In other news:
...There are also some photo journal entries above and the usual random
crap bag I post.
***January Third
Two
Thousand and Ten***
A quick update solely to point out that all the photos from our Costa
Rica trip are up in the Photo Journal section.
Now I've gotta get my shit together and put together my tardy "Best of
2010" list. Look for that next time, if that is the sort of
thing you find yourself looking for.
As a late christmas present/early flag day present, I present to you a
couple of mixes I made for Skyler, Chelsea's brother...
a few of these songs may have shown up here before. It's the
typical stuff I post - indie rock, garage, oldies, mope rock,
ginger music, rhino rumpus, cat scratch and the fevers, flim flam jim
jam johnny came a courtin' - all of the usual genres.
Quick update. Photo journal updates and some show reviews. Getting ready to leave for Costa
Rica. Hope to
see a
sloth. And not get sunburned. Don't steal fish from
bears.
Lonnie Walker
with Schooner & Veelee (Troika Festival)
Duke Coffee House
11/7/09
My second night of Troika festivities, and this time with a
compatriot. My homeslice from Wilmington was in town for
the UNC-Duke football game (he's a Duke fan, but otherwise a good guy),
and we decided to meet up for some
dinner and a little rockin' out.
After a stopover at the Green Room pool hall where I handed him his
ass, we trucked over to the Duke Coffee House
to see a band called Veelee on the stage. I had
no idea who this band was, but the really wowed me in the couple of
songs I saw them play. One track had a Stereolab vibe and the
other was shades of Sonic Youth...no idea if this is
indicative of their entire catalog, but I sure hope so. They also
reminded me of Bay Area power duo Moggs - most
likely because Veelee is also a cute boy/girl duo who like to rock
out. They are definitely on my radar now and
hopefully I'll see them again very soon. (Side note: download
their free three song EP at the above link, it's well worth
a listen.)
I've know Reid, the front man for Schooner for quite a while; I've
seen him play with the Rosebuds and other bands, I've
even seen him solo; but up until now, I'd never seen him perform with
his proper band. I'd listened to their recordings
and knew the songs were great, but it was good to hear them played live
and verify what I already knew. Outside of the
keyboard not being loud enough in the mix, the band put on a fantastic
display of clean pop songs in the vein of Versus,
Starflyer 59, and even local favorites The Rosebuds. Schooner
doesn't seem to play out all that often, but they are well
worth checking out on those odd occasions they actually take the
stage.
Lonnie Walker were the
headliners...I've reviewed them a couple of times at this point and I'm
running out of things to
say. They have easily crept into my "top 5 favorite local bands"
list that I'm continually revising in my head, and they still
sound like the Talking Heads crossed with the Band (with occasional
Pavement overtones). It struck me while they
were performing what it is that sets them apart from most local acts -
too often bands come up with a sound, and then
all of their songs sound pretty much exactly the same, with various
changes in tempo and key. But Lonnie Walker man-
age to have a big, diverse sound full of very different songs that
remain tied together by the spastic guitar work and
unique vocals of frontman Brian Corum. It's this fact that sets
them apart and may take them to another level of fame.
They certainly deserve it.
Gentleman Jesse & His Men
with Dex Romweber Duo (Troika
Festival)
Trotter Building
11/6/09
I was excited about the number of good shows being offered at this
year's Troika Festival, but the down side of so many
high quality entertainment options is you have to miss something.
I had completely different plans scheduled this evening -
Pipe at the Broad Street Cafe - until I noticed a late addition to the
schedule, Atlanta's Gentleman Jesse & His Men.
This band of pop savants recorded my favorite record of 2008; this
combined with first-hand knowledge that they put on
a fantastic performance and there was no way I was going to miss this
gig.
Hammer No More the Fingers were finishing their set when I walked in -
it was the typical scene for them, the room
brimming with a bunch of kids going nuts over every note the band
makes. They sound better every time I see them, but
I'm not quite at that level of fanaticism. And no sooner than
when Hammer finished their set, the entire place emptied
outside of a couple dozen stragglers and two or three die-hard
Gentleman Jesse fans (I'm including myself in these
numbers). But they rocked it out regardless, not letting the
lackluster attendance dampen their ability to deliver some of
the catchiest pop music of the last few years. They performed the
bulk of their Self-Titled album as well as a handful of
new songs that I eagerly await being released in the (hopefully) near
future. Be there five or five hundred fans, I'm always
going to be front and center for a Gentleman Jesse show, and all those
folks who left early really did themselves,
especially their ears, a disservice.
Despite my drooping eyelids, I made myself stick around for part of the
Dex Romweber Duo set. Of
course I've
known the man's work with Flat Duo Jets for about half of my life,
though I never managed to see them live. Simple put,
the man is a virtuoso, a real pleasure to watch perform. He has a
strong voice and his sister does a fine job on the
drums, but if you're like me you spend the entire time watching his
hands move across that guitar. He was playing an
old beat up Silvertone, making it sing like a bird; I point out the
make of the guitar because I actually own a Silvertone
and that thing goes out of tune if you just think about playing
it. I'm not sure how or what he did to the thing, but Dex
made the guitar sound like the finest instrument known to man in his
hands. He's the kind of musician that even if
you're not crazy about the way his songs sound, you'd still enjoy his
live performance.
I've seen a lot of King Khan & BBQ Show
performances over the years, and if you throw in their solo outings it
probably doubles the number. They've never failed to entertain
me, and this gig was no exception...only in a slightly
different way than normal. Most of the times I've seen them, the
music has been good but it has always taken a back-
seat to King Khan and his antics, be it as pedestrian as stripping
naked on stage to dress like a woman, to more
advanced topics like teabagging unsuspecting audience members.
But tonight, they were all business. Sure, they
still had on some relatively silly outfits - Khan in a fringy dress,
BBQ in his trademark turban - but it was clear the
music was taking center stage this evening...no goofing off, just song
after song of catchy goodness.
As always, the doo wop-inspired songs like "Waddlin' Around" are my
favorite songs by the band, and this show had
plenty of them. BBQ's voice shined like a star this evening
really belting out these tunes to a rapt audience. These
songs were interspersed amongst the more upbeat garage tracks that
general dominate their set lists, ass shaking
music for the non-dancing set. It's probably indicative of my
more recent listening tastes, but it had never occurred
to me how much this band reminds me of Hasil Adkins. If only
there had been a cover of "No More Hot Dogs", that
would have really put things over the top. What they did play a
cover of was the New York Doll's "You Can't Put Your
Arms Around A Memory", a cover that King Khan played last time I saw
them as a between song lark, but was a tad
more fleshed out this go around.
In an unprecedented move (at least at the shows I've been to), the band
added a third member for their last couple of
songs, a fella named Chip who played the organ while wearing a tuxedo
and top hat. It added a little extra dimension
to their songs, really rounded out the sound. What wasn't
unprecedented was that like most King Khan & BBQ shows,
there were some assholes in the crowd. In this case, it was some
jack off standing at the front of the stage who de-
cided it would be a good idea to throw a beer bottle over his head and
into the folks behind him, hitting someone and
setting off a scuffle that had the cops show up to sort shit
out. It's just not a good night out if your
entertaining rock
show doesn't end with sirens.
Just barely got an entry in for the month of November...have been slow
rolling this one for a good two weeks. But I have
high hopes to make another post BEFORE we leave for Costa Rica in a
little over a couple of weeks.
Another lost photo
from our cross-country drive in March 2008:
I am pretty sure this was in or just outside of Capital Reef National
Park in Utah. Unless my brain is completely failing
me, this old cabin was parked near some ancient Native American cliff
drawings that you could look at through one of
those enormous coin operated binoculars attached to a stand.
I've really been firing on all cylinders lately when it comes to
getting to the club right when the band I want to see starts
playing. I walked in the door just as Built
to Spill began their first song, and despite the packed
house I was able to
nook right in near the front by the side of the stage.
At this point in my life I've seen this band play probably close to
twenty times (if not more), and I knew full well what this
night had in store for me. As always, BtS played a fantastic mix
of songs from across their entire catalog - off the top
of my head I can recall "Virginia Reel Around the Fountain", "Carry the
Zero", "Stop the Show", "Reasons", "You Were
Right", and "The Weather". As always I would have killed to hear
more songs from "Perfect from Now On", a statement
I have made after every one of their shows...even the shows where they
played a lot of those songs. Just can't get
enough of that album, even 12 years later. Surprisingly, as Doug and
company just released a new record called
"There Is No Enemy", there were very few new songs, just fan favorite
after fan favorite for the better part of two hours.
Sadly, another truism of any Built to Spill show also reared it's ugly
head - the terrible, awful crowd. For reasons un-
clear to me for well over a decade, assholes and idiots love this
band. This may be saying as much about me as it is
about the rest of the crowd, but the personalities that infest any
given Built to Spill show are the worst mix of drunks, frat
boys and douchbags. And this isn't just a Chapel Hill thing -
most of my live viewings of Built to Spill happened in San
Francisco, and it was no different there. The constant yelling of
inane things at the band. The bouncers having to break
up a fight in what looked to be the strangest, most inappropriate "mosh
pit" I've seen in ages. And then there was the
gaggle of chatty women standing behind me, referring to themselves as
"cougars" and sticking their garbage and beer
bottles in the hood of my pullover. There really should be some
sociological studies done on this strange gathering
awkward, useless chaff, but I guess it says a lot about what a great
live band Built to Spill is that anyone with any sense
would suffer these fools.
So I've seen this newly reformed Polvoa number
of times now, and even in my super fanboy status, it's hard to deny
they aren't getting more and more awesome with each and every
gig. Yes, awesome, that is the technical word for
their performance, I saw it in a technical handbook on show
descriptions. They've certainly gotten a lot of tighter, what
with the touring and the practicing and the recording a new album,
tighter than they ever sounded pre-break-up.
Given that they did just record a new album, "In Prism", I was a little
surprised that they didn't play more songs from it.
It's got to be a tough balance for a band that has been around for a
long time that has a large catalog to get the ratio
of new songs and older fan favorites down on their set list.
Obviously most of the crowd usually wants to hear their
favorite song, while the band really wants to play these new tracks
they are proud of. I'm almost always on the "play
the old shit" side of the fence; but unlike most material that gets
released by groups post-reunion, the new Polvo
record is really damn good.
Anyways, yadda yadda yadda, the new record is great but they still
played almost entirely old songs. Not that I'm
complaining, but my faulty memory can only recall "Beggar's Bowl"; a
couple more new ones would have been nice.
What they did play was a super-extended version of "Bombs That Fall
From Your Eyes" that sounded like Polvo
crossed with "Umma Gumma" era Pink Floyd...it was one of the best
things I've heard in months. Maybe through
some magic of the internets someone out there reading this review
bootlegged the show and can hook me up with
a copy of that song, I would be forever grateful.
As a side note/complaint, I tried buying the vinyl of their new album
on my way out of the club, and they were sold out!
I had been putting off buying it for a while because I wanted to wait
and get it when the money would be directly going
to the band, but no such luck. And then a couple weeks later I
stopped by Schoolkids in Raleigh to make the purchase...
of course they were also sold out. It's almost comical that I've
had such a tough time buying a record by a local band
released on a local label, but on the bright side it means Polvo is
moving units and that is definitely great for them.
One of these days I'm going to finally find and buy that damn record...
Lonnie Walker
Golden Belt (Rock & Shop Vintage Market)
10/17/09
So there was this "Rock and Shop" event going on during the day in
Durham, and what the hell - I like to both rock and
shop, so it seemed like a good idea to attend. It helped that two
of my favorite local groups were playing - Mount Weather and Lonnie Walker, though when we
were walking into the event we passed the Mount Weather guys loading
their gear out...bummer on that, I was hoping to see them play
again. But Lonnie Walker was still due to play, and after
a bit of strolling around with the wife while she gawked and glad
handed over a number of small craft tables, the band
made with the music and I watched them rock out while the old lady
continued to shop. I still struggle to figure out who it
is Lonnie Walker remind me of - I know everyone else says Bob Dylan,
and I can see where they are coming from, but
there is a lot more to it than that. I previously mentioned the
Talking Heads and I still get that vibe on some of their
tracks, but there is a rootsy, almost Band-like feel to their
music. All I know is their songs are instantly stuck in your
head, and I wasn't the only one entranced - there were a couple of
small kids standing next to me who were downright
mesmerized by the live rock action. It's good to know I've got
more in common with small children than just my overly
picky diet...a mutual love of fantastic music too!
"I'm going to get into an aerodynamic tuck, and use the dildo to cusion
my fall!"
I don't particularly have anything to say about all of these songs,
except they are all good because I wouldn't have bother-
ed posting them otherwise.
These three songs were taken from some late-seventies/early-eighties
Australian Punk compilation...all Brisbane
bands if I remember correctly. Young Identities - Instant
Feelings.
Just Urbain - Burning.
Bonus: Everybody
Loves.
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Good
Morning Little Schoolgirl. The title/subject matter of
this song probably
sounded a lot less sketchy in the day that it was recorded.
The Felice Brothers - Boy
From
Lawrence County. I was unsure about this band for some
time but I'll be damned
if their album "Yomder Is the Clock" didn't really get under my skin
and become a must-listen.
Bonus: Penn
Station.
T-Model Ford - Chicken
Head Man.
Go see this man live if he comes through your town - there probably
won't be
many years left to see a true American musical genius.
Bonus: Wood
Cuttin' Man.
