music

The Rock Gods Return

Posted on

On the outskirts of London yesterday, Led Zeppelin completely and utterly destroyed the rock landscape for the first time since I was a little lad. I was not there. I thought I would be okay with not being one of the supremely lucky 20k people who were on the inside but reading the reviews, viewing the photos, seeing the set list…let’s just say that I am super & seriously sad that I did not see it live. Now I’m I am dying for either the DVD or a tour to arrive immediately. Immediately meaning yesterday.
21095437.JPG
In terms of learning what when down across the pond, you could turn to the UK Times has a good review and our own NYT has a decent review as well. So does New Music Express. I’m waiting some other good music publications to post their reviews. When they do, I’ll update the site.
12/11 UPDATE: The Rolling Stone review is quite good.
In terms of pics, the NYT has an okayslideshow of photos from in and around the Ahmet Eretugan tribute show. Rolling Stone has a decent one too. By later today, a few hundred other news outlets will as well and again, if they are worth noting, I’ll update this post.
I have a sneaking suspicion that I’ll be listening to Zep a lot in the upcoming days… [“When the Levee Breaks” is on right now]

music

I'm Slipping

Posted on

Paul McCartney played a secret and free show at the Highline Ballroom yesterday and I missed it. I have all the time in the world right now to sit and wait on a line for tickets yet knowledge of this show escaped my usual network of sources and I only found out about it today after the fact. Sure, it was only announced on his web site but still, come on – at this point either my minions or I should have been able to sniff this show out. He played 20 songs, a mix of Beatles songs and songs from his new album Memory Almost Full and from what I’ve seen in the “Watch” section of his site (where you can view clips of the the show), he sounded and looked great. And I missed it. Doh!
I wrote about a site called Tour Filter back in March of this year and how I was hoping not to “slip” anymore regarding rock shows because of this site. However, I wasn’t tracking Paul McCartney on TourFilter – probably because his last tour’s tickets started at $5,000 each (okay, I exagerated a tiny bit). I wonder when Tour Filter picked up on the show…
Regardless, in order for this to not happen again, I plan on now doing 3 things: add every single band I like to my Tour Filter profile, add these bands as my friend at MySpace (if they have a profile there) and sign up for their mailing lists from their own personal web sites. I would suggest you do the same except then maybe you’ll snag my ticket in the future so instead I say simply do what you want. Only time will tell to see if I “slip” again in the future…
Via Dave

music

Keeping Track of Your Bands Is Tough To Do

Posted on

Or at least it used to be. That problem will hopefully be a relic of the past now that there is Tour Filter.
I for one am one of those people who gets tunnel vision from time to time and with all of my various responsibilities (job, school, etc) tunes out a lot of the outside world. This results im me sometimes only finding out last minute (sacrilege!) that my favorite band is either in town or even worse just played somewhere really cool and I missed it. I’ve felt like a complete schmuck; one example is when I learned that learned Robert Plant played Irving Plaza the previous week, that he was playing the Beacon the following night with tickets obviously soldout (how did this happen?!?) which left me scrounging around craigslist last minute and lamenting the lost chance to see him at Irving. While I got tickets to the Beacon show, it was stressful and annoying – two words I never want to associate with Mr. Robert Plant.
Well, hopefully this problem will not happen anymore. While I’ve signed up for Ticketweb and Ticketmaster’s alert lists, they send me bands I don’t care about. I want to track my bands or bands that others think I would like because I like band X. That is Tour Filter’s promise. I’ll give it a few months and see how it goes…
Via Wired Mag

music

Rock & Roll Bookend

Posted on

I wish I always could be so lucky: this past week I started and ended it at a concert. On Monday, I saw the Foo Fighters play an acoustic show at the Beacon Theatre (Frank Black – Pixies – opened). Last night, I saw Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY) perform at the Theatre at MSG after two different people in my life, separated age-wise by over 20 years, both raved about their performance on this tour. While I immensely enjoyed both shows, I was struck by the amazing emotional gulf between the two, mostly in terms of relevancy and importance. One was simply music – the other was music and so much more.
The Foo show was great and left me all smiles. Dave Grohl was engaging, a regular chatty Kathy actually, and their expanded roster of musicians (Pat Smear was back w/ them – gotta love a punk rock dude who was in a band called the Germs whose name rhymes with pap smear) played a lot of the new tracks off of the acoustic side of their new record along with a good number of older songs – “Its all about the catalog dude!” Dave yelled at one point. The songs were all really well done but one song sticks out in particular after last night’s show: “In Your Honor,” the title track from their latest album. Dave wrote that in honor of John Kerry while he was out on the campaign trail with him. He sung it well and the band rocked it out but he never mentioned the campaign, the current world we live in, Bush or anything political at all. He simply played the tune and moved on to other tunes, like “Everlong.” Looking back, it was like listening to rock & roll cotton candy – all fluff and no substance.
Comparabily, the CSNY show didn’t feed you at all: it threw a bucket of cold water in your face and let you know that shits all sorts of fucked up and then worked up your appetite to do something about it. I thought that CSNY would stick to a “safe” show of their classic hits but instead they grabbed the show by the balls. In a surprise, the group played a ton of songs off of Neil Young’s new album Living With War which completely slams the Imperial Bush Presidency and the GWOT (global war on terror for those not up on the lingo). I urged you months ago to listen to the Neil’s new disc and I urge you again now. The group displayed on a huge video screen US deaths broken out by month and lambasted the president for not attending a single soldier’s funeral. They showed a picture of every single dead soldier thus far – 2,607 of them (a fact I know because of last night’s show) – while they played a song dedicated to the troops. They put the words to the new Neil Young song “Let’s Impeach the President” on screen and urged the crowd to sing along. They played “Teach Your Children” and Crosby said “Every teacher’s salary should be tripled!” before launching into it. They played “Ohio” and as everyone was singing “4 dead in Ohio” it felt in a way like Kent State could have just happened.
My friend and I over and over again just couldn’t believe that it was 2006, almost 40 years after these gents made their debut, and that we were watching these 4 strong, clear voices belt out songs with such meaning, harmony and clarity, that we were watcing their fingers run wild and pluck out tunes that scarily matter more than ever. Their stamina too must be commended – they played for a total of 3 hours (with only a 20 min break in the middle so the show was almost 3.5 hrs long). Their message of peace is still a sound one. The peace symbol on the stage wasn’t a dated relic of the 60’s. It was a stark reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same. There is a battle for peace too and that battle needs to be fought and not ignored.
Sitting around reflecting this morning, I wish every concert now packed the same emotional punch that the CSNY show did. Art for art’s sake in a world gone crazy sometimes is not enough. Someone has to be out there making art with a purpose, art with a message. It was like watching Lou Reed’s perfomance at the Hurricane Katrina Summerstage benefit for 3 hours. I feel blessed, energized and motivated. Maybe if every show packed this type of punch I would feel battered but a good slap in the face once in a while to me is a good thing.

music

Rumors

Posted on

Yes, its the title of a famous Fleetwood Mac album. However, it could also describe some new I received from Jessie, who heard about it from a former coworker, who heard it from a friend who knows a guy….let’s just say I received this link to a board with this news at the bottom of the page:

“ATO_Records is apparently a credible PTer. I am not familiar with him, but the general consensus is that he posted information regarding the NYE ’95 CD and the Brooklyn ’04 DVD before any information was released, making him a reliable source. New information supplied by gordeaux shows that ato_records quite probably stands for According to Our Records, an independent record company started by Dave Matthews and some Coran Capshaw fellow, leading some to believe that ato_records is the latter.

Anyway, he posts that he has gotten a list of dates Phish has booked for 2006 at Madison Square Garden – October 28th and 29th. On top of that, rumors have been circulating (though the source is muddled) that Phish has scheduled Halloween 2006 at the Spectrum in Philly and a summer tour that same year. On top of that, a new record label, JEMP records (Jon Ernest Mike Page?) has surfaced on Phish.com and has ownership of the domain jemprecords.com. Couple that with the latest talk by Trey of “not ruling out playing with Mike, Page and Fish” and (supposedly, I know little of this) claiming that he is “working on logistics of a Phish comeback” (any more info on that would be appreciated) and this rumor fits very nicely with the rest of the info circulating as of late.

Also, many third hand “My friend who told me about the breakup before it happened” sources are apparently claiming that Phish is returning – I have two of those going myself, but as always, take those with a grain of salt.

More news: Madison Square Garden Oct 27 and 28 of 2006 is booked. The hold says “Dionsyian Productions and JEMP.” I assume its safe to assume that that has something to do with Phish. Talk about booking shows WAY in advance…

These are the reported Phish dates.

Camden July 24 and 25 (given to us by someone who works for Ron Delsener and said phish is booked for these two nights at the tweeter center in camden)

Festival in Maine (given to us yesterday by someone who claims they work forGreatnortheast Prod. and said permits are in the works)

MSG October 27 and 28 (given to us by ato records, a usually reliable source who told us about the dvd/cd releases as well as the may trey tour)

Halloween at the Spectrum (given to us by someone on the OKP boards who let us know about the breakup before it happened)

Also Hampton 10-23,24 and Providence after Philly

“Rumor is a pipe Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures, And of so easy and so plain a stop That the blunt monster with uncounted heads, The still-discordant wavering multitude, Can play upon it.” – William Shakespeare, from King Henry the Fourth, Part II (Rumor at induction)

music

Mindless Self Indulgence

Posted on

My friend and sometimes co-worker Gil knows the drummer in Mindless Self Indulgence and got me on the guest list for last night’s show at Webster Hall which was awesome considering one of my favorite things in the world to say is, “I’m on the list.” The show itself fucking rocked – I really liked their sound, the crowd was crazed (full of amped up angry punk-goth kids thrashing about) and the band played with so much energy they must have lost a few pounds during the performance. I especially liked it how at the end of the show, the guitarist played his axe w/ a sledgehammer and then destroyed it with said sledgehammer. I hope to see them again in the future, even if I’m not on the list. Here is what the Village Voice has to say about them:

“MSI, the greatest punk-goth-industrial-rap-glam-electro-metal band of all time, recently released You’ll Rebel to Anything, 26 minutes of spazzy misanthropic anti-corporate / conservative / misogynist anthems and a Rush cover [Tom Sawyer, which they played]. Buy it for the bitter, confused teenager in your life, especially if that teenager happens to live in your body. Go to the show for the the thrill, the danger, and the gravity-defying hair.”

music

Long Live The Pixies

Posted on

I saw the Pixies on Monday night and they rocked so hard I couldn’t believe it. It was “Death to the Pixies” (their live double album that I burn for you – post a comment if you want it) 20X better. They played all of their old songs, they were laughing and enjoying each other’s company on stage (which was nice to see due to the public infighting that transpired the last decade while they have been broken up) and they simply just rocked the place OUT. The crowd was great, it was really into it and amped up and to top it all off, just when I thought that my voice was too hoarse and my neck was tired from thrashing, they encored with Debaser (my favorite song of theirs) and Gigantic which launched me into the air dancing and jumping like a fool.


Maybe as an homage to Channukah, they have been playing 8 shows in 8 nights. Tonight is the last night and they are so nice they are playing twice – one show is at 5:30 and the other one starts midnight. I may try and get a ticket to the midnight show. If it wasn’t for finals this week, I would have made it to one of the other shows and in fact, I wasn’t planning on going tonight but after reading a few reviews today, I’m so psyched to see them again that I’m probably going to suck it up and hit up the late show.

I would have to say that this was on of the top 10 shows I have ever seen. As Newsday put it, Their repertoire isn’t legendary, but now you see fans go crazy for ‘Bone Machine’ or ‘Gouge Away.’ You see 18-to-22-year-olds singing every single word of every song. What the whole audience wants is what was obscure. Because of the way the band broke up, most of these people never thought they would ever get the chance to see The Pixies. So now, if you care about credible music from the underground, you have to see The Pixies. You have to get that notch on your bedpost.”

If you have the time and you respect alt-rock, this is a show you have to see. The Pixies are dead! Long Live the Pixies!

Keep reading to read the NY Times and Newsday reviews of the Sunday, 12/12 show…

FROM NY TIMES

Once Upon a Time, There Was This Really Loud Band\By KELEFA SANNEH. Published: December 13, 2004

It’s not hard to envy the Pixies. After more than 10 years apart, the members reunite, only to find that fans (and, if anyone cares, pop critics) love them more than ever. There are sold-out shows, glowing profiles, ecstatic fans. By now you’ve probably read at least one article about how the Pixies helped inspire a generation of bands, about how much Kurt Cobain loved them, about how water tasted different before they came along, about how the sky used to be a slightly different shade of blue.
But despite all that build-up – or maybe because of it – Saturday’s Pixies concert at the Hammerstein Ballroom was a rude, often exhilarating shock. It had been all too easy to forget about the Pixies’ ugliness: how fast they played, how loud they were, how nasty they sounded. Compared with the old-timers, the appealing postpunk act that opened the show, TV on the Radio, seemed positively quaint, even polite.

The concert was the opening night of a weeklong, eight-concert engagement, a tribute not only to the continuing popularity of the Pixies but also to the ticket-buying power of the many 30-something fans who remember the band from their college years. (It would be interesting to know how many devotees end up seeing more than one of the eight concerts.) The opening acts are different every night, ranging from pre-Pixies veterans (the reunited Mission of Burma tonight, the pioneering punk bassist Mike Watt next Saturday) to post-Pixies alt-rock bands (the shaggy Canadian collective Broken Social Scene on Tuesday, the feminist new-wave trio Le Tigre on Wednesday). Don’t be surprised if the Pixies out-clamor them all.

In 1986, when the Pixies were formed, it made sense that an underground rock band would want to make lots of noise. Shrieked lyrics and guitar tantrums were two signs that you weren’t angling to become radio fodder, two signs that you were part of the American postpunk movement – waving the flag, even if you weren’t quite marching in step.

But sometime in the 1990’s, things changed. The success of Nirvana helped introduce Pixiesish chaos to mainstream listeners who decided that screaming singers and screaminger guitars weren’t so hard on the ears after all. From Nine Inch Nails to Korn, shriekers earned a place in overground rock ‘n’ roll, and the tradition continues today. Turn on your local modern-rock station and wait a few minutes; you’ll probably hear the kind of racket that once kept bands off commercial radio.

Not surprisingly, some underground bands responded by getting quieter and sweeter. Those looking for an alternative to the high-decibel ennui of, say, Linkin Park can throw on a CD by the Postal Service or Interpol (to name just two big-name alternative acts), losing themselves in something quieter and more restrained. Emo bands and Ozzfest perennials still scream their lungs out, but lots of bands following in the Pixies’ wake have decided to pipe down.

So where does that leave the Pixies? Exactly where they started: alone. On Saturday night, it was a relief to hear that they still sounded utterly and gloriously like themselves, barreling through songs full of elements that might once have seemed disparate but now seem inseparable: the ruthless, sometimes deadpan drumming of David Lovering (in “Bone Machine,” he makes it almost impossible to find the downbeat); the precise disruptions of Joey Santiago’s electric guitar; Kim Deal’s warm slow-motion bass lines; the frantic strumming and gorgeous yelping of Black Francis, a k a Frank Black.

Most startling of all is how little the band’s live show has changed over the years. The Pixies’ old record label, 4AD, recently released a great retrospective DVD (it’s called simply “Pixies”) that includes a performance from 1988: Mr. Santiago and Mr. Lovering have hair, Black Francis looks a bit more streamlined, and Ms. Deal looks less like someone you might trust with your car keys, but the furious, off-kilter energy is exactly the same.

Age hasn’t affected all of these songs the same way. When Black Francis sang “Where Is My Mind?” it was hard to remember that the phrase had once sounded vague and bitterly evocative; these days, it sounds more like someone making fun of the slacker-chic 1990’s. But most of the songs sounded as mysterious and elusive as they always have, from the gently swaying “Caribou” to Ms. Deal’s unsettling (and beautiful) sex song “Gigantic,” which might be the best thing the Pixies ever did.
If you had to pick a concert for the inevitable live reunion DVD, it probably wouldn’t be this one: the members sometimes seemed to be battling one another to establish the right tempo, and a few songs sounded even more ragged than they were supposed to. The band members didn’t look as if they were having the time of their lives. They looked like four people working hard to create a marvelous racket; even after watching them do it for 90 minutes, you weren’t quite sure how they did it. And as the fans filed out, ears ringing, no doubt some of them were already getting ready to return for another noisy night.

FROM NEWSDAY:

Pixies: enchanting after all these years

BY GLENN GAMBOA. December 13, 2004

There they were, The Pixies – a band that, for nearly a generation of alt-rock fans, had become mythic and almost as elusive as their name suggests – standing on a stage fittingly built to look like a post-industrial forest.

Before embarking on their current sold-out tour, singer Charles Thompson (aka Black Francis), guitarist Joey Santiago, bassist Kim Deal and drummer David Lovering had not played together in 12 years. The Boston band called it quits in 1992, just as the alternative-to-mainstream rock they helped build was about to take over the world thanks to Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” a song Kurt Cobain said was his attempt at “ripping off The Pixies.”

It’s hard to compete with legend, especially when the audience is filled with folks waiting to see if the myth is true, if you are as great as nostalgia-clouded minds remember. But as soon as The Pixies launched into “Lady in the Radiator Song (In Heaven)” with Deal’s cooing promise, “In heaven, everything is fine,” it became clear: The Pixies were going to outperform their legend. Ripping through 29 songs in 90 minutes, that’s exactly what they did.

They started off slowly, with a restrained, downtempo version of “Wave of Mutilation” followed by a gorgeous cover of Neil Young’s “Winterlong” that showed how well Thompson and Deal’s voices still fit together. But like a rock-and-roll freight train, The Pixies started picking up speed with the raucous “Bone Machine” and an extra-prickly “Cactus,” where the combination of Thompson’s excitable vocals and Santiago’s stylish, elegant guitar riffs started to build momentum.

By the time they reached the meat of the set – the scorching-but-sweet “Debaser,” the anthemic “U-Mass,” where Thompson ended each line with a little extra snarl, the swooning “Levitate Me” and the off-kilter pop “Gouge Away,” where Deal’s bass lines eloquently explain why bassists are necessary in rock bands – The Pixies had made it clear that this was no greatest-hits cash-in. They were still emotionally invested in these songs and it showed.

The powerful version of “Tame” offered the proof of their influence on Nirvana, especially after stand-out versions of “Broken Face” and “Isla de Encanta” nicely displayed their hardcore roots, taking Husker Du’s speed and shrieks and adding their own twists. “Monkey Gone to Heaven” was equally passionate, as Thompson laid out the spiritual world view – “man is 5,” “the devil is 6” and “God is 7” – that hipsters have shrieked along with in countless dive bars around the world.

Pairing “Here Comes Your Man,” one of the poppiest moments of the evening, where The Pixies seem to channel Hamburg-era Beatles, with “Nimrod’s Son,” one of their most experimental songs, with wailing, feedback-driven guitars, showed how they have managed to build their following throughout their years of dormancy – equal parts of comfort and challenge.