Octopus Overlords

skipped Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea tonight as the ticket prices were pretty high. went to The Pop Group and Swervedriver last week (did promo work for a local radio station at the latter, so i got in for free.) don't know of anything else coming up until The Dead Milkmen next month.

also missed the re-opening of another club last night (Dead Moon and Girl Trouble played that).

Picked up tix this weekend to see The Melvins in June...always a good show from them...

Lord Huron just announced a bunch of summer dates. Detroit is 7/31. Tickets go on sale tomorrow. ROMT has a place to sit! Woot!

Getting ready to head out and see Leon Russell.

I have a open date with the wife if Queen Extravaganza ever plays nearby.

What a great show. The Rialto is one of two converted movie palaces downtown, and is one of my favorite music venues. It has a great sound system, and is small enough that there's no such thing as a bad seat. I think there were maybe 300-350 people there last night, tops.

Leon (who?) put on a surprisingly strong show, much better than when we saw him 4 years ago. Back then he seemed a lot frailer and let the band do all the heavy lifting, with his piano placed almost in the shadows. It seemed like there wouldn't be a lot of tours left.

He still needs a cane to get around, but this time he was front and center, and had a lot more energy. tlr thought he lost weight since last time, but I didn't see it. He's now in what a friend calls his "anecdotage", and introduced several songs with stories about playing with BB King, Dylan, etc. tlr thought it was meaningless name-dropping, but I thought it was a matter of being proud of his career. My only complaints about the 90 minute set was that there were still too many medleys (but I guess that's a matter of getting in as many songs that people want to hear as possible) and not introducing the band. He had one guy who played acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitars as well as organ and mandolin, and he was fantastic.

If you ever have a chance to see him, do so while you still can.

The faith no more show I didn't get presales tickets for will be streaming the show:

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/faith- ... -on-yahoo/

They picked a horrible sounding venue to stream from. I hope their audio feed is directly from the instruments/mic.

Sleater Kinney's return to Portland was last night. What a great show.

And this Friday is They Might Be Giants. It's been 5+ years since I've seen them.

I'm not sure my body can handle two late nights in one week, though. Last night's show wrapped up by 11 and I still feel like I can barely make it through the day.

The Jesus and Mary Chain tonight - sounded really great. i would've preferred a more 'traditional' concert than 'the entirety of Psychocandy plus some extra singles', but i guess they do have a new album coming out. also got the very last Darklands shirt in stock.

Do you like The Raveonettes? Because they've always struck me as building an entire career out of that one sound from Jesus and Mary Chain.

JetFred wrote:Do you like The Raveonettes? Because they've always struck me as building an entire career out of that one sound from Jesus and Mary Chain.

I kept hearing this. I never could make the association myself, other than the both being shoe gazey.

Fuzzy overall sound and noisy guitar. But of course that would mean The Raveonettes got it from Jesus and Mary Chain, so liking one doesn't mean you like the other. Music is so subjective. I love U2 but get very bored with Coldplay for example.

JetFred wrote:Do you like The Raveonettes? Because they've always struck me as building an entire career out of that one sound from Jesus and Mary Chain.

they annoy me for this very reason.* and in this same vein, the opening band last night was The Black Ryder, which struck me as a JAMC cover band when they first came on the stage. same bass tones, same Phil Spector-esque drums, etc.... i was ticked. why would you have a band that obviously ripped off your own as an opener?

* (almost as bad - A Place To Bury Strangers, Dum Dum Girls, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club [the first album or so - they found their own sound later])

hitbyambulance wrote:* (almost as bad - A Place To Bury Strangers, Dum Dum Girls, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club [the first album or so - they found their own sound later])

I never got the BRMC connection either. Maybe I haven't heard a large enough sample of them or the Ravonettes.

I do get the Place to Bury Strangers connection and to a lesser extent the Dum Dum Girls who sometimes feature the overly distorted tube amp sound, fingers sliding across strings, and with mics sounding like they are mic-ing a huge empty theatre with nothing to dampen the vastness the vocals are bouncing off of.

I've seen PtBS a couple of times and enjoyed them. I've been meaning to see Dum Dum Girls but have never made the full commitment.

I haven't seen the Jesus since they toured for Honey's Dead on Lollapalllooza. I thought Honey's Dead was fairly weak and I Hate Rock and Roll was the last the thing I could be bothered to buy.

I was sort of hoping the Hope Sandovil(?) connection would do some merging of Mazzy Star and JaMC. I would have really loved to have seen that but it never happened.

I'm thinking about Stephen Stills, because he was by far the best part of the CSN show we saw a few years back. Then again, it would mean schlepping to Phoenix and probably staying overnight which means boarding the dogs and.....

Fuck it. Maybe he'll come to Tucson at some point.

LordMortis wrote:

JetFred wrote:Do you like The Raveonettes? Because they've always struck me as building an entire career out of that one sound from Jesus and Mary Chain.

I kept hearing this. I never could make the association myself, other than the both being shoe gazey.

I like both TJaMC and the Raveonettes but I don't think they sound that much alike.

Some of my favorite Jesus and Mary Chain songs are the least "noisy guitar" songs and my favorite Ravoenettes songs are the most noisy ones.

Plus Mazzy star, Hope Sandoval, and other guests aside, a big difference is the presence of female vocals.

LawBeefaroni wrote:Some of my favorite Jesus and Mary Chain songs are the least "noisy guitar"

Mine all appear to be B Sides. Barbed Wire Kisses was by far my favorite album and I bought every single they ever put out through I Hate Rock and Roll as well as several tribute albums just to get to get their covers and B Sides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTBt9tjbIM8

That's about signature as their sound gets. (It took months to track down the Rollercoaster import when it came out)

Well, crap. Scratch Taj Mahal off my list. I just got an email saying the rest of the May tour has been canceled.

so i got the new Lord Huron album from the library because LM was raving about this band, and it sounds to me like this guy just keeps reusing melodic motifs? i swear i've heard two or three different songs pretty much repeated twice each, and i'm only ten tracks in (and the disc is not on repeat/shuffle). i listened to the previous album a few weeks back, and maybe my brain is mushing it all together, but i don't think so.

can't say it's my thing, in any case.

hitbyambulance wrote:so i got the new Lord Huron album from the library because LM was raving about this band, and it sounds to me like this guy just keeps reusing melodic motifs? i swear i've heard two or three different songs pretty much repeated twice each, and i'm only ten tracks in (and the disc is not on repeat/shuffle). i listened to the previous album a few weeks back, and maybe my brain is mushing it all together, but i don't think so.

can't say it's my thing, in any case.

I'm sorry. They're one of my top two bands of the last three or four years.

I think you are right about reusing melodies but I prefer to think of it as drifting. I don't dig on the second album as much as the first but I still enjoy it and I love that they/he stretch the music into a total art project. Beyond the music are stories. I believe for this album each song is supposed to have a comic book released. For the last album each song wast themed after a fictional authors book in bibliography of old west pulp novels. I love the process and the products.

First thing I could find. I don't have time to actually read it. as I am getting ready for work

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog ... nge-trails

Taj Mahal's cancellation is mitigated somewhat by the news that David Bromberg, who almost never tours, is coming to town in October, but at my age I never buy tickets for anything 5 months out.

Rush R40 concert in Tampa. Really looking forward to it but sad at the same time being this is probably their last tour.

Had a great time at the show. Kind of bittersweet thinking this is the last time I'll see them live. The guys are amazing though and put on a hell of a show.

Here's the set list if you are interested:
They did a really cool thing where they began with their latest music and worked backwards in album order. During the show they had guys coming out on stage and removing/changing the stage until at the encore they had it looking like a gymnasium with basketball hoop in the back and folding chairs on the stage.

WYBaugh wrote:They did a really cool thing where they began with their latest music and worked backwards in album order. During the show they had guys coming out on stage and removing/changing the stage until at the encore they had it looking like a gymnasium with basketball hoop in the back and folding chairs on the stage.

Rod Serling High School

Jag wrote:

WYBaugh wrote:They did a really cool thing where they began with their latest music and worked backwards in album order. During the show they had guys coming out on stage and removing/changing the stage until at the encore they had it looking like a gymnasium with basketball hoop in the back and folding chairs on the stage.

Rod Serling High School

That is too funny! I was sitting middle floor and of course forgot to bring my glasses in so I couldn't really read what was on the screen.

Here's my view

image by wybaugh, on Flickr

Zoomed in so crappy quality.

WYBaugh wrote:Here's my view

image by wybaugh, on Flickr

Zoomed in so crappy quality.

They didn't do Warren Cromartie Secondary School? (note my location)

I will be seeing them June 27 in NJ. Can't wait. I've missed their last two tours because they came through our area while I was away. I was not going to miss this one.

Thanks for putting the setlist in a spoiler tag for me.

My buddy Joe (who introduced me to Rush) convinced me that I absolutely HAVE to go to see them, and he wants to go again as well. So we're road tripping to Kansas City in July to catch them. Very excited. I'm sure we have crappy seats (I set a $150 limit on the seats when he was picking them up) but it will be great to both see them, as well as road trip with Joe.

hentzau wrote:My buddy Joe (who introduced me to Rush) convinced me that I absolutely HAVE to go to see them, and he wants to go again as well. So we're road tripping to Kansas City in July to catch them. Very excited. I'm sure we have crappy seats (I set a $150 limit on the seats when he was picking them up) but it will be great to both see them, as well as road trip with Joe.

Their shows are always worth seeing.

For the last few tours they have been playing longer sets, with an intermission, rather than having an opening band so don't be late.

Going to see St. Paul and the Broken Bones next weekend. Really stoked.

Saw Built to Spill last night. Absolutely excellent.

We got there in time to see the opening acts because my friend wanted to get a good spot for BtS. One of the opening acts was this guy. So glad we got there early.

LawBeefaroni wrote:Saw Built to Spill last night. Absolutely excellent.

We got there in time to see the opening acts because my friend wanted to get a good spot for BtS. One of the opening acts was this guy. So glad we got there early.

Guy has got some mad skills but (and ironically coming from me) don't like the distorted voice.

We just got back from seeing Todd Rundgren, and to say it was not what I expected would be an understatement. I've never particularly been a fan, but if I had to could probably name 5 or 6 songs, and I'm somewhat familiar with his resume, so I figured it was worth a shot, since tlr kept urging me to see him.

I expected he would do a standard set with a band, and maybe I would hear 3 or 4 songs that I recognized, and in a best case scenario I would be blown away. Instead it was him, two go-go dancers/backup singers, and a guy on synths. We were sitting right behind the pit where the sound/light people work, and there were more people running the console then there were on stage.

If I had to describe the show I would call it Low-era Bowie crossed with Devo. Every song was overly dramatic (unless this was a sophisticated goof and I missed it, he takes himself very seriously), with Rundgren either literally miming the lyrics as he sang them, or doing some sort of spastic dance that looked like it was choreographed by David Byrne, while a light show/slide show was projected on a number of screens behind him and the Toddettes.

So much of the music was either synthesized or coming from backing tracks I wouldn't be surprised to learn his guitar solos and vocals were pre-recorded as well. There wasn't a genuine or spontaneous moment in the entire 90 minute set.

Which is not to say I disliked it. I still haven't completely processed the whole thing. But I give him credit for having the cajones to put on a show like that.

Low-era Bowie, Devo, and David Byrne. I should have gone to that show!

LawBeefaroni wrote:Saw Built to Spill last night. Absolutely excellent.

We got there in time to see the opening acts because my friend wanted to get a good spot for BtS. One of the opening acts was this guy. So glad we got there early.

I wanted to go to that show, but we've got too damn many kids to make it out to much these days.

JetFred wrote:Low-era Bowie, Devo, and David Byrne. I should have gone to that show!

O.T. but you know what one of the best things about Bowie putting out an album called Low was?

This

I saw Rundgren along with his band, Utopia sometime in the early to mid '80's. We got something like a dozen free lawn seats as part of some radio station promo. When we got to the venue, ticket sales have been so poor they were trading lawn seats for pavilion seats and we would have been around the 10th row -- except while the tickets they gave us were in sequence, the last ticket was in the row behind us at the opposite end. We thought of ostracizing my brother, but decided we should just all go sit on the lawn anyway.

That was the only thing memorable about that concert. Not good, not bad, just not memorable.

Going to see the Palma Violets on Thursday. I'm pretty excited about it as one singer has a very Clash-esque style, whilst the other reminds me of Echo & the Bunnymen. I caught a bit of one of their gigs @ the Isle of Wight festival on Palladium and I think it will be a blast.

Palma Violets 3 song bit

tgb wrote:

JetFred wrote:Low-era Bowie, Devo, and David Byrne. I should have gone to that show!

O.T. but you know what one of the best things about Bowie putting out an album called Low was?

This

Spoiler:

I had to repaste the image link but that's awesome. My small sampling of Lowe does not even leave me at fan status, so I wasn't aware of that one.

My date with Weird Al approacheth. Five more weeks. Never seen him.

Agalloch was absolutely incredible last night. While there was nothing fancy about their show, the energy, passion, and musicianship was astounding. It's very seldom that I find myself completely in awe of what I'm seeing on stage, but that was definitely the case here. Amazing stuff.