Artist: The Verve
Album: Forth
Recommended if you like: mid 90’s brit rock
From their press kit:
“The Verve are here to provide you with an immaculately calibrated rock experience that will change your life forever...” Spin
Standout Tracks: “Sit and Wonder”, “Valium Skies”
Worth a second listen?:
Billboard thinks so:
“ ‘Forth’ is further highlighted by the dreamy ‘Judas,’ arguably one of the most beautiful songs the band has yet penned, and the anthemic ballad “Valium Skies,” a sure-fire future concert staple which is reminiscent of the hit ‘Lucky Man’ from 1997’s ‘Urban Hymns.’ ‘I See Houses’ muses on Ashcroft’s everyday surroundings while pivoting between the eerie vibes of 1995’s ‘A Northern Soul’ and the elegant emoting of ‘Urban Hymns.’”
I listened to this via an album stream which kinda blows - I like to skip around and also bring into the car for further pondering. But I did enjoy it on the various spins. Good music for background listening when doing other stuff and I would imagine would be good to see live.
More info: official/myspace
Listen: (see the widget in this post/Love is Noise(ms vid)
I think I was a little distracted yesterday (or something) because I didn’t have as much fun as last year. But then again, last year I went on a pre-show pub crawl on the trolley. But whatevs, still a good time.
4.45 Grand Ole Party:
I kinda lagged (I’ll blame it on the lovely MTS) so when I got there, Grand Ole Party was already playing - I heard the “Nasty Habits” as I walked up. They sounded great and totally rocked their set. There were some bros in front of me that were talking about her “great voice” and then said it was wack that she plays drums. Not like their opinion matters, but it’s a thought. I think at some point every band has to make that decision about their lead singer - do they concentrate on vocals only and keep the instrument playing to a minimum? Anyways, that’s a debate for another day. Highlights from GOP’s set were the two new songs they unleashed and “Look Out Young Son” and “Red Rum Heart” and the set ending spot on “I.N.S.A.N.E”.
6.00 Saul Williams
I was pretty geeked to see Saul Williams. I got turned onto him from seeing him open for NIN a few years ago. He did a spoken word set for the NIN show so I wasn’t sure how this show was gonna shake out. So his bandmates come out on stage before him - they were right out of the old school George Clinton and the P-Funk handbook - like these post-modern space costumes. (The keyboardist had a cape, the guitar player was in a suit that can only be described as silver mylar and the guy playing percussion had a red and gold get up that kinda reminded me of MC Hammer.) Saul comes out wearing a gold lame jacket that comes off quickly. He had this fantastic makeup going on. I really don’t think the crowd knew what to make of it all. Saul commented at some point because someone asked “Where is the poetry?” and he went on a little rant about making new kind of poetry or what not. Of course, when he actually did some spoken word it was *awesome*. Also a great moment - his cover of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. It’s great (grab it in the listen section).
7ish Kinky
(Yes, I skipped all the local bands on the other stage, I went over there a couple of times and was totally meh so I spent off time socializing and getting grub.)
Okay, so I saw Kinky last year at Street Scene and knew they would bring the rock en espanol crowd and was actually pretty excited about it. Kinky’s set was energetic and had most of the crowd dancing throughout. I think it’s awesome that even if you don’t understand spanish, the music is so good that the vibe translates regardless. Oh and I developed a crush on their lead singer during the set. He’s got a great smile. But yeah, it was fun to dance around and I was happy to actually know the song “Mas” enough to sing along as evidenced by my twittering last night..... “Mas y Mas y Mas!”
9.00 Black Keys
Hal came out to introduce the Black Keys. (P.S. I saw you and Pyles dancing around in the 94/9 broadcast station during Kinky’s set. Haha.) No, I hadn’t seen them before and yes, they sounded great. My favorite was “10 A.M. Automatic” from Rubber Factory. Of course the crowd knew “Strange Times” and “Your Touch” (done back to back near the end of the set.) I think I was pretty distracted by their drummer Patrick reminding me of Michael Phelps. (And his Bob Seger tee.) Ha. But I don’t know, maybe not the best situation to see them in? I think I’d rather have a ton of alcohol in me and be making out with someone the whole time. You can figure out if I am being sarcastic on that note…
Okay, I have no more words in me. Catch you guys later.
In Stores 8/26:
Matthew Sweet Sunshine Lies
You can preview a couple of songs on his myspace. And if you’re ambitious, you can check him at the Belly Up on Monday.
Slipknot All Hope Is Gone
The album will be premiering live at 8.30 pm tomorrow on Rockline.
The Verve Fourth
You can listen on their myspace or via this widget…
Impacting on radio:
(alt rock)
Anberlin - Feel Good Drag
Death Cab For Cutie - Cath
Rise Against - Re-Education (Through Labor)
Scary Kids Scaring Kids - The Deep End
(triple a)
Kooks - Shine On
Ray Lamontagne - You Are The Best Thing
Republic Tigers - Buildings And Mountains
Steve Poltz - Once Again
Tegan & Sara - Call It Off
My week in TX was super busy so I didn’t get the chance to do a proper SCMX preview. But here’s the schedule and some comments:
Main Stage
4:30 - 5:30pm Grand Ole Party
Get there early....if you haven’t seen them in awhile, they have totally tightened up from touring. That’s a good thing.
6:00 - 7:00pm Saul Williams
I saw Saul open up for NIN and was blown away. Not to be missed.
7:30 - 8:30pm Kinky
Rock en espanol? Heck yeah. I saw them at Street Scene last year and was really digging their set.
9:00 - 10:00pm Black Keys
Have yet to see these guys....WTF?
10:30 - 11:45pm Common
Yay, I get to go home early and beat the crowd.
FM 94/9 City Beat Stage
3:15 - 3:45pm Lady Dottie and The Diamonds
4:00 - 4:30pm The Burning of Rome
5:30 - 6:00pm Buddy Akai
7:00 - 7:30pm The Silent Comedy
8:30 - 9:00pm Shark Attack
10:00 - 10:30pm MC Flow
(Trent during “The Greater Good” - photo from NIN official)
Getting a bonus NIN show was totally unplanned. I don’t know why I hadn’t looked to see when they’d be in Dallas, but I happened to notice it a couple of weeks ago and checked to see if there were still tix. There were so no stressing on getting them beforehand. I figured I could show up and still get awesome seats, which I did.
To prep for the show, I took a look at some recent set lists and checked out Amateur Chemist, who took a vacation to catch a round of shows (a man after my own heart.) I wasn’t surprised to see how long the sets were. Trent has always been good about playing for a couple of hours - you totally get your $55 worth of show. And I don’t ever mind paying that much to see a NIN show - they gotta pay for all the toys somehow. Trent has always been on the technological fast track - I remember him using LED screens back in the Fragile days but this setup is the most complicated I’ve seen yet, with three different screens at different depths, which at times brought a 3D effect.
The first three songs just built up the tension in the arena. Kinda like eating something spicy when you don’t feel the burn until later. But “Discipline” changed all that. Those lyrics (I need your discipline/I need your help/I need your discipline/You know once I start I cannot help myself/Once I start I cannot stop myself) are just super sexy and yes, he is still uber hot after all these years. “MOTP” is always a crowd pleaser - it’s a fist pumping, scream at the top of your lungs kinda song. “Head Down” is sure to be a new fan fave, it was totally intense. Trent slowed it down next with “The Frail” (without its regular companion “The Wretched”, kinda weird) but then we got “Closer”, so all good. We got a bonus song with “The Line Begins to Blur” before we got blown away (yet again) with “Gave Up”. Then they segued into the “Ghosts” portion of the show, which is just the instrumental stuff. But not boring at all to watch because of the visualizations. I don’t remember exactly which song it was, but there was a part where the visuals made it look like it was raining. Lots of allusions to tv fuzz and that sort of thing as well. “Piggy” ended that slower portion of the set. The screen was all blue at that point and we saw some guy start to walk across. At first I thought “WTF”, but he was part of the show. The visuals made him look like he was erasing the screen until he got all the way across the stage and the LED was no longer lit up. Genius.
I was confused again when we got “Wish” without “Pinion” (Trent was totally messing with us longtime NIN vets, “Frail/Wretched” and “Pinion/Wish” *always* go together. ) but that song more than makes up for not having “Pinion”. Again, the crowd was pumped and sang along, though I always wonder how long Trent will sing the lyric I’m the one without a soul I’m the one with this big fucking hole/No new tale to tell twenty-six years on my way to Hell since he is way on the other side of 26. Haha. The next three songs were full of raw emotion - “Terrible Lie”, “Survivalism” and “The Big Comedown” are epic live.
“Survivalism” and “Only” had some nods to their videos. If you recall, the “Survivalism” vid has a bunch of different cameras going (like in a security video center) - they did the same setup for the live version - the screen was broken up into eight different “tvs”. One had a message that alluded to the ARG game - it said that it was censored for our protection. A couple of screens had shots of the crowd. One screen was processing video from onstage. And one screen had a bathroom where some guy is fucking some chick doggy style. I kid you not. Actually, I am not sure it was a chick, I could have sworn it was a guy (similar to the video where there is a gay couple in bed) but I heard some people talking about it afterwards and the guy said it was a chick. “Only” had Trent’s face on the screen like the video does with that pin game. (You know what I am talking about if you’ve seen it.)
The last two songs of the main set were electric. I always love “Down In It” - again, another spine tingling song. I grabbed this video from a NINnie in the pit.
And yeah, “Head Like A Hole”. It’s hard to believe I first heard that song when I was 17 - a whole 18 years ago. I’m not angry like I was back then, but those lyrics I’d rather die than give you control might as well be on my headstone. Sigh.
A short break where the NIN curtain (the photo in my previous post) comes down and then the 5 song encore. Trent was totally appreciative of the crowd at this point and said something to the effect that we made it worth it tonight. Nice. And I totally appreciated seeing Trent in his emotional, vulnerable mode when he hugged himself through the end of “Hurt”. An arena full of people singing your song should make you feel better, Trent. I loved that they ended with “In This Twilight”. It’s beautiful and sufficiently epic.
I’ve got two more shows on this tour - I can’t wait. (Full set list if you rawk on.)
P.S. Nice to have Robin Finck back on guitar. Dig on this photo from the official NIN blog....
P.P.S. And Josh Freese is still the man. His son was out on stage before the show and threw some drumsticks out into the crowd.
(photo courtesy of the NIN blog)
Nine Inch Nails
American Airlines Center
Dallas, TX
8/18/08
999,999
1,000,000
Letting You
Discipline
March Of The Pigs
Head Down
The Frail
Closer
The Line Begins To Blur
Gave Up
The Warning
Vessel
Ghosts 1
Ghosts 25
Ghosts 19
Piggy
The Greater Good
Wish
Terrible Lie
Survivalism
The Big Come Down
Ghosts 31
Only
Down In It
Head Like A Hole
Encore:
Echoplex
Getting Smaller
God Given
Hurt
In This Twilight
I got to see NIN in Dallas tonight. I’ll post a real review later...I want to wait until I can get more photos from the NIN official and the set list (which I did not keep since I know the NINnies will take care of me.) In the meantime, check out what the NINnies are saying about the show on Echoing the Sound.
I didn’t have to work on Friday, so I had some quality time to take new albums for a spin.
Artist: Jihae
Album: After Thought
Recommended if you like: quirky singer-songwriter chicks
From their press kit:
Jihae’s voice is melancholic but defiant. At times cynical, but always resolute. Her hypnotic rhythms are seductive and her lyrics, subversively sentimental and knowing. The dynamics of her music carry each story and poem into a dreamworld, featuring daring arrangements on voice, guitar, cello, viola, bass, synth, drums, percussion and programmed beats.
Standout Tracks: “Simple Man”, “Cement Garden”
Worth a second listen?:
If you like chill music that features breathy chick vocals, this is all you.
More info: official/myspace
Listen: “Simple Man” (stream or right-click-and-save-as to dl)
Artist: Lykke Li
Album: Youth Novels
Recommended if you like: electronica, chick vocals with a swedish accent, stuff produced by Bjorn of Peter, Bjorn and John fame
From their press kit:
“She’s got the charming eccentricity of Regina Spektor and the confident cool of M.I.A.” - Blender
Standout Tracks: “I’m Good. I’m Gone”, “Little Bit”
Worth a second listen?:
I’ve never really been a fan of this kind of electronica, it kinda reminds me of the stuff my best friend used to torture me with when we were younger (stuff like Aphex Twin, god damn that shit is boring to listen to.) What saves this for me is the vocals (think Bjork during the early Sugarcubes period). So yeah, I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either.
More info: official/myspace
Listen: “Breaking It Up” (yt)
Artist: Kristoffer Ragnstam
Album: Wrong Side of the Room
Recommended if you like: Swedish indie-pop
From their press kit:
“Evolving from months of world travels and emotional stamps in his sentimental passport, Ragnstam’s follow up to last year’s Sweet Bills effortlessly floats from humorous self-examination to discovering the comfort in discomfort, once again displaying his knack for great melodies.”
Standout Tracks: “Disco Fiasco”, “I Heard About My Own Death On The Radio”
Worth a second listen?:
This was fun to listen to - some very funny lyrics and upbeat melodies throughout.
More info: official/myspace
Listen: “Swing That Tambourine”
Artist: Sunfold
Album: Toy Tugboats
Recommended if you like: the Annuals
From their press kit:
“Kenny Florence has an amazing voice which just can’t be ignored…unlike many ‘side-projects’, Sunfold stands on it’s own two feet…the amazing melodies make the songs shine.” --Triangle Music
Standout Tracks: “Sailed Off To The Sea","To Wake The Eye”
Worth a second listen?:
I had heard some tracks live on the last couple of Annuals shows, so I was already hip to the totally different sound and vibe of Sunfold. A few songs have a jazzy feel to them. No, not that crappy “smooth jazz”, but the kind that you would hear in a smoky piano bar in NOLA. Overall, a solid album.
More info: official on Terpsikhore/myspace
Listen: “Sara The American Winter” (stream or right-click-and-save-as to dl)
Artist: What Laura Says
Album: Thinks and Feels
Recommended if you like: “breezy mix of pop and rock with folk influences” - Flagstaff Live!
From their press kit:
What Laura Says’ upcoming album gives us all a breath of fresh musical air. The band focuses on producing a new sound, and something completely uncharacteristic of what would be considered mainstream in this country. “American radio music tends to let people down,” said bassist Mitch Freedom, and this album gives every indication that these guys are willing to step out of the box.” - Phoenix Art Space
Standout Tracks: “Illustrated Manual”, “Pairadice”
Worth a second listen?:
Some of the pub I read compared WLS to Ben Folds. I’ll agree with that to some extent, especially on “Illustrated Manual” and “Pairadice”. Not surprising that these are my faves on the album. I think you have to be in a good space to listen to this though. If you’re in a meh mood, the upbeat vibe will make you want to throw the cd across the room. (Not that I did that though. It was just a fleeting thought that came to me when I was writing this. Haha.)
More info: official/myspace
Listen: “July 23” (stream or right-click-and-save-as to dl)
Lyn is always rawking to the song in her head, which she would be happy to sing to you. Just ask.
Music posted is for sampling purposes and is only available for a limited time. If you like what you hear, support the artist and buy the album or go to a show.
I am big time dorking out to Charlotte Sometimes lately.
Max Beemis & co. are some of the most supreme douchebags around. You’re lucky not to have had to interact with them on their last trip through SD. In spite of that, I dig their tunes.
The Bronx KILL. I’m not sure how it’ll translate on Warp Tour, but I’ve seen them a few times at the Casbah and the smaller room at SOMA. SO killer.
Interesting how they discussed that the Internet was the future but didn’t really have anyone on the panel that works at a music based web site. Maybe they should give sites like Slacker a listen.
I love how those people are clearly out searching on Google for themselves, probably hoping to find a more positive commentary on their writing than he found here. That cracks me up! Hahahahahaha! I think that’s something my sis-in-law would do, and it’s an activity that makes me feel sorry for them a little bit…
Apparently, you aren’t allowed to have an opinion of music, writing or anything else on your own blog unless it’s a positive one.
That bloviation is some of the most banal crap I’ve read in recent memory.
Unless you’re writing fiction, which that press kit one sheet may very well be, it’s kind of a golden rule that writers avoid the temptation to try and sound intelligent by using big words and semi-descriptive but completely useless language for the sole purpose of flexing their writing muscle.
In the end, it reads more like a sixth graders attempt at creative writing.
Hahaha--I probably know that dude. Sorry--it *is* written terribly. Everyone tries so hard to be funny or ironic in their press descriptions, but so few are truly able to execute.
This was the all ages venue that was supposed to be the new all ages spot for indie kids, then Leighton wrote some shit about it and the fire marshal cracked down and they got their venue permits pulled. Guess they’ve worked that stuff out?
