I decided this Netscape Composer-created shitpile needed some Betty
White, cause she's so hot right now. Hosting
SNL, starring in Superb Bowel commercials, eating hot dogs, is there
anything this lady can't do? It should also be
noted that I welcome all challengers in a "Golden Girls Trivia Contest
for Straight Dudes", cause I've seen all the epi-
sodes multiple times.
Go see "Kick Ass" - it kicks ass. I bet I'm the first person to
ever use that descriptor for this movie HAHAHA!!! It will
also remind you that Nicolas Cage can be an asset to a film, something
that could easily be forgotten over his last 15
years of work.
I put up some new photos of everyone's favorite handsome hound Burt
Reynolds, as well as a couple of photo journal
entries that are pretty goddamn boring to be honest.
Every once in a while you gotta get your giant concert on, and for me
most of the time this ends up being a Wilcoshow.
Despite my constant whining about their output since "Yankee Hotel
Foxtrot", I still continue to go to their shows and
enjoy myself while complaining to anyone who will listen about how they
play too many new songs and Nels Cline needs
to knock off all the ridiculous solos.
So the show report is this: they played too many new songs and
Nels Cline played too many ridiculous pointless solos.
And I still enjoyed myself. They actually played for damn close
to three hours, and with that much time to fill they were
bound to play some older material as well. A number of songs from
their perfect record "Summerteeth" made the list,
including "She's a Jar", "A Shot in the Arm", "Via Chicago", "When You
Wake Up Feeling Old" and the title track
"Summerteeth"; at least half of "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" including "War
on War" and "Handshake Drugs" and "I'm the
Man Who Loves You"; and the real classic gems "Forget the Flowers" and
"Passenger Side". For the record, I con-
sider any show where "Passenger Side" is played to automatically be a
good show regardless of what else happens.
These good songs happened just often enough that I didn't lose my mind
when they played pretty much the entire "A
Ghost Is Born" and "Sky Blue Sky" albums. One of the final songs
they played was a tribute to the recently passed
Alex Chilton, the Big Star classic "Thank You Friends".
Given what is to be expected these days at a Wilco show, I'd have to
give a pretty big thumbs up. As a side note, this
was my first time seeing the inside of the DPAC (Durham Performing Arts
Center for those not comfortable with
acronyms) - pretty swank place. Our seats were in the front of
the top section but the seats were still great...the steep-
ness of the joint seemed to discombobulate my friend Brian who attended
with me, though that could have also been
the giant burrito he ate at Chubby's Tacos before the show. I'd
gladly go see more "big" bands here, assuming they
ever book something to my liking again.
Whatever Brains
with Naps and The Cellar Seas
Tir Na Nog
2/4/10
OK, so my idiot ass waited WAY too long to write this review, cause my
memories are hazy at best. That's what you
get for being lazy and forgetful I guess. I do remember it was an
awesome night of music from start to finish, some-
thing I would have paid for but luckily it was one of those free local
nights at Tir Na Nog. Why these things aren't
always packed is beyond me...maybe folks just aren't as cheap as I am
and don't value the power of "free".
The first band of the night was called The Cellar Seas, and it was
their first gig ever! Seeing history with my own
eyes! I play basketball multiple times a week with the
singer/guitarist of the band, Roy Bourne, and I didn't even know
he had a band...no time for chitchat when I'm raining my wet jump shots
all over the court. Nonetheless, they sounded
great, obviously well practiced, and churned out a set of very catchy,
Americana-tinged rock songs. They reminded
me a little bit of the band Richmond Fontaine, a comparison I dreamt up
totally out of the blue and not because I had
just been listening to them in my car. The Cellar-ites played the
sort of songs you would sing along to riding in your
car with the windows down on a warm summer day while writing run-on
sentences. Of course I didn't sing along at
the show, because I would have looked goofy doing it and also it was my
first time ever hearing them. Anyways,
great debut by these cats and I look forward to many more shows by them.
The middle bands was Naps and featured Brian Corum of
Lonnie Walker as well as some other local rock star types.
I have a vague recollection that Brian played the show in some manner
of one piece long johns/pajama thing, but may-
be I totally imagined that. As for the music, I quite enjoyed it
- it sounded like vintage Chapel Hill indie rock from the
early to mid-nineties with just a tinge of Silver Jews. If I
would have seen these guys opening for Archers of Loaf in
1995, they would have fit in royally. And they probably would
have had a seven inch out on Jesus Christ like all the
cool bands did.
I've been meaning to see Whatever Brains ever since I
moved back to the Triangle, but through a combination of epic
laziness and other obligations, this was my first time actually making
that happen. Damn shame it took so long, be-
cause just as I expected they were really fuckin' great. they
sounded like the bastard child of Drive Like Jehu and The
Fall, all jittery and anxious in the best post-punk way possible.
Lots of spastic, off-beat dancing both on stage and in
the crowd, just the way good shows are meant to be. It was pretty
obvious why they are getting a reputation as one of
the best local bands going right now, and I'll not be making the
mistake of waiting so long before I see them play again.
"Me and
Dot went in to adopt on account a' somethin' went wrong with my semen,
and they said we had to wait five
years for a healthy white baby. I said, "Healthy white baby? Five
years? What else you got?" Said they got two Koreans
and a negra born with his heart on the outside. It's a crazy world. "
Hey! Here's a bunch of awesome Peel sessions!
Afghan Whigs - What
Jail Is Like (Peel Session 1994) fIREHOSE - Choose
Any Memory (Peel Session 1988) Fugazi - Merchandise
(Peel Session 1990) Interpol - N.Y.C.
(Peel Session 2001) J Mascis - Everybody
Lets Me Down (Peel Session 2002) J Mascis - Freak
Scene (Peel Session 2002) Wire - 106
Beats That (Peel Session 1987)
And here are some other songs which probably are not Peel sessions,
unless they are!
Dan Auerbach - Trouble
Weighs a Ton. Black Keys singer decides to make a solo
record. It sounds exactly like the
Black Keys. I suppose you could have worse problems in life,
honestly.
Bonus: When
the Night Comes.
Nobunny - Motorhead
With Me! Nobunny puts on the some of the best,
sloppiest, most bewildering live shows I've
ever seen. Go see him if he/they comes to your town.
Sneaky Pinks - Life
Stupid, I Stupid. The same description for Nobunny
fits here, though they may be broken up.
they were broken up and then they reunion'd and I'm too lazy to
research their current state.
The Thermals - I
Let It Go. I didn't listen to this most recent
Thermal's record as much as their past outings, but there
are still some damn good songs on it.
Bonus: When
I Died.
Yo La Tengo - Double
Dare. I got a lot of compliments on my Yo La Tengo
shirt when I visited Costa Rica.
Bonus: Nowhere
Near.