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