Archive
new Secret Chiefs 3 tour dates
I imagine these tour dates, as they trickle in, are all about “making their way back home after a festival.” Alas, the fact that they’re swinging by my way is FANTASTIC…
Secret Chiefs 3
Fri, 7/25/08 – Detroit Lakes, MN -Soo Pass Ranch “10,000 Lakes Festival”
Sat, 7/26/08 – Milwaukee, WI -Turner’s Ballroom
Sun, 7/27/08 – Chicago, IL – Double Door
Thu, 7/31/08 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater new date
Fri, 8/01/08 – Salt Lake City, UT – Club Paladium new date
Sun, 8/03/08 – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge new date yay!
http://www.webofmimicry.com/
http://www.myspace.com/secretchiefs3
Their latest record, Xaphan: Masada Book Two Vol 9, is FANTASTIC…
~Dan
Sean Lennon
For fans of Sean Lennon… or potential fans of Sean Lennon… his 2006 album Friendly Fire was one of my absolute favorites that year. It’s short, but it comes with a DVD that’s ostensibly the entire album set to a music video (and shot very well with real artistic, movie-making direction). Anyway, check it out…
http://www.myspace.com/seanlennon
I just recently stumbled on a few more Sean Lennon projects…
The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger: Sean and his girlfriend (Charlotte Kemp Muhl) have a new pop project… the band name is The Ghost of a Saber Toothed Tiger. They go by “Amatla & Zargifon” instead of Sean & Charlotte, and they have four songs available on their MySpace page. My favorite as of now is “Robot Boy.”
http://www.myspace.com/theghostofasabertoothedtiger
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead: Sean’s done the score for this upcoming movie… apparently Ralph “Karate Kid” Macchio has a role in it (thanks for the heads-up Steve)… http://undeadflick.com/
Live at The Stone, Jan 2008: The Stone is John Zorn’s club in NYC’s East Village (C Ave a few blocks from the Bowery). I went there for a show last March. It’s an amazing, but small, space dedicated to the arts. 100% of the proceeds each night go to the artist. There is no food/drink vending. They have artist curators every month (artists pick who they want to perform). They usually have two performances a night. The way they bring in money to maintain The Stone is by having annual benefit concerts and by selling their annual benefit CDs (Volume 3 is a Lou Reed/John Zorn/Laurie Anderson improv set and it’s available at thestonenyc.com).
Anyway, Sean Lennon and some friends had a gig at The Stone in early January 2008. I’ll warn you that it’s avant-garde / experimental — and not his usual pop fare. It features some of my favorites in the downtown NYC scene (Trevor Dunn from Mr. Bungle & Fantômas, as well as Yuka Honda from Cibo Matto & her wonderful solo releases). The show is available as streaming and downloadable (low quality mp3) at http://seanonolennon.com/music/stone/mp3player/
Enjoy!
~Dan – np: Bar Kokhba Sextet – Masada Book Two: Lucifer
I’m such a tool…
… fan.
Arguably one of the most artistic bands in the hard music scene today (if not ever), Revolver Magazine has just put out a special Tool only issue… it’s on newstands as of yesterday (and also online).
TOOL is like the darker kin to prog/artrockers King Crimson. Maynard James Keenan‘s vocals can both sooth and split. Adam Jones‘ guitars bring a lot to the table, as does his artistic direction (and sculpture background) on their many creepy, yet tenaciously detailed, video imagery. Danny Carey (drums) and Justin Chancellor (bass) know how to build an inspiring rhythm (one of my favorite tracks “Reflection” from Lateralus is a great example of their handiwork).
Plus, their artistic collaboration with COSM‘s Alex Grey is cool in its own right (I have a print of “Net of Being” pictured below). It’s radly displayed in our massage room here at home.
Anyway, I like the band. The new Revolver Magazine is spiffy. If you like Tool, go out and grab a copy…
http://www.myspace.com/tooltheband
http://www.cosm.org/
http://www.revolvermag.com/
Oh, I almost forgot… be sure to check out Tool‘s awe-inspiring collaboration with the Dalai Lama.
oh snap,
~Dan – np: CITR The Jazz Show 5/5/08 (podcast) 
Holy Fuck’s Daytrotter Session -Free EP-
Holy Fuck‘s Daytrotter Session has finally been released (it was mentioned in a Daytrotter email, like, 2 months ago)… :)
http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1266/holy-fuck
Latin – a relatively new song. It hasn’t been released on anything yet and we’re not sure what will become of that song yet. We’ve been trying out different things on this one during this tour, and it’s starting to take shape!
Daytrotter does in-studio performances, and has MANY artists on their webpage. Some of the ones I’ve dug recently are My Brightest Diamond, David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion), and Erin McKeown… (and more, like The National, Death Cab for Cutie, et cetera)…
The Holy Linkage
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck
http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
~Dan
nin
New Nine Inch Nails album The Slip… low qual mp3, CD-quality FLAC, CD-quality WAV, and uber-high quality something-or-other format…
IT’S FREE. http://theslip.nin.com/
I’ve heard “Discipline” and “Echoplex” so far… I dig ’em…
I know, I know, they’re a pretty unknown band. Tell Trent that Dan sent you.
riiiiiiiiiiiiight…
~Dan
The Doug, Ty, Jerry, Gary, Nuno, Pat & Kevin Show
Unrelated to my recently posted review… but wicked awesome… Two bands that I’ve been a fan of for, geez, 16 years each or so… well, they’re hitting the road together this year.
As part of a Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp Tour, these two bands will be hitting the road together this summer:
I saw Extreme on their last tour before they went on hiatus in 1995. I’ve recently posted about my excitement of them getting back together for an album in 2008. I’ve seen King’s X many times… they’re a consistent part of my musical life… They’ve got a new (likely kick-ass) album coming out, too.
Anyway, seeing these two great bands on one stage in one night is… UTTERLY FANTASTIC. I may have to swing a roadtrip… :-)
http://www.myspace.com/extreme
http://www.myspace.com/kingsx
http://www.myspace.com/rockandrollfantasycamp
The Blabbermouth story is here.
Thanks for the scoop, Dave!
~Dan
REVIEW: Peter Mulvey & Patty Larkin @ W.O.W. Hall (Eugene, OR – – 5/1/08)
This was my fourteenth (14th) time seeing Peter Mulvey play… and I never get tired of his great guitar style, funny story-telling, and strong-yet-unassuming voice. Last night’s show was no exception to the “never get tired” statement. He’s a treat, and I’m glad he makes it to Eugene occasionally…
* If Love Is Not Enough (complete with Hall and Oates & KC and the Sunshine Band snippets)
* Black Rabbit (aka “The Milkmaid’s Buxom Nephew“ ;-) it’s a gorgeous solo guitar piece originally on his 1992 release Brother Rabbit Speaks… see YouTube video below…)
* The Knuckleball Suite (makes my wife & I want to kick back some Sandeman Port… delish…)
* Dynamite Bill *new* (nice guitarwork and classic Mulvey low-end)
* Shirt (a personal fav)
* Mailman *new* (written for Chris Pureka who sent him a book of poems)
* Sad, Sad, Sad, Sad (and Faraway from Home) (another personal fav)
The story leading up to “Sad, Sad…” was about his experience of playing inside of a cave in West Virginia for 100 high-school science geniuses (genii?). I’d never heard that story… wild stuff. I wonder how he got that gig?
After a short break, Patty Larkin came on. I hadn’t heard her before this show.. Peter was the main reason to get a ticket. Anyway, Patty didn’t disappoint either. She’s got a great guitar style… not the usual singer-songwriter style. She knows how to play “more than just a few chords.” I don’t know any of her songs, but they were interesting, usually storytelling pieces. She played a little over an hour, and she was thoroughly enjoying. She hails from Boston, MA; but actually went to the University of Oregon (here in Eugene) for her undergrad studies. Go Ducks!
Peter Mulvey came on a played backing guitars for one of her songs, too. Oh, and she “pulled a Jónsi” later in her set… playing her guitar with a bow…
Great stuff all around…
The Appropriate Linkage:
http://www.petermulvey.com/
http://www.myspace.com/pattylarkinofficial
http://www.pattylarkin.com/
http://www.wowhall.org/
The Trouble with Puppies… is they lick too much…
~Dan – np: Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey – Lil’ Tae Rides Again
I also found the video for “Shirt”
REVIEW: Raquy & the Cavemen @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 4/30/08)
Raquy and the Cavemen put on a great show last night at Cozmic Pizza. They had put out two CDs since we saw them last time in Cincinnati; so we snagged those (2007’s Naked & 2008’s Mischief). They played almost exclusively from those two CDs (per Raquy & Liron’s onstage banter).
The band is made up of Raquy (pronounced “Rocky”) on dumbek and kemanche (not to be confused with a jalebi); Liron on dumbek, guitar, and riq; and Nezih (per their webpage) on riq, davul, and dumbek. Liron was dred-free since the last time we saw him… he got shorn last time he passed through Cincinnati by the Gaiananda peeps.
Their first few tunes featured Raquy beautifully on kemanche (a violin-type instrument), and she switched between the kemanche and dumbek throughout the night. About three or four songs in, they played a song that featured all three members on a drum of some sort, and it was mezmerizing how in-sync and fast they played. They cued each other with quick hand signals and eye movements, and they played wicked fast (at least for my fat little fingers to try to do).
After about 40 minutes (or so), they invited Eugene-based bellydance troupe Tribalation (led by Sabine) to dance along to the tunes. Tribalation danced to about 4 songs (one with Sabine doing some amazing dual-sword work). The end of the show had about 2 or 3 “open dance” songs. This was clearly right up my alley… as I did the “take the plates to the bin and napkins to the trash can” dance that I learned as a young child growing up in Nigeria*.
We also found out that Raquy has a sister who lives in Eugene (she ran merch last night). That’s exciting, because it means that these Brooklynites make their way here at least once a year. :-)
The appropriate linkage:
http://www.myspace.com/lironpeled
Liron being shorn in Cincinnati
http://www.sabinedance.com/
http://www.cozmicpizza.com/
I’d post some of our own pictures of the show… alas, they were all either dark (due to the flash & low stage lighting) or blurry (due to no flash).
~Dan – np: Dub Trio – Another Sound is Dying
*- NOTE: I am from Nigeria, I did take plates and napkins away… alas, it wasn’t a dance.
meaty Reptet, naked Raquy, and Gratuitous French Fries
REPTET. Great jazz band that lives about 4.5 hours too far away from me. Alas, they’ve been down this way (Eugene) from their way (Seattle) once lately (see review here). Great improvisors, great songwriters, great musicians. They’ve got a new album out. It’s great. It’s called Chicken or Beef?. My ears aren’t vegetarians. It’s quite delicious.
email “reptet @ hotmail (.) com” to see how to get ahold of a copy of Chicken or Beef?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RAQUY and the Cavemen… tonight at Cozmic Pizza… look for a review tomorrow. Seen her and her band of misfits a few times in Cincinnati. They’re always a treat, plus they’ve put out 2 CDs since we last saw ’em… gather together in a cave and groove with a pict…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Free French Fries are the opener for Peter Mulvey who is the opener for Patty Larkin… Thursday at WOW Hall. Peter Mulvey is one of my favorite singer-songwriters… ever. Great vocals, great guitarist (and his backing guitarist Goody is also wicked good, but not with him on this tour). Oh, and all you coupon haters can hate my cajun french fry fingers… foo! So, yeah, it’s all about literally free french fries via coupon (from The Vintage, who makes great cajun french fries & food and has great local beer on tap), not a band named Free French Fries. Though that would be cool in its own right… anyway, look for a review on Friday…
~Dan – np: Reptet – Chicken or Beef?
email “reptet @ hotmail (.) com” to see how to get ahold of a copy of Chicken or Beef?
Tonight?
Tonight it’s all about tonight…
>*>*> http://www.myspace.com/tonighttonighttonighttonight <*<*<
So wrong, it may very well be tonight.
~Dan
Opeth "Porcelain Heart" (video & my babble)
The first time I heard about Opeth was from a former roommate who had a mild lisp.
“Opus?”
“No… Opeth.”
“Opus?”
“No… Opeth.”
“OK, I hear you saying ‘Opus,’ but that’s obviously not what you’re saying… argh…”
Flash forward a few years, and I get into a prog band called Porcupine Tree. I had pretty much sworn off prog, as I was seriously getting sick of most of the prog bands with their singers who wear too tight of pants… anyway, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree turns out to be a fantastic singer, guitarist, writer, producer, et cetera. He does solo stuff, has side bands (Blackfield, No-Man), produces other bands, et cetera… I quickly gobbled up his stuff, and then I heard that he produced this Swedish metal band Opeth.
No, Opeth.
Anyway, Steven Wilson produced three of my favorite records of theirs: Blackwater Park, Deliverance, and Damnation:
Damnation was the oddity, though… it was primarily mellow. The other albums (even those not included above) always had mellow “interludes,” but the primary songs on the records were full-on Swedish progressive death metal, complete with “cookie monster” vocals and kick drum blasts that could knock the Pope right off his bejeweled seat. (I would have stated that the Pope was sitting on his bejeweled seat at a truck rally, but I know that that’s a given. So, I didn’t mention it. Obviously.)
Anyway, Damnation was a primarily non-metal, metal album. It was released simultaneously with Deliverance (which was the muy-metal, metal album to “relieve the haters,” perhaps).
Anyway, Opeth‘s next album, Watershed (not produced by Steven Wilson but likely still damn good), comes out on June 3rd. Here’s a video for the edit of the song “Porcelain Heart.” It dances on the cusp of what’s good about Damnation, but hints about what the non-edit sounds like:
Porcelain Heart
I’m looking forward to the album.
~Dan
Oh, for an example of the cookie monster Opeth, here’s “The Grand Conjuration” (1:06 for cookie monster):
I love it, too!
REVIEW: Ani DiFranco @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – – 4/16/08)
Wow… great show last night from Ani and her compadres…
The opener was poet Judy Grahn‘s spoken word to beats and such from Animal Prufrock (formerly of Bitch & Animal) and guitarist Anne Carol. They played about 35-40 minutes. The songs/poems they played are presumed to be something along the lines of…
- Bowls
- Emotional Boner
- Vampires
- Mental
- Love Me
- The Forest
- Bledsung
- (unknown)
- Walk & Taxi Back (my favorite of their set)
Ani DiFranco came around 9pm, played for just over an hour and a half. The background was really cool (but simple). It was a big curtain with different colored lights. McDonald Theatre didn’t seem to pull this out for That1Guy & Buckethead last month… alas, it was nice for Ani’s backdrop.
The last few times that I’d seen her, she only had bass accompaniment from Todd Sickafoose (who has not one but two nice jazz recordings). This time, she also had Allison Miller on drums and Mike Dylan (or Dillon) on xylophone (or was it a vibraphone?) and bongos.
Set list:
- Shy
- Half-Assed
- Not a Pretty Girl
- Swim
- Lag Time
- Decree
- Napoleon
- As Is (a favorite of the night)
- Subdivision (a favorite of the night)
- Here For Now
- Swan Dive (a favorite of the night)
- Fire Door
- Anticipate
- The Atom (new song, presumed title)
- Alla This / Bankroll (new song, two titles floating around the internets)
- In the Way
- Shameless (a favorite of the night)
- Encore: Gravel
- Hypnotized
Eight times in eight years… it’s a good annual (or so) tradition to see Ani at work. The new songs seemed familiar; so perhaps she played them last year on tour, too. I look forward to her next album, which is probably “due” in 55 days based on the scientifically syncronized Ani DiFranco album gestation calendar (currently 9.16 months per Ani release, and 6.46 months if the “official bootleg” live albums are brought into the mix)*.
~Dan – np: klezmer podcast no. 33 (here)
*- Go on, tell yourself that I’m making these numbers up. The sad truth. I’m not.
Dave Douglas & Keystone – Live at the Jazz Standard
Dave Douglas & Keystone (who made one of my favorite CDs last year) is playing two sets each night for four nights at the Jazz Standard in NYC (April 10th to 13th). Sidenote: I went to the Jazz Standard in March of last year (to see Brian Bromberg‘s Upright All-stars when I was out that way on bidness).
Keystone is: Dave Douglas – trumpet, Marcus Strickland – tenor saxophone, Adam Benjamin – Fender Rhodes, Brad Jones – bass, Gene Lake – drums, and DJ Olive – turntables.
Anyway, eight sets of great jazz… and the cool thing is that Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf Music releases each show (of these special engagements) within 24 hours of the end of the set. So far, four sets and only one repeat song, too. Woot! 8 hours of new Dave Douglas coming my way…
OK, now back to studying…
~Dan – np: Dave Douglas & Keystone – Live at the Jazz Standard, 4/10/08 (early set)
Her Fourth album, NPR’s Project Song, and remaking ’There Will Be Blood’
Nellie McKay is at it again. “It” being writing another album. Her fourth release is due out this fall (yay!). Her comment on it… “it’ll be kick ass.”
She is also the debut artist for Bob Boilen / NPR’s Project Song. 2 days, 1 artist, 1 song. BTW, it’s downloadable (iTunes or other RSS feeder) as part of the “NPR All Songs Considered” podcast.
She wrote and recorded a song called “Cavendish” based on a photo (the 2nd one below)… the song fits in more with her easy-listening/old-timey songs (not her quirky raps or Zombie-romps). She sang all parts and played ukelele, piano, cello, and drum programming for the song. (They gave her a 3rd day to work on it.)
The photo inspiration:
Rumors that McKay is set to develop a cure for pancreatic cancer, successfully impeach the president on the Senate floor and remake There Will Be Blood, playing every role by herself (including the milkshake), have yet to be confirmed at press time.
~Dan
mini-REVIEW: Dominique Leone @ Cozmic Pizza (Eugene, OR – – 4/2/08)
über-mini review… saw Dominique Leone (from Texas) yesterday at Cozmic Pizza. Great stuff. Quirky, keyboard-and-flute-based avant-pop(?) with vocals not unlike some of the Danielson Familie (in spots). I dug it…
http://www.myspace.com/dominiqueleone
~Dan
\\\ the future of living-room improvisational music ///
OK, so… this blog is a nod to this blog… similar concept (music on the table).
Musical Furnishings
http://www.musicalfurnishings.com/
A future house of ours will have one of these.
~Dan – np: Zappa Plays Zappa – Live in Japan (Jan 2008)
purty video
Holy Fuck’s “Lovely Allen” from Holy Fuck LP2
(it starts 20 seconds in… I don’t know why the gap…)
http://www.myspace.com/holyfuck
http://www.holyfuckmusic.com/
Post-rock brilliance… with a groove your grandma can dance to, but a name she won’t. ;-)
~Dan
REVIEW: That1Guy & Buckethead @ McDonald Theatre (Eugene, OR – – 3/22/08)
’twas an oddrocker double bill yesterday… That1Guy and Buckethead.
This was my fourth time seeing Mr. 1Guy. My review of his show last fall is here. That1Guy started right after 9pm and played for just about an hour. He started out with the haunting strings of “Forgotten Whales” (a song that actually made it on our wedding CDs for the dinner… teehee). He played a lot of instrumental tracks on the magic pipe (a big metal pipe jacked up on electricity), but he also did “Buttmachine,” “Weasel Pot Pie,” and “The Moon is Disgusting.” I kinda wish he would’a done “One,” alas he didn’t. He pulled out the magic boot (a cowboy boot jacked up on electricity)… it’s got a nice tabla-like sound. He also pulled out the magic saw (a large saw jacked up on electricity) and played “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” A couple times in his set he went to a very repetitive place, alas, still an overall great show from That1Guy. Check him out sometime if he comes to your town… todays show was a solid 4.5 stars.
Check out some videos of That1Guy (click the pictures)…
Live in Oz:
One:
Buttmachine:
Buckethead went on at 10:30pm. This was my third time seeing him, and my wife’s first time. I was bummed with no live band backing him. He played along to drum & bass & ’lectronic DAT tracks… that were TOO LOUD. It was too hard to hear him play his guitar half the time. Plus the live band atmosphere is much better. Anyway, he started out with “Jump Man/Night of the Slunk”… played a bunch of other stuff… also played “Stick Pit”… we had to leave 45 minutes in. The volume levels were PAINFUL (and we had earplugs in)… but not so much the guitar volume levels, mainly the backing tracks… ::sigh:: Guitars: 4.5 stars… everything else: 2 stars… so much so that it was unenjoyable past 45 minutes. I totally missed the potential for his patented nun-chuk robot dancing.
I hope to see him again soon (July in Dayton with my brother, maybe)… I hope he has his band back with him.
The appropriate linkage:
Drums are too noisy, you’ve got no corners to hide in.
Lagunitas Brewery’s Frank Zappa beer 3… is in my hands (and mouf)…
Behold, the Lumpy Gravy Ale… a tribute to the 40 year anniv of the album of the same name (sans “ale”)…
FZ beer 4 (We’re Only in it for the Money) comes out in June… at Frank’s level of output, this’ll be 2 specially crafted beer tributes a year. Huzzah!!
FZ beer 1 was Freak Out!, and 2 was Kill Ugly Radio (aka Absolutely Free). I snagged 1 back in 2006… I totally missed 2. I need to track that shiznit down.
~Dan – np: Swami Late Plate (Bobby Previte & Jamie Saft) – Doom Jazz
KX 15
So King’s X‘s XV comes out on May 20th… they are one of my favorite rock bands… ever. They’ve got great guitars (Ty Tabor), great bass and vocals (Doug Pinnick), and idiosyncratic-yet-powerful drumming (Jerry Gaskill), and great vocal melodies/harmonies from all three men. They are the godfathers of grunge… mentors/trailblazers to Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, and the like.
I’ve seen King’s X live upwards of 15 times, and rarely in my hometown (*grin*). The only thing that has kept me from going to their shows would be something like… well… my own wedding rehearsal dinner (*blush*my wife is my favorite*blush*). I hope they hit the PacNW on the next tour… it’s been 3 years since I last saw ’em… I’m jonesin’…
This is, as the name suggests, their fifteenth record (though, my my count, that means the Sneak Preview record, Atlantic Best Of, and the Metal Blade Live All Over the Place record all count… which is fuzzy math, if you ask me). Anyway, they’ve been around as a trio since 1983 (so… 25 years), and that’s an accomplishment in these times.
Their last album before this one was the fantastic Ogre Tones (in 2005). I’d say my favorite five records of theirs are (in chrono order): Gretchen Goes To Nebraska (1989), Dogman (1994), Ear Candy (1996), Please Come Home…Mr. Bulbous (2000), and Ogre Tones (2005). And, in my opinion, you can’t go wrong with any of them (well, OK, Black Like Sunday didn’t float my boat).
I’m really looking forward to this new one, XV. It’s produced by the same guy who did Ogre Tones, Mr. Michael Waggoner. Plus regarding recent output, Doug Pinnick’s solo record from last year (Strum Sum Up) was great.
Anyway, I’ve been buying a lot less music lately since starting the PhD program… and this one, well, I’m looking forward to spending my “ration”… :-)
~Dan – np: An Endless Contortionist – Endless Contortionist Quartet
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
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