sad day in music history

this tidbit of news about elvis' dethroning by garth brooks. while i may endorse country music, and although the music industry's expansion is a good thing and inevitable, i'm not sure garth brooks is the best successive candidate. oh well, people love their pop country.

ps i want the louis vuitton luggage from the darjeeling limited, which, for some crazy reason, is getting bad reviews amidst its brilliance.

go see the movie, and listen to jason schwartzman's npr interview in which he describes the process of filming - that filming itself was set out to be an experience.

new stints, listening this week...

just got a freelance position with style weekly, so i'm rightly stoked about that.

THIS WEEK:

can't get enough of animal collective's strawberry jam

tunng

king wilkie - low country suite

reviwers:

spokane: little hours

christopher blue: room tones

the gena rowlands band: flesh and spirits

josh small: tall

david schultz and the skyline: sinner's gold

femi kuti: the definitive collection

tiny vipers: hands across the void

the brunettes: structure & cosmetics

ben + vesper: all this could kill you

patrick sweany: every hour is a dollar gone

more to come.

SHOWS coming up:

buddy guy? muse?

the hotdamns

neko case

king wilkie/sam bush

charlie louvin

chocolate drops?

souvenirs young america?

other media


flight of the conchords
tenacious d meets mr show.

weeds season 2 on dvd

bravo's top chef. hate it but love it.

i should probably work on making this more consistent

but i barely have time between my day job, my article writing, and my social life. in the last few weeks i've gone to a wedding in the country, attended and wrote about FloydFest, and gone to a few local shows. first:

the hotdamns played a private wedding:


then my friend's band, the high street lowlifes, played a show at the edgar allan poe museum's "unhappy hour:"

they are a retro 1930's band with originals and covers. family fare with some racy lines if you pay attention. they also cover a retired laylons song.

onto floydFEST:

beautiful scenery, beautiful weather, beautiful music....


the carolina chocolate drops were the festival favorites, with all of their performances packed way past capacity:



the hackensaw boys also put on a great show, and some of them aren't too bad to look at....

also loved the the wiyos.


so many more but will have to wait for my article to be published to go any further...

listening this week....

the ladybug transistor - can't wait another day

radiohead - kid 17 (the phenomenon of starting two different kid a discs 17 seconds apart creates crazy harmonies and echoing.

animal collective - strawberry jam

thurston moore - trees outside the academy

reviewers:

the val papadins - no one wants to move the piano

cary brothers - who you are

ilad - national flags

upcoming shows:

the high street lowlifes

mermaid skeletons

hackensaw boys

ilad & the great white jenkins OR ralph stanley

the hotdamns

FloydFest!

the hotdamns, red clay river

i went to see the ever-awesome the hotdamns friday night. each time i see them they get better and better. they debuted a new song at their last show (at gallery 5 with o'circus), one that has yet to be titled. i say they should call it "saturday night hooligans" but they dont like that as much as i. here is a snippet of the song that they deleted from their comments when i posted it. fuck that!


one of their opening bands was red clay river, whom i've seen before. dan bivin's grisly voice and backwoods riffs really hits home somehow. there was even a girl (presumably his wife/gf) stomping along to the beat with some radical boots. he has a slab of wood on the floor which he uses with his foot to keep time. check them out asap.

listening this week....

the ladybug transistor - can't wait another day

mandy moore (lol) - wild hope (as i explained to a friend earlier today, this is one of those albums i knew i'd hate but had to hear it for myself)

josh rouse - country mouse, city house

amandine - solace in sore hands

okkervil river - the stage names

lewis & clarke - blasts of holy birth

VA - rubber folk (folk covers of rubber soul)

dolores o'riordan - are you listening

montag - going places

tom jones - reload

willie nelson - red headed stranger, yesterday's wine

handsome furs - plague park

the budos band - the budos band

reviewees:

southern culture on the skids - countrypolitan favorites

prosser

robbers on high street - grand animals

emerson hart - cigarettes and gasoline

lafayette gilchrist - 3

upcoming shows

1964: the tribute?

the slip with bobby bare, jr.

the mayhaws?

the hotdamns

the laylons

homemade knives

ralph stanley

FloydFest! (or creeping weeds)

son volt, cripple lilies, karma bat, o'circus, the HOTDAMNS

i saw the cripple lilies open for now sleepyhead on 6/11. yes, i've been vacationing or something so it's almost old news. i was very impressed especially with the likes of Elizabeth Lopiccollo (flute, keys, vocals). i was mesmerized by her style and unique sounds. laid back folk led into chamber folk/pop. check them out. now sleepyhead were a bit pretentious for their britches, but that's just my opinion. they need to work on their stage presence (not use lyric sheets, be more comfortable in front of audiences without showing their lack of confidence. i missed out on vince dynamic, which i was sorry for.



son volt was a few days later, 6/14, at the botanical garden. i can see why jeff tweedy and jay farrar went their separate ways from uncle tupelo. son volt's boring, droning "alt-country-rock" reminded us of a matchbox 20 show. there was maybe a high point where collective chaos allowed for the lead guitarist to go off a bit. perhaps it was the crowd of aging gen-xers boozing it up, too, but i was less than pleased.

later that night we went to show our support for botox party and saw opening band crack filler and karma bat. they were half no doubt, half hardcore. the lead female singer had a wireless mic attached to her face, so that was humorous. she then switched to guitar as the prior guitarist screamed in his mic. i did enjoy the finale, as she came into the crowd and hit on the women while she sang, ending with molesting me at my feet.


saturday night i went to see the hotdamns, who gave their best performance to date (including debuting a new yet-to-be-titled song with a surf flavor.
after they left the stage, o'circus took to the stage with their acts ranging from a mime, fire dancing, juggling, burlesque, and a joke magician. their turn of the century (1920's ish) brand of entertainment was a great time. and the chicks were hot.

los huevos diablos

tuesday night i saw los huevos diablos (no site yet, myspace soon) perform some classic old-time jazz. they shifted between latin sounds, straight ahead jazz, gypsy-tinged, bebop, and sweet jazz. some of their selections were even folk based. we got there to hear dizzy gillespie's "muskrat ramble" and "estrellita" (most likely by manuel maría ponce cuéllar).



their next set began with mostly latin tango rhythms and flavors. at one point they switched phrases in a linear fashion: guitar 1 played a brief phrase, fiddle (i thought it was a viola, but my man disagreed) played a phrase, and so on). it was a refreshing take on the trading riffs and soloing that goes in at typical jazz shows. usually it's one guy does a solo, golf clap. another guy wails, golf clap. they kept it fresh and alive.
they then played "take the a train" made popular by duke ellington and written by billy strayhorn. classic awesome. you can't go wrong with that song, and that's one of npr's picks of the 100 most influential songs in american history.


things got extra exciting when an older redneck couple (although the female obviously kept her figure and other attributes) slow danced (read:leaned on each other) and then met in the bathroom to have sex. they emerged with giant smiles and disappeared into a booth behind us. ahh, old love.

red clay river, the fox hunt

red clay river was one of two openers for mason dixon disaster's cd release show saturday. dan bivins played banjo and steel guitar while his associate, aaron parker, played his custom-made (by himself) guit-cell. that is, it had a cello base and a guitar head for a sweet sound. being from roanoke made for a realistic, rusty sound as bivins' voice spread on grisly charm.

the fox hunt was made up of four gentleman, two of whom switched between double bass and guitar. they are also here. the other two were a fiddler and mandolin player (who also switched to banjo). their blended four part harmony was impressive, especially when they went a capella. the final song was "old drinking song" during which the female singer from MDD joined in (drunkenly). below please see a horrible snippet youtube of them from another performance. it was the only one i could find. anyway, their music was swinging and hollering and just lovely. oh, and the fiddler's arms were beautiful:




i didnt stay for much of MDD because 1)the show started about two hours later than advertised and we had some other plans and 2)MDD isnt my thing. they are loud, but that doesnt make them good. the female singer is alright, but she just stands there during half of the songs doing nothing (sometimes using a harmonica to do that nothing). they have a new bassist (who is in marionette and barstool heroes, both of whom i've mentioned in this blog before).

welcome home, son

what i'm listening to this week:

seabear - the ghost that carried us away
folk

radical face - ghost (link in comments for album!)
folk

the national - boxer
indie folk rock

black moth super rainbow - dandelion gum
drug rock

dan deacon - spiderman of the rings
quaint folk experimental

battles (like everyone else) - mirrored
instrumental rock

bill callahan of smog. woke on a whaleheart
singer/songwriter folk

paul mccartney - memory almost full
POP (also, the letters in the title rearranged spell out "for my soulmate LLM" which was apparently inadvertent, but you never know)

the shaky hands - the shaky hands
rock pop folk

hella - there's no 666 in outerspace
experimental, electronic, shoegaze
album for review

fatback circus - the elephant king
jamband, funk, rock, pop/punk
album for review

hopeful shows this week

soulive (which may not happen as it's friday cheers (aka crowded as fuck) and a funky jamband (my boyfriend dislikes that genre)

pink razors, roman holiday (RH's last show), antlers, punch you in the face, big (guessing it's not along the lines of PYITE), segway cops cd release.

maybe botox party again? it's close and convenient and fun.

mason dixon disaster cd release, perhaps.

los huevos diablos - apparently some "old time jazz"

the hotdamns! who have just gotten their new CDs in....

the fucking champs!

mermaid skeletons

tonight i wish i could have gone to see animal collective. c'est la vie.

the roots, botox party

the roots played richmond's rock the boat which was a celebration of the godspeed landing in richmond on the james river from jamestown. as the roots told us, they almost did not play this show as, they said, it marked the beginning of terrorism. regardless, they played a whole show for probably 50,000 people.

the stage was to the left. this was taken before the sun set and before the 'rocking' began.


they played some of their originals over horrible sound (really, it was hard for me to even see the stage, and the bass just clouded everything). they ended up covering dylan, hendrix, and zeppelin in a medley of sorts. most of the drunk rednecks had a blast.
again, the stage was on the left of the photo, and i could not even see the stage at this point.


i did manage to get something of a picture of ?uestlove, though:


next we walked about ten blocks to a bar to see our buddy's band botox party everyone was fairly drunk at this point, so it was nice to hear some rowdy, loud rocking.
fyi: this photo is gayer than the band itself:

and i am obsessed with the decorations in the establishment wonderland:

loves it.

medeski, martin and wood

assholes on the website said the show would start 30 minutes after they actually started, and i showed up even later than that. so i paid $20 (what's up with paying for shows?) for probably two whole songs. don't get me wrong, those two songs were on point. one of the raddest things about seeing bands in this venue is the beautiful scenery. it's in a botanical garden, so you walk by paths and trellises filled with all kinds of botanical items. the natural amphitheater is one i've been going to since i was born. i have seen mmw about three times before that, and i have almost all of their (proper and collab) albums. this was the most straight-ahead jazzy i'd heard them. chris wood was clearly the star of the evening, both from my own observation (solos, rockin amidst others taking the lead) and from hearing "oh man, that bassist was awesome!). john medeski was playing on a beat up wooden grand piano.







here is a snippet i found on youtube:

tulsa drone

tulsa drone played a gig last thursday night at the hyperlink cafe. with their new stage set up, the hyperlink hosted a total of four bands that night including marionette and caspian. caspian was blessed shoegaze while marionette was chamber indie. another loud band played as they were on tour with caspian. sorry, can't remember their name.
TD was as their name suggests, droning. they were loud and by the time they took the stage i was fairly drunk. being drunk = lame reviewing.

that picture is badass, i dont care what anyone else thinks.
the night was basically pure post-rock.
CASPIAN (hopefully the right one):

ukulele hotness, new reviews, arcana

hooray. learning this ukulele now for a couple months thanks to my adorable, loving man.

up for review next:
PANDA BEAR
hella
jenn grant
the dynamites
david vandervelde
lafayette gilchrist
will bernard
will harrison
fatback circus

currently loving that hipster darling amy winehouse. esp "you know i'm no good" and "fuckery"

and in a couple days i will go see arcana
(scroll down to the end of the post)
could be cool.

Bright Eyes, White Stripes, Lily Allen B-sides, Tori Amos, Radical Face

Things I'm Listening to This Week:
Lily Allen's B-sides, particularly her cover of the Kooks's "Naive" so classy. so hip.

bright eyes - Cassadaga (link in comments) i've been reading bright eyes afficiandos say this is the best bright eyes yet. i'm still intrigued. i wouldnt say it deserves a 9.0 like popmatters, but more like pitchfork's 6.0.

tori amos - american doll posse these links have been removed really quickly all over.

the white stripes - "icky thump" still trying to find the whole album.

radical face (still looking for album), "welcome home"

the bees - octopus it's like early sgt peppers beatles from the bit i've listened to so far.

A BAND OF BEES

red clay village

that's the back of singer/guitarist jamie rose's head. he is one of three members of red clay village, a recent project for the GDB trio. they have been working on their chamber-core styled rock to play live and record.

panda bear

person pitch is pretty much this year's quintessential summer album. animal collective's noah lennox has outdone himself. i'm working on my review of it for glide, and i can't stop loving it. think brian wilson meets john cage meets harlem boys choir harmonies.

special ed and the shortbus

last week i went to see special ed (ed was my classmate in philosophy) and the shortbus. they flew through some classic country and bluegrass covers such as "Salty Boys" and "Sail Away Ladies" (both of which are also covers of rising appalachia.




check out a video of them here.

lol

this photograph is hilarious. it is lindsay lohan this past weekend at coachella. that festival must be absolutely ridiculous. what is it with these "it-girls" being seen at festivals, ruining more situations? she definitely is into whatever band is playing. i like the lady in the bottom left who is looking at her like, "why are you standing next to me?"

the whiskey rebellion

last night, despite my pms, i went to bogart's with my bf and his roommate to see the whiskey rebellion. the roommate developed a huge crush on the fiddle player, which is beside the point. what i found was a fun, old-time bluegrass band featuring the aforementioned fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar, and double bass. the guitarist had a fantastic voice that fit the mood, and reminded us of a younger KG. he shredded and cited music geek references (spinal tap, anyone?). after their cover of "seven nation army," we were hooked. they filled their three set performance with their own songs, a couple cash covers (a member of the very rudely loud group demanded to take the stage and sing "ring of fire" after swearing he knew the words. he of course could not think of any words once on stage. he then informed us of his station in iraq, so we had to stop hurling irritated comments at him.), "sweet child of mine" cover, and "uncle penn." they winged a cover of 'devil went down to georgia' which was another audience suggestion. the fiddle player accepted two free shots of whiskey on stage, and then her voice got the needed gristle it had lacked in the first set. all in all, a joy to witness.

whoops. rising appalachia, mermaid skeletons, jolie holland, the laylons, uncle earl

rising appalachia wowed me two saturdays ago with their sisterly act at a local synagogue. a small, older crowd filled the carpeted room. leah and chloe smith took appalachian traditionals and made their own mix with percussionist forrest. a blend of old-time and hip hop infused their covers (including jolie holland's "old fashioned morphine") and originals. i'll post a link to my official review soon.


mid-last-week i saw a bundle of performers play at the hyperlink cafe, including the hotdamns♥, barn burning, and my new obsession, mermaid skeletons ( whose myspace does them no justice). a group of folks sitting on pop and folk, they reminded of polyphonic spree or i am from barcelona.

the singer, joshua hryciak, is made for the stage, and when he got up and bumbled about, i could not help but notice the hipster's jaws drop, literally. the trouble with the electronics prompted the skeletons to turn off all amplification and perform sonically naked. i wish i could have heard what the girl behind the organ was doing.


i am one of the recipients of a signed jolie holland lp, springtime can kill you, and i must say the cover itself is a work of art. beautiful penmanship decorates a family album of drawn accompanying musicians as well as miss holland herself. the silver pen was a perfect touch. can't wait to get my shit working to hear it in its glory.


the hotdamns performed their set with all their "rockers" as they had little time and much energy. maybe some of their more mellow songs would have fit the mood of the evening more, but too many quiet bands can put a person to sleep. it was a great break in the night.

youtube videos to come as i will be trying to take crappy video at one of their next gigs in the next month or so.

the laylons are a punk trio outfit that required earplugs. the second time i'd seen them perform found me just as drunk as the first time i'd seen them. the creepy ceiling decor worked with their vibe for some reason.

oh hey, that's my head. photo taken by josh cox.


albums i'm into this week for review:
uncle earl
papa mali
the tiny

albums this week not for review:
wilco's summerteeth (better late than never)
johnny cash's god
the papercuts' can't go back
neutral milk hotel's in the aeroplane over the sea
white magic through the sun door
blonde redhead 23

DVD's this week:
harsh times
the ringer
children of men

oh no she didnt: tell me she didnt just go old school (and back)

cue the "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock:
sorry. i've been watching too much my name is earl. actually, too much isn't right...just enough.

anyway, i need to acquire some old school rap records to play on my newly (found) fisher price record player:

hilariously enough, the sound is warped to such a degree that the pitch changes. so i currently ♥ it. any suggestions?
i also need to find some 45s.

no worries. i have some recent equipment (a gift) as well:

among the cds i need to purchase:
charlie louvin's self titled. hear a snippet here.
check this shit, too:


i'm also confused by this:

and is his jacket purple?
reminds me of:


from this article that i found at this rad blog, i'm so sorry for this.

the hotdamns

the hotdamns opened a show for cover band barstool heroes on 3/3, saturday.

they were sans new fiddle/lead guitar player kelsey, but still put on a spectacular show. "vanquished" makes me tear up every time they play it.
hopefully there will be some footage of them on youtube soon.

william elliott whitmore, backyard tire fire

march 1 (last thursday) i went to empire to see william elliott whitmore and backyard tire fire. local bands mason dixon disaster and brandon g opened the show. backyard tire fire was a typical blues roots jam band that was too loud and too long:


william elliott whitmore finally came on, and he killed it. he got everyone to sit around him living room-style, and proceeded to get even more drunk than he was already throughout his perforance. my friend said it was like watching a young ralph stanley getting drunk and playing. his rusty, deep vocals belied his young age, and his four string banjo was strictly old-time. he switched to guitar at some point, and then added harmonica on a few songs. some of the selections he played:
the chariot
take it on the chin
box made of pine
midnight
dry
red buds
diggin my grave
take priscilla to the gallows
i'm building me a home
johnny law (his 'fuck the police' tune)

his knuckles spelled out "LIVE FREE."



love that the lights are in the shapes of quarter, eighth, and sixteenth notes

the following youtube is of 'diggin my grave'