/whoo" (or some variation thereof). On the whole it was an enjoyable set. The set list looked something like this:

Never Will Come For Us
Fahren
Stay Six
Secret
Come on Eileen
For Holly
Short Song**
How a Helicopter Sounds
A Dozen Roses
I'd Rather be Wine Drunk

**This short song is one of many that Nanna has recorded for threadless.com, which will be releasing a collection of about 100 songs by Nanna sometime soon.

After a short pause Owen took the stage and got things going. I saw Owen last April in Chicago (his hometown) and this show was very much different from that experience. Mike still tried to talk to the crowd between songs, but the crowd wasn't very cooperative. I brought up a few things such as Fall Out Boy's "Infinity on High" (he informed us that "those guys are super rich") and covering Metallica (unlike in Chicago, he passed this time). Finally, Mike said that when he gets home he'd have nothing to remember Vienna by, so one concertgoer asked if he'd like a beer thrown at him. He told her to go for it, but nothing happened. Oh well.

A highlight of the set was a bit of tuning during "Bad News." After stopping mid-song a couple times to adjust the tuning (something which happens frequently at Owen songs -- it never ceases to amaze me how he just picks back up), a crafty lyric change was made to make light of the situation. "Whoever you think is watching you tune (normally 'dance') from across the room, they aren't / If anything they feel sorry for you cause you try so hard." I guess the word "tune" was lost on the Austrians though, as Siegel and I were the only ones who laughed.

Despite the lack of the usual banter of an Owen show, the performance itself was still really good. He played a pretty wide variety of songs (although not "A Fever Analog" -- my request received the answer of "I'd have to figure that one out again... and I don't think you all want to see that.") The set list was as follows:

Breaking Away
Playing Possum for a Peek
Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi
Good Deeds
New Song
Bag of Bones
New Song (possibly just a new intro to Bad News)
Bad News
She's a Thief
A Bird in Hand

Afterward Siegel and I were invited to hang around, so we chatted with Mike, Bob and their better halves (if you will) for a while. A great show and definitely a highly memorable night for yours truly.

15 June 2007 -- The Horrors @ Triple Rock Social Club (Minneapolis)

2007-06-19T04:24:00.000-05:00

(all photos by yours truly, KD)

After punch-ups in NYC and sizable fame in the UK, the Horrors scrapped their May plans of opening for a BRMC tour and are finally doing a proper headlining tour of the U.S. The tail end, luckily, included a stop in humble Minneapolis, at the Triple Rock Club.

School Yard Heroes (above and right), the touring opener, began the night off right and pleasantly surprised all those in the audience who had never heard of them (and equally satisfied a surprising number of their own fans who had come just to see them). After talking to the guy at the merch booth and hearing a little about them (they're from Seattle, have been together about 5 years, have a really unique sound and live show), I was pumped to check them out. And they definitely did not disappoint! Reminded me a lot of Dandi Wind with the kick-ass front woman and electro-ish sound, but were far more rock-oriented than the Canadian trio. The bassist and guitarist both had HUGE hair which was sweet, and the singer was energetic, intense, pretty, and rather dark-sounding. She had the cutest dress on as well as high top converse!

And of course -- the Horrors!! What can I say, these guys are a vision. Arriving at the club, I walked in right as Faris (lead vox) was walking in carrying something that looked kinda like a toolbox / caboodle, so I held the door for him, said hi, and then he tries to just walk in past the bouncer. But the bouncer stops him -- only after pointing to the top of the guestlist (where "THE HORRORS" was written in permanent marker) was he admitted to the club.

Before the band took the stage, the first thing I noticed were the two rather gorgeous Fender Jaguars which were situated right in front of me. I'm not sure I even saw the band come out, but all of a sudden, there they were ... Faris Badwan, Tomethy Furse, Joshua Third, Coffin Joe, and Spider Webb combined to form a well-groomed mess of vests, belts, dress shirts and shoes, skinny jeans, eyeliner, and - oh - the hair! All items of course being in black with a white accent here and there for drama: Faris' shirt, Joshua's blonde shock, a belt, shoes, etc. The band chose to open with a cover of Joy Division's "No Love Lost." I'm not sure why you would open with a song other than your own, but hey, they call the shots. And that's fine with me because after that, they launched into one of their strongest songs, "Count in Fives." What's funny is that the only two band members with a significant stage presence were Faris and Spider Webb (keyboard and vocals). I had expected lead guitarist, Joshua (above right), to command an bit more attention that he did, what with that hair and all. But mostly, he looked at his feet the entire show. Can you blame him? If I were wearing these shoes, I would probably be admiring them the whole time as well.

The show got more and more intense as the set continued, Faris pacing in circles like a dog on the stage, yowling into the mic, hair perpetually in his face, invading the crowd, perching on a speaker and yelling right into people's faced, then coming down only to sing half the song while stalking about the audience, pushing and shoving amongst the fans, the fans shoving back just as hard. With the vocalist wandering off many times, Spider Webb managed the stage in his absence, providing haunting backing vocals, and eerie organ-sounding musical accompaniment, and dramatic effect via eyeliner! Overall, it was a beyond-entertaining gig with very excellent music; and the set actually seemed longer than would be required by a mere 10 songs! (However, I'm convinced they played an unreleased song in between "Sheena Is a Parasite" and "Gloves.") Here is what the setlist looked like:

Closing with "Gloves" was absolute genius because not only is it my favourite song of theirs, but also provides a good climax to the set and allows the band to leave the stage with a powerful finish. During this song, Faris spent the whole time singing from different places in the audience before disappearing to grab a clock off a wall (from somewhere in the bar) and fitting it down the front of his shirt which allowed him to strike himself in the chest with the mic. Finally, at the end of the song, he is at the back of the bar (and yes, his mic still has a cord swinging from it) and approaches the glowing, brightly-colored pinball machine and, instead of singing the words to the song, yells for someone to get him a quarter! Anybody get me a quarter for the pinball game! He then gets up on one of the counters at which patrons are sitting, stomps about for a while before leaping onto the top of one of the other games in the bar (I am directly under the mic cord at this time and its swinging rather invades my head-space!). The band finish the song with Faris singing the lines, "I've gotta go / I've gotta get out of here /I've gotta go." And then, all of a sudden, the band are gone as quickly and mysteriously as they had arrived.

Ted Leo @ Chelsea (06.10.07) -- The Hoodie Saga Comes to its End

2007-06-18T09:46:00.000-05:00

The beginning of this tale can be found in Joe's post from May 24th in which he gives a full summary of the events leading up to what took place in Vienna on June 10. However, there are a few other details that must be provided before describing that evening.

Mid-April 2007
MINDsetters Siegel and myself find out that we will be studying in Vienna for six weeks of the summer. Immediately we begin researching the music scene in Vienna. While doing so we discover that Ted Leo will be playing somewhere in Vienna while we are there.

April 30, 2007
While working in the Riley lab to put together the next print issue of MINDset (due out next fall -- no thanks to Kinkos), I get the full story about the Ted Leo show and the hoodie saga from kd. Knowing that I will be seeing Ted in Vienna in a few short weeks I make a mental note to bring my hoodie -- just in case.

June 10, 2007 -- 8:00pm
The day of the show. Despite the fact that it is a balmy 80+ degrees outside, I head out the door in my hoodie. I get a puzzled remark from our mate Dillon who is going with us, and I cast a knowing smirk in reply.

10:00pm
The evening begins with The Flesh from New York city. Here's a photo:

I had not heard of this band before, and neither had anybody else at the club as far as I could tell, but I was impressed by them. The rhythm section was really solid, particularly the bass parts. The thing that struck me the most about the band was the bassist's shoes though:

Yeah, i want me some of those. So after a solid 30 minute set the Flesh wraps up and I begin making my move to try and get Ted a hoodie.

10:45pm
John, Dillon and I make our way to the front of the stage where I position myself right in front of Ted's mic. I take off the hoodie, fold it just right so that WVFI is in plain view, and then put it right on top of the monitor that Ted will be using. Next Ted comes up to the stage and starts setting up pedals and whatnot and after a double take he says, "Alright, whose VFI hoodie?" I guiltily raise my hand and immediately receive a hi-five. He tells us that he's wanted one of the hoodies for a long time, so I tell him it's his provided he can fit into a small. "Seriously?!" he says. I toss it to him, and he immediately goes to show Dave (bass) and Chris (drums). He then comes back and we chat a bit. I offer him a few German tips for the evening and he tells us to find him after the show to chat.

11:00pm
The band is ready and the crowd is anxious for them to start. However, their sound guy is mysteriously missing and none of the vocal mics are on. So the band launches into the beginning of "Spirit of Radio" by Rush. Needless to say, I'm impressed. Then the sound guy appears and the set begins. Not having anything to take notes on I don't really remember what the full setlist was but some highlights include:
Little Dawn -- I counted 187 "it's alright" at the end of the song, although for a little while they launch into a cover of Daft Punk's "One More Time" so my counting may have been a bit off.
Timorous Me -- just a great song
Walking to Do -- personally one of my three favorite Ted Leo songs... it also appeared to be Vienna's favorite Ted Leo song.

After the set ends, the crowd refuses to let the night end. Ted obliges and plays "Bleeding Powers" by himself. And then after that he leaves stage again only to return once more and sing a song a cappella (not sure what it was though).

12:00am
After the show, we head outside and find Ted. We chat for a while about VFI, Notre Dame, and an infamous incident involving a straight razor, Ted's scalp, and an ill-fated haircut during a Men of Stanford pageant. Then before Ted has to depart to pack up we get some quick photos with him in the VFI hoodie. So without further delay here is the man himself in the hoodie (finally!):

"Run DMC style!"

And here a few other photos from the show:

and last but not the least... the WVFI gang "hanging" out in Vienna:

And... that's all folks.

Even more last.fm fodder for KD on the way?

2007-06-15T16:59:00.000-05:00

If NME's website is to be believed (which it isn't!), the next Gallagher Brothers album is set to start recording this summer! But believe me, NME has been all too wrong about this kind of thing in the past...

check it out here, anyway.

Another Album Stream: Spoon

2007-06-14T22:09:00.001-05:00

You can now stream the new Spoon album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, here. The album is the follow-up to 2005's Gimme Fiction.

In other news, Sasha Frere-Jones says it's the best Spoon album yet. At least, I think he did. Where's my copy of the New Yorker?

New White Stripes Album

2007-06-12T17:24:00.000-05:00

Everyone's favorite Detroit-based fake-brother-and-sister rock duo is back with Icky Thump, their sixth studio album. Unfortunately for candy cane children everywhere, it doesn't come out until next week. Until then, you can stream the album from MTV here. The US portion of their current tour begins next month.

2007-06-05T01:04:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, Twin Cities' own Tapes N Tapes played Grand Old Day block party in St. Paul. There were 5 stages or so and about 5-6 bands per stage throughout the afternoon. I have to say that Tapes were the main event and they played a good 75 minute set. Mainly I just enjoyed myself and the people watching without worrying too much about setlists, analysis, etc. Good tunes, good hipsters, decent weather... But I did take some good photos, so please enjoy those!

Singen auf deutsch? Nein, auf englisch!

2007-05-31T15:28:00.001-05:00

(translation: sing in german? no, in english!)

so i'm currently abroad in vienna, austria and my second night here i had the privilege of attending a cd release party for a local act, gasmac gilmore. the band itself was okay. not up my alley - they struck me as a mediocre system of a down with randomly inserted ska guitar parts. they did put on a pretty good show though, which included having a slide on stage and allowing people to slide down it which i thought was clever.

however, i don't really mean to do a review of the show as i knew zero of the songs and wasn't really all that into it. however, one thing struck me as odd during the show. gasmac gilmore sang everyone of their songs in english. this got me thinking, why do so many bands in non-english speaking countries sing in english? gasmac gilmore is obviously one example, but think about kings of convenience (norway), air (france), i'm from barcelona (sweeden)... i could name plenty more. so i spent the better part of my saturday evening wondering about this and i've got two potential theories:
(1) english simply lends itself to song better. i'm not an expert in languages so i don't know if this is true or not. maybe a linguistics major out there can help me out. but i mean there are obviously bands that do sing in other languages. rammstein sang in german and that worked out for them. so why shouldn't gasmac gilmore do so as well?
(2) bands go with english hoping that it will open the door for them to the larger music market of america (and perhaps britain as well - although someone mentioned that 'making it big' for a band from the uk might be considered making it in america. i'll defer on this to mindset's uk expert... kd, thoughts?) but i could see the dream of cracking the american market as a legitimate reason. i think it's safe to say america is one of (likely the) largest music market in the world, so bands likely dream of making it big there. and if you're going to do so, you're gonna have to be singing in english (at least most of the time, los del rio aside).

another reason was suggested to me by j siegel who is also across the pond with me, he says perhaps it is a way of groups paying tribute/honoring the fact that rock n roll is an american invention. maybe? but something tells me that gasmac gilmore doesn't care where rock is from...

please add some comments on this if you've got thoughts as i'm certainly interested to see what other people think. aufwiedersehen!

Under the Covers....

2007-05-28T23:34:00.001-05:00

(was there a wet t-shirt contest I didn't know about?)

What is it about today's music scene that encourages, nay, forces consumers as well as artists to pay such respect to the cover song? Here are a few recent/ recently discovered ones I just had to share. All the links lead directly to the blogpost the music can be found on...just hit the link, scroll down, and you'll find what you're looking for =)

Kanye's pseudo-cover of PB&J's "Young Folks" can be heard on All Things Go.

Ryan Adams doing classic Stones' tune "Brown Sugar"? Sorry Christine, but the only thing I can compare it to is what I imagine the Stones would sound like if Mick Jagger lost his vocal edge and the band were playing a casino in rural Minnesota circa 1987. (The Music Slut)

Or what about Snow Patrol's rendition of Beyonce's "Crazy in Love"? It's on Sound Gymnastics.

This one should take the cake: Marilyn Manson doing JT's "What Goes Around Comes Around." I can't link to it, but if you go on http://hypem.com and search for it, trust me, you'll be rewarded. However, it'a actually a pretty mellow acoustic version, but entertaining none the less.

Um, and this Panic! one is for Riley... Again the link doesn't work but search on http://hypem.com for Maneater. Yes.

Of course, no WVFI-related list of cover songs would be complete without Ted Leo's (okay, Kelly Clarkson's) "Since U Been Gone" (on The World Forgot)

Finally, my favourite I think, is a band I've never heard of (I just sacrificed indie cred for this, so appreciate it!) Je Suis France kinda covering LCD SoundSystem's "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" but the alterations are genius. Pure Genius. (on Culture Bully)

The Blow Were Out Of My League

2007-05-25T16:27:00.000-05:00

On May 15, minimalist pop duo The Blow performed at The Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, opening for Electrelane. Of course, with half of the group (Jona Bechtolt) off doing his one-man YACHT thing, Khaela Maricich was left to perform by herself, as she often does. However, despite the fact that it was just a woman alone on stage with nothing except a microphone and a backing beat, The Blow did not disappoint.

For her first song, Khaela ushered in an evening of intimacy with the song "How Naked Are We Going To Get?" She stood on stage, solitary and vulnerable, an apt opening to her set. The song was sparse, even by The Blow's standards, an invitation to the audience, bringing them into a pact with the performer, hinting at the emotional tension that underlies her otherwise poppy tendencies. For the remainder of her set, Khaela playfully danced around on stage, devoid of self-consciousness, with a kind of in-front-of-the-bedroom-mirror innocence. Her fragile voice sang about the allure of the unattainable, those things that are always just out of reach yet constantly beckon to us. In between songs, she offered lengthy anecdotes about the lyrics-writing process, providing a humorous version of her personal life.

The set formed a sort of narrative, a linear progression detailing one woman's path to empowerment and emotional well-being. From the opener to the middle songs, Khaela sang of a lonely soul, someone seeking but never truly finding love and connections. By the end, happiness appears in sight. With "Parentheses," Khaela seems to have found her elusive partner in punctuation, singing "I know I’ll be safe in these arms." While things do not turn out perfectly, she's finally okay with it. The love was real, but it's over.

After The Blow finished, I left. Today, Electrelane got a "Best New Music" label from Pitchfork. Who knew?

Setlist:
How Naked Are We Going To Get
Big U
Knowing The Things That I Know
Hock It
Hey Boy
Eat Your Heart Up
Pardon Me
Pile of Gold
Parentheses
True Affection

P4k Fest '07

2007-05-25T16:08:00.000-05:00

For rock-loving Europeans, the summer means one thing: festival season. The best bands in the world (plus the Goo Goo Dolls) descend upon the Old World in droves, bringing good times and good tunes to all the boys and girls. Meanwhile, the US is stuck with things like Bonnaroo, Ozzfest, and Lollapalooza. I mean, I love 3 Inches of Blood as much as the next guy, and Muse's "Supermassive Black Hole" is, like, the best song ever, but sometimes I just want something a little more substantial and state-subsidized. Well, I don't think the government is going to be tossing money to The Killers anytime soon (like they need it), so the Pitchfork Music Festival will have to do instead. Today, the final lineup was announced. In addition to all the great acts already linked to the festival, Pitchfork is now bringing Mastodon, Junior Boys, Voxtrot, Cadence Weapon, Brightblack Morning Light, the Field, Cool Kids, and William Parker Quartet. Earlier this week, I purchased my ticket. Now that I know Mastodon and Voxtrot will be there, it appears that my money was well-spent.

Bloody Pirates...

2007-05-24T23:33:00.000-05:00

Just got back from the 8 PM showing of Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World's End. I will not give any spoilers right now, I promise. I will, however, say that it is good, though I can tell you right now it was not my favorite of the series. (I'm not sure which of the first 2 is my favorite, but nonetheless...) I literally got home 5 minutes ago, and usually I have to stew about things more before I can give a proper review, which is why spoilers will wait until later, but I can tell whether or not I like a film by how I act on the ride home. After I finish watching a movie for the first time, I'm typically silent for the first 10 minutes or so following, but my silence has no bearing on how I feel about the movie. You can tell that based off whether or not I smile on the way home, and indeed I was smiling after this one.

I'll admit, without giving away anything, that there were definitely portions of the film that made me raise an eyebrow or question how well it flowed from the the first 2 movies, and I feel it was a little slow to pick up from where it left off (considering how Pirates 2 stopped in this gigantic action sequence), but I feel like other elements--Like the amazing action sequences--balanced out those moments. Plus, it's definitely better than certain other trilogies that came out this summer *cough*Spiderman 3*cough*.

!!! at the Metro

2007-05-24T23:02:00.000-05:00

March 23, Carolina and I headed to the Metro to see !!! live without any real expectations of what their live set would look like. Seemingly nothing more than a dance and funk outfit, the possibility of an all-out 2-hour dance marathon appeared most likely. But at the end of the night, the crowd was a stew of b.o., junkies, and stripping. Oh, and Jeff Albert was there. Hey, Jeff!

Toronto's Holy F*** took the stage in punctual fashion at 9:00 PM. And while I expected the band to just repeatedly seek attention by announcing their ridiculous name, their performance was an exciting and interesting electro-dance, mostly instrumental set of short tunes. Kevin O'Sullivan had described the band as "drum and bass with some f***ed up electronic s***." I didn't know whether to expect fun and energetic (IQU) or flat out disorganized noise (World's End Girlfriend).

Pet peeves about live electronic acts? Songs that drag. Nothing to see on stage. But H.F. avoided both of those trends.

Beats were smooth and catchy and songs ended just before it felt like they were dragging. The drummer was in clear view next to a bassist who didn't seem to add much to the performance except some type of conventional stage performance aesthetic. Two mix and electronic artists were the focus on opposite sides of the stage with all sorts of film reels, melodica, vocoder, turntable, and effects. A lanky feller in a t-shirt that had some joke about interpretive dance was really into it, and Carolina shot me looks to his head-bobbing, shoulder-twitching dance moves.

After H.F., !!! took the stage around 10:15, and here's a rough setlist for ya'll (any help with this is appreciated):

1. Myth Takes
2. All My Heroes Are Weirdoes.
3. KooKooka...
4. Must Be the Moon
5. Pardon My Freedom
6. Yadnus
7. A New Name
8. ???
9. Heart of Hearts
10. Break in Case of Anything
11. ???

Halfway into the first song, interpretive dance dude gets shoved repeatedly by some junkie with long blonde hair. Apparently fragile and not realizing that tends to happen when people get excited at crowded club shows, Kevin Bacon decides to summon the Metro's security. Three times.

But the mosh was inevitable, and it lasted from the front to the end of the set. Carolina and I set a goal of discovering who was the most worthless member of !!! The award might go to one of the players that 'helps out' on percussion and plays saxophone on one song. Nic Offer danced to every measure, like a cleaned-up Mickey Avalon. Shaking hips, jumping around, and free to do whatever he pleased with the mic, he never looked bored--even during the !!! tunes that are mostly instrumental.

Mario Andreoni's guitar sounded as crystal clear live as it did on Myth Takes (which might be their best 'album' to date). But the intricate bass lines and percussion are what drive the live music, and they did not disappoint.

Some unknown black female vocalist was just as entertaining on stage, dressed like Linnell from the Borat movie, she fired up the crowd and danced crazier than a Springer guest, adding more of a club dimension to the scene.

But the funk band had more of a punk crowd, and the pushing and jumping continued for 80 minutes. Tremendous energy on the whole floor, and !!! delivered big time. The night ended on somewhat of a disappointment though. The set was shorter than it could have been (especially for a $16 ticket), and I had never heard a crowd cheer louder for an encore and not receive it. Clapping and screaming continued for 15-20 minutes until almost all instruments were carried off stage and the finality of the show was obvious. No performance of "Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard."

Definitely check out !!! if they're in the area, but expect a little violence and intensity along the way.

Ted Leo and the Hoodie Conspiracy: A Timeline

2007-05-24T16:08:00.001-05:00

October 2006
Ted Leo performs at the LaFortune Ballroom. Suddenly, then-Station Manager Catherine McGeeney realizes that Ted Leo worked at WVFI yet has no signature WVFI hoodie. The troops rally for a change. Unfortunately there are no hoodies to be had at the time of his visit.

Spring 2006
A fresh order of WVFI hoodies arrives at the station, yet no one has Leo's contact info. He remains without hoodie.

March 12, 2007
The first exclusively Leo MINDset post is made about a video on AOLmusic. If Leo would have owned a hoodie at the time, surely a WVFI plug would have made it past the video editing board.

March 20, 2007
Release of Living With the Living, Leo's fifth full-length album without possession of a WVFI hoodie. Meanwhile, MINDsetters Chris Wodicka and Joe Lattal decide to buy tickets (actually Chris bought them) to see Leo perform in Chicago later that season.

ca. April 25, 2007
An attempt at myspace message correspondence is made, notifying Leo that WVFIers will be attending his Chicago gig, and we hope to deliver a hoodie to him personally.

April 28, 2007, 6:30 PM
Plans to eat at a Giordano's on Belmont are screwed up by impossible parking conditions in Boystown and poor service (despite a perfectly executed order-ahead). Not only does the group head to Leo's show late (which now includes fellow MINDsetters Kelly Duoos, Christine Nguyen, and Steve Fabian), missing the openers Love of Diagrams, but they miss any chance of handing off a WVFI hoodie directly to Leo before he takes the stage.

8:00 PM
The group arrives at the venue only to find that the Metro floor is already packed, and the MINDset group will have to reside near the back. Ted takes the stage and opens with the closing chords of "My Vien Ilyn" before going into "Sons of Cain."

9:58 PM
Realizing that it's now or never for the hoodie, Duoos and Nguyen push me through a crowd to the front to attempt a hoodie launch. With only a few measures left of "Walking To Do," I heave it over his head, between Leo and his second guitarist, in an attempt for the hoodie to be seen but not interrupt the performance. Only one of those goals was met. No one seems to notice the hoodie on the stage. Leo continues with a cover of Chumbawumba's "Rappaport's Testament," while the second guitarist glances at the hoodie like a rag.

10:08 PM
The band leaves the stage, no one picks up the hoodie. But hope springs that someone will discover it, realize its intent for the upper half of Leo's body, and return it to its rightful recipient.

10:15-12:00 PM
Several phone calls are made to multiple contacts in my cell phone saved as "Ted Leo." No response. I leave several stress-saturated messages that there is a hoodie for him back at the Metro.

April 29, 2007
Phone calls continue in the afternoon, but now the calls go straight to voice mail.

May 23, 2007, 8:50 PM
Waiting for Holy F*** to take the stage before !!!, Carolina Surla suggests that I call Ted one more time to follow up on the hoodie. He answers on the third ring. I explain the reason for my call. He says, "oh, man. I didn't see it [the WVFI hoodie] there. I really want one of those." Leo tells me he will send me contact info to mail him one.

The legend continues.

The Used: Lies For the Liars

2007-05-23T15:53:00.000-05:00

Poor The Used... They peaked so early what with Warped Tour cred and a lead singer that could date a reality TV star (though probably not anyone's first pick). They had a 'Taste of Ink' and TRL fame, and now? Well, there really isn't a place for The Used in pop or punk. My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco have filled in the pop gaps, both enjoying major success in their young careers. Bands who have paid their dues are also starting to get their time in the sun as well--groups like From First to Last, etc. Then there are the other bands who have enjoyed consistent success, such as AFI. Never taking over the rock and roll world, but when their new material came out, it gained some hype.

So what about The Used? Since their big bang in the beginning of the decade, the group has little to show for their success. Starting out as a mainstream punk band in the vein of My Chemical Romance, The Used have repeatedly sought to reinvent their sound on each release. Their last album, In Love and Death, sounded a little heavier than their typical 10-14 yr. old fans might have enjoyed. These were the same kids that made mix-CDs with Simple Plan and Sugarcult juxtaposed alongside their beloved The Used--not Between the Buried and Me and Killswitch Engage tracks.

Now on their latest, Lies For the Liars, the band has taken this edgy approach to their old sound to produce a poor substitute for an uber-electro-AFIish, post-Refused, washed up, overdramatized, and unoriginal record. The only plus on the whole album is, believe it or not, some of McCracken's vocals. Although he has a tendency to overdo it (like every song is performed in the rain at the funeral of a beautiful woman), he has more vocal talent than the usual players in the genre. But the music? It's a sad attempt at incorporating mechanical and industrial elements into a punk melody that has little substance to begin with. On several tracks, the production plays with computerized noise, soundtrack-like editing techniques, and other quirks. But the result is as weak as a WWF entrance anthem. There isn't much worth talking about here because it's more of the same. Imagine the 3-4 worst tracks off the worst AFI, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and other comparable bands' albums. Add them all together, and what do you get? Lies For the Liars!

When the time comes for another album, what won't The Used try next? Panic! has license on the orchestral arrangements. My Chemical Romance has the fashion ("They stole from Green Day." "No, Green Day stole from us!"). The Used need to find their own trademark even this late in the game. Fortunately, their loyal fanbase keeps giving them second chances (for some reason). Fortunately there is enough organization in the genre that no one really needs to be original either.

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

My city's summer festival can beat up yours.

2007-05-16T09:34:00.000-05:00

The lineup for Coney Island's Siren Festival was just announced, to the delight [and jaded scorn] of NY hipsterdom. The annual Village Voice-sponsored concert, which also happens to be free, enters what might be its last year, as the famous Astroland is set to be destroyed and replaced with evil symbols of capitalist wealth (read: condos and stuff).

According to Brooklyn Vegan, the initial lineup consists of New York Dolls, We Are Scientists, Matt And Kim, The Black Lips, Dr. Dog, Lavender Diamond, The Detroit Cobras, Elvis Perkins, and The Twilight Sad.

I mean, I like the new-wave-revival as much as anyone else, and who can go wrong with Matt and Kim (seriously), but I still hope they add some other cool acts. For example, last year, they brought in Interpol -- sort of. Actually, it was just She Wants Revenge. Nevermind.

Sometimes I look at past Siren lineups and cry.

2004: Death Cab, Blonde Redhead, Trail of Dead, TV on the Radio, The Fiery Furnaces, The Thermals
2003: Modest Mouse, Ted Leo, !!!, other bands I don't listen to
2002: The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Les Savy Fav

I blame Pitchfork for this and most of the problems of the world. Obvi!

Sometimes I wish I lived close to Seattle, Chicago, or Austin.

Coming next: A review of The Blow @ The Fillmore @ Irving Plaza (worst venue name ever).

Furious George

2007-05-14T22:35:00.001-05:00

This Saturday evening, i along with a few fellow mindsetters had the privilege of seeing Elkhart's own Furious George. Although i'm not a huge fan of the band's style of music (hard rock with just a pinch of metal), i'll give a brief review of the show - in note form:

the low points:
*the set change: the set change between Chicago metal band Mazarene (who i just missed) and Furious George must have lasted 45 minutes. Hell, Neil Peart can set up his drumset in a fourth of that time. if that means nothing to you, check this sucker out:

*make some f*cking noise: if i had a dollar for every time the frontman said this, or something to that effect, i would have bought the band the multiple rounds of jaeger shots they wanted and still had enough to buy the new linkin park cd tomorrow. (he did partly make up for this though by wearing a "smile if you swallow" shirt, if anyone knows where to get one of these... hook me up.
*guitar solos: not sure exactly what effect pedal the guitarist was using, but he made sure that he used it on every solo... resulting in 15 solos that all sounded exactly alike.

the high points:
*the band's timing/tightness: nothing turns me off from a band more than when they can't play their songs without getting off beat or messing up the tempo of the song. Furious George was very solid in this regard.
*the sound guy: clearly a huge Furious George fan, he tried his best to singlehandedly start a mosh pit... unfortunately for me nothing developed.
*the drummer: to quote joe lattal, "why do these bands always have really good drummers?" this guy even knew how to properly use a double bass pedal.. i was quite impressed.

and the highlight of the night...
*the covers: the set opened with a godsmack song (the title escapes me now) and ended with the following trio of power: limp bizkit "break stuff"; static x "push it"; and drowning pool "bodies" - the last of which was by special request from Pat the bartender.

so yeah, that's Furious George. all that's left to be said is: "let the bodies hit the floor!"

ps: sorry for the lack of photos, i am yet to join the digital camera revolution.

It's been a while...

2007-05-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

(Paramore: picture from purevolume.com)

...since I’ve written anything. I’ve had some password issues.
So here’s a summary of my most recent purchases.

1. Santi: The Academy Is…

The Academy Is broke onto the music scene with Almost Here in 2005. They had a successful tour with Panic!, Hellogoodbye, and Acceptance. Their second full length album, Santi, came out last month, and was a less than adequate follow-up. The songs are good, but even my favorite, “Neighbors," has a chorus that is anticlimactic compared to the Almost Here’s catchy and energetic refrains. It’s not surprising that TAI will be touring with my second disappointing download, Fall Out Boy.

2. Infinity On High: Fall Out Boy

The only explanation I can offer for this disaster is that FOB was budget-happy. After the roaring success of From Under the Cork Tree, the industry that is Fall Out Boy received a major budget inflation. The CD includes dozens of new, unnecessary instruments and a full chorus whenever possible. I won’t even go into the guest appearance of Jay-Z. I will bring up the point that the band fell in love with a single line, “This ain’t a scene, it’s a goddamn arms race.” I will pay someone $5 dollars to count how many times this line is said during the first single released for the album. Consider this deal; you could use it to purchase the new Spill Canvas EP.

3. Denial Feels So Good EP: The Spill Canvas

For many people, The Spill Canvas’ last CD was too chill. My advice for these people: don’t bother giving them a second chance. If One Fell Swoop wasn’t for you, Denial definitely won’t be. I, personally, am a TSC fan, but I was less than satisfied with this EP. The “remix” of Stapplegunned is hardly an exciting change from the original; I think I noticed one added echo. The title track brings back a bit of the band’s aggressive edge, and is the most worthwhile listen on the CD. The rest has a new sound for the group, but isn’t worth more than a few replays.

4. All We Know is Falling: Paramore

I have to admit, I liked this one. I’ll recommend it for fans of Anberlin, Taking Back Sunday, or Plain White Ts. I always enjoy a decent rocker chick, and lead singer Hayley provides this rare sound in today’s music scene. Don’t be fooled by their 14-year-old emo following. Give it a listen.

6. A different light: Sherwood

This is my up-beat, catchy, running album of the month. If you’re a fan of Relient K, Cartel, or The Fold, you may want to check out Sherwood. Actually, I was surprised to hear a very Postal Service-esque track, Alley Cat. The lyrics aren’t anything groundbreaking, but it’s a fun listen. The Simple Life even begins with a hint of The Decemberists. I’ll leave you with my favorite track, “Song In My Head.” Enjoy.

7. The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch: Cute is What We Aim for

I can live with a preposition at the end of a title. That's fine. It's the cocky, predictable lyrics of CIWWAF that I cannot stand. I saw them at my first Jack's Mannequin concert at the House of Blues in Orlando. They were a joke in performance, dress, and musical ability. For some reason, I thought I'd give them a second chance, and it was a waste of time. I was probably just putting off studying for finals.

That’s all for now. Happy summer all!

-Jackie

Support Music: Shell Out Cash

2007-05-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

I have been looking forward to tomorrow for a long time. Three words: new Linkin Park.

Actually, that's a joke.

Buy the new Wilco but don't put it on in the car on the way home. You might fall asleep at the wheel and die.

You should also check out the "new" Horrors' CD, which, as with most things, actually came out in the UK a while back.

There's also a new Rufus Wainwright CD.

"I love Rufus!" - many a music fan

5 May 2007 -- The Kooks live at Metro Chicago

2007-05-09T06:41:00.000-05:00

I bought my ticket for Saturday's Kooks show on Feb. 8th... so it goes without saying that I had been looking forward to it for a long time. What I had expected from the Kooks was a very acoustic, very laid back performance. But what we got instead was a high-energy rock'n'roll romp with the cutest things Brighton has ever produced. The band began the set with the same two songs that begin the album but with one major difference being simply their energy in performing and enthusiasm for the material. On the studio album, Inside In/Inside Out, the sound is clean but feels a bit restrained -- this is luckily not the case for their live shows during which nothing is held back! Seaside is rather subdued and acoustic but, after breaking into See the World, the Kooks rocked out hard without looking back.

The band performed quite a bit of new material since it has been a while since their debut album came out last spring (in the UK). It was so interesting to compare the new Kooks songs to those on the album. In a live setting, the new ones are a bit more rock'n'roll. The difference is this: while I often describe Inside In/Inside Out as having an early-Beatles sound, the new Kooks material is very Rolling Stones. It rocks, hard. It has guitar solos, it has ambition, and most of all, attitude.

The new material is really, genuinely good; the Kooks delivered their latest with a vast amount of energy... the maturation and progress from the first album is highly evident. Mostly, these guys just know how to put on a show. One of the only bands I've seen who can pull off having a frontman who acts like a front man but plays guitar the majority of the time. This was my favourite show of the year (including last night's Arctic Monkeys). Can't wait for the second one now!

Songs:
Seaside
See the World
Eddie's Gun
Matchbox
Ooh La
Come On Down*
Time Awaits
She Moves in Her Own Way
*Oil
*Sway
*Sabateur
Naive
*Always Where
You Don't Love Me

Encore:
Jackie Big Tits
*Make Love
Sofa Song

Singer Luke Pritchard really provided a lot of the energy that made the live show so special. He just has that vibe, that charisma, that stage presence, which makes your time with him so much fun. Not to be restrained by conventional guardrails and security, Pritchard ventured into the audience once or twice. The last song, Sofa Song, got the best reaction from the crowd, everyone went nuts as 1) it is a really great song and 2) we all realized the night was almost over.

Other memorable things included: The knowing smirk whilst singing the chorus to Jackie Big Tits, an acoustic song which was not included on the band's setlist but was a more than welcome addition to the performance. Solid gold guitar action (above right). Time Awaits, the first verse. Black and white brogues (below). One very large, very pastel guitar. Luke Pritchard and his massive hair in my face (second from top).

D.A.N.C.E.

2007-05-07T22:33:00.000-05:00

I've had this song stuck in my head on a permanent loop for the past two days because of its awesome video. The song is D.A.N.C.E. by Justice, a French electro duo. (What's the deal with french duos being awesome?)

I thought I'd share it with everyone. Here's the final version of it. (note the unfinished version of the video is also worth checking out)

Along Came a Spider

2007-05-05T13:39:00.000-05:00

Without a doubt, this summer is the summer of the threequel. Between the new Pirates of the Carribean, the next Bourne installment (with Julia Stiles once again reprising her completely unnecessary role), and the third Shrek, theatergoers will have several opportunities to throw their money away and support bloated movie franchises and the big (read: evil capitalist) studios that peddle them.

The first of this year's threequels is already out: Spider-Man 3. The movie is packed with a lot -- perhaps a little too much. You have three villains; you have a seemingly omniscient butler (but what movie doesn't these days?); you have Bryce Dallas Howard in a blonde wig playing a physics major/model/police chief's daughter/damsel in distress; you have Bruce Campbell as a stereotyped French guy; yet, most importantly, you have an emo Peter Parker/Conor Obserst lookalike. I did notice one potentially troubling thing about this transformation. For one thing, Conor Oberst can't shoot webbing from his wrists, but even if he could, he surely wouldn't swing in front of an American flag, as Spider-Man does at one point in the movie. However, then I remembered that, by this point, Peter Parker had given up his emo ways.

This leads me to my next point. There's a clear, especially noble message underneath all the pumpkin-bomb explosions and giant villains made of sand. The message: don't be emo. If you're emo, your life will fall apart. You'll lose everything, including cinematic credibility.

To sum up my thoughts, this movie made me dumber, and it actually made X-Men III look like a competent effort. Dear God, I kneel humbly before you. All I ask is that you give me back my $7.75 and those two hours and twenty minutes of my life.

New Kids on the Blog

2007-05-04T16:33:00.001-05:00

In addition to posting news, tour dates, concert reviews/photos, and Avril Lavigne videos, Mindset strives to introduce you to the best new music. In this spirit, I want to tell you about an amazing up-and-coming group I just discovered: New Kids on the Block. I found a bunch of their albums in the bottom of a bin in my cousin's garage, right underneath a pile of Maroon 5 bootlegs. I've deleted everything else on my 60 gig iPod, because this is the only music I'll ever need again. I think we should push for Legends to get them to play Notre Dame. Maybe they'd even do The Show. ::crosses fingers::

Visit us at HTTP://MINDSETSCENE.BLOGSPOT.COM

Spider-Man 3

2007-05-04T03:18:00.000-05:00

So Chris, Kelly, Christine and I saw the midnight opening of Spider-Man 3 and well... there's no other way to say this... it was awful. Awful enough to break me out of my no blogging streak and write about it.

I had little to no expectations for the movie given that I was completely unaware it was coming out this weekend until Wednesday night; however, despite these very limited expectations I was still hugely disappointed. The movie was entirely silly - every other scene made me raise my hands in disbelief and mutter "WTF?" There were too many plot lines that resulted in many "reaches" if you will (eg: alien goo and amnesia being key plot drivers). Far too much crying as well.

But the largest "WTF" of the film is the bizarre emo Peter Parker that shows up. He mats his hair down over his face, changes into black clothes, and then things just get too silly. (I couldn't help but think of Conor Oberst the whole time). Basically made it seem like the movie's message "Don't be emo. if you are black slime will take control of your body" (as said by C-wod).

So yeah, that's my rant. A very forgettable movie that was likely made just because the studio knew it will sell tickets. Use your 2+ hours better - watch tonight's Office four times.

Junior Boys

2007-05-04T02:53:00.000-05:00

I just got back from the Junior Boys concert in Chicago. It's 4 AM so I'll put some stuff down then edit it later today, since I can do that with the ol' blogosphere, or whatever.
The set:
1. Count Souvenirs
2. The Equalizer
3. Teach Me How to Fight
4. Like a Child
5. Birthday
6. Double Shadow
7. So This is Goodbye
8. In the Morning
9. More Than Real
Encore:
10. Under the Sun

I'm 100% sure these are the songs they played, but the order of 7 through 9 is somewhat hazy, since these were kept by memory.

Suprises: guitar and bass, drums on top of drum machine, no "FM," Junior Boys didn't have that pre-recorded feel, many songs from Last Exit (3, 5, 9, and 10), layout of the Empty Bottle, great concert shirts but no buttons (what can i say? I like concert buttons). Updates soon to come.

Update: For rather obnoxious circumstances, I had to go to this one on my own, a cause for heightened senses, greater awareness, and more adrenaline walking back to my car after the show. When I arrived it was halfway through San Serac, who surrounded himself with various keyboards and devices. Some of his voice modulation effects were very pleasing as well is his fast paced rush of other computer sounds. The Empty Bottle's setup is a bit strange. There are a couple rooms tucked away with with old arcade machines and sofas and such. The main room is a long rectangle with the stage at one corner and a bar along one side, and on other side near the stage is this raised area a little higher than the stage where you can view the show. That is where I was. The stage isn't connected to any door, so San Serac bumped into me at one point while removing his equipment from the stage.

I was only expecting two people from Junior Boys, each on a keyboard. Not so. They had a drummer, Jeremy Greenspan played guitar and bass, and Matt Didemus had one large keyboard, a smaller keyboard controller, and an Apple laptop. I know LCD Soundsystem is fond of drums on drum machine, but I can't say there is much of that on Junior Boys' albums. However, it added quite a bit to "Teach Me How to Fight." Didemus was so freaking smooth. He would play a few notes on one keyboard, nonchalantly hit a few keys on the other, amble over to his laptop and adjust a few parameters, all while taking a few draws off his cigarette. All the electronic shows I've been to have been pre-recorded and put on a rail, and sometimes that left no time for the band to talk to the audience. The Junior Boys, however, could start and stop their songs at will, so though certain parts are prerecorded, it didn't feel abrupt or forced in any way. The only song they played I didn't like was "Double Shadow." But let me explain, this song is nearly perfect on the album. This is all the more reason to change the pace and timing of it extensively during a show, which they did. This was the last show of their tour, though they will be playing at the Pitchfork Music Festival in July I believe. They ended with "Under the Sun," which they really rocked out at the end. I thought this was appropriate for the coming Summer season.

Photo courtesy of Radio Free Chicago. This is from last Fall, but it gives the right impression of Didemus.

OMG OMG OMG

2007-05-02T12:12:00.000-05:00

There has been some talk going around that next year's Mindset, with Riley and me at the helm, will be in trouble. This talk is 100% spot-on. For instance...

So, which Yeah Yeah Yeahs song did she rip off this time? Also, can we expect a Ted Leo cover? I'm thinking not, if this quote is any indication:

"My love affair with Kelly Clarkson is largely, pretty much, with a wink and a nod. Not that I don't think she's talented, not that I don't think she's done great things with other people's songs."

Maybe it can give Gwen Stefani a run for her money in the song-of-the-year race. Maybe it can even win the much-sought-after Grammy for "Best Female Rock/Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals."

Flogging Molly!

2007-04-27T13:56:00.000-05:00

(*Said in a high-pitched, leotard-wearing, 80's hair band style*)

Personally, I still can't believe that we got them to come here, but I choose not to question. As they are the kings of Irish punk, and one of the few out there now with a member who was actually from Ireland, Flogging Molly's arrival at ND warranted not only lining up outside Legends at least 4 hours in the pouring rain before the doors opened at 9 PM, but also the opening of the back wall of Legends with a tent set up in the lot behind, complete with projection screens, to accomodate the massive, over-capacity crowds that could not possibly fit inside. (Oh man, that was such a run-on sentence...The English major in me is shuddering...) As I have become the unofficial Legends correspondent of Mindset, here's my review.

Any criticisms I have of this show really have nothing to do with the band. First of all, Legends made a bad decision not to have the barricades set up before the show, though I admit I never expected any show at ND to get so chaotic. However, they did a fantastic job of getting that put up quickly and keeping it reinforced against the semi-moshing crowd. My other main complaint is about the leaky roof. Granted, this isn't really something the Legends staff could necessarily control, but it simply looks sloppy to have the roof leaking not only on the audience, but also on the band. Anyway, onto the actual show!

As Flogging Molly needs no introduction, there was no opening act. The show began with the entire house dimming; only a low blue light shone on the stage as flute music (my friend Alyssa said it was reminiscent of Passion of the Christ music) played over the sound system. This band knows how to make a crowd anxious, because they waited what felt like 10 minutes (it was probably less than 5) before coming out. Once onstage, they did not delay another second and went straight into the music. Here, I pause to give a Fonz-like thumbs-up to the Legends staff, who finally mastered the art of the sound system! There was only one instance of unwanted guitar feedback that I can recall, all the mics were perfectly balanced, and the volume was at the perfect level where it was justloud enough to blow out your eardrums, but not permanently.

This was my first Flogging Molly live show, and it did NOT disappoint. Unlike other bands, who refuse to play their old songs in concert, they played a huge set that included songs from all their albums, fan favorites and new songs alike. (An incomplete and disjointed set list will follow the review.) These guys play an extremely laid-back show, drinking beer from blue plastic cups (Haha, inside joke from the show) between songs as lead singer Dave King shared stories about his childhood in Ireland or went on tangents about politics and peace. Interaction with the crowd seems to be one key to the magic of a Flogging Molly show, which explains why they kept it at Legends rather than moving it to larger venue like Stepan.

The other key would be their amazing music. Some punk bands sound like crap live because they simply play as loud and as fast as they can, and, while this can get synched up and polished in a studio, it just sounds like audio vomit live. NOT the case with Flogging Molly, who have actual discernable melodies and utilize more than a 3-chord progression in their music. Plus, they have a slightly more diverse set of instruments at their disposal, including a violin, mandolin, banjo, and accordion. I never thought it would be possible to rock out on an according. Apparently, I was wrong. It didn't take long for the crowd to get energized and thrashing around, which is awesome that people get so into it, but decidedly not so awesome when you're 5 feet tall in flip flops in the middle of the crowd with guys wearing riveted jackets on each side. (FYI: I still have both flip flops and all my toenails, thank you very much!) And again with the anxiety for the encore! Most other bands go backstage, count to 3, then come back out, but these guys made you wait, and therefore crave it more. At first, just Dave came out and began a gorgeous acoustic version of "Black Friday Rule", which made everyone stop thrashing for probably the first time all evening, then the rest of the band joined him onstage about halfway through the song to finish it with a full set.

Okay, so here's what I remember that they played. I know for a fact they played more than this, but I can't remember! I'll ask my friends what they remember and possibly edit this later...

Selfish Man
Factory Girls
Within a Mile of Home
What's Left of the Flag
Laura (I think? I can't remember if I just heard it in my head or onstage!)
If I Ever Leave This World Alive
The Likes of You Again
Rebels of the Sacred Heart
Whistles in the Wind
Requiem for a Dying Dream
Black Friday Rule

Keep it up, Legends, I expect bigger and better acts for my senior year! :-)

2007-04-25T11:40:00.000-05:00

Former Mindset Editor and all-around maven of all things purple-headed and radical: Mairead Case

Interviewed none other than Patti Smith on behalf of Pitchfork.

Check it out here

And don't skip over the Rolling Stones cover they've included, it's actually really good =)
xkd

Voxwolf!

2007-04-24T20:23:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, WVFI welcomed the Chicago-based Skybox to Legends. The end result: a night full of near-perfect tripped-out demented circus music. However, Skybox wasn't the only band to charm the Legends crowd. Openers Voxwolf, a recently formed campus band, hit the stage and kicked off the evening with a catchy original, "Joshua's Revenge (feat. The Nilbog All Stars)." The four-piece band wasted no time in shifting gears, jumping mid-song to a cover of the Wolf Parade dance-party classic "Shine a Light." After a cover of Brand New's "Jesus Christ" and another Troll 2-influenced original, "No Hospitals," Voxwolf performed an interesting and tasteful version of Death Cab for Cutie's "Lack of Color" with John Siegel on lead vocals. Once again changing pace, switching from soft indie rock to "Wait, what's happening?" the band launched into "No Arms," a unique, somewhat shortened take on a Mickey Avalon song, and an instrumental number simply titled "Ryan's Song." The song would have been perfect, say, played in the background of a film about high school football. As bassist Joe Lattal thanked the crowd for coming out, Voxwolf performed a quick Peaches cover to end their short but memorable set.

I caught up with 3/4 of the band and briefly interviewed them.

Mindset: So, tell me the story behind the band.
John Siegel: It all started trying to impress someone... We did the little stuff together but never played live... The short story: yesterday at 3:00, Legends told us we were playing.
Riley Saunders: We made it rain.

Mindset: Well, clearly, Panic! at the Disco is heavily influenced by the film Closer. My question to you is, which Julia Roberts film has influenced you the most and why?
Riley Saunders: I have two personal favorites. First, Notting Hill for two reasons: I like Hugh Grant, and I like to say "whoops-i-daisies." My second favorite, which I'd say has directly influenced Voxwolf, is Ocean's Twelve. Not so much for Julia, as for the techno laser scene, which influenced our decision to remix the popular dance song "**** the Pain Away" by Peaches.
Joe Lattal: The Mexican, for the romance.
John Siegel: Pretty Woman.

Mindset: Do you ever wish you could be [former campus band] The Somersaults?
John Siegel: Sometimes I wish I could burn down South Dining Hall.

Mindset: It seems that a lot of bands are using the word "wolf" in their names. What drew you to the name "Voxwolf"?
Joe Lattal: Wolf Parade, Wolf Eyes, Superwolf...
John Siegel: Wolfmother...
Joe Lattal: We're going to be the best of the bunch. The best of the Vox bands and the best of the Wolf bands. Another idea for a name was "Gently Used Cucumbers."
John Siegel: Or "She Wouldn't Be Opposed To The Possibility Of Revenge."

My interview was cut short when drummer Riley Saunders had to show off some dance moves.

I'm just kidding. That's all I asked them.

Love me like an animal

2007-04-24T20:22:00.000-05:00

So Flameshovel records dropped by Legends one week after Friday the 13th. The seemingly unsurpassable amazingness of moving an entire record label on a flatbed was in fact surpassed by the Russian Circles (along with the Race and the Narrator [adding at wvfi this week]). Russian Circles lasso post-rock, space-hardcore, and metal-dronefucking together. They also had a great stage presence. The guitarist had a plethora of pedals (gear slut wet dream), sick skills (a la finger tapping), a tendency to loop (at one point there were five guitars going on at once), and this bad-ass stoic stance with a blond mane covering his face the entire show (it gave way to whirlwinds at some points). The bassist played his tool through a blowtorch, he was chiseled, lean, and large (thus personifying most of the bass lines), and jerked around mildly, wildly, or extra-wildly. The drummer was... good. He had a mean headband, and anyone who knew anything about music was probably looking at him most of the time. Dead on, inventive, and just plain awesome. The drunk, middle-aged, businessman who wandered into Legends next to me, put it best. "Saaay... Now THAT'S a gooooood drummer!"

I do have a soft-spot for noise/loud live shows, but c'mon.

Also, I love it when SDH has the 90s hit radio station on, and Lovefool is followed by Closer.

16 April 2007 -- Klaxons take Schuba's

2007-04-23T13:43:00.000-05:00

We walk to the venue, an old man outside is hawking glow-sticks. I smile broadly and knowingly, looking down at the sidewalk as we walk inside. It's empty, save a few early-birdies and the merch girl who is perched in front of a modest display of shirts, the most interesting upon which "Klaxons are K*nts" is scrawled. A guy hands us flyers and asks if we've designed tees for the band? We haven't, though mine would have been a stolen magazine headline ("Klaxons are MDMAzing"). He takes our photo anyway.

The small room gradually fills up and we find out the opening band is called The Prairie Cartel. The name says 'emo' to me, and even up till the band takes the stage, I am skeptical of th appropriateness of their opening for Klaxons. But as soon as they begin to play, I'm sold. Strong dance beats relying on synthesizers, plastic neon cowbells, and electronic drums are kept in balance by super-fat rock guitar work. The band are a bit repetitive at times (fact: this is an understatement), but their catchiness more than makes up for this. As a person normally indifferent to opening bands, call me impressed. Change your name, Prairie Cartel, cos you guys are winners!

The first band clean themselves up and the roadies take over, taping down setlists, check th equipment, hitting the synth key that begins "Atlantis to Interzone" (it yells DJ!!) and we laugh a little bit. It's kind of absurd, out of context. I look around the room and notice a few gig-goers dressed in the stereotypical klaxon-fashion -- oversized neon hoodies (with hoods up) and straight brimmed hats, rather baggy jeans. What's funny is that Klaxons have tried to get past this image, and have done everything fron changing they way they dress to outlawing glowsticks at their shows. But after I've had enough time to look over the setlist from the crowd, the band stomp on stage and something inside of me lights up when a reflection off Steffan's shoe catches my eye. The light plays on the drummer's shiny gold and black Adidas trainers; Simon wears pointy black ankle boots (right); James in black and leopard print high-top Nikes (left).

Klaxons launch into "The Bouncer" which, while immensely energetically performed, would have been received with much more enthusiasm had it come later in the set, me thinks. But the band do a great job promoting their new(ish) album, Myths of the Near Future, even promising a meet'n'greet to anyone who buys the album at the show. I am tempted.

Klaxons are well-practiced by this time in the tour and have got the crowd going (for the most part), though it takes a little while -- especially in Chicago. Atlantis to Interzone loosens things up while Golden Skans really gets us going. Too bad, but it wasn't till 12 Horsemen that everyone was dancing. Live, they perform a tight set and now gel very well together. Both James and Jamie play synth and bass, switching positions on stage a few times throughout the night. The energy seems to come completely from the music, however, as the band are not quite as eccentric onstage as I have witnessed in the past (maybe they are tired of touring?) At any rate, this is an intimate gig by Klaxons standards as they are used to performing at places like London's Shepherd's Bush Empire (Riviera size, at the least). Overall, they are a fun band with vibrant music, and though the live set does not differ too greatly from the recordings, the recordings are, well, very good. When the audio fuses with the presence of pioneering nu ravers (a term they will reject), unless you have feet of lead and a heart of stone, Klaxons should move you to dancing. With only enough material for a 40-45 minute set, we can only wish they had more songs to play...

What they played:
The Bouncer (cover)
Atlantis to Interzone
Hall of Records
Totem Timeline
Golden Skans
As Above So Below
Two Recievers
Magick
Gravity's Rainbow
Not Over Yet
Isle of Her
12 Horsemen of 2012

Enjoy the photos I managed to take!
xx kd

Who the... are Arctic Monkeys?

2007-04-22T15:27:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are anxious to hear the new Arctic Monkey's album, Favourite Worst Nightmare, Myspace has a stream of the entire album. I think I read in NME that this is the best band ever. Or maybe that was Nine Black Alps. Or Radiohead. Or Blur. Or The Beatles.

Enjoy. I would share my opinion of the album, but my opinion is irrelevant.

Coming soon: Exclusive "interview" with campus band Voxwolf and a possible concert review of Skybox.

daa de daa de diddy diddy da

2007-04-20T19:14:00.000-05:00

Last night I saw the Decemberists perform at the Riviera Theatre. They were quite entertaining and sounded as well or better than what recordings I had heard. Colin Meloy sang with his distinctive diphthongs and extended liquids (he-yerrr rather than here, and we-yulll rather than we'll), some of which seemed to require him to jut his head up with his mouth in somewhat odd orientation. Chris Funk added an occasional sound or two to his riffs, and at times the band would abandon their main set of instruments and the play such instruments as the violin or the cello. They played mainly from The Crane Wife, and touring with them was Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, who sang the part of the widowed woman in "Yankee Bayonet." During one song, Meloy quartered the audience into two floor sections, a balcony section, and a bar section and choreographed the singing of the phrase "daa de daa de diddy diddy da," which was terrific fun and got the audience involved. The balcony was especially involved, which surprised me since I would liken that section to a hibernating bear. But Meloy insulted them by calling them lethargic and telling them that they are likely worrying about what DVD to rent on the way home. And so like a woken bear, they became the loudest of the groups, prompting Meloy to call them formidable. If I were to be critical, it would seem the Decemberists were having too much fun, for Meloy botched his words on a couple occasions. But surprisingly, I heard the words live with greater clarity than from the recordings; the exact opposite of what I'm used to. I feel I've typed too much so I'll leave it at that. They do have a motif among their shows apparently, which "initiates" new viewers to a specific song. I'd ruin it for you if I related it here. It was probably the best part of the show, though, so I strongly recommend seeing them.

New Kids on the Blog

2007-04-18T17:47:00.000-05:00

She's like, so whatever.

2007-04-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

The new Avril Lavigne album comes out tomorrow. You know you've been listening to her single, "Girlfriend," nonstop since it came out.

If that isn't your thing, the new Nine Inch Nails comes out, too.

If that isn't your thing... Check back next week.

Breaking News from London...

2007-04-12T16:56:00.000-05:00

Yup, Libertines Pete and Carl re-united onstage at a Babyshambles gig today (which is tonight already in London).

It may or may not be a hoax...But you can read NME's minute-by-minute blackberry blog HERE

(confusing bit: you have to click "previous page" to get to the later texts...I found this out because I started at the most recent and read the blog backwards...)

more from NME here

Help Save Internet Radio

2007-04-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

This has come to my attention via Dan McSwain, former WVFI station manager.

On Friday March 2nd, the U.S. government (specifically, the Copyright Royalty Board, or "CRB") announced its determination of the royalty rates Internet radio webcasters must pay the owners of sound recording copyrights to license the music they play for the years 2006-2010. The owners of these sound recording copyrights are, in the vast majority of cases, recording companies ("labels").

While successful webcasters which have built loyal audiences can usually cover most of their costs from their revenue (and sometimes even make a little profit), these new rates will almost certainly destroy the Internet radio industry, as they amount to well over 100% of even the most-successful webcasters' online radio revenues. In other words, these fees are grotesquely disproportionate to any other expense a webcaster would normally face, and certain to bankrupt him or her.

And I don't need to remind you that WVFI is an internet radio station, though there might be some sort of educational loophole...

Pulp Magazine

2007-04-12T01:13:00.000-05:00

Everyone's -- and by everyone I am almost certain I mean solely Christine and myself -- favourite music-icon blaggers PopWorld have announced the arrival of a new member of the PopWorld family -- Pulp Magazine! Not too much info is available about it but, from the production schedule and the sample page, it looks to give NME some competition! The First Issue has Klaxons on the cover and of course Alex and Alexa make a special appearance (rather funny debate on the attractivness of popstars in which Alex argues that people would rather look like the Backstreet Boys than the View. I had to delete the BSB photo as it was attracting too many hits from google-image searches. I only wish that was a lie.)

Things That Keep Me Awake at Night

2007-04-11T23:52:00.000-05:00

Mainly, fears that, despite all the actual good music out there, this is the music our generation will be remembered for:

Boy bands. Although our generation did not invent the boy band (We can't honestly claim New Kids on the Block, Take That, or Menudo [Not that we'd want to]), we certainly perfected the "art" of the boy band. Just look at the sheer hordes of them that emerged in the late 90's: The Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, 98 Degrees, 5ive, Westlife, Boyzone, Code Red...I mean, geez, England was manufacturing those things like...Well, I actually have no accurate comparison for that as I'm not exactly sure what England manufactures besides bland food. And sure, we all laugh now, but how many of us out there can honestly say we didn't rock out whenever any of the above came on the radio back in the day? The fact that you find yourself subconsciously singing along whenever "I Want It That Way" comes on over the sound system in the grocery store shows how deeply boy bands infiltrated our generation.
Britney Spears. Honestly. I said from the beginning that she was a no-talent skank from the trailer park, and guess who was right in the end? *raises hand* But she has become a cultural icon--The mother of Kevin Federline's babies is easily the most recognizable pop reference of our generation! She's constantly parodied on late-night TV, referred to in songs (such as Pink's "Don't Let Me Get Me"), mentioned periodically in TV shows and movies, for God's sake, she's even corrupted musical theater! (A line in Spamalot's "Diva's Lament" references her.) And she can't sing a note.
American Idol. As if it wasn't enough that boy bands were being manufactured according to a set formula (on a great tangent, anyone else remember 2gether?), we had to make a show that makes the prefabrication of a pop star the #1 show on TV. Whatever happened to, I don't know, people working to get famous? And, no, kissing up to a snotty British dude does not count as work. You know what I mean by work: Writing your own music, playing your own instruments, peddling your wares to record labels, having talent...Seriously, if our last elections showed anything, America as a whole makes stupid decisions! Why, then, do we rely on the multitudes who watch Fox (of all networks) to decide the face of American music for a year??
"My Humps." No, not my...I'll stop that dumb joke right now. Seriously, though, future generations will remember us as the era that brought the phrase "lovely lady lumps" into the English language, and I for one am ashamed of that.

That's all I've got, but if that's not enough to give you nightmares for a week, then you are fearless.

3000 Hits!

2007-04-11T12:08:00.000-05:00

Alright the hits are coming faster and faster these days...

On Easter Sunday, we got to the 3000 mark

SO, OF COURSE i will be posting where our visitors came from and what they hoped to find...instead finding the most amazing college music blog ever...out of Notre Dame that is.

Mindset, frequented by:

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea (Republic of), Kuwait, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Phillipines, Poland , Russia, Scotland, Singapore, Spain,, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand

Funniest Searches (and funny also meaning that a lot of earnest Avril fans stumbled in here):

"i wanna be your girlfriend" avril lavigne video
its not a scene its a dame arms race by fall out boy on myspace
whats the chris cornell song with the lyrics: all my heros have become ghosts
bloc party hunting for witches guitar riff crazy train
there's a good reason why these tables aren't numbered honey, you just haven't figured it out yet lyrics
names of parents of Panic! at the Disco
"ted leo" notre
final fantasy: online a.k.a. internet supergroup
"I wanna be your girlfriend" + lyrics + "she's like so whatever" (we were the number one hit on this search!)
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne; The Rolling Stones
dress up scary monsters

And these were the most oft-used search terms:

Carl Newman
Hadouken Live
Final Fantasy
Sasquatch
Lily Allen
I wanna be your girlfriend
Our Earthly Pleasures, Maximo Park
Ted Leo, Notre Dame
Poughkeepsie
Peter, Bjorn and John
Neko Case
Ben Kweller Photos
Nick’s Profile(s) II
Jenni’s Profile

Youthmovies!

2007-04-10T21:10:00.000-05:00

Oxford-based "prog-post-mathcore-rock-stuff" quartet Youthmovies (formerly Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies) have just signed a record deal with Drowned in Sound. Their debut LP is due out later this year. Starting next week, they play a series of dates with 65daysofstatic, whose third studio album is due out on April 30.

Check out Youthmovies' 2004 EP entitled Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than the Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness.

Love.

Icky Thump!

2007-04-10T16:30:00.000-05:00

The new White Stripes album, Icky Thump, will be released on June 18 (UK/Europe) and June 19 (all those other countries in Asia and America).

I plan to camp out in the Best Buy parking lot to get my copy. I once had a bad experience with an internet presale purchase. I cannot take that risk again.

"So, here I am, standing in your doorway..."

2007-04-10T02:21:00.000-05:00

"I've always been standing in your doorway."

Could anything be better than these lines of dialogue or Kirsten Dunst's delivery of them? Of course not, but these tracks might come close, mostly because they're not Nickelback.

New Walkmen and Yeah Yeah Yeahs from the Spider-man 3 soundtrack [P-fork].

Okay, probably not.

I mean, Karen O is no Avril, so who cares?

Can Avril Make Gutteral Animal Noises?

2007-04-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

Awwwkkkkwwwaaaarrrrdddd...

Its funny how American's can't seem to grasp being taken as a joke by the British. What did she expect from Popworld? The utmost respect for "Girlfriend"?

*EDIT* fine, North American. We're all the same to them anyway. At least we aren't Australian....

Kings attract Killer crowd...

2007-04-06T13:04:00.000-05:00

Oh man, how ego-heavy must this balcony have been? Apparently, Noel Gallagher, Brandon Flowers, and other music-biz heavyweights crowded the VIP section of the London Astoria to during the recent Kings of Leon gig. With the combination of dirty-south rock, eyeliner glam, and brit-pop blagging, I'm well surprised a fight didn't break out!

One step closer to world peace!

Full Story at NME (though it's not very long)

Carl Newman talks fourth New Pornos LP, advertising

2007-04-04T14:10:00.000-05:00

Carl Newman of The New Pornographers has an interview up on Pitchfork where he talks about their new album, tentatively titled Challengers, due sometime around August.

It definitely sounds like something that, when it's quiet, I think it's much quieter than it ever has been, to the point that there are actually songs that don't really have any drums. Or, a song that has no drums for the first half, but then the drums come in, and even then they don't come in that much.

As a bonus later in the interview he talks about the University of Phoenix Online commercial mentioned in my previous posting here.

All of a sudden, people started saying "I saw your commercial during 'Saturday Night Live'" or "I saw your commercial during 'American Idol'," and I thought, "what the hell is up with that?" Then I began to realize that, well, I guess we inadvertently signed up to be in a big commercial. How about that?

Full interview here.

Wilco Tour Dates

2007-04-04T13:33:00.000-05:00

Wilco, the greatest American band outside of Brand New, are embarking on a tour to go along with the release of their upcoming album Sky Blue Sky. Who needs to be the American Radiohead when you can be the American Coldplay?

Dates stolen from Brooklyn Vegan:
06-13 Davenport, IA - Adler Theater
06-15 Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater
06-17 Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
06-19 Atlanta, GA - Chastain Park Amphitheatre
06-20 Charlotte, NC - Ovens Auditorium
06-22 Red Bank, NJ - Count Basie Theater
06-24 Northampton, MA - The Pines
06-25 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
06-28 Boston, MA - Bank of America Pavilion
06-29 Shelburne, VT - The Green at Shelburne Museum

Guess who will be at the Hammerstein Ballroom on June 25.

All we care about is talking, talking only me and...

2007-04-03T21:19:00.000-05:00

the masses. *sigh*. I just witnessed a commercial with Peter Bjorn & John's "Young Folks" playing in the background. So sorry. They crammed two parts of the song together, some whistling and some chorus. At least they could have done a good job, you know? Like that car commercial with M83 in the background. Effective. But really, such an intimate song advertising internet connections? I suppose, however, only people like me who like PB&J will scrutinize.

Who Pays for Music Anyway?

2007-04-02T09:48:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow the new Hillary Duff album comes out, but I'm sure you all knew that, right? No offense to the former Disney star, but I'd suggest checking out the new Kings of Leon instead. Entitled Because of the Times, the album has already received some positive reviews from such luminary publications as Rolling Stone, The Guardian, and Filter. Don't believe me? That's okay; I'm a pretty unreliable guy.

Also, the new Maximo Park album, Our Earthly Pleasures, comes out today -- in the United Kingdom. America has to wait over a month for its stateside arrival. Boo.

Last Night at Legend's...

2007-04-01T20:24:00.000-05:00

Why does that sound like a bad way to start out a sentence the morning after?

Anyway, last night at Legend's, I saw Mae perform with The Hush Sound and New Atlantic. I love LOVE LOVE Mae (make fun if you must), and was absolutely stoked when I found out they were coming here! I had already checked out the Hush Sound with some friends when they were here in January and was actually surprised that they had come back, but I don't question. So, here are some pics and a mini-review-let...

I had never heard of New Atlantic before last night, and they apparently still haven't released their debut album yet, so I couldn't even hazard a guess at what songs they played. My perception of them, I'll admit, is a little skewed...During their set, I was standing basically right next to the 2 gigantic speakers off to the left side of the stage, which had me reeling after about 2 minutes. I'm sure I would've enjoyed their music if I was actually able to hear it, but alas, I was being bombarded by sound waves that were seriously starting to give me a headache. Additionally, something was amiss with the soundcheck. I couldn't tell if all the high-pitched whines before and during songs were intentional (a few times they just seemed to run with it rather than giving semi-discreet hand gestures to the guy in the back) or just the result of shoddy technicians. Maybe someday I'll give them a second chance in a controlled environment.

Fortunately, by the time The Hush Sound came on, I used my teeny-ness to my advantage and managed to wind my way away from said abominable speakers and more towards front and center. I'm not going to lie, I enjoy The Hush Sound, as long as I ignore that they're signed to Pete Wentz's label. They also play an excellent live show, proving that they actually have some talent rather than talented producers to touch things up in the studio. I remember that they played 13 songs last night, and I'm pretty certain I have them in close to the correct order here (Feel free to correct me)...

1. We Intertwined
2. In the Desert
3. Don't Wake Me Up
4. Lion's Roar
5. Sweet Tangerine
6. Where We Went Wrong
7.The Market
8. Momentum
9. Tides Change
10. A Dark Congregation
11. Magnolia
12. Lighthouse
13. Wine Red

I was, first of all, impressed that they managed to fit 13 songs into one hour! Legend'sgave every band an hour to play, which was easy for New Atlantic, who played maybe 6 or 7 songs, but 13 is a lot! Of course, this meant that they had to cut down a little on audience interaction, which is too bad if you recall how personable they were last time, but I won't complain because I got some extra music out of it. They too, however, were having some technical difficulties, especially Bob, who had to ask each time after the first 4 songs for something to get turned up, turned on, or turned down...Not the same thing, I hope.

You know what I said about every band playing for an hour? Well, Mae ran a little bit over that, but I know that I for one didn't mind, hehe. Here's their exact set list, and I know because I took a picture of the set list:

1. Telescopes*
2. Summertime
3. Suspension
4. This Is the Countdown
5. This Time Is the Last Time
6. Runaway
7. The Ocean
8. Embers and Envelopes
9. Waiting*
10. Painless
11. Someone Else's Arms
(Encore)
12. Goodbye, Goodnight
13. Anything

The *s indicate that these are new tracks off their new album Singularity, which is coming out a little later this Spring. Admittedly, lead singer Dave doesn't have a very good voice--A little too high-pitched and nasally for my taste--But these guys are such great musicians that it doesn't matter. In particular, Rob is one of the sweetest keyboardist I have ever seen live; he gets so into the music, thrashing about and all that, while still managing to keep his hands on the keyboard. Now that's impressive!

Another nice touch to the night was the (really tasty-looking) chocolate cake they brought out to wish they're guitar tech (Booter, I think his name was?) a happy 21st birthday. The guys probably didn't interact with the audience as much as they could have--I recall an extremely awkward silence between "Runaway" and "The Ocean" where there was almost complete silence for 10 seconds before they started playing again. However, the energy they put in the harder-rock type songs like "Someone Else's Arms" and others from The Everglow more than made up for it in my opinion.

Props to you, Legend's...They've been bringing in some pretty decent acts this semester! Keep it up...Or else...

P-fork Update

2007-03-31T08:10:00.000-05:00

I knew there was a reason I randomly woke up 10 minutes ago. Some more of the P-fork fest lineup has been unveiled. There's no NMH still, but the New Pornographers, Stephen Malkmus, De La Soul, Battles, and Ponys are now slated to play the three-day festival.

The festival is taking place at Chicago's Union Park from July 13-15. Three-day passes are at $50. Can you say road trip? I can't. My friends and I plan to fly.

She's sitting back now, painting in her taylors...

2007-03-31T00:03:00.000-05:00

Van She have been a buzz band / DJ troupe in Europe for a while (though I think they're Aussies...) and I found their "Kelly" song this past fall on myspace (yeah it was my profile song for a while, and shall be again!) but it wasn't till now that I saw this music video. Which I really liked! They're so eighties-rific it's practically obscene, and the bassist, aside from casting many creepy looks at the camera, has a Flock of Seagulls haircut! The video is basically a lot of Kellys through different eras/settings and I feel like I'm missing the point of it, though it does feature a lot of making out. And I know that if I were one of the Kellys in the video, I'd be going after the lead singer. Rrrowwr!

Then this gave me an idea -- for Mindset, not my love life -- could we do a piece where we all contribute our most ego-centric song, the one that causes you the most narcissism?

Just a thought!
x KELLY!

Err

2007-03-30T13:17:00.000-05:00

Disregard the previous post. Apparently, it's an April Fools Joke.

LAME!

Tiny Mix Tapes Festival

2007-03-30T11:27:00.000-05:00

Tiny Mix Tapes, famous for its "Huh?" style of news reporting, is jumping on the music-site-sponsored concert bandwagon with it first ever festival, which is scheduled for "August." Taking place in Minneapolis, the event will feature a reunited Neutral Milk Hotel. That's all you need to know.

Bravery announce tour dates, indie kids apathetic at best

2007-03-29T17:39:00.000-05:00

MOST READERS WILL NOT CARE ABOUT THIS ...

but the Bravery are coming to a town near you!! And yes, they'll have a new album out in May (July for you Brits. We win for once...if you call that winning...and if you don't count the Revolutionary War...)

At any rate, the Bravery are a huge guilty pleasure of mine and I am well excited to hear/read this news!

the dates:
Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom (May 14)
Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom (15)
Seattle, WA El Corazon (16)
Cleveland, OH Agora Ballroom (25)
Detroit Magic Stick (26)
Toronto, ON Opera House (28)
New York, NY Irving Plaza (29, 30)
Nashville, TN Exit In (June 3)
Philadelphia, PA TLA (5)
Washington DC 9:30 Club (7)
Reno, NV New Oasis (12)
Salt Lake, UT Club Sound (13)
Omaha, NE The Rock (15)
Minneapolis, MN Varsity (18)
Kansas City, MO Beaumont Club (19)
St Louis, MO Pop's (20)

The Blow

2007-03-29T16:28:00.000-05:00

When I was researching I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands, I learned about this Pacific Northwest "duo." Consisting of Khaela Maricich, formerly of The Microphones, and Jona Bechtolt, The Blow craft delightful indie pop -- at times, airy, light, and instantly catchy, yet still thoughtful and earnest. However, leaving it as that doesn't give them enough credit. You should check out their Myspace and listen to "Parentheses" or "True Affection."

Basically, I've been listening to their 2006 full-length nonstop. It can get repetitive after a while, which means you should break it up with spurts of The Blood Brothers' Burn Piano Island, Burn.

Bloc Party Vs. Oasis

2007-03-29T12:43:00.000-05:00

Recently, Liam Gallagher, as a member of Oasis, had to criticize a band. I mean, when they're not making music, that's just what they do. Thus, Bloc Party is the latest victim in Oasis' war against all bands that aren't Oasis (or Kasabian --ed).

Bloc Party front man Kele Okereke had these words to say in response:

"I think Oasis are the most overrated and pernicious band of all time. They had a totally negative and dangerous impact upon the state of British music," Okereke told Uncut magazine. "They have made stupidity hip. They claim to be inspired by the Beatles but, and this so saddens me, they have failed to grasp that the Beatles were about constant change and evolution. Oasis are repetitive Luddites."

And this poses an interesting question.

Who is this Ludd guy?

You can read more on Spin but the Brit mags might have some better coverage, since, well, they're British.

Other stuff:

Play the new Maximo Park album at NME.
Radiohead deny Starbucks deal. Chris Wodicka cries tears of joy.

2007-03-29T10:09:00.000-05:00

Photo courtesy of NME.com

Okay, we all know that NME love Razorlight...but do they have to post the same (horrible) photo of frontman Johnny Borrell on the site for the March 31 issue? Four times?

Also, apparently, NME trashed Maximo Park's new album. And Paul Smith (not that Paul Smith) called them out on it.

All in the current issue, which, like most things, is available in the US much later and only when it's not current or relevant anymore (in this case, a good rule of thumb is to expect at least a two-week delay between the mag rag hitting UK and US news stands.)

Chris and I share this pain constantly. In fact, I would say it's a vital part of my existence.

Bang bang rock and roll!

2007-03-28T17:40:00.000-05:00

Art Brut's new album, It's a Bit Complicated, is coming out in the US on June 26. Chances are, it will be out in Britain before then. This makes me sad.

And I'm still waiting for my little brother to discover rock and roll.

Go get em, Tiger

2007-03-28T17:25:00.000-05:00

Spidey looks pretty down, right? Maybe it's the rain or the black suit, which (shhhh) is really an alien symbiote. More likely, he's all emo after listening to the soundtrack for his last film, which featured Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional. Fortunately for our beloved webslinger (and his fans), the soundtrack for Spider-man 3 will be pseudo-indie, with songs by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Flaming Lips, The Walkmen, The Killers, and Snow Patrol.

There are also going to be songs by The Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath on it. By The Rolling Stones and Black Sabbath, I mean Jet and Wolfmother.

Rock the Bells

2007-03-28T07:47:00.000-05:00

If you're into rap, tell me this isn't a sick lineup: Wu-tang Clan, Rage Against the Machine, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, The Roots, Nas, Mos Def, EPMD, Pharoahe Monch, MF Doom, Immortal Technique, Sage Francis, The Coup, Jedi Mind Tricks, Felt, Living Legends, Brother Ali, Cage, Mr. Lif, Grouch & Eligh, Hangar 18, Blueprint, and Lucky I Am. Tickets go on sale Saturday.

Jul 28 - Randall's Island, NYC
Aug 11 - Nos Events Center, San Benardino, CA
Aug 18 - McCovey Cove Parking Lot, San Francisco, CA

Last.fm -- part II

2007-03-27T01:15:00.000-05:00

In response to the previous post, I must make a push for last.fm. I much prefer this site as its purpose is to benefit the listeners rather than just to indulge the people who created it!

I set up a Pandora station based on Kasabian and it gave me Rock Kills Kid (hmm, kind of), Aqueduct (could of done better), and Linkin Park (that is insulting to Kasabian).

But based on my listening habits, Last.fm recommends to me: Hard Fi, the Smiths, Pulp, Buzzcocks, as well as tracks i might not have heard of by artists I regularly listen to...

On last.fm, not only can you get ideas of what you might like from your friends's charts (which is handy!) but also it makes recommendations for you based on what your 'neighbors' - or people with really similar musical taste to you - are also listening to. Like, for example, Chris' most listened to band is Thursday! You can also RSVP to events/shows so you know what people will be seeing.

Plus, you get to put of awesome photos of yourself. To my knowledge, it is only chris, bill, and myself that are on last.fm. So, people should join, become our friends, and we will form a mindset charting group...Yes, this all leads to world domination...

Pandora Radio: Too Good To Be True?

2007-03-26T20:36:00.000-05:00

In 2000, a group of hardcore music lovers banned together in an attempt to create the "most comprehensive analysis of music ever" (their website's words, not mine). The project, named "The Music Genome Project," involved the examination of lyrics, instrumentation, and style in forming a full description of a song based on its own merit rather than the reputation of the artist or genre. The analysts were trained professionals educated in 400 "musical characteristics."

The result of this pursuit was a common question fired at the project's crew: "How can I find music that I would like?" The question was the seed that eventually sprouted into Pandora Radio.

Pandora is an online music database that caters to the listener's musical preferences. Here's a step-by-step starter guide:

1. Go to www.pandora.com.
2. Set up a free account.
3. Click the "Create a New Station" feature.
4. Type in the name of an artist or song that you like.
5. The website-radio will start playing your song or a sample from the artist, so that you can correct it if need be. It will also provide a the Music Genome Project's description of the song or the artist's music.
6. After the first song, Pandora tells you that it will be searching for music with similar qualities from now on. It will then describe the second song, and what characteristics it shares with the first.
7. Help guide Pandora by rolling your mouse over the title of the track, and clicking either a thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
8. Add more artists to the current station, or create a new one.

Seems nifty, right? If you like a band, and would enjoy similar music but can't find it, then this should be an ideal tool.

I visit this site every once and a while, but I cannot honestly say that Pandora has helped me discover a new band that I really like, or any other such claim. I wish I could. Alas. I find it a bit annoying when I have to keep telling the radio that its selection sucks while I'm trying to hold an AIM conversation. Also, if you continuously fast-forward through songs, Pandora will cut you off for a brief period of time.

Despite these complaints, I encourage you all to check it out. I hope Pandora makes all your wildest dreams come true.

Hadouken! Live at London Barfly

2007-03-26T18:16:00.000-05:00

I first discovered Hadouken! (yes, the exclamation point is part of the band's name) because their song "That Boy That Girl" was the profile song of the MySpace page of Nathan Barley, self-facilitating media node. His song has since changed, but at the time, I just had to see what band was creating songs with lyrics like "You look silly when you put on your best MySpace pout."

They follow the lead of (over-used buzzword warning) "nu rave" bands like Klaxons...(who, yes, I feel I can make this comparison though it's cliche as I've seen Klaxons -- twice -- pretty much before, well, anyone.) Enough snobbery! Hadouken! write funny songs making fun of indie kids, wear neon, and just make noise!

Plus, it's really freakin catchy! I did already post about this band (which you should go to because I posted a cool video...) a while ago on a different blog. Since I was going to be in London when they played a gig at an interesting (but not my favo[u]rite) venue, I just had to check em out. And even though I only made it there for the last song -- I was there just in time to hear them crash into a false start of "That Boy That Girl"...before trying it again -- I definitely got more than enough material on this gig to write what I think is a fair review.

The kids loved it. Let me just say that. And I include myself as part of the collective 'kids.' I got upstairs to the stage area just in time to force myself into the centre of the floor before the band started up again. And the kids went nuts! It was a really crazy-energetic crowd who were totally into Hadouken! And also really into flailing wildly while Hadouken! played music.

But the live music bit is another story altogether. I had heard live clips of the band's live performances and I can't say I was disappointed with their live show -- mostly because I already expected that they were a band that just can't sound as good live! Sorry, luvs, but it's true.

So anyways, check them out and stuff, or at least look into adding something bright orange to your wardrobe.

xxx KD
yeah i took the photos as well

Another week, more CDs

2007-03-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

Even though Good Charlotte and J-Lo have new albums coming out tomorrow. Mindset suggests you check out "new" releases from Kaiser Chiefs and Klaxons. By "new," I mean they've been out in the UK for what seems like forever.

Let's Spoon

2007-03-26T09:59:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, I posted some news on the upcoming Spoon album. Now there's even a tour!

Spoon tour dates:

04.13.07 - Grinnel, IA - Harris Center
04.21.07 - Baltimore, MD - Sonar
04.22.07 - Philadelphia, PA - Starlight Ballroom
04.24.07 - Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
04.26.07 - New Haven, CT - Toad’s Place
04.27.07 - Northampton, MA - Pearl Street
04.28.07 - Boston, MA - Museum of Fine Arts
05.27.07 - George, WA - Sasquatch Festival
06.16.07 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo Music Festival
07.04.07 - Detroit, MI - Comerica CityFest

Time to score Bonnaroo tickets. By that, I mean I'm going to sit in the corner and watch Stranger Than Fiction several times in a row.

In some extremely depressing news, Radiohead, the greatest band/anything ever, is supposedly in talks with Starbucks to release an album on the coffee chain's recently unveiled label, "Hear Music." Hear music? More like pure evil!

I'm not funny at all.

Paul McCartney is releasing an album on Hear Music, due out this summer.

Boo.

Our Velocity [Single]

2007-03-25T23:59:00.000-05:00

Addendum to an earlier post:

Maximo Park's new single Our Velocity is as good as the earlier material off their first album! It just took me 3 weeks to realize it. I am embarassed that I wrote this song off in the first place and would like to encourage everyone to listen to it (at least 5 times) before doing the same.

...though the artwork from this album is not as cool as the older stuff...

That is all!

x

Sellouts Pt. 2

2007-03-25T18:57:00.000-05:00

Read this article before responding to my earlier post about sellouts: David Eggers on "Selling Out". This article is uber-long, but very provocative. It's written by David Eggers, who (as some of you may know) wrote A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. He's pretty awesome...I wonder what he'd say about Avril's new record...

And I'm with him--Screw 90210, the Flaming Lips rock!

2000 Hits!

2007-03-24T13:25:00.000-05:00

Alright then, so today MINDSET has achieved 2000 hits!! Brilliant!

And keeping in the spirit of my post when we accumulated 1000 hits (poor schmucks!), I am all for keeping traditions alive. So here are some of the odd google searches that have lead to our humble blog:

“andrew duoos”
"mcsweeney's" and symphony space and "march 15"
“Winterpills Broken Arm lyrics meaning”
“avril lavigne next tour” (proud of this one, we are)
“matt wertz everything in between copies sold”
“Kelly Riley, Oasis apple apple Inc.”
“songs you listen to” “pete wentz”
“8 word song titles”
“daddy take me with you" (oh man...)
“I've Got 10 Friends and a Crowbar That Says You Ain't Gonna Do free download”
“ANTHONY KIEDIS+GIRLFRIEND+MIKA+BROKE UP” (I AM SHOUTING AT GOOGLE!)
…and my favorite…
“nirvana barney rubble Halloween”

In addition to some ridiculous searches, MINDSET also got visitors from the far-reaches of the world! Including:

England, Canada, Mexico, Spain, France, Finland, Greece, Italy, India, Netherlands, Poland, Hong Kong, Sweden, and Ecuador.

So keep the posts coming!

xx KD

Stream some new albums + Spoon release date

2007-03-24T00:30:00.000-05:00

If you haven't made the trip yet to Best Buy, you can stream a bunch of new albums over at AOL. They have the new Ted Leo, Modest Mouse, LCD Soundsystem, and Andrew Bird. For the record, I'm really digging the new LCD Soundsystem, despite my general ambivalence toward their debut.

The new Spoon album has a July 10 release date, according to the folks over at Pitchfork's news department. I have full confidence in them to release a worthy follow-up record to Gimme Fiction.

If you're in the NYC area this summer, Neko Case is playing Central Park Summer Stage on July 20. It might be a free event, which would be nice, thus allowing me to continue my tradition of not paying for summer concerts. For those of you with money, you can catch her at the following dates:

Sat 5/26/07 George, WA Sasquatch Music Festival
Thu 7/19/07 Pittsburg, PA Byham Theater
Sat 7/21/07 Greenfield, MA Greenfield Community College

Enjoy the streams.

I stepped out onto the midway.

2007-03-22T16:05:00.000-05:00

Great news, Slint lovers. The post-rock progenitors have finally added two US dates to their upcoming performance schedule. As part of ATP's "Don't Look Back" concert series, a reunited Slint will be playing their landmark second album, Spiderland, in its entirety for crowds around Europe and for two dates at New York City's Webster Hall (7/17, 7/18).

Slint are often credited, along with Talk Talk, with launching the so-called "post-rock" genre, which also includes bands like Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Although they broke up almost immediately after recording Spiderland, they've become something of indie-rock legends.

Slint guitarist David Pajo went on to play in Tortoise and Billy Corgan's Zwan.

Count in Fives

2007-03-22T08:02:00.000-05:00

YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!

parents beware: lock up your goth/indie kids! THE HORRORS are coming to these shores (and not just NYC)

kind of weird that they'd open for BRMC but hey! i'd go see em both...

dates (according to NME)
Seattle, WA The Showbox (May 13)
Boise, ID The Big Easy (15)
Salt Lake City, UT In The Venue (16)
Denver, CO Gothic Theater (17)
Omaha, NE Sokol Underground (18)
Lawrence, KS Granada (19)
St Louis, MO The Pageant (20)
Minneapolis, MN First Ave (22) (I will be at this one)
Milwaukee, WI The Rave (23)
Chicago, IL Vic Theatre (24)
Detroit, MI St Andrews Hall (25)
Toronto, ONT Kool Haus (26)
Montreal, QUE Le Tulipe (28)
Boston, MA Avalon (29)
New York, NY Webster Hall (30)
Philadelphia, PA TLA (June 1)
Washington, DC 9:30 Club (2)
Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall (4)
Indianapolis, IN The Music Mill (5)
Nashville, TN City Hall (6)
Atlanta, GA Roxy Theatre (7)
Ft Lauderdale, FL Culture Room (9)
Orlando, FL The Social (10)
Birmingham, AL Zydeco (12)
New Orleans, LA The Republic (13)
Houston, TX Meridian (14)
Austin, TX La Zona Rosa (15)
Dallas, TX House of Blues (16)

Internet is no more. (campus reacts)

2007-03-21T13:35:00.000-05:00

Don't worry, I'm not referring to Al Gore's selfless gift to humanity. I'm referring to that indie-rock super group, about which I wrote many weeks ago. Apparently, their little coming-out party at the McSweeney's benefit didn't go down, but they've regrouped and are set to play on April 10 (8 p.m. at NYC's Symphony Space). However, they've changed their name from Internet to Final Fantasy: Online a.k.a. Internet. I wish I had come up with it first.

Read more about it on P-fork.

I wonder if anyone cares.

Finals Week Shows

2007-03-21T11:58:00.000-05:00

the above is the image referenced at last night's meeting.
hopefully it exceeded your expectations.

in other news: ALL THE GOOD CHICAGO SHOWS ARE HAPPENING DURING FINALS WEEK!!!
how unfair is that?

well here's a run-down:

Thurs 3 May
Junior Boys @ Empty Bottle
Amy Winehouse @ Schubas (SOLD OUT)
Fri 4 May
Jet @ House of Blues
Sat 5 May
The Kooks @ Metro
Sun 6 May
LCD Soundsystem @ Metro
The View @ Schubas
Tues 8 May
Peter Bjorn and John @ Empty Bottle
Arctic Monkeys and Be Your Own Pet @ Riviera Theatre
Wed 9 May
Mando Diao and Pop Levi @ Double Door

and for those of us around for Senior Week:

Sat 12 May
Tapes 'n Tapes @ Abbey Pub (two shows)
Pretty Girls Make Graves @ Empty Bottle
Sun 13 May
Regina Spektor @ Riviera Theatre
Thurs 17 May
Animal Collective @ Metro
Fri-Sun 18-20 May
Arcade Fire @ Chicago Theatre
(and I think the Kings of Leon have a 20 May date as well...)

as always, post if you are interested in carpooling or ride-sharing or things of that nature.

xxxxxx

P-fork Fest: Day One

2007-03-21T01:34:00.000-05:00

To quote Eliot Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign, on day one, everything changes.

The above quote has nothing to do with this post. I just like Eliot Spitzer, because he cracks down on record labels for monopolizing the radio.

Two weeks ago, I posted some info on this summer's Pitchfork Music Festival. Since that time, Pitchfork has announced one of Friday's mystery acts: Sonic Youth. Along with ATP (All Tomorrow's Parties), P-fork will be presenting the seminal NYC group as they perform their 1988 album Daydream Nation in its entirety. In the coming weeks/months, Pitchfork will be naming two additional bands who will also be performing full albums on the festival's first day.

As long as the other two aren't The Mars Volta or The Fiery Furnaces w/Grandma Sarantos, we should be fine, right?

Handbook for the Sellout

2007-03-20T15:50:00.000-05:00

Man, I miss FIF...

Anyway, after accidentally turning the radio on during Fall Out Boy's new song and nearly giving myself an audio aneurysm, I had to stop and wonder whom I would nominate for the title of Biggest Musical Sellout. Nominees can consist of both bands/artists who previously had good music before selling out, as well as those whose music was always pure, unadulterated crap but still managed to sell out. Anyone?

New music!

2007-03-19T19:20:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great spring break.

We're back at school, but don't despair. Tomorrow is a big day for new releases.

Andrew Bird - Armchair Apocrypha
J Dilla - Ruff Draft
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends
Jesse Malin - Glitter In The Gutter
LCD Soundsystem - Sound Of Silver
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Living With The Living
Low - Drums and Guns
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank (Myspace stream)
Otep - Ascension
Panda Bear - Person Pitch
The Ponys - Turn The Lights Out

Go forth and spend money!

Regards from UK/Ireland

2007-03-16T14:42:00.000-05:00

Hey all! just wanted to say hi from across the pond -- got some internet time and wanted to let you know what you can look forward to:

- Review of the Horrors' full length album, Strange House (not released in US yet)
- Review of Patrick Wolf's full length album, The Magic Position (also not released in US yet, hopefully written by our own sweet Alisa)
- Review of Hadouken!'s live set (based on my missing the whole gig except their last song. Also, some crappy but colorful photos of the band by yours truly)
- Review of Lupen Crook's live set (+ band. Based on my being at a great Shoreditch gig courtesy of the wonderful Katie Camosey!)

Alright?! see you all in south bend soon enough =)

xx kelly

Oh, and also, I ran across this gig, looks to be good but coming up really soon!!!

MON19 (9:00pm; Free!)
Datarock (Norway) (Young Aspiring Professionals) // Berg Sans Nipple (France) (Bizarre K7Chocolate Ind.ProhibitedTeam Love) // LMNOP (Paribus) // Charlie Deets (Paribus)
Electronic duo DATAROCK make a rare stateside appearance, as a part of our 'free Monday' series. The group will be playing material from newly reissued longplayer Datarock Datarock, an album that, accordingly to Pitchfork, shoots for "instant pleasure and accidentally ends up being much more than that." Entertaining French electronic duo BERG SANS NIPPLE will also perform, making this an international affair. They have just released a new full length for the Team Love imprint. Locals and labelmates LMNOP and CHARLIE DEETS will open, playing second and first respectively.

Notre Dame has concerts

2007-03-16T02:23:00.000-05:00

This is the first in a ten-part series on my favorite shows that have come to Notre Dame between Fall 2003-Spring 2007.

10. Chin Up Chin Up, Kidbootz: Legends, Fall 2006

Really skeptical about how things would turn out, given the weather conditions of South Bend Decembers and the timing of a concert just before exam week, but this turned out to be a decent concert. Joshua et al. rocked the stage in a post-Rutabega mini-set of all original material, and Chicago's CUCU played a solid combination of music from both of their albums.

I kinda remember the weather being really cold and snowy, but a lot of people still came to check it out--and hopefully enjoyed it. There was little competition from other events that night--maybe a crappy bowl game or conference championship on TV, but that was it.

I waited on the guys from both bands on their Legends dinner orders. Vegetarian pasta dishes were popular, not much of a surprise. One guy ordered a rack of ribs, but I'm pretty sure he didn't even get to them with the sound checking running late. There was a strange moment during the concert where the kickdrum produced this sound that I often associate with colored bars on a television screen. It gave the percussion an extra underwritten character when the rest of the music carried enough personality to be a contestant on Deal or No Deal.

As expected, Chin Up x2 commented on the alcohol policy--an event which has really become mundane at the WVFI shows. Perhaps we can write, in addition to the no-alcohol policy, a "no discussion of the no-alcohol policy" policy. Bands usually don't mind when you restrict them.

Overall the show was much higher than my expectations. Good turnout, great performance, and the guys in both bands were splendid.

Matchbook Romance

2007-03-14T11:21:00.000-05:00

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but everyone's favorite 2006-end-of-the-year-show-at-Legends act Matchbook Romance have gone on "indefinite hiatus," which basically means they've broken up. All my emo friends are huddled in dark corners crying and doing who knows what else. By that, I mean I know one girl who's really upset about it. You don't have to do anything that drastic, but keep Matchbook Romance in mind the next time you hear one of their albums blasting from a car window in upper-middle-class suburbia or whenever you meet a pretty skinny girl named Ashley who likes to talk about bands.

Ted Leo went to Notre Dame

2007-03-12T12:45:00.001-05:00

A short distraction from work, I found a link to this video in the WVFI email box. Ted at his usual. Apparently AOL now reaches into indie rock? Apparently AOL still exists? Ted's interview in this segment turns into an interview to work for AOL, and the rep puts a business slant on his questions. Hilarity ensues!

You can find the rest of the videos here.

Ted Leo plays the Metro 4/28. It looks like Legends might be planning something big the same date unfortunately, but no announcements have been made concerning that gig yet.

Maximo Park stuff

2007-03-09T13:22:00.000-05:00

They're going on tour. Umm, hooray?

Here are the North American dates:
07-11 Boston, MA - Great Scott
07-12 New York, NY - Webster Hall
07-13 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
07-14 Toronto, Ontario - Mod Club
07-16 Chicago, IL - Double Door
07-17 Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre
07-19 Denver, CO - Larimer Lounge
07-20 Salt Lake City, UT - Club Sound
07-22 Seattle, WA - Chop Suey
07-23 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
07-24 Portland, OR - Doug Fir Lounge
07-26 San Francisco, CA - Popscene
07-27 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
07-28 San Diego, CA - Casbah

P4k Fest '07

2007-03-09T12:17:00.000-05:00

Pitchfork, the most loved/hated website in all of hipsterdom, has finally unveiled -- sort of, since I actually found this info on brooklynvegan -- some details about its summer festival. Taking place July 13, 14, and 15 in Chicago's Union Park, the second-annual event will feature Cat Power, Clipse, Iron & Wine, Grizzly Bear, and Professional Murder (Saturday) and Of Montreal, Girl Talk, Jamie Lidell, and Ken Vandermakr's Powerhouse Sound (Sunday). More acts will be added, as the final number will be somewhere around 40. Last year's festival included staple indie bands like Spoon, Yo La Tengo, Tapes n Tapes, Art Brut, Destroyer, Ted Leo + the Pharmacists, Silver Jews, The Futureheads, Band of Horses, and Devendra Banhart.

Tickets go on sale Monday. Three-day passes start at $45; two-day passes are $35.

As I'll hopefully have a summer internship that only requires three-day work weeks, this is something I'll be looking into, if only to see Cat Power not self-destruct on stage and catch another glimpse of the Of Montreal guy in a bridal gown. If you live in the area or will be doing the summer session at ND, you should really consider hitting this up.

One of These Things Is Not Like the Other...

2007-03-07T23:24:00.000-05:00

Or, wait, is it?

As I am Chinese, I feel I'm able to poke fun at this without being racist... :P

Be honest: When you first saw this pic, did you think it was 1 guy getting a little Photoshop-happy? Apparently, 2 of them are actually twins...JUST 2?? Honestly, combining nondescript Asian and the oh-so-individual emo look creates an army of drones.

Okay, admittedly, I do feel just a tad guilty for ripping on these guys, so here's a free plug for them. The band is called Too Koo, and they friended me on MySpace maybe a year ago, when their headline read "The best emo band in Beijing, China!!" I couldn't help thinking, The only emo band in Beijing, China? They're actually not that bad; as my roommate says, If Franz Ferdinand were Chinese...Here's their MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/tookoo. Chinese emo--Who knew?

Avril Lavigne: Innovator

2007-03-07T17:54:00.000-05:00

The new Avril single, "Girlfriend," has made its way around the globe. The girl who used to be a wannabe punk is now a wannabe punk. She earned major cred with 10-12 year olds with her early hits "Complicated" and "Sk8r Boi." We saw a maturer Canadienne on her later album with "Happy Ending."

But the new single and video seem to be a step off the 10th floor into an empty elevator shaft. The artist who wanted to be taken seriously as a punk, you know, like Johnny Rotten, Joey Ramone, and Iggy Pop, has a single that sounds tamer (except for one lyric) than a Disney Channel music video.

Dismiss it? Hell no. Avril Lavigne has invented her own genre with "Girlfriend." Post-wannabe. Its definition is still unclear, but she certainly knows what she's doing. Still skeptical? Well, have you ever had a single re-recorded in Mandarin? Has any other artist ever played the wannabe role and then when completely dismissed as part of a genre, settled so comfortably into the genre that everyone knew she was all along? The degree of consciousness has been raised considerably. I can only hope there's a gig at UP Mall on the next tour.

(Update: She may have partly lifted the lyrics to her chorus from the Rolling Stones tune "Get Off of My Cloud." Is ambiguous lyrical plagiarism a requirement for the genre? Guess we'll have to wait for the album)

Who's Gonna Bite it Next?

2007-03-06T00:15:00.000-05:00

I'm usually not a big fan of death pools, because they are usually about as bittersweet as contests come, unless you pick really horrible people every year. But considering there's no justice in this world, no one in their right mind could comfortably pick a list of people everyone generally wants to die because they'd never win.

But this pool will be slightly less tragic, at least to those who aren't fans of the bands they're picking:

What bands will break up in the year 2007? Insider information is frowned upon. For example, Fidel Castro's band has been on the ropes for years. High school/local bands are not really eligible because "I know The Half-Baked Heroes are going to break up because Jimmy's graduating LOLOLOL" takes the fun out of the speculation. I'd be interested to hear any guesses though and share some of mine for bands that will crumble this year:

The Killers: Brandon Flowers' inability to keep his mouth shut might get the better of what has become his backup act. Disappointment over the last album and the timing of their recent/current tour might lead to further internal problems in the band. I suppose they're still financially successful, but I could really see Flowers ditching his guys, thinking he can do better marketing himself, or his band just getting really sick of him being their pencil-moustache, paisleyed Gwen Stefani.

Arctic Monkeys: The combination of an album cover with a guy smoking a cigarette "Whatever People Say I Am..." and the subsequent EP with an f-bomb in the title. I love the music, but that combination of simple aesthetics and profanity sounds like a drug the Vines used to push.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: According to a few sources, Conrad Keely has been dealing with a few personal problems recently, manifested in an outburst against his guitarist onstage at a live show.

I was one of the few that enjoyed "Worlds Apart," and since "Source Tags and Codes," the band hasn't gained the recognition fans might expect. Still. It might be time to end the instrument-destroying, mic-throwing, guitarist-attacking schtick, and just open up an Austin coffeeshop. (They could smash the cappuccino machine after every order!)

It's Neon Bible week

2007-03-05T13:36:00.000-05:00

Neon Bible officially comes out this week, and my preordered copy better get here soon. That should hold me over at least until the new Ted Leo album. Also, I'm curious if anyone heard the stream of Wilco's Sky Blue Sky on Saturday night, which was part of an official listening party on the band's website. I was too busy being emo, but from what I hear, the follow up to A Ghost Is Born is great, if slightly adult-contemporary-ish. If you missed it, there are probably leaked versions floating around now. I don't condone the downloading of these, obviously.

If you're not obsessed with the Arcade Fire like me, here are other releases coming out tomorrow:

!!! - Myth Takes
Air - Pocket Symphony
Bright Eyes - Four Winds EP
Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals) - Candylion
Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes) - Yours to Keep
My Brightest Diamond - Tear It Down
RJD2 - The Third Hand
Sevendust - Alpha
Son Volt - The Search
The Stooges - The Weirdness

Short List

2007-03-04T04:15:00.000-05:00

so this is my first blog post in over 3 years... since my high school band went defunct and i gave up on the blogging scene. so i figure i'll start slow and ease my way back into things.

i updated the short list on mindset's homepage today, but due to a few technical problems cannot upload the update... so here are some cds that seem to be generating some buzz lately at wvfi and in the college music realm:

Air - Pocket Symphony
Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna...

i think 'hissing fauna' even charted at number one this week (if my sources are correct), which is a testament how addictive that cd can be.

so yeah, that's the update that is hopefully going to be available to the internet at large very soon.

song on right now: "a glass can only spill what it contains" - mewithoutYou