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?"
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.
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
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:
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.
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
i went to the homemade knives' show last night at the hyperlink cafe in RVA, and i made it in time to see one of the opening acts, nola. it was knives' bassist's (ryan?) last show. among several originals from their EP and album no one doubts the darkness, they covered Tom Waits' "cold, cold ground" and springsteen's "dancing in the dark" (the song whose video features a very young courteney cox). i didnt take any photos from the show, but i got a shot of the chandelier from the venue. photo from 11/06 show.
this video is from a performance last month of the same springsteen cover. lovely.
nola from raleigh moved me before the knives' performance. singer christy smith's vocals involved a tinge of dolores o'riordan's celtic wailing, as i mentioned to her after the show. she agreed and said that she had listened to a cranberries album from her ex, but not too much. they covered a violent femmes song, the name of which i will get from my show buddy. (it was his favorite femmes song.) minimalistic drums, bassist with a pick, and lead male guitarist who supplied vocal harmonies rounded out the impressive quartet. check them out.
