Archive
REVIEW: Jerry Seinfeld @ Hult Center (Eugene, OR – 5/21/09)
Mini-review…
It’s been a while since seeing Jerry Seinfeld live. I was always a big fan of that television show that he was on… you know… um, what was it called? Oh, yeah… Benson. I hear he kinda “faded away” after that early-80s stint on Benson . ;)
The opener was Larry Miller. He was the doorman on Seinfeld, plus he’s been in other television shows and movies (like Best in Show). Funny stuff, but he only did about 20-25 minutes of material. It was odd, because not even a minute later… on comes Jerry… at 7:28pm*…
Well, third time seeing him… Jerry did a lot of familiar jokes, and it was great. Horse racing, cellphones, “going out,” old people in Florida, being a parent… He did an hour’s worth of material, and then came back on for about 10 minutes of Q&A. Complete with a classic “Hello, Newman.” :)
*- I only made note of the time as it shocked me that it was starting soooo early.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- What’s the deal with Jerry Seinfeld not having an official web presence?
- Larry Miller
- Larry Miller on MySpace
- The Hult Center
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas – Spirit Moves
dredg, radiohead, dave douglas, and a holy eff bailout
dredg‘s new album, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, is gonna be good great. Their Portland show in early April was TOPS! I like “I Don’t Know” better as a lead off, but regardless of what I think, here’s the video for “Information“…
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Radiohead are hitting the studio again to follow-up the revolutionary pay-what-you-want album from 2007, In Rainbows. Colin said, “it was really good. It was really noisy and chaotic and really fun…. We’re at the stage where we’ve got the big Lego box out and we’ve tipped it out on the floor and we’re looking at all the bits and thinking, what next?” Read more on the BBC. I’d post a version of Radiohead’s “Just” done up in Legos, alas it’s been long removed due to terms of service blah blah blah.
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Trumpter Dave Douglas has a new album coming out with his Spirit Moves quartet. More info over at Greenleaf Music.
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Toronto instrumental rockers Holy Fuck have benefited from the auto bailout. I’d like to think of my tax dollars going directly to them being able to make album #3; so all-in-all, I’m happy about seeing their music as part of a Chrysler commercial:
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas – Spirit Moves (bonus tracks)
REVIEW: Flight of the Conchords @ the Schnitzer (Portland, OR – 5/14/09)
Well, let’s just say… this show was mutha’uckin’ AWESOME!!!
Before the show, there was a spot-on Murray look-a-like in the crowd. A little bit younger looking, but definitely pretty damn close. At around 7:45pm, the lights dimmed and what sounded like Jemaine (from FOTC) announced the opener. 
Arj Barker, who plays Dave on HBO’s Flight of the Conchords show, came out and did a hilarious 30-minute stand-up routine. Very witty humor. He’s got a Comedy Central special coming soon, plus he’ll be doing his own solo tour later in the year. Should be fun… I’d definitely recommend Arj, and if he comes near me again (Eugene, please?), I’ll be there.
Arj introduced Flight of the Conchords Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie immediately after his set, and they came out swinging right away in their robot costumes. To which they immediately broke into a song from their 2nd season, “Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor.” They never got back into their robot costumes again, which was… well… unfortunate. Great show though. They also had a cellist, Nigel, who was “New Zealand’s symphony orchestra.” Due to budget cuts, Nigel is the entire NZ symphony orchestra. :) Here’s what they played…
Setlist: (YT: YouTube video from the HBO show)
- Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor (YT)
- Hurt Feelings (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- The Ballad of Stana
- The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room) (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- Carol Brown (Stick Around)
- Jenny
- Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- I’m Not Crying (YT)
- Freebird (upon request, but we think it was a planted request… Bret moved over to drums)
- Mutha’uckas (YT) (Bret continuing on drums – *a fave of the night*)
- Business Time (YT) (*a fave of the night*)
- Think About It (Think, Think About It) (YT)
- Lazy Eye
- Sugalumps (YT)
- Encore: Albi the Racist Dragon (YT)
- Bus Driver’s Song
- Bowie (YT)
The only real disappointment was the obvious lack of “Robot Song (The Humans Are Dead)” (YT). “Foux Da Fa Fa” (YT), “If You’re Into It” (YT), and “Ladies of the World” (YT) would have been fun, too. They show was really great, though. They played and talked and talked and played for an hour and 45 minutes. Really funny, and I liked most of the new songs… I’m looking forward to the 2nd season when it comes out on DVD (as I don’t have HBO). I wasn’t able to take any photos due to the venue’s rules. Here is one from SPIN‘s Miami review (more further down in the links):
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Flight of the Conchords webpage
- Flight of the Conchords on MySpace
- Arj Barker webpage
- Arj Barker on MySpace
- SPIN Review from Miami
- SPIN Photos from Miami
- Arlene Schnitzer Hall in Portland, OR
~Dan – np: Wynton Marsalis – He and She
REVIEW: Opeth & Enslaved @ Roseland (Portland, OR – – 5/12/09)
Similarly to the professional Abba cover band I saw play with the Cincinnati Philharmonic Orchestra / POPS, the band I saw tonight (Opeth) is from Sweden. Un-similarly to the Abba cover band, Opeth is… HEAVY. I didn’t want to risk bringing my nice, new camera to a Swedish & Norwegian Death Metal double-bill (Strongbad email link). So, I’ll post and point you to some from BrooklynVegan’s blog. I also won’t be able to bring my camera into Flight of the Conchords in two days due to venue restrictions. Boo… anyway, here is Enslaved (from the recent NJ show):
photo by Justina Villanueva
This Oregon concert was billed as just the two bands. Enslaved went on first. I have an odd history with the band name Enslaved. I have some friends in Dayton, Ohio, who briefly had a metal band called Enslaved (in 1994-ish). Then I had to break the news to them that there already was a band named the same, and that they’re from Norway. Well, the Dayton band changed their name to Gnashing of Teeth.
I ran into the Norwegian Enslaved here and there, but never listened to them… until tonight. They were… hmm… they were OK. Musically, they had chops, but their sound seemed hollow. Maybe not enough guitars or bass in the mix, but especially compared to Opeth, Enslaved didn’t fill the room – – and not for lack of trying. Vocally, they were fairly brutal, but mostly uninteresting. One of the “singles” from Vertebrae that I heard on the MySpaces before the show was played. It just doesn’t work, IMO. Oh well, I suppose I’m continuing my streak of not all that great opening bands, but at least Enslaved were the only opener. All-in-all, they weren’t what I’d call “dreadful.” I just don’t really need to dig much more into their music.
Next up, only after a short 25 minute set change, sound check… OPETH…
Opeth‘s Mikael Akerfeldt in NJ
photo by Justina Villanueva
This was my 3rd Opeth live experience. Previously, I would say that there is the law of diminishing returns going on with live Opeth. The 1st show I saw was awesome, and then the 2nd show was a little dissappointing. Well, third time seeing them, they ripped into some great material. Overall, utterly fantastic show. Their sound was much fuller than Enslaved’s, and they just seemed like a better band. I guess this didn’t come as a surprise. Mikael announced early on that the band formed in 1990. So, next year is their 20th anniversary. Holy cow, when did that happen!? Their maturity and breadth of material was on display tonight. They hit post-Blackwater Park songs, and they even hit songs from Morningrise, Still Life, and My Arms Your Hearse – – which has to go down as one of the best metal album names ever. Anyway, here’s what Opeth played…
Setlist:
- Heir Apparent
- Ghost of Perdition
- Godhead’s Lament
- The Leper Affinity
- Credence
- Hessian Peel
- Closure
- Night & the Silent Water
- The Lotus Eater
- Encore: band introductions and “swine flu blues” guitar solo
- Deliverance
Great set… right around 2 solid hours, 10 songs… so, yeah, your basic pop songs. :) I’m looking forward to next year’s 20 year anniversary Opeth takes a nap-a-thon.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Opeth webpage
- Opeth on MySpace
- Enslaved on MySpace
- BrooklynVegan’s New Jersey Review (with more pictures)
- BrooklynVegan’s New York Review (with more pictures)
- Roseland Theater
~Dan – np: Wynton Marsalis – He and She
The rest of the Opeth tourdates (so far)…
May 13 2009 Senator Theater, Chico, California *
May 14 2009 Regency Theater, San Francisco
May 15 2009 Glasshouse, Pomona, California *
May 16 2009 The Avalon, Los Angeles, California *
May 17 2009 Rialto Theater, Tucson, Arizona *
May 19 2009 Scout Bar, San Antonio, Texas *
May 20 2009 Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma *
May 21 2009 New Daisy Theater, Memphis, Tennessee *
May 22 2009 Bijou Theater, Knoxville, Tennessee *
May 23 2009 Newport Music Hall, Columbus, Ohio *
May 24 2009 Clutch Cargo’s, Pontiac, Michigan *
May 26 2009 Grand Ballroom at The Manhattan, New York, New York *
May 27 2009 9:30 Club, Washington, Washington DC *
May 29 2009 Rock Hard Festival, Dortmund
May 30 2009 Wave Gothik, Leipzig
May 31 2009 Schlachthof, Wiesbaden
June 1 2009 Skaters Palace, Munster
June 12 2009 Download Festival, Donnington
June 13 2009 Provinssirock, Seinäjoki
June 21 2009 Metal way, Zaragoza
June 26 2009 Peace & Love, Borlänge
June 27 2009 Metaltown Festival, Gothenburg
July 2 2009 Festival, Arvika
July 3 2009 Oslo Live, Oslo
July 17 2009 Art Mania Festival, Sibiu
July 26 2009 Zwarte Cross Festival, De Schans in Lichtenvoorde
July 30 2009 Storsjöyran, Östersund
August 7 2009 Brutal Assault, Jaromer
August 15 2009 Summerbreeze, Dinkelsbuehl
August 21 2009 Lowlands, Biddinghuisen
* w/ Enslaved
Music Videos x 3
Tori Amos “Fire to Your Plain” from Abnormally Attracted to Sin
(click pic for video)
Dream Theater “A Rite of Passage” from Black Clouds & Silver Linings
(click pic for video)
Incubus “Black Heart Inertia” from Monuments and Melodies
So… yeah, the Tori Amos video is OK. Hard to distinguish anything great here, doesn’t seem unlike Tori, but doesn’t seem like great Tori either. I suppose we shall see when the full album arrives (May 19th).
The Dream Theater video is, well, good except when James LaBrie is singing John Petrucci’s inane lyrics. They’re so inane, I thought they were Mike Portnoy lyrics. ::rolleyes:: The only thing missing from the lyrics were mentions of dragons or doves (they’re interchangeable in the realm of prog rock lyrics). I love 3/5ths of this band (guitar: John Petrucci/bass: John Myung/drums: Mike Portnoy), but about only 1/5ths of its lyricists (John Myung). Ack… best part of this video is about 3/4ths in when Petrucci shreds it up… before LaBrie comes back in with more singing. No offense, but this video wreaks of prog metal gone… well… as planned, I suppose. It is comforting that the special edition of BC&SL (June 23rd) has a 3rd disc of the instrumental mixes of the entire album. Trust me… it’ll get the most spins from me.
The Incubus video is cheesy, too-O.C.-y. The song is actually pretty good, and I dig Brandon Boyd’s vocals. It’s part of a greatest hits release (June 16th) as the bonus song or what have you. IMO, it’s promising for the future album, assuming they’re working on one. At this point, I could go for guitarist Mike Einziger’s side project end>vacuum on album.
~Dan – np: Wussy – Wussy (2009)
Geo Album #6
Mr. George Hrab has announced the name for his upcoming 6th studio album… Trebuchet. Take a glimpse at possibly a teaser for the artwork (below). I say possibly, as this e-postcard of sorts is the first inkling of images / names for the album.
The Many Geo Links~
Geo’s webpage:
http://geologicrecords.com/
His podcast:
http://geologicpodcast.com/
His blog:
http://georgehrab.blogspot.com/
Geo on Facebook:
http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=591749384
His Facebook “Fan Page”:
http://facebook.com/pages/George-Hrab/16542301654
Geo’s MySpace:
http://myspace.com/georgehrab
Philly Funk Authority’s MySpace:
http://myspace.com/phillyfunkauthority
Info about TAM 7 (Las Vegas July 2009):
it’s a skeptical / critical thinking meeting
Anyway, I’m stoked for album #6. Geo puts out some great content each week in his podcast, and his albums are like little packets of goodness.
(click for larger)
~Dan – np: Celldweller – Shapeshifter
REVIEW: Yann Tiersen @ the Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR – – 4/29/09)
(that’s unnatural)
So, I was soooo stoked about seeing French musician Yann Tiersen for the first time. His albums are quite delightful. I, like many people in the States, first heard of him via the soundtrack/score to Amelie. But then based on the Brooklyn Vegan (photo credit above) and photobear 2009 tour reviews, I got a little sad. No accordion, very little violin, and Yann on guitar for most of the night!? Pardon my French, but… viens m’enculer!? Viens m’enculer!?
Well, I didn’t know how it would turn out; so I figured it’s still a rare occasion to see Yann in the U.S. I already had the tickets, it was only 2 hours away… so… I gotta go. No photos allowed at the venue. Boo.
The opener, Skinni Dip yogurt (on Burnside – downtown), was awesome. The opener (at the venue), Asobi Seksu, played far too long. I’m having a bad streak of uninteresting / painful openers. Sorry. Just didn’t like them at all.
Yann Tiersen and his band came on around 9:45pm, and the first two solid songs were rock numbers that had very little resemblance of a Yann Tiersen song. The 3rd song was finally one I recognized, but only vaguely as it was turned into some sort of messy, too fast rock blast.
No try on the set list… it’s too difficult to remember song names originating in a foreign language to mine. Also, the set that we caught didn’t even seem to be a Yann Tiersen show. I mean, I have 95% of his catalog (all but the latest Tabarly soundtrack)… and the songs were completely foreign to the crowd. Had I wanted to go to a decent/mediocre rock band play a poorly mixed show, I would have gone to my local rock venue and paid $3 to see what was going on that night. I went to see Yann Tiersen’s songs in a live setting. Unfortunately, we really didn’t get that. I mean, I’m all for artistic expression, and the artist doing what they feel is their artistic direction versus what the fans “want” – – but to some extent on a live tour, you’d expect to give the fans what they expect… again, at least to some extent.
Maybe this was his French way of pulling a prank on us stupid Americans. It just makes you wonder. Oh well… if he comes back, I’m not buying tickets until I read some reviews with more mention of accordion solos. :)
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.yanntiersen.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/yanntiersencomposer
- http://www.asobiseksu.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/asobiseksu
- http://www.wonderballroom.com/
~Dan – np: Celldweller – Symbiont -EP- & then… O.S.I. – Blood
To cleanse the palate… here’s what I was hoping for in a Yann Tiersen show…
(or)
(or, from Amelie)
Sigh. Maybe next time.
O.S.I. – Blood CD
I got Blood in the mail today!!
Huzzah!
~Dan – np: O.S.I. – Blood
Fear Factory Redux
Stomp rock / industro-metallers Fear Factory have reformed with a slightly different but equally awesome lineup. Burton C. Bell (vocals) and Dino Cazares (guitars) have put ill-will behind them. They are joined by bassist Byron Stoud and insanely awesome drummer Gene Hoglan…
I first heard Gene on Death‘s Symbolic record. The man is insane. I saw him live with Testament on the Demonic tour… the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 199-something. My turkey and gravy were never so “ringing in my ears” before.
Expect twitchy-bleep thrashing, machine gun kick drums in your face, and lyrics about androids / robots taking over your mind (or your job)… sigh. Yeah, lyrically / archetypically, Burton’s in a rut. But I dig the music… Read more over at Blabbermouth‘s blog.
~Dan – np: Bill Laswell – Invisible Design II
Secret Chiefs 3 – Traditionalists: Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini
Well, so much for the long lost Book of Souls… Trey Spruance and Secret Chiefs 3 snuck one out under our noses over on the Web of Mimicry message board. The new SC3 album, Traditionalists: Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini, is being shipped near the 3rd week of May. 2009. (!!!)
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
Sound sample: http://www.webofmimicry.com/label.php?band=sc3
Tracklist
1. Faith’s Broken Mirror
2. Sophia’s Theme
3. What’s Wrong with Cytherea?
4. Mourning In Ekstasis
5. He Hates Us
6. Psychism 1: Cytherea’s Possession
7. Love Spell
8. Agenda 21
9. Subcutaneous Solution
10. Abyss of Psychic Enchantments
11. Subdermal Sequence (Nano-Correction)
12. RFID Slaverider
13. Dionysian Dithyramb (Eros-seed of the Egregore)
14. Zombievision
15. Perfectly Reasonable
16. Psychism 2: Fear is the Great Teacher
17. Abolish Believers by Abolishing Belief
18. Funeral for What Might Have Been (Sophia’s Theme)
19. Codex Alimentarius
20. Putting Forth the Hand to Take
21. Psychism 3: Sow the Wind, Reap the Whirlwind
22. Hypnotopia (Obey your Passion)
23. Nano-correction / Human Migrations / Faith Realizes
24. Chapel by the Sea (a Heart That is Broken and Humbled…)
25. The Strength to Sever
26. Baby Hedone (Harvest of the Egregore)
27. Zombievision 2012
28. The Great Die Off (He Mocks Us All)
29. Cytherea’s Awakening / Martyrdom at Romiou Point / Return to the Foam
30. To Love God is Sweeter than Life (Sophia’s Theme)
Blurb from the webpage
From out of nowhere Secret Chiefs 3 (operating here as Traditionalists, one of the seven ‘satellite bands’ introduced on Secret Chiefs 3’s album Book of Horizons) presents an elaborate “colonna sonora paranoica” — a paranioac film soundtrack. The film is imagined, but the horror is real. This entire project, as you might expect from this band, is a spiralling allegory that extends itself well-beyond its starting-point cliché as a “soundtrack for a non-existent film.” But that’s always been one of those potentially good clichés, in theory anyway. Pursuant to that potential, this particular work remains singularly, decidedly faithful to its sworn genre, the Giallo Horror Film Soundtrack.
At this point, it’s fair to assume we can take the dizzying conceptual maelstrom that comes with anything SC3-related as a “given,” right?
Alright, so we won’t go into that here.But a word on the strictly musical side of things is warranted. The first thing to note is that Giallo cinema music has the distinction of having been graced by nearly all the great masters of Italian film music in general: Bruna Nicolai, Stelvio Cipriani, Ennio Morricone, Goblin, Pierro Piccioni etc. And though this area of “B cinema” certainly has its appreciators, one still-underplayed element is that when considering the music, Giallo’s harmonic language was developed by brilliant people who, by current musical and aesthetic standards, set the bar very high. For any of us wannabes to share in the magic of this lost artform, we have to bring a bit more more to the table than some vintage amps & keyboards and vague undeveloped musical ideas based only in hipster aesthetics. Because if you ignore the deeper intricacies of the music theory at work, the orchestration, the arrangement, etc., you’re really only asking to make an ass of yourself (which is likely anyway no matter what you do). But the usual thing is to sample stuff or simply borrow themes from the masters and to then repackage them in a new “updated” context. Well, in a climate like that we should emphasize that Le Mani Destre Recise Degli Ultimi Uomini is quite simply an album of original compositions. The process should be likened to when someone is learning another language and begins to have dreams in that language. It’s the same process in any style of music, really. So to state it plainly, these are original compositions that were dreamt into being in the harmonic language of the Giallo Horror Film Soundtrack. It’s that simple. The point is not to be strictly period-specific, or culturally-specific, but to be psychically specific — caring first and foremost about how to convey things that will affect the psychic state of the listener in the intended way. After all, the point of dreaming in this particular language, with all its sophistication, elegance and beauty, is to go that much more deeply into the territory of nightmare… and um, let’s just say SC3 feel it’s necessary to pursue this particular range of the human experience at this moment.
The album itself is a full orchestral score that fully capitalizes on SC3 stock of musical manpower (Trey Spruance, Ches Smith, Timb Harris, Shahzad Ismaily, William Winant, et al.) and adds to that a broad cast of A-list hired musicians (among them Laurie Goldstein and Hans Teuber). The material runs the gamut; dissonant violent strings receding to beautiful textures with flute and female vocals through echoplex; analog synthesizers, harpsichords and celestas over a tight ’70s-style rock band rhythm section; crazed psychedelic freakouts with major payoffs; church organs granting repose, until tape treatments and a chorus of possessed shrieking voices force the listener to reconsider his position on the existence of Evil… If you can imagine all that produced to the standard found on any other Secret Chiefs 3 release, you’ve pretty much got the idea here.
The album was mixed analog to 1/2 inch tape. LP comes in 180 gram vinyl. CD is a mock gatefold LP, with a printed sleeve. Pure win.
The album title, roughly translated, means “The Severed Right Hands of the Last Men.”
OMG. For me at least… Caveat: Based on the sound sample, it doesn’t appear to be one of Trey’s more “accessible” SC3 releases; so I suppose maybe wait on Book of Souls if you’re not already a fan of SC3 or movie music.
~Dan – np: Circle of Dust – Circle of Dust 
Note: This blog does not have a torrent or free download for this album (never have, never will). Support independent muasic and buy this Secret Chiefs 3 record from the band directly at Web of Mimicry.
Medeski Martin & Wood’s “Amber Gris”
click for Vimeo video linkThis is the music video for “Amber Gris“, the first single off of Medeski Martin & Wood‘s newest release, Radiolarians II. Radiolarians II is available now.
Video Credits: Filmed, directed and edited by Billy Martin. Digital Effects Artist: David Gottlieb. Additional camera operators: Leigh-Ann Beverly, David Kent, Alan Martin, Dakota Martin, Matthew Mcclain, John Medeski, Kenny Raduazzo and Chris Wood. Special thanks to David Gottlieb, Aaron Bessel, Bill Gilman, James Marshello, Matthew Mcclain , Grey Gersten and Leigh-Ann Beverly
~Dan – np: Guy Klucevsek – Dancing on the Volcano
Sufjan’s Sofia’s Song / Strong Bad Game
Unrelated…
Sufjan Stevens has posted a new essay and song, “Sofia’s Song,” to the sidebar blog on Asthmatic Kitty. Read it HERE. The song can be downloaded from HERE.
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And Telltale Games has just announced pre-order for the DVD of their previously download-only game Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People. You can read more about the pre-order combo pack specials HERE.
~Dan – np: Pissuk Rachav – Eretz Hakodesh
REVIEW: Spinal Tap / The Folksmen @ Paramount Theatre (Seattle, WA – – 4/20/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
(only a couple this time)
- Spinal Tap Unwigged/Unplugged (photo: Shannon Cottrell, LA Weekly)
As mentioned above, I only took a few pictures. I was in the upper mezzanine, aka nosebleeds. I tried out my new 60x zoom digital camera; alas, it wasn’t 600x. :)
The show was great. Christopher Guest (aka Nigel Tufnel / Alan Barrows), Michael McKean (aka David St. Hubbins / Jerry Palter), and Harry Shearer (aka Derek Smalls / Mark Shubb) played for an hour and 45 minutes – – a great mix of Spinal Tap tunes, The Folksmen / A Mighty Wind tunes, a Waiting for Guffman tune, a Harry Sheaerer comedy album tune, and some never released ditties.
Great in between song banter… I guess this was as much of a comedy show as a music show. Oh, and no drummer… for obvious insurance purposes.
Setlist:
- opening song with lyrics of “hair as brown as the finest stew”
- Hell Hole
- Never Did No Wanderin’ (CG on mandolin)
- Clam Caravan (CG on didgeridoo at end)
- Bitch School
- Loco Man
- Waiting for Guffman‘s This Bulging River
- Reading of the “Spinal Tap NBC Memo”
- All the Way Home
- Blood on the Coal
- (Listen to Me) the Flower People
- Cornwine
- The Majesty of Rock
- Harry Shearer’s Elvis parody All Backed Up
- Stonehenge
- “Aussie YouTube” snippet
- Q&A session
- Start Me Up (Rolling Stones cover as in A Mighty Wind)
- Cups and Cakes
- “Lego Video” snippet
- Old Joe’s Place
- Big Bottom
- The Good Book Song
- Rainy Day Sun
- Sex Farm
- Encore: Gimme Some Money
- A Mighty Wind
- The Colors of My Life
This past Monday was this audiences’ lucky bun-day… really big, full set. A+ show all around. I’m glad I got a chance to catch the show while randomly being in town on vacation.
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.unwigged.com/
- http://youtube.com/tapunwigged
- http://myspace.com/unwiggedandunplugged
- http://spinaltap.com/
- http://www.theparamount.com/
The rest of the dates:
April 22: Oakland, Calif. (Paramount Theatre)
April 23: Santa Barbara, Calif. (Santa Barbara County Bowl)
April 26: Los Angeles (The Wiltern)
April 27: Phoenix, Ariz. (Dodge Theatre)
April 29: Denver (Paramount Theatre)
May 1: Houston, Texas (Jesse H, Jones Hall)
May 2: Dallas (Nokia Theatre)
May 4: Jacksonville, Fla. Florida Theatre)
May 5: Miami (The Fillmore)
May 6: Orlando, Fla, (Hard Rock Live)
May 8: St. Petersburg, Fla. (Mahaffey Theatre)
May 9: Atlanta (Fox Theatre)
May 10: Nashville (Ryman Auditorium)
May 12: Baltimore (Lyric Opera House)
May 13: Washington, D.C. (Warner Theatre)
May 14: Philadelphia (Keswick Theatre)
May 17: Columbus, Ohio (Palace Theatre)
May 19: Cleveland, Ohio (State Theatre)
May 21: Toronto (Massey Hall)
May 22: Mashantucket, Conn. (MGM Grand Theatre at Foxwoods)
May 23: Boston (The Wilbur Theatre)
May 24: Atlantic City, N.J. (Music Box at The Borgata)
May 26: New York (Beacon Theatre)
May 27: New York (Beacon Theatre) *review / pictures / videos from this show *
May 29: Detroit (Fox Theatre)
May 30: Chicago (Chicago Theatre)
May 31: Milwaukee, Wis. (Riverside Theatre)
June 30: London, UK (Wembley Arena)
~Dan – np: Celldweller – Celldweller
SPINAL TAP / THE FOLKSMEN PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Michel Gondry 2 DVD
SO… this is awesome…
MICHEL GONDRY 2: MORE VIDEOS contains the following videos:
MUSIC VIDEOS:
1. Michael Andrews ft. Gary Jules “Mad World”
2. Paul McCartney “Dance Tonight”
3. Thomas Dolby “Close But No Cigar”
4. Bjork “Declare Independence”
5. Steriogram “Walkie Talkie Man”
6. The Willowz “I Wonder”
7. Beck “Cellphone’s Dead”
8. The White Stripes “The Denial Twist”
9. Donald Fagen “Snowbound”
10. Cody ChesnuTT “King of the Game”
11. Sinead O’Connor “Fire On Babylon”
12. Queen with Wyclef Jean ft. Pras & Free “Another One Bites the Dust”
13. Radiohead “Knives Out”
14. Dick Annegarn “Soleil du Soir”
15. Sananda Maitreya “She Kissed Me”
16. Sheryl Crow “A Change Would Do You Good”
17. The Black Crowes “High Head Blues”
18. Leafbirds “It Can All Be Taken Away”
19. The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter”
20. Energy Orchard “How the West Was Won”BEHIND-THE-SCENES:
1. Behind-the-Scenes Of The White Stripes “The Denial Twist”
2. Behind-the-Scenes Of Beck “Cellphone’s Dead”
3. Behind-the-Scenes Of Paul McCartney “Dance Tonight”
4. Behind-the-Scenes Of Radiohead “Knives Out”
5. Behind-the-Scenes Of Steriogram “Walkie Talkie Man”
6. Behind-the-Scenes Of Bjork “Declare Independence”OTHER WORKS:
1. The Simpsons Parody Of The White Stripes Video
2. Booker T and The Michel Gondry’s
3. Michel Gondry Solves A RUBIK’S CUBE With His Feet
4. Michel Gondry Solves A RUBIK’S CUBE With His Nose
5. Jack Black Beats Michel Gondry WIth His RUBIK’S CUBES
6. Herve Di Rosa “Viva Di Rosa”
7. Conan & The Big Head
8. Paul Gondry’s The Willowz “Take A Look Around”
9. How To Blow Up A Helicopter (Ayako’s Story)
10. Forum Des Images “L’ Histoire De L’Univers”
Go get it now on Michel Gondry.com…
~Dan – np: Circle of Dust / Brainchild – Mindwarp
REVIEW: Swing Shift Big Band @ Wildish Theater (Springfield, OR – – 4/10/09)
Ok, I’m totally gonna “phone this in”… the snippet from the invite email I got covers what they played:
While Swing Shift has always based much of its style on the inspiration of Count Basie, this is the first time that we have offered a full evening of music in the classic Basie tradition. The band will perform standards such as “Moten Swing,” “Corner Pocket” and “Vine Street Rumble,” along with lesser-known gems, including Quincy Jones’ “Jessica’s Day.” Featured soloists for the evening will be trombonist Glenn Bonney, who will be heard on Benny Carter’s beautiful “Sunset Glow,” and trumpeter Warren Wellford, performing “Pensive Miss,” a gorgeous ballad by Neal Hefti. There will also (of course) be generous helpings of piano in the Count Basie tradition, ably essayed by pianist John Polese, as well as contributions from alto saxophonists Sean Flannery and Travis Wong and trumpeters Steve O’Brien and Dana Heitman.
The second half of the concert will showcase music that was performed by the remarkable pairing of singer Frank Sinatra and the Basie band. The three albums that they recorded in the early 1960’s still serve as the model for a singer working with a big band, and virtually every song from those collaborations are standards today. Aaron Anderson, Swing Shift’s regular vocalist, will be finally be heard as a featured artist, singing (among others) “Come Fly With Me,” “Nice And Easy,” “Fly Me To the Moon” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Lead trumpeter Dana Heitman is responsible for the recreation of many of these arrangements, most of which have never been available for performance by other groups.
Great show… they played a 45 minute instrumental Count Basie set, and then came out with trombonist Aaron Anderson on vocals for a 45 minute Frank Sinatra / Count Basie set. I was really impressed all around with the musicianship, the venue, and the vocals (and I usually don’t really prefer jazz with vocals). It was a really, really good show… and not just because it was free.
Setlist:
- Step Right Up
- Corner Pocket
- In a Mellotone
- Jessica’s Day
- Pensive Miss
- 4-5-6
- Sunset Glow
- Every Tub
Intermission - Come Fly With Me
- I’ve Got You Under My Skin
- Fly Me to the Moon
- The Shadow of Your Smile
- One for My Baby
- Nice and Easy
- I Get a Kick Out of You
- That’s Life
- My Kind of Town
- Encore: Smack Dab in the Middle
The Appropriate Linkage:
~Dan – np: Jerry Cantrell – Degradation Trip, Vols 1 & 2
Porcupine Tree, King’s X, and That 1 Guy walk into a bar…
Porcupine Tree is working on a new album, due out in September on Roadrunner Records (in the U.S.). For their upcoming North American tour in support of its new album, the following dates have been confirmed (more to follow):
Tue 15 Sep SEATTLE, WA MOORE THEATER [opener: That1Guy]
Wed 16 Sep PORTLAND, OR ROSELAND [opener: That 1 Guy]
Fri 18 Sep SAN FRANCISCO WARFIELD [opener: That 1 Guy]
Sat 19 Sep LOS ANGELES CLUB NOKIA [opener: Big Elf]
Mon 21 Sep CLEVELAND, OH HOUSE OF BLUES [opener: King’s X]
Tue 22 Sep CHICAGO, IL VIC THEATER [opener: King’s X]
Thu 24 Sep NY, NY TERMINAL 5 [opener: King’s X]
Sat 26 Sep PHILLY ELECTRIC FACTORY [opener: King’s X]
Sun 27 Sep BOSTON, MA HOUSE OF BLUES [opener: King’s X]
Tue 29 Sep MONTREAL METROPOLIS [opener: King’s X]
Wed 30 Sep TORONTO QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE [opener: King’s X]
General onsale date is April 17th for all dates, except Boston/Chicago (4/18) and San Fran (4/19). If you’re a PT “ROABP” fanclub member, you can get tickets earlier (4/10)… but most are probably GA venues anyway… so… yeah… you do the math.
I’d kind of hope to see the PT / KX bill, but I guess I’ll settle for PT/T1G. And who the heck is Big Elf?
~Dan
Kaki 2Pac
OK… wow… great mashup of guitar-phenom Kaki King & gunned down rapper Tupac Shakur:
http://soundcloud.com/hoodinternet/the-hood-internet-bone-chaos-in-the-ghetto-2pac-x-kaki-king
I’m more a Kaki King fan, but I dig 2Pac on this mashup, too.
Unrelated sidenote: Amoeba Music recently posted the July 2007 in-store performance from Earth (an interview and two songs: Omens and Portents I: The Driver -and- Engine of Ruin). http://www.amoeba.com/live-shows/videos/earth.html
~Dan – np: Caedmon’s Call – Just Don’t Want Coffee -EP-
REVIEW: dredg @ the Hawthorne Theater (Portland, OR – – 4/3/09)
No photos this time around. Rock shows aren’t conducive to them unless you have a really good camera, plus last time I was here, the venue wasn’t allowing it. Anyway, on to the show…
The openers… well, I’m bummed because I only caught the very last song of From Monuments to Masses. I kinda dug them… they are a three-piece instrumental band and seemed to have a good groove. The guitars were a little low in the mix, but I could at least hear what was going on. Torche, on the other hand, was 40 minutes of painful uninterest. It wasn’t a wall of sound, it was a wall of mud. And not the good kind of mud that Earth or Sunn 0))) might throw down, but just muddy, sloppy metal. Bad sound that night, maybe they’re good on record. They seemed to be having fun, and there were some obvious fans in the crowd.
Dredg came on around 10:45, after what seemed to be a very long sound check. They seemed to be having some feedback or other issues going on, and it actually caused some minor technical difficulties early in dredg’s set. Anyway, this Portland show was the very first show of this tour. They played a handful of tunes from their upcoming record (see album cover below), and they played a great set with song from their other albums as well.
This was officially my first time seeing them live “as a fan. ” The last time I saw them was when they were opening for the Blood Brothers and Coheed & Cambria. I was blown away enough to get into their music after that show, but for this show I actually knew the words. :)
I had some major respect for Gavin (singer/ lap steel) and Dino (drums/ keyboard), but now I have much more respect for all four members. Drew (bass) and Mark (guitars) contribute so much to the dredg sound… excellent grooves and guitar that hearkens some of (Radiohead) Jonny Greenwood’s antics.
Setlist:
- Stamp of Origin: Pessimistic (new song)
- I Don’t Know (new song)
- Ireland (new song)
- Same Ol’ Road
- Of the Room
- Ode to the Sun (a fave of the night)
- Catch Without Arms (a fave of the night)
- R U O K? (new song)
- Saviour (new song)
- Information (new song)
- Bug Eyes
- Sang Real (a fave of the night)
- Jamais Vu
- The Canyon Behind Her
- Down to the Cellar (new song)
- Stamp of Origin: Horizon (new song)
- No Encore
Great show, about 75 minutes… lots of stuff from their upcoming album The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion (due out June 9th). I bet they would have played longer had it not been for the earlier technical difficulties, but maybe the venue had a midnight curfew. I got a peek at someone who snagged the setlist; so I think I got most of the correct new songs and placement. The stuff after “Jamais Vu” was more of a blur, big jam thing. Overall, the new songs definitely fit with Catch Without Arms and El Cielo. I’m looking forward to the new record, big time…
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.dredg.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/dredg
- http://www.myspace.com/frommonumentstomasses
- http://www.myspace.com/torche
- http://www.hawthornetheater.com/
~Dan – np: Zu – Carboniferous
Radiohead & the Beatles (official collaboration)
meet 
Per NME Magazine… Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood (of Radiohead) and Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr (of the Beatles) are teaming up for a special -EP- to support cancer research in the UK. They’re re-recording Radiohead’s “Just” (with Paul on vocals), the Beatles “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” (with Thom on vocals), and a newly collaborative piece with a working title “Mâche.”
Read the full story here over at NME.
~Dan
Waffles & Glen’s new band
Two unrelated, but equally good things…
There’s a new waffle place in Eugene. It’s called Off the Waffle (it’s on Van Buren just south of 7th). They make Liège style waffles and they are freaking amazing. I’ve been there twice in the last week. As of now, they have 3 options: white or whole wheat ($3), and waffle of the week ($5). This week’s waffle was goat cheese and blueberry, and it’s baked right into the waffle. Holy Cow! A+++
They also have coffee from local One Cup, do a barter system (if you have things to trade), and they do catering… they’re open from 8am to midnight every day of the week!!! Their webpage will be here (not active yet): http://www.offthewaffle.com/
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There’s a new promo video for Works Progress Administration featuring Glen Phillips (from Toad the Wet Sprocket), Sean & Sara Watkins (from Nickel Creek), and many more…
WPA is:
- Glen Phillips (Toad the Wet Sprocket) – vocals, guitar
- Sean Watkins (Nickel Creek, Fiction Family) – guitar, vocals
- Luke Bulla (Jerry Douglas Band, Ricky Skaggs) – fiddle, vocals, guitar
- Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) – fiddle, vocals
- Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) – piano, organ
- Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell, Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Beck) – pedal steel
- Pete Thomas (Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Randy Newman) – drums
- Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Cracker) – bass
I’m looking forward to just about any Glen Phillips. He had two in my top 5 for 2008… anyway, I’m looking forward to a WPA album in 2009.
~Dan – np: John Coltrane – Traneing In
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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