Friday, September 28, 2007 |
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Two Gallants tonight, Oakley Hall tomorrow...
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First, there's an interesting story on Bright Eyes' trip to Anchorage in this week's Anchorage Press (read it here), where Oberst compares the level of desolation between Alaska and Nebraska. "We come from a pretty desolate place too." Well, not that desolate, Conor. Wonder when Bright Eyes is going to play Hawaii (maybe they already have). Moving on to the weekend... Tonight at Slowdown, it's the return of Two Gallants, who were just there in August. Opener Blitzen Trapper sounds like a psychedelic indie alt country freak-out, at least on their recordings. $8, 9 p.m., with Songs for Moms. Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, the Box Elders open for Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs. Dave and them thar McIntyre boys are always entertaining. $8, 9 p.m., also with Ric Rhythm and the Revengers. Tomorrow night it's Merge band Oakley Hall at The Waiting Room with The 1900's and Omaha's own The Third Men. Oakley Hall plays twangy indie rock influenced by bands like Wilco. $8, 9 p.m. (scenester alert). Meanwhile, over at The Saddle Creek Bar, Israeli experimental noise rock band Lebanon (myspace here) plays with Prize Country. $5, 9 p.m., while Kyle Harvey and Scott Severin play at The Barley St. 9 p.m./free. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 5:29 AM |
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Thursday, September 27, 2007 |
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Column 143 -- Coyote Bones goes Bemis (and the death of CDs?); Bright Eyes on Leno; Mathematicians/Satchel Grande tonight...
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The original plan was to feature both David Matysiak's residency at the Bemis AND his record label, Coco Art, but there wasn't enough room for both. Coco Art is an interesting story by itself. Essentially a co-op label, Matysiak said the idea was to create a way to get his and his friends' bands heard by a larger audience, kinda like how another label around here got started a decade ago. Originally launched with Coyote Bones, Flowers Forever (who are now on Team Love) and Dereck Higgins, the label recently added Hyannis and Baby Walrus, and will be releasing the debut by The Family Radio, Ghost Blood Stories, in the near future. It's a strong stable, but Matysiak says he can't imagine making any money off the venture, nor was that ever his intention. "It would be nice (to make some cash), but I would just reinvest it right back into the label, anyway," he said. "If we had money, we would press the new Baby Walrus record on vinyl. But not having money shouldn't limit or stop us. We're trying to put out records and do shows and other cool things. If we can sell a few records, that's great, but the main focus is getting people to hear our music." Nice, but it sounds like his long-term vision is for Coco Art to become a true vinyl label. "CDs are dead, people need to get used to it," Matysiak said. "Vinyl will be there, and digital will be there, too, to download. But if you want to hold it, you'll hold vinyl. CD is an extinct format." If that's true, than why bother putting the Coyote Bones' Gentleman on the Rocks out on CD? "It was a question of money," Matysiak said. "We have a publicist, we bought a van, we toured a bunch of times, we made shirts, we've gone as far as we could with the money we had. It came down to 'Do we buy a van or put our record out on vinyl?' We wanted to hit the road and make enough money to get the vinyl out as soon as we could. The CD artwork was made for vinyl. It had to be shrunk for the CD, and I hate it. " Matysiak was so sure that Gentleman on the Rocks would eventually come out on vinyl that he had 500 copies of the CD burned without the jewel cases so that they can be given away with the vinyl. "We will give you the CD if you buy the vinyl," he said. "You'll have both, and also get the nice handmade artwork. And the vinyl will be there forever whether you play it or not." I think Matysiak's approach of giving a CD with the vinyl (or giving the vinyl with the CD, depending on how you look at it) is better than what Merge and Saddle Creek are doing with their digital download program -- where vinyl buyers get free downloads of the albums to use in their iPods. But it's also more expensive. Now, the column:
Speaking of Matysiak, he's playing a solo set at Mick's tonight with Jamie Weime. 9 p.m., $5. Go! * * * Bright Eyes made yet another appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night. If you missed it, I'm sure it's available somewhere in the Interweb. The band performed "Four Winds," with Leno introducing them holding a vinyl copy of Cassadaga (and commenting how he liked the fact that it was a record). Missing from the band was violinist Anton Patzner. Without him and his distinctive violin intro, the song sounded only half there. That violin line is central to the song, which made me wonder why they chose to perform it without him. Overall, a nice if not uneventful performance that looked and sounded great in HD. * * * Tonight at The Waiting Room, geek dance band The Mathematicians perform with opening band, the amazing Satchel Grande (worth the price of admission by themselves) and Microphone Jones. $7, 9 p.m. Also, completely unbeknownst to me, The Donnas are playing at Sokol Underground. I once saw them play a somewhat boring set at Emo's in Austin years and years ago. 8:30, $17. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:39 AM |
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007 |
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CD Review: Two Gallants...
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The Reader is asking more and more these days for feature-length CD reviews as a prelude to upcoming shows. Such was the case with Two Gallants, who I just interviewed about a month ago (here) when they played Slowdown. Well, they're coming back to Slowdown this Friday, this time to support their new self-titled album:
Tomorrow, this week's column featuring David Matysiak and the Bemis music residency project, and some words about the Coco Art collective. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 5:18 AM |
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007 |
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Live Review: The Good Life; Gore Gore Girls, MWT tonight ...
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First and foremost -- it was the smokiest show I've been to since the ol' Smokel Underground days. It was the first show where my eyes hurt from the smoke afterward, as smokey as the famous Sokol Built to Spill show from seven or eight years ago. Smokier than The Brothers and O'Leaver's combined. It was weirdly smokey. Part of the reason was the size of the crowd. One of the folks who runs The Waiting Room insisted that it wasn't sold out, yet it was the biggest crowd I've seen there, ever. You could not approach the stage. I ended up sandwiched against the wall behind the soundboard for the evening. It was especially crowded during Outlaw Con Bandana's set, probably because people were milling around instead of crowding the stage room. Outlaw put on the best performance that I've ever heard from them. Playing as a trio, Brendan Hagberg sounded like a cross between John Hiatt and Vic Chestnutt ripping through a set of short, moving Woody-esque folk songs. Gorgeous stuff. The Good Life followed shortly after. I don't have a lot of time to go into detail, other than to say that Help Wanted Nights works as well live as it does on CD. After listening to it for the past few weeks, I have to conclude that it may be the best thing Kasher has done since Domestica (I know, I said that about Happy Hollow, but this is better than that). Roger Lewis' usual rat-a-tat-tatting was replaced with good, solid, throaty drum action (drums always sound good at TWR). The set was a mix of new stuff and old, as you'd expect. He also threw in a cover of Tom Petty's "You Got Lucky," which seemed out of place and out of sync. That said, I guarantee if he plays it on tour that every reviewer will go out of his/her way to mention it. That's one of the problems with covers... Tonight at The Waiting Room, it's Gore Gore Girls with The Goddamn Rights and The Matt Whipkey Three. $8, 9 p.m. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:52 AM |
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Monday, September 24, 2007 |
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Capgun Coup in Crawdaddy; The Good Life tonight...
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For those of you who may have missed it, Crawdaddy did an interesting feature on Capgun Coup last week that talks about Omaha's houseparty culture (Read it here). Writer Brenda Paro talks about Hotel Frank, formerly known as Gunboat and The Jerk Store. A good read. Tonight it's The Good Life at The Waiting Room. The band will be playing songs off their new album, Help Wanted Nights. Will Kasher and Co. do as they've done in the past and perform the entire album in sequence? Find out tonight. As of this writing, the show had yet to sell out. $8, 9 p.m., with Outlaw Con Bandana and Thunder Power!!! --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:46 AM |
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Sunday, September 23, 2007 |
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Live Review: For Against, Pharmacy Spirits; David Bazan, Qui tonight...
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Well, it looked like the same 60 people were on hand last night at The Waiting Room that were at The Howard St. Tavern 14 years ago. I have to admit I was a little bummed at the turnout, but after all, there were a lot of shows going on last night. Actually, that's no excuse. The real reason why this show didn't draw is because people 'round these parts just don't get/understand/like this style of music. It has nothing to do with the quality of the band, it has to everything to do with the style of music they play -- straight-on '80s-flavored post-ambient bleak-rock a la Joy Division. For Against (in one form or another) have been playing this style of music for more than 20 years, and have always drawn the same few but loyal fans. The average age last night had to be in the 30s, though there were a few youngsters there, including For Against's new drummer, Spring Gun's Nick Buller, who was nothing less than stellar, having only practiced with the band three times (ever) before taking the stage. Buller is a powerhouse, with the huge, booming chops that this style of music needs -- nay, demands -- to be effective. Buller, who's young enough to be Runnings' or Dingman's son, was flawless, as if he'd been playing with the band since the '80s. This music is quite a contrast to the Explosions in the Sky-style post-rock that Spring Gun is known for. It is, in fact, much more intricate and unforgiving -- there is no second drummer (as in Spring Gun) to smooth over the rough spots, just Buller sitting alone on the riser giving one of the most impressive performances from a drummer I've seen this year. Hope he has his passport in order, because it sounds like he'll be joining the band for its upcoming shows to Spain this year and a European tour early next year. It's a good thing he had it all going last night, as Runnings and Dingman were in prime form. I spoke to a few folks who have seen For Against over the years -- they told me it was the best this band sounded since the original line-up days in the late '80s. Runnings' voice has not aged, it has the same high, childlike tone heard on those early recordings, the perfect, almost ironic counterpoint to the band's bleak, lonely, lost music. Runnings of course played his upside-down bass for lefties and doubled on keyboards, while Dingman soared on electric guitar (including a 12-string Ovation), occasionally kneeling in front of his amp, praying to the god of feedback. For Against played favorites from the reissued early discs, including "Echelons," "December," "Autocrat," and Euro dance hit "Amen Yves." But other highlights included a number of new songs that carry on the same For Against style but with a heavier, more chopped guitar sound. I'm looking forward to that new disc in early '08. By the end of the set, the crowd had moved in front of the stage, and the scene looked like a rock show. After their set, people yelled out requests, begging for an encore and getting it -- one song because that's all they had prepared. That'll have to change as they get ready for Europe and crowds that won't take no for an answer. Here's hoping they blow up across the water, and people here begin to wonder why they can't get another For Against show. Maybe in another 14 years. Opening band Pharmacy Spirits also put on a good show. I wondered why I had never heard of them before, until someone explained that the band is two-thirds of Lincoln's Bad Sects (with a different bass player). It was the guitarist/frontman who made it work, showing off some impressive skills on the ol' ax. Sounds like they have a new album coming out soon as well. * * * Tonight at The Waiting Room, it's Qui, featuring David Yow of The Jesus Lizard and Scratch Acid. Will Yow show off his trademark gonzo stage antics? Pay your $10 and find out. In fact, get there early for The Stay Awake and The Lepers. If you're not up for the crazy shit, head on down to Slowdown Jr. for Pedro the Lion's David Bazan, with The Winston Jazz Routine. $10, 8 p.m. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:05 AM |
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Friday, September 21, 2007 |
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Live Review: Honey & Darling; Kite Pilot tonight; For Against tomorrow; the weekend...
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All critics get accused of playing favorites once in a while. Who can blame people for thinking that? But the fact is, there are subtle ways you can tell when a critic is trying to avoid panning a band. Here are a few telltale comments to look for in a review that indicate that the critic is "being nice": -- "These guys really showed a lot of potential…" The trick is to sidestep any real description of how the music actually sounds -- that is, if you don't want to lie. These days, I avoid all of this simply by not writing about bands that suck, unless they're national acts, which deserve whatever they get. That said, sometimes it can't be avoided, and that's when you piss people off. A band may tell you, "Seriously, I want to know what you think," right up to the point where you tell them what you really think. When this happens, I usually follow it with something like, 'Look, it doesn't matter what I think anyway as long as you're doing what you want to do' or 'I'm really not very knowledgeable about the type of music you guys play' or 'Regardless of what I think, I've talked to a half-dozen people here who loved it.' And so on… I lead with this lengthy preamble because I went to see Honey & Darling last night and I know Sara, the cute little lead singer, from her work with One Percent Productions. Anyone who's met her will tell you she's just too sweet to say anything negative about. Well, I'm not "being nice" when I say Sara and her sideman (I don't know his name) have "it," whatever "it" is. She's got a great voice, knows her way around a guitar and writes terrific songs with interesting chord progressions and lyrics that are obviously personal and genuine. I'd compare her to a clean version of Girly Sound-era Liz Phair or early Suzanne Vega. She's as good or better than most of the stuff I've heard on K Records for the past couple years. Keep in mind this was only her second performance in front of a crowd, and there were a few problems (She blew a guitar solo; she could work on her stage presence). The important thing is her songs, which stand on their own, played only with a couple guitars. As the guy standing next to me said, "Imagine how she'd sound with a full band." That'll have to wait as Sara continues to search for a drummer and bass player. Stay tuned. Also playing last night was Alina Simone, the "out of town" performer who played at The Waiting Room just a few months ago. It was typical singer/songwriter stuff, accompanied by a drummer, but with an edge, thanks to her soaring voice and edgy guitarwork (She played a guitar-stick-like device for part of her set that was pretty cool). Unfortunately, there were only 30 or so people on hand to hear it. She's coming back later this year, opening for McCarthy Trenching, where I'm sure the crowd will be a bit larger. Tonight in the Old Market, Kite Pilot plays with Satchel Grande and Steve Rabine at a free concert held on 12th St. between Howard and Harney. I'm told Kite Pilot will be performing a cover of a Protoculture song, which by itself makes it worth the hassle of trying to find a place to park. Show starts at 6. Tomorrow night is the big For Against show at The Waiting Room (read about them here). It's the first time these guys have played in Omaha for more than a decade. Still no idea who will be playing drums for this gig, but it should be special, as the band will perform both old and new material. Opening the show is Pharmacy Spirits. $7, 9 p.m. Also tomorrow night, indie pop-masters The Brunettes play at Slowdown Jr. with Ferraby Lionheart. $10, 9 p.m. Over at O'Leaver's it's a four-band punk rock bill with Dim Lights (I'm told they have a shoe-gazer appeal), Across Tundras, The Shanks (someone call the cops!) and Mosquito Bandito. $5, 9:30. Finally, Sunday at Slowdown Jr., it's the return of David Bazan of Pedro the Lion fame, with The Winston Jazz Routine. I saw Bazan do a set at The Saddle Creek earlier this year and it was spectacular. $10, 8 p.m. Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, The Stay Awake and The Lepers open for Qui. $10, 9 p.m. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:51 AM |
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Thursday, September 20, 2007 |
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Live Review: The National/St. Vincent; Help Wanted Nights reviewed; Honey & Darling/Jake Bellows tonight...
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St. Vincent's Annie Clark performed alone last night at Slowdown with just her electric guitars, her duo microphones, her cabinet of sampled beats and noises, and no, it wasn't as stellar as her July show at The Waiting Room when she was backed by a real band, but it was still pretty durn good, and at times, downright great. Is she the next Polly Jean Harvey? No, she's too clean for that, too nice, too cute, too sweet. Still, she knows how to play that guitar, how to grind out the noise when she wants to create a ghostly pop sound while keeping afloat the delicate melodies heard on Marry Me, which might be the best female-voiced indie album of '07. I was less enthusiastic about The National, but that's probably because I wasn't in the mood for their brooding, dense sound. Though all six members were busy doing what they do, I wondered how they'd sound as a four piece, with their music stripped to the bare essentials. After the first few songs, you pretty much got the gist of what they were about. Missing was the dynamic depth heard on their records, as everything came at you at the same speed and intensity. The sold-out crowd, however, loved it. * * * I was told last night that first week sales for the new Good Life album exceeded the first week for Album of the Year, and that the CD even entered the Billboard charts -- an achievement. So what's my take on the album? Well, since you asked:
* * * Any band that writes a song called "Tony Wilson" is all right in my book. Such is the case with Honey & Darling, who opens tonight for Jake Bellows and Alina Simone at The Waiting Room. H&D's music is sweet and sassy and a little sad, and if you go to a lot of Sokol Underground shows, you very well may recognize the wee frontwoman as the person who either took your money or handed you that flyer after the show. Check out their quaint acoustic ditties at their MySpace page. $7, 9 p.m. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:39 AM |
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007 |
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Column 142 -- For Against returns; The National, St. Vincent tonight...
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This isn't the first time I interviewed For Against. The first time was actually back in August 1993 for an article for the Lawrence music monthly, The Note. The story lead with a description of a For Against show, and went something like: "Only 60 people. That's all who showed up for a night of music from Lincoln's For Against July 13 at the Howard St. Tavern. 'The show went real well,' said dejected-sounding lead singer/bassist Jeff Runnings. 'It just wasn't well attended.'" From there, Runnings goes on to describe the new For Against line-up that included Steve "Mave" Hinrichs on guitar and Paul Engelhard on drums. Even then, the band's prospects seemed headed skyward. For Against had just signed a deal with Dutch East India Trading in New York to release Aperture and there was talk about touring. Ah, it seems like only yesterday. Now 14 years later, here they are again, poised this time not to conquer America, but the rest of the world, starting with The Waiting Room Saturday night. Let's make sure more than 60 people show up this time.
Tonight at Slowdown, one of the more long-awaited shows of the year: The National. If you missed my early interview with the band's frontman, Matt Berninger, read it (or reread it) before you head on down. Tickets are still available from The Slowdown website for $15. And I suggest you get there at the stroke of 9 p.m. to catch opener St. Vincent, who stunned a crowd at The Waiting Room back in July with her amazing music. Here's my review of that show, where I call her the next PJ Harvey (she really is). See you there. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 5:24 AM |
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Monday, September 17, 2007 |
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A last-minute reminder: Bill (Smog) Callahan tonight...
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...for those of you who have some free time tonight, check out Bill Callahan (ex-Smog) at Slowdown Jr. The 2001 Smog show at Sokol Underground, seen by about 75 people, was one of the best shows of the year that year. He brings a whole different intensity to his live shows than you get from his discs. $12, 9 p.m., with Sir Richard Bishop opening. Alas, I'll have to miss it as I'll be working on a column/profile of For Against, which will be online Wednesday or Thursday, along with a review of the new Good Life disc. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 4:34 PM |
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Saturday, September 15, 2007 |
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Live Review: Okkervil River; free Kings/Black Rebel tonight...
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It was crazy madhouse packed at The Waiting Room last night for Okkervil River. So packed, in fact, it was hard to enjoy the show. The band was plenty loud enough, and played a fine collection of songs, but I couldn't focus on the show. Too many people. In fact, it was too packed to stand in the stage room, though I tried for a short time until someone lifted their girlfriend onto the wall that juts out by the merch table, blocking my view completely. It wasn't as if I could just move somewhere else, so I escaped to watch the rest of the show from the back of the bar, where two local musicians waved me over and asked what I thought of the band. Uh, well what do you guys think of the band? They immediately went into a list of descriptions that included words and phrases like "derivative" and "I've heard this before" and "I can't even hear the guitar" and "One Conor is more than enough," and so on. I said, "Well, I've been covering this band for five or six years and they're one of my all-time favorites. I'm serious." I think they thought I was kidding. Fact was, neither of them had ever heard of Okkervil River (more solid evidence of Lazy-i's all-encompassing readership) and didn't understand what they had that was so special; special enough to sell out The Waiting Room. Which got me to wondering just how Okkervil River did generate such a large following in Omaha, a town where their music has never been heard broadcast on any radio station or television (They don't even have videos on Subterranean on MTV2). Sure, they've played in Omaha at least four times in the past, but I was at all of those shows, beginning with the 10-person draw at The Junction all the way to the Sokol Underground show last year that drew maybe 150. Yet here was a crowd much larger than that (caution prevents me from giving you an actual crowd estimate), consisting of people actively singing along with most of the songs throughout their hour-long set. There were even a couple frat guys screaming "I love you Will" from the back of the bar. This couldn't have been the result of being on Conan O'Brien a couple weeks ago. Very strange indeed. The show itself was hit and miss. The sound was muddy both from in front of the stage and back by the bar (probably hindered by the wall of humanity that acted as a natural sound buffer). Frontman Will Sheff seemed thrilled to be playing to such a large, loving audience, as did the rest of the band. The crowd went ga-ga over the opening chords of "For Real" and "Westfall" and even a couple songs from their new album. Sheff looked out of control at times, presumably lost in the moment, his voice characteristically falling off pitch as he pushed himself above the rest of the band. The best moments were the quieter, more controlled ballads, including a couple he played solo to start off his encore. If this is any indication of how Okkervil River is greeted for the rest of this tour, their days of riding in a van instead of a tour bus are numbered. A reminder about tonight's shows... Over at The Waiting Room it's the broken beer-bottle rock of The Filter Kings opening for The Mercurys. $7, 9 p.m. Down at Slowdown Jr. its Besnard Lakes (not Besnard Snakes as I accidentally reported yesterday, though my version of their name sounds better) with Starvin' Hungry and Baby Walrus (get there early to catch these guys). $10, 9 p.m. Finally, I got an e-mail from Mick at SLAM Omaha telling me that Harrah's is desperately giving away tickets to tonight's Kings of Leon/Black Rebel Motorcycle Club show at Stir's Concert Cove in Council Bluffs. Tickets originally were going for $25. A link to the coupon page is available at slamomaha.com. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:22 AM |
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Friday, September 14, 2007 |
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Live Reviews: Rilo Kiley, Cursive; Okkervil River tonight...
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A crowd of around 1,000 were on hand last night at Sokol Aud to see Jenny Lewis and Rilo Kiley. I went into the concert having heard nary of a note of their new record, which I was told sucks by everyone I ran into last night. Strangely, for a tour that's supposed to be supporting the new material, the band played very little of it. Instead, they busted out their war chest of old chestnuts going all the way back to Take-Offs and Landings and including a retooling of a Jenny Lewis solo number (an unfortunate trip-hop version of "Rise Up with Fists!!"). It was impossible to miss the new songs thanks to a number of cues that prefaced the material -- introductions that seemed more like warnings (or apologies), use of glaring floor-mounted strobe lights and the requisite, massive bass and boom-chuck percussion. As soon as a new song was over, off went the strobes, and it was back to business as usual (i.e., back to normal). Again, I haven't heard their new record, but I've read that it's a sort-of tribute to dance/disco pop. My take: If you're going to roll with something like that, do it all the way. Shut off the stage lights completely when the strobes are on, turn the auditorium into a dance club. Don't play three old songs and then drop in a new one, then go back to the old stuff. Do 30 to 45 minutes of straight-out hot dance music, then let the crowd cool down with the old stuff. As they presented it, the new music came off half-hearted, tentative, unsure. Based on all the trash talk, I expected the new material to be really lame, but it wasn't that awful. The band is reported to have said Tom Tom Club was a big influence on the new album (in fact, the first Tom Tom Club album was the pre-show music). RK's music, however, had none of the inventiveness or soul that made TTC such a great band. Instead, the new music felt like droll retread of hip-hop-beat music sung by a housewife. Those RK melodies were still there hidden beneath the massive thump-thump-thump that, if anything, got in the way. If this was supposed to be dance music, the crowd wasn't buying it. They mostly stood and stared instead of moved and grooved. That's never a good sign. Still, the music wasn't painful, just disappointingly cliché and, well, boring. It's no surprise that RK got the best crowd response from their older material, which dominated the set. Sound and performance-wise, this was the best RK show I've seen, though nowhere as good as the Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins Scottish Rite show last year. The band was tight, relaxed, and the crowd was having a good time. That said, I had my fill after about an hour and took off before the encore. RK wasn't the only show going on last night. Lazy-i intern Brendan Greene-Walsh drove down to Lincoln to see Cursive the day after seeing the band at Slowdown. Here's his report:
Nice. So what's in store for tonight? Well, Okkervil River at The Waiting Room, of course, with Damien Jurado. $10, 9 p.m. This is the marquee show of the weekend for me. As for the rest of the weekend, Saturday, it's the always volatile (and entertaining) Filter Kings opening for The Mercurys at The Waiting Room. $7, 9 p.m. Over at Slowdown Jr. its Besnard Lakes with Starvin' Hungry and Baby Walrus (get there early to catch these guys). $10, 9 p.m. Sunday, Margot and the Nuclear So and So's plays at The Waiting Room with The Family Radio and Sad Sailor. I have it on good authority that this may be the last time you'll get to see The Family Radio for a long time, as frontman Nik Fackler begins his film project in the coming weeks. Also Sunday night, at O'Leaver's, it's Shiver, Shiver, Sleep Said the Monster, Via Audio and Landing on the Moon. 9:30, $5. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:43 AM |
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Thursday, September 13, 2007 |
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The National interviewed; Live Review: Cursive; Rilo Kiley tonight...
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First, here's this week's feature story on The National (read it here). The story's hook is my having just discovered this band though they actually broke through years ago with their previous album. Go, read, then go to onepercentproductions.com and buy your tickets to their show next Wednesday at Slowdown, which also features the amazing St. Vincent. * * * Quite a packed house last night at Slowdown for Cursive. I didn't arrive until just before they went on stage. The floor was filled, as were the sides all the way back to the bar, a big house indeed for the band's debut on the Slowdown stage. In response, Cursive ran through a solid albeit rather brief set that drew heavily from Happy Hollow, but also included a song or two from Ugly Organ, Domestica, the Burst and Bloom EP (that wonky "Mothership" song), etc. The horn section that's been in tow throughout the past year has been whittled down to just one lonely guy who switches between tenor and bari sax and also plays keyboards. As you can imagine, the loss of horn power had an obvious impact on over-the-top numbers like "Big Bang," which rely on brassy explosions to push them along. Most of the time, the sax guy backed-in songs with jazzy fills. The keyboards were a nice, subtle touch, and provided background music for the two times Tim Kasher addressed the audience in a sort of free-verse beat poet fashion. Kasher's where's-he-going-with-this stage rants have been known to go on and on (and on), and are one of the things I enjoy most about his live performances. He kept them to a minimum last night, however. One of the fine folks at One Percent invited me up to the "VIP area" for the performance -- essentially, it's the gated-off catwalk that connects the balcony to the back stage area. From there, it's quite a view (though the sound sucks), looking down at a crowd of mostly college-age (and younger) kids pushed up against the stage, all trying to sing along with the hits. Toward the end of the set, there was even a pseudo-mosh pit going on, which came down to one brutish dude in a black ball cap violently shoving people in all directions. He quickly became neutralized when someone knocked his ball cap off, revealing his old-guy bald spot. He spent the next few minutes looking for the ball cap on the floor, found it, then proceeded to shove people around again… until someone swiped his cap altogether, forcing him to retreat from the floor. Look, I like watching a good moshing as much as the next guy, but, really, Cursive doesn't play straight-four hardcore. Their music is more suited for screaming and crying, not fighting. Maybe it was the separation from the masses up on that catwalk, but last night's set felt rushed and slightly uneven. Some songs, like "The Martyr" and "Dorothy at Forty" and the epic encore closer had all the power you'd expect from any Cursive show. At other times, however, it felt like the band was mailing it in, going through the motions, unlike the Cursive gig a couple months ago at The Waiting Room which was heated and reckless and a lot more fun. There is no question that Slowdown has the finest sound system and stage of any club in Omaha, however I'm beginning to wonder if the set-up isolates the bands too much from the audience, similar to Sokol Auditorium's stage. Or maybe I'm just getting spoiled after seeing Cursive at places like O'Leaver's and Sokol Underground and TWR, where they seem to be standing right in the crowd… * * * Tonight is Rilo Kiley at Sokol Auditorium. I intended to write a feature on the band -- I've been doing interviews with them since they joined Saddle Creek in '02. But I guess an interview wasn't in the cards. I've been going back and forth with their publicist since the end of August with no luck. Part of the problem is that I can't do interviews during business hours (only after 6 p.m. and on weekends -- I have a "real job," remember?). Another problem is the band's hectic schedule. I'm actually glad we didn't get anything lined up because I still haven't received a copy of Under the Blacklight, their new CD, which the publicist promised to send me in August. Just an oversight? Probably, but after reading coverage like this in Now Toronto (here). I get the feeling the band could be a bit skittish about having to answer questions about "selling out" and bringing in hit-maker producers like Mike Elizondo to sweeten their sound. There's nothing wrong with dragging yourself out of the indie ghetto as long as you maintain your vision (For an example of how NOT to do this, see the last two Liz Phair albums). It's very possible that Lewis and Sennett are taking a route familiar with the best actors in Hollywood -- do the goofy, shitty, commercial projects to rake in the big bucks, then spend the off time working on your "real projects" -- the quality indie films, the a-list-director epics. Lewis has her solo work (which, in my opinion, is better than anything she's done with RK) to give her credibility; while Sennett has The Elected. Why not make Rilo Kiley a fun, money-making endeavor and say 'f*** you' to the critics? I guess it all depends on if Blacklight is a piece of shit or not. I'll reserve judgment until I hear it (if I ever do). I have a feeling that I'll get a good idea of where they're headed when I go to the show tonight. According to the publicist, the set times are: Doors at 7; Grand Ole Party @8; Johnathan Rice @ 8:45; and Rilo @ 10. One Percent lists Art in Manila on the bill as well, so it may go later than that. Tickets are still available for $17. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:40 AM |
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Wednesday, September 12, 2007 |
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Column 141 -- Okkervil River's Will Sheff; Devendra, Cursive tonight...
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I usually run the column on Thursdays, but since the Okkervil River show is this Friday, I figured I'd change things around and run my interview with The National tomorrow (that show isn't until a week from today). Frontman Will Sheff's anxieties are nothing new. I've heard similar comments from other musicians in their 30s. The fact is, after spending 10 years bouncing around in a van, you're bound to ask yourself if you've made the right decisions in life. Sheff's career appears to be headed in the right direction, and he and his band should be making that inevitable leap from a van to a tourbus in the near future. However, appearing on Conan doesn't guarantee anything, and Sheff knows it. "Some bands go from playing The Junction to suddenly becoming huge overnight," he said. "I've seen it happen. And I've seen bands fizzle out and die painfully. There are bands that stay at the same level for what seems like forever, just puttering along." As he says below, not every band takes the same path, there is no set trajectory.
Tonight's Devendra Banhart show was originally scheduled for Sokol Auditorium. It's been moved downstairs. Here's a good example of where I'm completely out of the musical loop. I know Banhart has his fans, but didn't realize he was popular enough to even consider Sokol Aud for his show. Opening is Rio En Medio. $20, 8 p.m. Meanwhile, tonight is the big-stage debut of Cursive at Slowdown -- a club that, as One Percent Productions points out, is basically named after them (or at least their former self). Surprisingly, this has yet to sell out. Opening is Coyote Bones and Capgun Coup. $14, 9 p.m. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 5:32 AM |
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Monday, September 10, 2007 |
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Pre-hype on tomorrow's Good Life drop; Dondero/Black Moth Super Rainbow tonight...
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Tomorrow is the official drop date for the new Good Life album, Help Wanted Nights, but already there have been quite a few reviews published on the interweb about the disc, as well as interviews with Good Life frontman Tim Kasher. Here's just a few of the more interesting pieces: -- AV Club's "Random Rules" featured Kasher's take on a handful of songs that I assume were selected randomly from his iPod (read it here). Among them, The Nation of Ulysses' "S.S. Exploder," Elvis Costello's "Senior Service" and The Cure's "Let's Go to Bed," which prompted a discussion on how The Cure influenced (or failed to influence) Kasher's music. "I first started The Good Life because I couldn't get away from the Robert Smith comparison all the time," Kasher said, "but anything I've done that people consider blatantly Cure-ish hasn't been that blatant at all from my end." -- Synthesis.net has a nice Q&A with Kasher (it's right here) where he briefly talks about the screenplay (that the album sort of acts as a soundtrack for), living in Southern California ("Having moved to LA, if anything, has compelled me to want to move to Alaska more than ever. I just wanna detach myself from this excessive populace and this excessive economy."), his writing process (for both music and screen) and perceptions that his music can be too dour ("I'm not like a Trent Reznor person; I'm not some weird goth thing. I actually try to maintain a very positive vibe overall, and I've always been that way. I think that manages to find its way into the records that I write. It usually comes up around the end of the album [laughs]."). Good stuff. -- The always-anticipated Pitchfork review (here) gave the disc a 7.0 rating, summing it up with: "Help Wanted Nights finally finds him (Kasher) challenging himself again, imposing constraints and seeing how well he can work within them." Overall, a rather tepid (and not terribly informative) review. I suspect we'll be seeing lots more Kasher/Good Life interviews and reviews in the coming days. As I mentioned last Friday, this is going to be a busy week. It starts tonight with Dave Dondero, Mal Madrigal and Brad Hoshaw at The Slowdown. Show starts at 9 p.m. and costs $8. Meanwhile, over at The Waiting Room, it's Spring Gun opening for Black Moth Super Rainbow, a band that's been opening for Flaming Lips and will soon be warming up the stage for Aesop Rock. $7, 9 p.m. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:45 AM |
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Friday, September 07, 2007 |
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The calm before the storm...
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All in all, it looks like a relatively quiet weekend for shows. Tonight, Scott Severin opens for Matt's Rocket Collection (AC/DC-style freedom rock) at The Waiting Room. $7, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, down at Sokol Underground, Cloven Path is sandwiched within a five-band bill that starts at 8 p.m. and costs $8. Tomorrow, Eagle*Seagull plays at The Waiting Room again (seems like they play weekly these days), this time with The Show Is the Rainbow and Columbia Vs. Challenger. $7, 9 p.m. Over at The Saddle Creek Bar, Los Angeles synth-pop band The Start (who sounds like Gwen Stefani/Madonna fronting a disco porn band) plays with TBA (again). $5, 9 p.m. That's actually not a bad line-up of shows, but I say "calm before the storm" in the headline because there literally are good shows every night of the week next week (Monday: David Dondero/Mal Madrigal @ Slowdown Jr.; Tuesday: Cure tribute night at TWR; Wednesday: Cursive @ Slowdown and Devandra Banhart @ Sokol Aud; Thursday: Rilo Kiley @ Sokol Aud; Friday: Okkervil River @ TWR; Saturday: The Filter Kings @ TWR; Sunday: Margot and the Nuclear So and So's @ TWR). Better go out and buy that Red Bull right now because it's going to be a rough week of "next mornings." If you think about it, check in over the weekend. I might have an update or two... --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 5:30 AM |
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Thursday, September 06, 2007 |
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Column 140 -- Football Music; Song Remains the Same, Harptallica tonight...
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This column came out of nowhere. The sports genius behind blogsite Husker Mike's Blasphemy is a colleague and a friend of mine and easily the best football mind I've ever encountered. If you're a Husker fan, you're already reading this site regularly. Its' a no-bullshit perspective on that program in Lincoln by someone who knows better than to drink the Kool-Aid but still loves his team. As I say below, I'm not a huge Husker fan. I graduated at UNO and that's where my loyalty lies. Still, it's impossible not to get caught up in Husker-mania if you grew up in Omaha during the Johnny Rodgers era.
Here's another chance to see if my live music reviews are full of ca-ca. The Song Remains the Same -- the Zeppelin tribute band that I wrote about here and here, are playing tonight at Murphy's Lounge 4737 So. 96th St. See for yourself if they can pull it off as well as I say they can. I haven't been to Murphy's in years and years. I certainly have never seen a band perform there before, so I can't vouch for their PA. It's doubtful that it's as good as The Waiting Room's massive sound system. If you would rather wait and see this band on a primo stage, TSRTS is playing at TWR on Thanksgiving weekend with one of Matt Whipkey's bands. Tonight it's Murphy's, though, 9:30, $5 (And -- get this -- it's "ladies night" so the ladies get in free. Woo-hoooo!). A tribute of another stripe is going on at The Saddle Creek Bar tonight. It's called Harptallica. According to the Saddle Creek Bar site, Harptallica consists of "two hot chicks playing a Metallica tribute on harps." What in hell? $5, 9 p.m. The opening band is that famous act we've all seen before called TBA. --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 5:31 AM |
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Wednesday, September 05, 2007 |
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Eagle*Seagull still unsigned (for now); where's Adam Weaver?; Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash tonight; Peter Longbough...
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Out of the blue, Eagle-Seagull showed up in yesterday's CMJ Blast (an e-mail based newsletter written by College Music Journal that's distributed daily by subscription). The story (located here) was essentially a rehash of what we all already know (They just finished recording their second album with producer Ryan Hadlock, The Year Of The How-To Book, tentatively set for release in early 2008. The band will hit the road briefly in September). Still, CMJ is mighty big exposure. Has the band lined up a label yet, or are they just going to self-release it? "No, we're definitely not (going to self release it)," said Eagle*Seagull frontman Eli Mardock. "The level of interest in the album is really exciting but it's best to keep our mouths shut for now and not name any names. We're just not rushing into anything, and we're in no rush to release the album, either. We want to make sure we do things right. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if we make an announcement within a month or two." It's no surprise that there's label interest. Their new music is catchy and fun and, at times, downright uplifting. Find out for yourself when they play at The Waiting Room this Saturday with The Show is the Rainbow & Columbia vs Challenger. * * * The last time we heard from Adam Weaver, he was stirring things up with a new album and his comments about the local indie scene (See Column 105, here). That was way back in December '06. Weaver dropped me a line yesterday, saying that he and his band, The Ghosts, are about to come out of a self-imposed hiatus that they entered after their last gig in April. "The timing (of the hiatus) is kind of a shame because I think we were actually starting to establish a bit of a following," Weaver said, "but due to a couple of us moving, a couple of us getting married, and much day-job insanity, we decided to take a break for awhile." Well, the break is over and Weaver and his band are now working on a new record. "We're currently doing pre-production in our practice space, and hope to get into the studio mid-October -- hope to," he said. "We'll be working with Andy (Koeneke) from Spring Gun and J.J. (Idt) from Eagle*Seagull down in the old Presto! space in Lincoln. This will be much more of a band effort, and much less of my sad-bastard singer/songwriter stuff. There may be a band name change as well." Don't look for them to play anywhere in the near future. "If someone asks us to open for them, we might do it if it seems like a good fit," Weaver said, "but the record is number one priority." * * * It'll be a veritable hoedown tonight at The Waiting Room with The Bastard Sons of Johnny Cash and the Southpaw Bluegrass Band. $10, 9 p.m. * * * Cold Call...
--Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 10:47 AM |
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Monday, September 03, 2007 |
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Live Review: Kyle Harvey, Anders Parker; Dirty Projectors/Yacht tonight; *Sons...
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First off, I messed up the listing yesterday and, in fact, Dirty Projectors, Yacht and FTL Drive are playing tonight (Monday) at Slowdown, not last night as I incorrectly reported. $8, 9 p.m. I blame my insolence an on overdose of weekend sunshine. Last night was a relaxed evening at The Waiting Room for the 20 or 30 on hand. The Third Men were finishing their set in their usual fine fashion just as I arrived. Are they Omaha's (and America's) new hope for the resurgence of pop-rock 'n' roll? Maybe, maybe... Singer/songwriter Kyle Harvey followed with an acoustic solo set. The last time I saw Harvey at The Waiting Room he had Reagan Roeder as his wingman, playing some sort of strange keyboard contraption that added a dense layer of atmosphere. This time it was just Kyle and his guitar, and the impact was just as striking. Kyle's currently working on music for the soundtrack of a short movie written and directed by Evan Blakley called Oscillations (you can view the trippy teaser trailer here). Finally, Anders Parker performed an inspired solo set, switching between multiple guitars, microphones and a variety of pedals to create a sum that was much greater than its parts. Gorgeous voice, gorgeous guitar. Tuesday night (because I don't know if I'll be posting an update tomorrow or not), look for Paleo, Simon Joyner and Capgun Coup at The Waiting Room. I was told last night that Joyner is working with a few new musicians and might unveil his new lineup at this show. $7, 9 p.m. Meanwhile, over at O'Leaver's, it's Talking Mountain, Member Ship and Yes, Oh Yes. $5, 9:30 p.m. If the O'Leaver's Myspace page is correct, after this show there's nothing scheduled until Sept. 16, so you better get it while you can. Cold Call...
--Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 4:50 PM |
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Sunday, September 02, 2007 |
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Mid-Holiday update...
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…Starting with Ladyfinger/STNNNG on Friday night, The STNNNG never fails to impress. Frontman lunatic Chris Besinger brought his usual leather-glove-fisted A-game, as did the rest of the band, who haven't sounded this good since that night at Sokol a year or so ago when they practically burned the place down. A patron mentioned Shannon Selberg and The Cows ("all they need to do is pull out a trumpet"), another legendary Minneapolis band who Besinger said he fashioned his stage persona after. I never saw The Cows except on YouTube (specifically, here). I'm more apt to compare STNNNG to Jesus Lizard, and Besinger to a cross between David Yow and Tre from The Brothers. Decide for yourself, there's plenty of live STNNNG on YouTube, including this Turf Club show from last April or this 7th St. Entry performance from last November. After about four songs, everything seemed to blur into a cloud of cacophonic noise, that is until their last song, the one where Besinger yells "Row!" over and over for about five minutes. I understand why they played it last. Nothing else could follow that. And nothing else but something as disturbing as STNNNG could follow Ladyfinger, especially with Chris Machmuller and Co. honed after a week on the road. They felt empowered, I suppose, to play the songs any damn way they felt like it, which is why the set was something special. I assume a few of those numbers I didn't recognize will be on a new record. If so, Ladyfinger is headed to heavier, nastier territory than what was heard on their debut. O'Leaver's 5-Year birthday party was as fun as I expected, but not nearly as well-attended as I hoped, at least not at 4:30 p.m. when we showed up and The Third Men came on stage. I blame a bad first half by The Huskers. The place was set-up with one of those portable tent-stages built in the east end of the parking lot, facing due west so the bands stared directly into the sun throughout their sets. It wasn't exactly hot out yesterday, but the sun was a bastard, and Teresa and I along with the 50 or so on hand escaped into the shadows of O'Leaver's, leaving the area in front of the stage and the tables dead empty. Sound was an issue from the beginning of The Third Men's set -- all you could hear were the cymbals and anything else high-end -- piercing and bright. They got it adjusted by mid-set, and the band roared on. The highlight -- Mike Tulis doing his best Nick Gilder swagger for a cover of "Hot Child in the City." It was nothing less than impressive. Maybe if you're lucky you'll get a chance to hear it when The Third Men open for Anders Parker tonight at The Waiting Room. The sound got better for Coyote Bones and Life After Laserdisque. It was pretty loud, and I had to wonder if the neighbors were getting irritated. In fact, cops apparently did show up a couple times, following up on noise complaints. The show went on anyway. We left at 7:30 when Ted Stevens was on stage (and after a couple otherworldly delicious Italian sausages). By then, more people had trickled in. As mentioned earlier, tonight at The Waiting Room it's Anders Parker, with The Third Men and Kyle Harvey opening ($8, 9 p.m.), while down at Slowdown, Dirty Projectors play with Yacht and FTL Overdrive ($8, 9 p.m.), while O'Leaver's hosts Outlaw Con Bandana, Or Does It Explode and Darren Hanlon ($5, 9:30 p.m.). Happy Labor Day... --Got comments? Post 'em here.-- |
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posted by Tim at 3:30 PM |
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