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....
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.
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.
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 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 magicthrough the sun door blonde redhead 23
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.
