After attending many shows at the legendary Madison Square Garden for the past year or so, I knew on my drive down to NYC, that the Highline Ballroom was obviously going to be smaller. Now I love the Garden don’t get me wrong, love the energy but I was so pumped for a smaller venue and knowing that I was going to see my new favorite band, (I know.. I have a new one every week), Shinedown, just put me over the top. I had never been to the Highline and while walking down 16^th street after crossing 9^th Avenue; I was getting nervous that I had the wrong address. I saw a “Western Beef” supermarket- I worked there many years ago with my uncle- and just assumed I was on the wrong block. But wait, right next to or on top of Western Beef, was the Highline Ballroom. Talk about old school- the guy at the door actually ripped part of my ticket off and gave me the remaining part. I can’t remember the last time that has happened. And then there it was as I walked up the stairs; I had flashbacks to Le Balloon in Brooklyn when we use to go see live bands (or the Lion’s Den). As I reached the top step and saw the entrance, I could already see the members of Black Stone Cherry seemingly right there in front of my face, creating havoc for the crowd. Then I made my way through the standing only crowd to get my position on the floor.

Now as you all know, I love many types of music but you can probably tell I’m partial to the heavier stuff. The Highline Ballroom seems to fit about 750 people tops and I loved every moment. Heavy bass lines pounding in your chest like your heart is going to burst right through, the crashing sound of cymbals (when is the last time you actually heard cymbals crashing at a show?) and the lead guitar ripping your ears off. I felt like I was in someone’s basement watching these bands. And talk about hot? Just picture yourself on a NYC subway platform waiting for the # 3 train to pull into 14^th street on a day like yesterday.I was in my element. I needed this night; I needed loud guitars and driving heavy music because it has been a while since I have had that.

Knowing that I made the mistake of showing up late when Shinedown played with Zombie and Godsmack a few summers ago, I was not going to blow off the two other bands: Black Stone Cherry (BSC) and Theory of a Deadman. (TOAD) So I showed up right at 7:00 as BSC was playing their first song. These guys are from Kentucky and I have to say these guys are pretty good. Their set was full of energy and the one thing I will say is towards the end of their set I think they were trying too hard to be rock stars but overall a good way to start the night off. Highlights were “Rain Wizard” “Lonely Train and “Hell and High Water.” At one point they brought out a high school choir from Orange NJ to help on the background vocals and the ironic part is all the members of BSC were singing for this one song (and they had not done that in the prior songs), so you could hardly hear the choir. I figured the rest of the band would not sing background and let the kids do it but….

Then the second band to take the stage was Theory of a Deadman. They are from Canada and were signed to 604 records by Chad Kroeger- lead singer for Nickelback. These guys kicked butt. Their lead singer, Tyler Connolly, had an Elvis Presley hairdo that never moved throughout their set. Now I think the reason I liked them so much, (and I mean no disrespect to their fans) but they remind me of Puddle of Mudd (the “Come Clean” Puddle). I loved their first album and it was weird how similar the songs are as well. For instance, “Bad Girlfriend” or “I Hate My Life” struck a chord with me with the Mudd song “She Hates Me.” And tell me “So Happy” doesn’t take you back to “Bring Me Down” by POM? These guys are talented and their set was tight!! The highlights were “Santa Monica” and “So Happy.” Keep an eye out for these guys. Great sound.

By the time TOAD was finished, I was saturated (and for the people who know me, you could picture the puddles of sweat). I was warmed up and the anticipation for Shinedown to take the stage was killing me. I couldn’t wait. The crowd was mixed- some kids and some older dudes like me- same with the women- yes there were women there. I could tell the crowd was there for Shinedown and when I heard the snare drums piped in over the speakers as the beginning of “Devour” started, I was jumping out of my skin. The speakers for their set was almost as tall as the room and then there was a blast as the lights came on and there here is the man, Brent Smith, seemingly larger than life up at the front of stage and singing the opening lyrics “Take it and take it…” I felt an adrenaline rush and thought my ears and chest were going to explode off of my body it was so loud. And about a little more than 2 minutes into the song when you hear the bass by itself, I was so out of my mind that I wanted to take the stage and sing along with Brent as he wailed “diving down, round and round…” As the song ended I knew I was in for a nice ride. As the blaring guitars introduced “Cry for Help” the crowd was in a controlled chaos. No mash pit, which made me happy. I will admit at times, Smith’s vocals were hard to hear but their enthusiasm more than made up for it. And I was impressed that the fans knew all the words to the new songs and we all helped Brent wail the chorus “You better pray there’s another way out, you better pray someone’s listening now..” The frantic pace kept up with another new song- “Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide.” And it was great because all the words I knew were the chorus and again in unison the crowd chanted, “White… Lights… Train…. Wreck” The guitar work in this song and the breaks in the song were flat out phenomenal. Then it was on to my new favorite song of the week: “Sound of Madness”… “Hola here we go…” Talk about a head banging start out of the gate? I was “air-guitaring” and “air-drumming” all over the place; I couldn’t believe how good the show was at this point. (And it was maintained to the end).

The first song not from the new album was “Heroes” off of Us and Them (a friggin’ great CD) and this time the whole audience participated in singing the vocals for Brent. Hey they might have been playing for a “block party” type atmosphere but everyone was having a blast. Brent addressed the crowd and was pointing out that he never thought he would write a love song but his recent marriage changed this. And I knew what song it was before he even said it- “If You Only Knew”- the one song I told all of you to download a couple of weeks ago. It’s impossible to not like this song and to hear it live already was the icing on the cake for me. This will be their “staple” at every one of their shows going forward. I predict this song will top “I Dare You” as a fan favorite. He then explained to the crowd that they were going to play many songs from the new album; hey no complaints from me- I was prepared.

The setting was intimate and for “The Crow & the Butterfly” Mr. Smith explained that this was the toughest song he ever had to write. He said finding the right words took him a while-it is worth the wait. This is another fantastic song and “epic-like” where you get lost in the sweet melody. His voice is perfect for the song. Then at one point in the show, it became real serious as Brent was describing the song they were about to perform, “Second Chance.” He told everyone to “just be yourself”, be a good friend and live your life the way you want to. He described his seemingly hard upbringing by his parents. Seemed like they weren’t too happy that he wanted to be a singer and he insinuated that he was also hit while living under their roof. The song is directed towards them and the chorus states “Tell my mother, tell my father I’ve done the best I can to make them realize this is my life…” Powerful song & lyrics.

Shinedown continued to please the crowd as they performed some songs from “Leave a Whisper” with the highlight being “45.” As the show ended, Brent informed the crowd that it was the last song and even I assumed they were coming out for an encore but they didn’t. I heard a lot of complaints as the crowd was itchin’ for “Simple Man.” And the crowd did hear Simple Man- the original version over the speakers as they exited the Highline Ballroom. So what you didn’t hear “Simple Man”- I was more upset about not hearing more of their own songs. But not to the point that it made me not like the show- no way- the show was a blast and I can’t wait to go see them again. Next time I’m taking you with me!!!

The Dun/Tchaikovsky/Chopin concert (on 07.17.08) was performed to an almost capacity audience. Tan Dun's Crouching Tiger Concerto for solo cello, string orchestra, flute, and percussion was a stunning piece. Ben Hong played the solo cello and his sound alone is enough to talk about (although saying that he left me speechless might be more accurate). The source material for Dun's concerto is his score to the film Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon, and at times it is very clear that it is "movie music." Dun evades sinking too much into this and produces some wonderful moments throughout the piece, with masterful percussion writing throughout. I would have never known without reading an LA Times article, but apparently only 4 of the 6 movements in the work were performed. Even abridged, the piece had a wonderful flow to it and seemed complete.

After intermission, Lang Lang performed Tchaikovky's first piano concerto with the orchestra. The playing was phenomenal from all. Lang undoubtedly has the fastest 4-octave-at-once-piano-passage I have ever heard (or seen) and the virtuosity of these moments only enhanced the performance. A little less enhancing for me were the deep stares into the camera after lyrical passages, or the fanciful unbuttoning of jackets and upper shirt buttons, but a little extra "performing sauce" never killed anyone. Besides, the quality of the performance was high enough that the acts were in no way an attempt to "make up" for anything. I'm sure a few swooned.

A fun little encore included fireworks synced to a Chopin piece (which I don't know). Large fireworks with tutti attacks for the orchestra, sparks shooting around the edge of the Bowl's dome during the chromatic accents and descents -- a whimsical and quirky ending to a concert of wonderful music.

This is the first time that I have attended a show at this venue, and I must say, it is kind of cool. The building itself must have been used for a hangar or some other type of use, before it was converted into a concert hall/ bar. I don't know if it had to do with the curved shape of the building, but this is the first concert in a long time, that I have not experienced the two day ear ringing after the show. It has nothing to do with the three bands that played. All of them were quite loud, and very rocking.

Bang Tango took the stage first at about 8:30 or so. The band started off with a cool cover of the T.Rex tune, 20th Century Boy. The rest of the set, in no certain order, had the following songs:

Attack of Life, Dancing on Coals, Someone Like You, Highway to Hell (AC/DC cover), Wrap My WIngs, and a few others that I don't recall.

It has been over fifteen years since I last saw Bang Tango. Joe Leste' may be the only remaining original Bang Tango member, but the band still sounds damn good in 2008. Joe's voice still sounds the same after all of these years. His trademark screechy vocals were damn near perfect last night.

His band is rounded out by Michael Thomas (Beautiful Creatures) and Ryan Seelbach on guitar, Lance Eric on Bass, and Timmy Russell (Beautiful Creatures) on drums. Michael Thomas proved to be a pretty solid axeman. Little did I realize that when Bang Tango was done, we would see him play again. More on that later. As a whole, Bang Tango was a lot better than I remembered them to be. I enjoyed their set, but the best music of the night was yet to come.

Check out the videos from the Bang Tango portion of the show below.

Stop back tomorrow for Part 2 of this concert review, featuring L.A. Guns.

Our interview with Arif Mirabdolbaghi of Protest The Hero pretty well consisted of me trying not to think up overly stereotypical question you'd ask any muscian currently on tour. I hate the idea of having to interview someone, especially someone I really want to sit down and talk with, because Im pretty well forced to gauge our discusssion toward his opinions of a) how the tour's going so far or b) how he feels about playing along side everyone else on the tour. But (un)fortunatly I now know that they find touring tough, but well worth it and that meeting bands on any tour isnt always what you want it to be. They're either great guys with little to no talent or there the best performers youve ever seen with no interest in the other bands at all. bands like The Fall Of Troy and The Human Abstract seem to be excluded from this demographic.

After sitting down with Arif for a few minutes he had brought to light some of the issues concerning their venue placement for the tour, which I found a bit curious after seeing the actual size of the Ernie Ball stage. According to Arif (and im paraphrasing here) the tours founder Kevin Lyman refuses to have the band placed onto a larger stage (suspicions are that he dissaproved of a lude graphic from the previous tour). Arif's motives behind this decision seemed to stem from a genuine concern for the audience's safety. He  believed that they would have been better suited on one of the main stages so everyone could enjoy the show without blocking walkways for other concert patronts walking by. Need I mention that when we got to see Protest's set- crows of people were blocking the walkway out, cramming past the cound booth. Kim couldn't barely even see the stage. Unfortunatly, as they were setting up a huge strm cloud drained us out and we never go to see the show- which if it was like any of the other Protest performances we've seen this year, would have been rad.

Although we didnt have very many questions for Protest The Hero's bass player we had a really great time just sitting down with him. There was no huge ego or incredibly obnoxious personality to dodge, just a really down to earth and easy to get along with muscian. He told us about smoking laws in Japan, American's views on littering and religion and even about his love for pizza. that last one was sort of in passing.

Arif says after finishing the Warped tour in August, the Band has another tour set in motion for October, and they hope to head home in December and start writing again.

Check out Protest the Hero's Myspace - Here.

p.s- Yes Tim went in the dunk tank. There are more photos of it on our flickr :). (link)

Bill Mallonee and his wife Muriah Rose came on around 10pm... and they played for about an hour (which was a good amount for a Monday night). This was my 9th time seeing Bill (sometimes with a band, Vigilantes of Love, sometimes solo, and sometimes as a solo artist with a band - not VOL). I'd primarily seen him in the Midwest (OH, KY, IL, IN). Probably my favorite time seeing him was on the 1999 Audible Sigh tour with Kenny Hutson on slide guitar and Jake Bradley on bass (and some fuzzy dude on drums, I'm forgetting his name). Anyway, last night's show, while way stripped down, had a really good intimate feel. This is probably due to it being my first time seeing him with his wife play with him (she sang backing vocals and played keyboard). They had good chemistry, and they played a great mix of songs.

Oh, for any VOL-heads, there's now a 4th version of Audible Sigh :) I didn't pick it up, as I think I had everything from it (Room Despair -EP- plus demos from the AS sessions & maybe some live from the era). He sure knows how to milk that record, but at least it's one of my fav Bill/VOL albums (along with Blister Soul, Welcome to Struggleville & Slow Dark Train). Heck, I have three different versions of the Audible Sigh album on my CD rack. :).

The setlist: (about an hour of tunes)

1. Solar System (*great tune*)
   
2. Goes Without Saying
3. High and Lonesome
4. Nothing Like a Train
5. Bottoming Out
6. Skin (**my fav of the night**)
7. Bank ("unintentionally acoustic" after amp blew out unexpectedly... Bill came down into the crowd to finish the song off)
   
8. Resplendent (*great tune*)
9. Flowers

My only disappointment for the night? They didn't play "Bearin' the Load." ;).

Well, great show. I hope he can make it back to Oregon again (from his home of Georgia). I won't hold it against him if he doesn't. That's a lot of gas money. I'll be grateful if he does make it back, though.

The Appropriate Linkage:

• http://www.myspace.com/billmallonee
• http://www.billmallonee.net/
• http://www.myspace.com/oldbelievers
• http://www.oldbelieversmusic.com/
• http://www.cozmicpizza.com/

Taking dead aim at preachers...

~Dan - np: R.E.M. - Accelerate

Adele performed at Paradiso tonight, a gig that seemed long overdue since she very successfully released her album 19 in Holland back in January. Upon arrival we were afraid we accidentally stumbled into a Katie Melua concert from the look of the crowd: predominantly 40+ women, target Sky Radio demographic, gently swaying side to side during the rather tedious opening act Steye. Yikes!! Has poor Adele been overplugged on our national airwaves?

However, any fears the crowd might be a passive bunch were inmmediately taken away when Adele took to the stage: rarely have I heard an artist get such a warm welcome as she did in Paradiso tonight. She seemed a bit taken aback by it all and giddy too, which was endearing. She was very chatty with the audience, which made for a good atmosphere in the room. She joked how she thought this would just be another gig but then was shocked to see the size of Paradiso ("Oh my god I've never seen so many people in one room!"), and then realising it was one of the biggest gigs.

She openened the set with Right As Rain and played almost the entire 19 album in the course of the 1 hour concert (bar one of my favourites: My Same). She already won the audience over with her funny candid stories (for instance about wearing her favourite lucky knickers and big sweater, making her very hot and sweaty), but it was obvious that Adele's talent as a singer would easily win anyone over regardless. With seemingly hardly any effort at all she sang beautifully, putting real soul into her songs. She was supported by a very decent band, including a 4 piece string section.

One or two songs that had become a bit flat to me from over-rotation of the album really got a new shine to them in the live performance (First Love springs to mind, not a peep to be heard from the audience). She also performed a few covers: The Coral's Dreaming Of You and Bob Dylan's Make You feel My Love which is also on the album, but the standout one was Etta James' Fool That I Am, sung straight from the gut. Is this girl really only just 20 years of age?

On the downside she played Best For Last without the band, and I really missed the funky bass. Also, perhaps because of nerves, she ended a few songs with a giggle on the last note which was a bit of a shame. She was in such good form throughout the concert though, that these are minor issues. After the first two songs for instance, her bass got taken away by a roadie. She ran after him to get it back and said "This bass is the worst ever! I don't want it, does anyone here want it?". One eager fan in the front was the lucky one and she even went to get a pen to sign it for him. Later on, reflecting on all her chatting: "Forgive me, I'm talking loads of shit because I'm a bit tipsy!".

Adele closed the show after merely an hour ("That's it when you've only got one album!") with Chasing Pavements, which had pretty much everyone in the crowd singing along. She was all smiles when she heard it and even held out the microphone for the obligatory "you sing it!", which somehow never gets tired when you're one of the singers-along. After the encore an unusual thing happened: rather than rushing for the door the majority of people stayed where they were and there was at least 5 minutes of shouting, clapping, hooting and hollering for a second encore. Even when it was apparent it wasn't going to happen any more! I think it's safe to say Adele made an impression in Amsterdam tonight.

See Adele sing Etta James' Fool That I Am live at Martyrs' in Chicago in March this year:

[thanks to alexandergrooves]

Open Grave Culture

Holy dang what a refreshing group to hear. Consisting of three members, turntables, sampler, guitar, rapping (or voices as they may be), and a megaphone (for one piece), this group really blew my mind. The beats were extremely well sequenced, beautifully hi-fi or lo-fi depending on which sound and which song. Watching someone do live turntable playing was quite a treat, something I had never seen before: This man was clearly phenomenal at it. The rapping had an incredibly beautiful arhythmic nature to it, but always ending and accenting on strong beats. Albeit, I don't seek out rap, but I always feel as though the rhythm of the words is what makes or breaks it for me. Open Grave Culture is a "make."

Their entire album is available online for free here. You could also visit them on MySpace.

Chris Wakefield

Chris Wakefield played a keyboard, and I'm sad to say that I don't know who played the drums, but did so with a one timpani mallet, and one drum stick. Chris also sang; his Nord keyboard ran through a Fender guitar amp and was almost completely distorted the whole time. Given the set up of the microphones and PA system, the entire set sounded as though the drums were panned all the way to the left, the keyboard to the center, and the vocals hard right, which I thought was completely fitting and wonderful. The songs were unique and dirty (I couldn't understand the words, so not in that sense), and it sounded as though it was constantly on the verge of feedback the whole time (also fitting). It was like a slightly better rehearsed, 21st century Velvet Underground.

His MySpace (HisSpace) can be found here, although I must humbly say that the recordings on this page do not fully represent what I heard last night.

I said it would be brief...

It was quite a pleasure to hear two bands producing something that I felt to be incredibly unique, especially in a place that I would never consider to be one with a gift for inventive, artistic things. OGC and CW have both made me extremely happy, if not just proved me wrong.

Check out this amazing set list:

Belief
No Such Thing --> Why Georgia
Waiting on the World to Change
Slow Dancing in a Burning Room
Free Falling
Bigger Than My Body
Mercy
Vultures
Heart Of Life
Stitched Up
Crossroads
Gravity

Encore:
Bold As Love --> The Wind Cries Mary
Wheel
Say

When he opened with "Belief" with a new kind of energy and enthusiasm, I knew it would be a kick-ass show, and it was.  ("Good evening Philly and surrounding areas" he sang in the same tune to end the song. Love it).  Every song had a fun new twist to it and he performed each one with a clear love of the music.  He also looked very sexy while doing it with his gorgeous hair cut and wearing a sleeveless "Purple Rain" shirt that showed off his biceps (mmm) and his new sleeve-like tattoo (not a fan, but I'll forgive).

So going from "Belief" - a song I found a new appreciation for at this show because of the energy he en-fused into it - right into two classics, "No Such Thing" and "Why Georgia" and then following that up with "Waiting on the World to Change" was absolutely the perfect way to start a show and get the fans pumped.  He played all my favorites from Continuum, including "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room" (see my video below) and "Heart of Life," a pleasantly surprising choice.

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7879393656581581073&hl=en]

John took many liberties with his set list, especially compared to when I first saw him two years ago in the same venue.  The "Mercy" you see listed above is, yes, a very bluesy version of Duffy's original ("I'm gonna play a very old song. It's about 4 months old.")  It was awesome.  He also really took his time with the covers (Free Falling, Crossroads, Bold As Love, Wind Cries Mary...), going into long interludes and guitar solos and giving his amazing band time to shine as well.  "Who does that?  How did I get away with THAT?" John said of his slipping between his hits and the bluesy covers.  He's earned the right by his fans to veer off the road and he does it well.

John's wit/humor has gotten him labeled a douche from the celebrity news media, but personally, I love it, especially when it comes through in live performances.  He gave a wordy but clever intro to "Waiting on the World to Change" by talking about how songs are like soldiers, and how he chose to release Waiting... because it was a "special-kind of good some that is gonna reach a lot of people all at once." and how it will represents its 11 other "compadres" on Continuum by getting commercialized.  Other memorable quotes: his intro for "Heart of LIfe":  "This is either a really uplifting song or a sad song, depending on how drunk you are."  Talking about guy/girl relationships: "Or maybe you want to switch those tenses around.  I'm cool with that. It's all grooovy baby."  On regretting not asking someone out: "She would have f-d my life over."

Ended the pre-encore part of the show with "Gravity," his favorite song, was a strong choice.  I was a little disappointed, however, by the choice of Wheel in the encore.  He performed it well and twisted it up a bit, but that song is so slow that, for me, it drags and has never been a favorite of mine.  I would have much rather heard him play Clarity (though I did see him do this one two years ago, thankfully), since songs from Heavier Things were pretty absent at this show.  And of course, I still have yet to hear him play my absolute favorite song, 3x5 (Comfortable would have been awesome too).  One day, though! One day!

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7250536752711223752&hl=en]

But anyway, he redeemed himself by ending with "Say" (my video above).  It was clear he didn't want the show to end.  Before starting "Say," he said he felt like he should take requests from the crowd and talked about how he felt guilty that he couldn't play everyone's favorites (and then he oh-so-cruely teased fans with a few bars of some of his songs, including - yeah! - 3x5 and Comfortable)

John's energy - and the crowd's - was absolutely amazing and really made it an incredibly, memorable show.

I have had the good fortune to have been invited to day 5 and 7 of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall, to see 6 bands play. Of course being there one gets the itch to go see Al Jarreau, Alicia Keys, Babyshambles, Camille, Chaka Khan, Erykah Badu, Gilberto Gil, Gnarls Barkley, Herbie Hancock, Interpol, Joan Baez, Joao Bosco, Joe Jackson, K. D. Lang, Katie Melua, Leeny Kravitz, Leonard Cohen, Melody Gardot, Milton Nascimento and Trio Jobim, N.E.R.D., Patty Austin, Paul Simon, Quincy Jones, Roberta Flack, Sheryl Crow, Sylford Walker, The Racounteurs, Tower of Power, Travis, Yael Naim and many more... all who played there this year.

But it is something of an elite festival. Just to get to it's idyllic location isn't a peace of cake. Finding a place to stay is probably not only difficult but expensive and tickets are always sold out within an hour of being released. What's more, for some acts 100 tickets are sold at a time on location months before, so just to get tickets you need to be in Montreux, or have a buddy there who is willing to stand in line for hours. Which is o.k. actually in my book. It is an opportunity for the locals to bring who they want to hear play for them in their own private festival. That's cool, and it's cool that they are so into culture to the point of putting plenty of their money there 42 years in a row.

Here's the difference between Montreux and say, Roskilde. Both are great festivals. In Roskilde you pay 300 USD to get in and see all the acts you want, all week. But you have to accept that there may be 60,000 people waiting to see some of the same artist you want to see. But that's great, it's those 60,000 paying visitors who make it possible to bring such acts. At Montreux you have to pretty much pay for each act you want to see. So if I go see The Kills, I'm one of 1000 people in the hall and can basically 5 minutes before the start of the show walk right up to the stage and place myself within 2 meters of the artist, so it's a much more private and exclusive show. After the show you can go down to Henry's and find Gnarls Barkley sitting at the pub. Prince who played there last year, after his show at the Stravinsky Auditorium showed up at the Jazz Cafe (a stage for free performances) and played an hour and a half for an unpaying overjoyed audience. Joan Baez this year picked up some street musicians from Kenya she saw playing on her way to the hotel the day of her show and invited them to close her concert, where the stage security was removed and anyone who wanted was invited to go up on stage and join her dancing to inspirational Kenyan percussion. But you have to pay for those luxuries, or in my case, you have to have friends who will pay for those luxuries for you.

Now to the music. I was basically unfamiliar with all of the acts I saw. But that is what I love about Festivals, discovering tons of things you've never heard of, getting inspired anew.
Fiji is a disco glam rock trio from Switzerland which uses drum/bass/keyboard tracks on stage which their wonderful singer Simone sings to. It sounded very house to me, more then 70's disco or 80's which they make a lot of reference to. I guess because of the sounds and quality of production. The glam bit was very apparent in the clothing and make-up, which looked very funny on the bassist, but suited Simone wonderfully, who throughout the show took off more and more glittering layers, which the audience reacted to very enthusiastically. They had a mannequin on stage that reminded me very much of Doris, the mannequin I had for the last 3 years. But they unfortunately didn't really make much use of her in the show. The music was good and Simone's energy was wonderful.
[caption id="attachment_82" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Fiji plays at the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall."][/caption] 

Santogold was a very interesting act. New Wave, Dub, Pshycobility, whatever that adds up to. Basically Dub beats to a Rockabily type Brooklinized singing. The concert started to a DJ mixing beats and tunes which was fantastic. That is the kind of organic musicality I love in live performance. But then when Santogold came on it lost that dynamism as she sang to prerecorded tracks. The coolest bit with the show was her two background singers who stood in their dark glasses totally expressionless, except for moments of extatic dancing, where they gave 100%. Her attitude and the beats of music got the crowd dancing and enjoying the cool party atmosphere they created.
[caption id="attachment_84" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="One of Santogold\'s cool background singers and her DJ."][/caption]

Madness were the best band of the first night. It's basically a bunch of (10, I counted) older men dressed in business attire playing great ska, rock, cabaret music. The singer has a very unique voice, though his range is not so amazing, he uses it well. Go to their MySpace and listen to Baggy Trousers and NW5 to get an idea of their music. The song I actually most enjoyed during the show was a song where the singer doesn't sing at all, but just shouts the line "One Step Beyond" from time to time. The crowd loved it and yelled along like mad (also on their myspace). I guess it is just their total unexpected craziness and the fact that they are very tight band that makes it all work so well. A great band to see live. I'm not sure I would go out and by a CD, although it could be great music to have for one of Pedram's wild parties.
[caption id="attachment_86" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Madness plays at the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall."][/caption]

Night 2...

Das Pop to begin with has a great band name. I love it. They are from Belgium where I stopped over on my way here and had some wonderful chocolate. Mmm... In any case they are a great Pop/Indie band. Great tunes, simple music, great energy. Very tight, lots of innocent attitude, a youthful spirit and chaos that inspires. They had the drummer right on the edge of the stage with his set turned 45 degrees, so that he was as present as the other 4. Great idea. The singer ran back and forth from a keyboard which added a nice dynamic to what otherwise can become a simple soundscape of drums/bass/guitar.
 

The Kills was the best band of the second night. This raw bluesy punk duo are really a sight to see. The concept reminds me of the White Stripes with a simple blues foundation and a greatly varied punk sound scape of songs built over that. But this band distinguishes themselves because their approach and charisma is much more raw and erotic. The tension Alison creates as she comes out in her leopard jacket and struts in circles is very animalistic and very attractive I must say. She's in your face sexual as good rockn' roll tends to be. Loved Jamie's hat too, very Clockwork Orange. The songs are strong but possibly a bit to distorted as by the end, everything blends into a soup of memory, sounding a bit too alike. Great energy, incredible presence, they had me captivated the entire show. Go to their MySpace and check out Last Day of Magic and Love is a Deserter.

I didn't know if you could bring a camera to the show, so the first night we took pictures on Xavier's pocket camera. At the entrance was a very clear sign forbidding 35 mm camera's so the second night I ventured to try their security check and got by them for all three shows. Specially got good pictures of this show so I'll post a few.
   
  

The Gossip was also very good. Great music to dance to. Beth, the singer reminds me of a blend of Mamma Cass and Janis Joplin, and that's an honor, both women with huge voices and incredible presence. Her voice is not of that caliber yet, but getting there. The whole band are excellent musicians and have great attitude. On their festival description they write: "We started a band 'cause we were bored. Our mission is to make you dance, and if you're not gonna dance, just stay at home and listen to the oldies station." I very much like bands with a woman at the drums, I find it very sexy, very powerful, very rock n' roll. Their best stuff is not on their Myspace though, so check out Eyes Open on Youtube or this live version which feels so 60's, or Jealous Girl. This concert was very popular, so we decided to enjoy it from farther back and I was dancing away as most everyone else.
[caption id="attachment_99" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="From a bit farther back Gossip plays at the 2008 Montreux Jazz Festival, Miles Davis Hall."][/caption]

Thanks X for this wonderful experience!

We danced for the first band, Love Like Fire. The lead singer was super-cute. We went upstairs and sat at a table and drew and wrote and played with my plastic marine animals and danced in our chairs and drank a lot of water during the second act, Loquat. (Listen to one of their songs, "Need Air", here: http://www.box.net/shared/jqe3gbtogg)

And then Tilly. Oh, Tilly. We were all coming down by that point, and I knew all the songs they played and we shouted out "Nights of the Living Dead" for the encore and all the Tillies are so cute and we danced like crazy people, especially to "Beat Control" (here: http://www.box.net/shared/6x0cihsowc). My friends looked so cute and wonderful and all night we could see people looking at us, watching us, wanting to be a part of our group. "If we were a club," various members of the group announced several times that night, "I would totally want to join us." I would want to be in that club, too. And I am! The club that wrote on our hands, "It's okay. You're on drugs." So we could just look down and be reassured. Haha.

Yesterday, I got my lip pierced. I'm stoked. I've wanted to since about seventh grade, and Natalie basically told me I had to. We spontaneously went into Galaxxi on Telegraph and I just did it. The bar is a little long because my lip didn't swell, but I'll go get a new one soon. Alex L. and Josh T. and Kat K. and Ed and Becca and loads of other people said they really liked it. I think it's great. Body mods and clothing are a way for me to express myself, to define myself. I have a very murky self-image and I'm always on the hunt for ways to sharpen it.

Nat left today. :( But we had such a good visit! Yesterday evening, we went to see The Animation Show 4 (highly recommended) with Edward and laughed our asses off at the hilarious shorts. I was really impressed by the stop-motion "Western Spaghetti"; turns out Ed and I have watched another short by the same guy. There were trippy ones, minimalist ones, cute ones, disturbing ones... Perfect audience. I can't think of two better people to have seen it with.

Today, Natalie and I went into the city for a bit of shopping, had pizza at Blondie's, and then she had to go catch her flight. I love that girl so much. I came back to Cloyne and watched loads of footage he's taken and some weird/hilarious British TV with Ed and then we had a nice nap. I bought some new pens and now I'm back at my aunt and uncle's and I'm recording for Youth Radio tomorrow!

I feel pretty good these days. The meds seem to be working; I've stopped drinking and smoking and, in fact, doing anything--including caffeine--other than shrooms, which are not something I'd do on any sort of regular basis. I feel clean, new, hopeful. Even though Nat is gone. And Edward leaves in a week. Argh, okay, I'm sad about that. But that's why they invented Skype, and so on.

Some illustrations from the week:

Loverly.

I had a few revelations and in general I just feel really good. <3

Raul Midón in Madison Square Park Wednesday. Photo by the author.

Pedestrians on Fifth and Madison Avenues heard the sounds of guitar, drums, trumpet, bass and vocals as they passed by the stage at Madison Square park Wednesday night. But, visible through the foliage was Raul Midón, the lone man responsible for the ensemble of instruments.

In a free concert that lasted just over an hour, the virtuoso singer-songwriter mixed flawless guitar playing with his broad musical vocabulary. The night’s set consisted mainly of a mix of songs from his new album, A World Within a World, and 2005’s State of Mind, but Midón was able to squeeze in a few surprises. His convincing cover of the jazz standard “Devil May Care” as well as added room for improvisation throughout the set exposed the extremely versatile musician beneath the soulful pop exterior.

Blind since birth, Midón is a peculiar mixture of musical influences–his lyrical phrasing and growling voice at times evoke Stevie Wonder, and his guitar playing fuses flamenco guitar with rhythmic accents that mimic drums of Africa and the Caribbean. Songs that seem inspired by rap songs and R&B ballads were played alongside fingerpicked masterpieces throughout the night, but the bouncing, percussive sound that always resulted was signature Midón.

The most striking aspect of Midón’s live playing is the way he creates his musical landscape. He plays guitar, but he is rarely seen strumming the instrument. With forceful flamenco downstrokes, drumming on the guitar body and strings, and using harmonics that ring with surprising clarity, Midón is able to created a densely textured background that harmonizes well with his vocal parts. He is capable of singing melodies that are rhythmically independent of his guitar playing, a skill that is rarely matched by even the most seasoned guitarists.

One of his most surprising techniques comes when he purses his lips; he is able to create the sound of a trumpet, so convincing in its timbre that he uses it to take screaming solos over frenetically played flamenco sections of his songs. He switches easily between the mouth trumpet and his strong but rounded vocal tone mid-solo, all the while backing himself with his guitar, and sounds as if he is doing the legwork of three or four musicians at a time. Unison solo lines on guitar and mouth trumpet become harmonized in ever-widening intervals of pitch, and eventually become completely independent, meandering lines themselves. Seeing this unfold on a stage resulted in sheer disbelief Wednesday night, and in the most enlightening way possible.

As Midón and his wife made their way to the microphone, hand in hand, the importance of his music became clear. In explaining Midón’s work, WFUV announcer John Platt said it best:

“There are some people who can see, but are blinded by their narrow-mindedness. And then there are some people who are not sighted that use their visions to make the world a better place,” Platt said. “Raul Midón is one of those people.”

"live music/live art"
$5 at the door.

I'm 95% sure I'll be there. I'm sure you're invited.

Saturday July 12
7pm

27652 camino capistrano
laguna niguel, building f

Website is here.

Well, obviously, I am too much of a filthy burgeouis to shell out the serious money needed to fly to England so that I could attend the first My Bloody Valentine reunion concert in person, but thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I was able to download a copy of it as a podcast from here: http://webinfront.net/?p=478/. 

In fact, I almost prefer downloading podcasts of concerts than going to the actual concerts themselves because I can listen to the music in the comfort of my own room, my car, or if I ever want to listen to music around a bunch of people that I could care less about, while shopping the supermarket. Plus, now that I have the concert in podcast form, I can replay the concert over and over again to my hearts (dis)content. You sure as hell can't do that with a live experience!

This podcast is not cheap sounding bootleg either! The sound quality of this podcast is so good and loud (!) that I get the impression that if I had actually went to go see this concert in person, I would be permanently walking around like one of those old timey elderly people hunched over holding an old Victrola speaker horn in my ear constantly going "Heh, what did you say?" when ever someone tries to speak to me. (Yeah, I know the fact that someone would want to actually to speak to me is a work of "pure fiction," but I'm trying to make a point here about the sheer volume at which the music was performed/ recorded.)

But what about the concert itself, jareddriskill, you may ask? Well, it's fucking fantabular! As you would soon hear for yourself if you download it from the link that I provided above. 

Sure, there were some sloppy bits here and there because the band hadn't played together in 16 years or so, but those loopy loud hypnotic guitar riffs are not only great to hallucinate without taking drugs to, they also act as a security device for scaring off those panhandlers/drug addicts/listless looking teenagers that you see standing around looking for trouble on street corners.(Small business owners looking for affordable security solutions please take note!)

My Bloody Valentine didn't perform any new songs at this concert which is a bit of a shame, but the good news is that My Bloody Valentine have finally reformed for real after many years of rumors, false starts and false hopes! Holy fuck, life is so good!

jareddriskill

Ted Leo + Pharmacists / Spain Colored Orange @ Walters, Houston on 09/16.
Comics /  concert review.

As the band came on stage I turned to my friend MB saying "I hope they open with Bodysnatchers!", as I knew they have played it consistently this tour but never to start the show.  Well my wish was heard and may I say Thom & co, what an excellent choice it was! It's just a cracking song to kick off with, great guitar, great energy. It was worth squeezing into the front and waiting like "sardines in a crushd tin box" before the show, because it soon became apparent we were surrounded by Radiohead connaisseurs who immediately started singing and dancing like mad. Perfect!

After that the beautiful All I Need calmed everyone down a bit, only to be swept up again by The National Anthem, the dark and gloomy Kid A track that is always a winner live, not in the least because of Thom freaking out towards the end. Skipping through the setlist I would say my personal highlights were Lucky, There There, Videotape, and the amazing encores with gems like Climbing Up The Walls, Wolf At The Door (only it's 3rd appearance so far), Jigsaw Falling Into Pieces and closer Planet Telex! And of course, the Amsterdam crowd was lucky enough to be treated to the new song Super Collider, which was previously only played during the Dublin and Paris shows.

Real crowd pleasers were Street Spirit (a massive hit here in Holland), Idioteque (nothing like a bit of techno in a Radiohead gig) and Just for it's good old fashioned Bends-distorted-guitar-feel. Mind you, from where I was standing every single song got a very warm reception. Thom had the crowd laughing when he put on safety goggles before sitting behind his drum kit for Bangers & Mash and putting on a geeky voice saying "Safety first, safety first, that's what I always say!". And just before Jigsaw Falling Into Pieces, Jonny was fidgetting with his guitar and Thom joked "Hurry up Jon Jon! If you're not in tune you'll have to tune it. Well, it's never stopped you before has it!".

According to this amazing yet slightly disturbing website keeping track of the gig statistics of Radiohead's 2008 tour (be sure not to miss the pie chart showing the occurence of animals that get lyrics devoted to them by Thom!!), the Westerpark gig gets an honourable 6th position in the Setlist Rareness Ranking out of 24 gigs so far. Not bad!

Check out some gig goodies below: a clip of Super Collider, some pictures I took and the complete setlist.

Super Collider live at Westerpark, July 1st 2008

The complete setlist
01 Bodysnatchers
02 All I need
03 National Anthem
04 15 Steps
05 Lucky
06 Nude
07 Street Spirit
08 There There
09 The Gloaming
10 Arpeggi/ Weird Fishes
11 Idioteque
12 Faust Arp
13 Videotape
14 Just
15 Bangers & Mash
16 Everything In It's Right Place
17 Reckoner

First encore:
18 House Of Cards
19 Climbing Up The Walls
20 Wolf At The Door
21 Jigsaw Falling Into Pieces
22 Karma Police

Second encore:
23 Super Collider
24 How To Disappear Completely
25 Planet Telex