So I forgot to post my review of the Faint show on Oct. 30th, but who cares! I just had the most exciting 3 hours of the past 5 months. I was originally supose to do a comedy gig in Laramie next friday. But then I went to Portugal. The Man, which was epic and you can read my review on reverb. Then I had some drinks with some old friends and they informed me that they were going to Georgia and that I could come along for the 5th year in a row for the low low price of $30. Now I can think of nothing else and want to leave this moment! Thank the cosmos for something to live for.
PS. I want my burg there.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Secret Machines at the Bluebird
When I was in high school my religion teacher had a poster in his room that said, “What is popular isn’t always right, and what is right isn’t always popular.” This was never truer than Monday at the Bluebird Theater before the Secret Machines took the stage. I haven’t been to a show that felt that empty since I was 17 standing on a makeshift stage in a small-town community center harboring delusions that I was a musician.
When the band took the stage, the crowd filled in the pit near down front and gave the show less of a Tampa Bay Devil Rays (pre-World Series) feel. For the band’s opening song, “Lightning Blue Eyes,” the members stood nearly motionless as six fog lights in back turned them into silhouettes. As the show progressed the lightning changed to match the mood of each tune. Blue lights from the floor shone during “Nowhere Again” and rapid swirling rainbow lights accompanied “First Wave Intact.”
As Secret Machines settled into the set their brand of prog-rock took over with longwinded jams that dragged on and on, creating a black hole of entertainment. During the show the band was selling 3-D glasses for fifty cents to enhance the visuals. However, just like in “Friday the 13th” and “Jaws 3-D,” the gimmick didn’t make up for the lack of substance.
Just as I began to look at the clock the band pulled me back in with the eloquently titled “Alone, Jealous, and Stoned” and rode a strong wave to finish up the set. Despite engaging in pretentious jams at times, the Secret Machines did not perform a planned and obligatory encore, they merely said thank you and walked off the stage. While almost every band on the planet indulges in this popular trend the Secret Machines decided not to do what is popular, but to do what was right.
When the band took the stage, the crowd filled in the pit near down front and gave the show less of a Tampa Bay Devil Rays (pre-World Series) feel. For the band’s opening song, “Lightning Blue Eyes,” the members stood nearly motionless as six fog lights in back turned them into silhouettes. As the show progressed the lightning changed to match the mood of each tune. Blue lights from the floor shone during “Nowhere Again” and rapid swirling rainbow lights accompanied “First Wave Intact.”
As Secret Machines settled into the set their brand of prog-rock took over with longwinded jams that dragged on and on, creating a black hole of entertainment. During the show the band was selling 3-D glasses for fifty cents to enhance the visuals. However, just like in “Friday the 13th” and “Jaws 3-D,” the gimmick didn’t make up for the lack of substance.
Just as I began to look at the clock the band pulled me back in with the eloquently titled “Alone, Jealous, and Stoned” and rode a strong wave to finish up the set. Despite engaging in pretentious jams at times, the Secret Machines did not perform a planned and obligatory encore, they merely said thank you and walked off the stage. While almost every band on the planet indulges in this popular trend the Secret Machines decided not to do what is popular, but to do what was right.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Lazy Bastard
It has been one month since I posted on here. I wish I had a good excuse like I have been busy killing it on stage and bringing down the Improv. Oh wait, I guess it's true what disney commercials tell me, some wishes do come true! I've been busy this month with comedy shows, which eventually gives way to writers block. So expect more from me in the coming month. In fact I can promise you a hot, fresh, new concert review in a couple days. In other news, I have decided to start getting up in the mornings and discovered that since I left school, I am EXTREMELY bored during the day time. I have taken to going to starbucks. YEAH! I am currently in a burger king with WIFI, DRINKING STARBUCKS! What has my life become!? Lastly, a few things I have enjoyed this month: TV on the Radio's Dear Science, overcast rain, Sarah Palin's face (seriously, wonderfully attractive evening if she is nightmarishly out of touch), and old friends. Oh yeah, and starbucks Chai Tea. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Just Checking In.
So it has been one week since I posted and I don't want to get in a bad habit where I stop posting for my (1 maybe) readers. I was thinking about posting some jokes on here since I got bumped from Squire tonight, but they wouldn't be as funny reading them and, as Mo Welsch put it so eloquently tonight, someone can steal my bits. Bits meaning material not private parts. However, my genital is probably funnier. So here is a joke that I thought of while talking to my dad tonight. A Jewish man in his late 20's calls up his mom one night and says, "Ma, how have you been?" "Oh Seth, I have been terrible. I haven't had anything to eat in 3 weeks." "THREE WEEKS! Ma, why haven't you ate in three weeks?" he responds. "Well Seth, I didn't want my mouth full in case you called."
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Foals at Monolith
Below are my three reviews from Monolith. Please read them all if you get a chance, they are all relatively short. I'm working a radio story as well that will be up by friday, hopefully
There are some things that are better done in the dark. Having sex with an ugly person, robbing a house, and watching Foals live. On Saturday afternoon at Monolith, Foals was the second band to take the main stage at 2 o’clock. When the UK hipsters came out for their set (three of them with matching bushy black hair and patchy beards) they didn’t seem comfortable on stage. The crowd wasn’t huge or imposing, in fact the size of the audience was dwarfed by vastness of the venue. After the first song Red Rocks looked more like the Themeland Amusement Park in Spinal Tap when they were billed below the puppet show and did a jazz odyssey after Nigel left the band following their Air Force base performance.
After an interlude that felt too long the band went into “Tron.” During the song the groups performance picked up but the band didn’t seem to be completely comfortable on stage. After this song front man Yannis Philippakis said they were having “a visibility problem on stage” as he stumbled about looking like a bat in daylight with the sun blinding down on the main stage.
By the time they played “Balloons” Foals had adjusted to their unfamiliar surroundings and put together a decent performance. Their stage set up was unique and appealing, with their mics all facing the side of the stage instead of the audience and members standing behind one another it looked liked they took their practice space set up and applied it to the live stage. They followed this by “Heavy Water” who’s heavy bass riffs benefited from the natural acoustics of Red Rocks that with each strum the audience’s circulatory system had to be shaking.
During “Two Steps Twice” drummer Jack Bevan stepped out from the kit and got the crowd to clap along with the beat of the bridge. This was followed by the beautifully crafted “Red Socks Pugie” that highlighted Bevans percussion ability beyond mere handclaps and guitarist Jimmy Smith, who had been playing a great supporting role to front Philippakis, finally stole the show with his passionate plucking.
Before the group started into their last song “Electric Boom” Philippakis had a tom tom drum placed by his mic and took the opportunity to display his percussion prowess as the chilling post-punk guitar riff started the song. As the apex of the song hit and the band broke into noise rock, Philippakis began using his mic as a drumstick. Foals closed their set on a high note, but it’s hard not to image how much better the ending, and the entire set for that matter, would have been if it was at night at the Bluebird. Some bands can easily perform during the day at a music festival and pull off a good set with relatively little effort (eg. Tokyo Police Club), while others need the ambience and are attracted to the night just like the cat burglar and the low standards lover.
There are some things that are better done in the dark. Having sex with an ugly person, robbing a house, and watching Foals live. On Saturday afternoon at Monolith, Foals was the second band to take the main stage at 2 o’clock. When the UK hipsters came out for their set (three of them with matching bushy black hair and patchy beards) they didn’t seem comfortable on stage. The crowd wasn’t huge or imposing, in fact the size of the audience was dwarfed by vastness of the venue. After the first song Red Rocks looked more like the Themeland Amusement Park in Spinal Tap when they were billed below the puppet show and did a jazz odyssey after Nigel left the band following their Air Force base performance.
After an interlude that felt too long the band went into “Tron.” During the song the groups performance picked up but the band didn’t seem to be completely comfortable on stage. After this song front man Yannis Philippakis said they were having “a visibility problem on stage” as he stumbled about looking like a bat in daylight with the sun blinding down on the main stage.
By the time they played “Balloons” Foals had adjusted to their unfamiliar surroundings and put together a decent performance. Their stage set up was unique and appealing, with their mics all facing the side of the stage instead of the audience and members standing behind one another it looked liked they took their practice space set up and applied it to the live stage. They followed this by “Heavy Water” who’s heavy bass riffs benefited from the natural acoustics of Red Rocks that with each strum the audience’s circulatory system had to be shaking.
During “Two Steps Twice” drummer Jack Bevan stepped out from the kit and got the crowd to clap along with the beat of the bridge. This was followed by the beautifully crafted “Red Socks Pugie” that highlighted Bevans percussion ability beyond mere handclaps and guitarist Jimmy Smith, who had been playing a great supporting role to front Philippakis, finally stole the show with his passionate plucking.
Before the group started into their last song “Electric Boom” Philippakis had a tom tom drum placed by his mic and took the opportunity to display his percussion prowess as the chilling post-punk guitar riff started the song. As the apex of the song hit and the band broke into noise rock, Philippakis began using his mic as a drumstick. Foals closed their set on a high note, but it’s hard not to image how much better the ending, and the entire set for that matter, would have been if it was at night at the Bluebird. Some bands can easily perform during the day at a music festival and pull off a good set with relatively little effort (eg. Tokyo Police Club), while others need the ambience and are attracted to the night just like the cat burglar and the low standards lover.
Tilly and the Wall at Monolith
For sometime ago I coined a sub-genre of music to classify indie-pop bands that have large full band sing-a-longs with hand claps and often use large cardboard cut outs that appear to have been draw by children as stage decorations. These bands invoke images of childlike happiness and glee. This sub-genre is called kitsch-pop. Tilly and the Wall are the proverbial James Brown’s of kitsch-pop. For years I have watched this band throw confetti, parade out on stage like a frat from Stomp the Yard, and play along with the audience. But over time it felt like they had reached a plateau. How can a band that solicits carefree immaturity progress and grow?
On Sunday at Monolith, Tilly and the Wall reached new heights and gave a performance that felt completely fresh, kitsch included.
On this year’s o, Tilly and the Wall incorporated more of a traditional percussion sound with a full drum kit and less emphasis on the signature tap dancer Jamie Pressnall. At first this would seem to take away from what makes Tilly and the Wall the James Brown’s they are. However, when they took the stage Pressnall stepped up onto a large tap platform and became the focal point of the show. Tilly and the Wall have gone even further over the top with their live show. Vocalist Kianna Alaird looked like a character from Zoobilee Zoo, Neely Jenkins donned platinum blonde hair and a dress that was straight out of Strawberry Shortcake, and guitarist Derek Pressnall could have easily been mistake for a member of Oingo Boingo. Overall, the band’s stage set up appeared to have been inspired by the 80’s cartoon Jem and decorated exclusively from Oriental Trading Company.
Tilly and the Wall came out to their signature stomp and clap parade yelling, “Monolith let’s fuck it up!” followed by “Cacophony.” After the first song the crowd of roughly a thousand people were in a frenzied party atmosphere in front of the New Belgium stage. Next up was “Beat Control,” which made us of preprogrammed drum beats, a live drummer, and of course tap dancing. The middle of the song featured a tap/drum off that showed how tap dancing can hold it’s own against the convention of a drum kit.
During “Night of the Living Dead” the band proved how valuable it was to add a drummer when they went into the refrain, “I wanna fuck it up” the high hat and kick drum gave the song a bigger and fuller sound. On the other hand, during “Pot Kettle Black” it was Jamie Pressnall who was carrying the beat.
The rest of the band’s set featured choreography from the female members of the group, beach balls, and a fat black man with a Mohawk and a black, lime green, hot pink, and yellow leotard with wings dancing to “The Freest Man.” Many aspects of their performance were over the top, but at no point did it feel cliché and ultimately that’s what makes them kitschy.
On Sunday at Monolith, Tilly and the Wall reached new heights and gave a performance that felt completely fresh, kitsch included.
On this year’s o, Tilly and the Wall incorporated more of a traditional percussion sound with a full drum kit and less emphasis on the signature tap dancer Jamie Pressnall. At first this would seem to take away from what makes Tilly and the Wall the James Brown’s they are. However, when they took the stage Pressnall stepped up onto a large tap platform and became the focal point of the show. Tilly and the Wall have gone even further over the top with their live show. Vocalist Kianna Alaird looked like a character from Zoobilee Zoo, Neely Jenkins donned platinum blonde hair and a dress that was straight out of Strawberry Shortcake, and guitarist Derek Pressnall could have easily been mistake for a member of Oingo Boingo. Overall, the band’s stage set up appeared to have been inspired by the 80’s cartoon Jem and decorated exclusively from Oriental Trading Company.
Tilly and the Wall came out to their signature stomp and clap parade yelling, “Monolith let’s fuck it up!” followed by “Cacophony.” After the first song the crowd of roughly a thousand people were in a frenzied party atmosphere in front of the New Belgium stage. Next up was “Beat Control,” which made us of preprogrammed drum beats, a live drummer, and of course tap dancing. The middle of the song featured a tap/drum off that showed how tap dancing can hold it’s own against the convention of a drum kit.
During “Night of the Living Dead” the band proved how valuable it was to add a drummer when they went into the refrain, “I wanna fuck it up” the high hat and kick drum gave the song a bigger and fuller sound. On the other hand, during “Pot Kettle Black” it was Jamie Pressnall who was carrying the beat.
The rest of the band’s set featured choreography from the female members of the group, beach balls, and a fat black man with a Mohawk and a black, lime green, hot pink, and yellow leotard with wings dancing to “The Freest Man.” Many aspects of their performance were over the top, but at no point did it feel cliché and ultimately that’s what makes them kitschy.
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