The (big) Dig

The Dig w/ City Riots & The City Veins, Black Cat (Backstage) - Tuesday, July 15th ($8)

In actuality, The Dig were not the headliners of this show, and by all accounts, local band and openers The City Veins brought the largest audience to the Backstage. But for our purposes, we were at the Black Cat to see if The Dig could deliver the same high quality pop-rock that they showcase on their highly polished EP Good Luck and Games. Indeed, they could and did.

We lazily missed all but the tail end of the City Veins. And based on their excellent Nirvana cover to end their set, this was likely an error in judgment. Maybe it sounds contrived to cover Nirvana, but I've never really heard anyone do it at this level, and it worked for me. By the way, what's going on with ending a set with a cover these days? Elf Power did it the other night, the City Veins last night...

There was a solid crowd of about 50 folks for the City Veins, but when The Dig took stage the crowd was down in the 30s. The number grew during their set, but maxed out around 40. I guess folks were home watching the Allstar game. Their loss.

Like I said in my preview, I've had The Dig on my iPod shuffle for the past three months. I'm not even sure how I got those tracks on there. I'm guessing jumbo slice hooked me up. Anyhow, I was skeptical as to how this act would perform live, but they proved my skepticism to be misplaced. Unlike too many bands we see, their singing more than resembled their studio work (a good thing in this case). As the two* traded verses - back and forth - the vocals reminded me a bit of BRMC, each bringing a distinctive sound, but melding together harmoniously.

One of their first songs of the night was "Lovesick Woman," a song reminiscent of Supergrass, and the song that you either start with or end with. It's driving and straight forward r-o-c-k. I was somewhat disappointed that they didn't hold this one back til later on, but at the same time, it's a good one to bring folks into the room.



Other highlights included "Marianne" and "Any Day Now," which is the first (longer) clip of video posted. I think they sneaked in "The Last Thing" as well, which has a "Hey Jude"/ Elliott Smith vibe to its beginning, but like a number of their slower paced songs, it switches gears to provide rockus maximus by the end. I'm not as big a fan of their slower stuff, and kinda wished they just played all the more aggressive tunes throughout. The bass and keyboards are not back ground, but in your face, competing with smashing drums and classic rock guitar licks. I just thought they lost a bit of momentum when they down shifted to the slower songs.

They ended their set with a song that I was sure the Raconteurs played at 9:30 Club back in April. But maybe not. Was it yet another cover to end a set? I can't be sure. I have yet to verify the origins of this track. But I'm thinking there might be a movement. Not that I'm complaining, we at Rock Club love a good cover. But let's not over do it either. Don't spoil us. I mean, there are already too many bands that look alike (it's summer fellas, unless you're in a contest, time to lose the beards). We don't need everyone working from the same play book too. The song in question is the last one in the video clip, the one that goes something like: come on baby, let me see you one more time, I don't mean it like that, I just wanna talk to you... A bottle of nicely aged champagne to anyone who can solve this mystery.

So... The Dig - they're one to watch. Now, it would make my task a lot easier if they'd get their website working. *I can't even tell you their names because there's a dearth of info available about them online. So fellas, when you get your website back up and running, let the good folks know, would you please? It's like you're the house band for the witness protection program.

One more thing. The City Riots...they're from Australia, I think. They should stay in Australia, but my guess is that they have been forced to leave the country by its inhabitants. And we are made to suffer as a result. I have a theory that when small bands do an international tour, they're really just going on vacation. There's no other explanation for truly shitty bands doing a tour through Europe, other than they want to escape the fact that they aren't making it at home, so why not drink good wine and enjoy Amsterdam for a few days (I hear the Tulips are wonderful). Anyhow, I was turned off by City Riots' flock of seagulls guitarist, and the lead singer's arena rock stage presence was too big for the Backstage. I couldn't leave fast enough.

Concert Preview: The Dig

To be clear, I'm not referring to the xenoarchaeology video game "The Dig," from the mid 90s nor any other ology or video game. Nor am I referring to the excellent rockumentary, "Dig!," that featured the Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Furthermore, I am not referring to Rochester, NY's "the Dig Project," and certainly not California's 90s alt rockers "Dig." I am referring, instead, to NYC's "The Dig."

Confused? Well, The Dig haven't made it easy on themselves by choosing this name, nor by directing folks to a nonexistent website, but what they have done is record a nifty rock-pop EP, Good Luck and Games that you can listen to on their very existent MySpace page.

I've had this EP on my iPod shuffle for the past 3 months, and since my laptop was stolen, didn't even know who I was listening to all the while. Turns out, it's been the elusive The Dig. And all this time, I've been enjoying their tunes. I recommend having a listen.

We'll check out The Dig w/ City Riots & The City Veins at the Black Cat on Tuesday, July 15th ($8 Backstage). If their live performance comes close to their studio work, this promises to be a solid show and your chance to see this heretofore obscure unsigned band. Here's another opinion....

Browsing the Elf Help Section*

Elf Power w/ Ham1 - Thursday, July 10, 2008 - RnR Hotel $10

As previously described, I have a random connection to the band Elf Power. I went to college with guitarist/keyboardist, Jimmy Hughes' sister, and spent more than one drunken night discussing music with him in the basement of 12 St. John, Binghamton, NY. And yes, I was expecting a different reaction than what I got when I gave the band the heads up about this coming post. But so be it.

Let's jump right in and dispense with the foreplay shall we? sacklunch and I arrived to the RnRH on the early side. It was an odd beginning to the night, as it was still daylight out when we got there. There was a bar crawl happening on H Street, and there was a slew of motorcycles parked in front of PUG across the street. Adding to that, it was "Drunken Jenga Night" upstairs at RnRH, and it transformed the place. I felt like I was at a UVA fraternity party with a good number of young republicans with white dress shirts and pastel ties, pretty young ladies in summer dresses, and a lot of orders for PBR. I didn't hate it, but I didn't like it either. It's just a bit of a mismatch for this club. Downstairs, sacklunch counted 8 people in attendance. I went down to check out opening act Ham1. The first song I caught, one dude was playing the trombone. That's cool. I like the trombone. Here's the next song after that:

If your computer has no sound, or you are otherwise unable to distinguish things that sound good from things that don't sound good, just know that I didn't stay for more of Ham1. I'll wait for Ham2.0* before I consider another listen.

After a few more drinks upstairs, and witnessing a gruesome rendition of Happy Birthday from the Jenga-players, sacklunch, Jimbromski and I dropped in on Elf Power, already in progress. Now, again, I was only aware of this band because my Tivo allowed me 30 free days of Rhapsody, and I heard these guys a couple time while listening to the "low-fi" channel. I liked them, but didn't explore much further. As it happens, they are an Athens band that have been around since 1994, and have had collaborations with artists from other bands like Of Montreal, and Neutral Milk Hotel (good company), and have toured with Wilco and fellow Athenians, R.E.M.

They put on a good set, and I especially liked Josh Lott's drumming. At least in their live performance, the drums took up a lot of real estate within their sound, well suited to the aggressive tracks they played. Don't ask me to name any of them. As you'd expect from a band that has been at this a while, they performed well and they were -uh- tight. Here's a peak:

After finishing their first set, Andrew Rieger and company returned to the stage for a surprising "Elfcore,*" in which they proceeded to play two songs, ending with a cover of T. Rex's "20th Century Boy." We've already noted in previous posts how much we appreciate a good cover, but a cover as your final song...interesting approach.

Here's the thing about this band: they remind me of the 1990s (the decade, not the band), which isn't bad - I liked the 1990s as that time will probably be the closest I ever get to an era like the Roaring 20s; their sound does remind me a bit of R.E.M., though I don't like making this comparison - I think I'd connect the two bands regardless of their shared roots because they sound alike in my ear; and while I enjoyed their set and can see how they would do well in serious college towns, as their final song reminds me, this is 20th Century band. They do what they do well, but it's not a new sound (or even an old/nostalgic sound). It's just a sound that I've heard enough of recently, to the point where I don't really want to make any more room for it in my life.

It's not you, Elf Power, it's me.

*Inspired by or taken wholly from the mouth of Jimbromski.

P.S. A nod to the uber-young geek rockers at the front of the stage (visible on the two video clips). They were great. One with the Art Garfunkel hair-do, the other with the Velma Dinkley glasses. Jinkies, it's refreshing to see two folks so utterly un-self-conscious.

Frightened Rabbit devours Black Cat

Frightened Rabbit w/ Oxford Collapse and Takka Takka
Black Cat (Backstage)
Monday, June 30th - $10

I can finally - honestly - tell Jimbromski that he missed out on an excellent show. Usually, I am the one who misses out. Succumbing to an earache, Jimbromski had to bail out of last evening's performance. Tsk tsk. It was indeed above average. Although my ears were aching for hours post-show, so maybe it's best he stayed home. Through a steady rain, sacklunch and I made our way to the sold out Black Cat and arrived just in time for the start of the Oxford Collapse set. Sorry Takka Takka.

The backstage was sold out, but I'm not so sure about the main stage... Harry and the Potters headlined upstairs. sacklunch and I checked out the Youtube video the Black Cat had posted for the Harry and the Potters, and I can't see why anyone would go upstairs to see those clowns, unless they got duped into thinking Frightened Rabbit was up there. Seriously. I'm anxious to hear how that show was. Well, that's an overstatement, I don't really care how it was upstairs, I imagine it was shitsandwich.

There was a bit of confusion about last night's show as the website had previously listed Oxford Collapse as the headliner, and that's what it says on my ticket (and how we posted it on our "upcoming shows" list). But the website changed course at some point, and Frightened Rabbit clawed their way to the top and that's how it eventually went down. My favorite blonde-haired Black Cat-lady, Lauren, speculated that perhaps they were co-headlining this tour and they switched last minute. I'm sure someone who has more patience for research will look it up somewhere and confirm or deny this theory.

I had no trouble unloading Jimbromski's ticket, though I should have lied and just pocketed the extra $10, but that'd be bad karma. Anyhow, Oxford Collapse was in-progress when we arrived, and it was a packed Back Stage, so I stood behind the pole. It was like being at the old Nightclub 9:30.

Oxford Collapse were good. I don't know a lot about them, other than what I saw at the Pitchfork festival last summer, but for the most part, I dug what they were putting out. Hey, Jumbo Slice, Malitz was standing in front of me for the OC set, and we traded brief reactions at the end. Both positive. I could have used your loquacity, as all I could offer was that their sound was clumsy at times, but in a good way. Malitz liked that they were ugly, at least uglier than many indie rock bands right now. I have to admit, they look like they put on some weight since Pitchfork... I noticed they weren't rocking the jeanshorts this time, though it was just as fucking hot in the BC as it was in Chicago last July. But while they have a clumsy rock sound, they aren't sloppy by accident. I'm not a OC superfan, so I don't know which song this was, but they have one tune in which all three musicians play in complete discord for ~45 seconds, but stop on a dime. So they were tight when it mattered. Right.

Anyway... The Oxford Collapse talked a bit too much. At one point they broke into a story about eating at Ben's Chili Bowl earlier in the day. "Bill Cosby is the only person who eats for free at Ben's. I read it on a sign there." That's what I learned from the Oxford Collapse. Hey Oxford Collapse, while, yes, I admit that I did not know that little factoid, it's still really fucking rude to waltz into someone else's town waving your Cliff Clavin knowledge all around like you own the place. Save that story for your myspace page. Other than that, solid effort from OC.

As for Frightened Rabbit, I tried to know as little as possible about seeing this band as I could. Here are a few short things I jotted down about them last night:

• lots of wailing
  
• guitarist/keyboardist looked like he hadn't slept....ever
• they claimed last night was the best night of their collective lives...

So a couple of questions to Jumbo Slice, who caught these two groups in Austin last week...

1. Who was on top of the bill when you saw them?
   
2. Did they also claim that their gig in Austin was the best night of their lives? (If so, I want to out them for disingenuousness).
   

I wasn't prepared for all the FR superfans that were in attendance. There were a few who were really into it, singing along (sometimes when I'd prefer they didn't - but that's okay), and the tight space, and the enthusiasm of the band made it an exceptionally good backstage show. Had they been upstairs, it would not have been as good.

By the end of the night, I had bought their cd, which I rarely do at these shows. I listened to it when I got home (and as I typed up most of the above). It doesn't really capture what they can do through their live performance. Their live show was inspired and they worked hard. The energy they give out is great. Again the capacity crowd really helped out, but I've never seen intensity like that of drummer Grant Hutchinson. A quote from him in an online interview says it all:

GRANT: People who have seen us several times say it’s almost like the first time we’ve played together, or the first time they’ve seen us. A lot of bands don’t understand it’s their job to makes things exciting. Some people miss that point.

Well said. It's your job man. I paid a whopping $10 and I expect to see you bashing the sticks down like you're Johnny Drama killing VC with the end of his rifle in Platoon.

Oh, I should also mention that Scott Hutchinson claimed that a "Frogman tried to rape me" in the stairwell of the BC. I believe this is the same Frogman from Turkey Balls Fall, WV. He's closing in...

Today in Canadian Rock History

June 26th

Like bacon and football, here's yet another example of our neighbors to the North trying to do things their own way....

Gordon Lightfoot, Bryan Adams and Anne Murray each officially received a granite star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, on King Street in Toronto, on this day in 1998. They were the first three pop artists to be honored into the newly recognized group of Canadian stars. Rush and Celine Dion were added a year later, followed by Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in 2000. They were also each presented with a take-home brass and granite trophy, topped with a star created in the likeness of a maple leaf.

How did Neil Young and/or RUSH get skipped over on the first try?

Two Great Tastes That Taste Great Together

You ever see two friends of yours - friends that you've known separately- get together in inevitable bliss? Me neither. But I've heard that it happens and that when it does, unicorns fart rainbows, and your mailbox is stuffed with $600 checks from the IRS.

Despite the fact that he is in Austin now, Jumboslice takes care of the RC mail bag, and today he passed along the note below. Personally, I'm a WOXY superfan (don't like that new chick in the afternoon just yet), and collectively, we all have a soft spot for local boys, These United States. When the two came together as described below, all rejoiced.

So if you're in England anytime soon, go support DC's finest export, TUS. A side story: on our way to the 9:30 Club last week for the Raconteurs show, Jesse from TUS crossed our path on U Street walking the opposite direction. sacklunch said that if Jumboslice were with us, he'd have gotten all giddy and followed Jesse in the other direction. Aw, Jumboslice.

If you're not going to be in the UK, you can go check them out at the RnRH on Jine 18th before they leave. Just in case they decide to stay.

now entering: These United States a musical project of Washington, DC April and May have come and gone. thuderstorms down upon us, then sunny days. much is blooming. a tour overseas, a killer UK festival appearance or two, some serious Facebook-ing for all you kids who're, like, sO-o-o-over TheMySpace, some free songs, too, from our pals at WOXY. how could you still be reading this introduction part here? -- get yrself down into June already, summer pal...

Ask not what your United Kingdom can do for These United States... if you look very closely, and a bit into the Future, you can see (t)Us, and our dear pal Vandaveer, and also our old friend Jay-Z, showing the English people of the world what It is All About at Glastonbury Festival 2008. now, you can't just jump into this kind of Madness all willy-nilly, without a proper plan for how to best rock the peoples' faces off of them. therefore, we announce a Very Special UK Tour... we would of course be remiss to roll nearly all of the Territory of Greater Brittania without first rocking the faces of those we love most and dearest and closest to home... Wednesday 18 June - Washington, DC - Rock & Roll Hotel again, all of the above dates will be with our good friend from France, goes by Vandaveer, (hep on over to his mYspAce, for those of yet un-hepped), and with various and sundry and amazing musical Others, including, tho far from limited to: Centro-matic, The M's, The Gentle Good, The Cedar, Family Machine, Black Velvet Band, The Epstein, Younghusband -- ah, yes, and, last but certainly never the least for it: Jay-Z. respect. see you soon, the Britainpeople! WOXY, WOXY, WOXY, WOXY, WOXY, free songs, WOXY, WOXY, WOXY! WOXY is just a great word to say. and it's an even better place to visit. we went there in early April, at the tail end of our 6-week journey around the country. we were haggard. we were cranky. (see picture above) we were not ready to play music, yet again, for the 35th day in a row. but somehow, through force and through friendliness and through bottles of imported Belgian beer, WOXY coaxed it out of us. and they did it for you. so you could have these Free Songs and Unlimited Radical Banter. thanks go to Joe Long and the whole WOXY gang. say it again. WOXY. what a great word. well done, WOXers...

The mortician and the grave digger

The Raconteurs w/ The Black Lips - Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 9:30 Club, $50+

This post is so overdue; it’s almost not worth writing. This will be one of those posts that we throw up for posterity, not as news (as it is far from new). This is supposed to be sacklunch’s review, too, but he’s never going to write it as he’s busy with plans for the upcoming Turkey Balls Falls weekend, so I’m just gonna squeeze one out. Enjoy.

When I saw that the Raconteurs were scheduled to play at the 9:30 Club in May, I was quick to mark my calendar and eager to hop online and get myself some tickets. It was a bit of a pain to get them, as the tickets.com site was all kinds of jammed up that day, and I had to buy my two tickets one at a time (meaning, I had to go through the whole ordering process twice). It was a big pain in the ass, but I was happy to have scored myself a way into the 930 to check out Jack White and his compadres.

Not to sound like one of those annoying people who love to tell you that they saw [insert hot new artist dujour] when they were playing in the high school marching band etc, I was lucky enough to see the White Stripes play at the old Black Cat with Stuttson and Duh Cut in 2000 (?)… jeez that was a long time ago… Anyhow, of course, they rocked that show and the bar was set rather high in my mind. In the subsequent years since, I think I’ve been to 3 more White Stripes shows, and I didn’t really think any of them were all that great. I usually complain that Meg White gets lost in the songs, and Jack White spends too much time trying to get her to lay down the beat that he needs to continue on. I also have been known to drone on and on about how much better Jack White would be if he just had a full blown band supporting him, so he could rock out properly. Enter Brendan Benson, and the Greenhornes’ Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, and the Raconteurs seem to be the solution I was looking for.

Now, I should mention that Jimbromski failed to get tickets for this concert, and sacklunch managed to snag another ticket to set us all up with entry to the sold out show. But Jimbromski balked at the ticket price (something about sending his son to college someday) and refused to go. Dumbass. So sacklunch went out and found a taker for the ticket, and it was just the two of us for this highly anticipated show. We went to night #2 of the 2 night schedule since it was Mr. & Mrs. Sacklunch’s wedding anniversary on the first night. Aw. How touching.

Not only were we going to see the Raconteurs, but opening was The Black Lips, whom we’ve seen, I dunno, something like 7 times. [Note to RC: We should get an intern to run stats and handle the advanced ticket purchases and perform other odd jobs for us.] Seeing The Black Lips on a larger stage was also highly anticipated, and the evening was poised to be an instant-classic.

We arrived in plenty of time to see The Black Lips aggravate a large number of people, particularly the meatheads and their girlfriends behind me. This was not the audience that The Black Lips was likely accustomed to seeing before they started this tour. I thought The Black Lips were good, but they suffered from serious technical difficulties, right to the bitter end as Cole Alexander struggled with his ax, unplugging and exchanging cords to his guitar during their last song, without success. The bass was also incredibly loud, even for them, and it made it less than a stellar performance.

Given Jimbromski’s refusal to join us for this show (the nerve), sacklunch and I decided we’d tell him it was the best concert of the year regardless of the truth. And that’s what we did. Until now. In my opinion, this show was a major disappointment. The Raconteurs started off strong, but much like every other Jack White performance except the 1st, there were major breakdowns throughout the show. Drummer Patrick Keeler seemed to fumble his way through several songs, and there were times when the other members just circled their way around and around and around waiting for the backbeat to return. Painful. I’m sure there were plenty of people who thought this show was awesome, or would argue with me, but I know what I saw and heard, and I thought this show was a disaster in its middle. The beginning and end were good bookends, but the middle was just not good. I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t Jack White that’s to blame. I blamed Meg White in the past, and now this. Maybe it’s not the drummers’ fault. But I still think it is.

So go ahead, Jimbromksi, you can say you were right and that it wasn’t worth the $. It seemed like a good risk to take at the time. I will be more careful about any future Jack White live performances moving forward. I didn’t make it through the entire NPR podcast of the Tuesday-night show, so maybe that one was good. But the Weds night show didn’t cut it.

As an aside, I thought Jack White looked a lot like Rocky Balboa (and also like Al Gore - not pictured).

Jack White with his pasty white face and dark suit – standing next to a very skinny Brendan Benson dressed in tattered jeans and boots - the two looked like they'd been hired to put Bo Diddley in the ground.

Bo Diddley Dead

RIP Bo Diddley
1928 -2008

And let's not forget:

...and all I got was this lousy T-shirt

Not too long ago, my mom excitedly told me how she had spared my old concert tees as she was purging some of my junk from her house. Her excitement led to my excitement as I considered how cool I'd look were I to show up at the Rock n Roll Hotel decked out in my authentically retro shirts from similarly cool arena rock shows from yesteryear. Back in the day, you had to come away with a concert shirt. It was, after all, proof of your attendance at a show, and you were expected to flaunt your shirt the next day at school.

"Yeah, I was at the ZZ Top concert last night, but I was really there to see the Black Crowes open...check out my shirt."

But something happened to my shirts between then and now. They don't fit like I remember, and I'm basically the same size I was in high school (sad but true). These shirts also have a strange smell to them. I washed them twice, and they still smell weird.

Women know about shrinkage, don't they?

INXS - 1986

This makes me look like a super fan, pre-Kick and all.
But I didn't go to this show, my sister did. I'm such a poser.

U2 - 1987
1 of 3 Joshua Tree shirts I had

2 of 3 Joshua Tree shirts,
the 3rd disintegrated completely

RUSH - 1989
there's no mistaking this shirt for cool

Primus - 1991
What's even better is that I got this shirt
when Primus opened for RUSH
(Roll the Bones tour -front row, bitches)

U2 - 1991
This shirt has a mock turtleneck feel.
I'm actually choking as I wear this.

Faith No More - 1992
This shirt is the most malformed of all.
It's like a half-shirt. I look like a punk rock Richard Simmons.

Metallica - 1992
I got punched in the back of the head at this show.
I'm wearing this one when we go to Jaxx.

Packt Like Sardines in a Blu Ford Escape

Radiohead - May 11th, 2008, 7:00pm with Liars, Nissan Prison, >$20

If you missed the Radiohead show yesterday, I will try to paint a quick picture of what went down. First, imagine your worst camping experience ever- the one that leaves you hungry and shivering and $29 away from checking yourself into the nearest Motel 6. Now imagine gridlock traffic at rush hour after a dirty bomb deployment. Wedge in between those a fantastic performance by possibly the greatest rock band making music today, and that's basically what we experienced at the Nissan Pavilion yesterday evening/night/early morning today.

There has already been a lot written about the horrendous weather, the lack of communication from Nissan Pavilion staff, the decision not to postpone the show, the lack of medical professionals available for the soggy, indie rockcicles that showed up in t-shirts and shorts, as well as the eco-unfriendly decision to play at car-dependent Nissan Pavilion. So I won't say much more about those things than that. Just know that at times we were starting to think that this was going to unfold as modern day Altamont and at other times there were gross comparisons being made to the Holocaust*.


What compounded our misery was the fact that not only were our plans for an elaborate tailgate - sitting in camping chairs in the lot, throwing the frisbee around, getting a little hacky sack action in - completely upended by the torrential rain, but we also left behind the food at Casa de sacklunch. Oh and we had a total of 12 beers for the 4 of us and it was only 4:30pm.

The misery grew as did the pressure on our bladders. By the time we got inside of the Pavilion, we were cold, wet, underserved and malnourished. Fast forward to the end of the show when we waded our way back to the car only to find that the car wouldn't start. Apparently listening to music for 4 hours with the dome light on will kill a car battery. Who knew? Not that we were going anywhere anyhow. We sat in section A6 of the parking lot after the show for an hour and a half and just waited for a mercy killing to greet us.

The good news - it was May 11th. Yeah, it was Mother's Day, but mom's are understanding about missing holidays in their honor - that's why we honor them, right? And being the 11th of May, it meant we were not seeing Tim McGraw, Allison Krauss, Jimmy Eat World, or the Jonas Brothers. Despite the bad weather and our own general incompetence, we were blessed to have tickets under the roof of the pavilion to see Thom Yorke and his friends.

But first a word about opening act Liars whose frontman looked a bit like David Johansen dressed like Pee Wee Herman. He wore an undersized suit which I found clever for some reason. Tall guy in a suit too small. Turning David Byrne on his head. Other than that, I thought Liars could be a good show if I knew more of their music. It didn't sound half-bad to me, but they definitely weren't crowd pleasers. It's a tough gig. Who really wants to open for Radiohead? It's like running for vice president, or watching the opening credits of a porno. Everybody wants to fast forward through that.

I usually rely on video taken at the show to help my posts, since my vocabulary is rather limited. But Youtube isn't cooperating, so uh, here's what I thought of Radiohead. OMG 101 1111!!!! 111 1! Okay, Youtube is working now. You're in luck. If you want to see it clearer, you'll have to come to my house. Youtube debases my work.

Radiohead fucking rocks. Period. Here's the set list:

All I Need
Jigsaw Falling Into Place
Lucky
15 Step
Nude
Pyramid Song
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi
Myxomatosis
Idioteque
Faust Arp
Videotape
Paranoid Android
Just
Reckoner
Everything In Its Right Place
Bangers + Mash
Bodysnatchers
----
Like Spinning Plates
Optimistic
Karma Police
Go Slowly
Planet Telex
----
Fake Plastic Trees
The National Anthem
House of Cards

As Jimbromski predicted in an email exchange last week, there were hands in the air swaying to Fake Plastic Trees. I didn't post the images here because we can all imagine what that was like.

I wish they had skipped Videotape. I don't like that song one bit. And why end on the soft note? Rock it out for the last tune so we can all go out in a blaze of glory, Bon Jovi style.

*Thanks to DCRC commenter Rick M. and his wife, we received vital sustenance that kept us alive. There were our Oscar Schindler trekking through the rain and mud to bring us sandwiches.

I don't rate shows like the others, but I'll give Nissan Pavilion a 2.3 for the venue. Radiohead gets an MMCXVI, and the sandwiches get a 8.1.

You're Going To Make It After All

Dead Meadow - Weds, May 7th, 2008 - with Vampire Hands - 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis - $10

Being away from DC doesn't mean having to skip out on Rock Club. Case in point, Jumboslice. That guy reports from Texas now. He's dedicated. He's also a doosh for moving to TX, but no need belaboring that much belabored point (not in this post anyway).

I traveled to Minneapolis, MN this past week, which meant that I was to miss the scheduled Cave Singers show that sacklunch had selected for the week (at least that was the thinking at the time before he bailed on the Cave Singers show). To compensate for my absence, and since the Twins were not playing any home games during my visit, I decided to seek out a music venue in the Twin Cities to keep up on things. With a little help from my friend Truly, I was able to find the perfect home away from home.


The First Avenue and 7th Street Entry is akin to the Black Cat. The First Avenue is the larger of the two connected venues, and used to be a Greyhound Bus Station back in the day. This place has a fascinating history with links to the heir of the Fingerhut catalog fortune. Check it out here. The 7th Street Entry is the smaller of the two venues, not unlike the Back Stage at the Black Cat, but with more reliable bar service ($2.50 BPR tallboys 'til 11pm).

I chose to check this club out in part because sacklunch and I had recently debated going to see Dead Meadow play here in DC, but didn't make it. Since the research had already been conducted, it was a no brainer.

Minneapolis's own Vampire Hands opened for Dead Meadow. I hated their first song. I was pretty exhausted from a very long day of traveling and meetings, so I was happy to see that the middle of their set was much better. A few points on Vampire Hands.

1. Not a good time to be an indie band with the first name "Vampire." Regardless of when they chose the name, it still seems conveniently close to Vampire Weekend. It would be like having a band called Someone Still Loves You Boris Badenov, right now.
2. The bassist has this Geddy Lee thing working where he is definitely a dude, but he sounds like a chick. This was actually a good thing. He sounded good. I like the female vocalist, and not just the pretty ones apparently, cuz this guy was not pretty.
3. They had dual percussionists. Not exactly dual drummers (sorry Jumboslice), but close. It worked for some songs, but they weren't in sync enough to make it worth it over all. Maybe a bit more practice.
4. Beards. All of them had one. One may have had two for all I know. I couldn't see the drummer very well.
5. They were decent. They mixed it up with an unusual sound and kept my interest.

Meanwhile, Dead Meadow had been promoted by sacklunch as an act that I would like. I gave them a listen online a while back and thought the same. But this is a band that you have to be in the right mood to enjoy. They have a garage band sound in my opinion, and rely on a Cream-inspired jam-heavy performance which would be great if it were 1968, or if I were heavily intoxicated and sitting on my couch staring at a candle. Their performance was solid, and I genuinely enjoyed their music, but it didn't really seem like anything I hadn't heard before. Nor did it really raise my pulse. Yes I was tired from a long day, but falling asleep at a rock concert should be nearly impossible, especially when standing up.

Here's a sample of what I saw

Hand Jive

Here's another attempt to debase our glorious blog with YouTube clips from yesteryear. Jimbromski has this fear that I'm going to post some dancing baby thing from Ally McBeal or something. I don't know why. Truth is, I don't get out much so I'm not as hip to all the viral videos. Actually, I don't stay in much where I can cruise YouTube all night. Unmarried and childless...look at what I am missing as a result:

These are the guys that did the Mantage video you all hated.

It was inspired, I guess, by this clip:

While the first one (top) is slicker, I like the earlier version (bottom) better. It's like the original King Kong the original and the Jack Black King Kong. The early version gets points for innovation.

It Has Music in the Background

So it counts.

Yeah, I'm sure Jimbromski's already seen this. Especially since my sister turned me on to these guys. Okay, that doesn't read quite right... but whatever.

A Sort of Homecoming

These United States - w/ Wye Oak - April 13 2008, The Black Cat - Back Stage $10

I have been chasing this band for a bit. sacklunch first suggested that I would like them a while ago. I'm not sure where I was the first time he saw them play, but he came back saying that this was an act I would enjoy. sacklunch is good for that. He can be an observant fellow when he wants to be, and he'll give you the heads up from time to time. Though sometimes you can be speaking directly to him and he is completely oblivious. Like one of those semi-comatose guys from "Awakenings." Anyhow, for the past 5 months, I've been curious to see if sacklunch would accurately match my tastes to this act.

I think I managed to miss the second time sacklunch saw them play too. This is a theme for me. The same thing with the Gossip. I wanted to see them. I missed the show. It was "awesome," I am told. They schedule a return to DC, I buy tickets again, and they cancel the show this time. Such was the vibe with These United States (TUS). I had missed them a couple of times, heard good things both times, and decided to pay closer attention.

The next opportunity to see TUS was at the DC Auto Show at the Convention Center. I had never been to an auto show, that's not my kinda thing normally. But I was willing to shell out the $10 to see the afternoon concert that These United States were offering (as well as sneak a peak at the car of the future). So I made it down to the DC Convention Center in plenty of time to check out their 1pm show, but again was thwarted, this time because my date had to tend to a friend in crisis so we made a quick exit (thankfully before we dropped the $10). Oddly enough, having given up on seeing TUS that Saturday, I discovered they were playing at an art show that same night (a Meat Market exhibit at the corner of 14th & T). So my date and I reconvened to try again, and this time, we had no crisis and only had to endure the cold winter chill as this art exhibit was held in a vacant 4 story building without windows and without heat. Still, I had my first glimpse of TUS. It was just Jesse Elliott (and maybe Tom Hnatow) and I waited an hour in the cold before they played 3 songs and stopped. There were other musicians on the bill, and apparently they were taking turns, so that was all I caught. My nads were freezing, so we left.

Fast forward 3 months and when it came to picking a show for this week, it was a toss up between TUS and Dead Meadow. Since Jimbromski was enjoying Miami - complete with topless models sunbathing at the same hotel (so he says), and Jumboslice of course is in Texas now, it was just me and sacklunch. We settled on TUS, though sacklunch had seen them several times by then.

We found our way into a surprisingly full backstage at the Black Cat - surprising for a Sunday night any way. But it was the homecoming for some local favorites, so it should not have come as any real surprise. TUS had just returned from a road tour that saw them play 33 gigs in 33 different cities. According to Jesse, he managed to convince bandmates, Robby Cosenza (drums) and Tom Hnatow (bass/other) to join him on the road, sleeping on cold floors in strangers' homes, enduring strained personal relationships, and coming back with less money than when the left. "My two dumbest friends," Jesse said, as he described the "bitter-sweet" end to the evidently arduous tour.

When Jesse recounted the fact that they had returned home for the 33rd gig and that DC was the 33rd city on their tour, opening act Wye Oak's Jenn Wasner remarked that Jesus was crucified when he was 33 years old.... Jeesh. That's kinda ominous, no? Not so fast, said Josh Read (of Revival "fame") from the crowd. "He was 36." Hmmm. I googled this and most folks say he was 33, but Josh has this British-like accent that makes him sound smart, and I think most everyone left believing him (Josh is apparently South African for the record, and therefore not British, and therefore not smarter than we are).

I was excited to finally see TUS perform for real. I don't count the Meat Market show. For having just come back from a tiring tour, you wouldn't know it from their performance. Starting off a bit mellow, TUS found their groove mid way through and with vein popping enthusiasm, brought appreciative applause from the crowd. sacklunch was right, this is the kind of act I like. A bit of roots rock, hippie folk, and pop all mixed together and performed with sincerity. This is yet another band that I would want to play at my birthday party/pig roast/campfire. It's been too long since I saw this act to give you anything more specific.

Although there was an interesting point in the night (for me anyway) that I'll share. sacklunch referenced Hnatow's use of the lap & pedal steel, saying something like, "that thing is weird." And then I said, "not as weird as that instrument where the guy waves his hand in the air and makes the whooo-eee-aaa-oooo-urr noise." sacklunch was like, "huh?" And I was like, "ya know, I think the Polyphonic Spree have one of those." I obviously couldn't explain it very well, especially when there was a concert in full effect. And then, wouldn't you know it? Out of no where appears Arthur Harrison. And with a waggle of his hand, Art illustrated what I could not describe with simple words. I really didn't know that this was coming. It was a complete surprise to us both. Who is Arthur Harrison? I don't really know. But when I googled "electronic instrument hand wave," I found at the top of the list a link to an article about Arthur and the Theremin. Arthur plays with local band, The Cassettes. There are too many coincidences surrounding this crazy-assed pseudo instrument.

I nearly set my drink on this thing.

can you dig it?

So the fellas from The Dig have been hard at work pushing their appearance at the Red and the Black this week. Honestly, we're not good at responding to emails, in fact we set up this blog as a way to cut down on emails.

But Rock Club was more or less pleased to be directed to the online catalog from NYC's The Dig. The Dig have a newly released EP entitled "Good Luck and Games," produced by Bryce Goggin (Pavement and The Ramones) by the way.

Rock Club's reaction to the invitation to see them April 17th:

>I have class until 10 that night... too bad. I kinda like their Beatle/Oasis sound...
>yeah, they're not bad, I'm listening right now
>As am I. I'd go see them if they came to Austin. One song reminds me of The Vines.
>Let me remove the Oasis reference and insert a Blur/Supergrass reference for the "Lovesick Woman" track.
>sounds like two rats fucking in a dirty sweatsock in July in Kansas City (guess who offered that feedback)

Conclusion, we'd check them out, but Thursday doesn't work for us this week. If you don't have a conflict and want a face full of rock Thursday, go check them out.

If they come back in June, we'll try again.

Video Games Killed the Radio Star

Another sign that I am quickly losing touch.

First this:

All Things Considered, April 12, 2008 - In May 2004, a composer named Nobuo Uematsu joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic for a single performance of his most famous work. The show sold out in three days. In fact, there was almost a riot at the box office when people couldn't get tickets.

What was the music? Uematsu's soundtrack for the popular video game Final Fantasy. [Read More].

And now this:

LOS ANGELES (Reuters), April 16, 2008 - In a nod to the ascendancy of video games, rock 'n' roll bad boys Motley Crue became the first group to release a new single through Rock Band, said the developer of the wildly popular game.

"Saints of Los Angeles," the first single from the group's upcoming album, became available for download for 99 cents this week via Microsoft Corp's Xbox Live Marketplace and on Thursday via Sony Corp's PlayStation store, said Viacom Inc's MTV Games. [Read More]

-----------
Apparently, I need to play more video games or risk missing out on some new music. So for the philanthropic, please send me a Wii ASAP. No XBox360, or PlayStation8. Too many confusing buttons. If the AARP endorses the Wii, it seems like the perfect fit for me.

Though I can be convinced to go back to playing SuperNintendo too...

Wubba wubba wubba

I have been living under a rock. I basically gave up on music videos about the same time MTV did. I didn't get MTV2 until it was too late, and it had already forgotten its whole reason for being (doing what MTV used to do). So if I were to name the last four videos I saw in one sitting, actually taking time to tune in to >25 minutes of music videos, it probably consisted of the following: Sheryl Crow; Matchbox 20; Creed; and Busta Rhymes featuring Smash Mouth with Destiny's Child... introducing Lil' Romeo. I couldn't have been the only person to have suffered through that. Anyhow, I just gave up on it. And I won't lie, I found comfort in Vh1 and was later hooked by the rather addictive I love the 80s-type programming. So instead of music videos, I wasted 13 hours on my couch with some B rate comedian reminiscing about what s/he was wearing two months ago...

What was I talking about again? Oh yeah. I've been living under a rock. I happened across Spoon's "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" last week (I'm sure I'm the last to have seen it) and was reminded how cool music videos can be. This video was a great reintroduction as it recalled for me the early days when videos were full of abstract images and the music was more of the focus. The video would be even better if Britt and the other fellows were left out altogether. Their appearance seems forced and unnecessary. The Monty Python-esque quality of the video has a nice familiarity to it as well.

Have a look:

Abba Cadaver

Ola Brunkert
1946-2008

As reported on CNN.com:

Ola Brunkert was found dead late Sunday at his home in the town of Arta on Spain's Mediterranean island of Mallorca, the spokeswoman said.

Police believe Brunkert may have fallen against a glass partition separating his home's kitchen from the garden, and the glass broke and fatally cut his throat, she said.

He was found in the garden and is believed to have bled to death, she added. An official cause of death is pending until after an autopsy.

Brunkert, born in 1946 in Sweden, played drums on ABBA's first single, "People Need Love," according to Abba's official Web site.

He was not among the four best-known members of ABBA whose faces adorned the album covers -- Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Faltskog -- but he was a key supporting musician for the group as it achieved stardom.

####

Thank you for the music.

Your Mom

as in, SAY HI [TO]...

Say Hi, 3/4/2008 - Black Cat - Back Stage, $10

Tuesday night was back stage night at the Black Cat for a taste of Seattle-based, SAY HI. Formerly called Say Hi To Your Mom (SHTYM), the band dropped "your mom" - like the anchor everyone knows she is - and is touring simply as Say Hi.

Reworking a band name is something I thought only a relatively new band might do under pressure (Green Jello?, Charlatans [UK]?), or something an established band that has been dealing with a high level of turnover might do (Jefferson Starship!). But Say Hi doesn't seem to fit in either category given the fact that they (Eric Elbogen) have put out 5 albums since 2002, and since Elbogen does most of the work, it doesn't seem to be about turnover either.

At any rate, thanks to my best friends at WOXY, Say Hi were on my radar screen when it came to picking a show for my week. I enjoyed the few tracks that I had heard online, namely, Back Before We Were Brittle, and Northwestern Girls, and that was good enough to give them a look-see. But then they visited the studios of WOXY last week for a live performance in the "lounge," and I had second thoughts. It didn't sound that good, especially the "it must be in the air heeeeeeeeere" line from NWrn Girls, and I thought, uh-oh. Maybe this is a better studio band than live band.

With my expectations lowered, we paid the $10 and joined 50 other indie rock dudes and the 3 women that happened by the back stage. As it happens, Say Hi currently consists of two fellas: a drummer (Westin Glass) and Elbogen (who handles the vocals, guitar work, and who runs the computer that fills in for the rest of the "band"). While a great way to cut down on overhead, I have a slight problem with the reliance on pre-fab tracks (see: my earlier post on this subject), unless you are a band like Holy Fuck, who have a full band and need their gadgets to help send me on a drugless acid trip. But I paid $10, and who am I to judge. Maybe it's better this way. As long as the power's on and no hidden viruses emerge during the show, it's another way to get the job done.

The long and short of it, I was pleasantly surprised by this act. I thought they gave an inspired performance. There were no problems with the live show (as live as it is), and, as is often the case, seeing the band perform and feeling the bass (again, such as it is) pound you in the chest somehow helps the ear appreciate the music in ways that listening through computer speakers while at work simply fails to do. Go figure.

I also appreciated the point in the show where Elbogen walked us past the charade of an encore, telling us to basically pretend that they left and changed clothes while we clapped