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

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.

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

(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.

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

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.

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

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.
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Another Album Stream: Spoon

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?
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New White Stripes Album

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.
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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!








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Singen auf deutsch? Nein, auf englisch!

(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!
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Under the Covers....

(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)

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The Blow Were Out Of My League

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
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P4k Fest '07

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.

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Bloody Pirates...

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*.
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!!! at the Metro

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.
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Ted Leo and the Hoodie Conspiracy: A Timeline

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.
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The Used: Lies For the Liars

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.
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My city's summer festival can beat up yours.

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).
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Furious George

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.
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It's been a while...

(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

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Support Music: Shell Out Cash

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
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5 May 2007 -- The Kooks live at Metro Chicago

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).
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