Archive
Blood Into Wine (poster)
I’m really, really, really looking forward to this movie…
~Dan – np: Miho Hatori – Ecdysis 
Artists of the Decade – 2000s (#1 to 10)
Artists of the Decade – Honorable Mentions (1/1/2010 blog link)
- Dweezil Zappa
- Tori Amos
- Celldweller
- Iron & Wine
- King’s X
- Derek Webb
Artists of the Decade (#21 to 25) (1/1/2010 blog link)
25 ~ Ben Folds (solo)
24 ~ Peter Mulvey
23 ~ Opeth
22 ~ dredg
21 ~ Holy Fuck
Artists of the Decade (#11 to 20) (1/4/2010 blog link)
20 ~ Pedro the Lion (and David Bazan solo)
19 ~ Jurassic 5
18 ~ My Brightest Diamond
17 ~ Nellie McKay
16 ~ Secret Chiefs 3
15 ~ Over the Rhine
14 ~ Mike Patton
13 ~ Ani DiFranco
12 ~ Johnny Cash
11 ~ Dave Douglas
And now on to the final ten…
~*~*~
10 ~ Glen Phillips
At the turn of the decade / century / millenium, Glen’s band Toad the Wet Sprocket were breaking up. He went on to make several solo albums (Winter Pays For Summer being my fave thus far), several mostly brilliant side ventures (Plover, RemoteTreeChildren, WPA, Mutual Admiration Society), and even reunite with Toad for some tours. He’s as active as ever and also quite the tweeter (oft humorous / oft political).
~*~*~
9 ~ Porcupine Tree (and Steven Wilson projects)
Near the beginning of the decade, I was giving up on “prog rock.” Then a buddy told me about Porcupine Tree (thanks, SteveC). 2002’s In Absentia is amazing, and I quickly bought PT’s catalogue. The entire decade was full of Steven Wilson projects – whether Porcupine Tree or his many (and I mean many) side projects. Speaking of… Steven’s 6th and final Cover Versions CD and 7″ vinyl will be out sometime soon in the coming months.
~*~*~
8 ~ Sufjan Stevens
Illinoise was Paste’s #1 album of the decade. I think it’s in my Top 10 (as mentioned earlier, I honestly can’t bring myself to widdle down my album list to 20 or even 50 for the decade). Illinoise was my first foray into Sufjan’s world. The infatuation was near immediate. He ranges from poppy, to eclectic folk, to avant-electronic, to chamber music… and I think his song titles, while sometimes considered pretentious, put him in my hero list. :) The later part of the decade showed a more secluded Sufjan and a recant on the 50 States “promise.” However, I’m still very excited about what’s up his sleeves for the next decade.
~*~*~
7 ~ John Zorn (Masada and otherwise)
I knew of Zorn in the 1990s (via the connection to Mike Patton and specifically Mr. Bungle), but didn’t get into him until 2003 or so. Even still, I didn’t know about Masada (his klezmer-jazz quartet) until mid-decade. Their recorded studio work was all in the 1990s, but they stayed active touring throughout the 2000s… and John Zorn kept actively writing Masada Book Two – which is a book of music covered by other bands and has seen a dozen fantastic releases on his label, Tzadik. I just counted, and I have 82 John Zorn related disks from the decade (CDs, DVDs, vinyl). So, um, yeah, he’s prolific. The Masada / Bar Kokhba / Electric Masada is my favorite category of Zorn releases; but his Filmworks series, Moonchild Trio (Mike Patton, Joey Baron & Trevor Dunn), and The Gift / Dreamers band are also key releases. 2010 has 12 new Zorn releases on the docket. *drool*
~*~*~
6 ~ Maynard James Keenan (Tool / A Perfect Circle / Puscifer)
One of the best singers in the world of rock, Maynard has kept busy… this decade: three bands and eight or so albums, several DVD releases, remix albums & singles, vinyl singles, and a new winery. While he doesn’t always nail it every time, his and his bands’ hit rates far exceed most. His solid work ethic points to more releases next decade. A recent interview leads me to believe that the touring side of things may slow down some, but I’m hoping that just means “less touring” and not “no touring.” There have been hints of Tool and A Perfect Circle studio stuff in the near future… and Puscifer seems alive and kicking (and keen on the internet EP thing). Puscifer is hitting the Midwest and East Coast in early 2010.
~*~*~
5 ~ Daniel Johns (Silverchair & The Dissociatives)
2002’s Diorama (by Silverchair) is a contender for best album of the decade for me. Daniel Johns followed that up with a side project with Paul Mac called The Dissociatives. Their self-titled debut (2004) is also a contender for best album of the decade… then Silverchair came roaring back in 2007 with Young Modern – another strong contender. Daniel Johns and his couple of bands has large gaps between studio releases, but they all score high every time for me. They’ve moved well beyond their debut (which they released in the 90s at age 15). 2010 promises the follow-up to Young Modern… so, look out, Best of 2010 lists…
~*~*~
4 ~ Elliott Smith
I found out about Elliott in early 2000, a little bit after Figure 8 came out. I had the opportunity to see him live at Southgate House (Newport, KY) on the Figure 8 Tour. He quickly became an important part of my musical diet. His albums hit me emotionally, but he left us too early (he died of apparent self-induced stab wounds to the heart on October 21, 2003). I still get goosebumps with his music and quite frankly have never been affected by a celebrity’s death like I am by Elliott’s. An album and more of his unreleased material has made its way out since his death. I don’t believe in an afterlife, but if there were one, I’d hope to get to meet Elliott and have a beer with him.
~*~*~
3 ~ Sigur Rós
Ágætis byrjun and ( ) may be the most beautiful things that I don’t understand due to language barriers – two perfect albums, if you ask me. This past decade Sigur Rós went on to make four full length albums, a handful of EPs and soundtracks, several world tours, an utterly gorgeous tour documentary called Heima (that rivals Pink Floyd’s Live at Pompeii in stunning beauty), and still find time to take time off (well, time off except for Jónsi – who released a duo album with his partner Alex Sommers and is set to release a solo album in early 2010).
~*~*~
2 ~ Radiohead (and Thom & Jonny solo)
One of the most unarguably overrated bands of all-time… yet, one of my favorites. The decade started with Kid A and ended with some Thom Yorke solo activity… it was a full decade of albums, tours, solo work (the aforementioned Thom solo stuff plus two soundtracks from Jonny). They branch out and sometimes get more praise and credit than is merited (I know skads of indie artists doing the “pay what you want” method years before In Rainbows), but I suppose Radiohead were the first formerly major-label / international band to do so. Anyway, Radiohead, despite public pressure, continue to evolve as a band. That scores major points with me. They’re hitting the studio in January 2010… yippie.
~*~*~
1 ~ Kevin Moore (Chroma Key & OSI)
Yeah, the #1 of the decade who few know about… Kevin Moore left the progressive rock band Dream Theater in 1994, shedding the seemingly antithetic “progressive” constraints of the progressive scene to make his own music. Chroma Key’s debut Dead Air For Radios (1999) is my #1 album of all-time… but it came out in the late 90s. The 2000 album You Go Now is probably in my Top 10 of all-time as well. The branching out into scoring with Kevin’s solo soundtrack Ghost Book (for the Turkish horror movie OKUL), political/religious-imagery radio/mix-taping with Memory Hole 1, and the new band project with Jim Matheos called the Office of Strategic Influence (aka O.S.I.) solidified Kevin in my favorite artists list. I’m looking forward to more Chroma Key, O.S.I., Memory Hole, or solo work that Kevin puts out… hopefully soon.
~*~*~*~*~
As pointed out the other day, the 2010s are shaping up to be a great decade… see you on the other side!
My Other Favorites of 2009 Recaps:
- Fave Concerts of ‘09 are recapped *HERE*
- Fave EPs/Vinyl/Live/more of ‘09 are recapped *HERE*
- Fave Vocal Albums ‘09 are recapped *HERE*
- Fave Instrumental Albums ’09 are *HERE*
- Old Years: 2008I, 2008V, 2008ep, 2008C, 2007V, 2007I, 2007C, 2006, 2005
~Dan – np: Charlie Hunter – Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid
Oh, and for those who say that the decade ends at the end of 2010… meh. I’m starting with 0 and ending with 9 (like a LOT of people). Rationale: the 80s, the 90s… you don’t say the 80s went from 1/1/1981 to 12/31/1990 or the 90s from 1/1/1991 to 12/31/2000.
Favorite Concerts of 2009
Well, this year’s concert seasons were especially good to me… 365 days, 70 shows, 119 artists, 1 wine-tasting rock show, many long nights driving home, and a lot of photos…
My favorite concerts of 2009:
- Maynard James Keenan’s Puscifer (2 nights) :: Roseland Theater :: Portland, OR {14&16 Nov} [reviews with pictures – night #1 & night #2]
- Nellie McKay & the Aristocrats :: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley :: Seattle, WA {20 Oct} [review with pictures]
- dredg :: Hawthorne Theatre :: Portland, OR {3 Apr} [review]
- Holy Fuck :: Doug Fir Lounge :: Portland, OR {4 Jun} [review with pictures & video]
- The Swell Season :: McDonald Theatre :: Eugene, OR {23 Nov} [review with pictures]
- Zappa Plays Zappa :: Hawthorne Theatre :: Portland, OR {2 Jan} [review]
- Flight of the Conchords & Arj Barker :: Arlene Schnitzer Hall :: Portland, OR {14 May} [review]
- SFJazz Collective 2009 with Dave Douglas, Joe Lovano, Miguel Zenon, and more focusing on the music of McCoy Tyner :: The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts :: Eugene, OR {19 Mar} [review with pictures]
- Opeth & Enslaved :: Roseland Theater :: Portland, OR {12 May} [review]
- The Melvins (2 sets) :: John Henry’s :: Eugene, OR {9 Aug} [review with pictures]
- My Weekend with Peter Mulvey & Krista Detor :: Alberta Street Pub/Sam Bond’s Garage :: Portland/Eugene, OR {7&8 Nov} [review with pictures]
- Hiromi’s Sonicbloom :: Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley :: Seattle, WA {16 Jun} [review with pictures]
- David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion) :: House Show :: Eugene, OR {25 Jul} [review with pictures]
- Madeleine Peyroux :: The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts :: Eugene, OR {25 Mar} [review]
- Patton Oswalt :: Newmark Theatre :: Portland, OR {13 Sep} [review]
Runners-Up: Emily Wells & PCP at Cozmic, UofO’s Percussion Ensemble Tribute to Frank Zappa, David Cross at Newmark, Porcupine Tree & That1Guy at Roseland (Portland), Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra at Hult Center, and Spinal Tap at Paramount (Seattle).
Biggest Disappointments: missing Zappa Plays Zappa in Eugene in late November due to them getting stuck in California due to snow, missing Tristeza in Portland in early December due to a bad sinus infection, missing Melt Banana in Portland due to freezing rain & fog, seeing Yann Tiersen play an utterly dreadful show in Portland, and not seeing Over the Rhine for the 2nd year in a row (we’ll have to make up for it in 2010).
And to end on a positive note…
My favorite concert photos of 2009: (in no particular order)
- The Swell Season in Eugene
- Sweethead, opener for Puscifer in Portland
- Carina Round and Maynard James Keenan behind their boxes for Puscifer in Portland
- Sin Fang Bous, opener for Múm in Portland
- Hildur Guðnadóttir of Múm screaming her heart out in Portland
- Nellie McKay in Seattle
- Aimee Mann smiles in Portland
- Sara Watkins of Works Progress Administration in Eugene
- Alice in Chains iPhone shot in Portland
- Gavin from dredg moves too fast for me in Portland
- King Buzzo of The Melvins in Eugene
- Zoë Jakes dancing with Beats Antique in Eugene
- Jerry Gaskill’s stick action with King’s X in Portland
- Brian Borcherdt of Holy Fuck in Portland
(all images are free to use under a creative commons designation, simply identify Daniel Temmesfeld with a photo credit and link to jazzsick.wordpress.com)
Past Favorite Concerts Lists:
Favorite music of 2009 will be coming the week of Dec 28th… EPs/DVDs/etc, vocal albums, instrumental albums, artists of the decade…
~Dan – np: Anthony Coleman – Freakish: A Tribute to Jelly Roll Morton
Puscifer – Spring 2010
Maynard James Keenan is taking Puscifer to the midwest and east coast in Spring 2010… I’d highly recommend the VIP wine tasting tickets, if you can. It was only an extra $20-25 or so, and you get some Caduceus/Merkin wine and meet Maynard. This tour is also right on the heels of the release of the Arizona wine documentary Blood Into Wine (click link for trailers).
Mar. 02 – Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage
Mar. 03 – Atlanta, GA – CW Center Stage
Mar. 05 – Washington DC – Lincoln Theater
Mar. 06 – Washington DC – Lincoln Theater
Mar. 08 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of the Living Arts
Mar. 09 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of the Living Arts
Mar. 11 – New York, NY – Grand Ballroom
Mar. 13 – New York, NY – Apollo Theater
Mar. 15 – Boston, MA – Berklee Academy of Music
Mar. 16 – Boston, MA – Berklee Academy of Music
Mar. 19 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theater
Mar. 20 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theater
Mar. 21 – Lorain, OH (Cleveland) – Lorain Theater
Mar. 23 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Theater
Mar. 24 – Detroit, MI – Royal Oak Theater
Mar. 26 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater
Mar. 27 – Chicago, IL – Vic Theater
Mar. 28 – Columbus, OH – Lifestyles Community Pavilion (added 1/12)
Mar. 30 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater (date changed)
Mar. 30 – St Louis, MO – Roberts Orpheum Theater (canceled)
Mar. 31 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
Apr. 02 – Minneapolis, MN – Pantages Theater
Apr. 03 – Minneapolis, MN – Pantages Theater
Have fun, folks! Puscifer in Portland last month was a blast or two. :)
~Dan – np: My Brightest Diamond – Shark Remixes, Vol 4: DM Stith
Maynard’s BLOOD INTO WINE
Two new trailers for Maynard James Keenan‘s forthcoming documentary Blood Into Wine…
(the serious trailer)
(the silly trailer)
I heard about this during the wine tasting portion of the Portland Puscifer show… now seeing the trailers – I’m stoked to see the movie. It looks great… they need to find a way to package a 2-DVD with a 375 mL of the 2007 Judith. :)
Or, heck, even the recent Chupacabra / DVD combo would be nice, as the Judith is rarer than rare (20 cases).
Note: Maynard is the singer in Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer… and he makes great wines.
~Dan – np: Madeleine Peyroux – Bare Bones
REVIEW: Maynard James Keenan’s PUSCIFER 2nd night @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 11/16/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW are at the BOTTOM
Maynard’s voice shines on Night 2…
Saturday’s Puscifer show (review link) was fantastic, and I happened to be up in Portland for a work training session; so, what the hell… let’s do this again! I heart Maynard!
No wine tasting (for me) this time… in fact, for a more detailed review, definitely check out Saturday’s show review. Monday, I showed up around 8pm and got situated near the front of the general admission section.
Sweethead opened the show again. I switched up where I took in their music this time… I could definitely hear the guitars better, but the vocals were a little muddy until midway through their set. I liked them. Troy’s a good guitarist, and Serrina has some nice energy (ok, and nice legs, too). :)
This was their last night as support for Puscifer, and Troy took a dive into the drum set at the end… crash! buzz!
After Troy and Serrina got up, they left the stage – guitar still buzzing. As the crew pulled Sweethead’s gear and monitors off the stage, they lifted up a large black sheet to hide the stage (something new compared to Saturday night)…
I had seen on setlist.fm that the two nights in the same city had differing set lists, and Portland was no exception. Where Saturday was more of the blasphemy day to kick things off, Monday was… well… at 9pm, then the sheet came down, it looked like it was a camping theme (complete with fake fire). Maynard was inside the tent, and they had him projected on the screen behind him. After some bullshitting, he finally came out to start the show properly…
The stage seemed darker, but at least Maynard was out there for the two songs of which I was allowed to take photos. Both he and Carina were obfuscated again behind the video boxes, which is an oddity fitting of Maynard’s persona. Overall, I think Monday night’s show featured Maynard’s voice better – though the song selection wasn’t much different (other than order). The video breaks were completely different… comedic pitchmen trying to sell reality television concepts to Maynard – who wasn’t paying too well of attention and always got the concept wrong. Hilarity ensued, of course.
Here’s what they played among the campfire and sleeping bags…
Setlist: 90 minutes or so [compare sets with Night #1]
- Rev 22:20
- Drunk With Power
- (Video Break 1)
- Indigo Children
- Trekka
- Potions
- (Video Break 2)
- Momma Sed (with Tim Alexander as a Portland stripper)
- Vagina Mine
- Dozo
- The Undertaker
- (Video Break 3)
- Polar Bear
- Sour Grapes
- Queen B
- The Mission (featuring Carina Round)
- The Humbling River
- No Encore
Maynard’s voice sounded especially great on Indigo Children, Potions, Momma Sed (seemed slower/mellower than Saturday), Polar Bear, and The Humbling River. I’m really digging the new EP’s material… and I’m looking forward to more digital EPs, physical CDs, whatever Maynard wants to throw at us!
more pictures at the bottom
You can get Puscifer’s music via the pictures below:
You can grab some of Maynard’s wines (if you are lucky to be in the shipping area) via this:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Puscifer’s Site
- Maynard / Puscifer on MySpace
- Caduceus Wine
- Carina Round’s Site
- Carina Round on MySpace
- Tool on MySpace
- Sweethead’s Site
- Sweethead on MySpace
- Spin‘s San Diego Review (Oct 31st)
- My review of Portland Night #1
- Roseland Theater
Check out the Puscifer tour dates below.
~Dan – np: The Swell Season – Strict Joy
PUSCIFER & SWEETHEAD PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (9 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (43 pics)
Tour Dates
- 10/29/09, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
REVIEW: Maynard James Keenan’s PUSCIFER 1st night @ Roseland (Portland, OR – 11/14/09)
FYI… PHOTOS of the SHOW at the BOTTOM
Wine followed by Maynard’s blasphemous vaudeville show… Wow.
So, I’ve been a fan of Maynard James Keenan‘s vocal since the first utterances I heard from his “main band” TOOL. I loved his work with his first side-project, A Perfect Circle, especially the first album Mer de Noms. I was aware of Puscifer a while ago, as it started out as a “joke band” that debuted on a skit on Bob Odenkirk and David Cross’s Mr. Show on HBO (Maynard and Tool’s Adam Jones show up in a short clip). Never did I think that joke band name would turn into a real alter ego for Maynard himself, he’d release an album and a batch of remix EPs, and then hit the road!
So, for this 1st Portland show, I bought the VIP ticket which included a meet & greet and wine tasting (I didn’t do that for Portland show #2 as I didn’t know I was going to be able to go until a few days ago). For those not in the know, Maynard has gotten into wine making the past few years. Back in Ohio, I could order the wine to be shipped to me, and I still have a couple bottles of the 2005 Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra sitting in my utility closet… um… I mean in my “wine cellar.” I haven’t been able to taste any of Maynard’s recent Caduceus wines, as unfortunately, they don’t have the ability to ship to Oregon (argh, free the grapes!).
The meet & greet and wine tasting started a little after 5pm. We got shuffled into the back room of Roseland’s downstairs bar. Todd (I didn’t catch his last name) is Maynard’s wine guy, or at least he’s a touring member of Maynard’s crew who knows a lot about the wine. He mentioned several times about being involved in the last A Perfect Circle tour – right around the time Maynard was getting started with vineyard purchases / development. Todd talked for about an hour and fifteen about the various wines, including the one we were tasting – the 2006 Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra (limited to 5,000 cases). The Chupacabra vintages are designed to be different, similar to the folk legend of the chupacabra. The 2006 is a blend of 36% cabernet sauvignon, 13% petite verdot, 22% syrah, 14% petite sirah (all sourced from Paso Robles), and 15% of an unknown grape (yeah, I’m an accountant and noticed the missing % on their info sheet).
(click for larger picture with autograph)
The Chupacabra is Maynard’s most “mass produced” wine, and current batches are in the 10,000 case range. We obviously didn’t get to try any of Maynard’s 20 case batch of very special Judith wines (grown at 5,000+ feet altitude with land spread with his mother’s ashes). Todd also spoke a little bit about current discussions with Whole Foods to get the wines distributed into Portland. He also mentioned a documentary, Blood Into Wine, about Arizona wines with a little bit of Maynard, Fairuza Balk, Milla Jovavich, Patton Oswalt, Bob Odenkirk, and others in the footage. It is expected to hit the Sundance Festival and some select theatres in Feb 2010.
After Todd’s info and Q&A session, he went to go get Maynard, who had just finished sound check. Maynard came down and walked around the room and individually handed each one of us a signed copy of the Puscifer debut album (V is for Vagina). He only very briefly chatted with folks. He asked me if I learned anything from the wine talk, to which I replied “yes, thank you.” That’s about the extent of my interaction with Maynard, but I thought it was wicked cool to receive a signed copy of the album directly from his hands. :) Since he’s a busy guy, he took off shortly after making his tour around the room.
I had to leave after the meet & greet to get some grub; so I walked over to my favorite, close-by vegan restaurant (represent!) until show time.
When I got back to the venue, I went over to get my photo pass. I had free reign for the opener’s set, but only allowed to snap photos for the first two songs of Puscifer’s set (more on that later)…
Sweethead was the opener. Sweethead is guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age, Failure, A Perfect Circle) and lead vocalist Serrina Sims with Norm Block and Eddie Nappi from the Mark Lanegan Band. 
They were a good rock group and played about a half of an hour. I was in a place in the venue (front / center) where the sound usually isn’t the best. My spot will be likely different for Monday’s show.
I think every time I’ve seen a Maynard band (three times for Tool and A Perfect Circle each), the opener has either been a Mike Patton-related band (Tomahawk, or on his label Ipecac – Isis & The Melvins) or a Ken Andrews-related band (Year of the Rabbit and now Sweethead is connected to Ken via one step with Troy and Failure). I’m not complaining, as I love Patton and Failure-related projects. I dug Sweethead… hopefully I’ll get a better feel for their sound on Monday.
Puscifer‘s set started with a video Maynard’s Major Douché character barking orders at us. Shortly thereafter, with band in place, Maynard wheeled out on a Segway in his horrible comb-overed, bedazzled sweat pants wearing preacher and kicked into “Sour Grapes.” This kick-off was a not-so-subtle hint that it was going to be a crude, blasphemous vaudeville experience – not your typical rock show.
As I only had photo privileges for the first two songs, I snapped away. Unfortunately, Maynard was off changing during the second song, “Rev 22:20” – so I resorted to snapping away at the band. I’m hoping Monday’s set, I get some more non-be-sweatpants‘ed Maynard. The security guards were quite adamant and nabbing people’s cellphones; so I’m definitely grateful to Maynard’s publicist for getting me the hook-up for these Portland shows.
I didn’t catch all of the band members’ names… but I do know that Carina Round covered the female vocals, and did a smash up job on “The Mission,” which model/actress Milla Jovavich sang on the studio version. Primus drummer Tim Alexander handled drums. Also in the band were two guitarists, an electronic & keyboards guy, and a percussionist. During the songs, if any individual band members wasn’t performing, they’d sit on the sofas or wander around and drink wine (which was laid out all over the stage) and munch on fruit, cheese and crackers. Also roaming around the stage was a cameraman dressed up as a ninja – which was later announced to be the one and only Meats Meier, Puscifer’s official CGI music video madman.
Here’s what they played…
Setlist: 90 minutes or so [compare sets with Night #2]
- Sour Grapes
- Rev 22:20
- (Video Break 1)
- Dozo
- The Undertaker
- Drunk With Power
- (Video Break 2)
- Momma Sed
- Indigo Children
- Vagina Mine
- (Video Break 3)
- Potions
- Polar Bear
- Trekka
- Queen B
- The Mission (featuring Carina Round)
- The Humbling River
- No Encore
I had heard some rumblings of people being disappointed in the past Puscifer shows. I think if you go in thinking it’s going to be a rock show (or a Tool show), you’re in it for the wrong reasons. I got to hear an hour and half of fun music and crazy ramblings, and I was thoroughly entertained. Monday promises to be different… I expect some country hee-haw may be on order…
more live photos at the bottom
You can get Puscifer’s music via the pictures below:
You can grab some of Maynard’s wines (if you are lucky to be in the shipping area) via this:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- Puscifer’s Site
- Maynard / Puscifer on MySpace
- Caduceus Wine
- Carina Round’s Site
- Carina Round on MySpace
- Tool on MySpace
- Sweethead’s Site
- Sweethead on MySpace
- Spin‘s San Diego Review (Oct 31st)
- My review of Portland Night #2 (Nov 16th)
- Roseland Theater
Check out the Puscifer tour dates below.
~Dan – np: The Swell Season – Once
PUSCIFER & SWEETHEAD PHOTOS
all pictures (cc) 2009 Daniel Temmesfeld,
you may use freely under a creative commons attribution
(click for larger)
Higher Resolution (10 pics)
Limited to 1200 pixels wide or tall (49 pics)
Tour Dates
- 10/29/09, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
C is for…
The new digital only Puscifer EP is out now… get it on Amazon or iTunes.
The tour is underway and hits Portland’s Roseland Theater this coming weekend… woot! I’ll be at the Saturday & Monday shows.
~Dan – np: Puscifer – C is For…
no free downloads, mp3, or torrents available here
Puscifer “The Mission” video
“The Mission,” from the forthcoming Puscifer digital EP…
I like Meats Meier, but I think this “little CGI Maynard” theme in his videos are getting a bit tiring to me. Oh well… good song. The C is For… -EP- comes out Nov 10th. Check out tour dates below…
- 10/29/09, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom) *I’ll be at this one*
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom) *and this one*
check back in mid-November for my reviews with photos
- 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
Yay, I get to see Maynard up close at Roseland (for $20+ extra, I opted for the Caduceus wine meet & greet, too). I’ve only seen him in a big arena for Tool or a big theater for A Perfect Circle. Should be fun…
~Dan – np: Regina Spektor – Far
PS- I’m gonna pass 100,000 hits on the blog either today or tomorrow. Yippie… thanks for all of you who visit and read frequently via the RSS feed.
Puscifer EP (Nov 10)
As reported on TOOL‘s website, Maynard James Keenan is releasing a digital only Puscifer EP on November 10, 2009…
~Dan – np: McTuff on Jazz NW 10/11/09
Puscifer Tour Dates:
- 10/29, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom) *I’ll be at this one*
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom) *and this one*
check back in mid-November for my reviews with photos - 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
PUSCIFER’s Fall 2009 West Coast Tour
Update: I’ll be at both Portland shows. Go HERE for the review and photos from Night #1 (11/14/09)… and HERE for the review and photos from Night #2 (11/16/09).
Tool & A Perfect Circle frontman (and winemaker) Maynard James Keenan‘s Puscifer project hit Las Vegas and Los Angeles this past Winter & Spring. Now, Puscifer’s hitting the road, or at least the road on the Western side of the States (aka “good enough for me“). I shall hit one of the Seattle or Portland dates, assuming I’m able to score a ticket…
Puscifer Tour Dates:
- 10/29, Las Vegas, NV (The Pearl, Palms Casino)
- 10/31, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/1, San Diego, CA (Spreckels Theatre)
- 11/4, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/5, Oakland, CA (Fox Oakland Theater)
- 11/7, Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theatre)
- 11/10, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/11, Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre)
- 11/13, Vancouver, BC (Centre For the Performing Arts)
- 11/14, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom)
- 11/16, Portland, OR (Roseland Ballroom) *new, 21+ show*
- 11/17, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/18, Salt Lake City, UT (Capitol Theatre)
- 11/20, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/21, Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre)
- 11/24, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/25, Dallas, TX (McFarlin Memorial Auditorium)
- 11/27, Houston, TX (Jones Hall for the Performing Arts)
- 11/28, San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre)
- 12/1, El Paso, TX (Abraham Chavez Theatre)
- 12/3, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
- 12/4, Phoenix, AZ (Orpheum Theatre)
Puscifer tickets onsale… soon? September 11th for most of the dates. I don’t know any details, and suffice to say, I’m not blogging about pre-sale info until I’ve secured one for myself. :P :)
~Dan – np: Eyal Maoz’s Edom – Hope and Destruction
REVIEW: Madeleine Peyroux @ the Shedd (Eugene, OR – – 3/25/09)
Great show last night… Madeleine Peyroux and her jazzy quartet played a smooth hour and half set at the Shedd. I’m really coming to love the early start time, no opener, and home at a reasonable time shows at the Shedd. No pictures or (accurate) set list from me for this show… I was in a hurry and drove straight in from work in Portland to make it time for the show.
Madeleine had a backing quartet made up of a piano/keyboard/organ/melodica player, an electric/upright bassist, a mandolin/guitarist, and a drummer/cardboard box player. They were a really well put together band…
Songs I remember them playing:
Dance Me to the End of Love, Bare Bones, You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go, La Javanaise, Love and Treachery, Our Lady of Pigalle, I Must Be Saved. They came back for an encore dedicated to Barack Obama (There’s Something Grand).
Great, soothing show. Wonderful, lush, Billie Holiday-esque vocals, great accompaniment. If she comes through your town, check her out! Oh, she also has a new CD out, Bare Bones:
The Appropriate Linkage:
- http://www.madeleinepeyroux.com/
- http://www.myspace.com/officialmadeleinepeyroux
- http://www.theshedd.org/
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Totally side note cool news…
- Tool is touring this summer.. read more at Blabbermouth.
- Medeski Martin & Wood‘s Radiolarians II is coming out April 14th.
~Dan – np: Buckethead – Colma
Puscifer Command Central
Maynard James Keenan (aka Major Douche) held a press conference about the upcoming Feb 13-15th Puscifer shows at The Palms Casino in Las Vegas:
Oh, how I wish I could go to Vegas in a few weeks… like, not as much as I wish I were in San Francisco for the Week of Masada in March, but pretty damn close. Pretty… damn…. close…
~Dan – np: Audioslave – Out of Exile
Glen Phillips (another side project) & more Maynard news
Glen Phillips (of Toad the Wet Sprocket) released a great Plover side-project about a month and a half ago. I dig it a-plenty. Find out more about it over here.
Fresh off the heels of Plover is another Glen side-project called Remote Tree Children (or the all jammed together RemoteTreeChildren). Their debut, Veterans of the Loudness Wars, is available @ Band Camp. I’m downloading it now; so I can’t speak to it’s greatness*. But knowing my hyperbolic ways and my mostly undying love for Glen Phillips, it’s gonna be better than a basket full of shiba inu puppies. Better off for you uninitiated and/or hit hard by economic downturn(s)… it is mother fuppin’ FREE (or $10 if you want lossless).
>> http://remotetreechildren.bandcamp.mu/ <<
on the MySpaces: http://www.myspace.com/remotetreechildren
It’s FREE!! But… support indie music if you are able!!
* Update: Holy poop skittles, the lead off track is fuuuuuun & funky & kinda disco-y (in the good way)… and the rest of the album doesn’t disappoint at all. For such a late in the year release, this is still definitely a contender for Best of the Year for me. Seriously. I only type with mild hyperbole.
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Also, fresh off of the news of a Puscifer live show in Vegas in Feb ’09… Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) blabbed to The Pulse of Radio that he and guitarist Billy Howerdel (APC & Ashes Divide) have been working on some fresh material for A Perfect Circle:
I doubt if we’ll do any touring or, you know, do a full album. We might do some one-off shows here and there if the timing’s right and it seems like a good vibe and a smart thing to do. But most likely we’ll just kind of concentrate on… one or two songs at a time, rather than investing all the time and money and effort into making those plastic discs that no one cares about anymore.
The whole “plastic discs that no one cares about anymore” is troubling. I’d hate to see only electronic releases in the future, but I guess new APC is new APC. I gotta roll with the punches in this new, yet unfortunate, digital age…
The article also said that his main band, TOOL, has been on vacation since early 2008, although Keenan said that he expects the band to begin writing a new album sometime in 2009.
Yay!
~Dan – np: Beck – Modern Guilt
{{Puscifer}} Live in Las Vegas (2/13, 2/14 & 2/15)
Update 2/16: If you came here looking for a review or setlist, SPIN has a great review here:
http://spin.com/articles/puscifer-plays-first-ever-live-show
2/13/09 Puscifer set list (per SPIN):
(Video segment #1)
(Skit)
“Sour Grapes”
“Rev 22:20”
“DoZo”
(Video segment #2)
“Drunk With Power”
“The Undertaker”
“Vagina Mine”
“Momma Sed”
(Video segment #3)
“Polar Bear”
“Trekka”
“Indigo Children”
“The Mission”
“Queen Bee”
Some fan-shot YouTube Videos from the show:
Puscifer with Milla Jovovich “The Mission”
Puscifer “Mama Said”
Original post (12/2/08):
To which I’ll add a precursor (“I wish this weren’t Valentine’s weekend”)… from Maynard:
Bust out your best mint green polyester suit and white patent leather shoes! Puscifer makes its live debut this February 13 & 14 at The Pearl in The Palms Casino. VEGAS, BABY!!! YEAH!!! With a cast of characters that include both musicians and comedians, I see the shows as a new take on what an evening of entertainment can be. I will share more details with you over the next couple of months but with rumors already circulating about what I was planning I wanted to make sure that the newsletter subscribers were the first to know. Many Many Many details to follow. C’mon 7’s and 11’s!
Puscifer will also have a remix for “Lighten Up, Francis” in Underworld 3 and we are working with Renholder and Milla for the end credits.
Update: A third date (2/15) has been added…
~Dan – np: Steven Wilson – Insurgentes
odd music news day
I honestly don’t know which one I like best…
(1) Tool front-man Maynard James Keenan planning a Las Vegas act at The Palms for 2009, or
(2) The Beatles 14-minute avant-garde “Carnival of Light” experiment (from 1967) is going to be released
From Blabbermouth:
The Pulse of Radio reports that TOOL frontman Maynard James Keenan is putting together a cabaret-style show for a string of dates at The Palms in Las Vegas, beginning in mid-February. According to an inside source, the shows will feature both comedy and music. Keenan is not a stranger to this kind of gig – he told The Pulse of Radio that his side band PUSCIFER actually evolved out of a similar type of show he used to do in his pre-TOOL days in Hollywood. “Generally started off as a name that I was attaching to some of the comedy things I was doing with (comedian) Laura Milligan at this club called Tantrum which existed in the Diamond Club on Hollywood and La Brea,” he said. “(We’d) have a variety show, lots of talent coming through there just kind of trying out their new stuff. So PUSCIFER was kind of like the band that would kind of close the show.”
Milligan is a comedian and actress seen on “Mr. Show” and more recently in “Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny”. Several performers from both projects used to work on the same gigs as Keenan. Keenan’s Vegas act will reportedly incorporate both friends and outside musicians to perform some music from PUSCIFER and other material.
The Beatles’ “Carnival of Light,” a 14-minute experimental piece from 1967, may see the light of day soon if Paul McCartney has his way. McCartney confirmed the track’s existence in a BBC Radio 4 interview; the song was recorded for an electronic music festival but was never officially released.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, McCartney said: “The time has come for it to get its moment. “I like it because it’s The Beatles free, going off piste. I said all I want you to do is just wander around all the stuff, bang it, shout, play it, it doesn’t need to make any sense. Hit a drum then wander on to the piano, hit a few notes, just wander around. So that’s what we did and then put a bit of an echo on it. It’s very free.” According to BBC News, McCartney pushed for the song to be included on The Beatles’ Anthology releases in the mid-’90s, but it was vetoed by the rest of the band.
~Dan – np: John Zorn – Film Works XXI: Belle de Nature / The New Rijksmuseum
a trio of music news
New Puscifer video… while CGI like the other Puscifer vids, it’s the first one that features a non-CGI Maynard James Keenan (complete with a bottle of his own Caduceus wine)… “Momma Sed,” brought to you by the A and F in ATF:
only the A & F in ATF… in that he doesn’t smoke.
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Ben Folds Five reunion show for The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner from last month’s MySpace Front to Back is now online in its entirety: GO HERE –> http://www.myspace.com/fronttoback
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The New Years’ Eve concert put on by Ipecac Recordings in San Francisco is set… Fantômas will be playing The Director’s Cut in its entirety. Openers: Tipsy & Zach Hill. It’s $45 and a long drive away; so it’s out for me… but go here if you’re interested: Great American Music Hall’s New Years 2009
Oh, and Breaking news: Beyonce has changed her name to Ra Tsass… or Hoo Kares… or Due Moss… or Sasha Fierce. Meh.
~Dan – np: Tesla – Forever More
Latest: Noctaluca, Puscifer/Lustmord, David Bazan’s Xmas
In order of awesomeness…
Noctaluca, one of my favorite Cincinnati-based rock bands (and quite frankly, one of my favorite rock bands regardless of local flavor) just put out their newest CD, Still the Wicked Rest. I ordered it the same time as their Live DVD, and somehow thought that the new CD was just a live thing, too. Well, when it showed up, I was all like, “hmmm… this looks like a legitimate studio CD.” And, well, it is a new studio CD. And it’s awesome. Think two-guitar hard rock (with a sound that’s equal parts Led Zeppelin & early Alice in Chains) with a strong singer-songwriter core, powerful vocals, and lyrics for the Rage Against the Machine set…
Noctaluca is fronted by singer-songwriter Jason Ludwig. His solo debut, PeLL MeLL, was one of my Top 10 from 2003. Right after he got a lot of local acclaim for this, he ditched gigging by his name and started gigging his new band, Noctaluca. In 2003, I snagged a copy of of the “Monkey Moon” radio single they had at a table at the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards. This was the only recorded Noctaluca until 2006’s long-awaited Towering the Sum. Towering the Sum was in a good group of favorite local CDs that year, as well as being in my Top 10 vocal CDs in 2006, too. All this to say that I LIKE NOCTALUCA. Being surprised with a new studio CD is well, awesomes…
And they start the new Still the Wicked Rest CD off with a re-recording of “Monkey Moon“… natch. It deserved to make its way onto an official CD… finally.
Check ’em out!
http://www.noctaluca.com/
http://www.myspace.com/noctaluca
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Next up in awesomeness… getting endless mileage out of the same songs, there’s a new download-only dub mix of Puscifer songs by the dark & ambient Lustmord. Puscifer is Maynard James Keenan (from Tool & A Perfect Circle). Lustmord has had his hand at remixing the Melvins, Puscifer music previously releases, as well as maybe A Perfect Circle song(s). My mind fails me, and I’m too lazy to check at this point. :) The new album is 53 minutes, 8 songs… and fits in with the Puscifer album as well as a darker dub sound. I’d recommend it if you like Maynard’s music, Lustmord’s music, dark dub, or remixes…
It’s available only at Puscifer’s store for now:
https://store.puscifer.com/
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Next up in awesomeness… still awesome, but it is Christmas music (of which I usually don’t like); so it gets last billing. David Bazan of Pedro the Lion put out another holiday-themed 7″ vinyl – a split of melancholy Jingle Bells & All I Want for Christmas. This was the first one since I’ve lived on the West Coast. The East Coast people got a 3 hour jump on the overnight email he sent out, and they snatched them all up… except for a few on Suicide Squeeze‘s website. I scored one… but barely.
A 1,000 quantity pressing may not be enough, bro.
~Dan – np: Tesla – Forever More
-Eyvind Kang
-Frank Zappa
Amazon.com mp3 downloads
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