Sweaty and disoriented: Diplo / CSS / BDR

Man, I've totally been out-of-action lately. I missed the Futureheads last night. WTF! Then again, I've seen them 4 times already. Check out their full performance on AOL...

I did go out tonight to the Diplo/CSS gig. What can I tell you?

1) Bonde Do Role
Lead-singer Marina broke her arm while stage-diving the night before @ Pitchfork Festival. Now that's rock 'n' roll. If you could add live vocals to the Girl Talk album, you'd sum up BDR pretty well. Two guys and one girl singing over various samples... call it "Brazilian Karaoke". Diplo was assisting on DJ duties.



Flickr photos / slideshow

2) Cansei De Ser Sexy (CSS). Unbelievable. Very sexy. Great. Check out the pictures.



Flickr photos / slideshow

mp3: CSS - Fuck Off Its Not The Only Thing You Have To Show
mp3: CSS - Art Bitch

The set was pretty much as Fluxblog described it:

CSS Suxxx / Patins / Alala / Fuckoff Is Not The Only Thing - Work It / Meeting Paris Hilton / This Month, Day 10 / Alcohol / Off The Hook / Art Bitch / Music Is My Hot Hot Sex / Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above

3) Diplo. My camera (as usual now) ceased to work. But let's just say... bloody brilliant. He was mixing everything from "Walk like an Egyptian" to "Mr. Postman"...



OK, really poor camera-phone picture above...

- Steve

Pics: Muse live @ State Theater 7/26/06

Flickr photos / slideshow

mp3: Muse - Feeling Good (Nina Simone Cover)

Please excuse the excessive ranting in my previous post. I'm such a cry-baby sometimes...

- Steve

Updates:

G over at Perfect Porridge has a great review of the show.

I forgot I'm house/pet sitting this weekend over at my Mom's house... Have a good one, back Monday...

Muse live @ State Theater 7/26/06

OK, I'll try to be as nice about this as possible... every piece of technology has failed me today. Maybe I should become a farmer and "harvest the land":

a) My cell phone. The headset no longer works... I can't hear anything people are saying. I used the speaker-phone until today... Now, today the speaker-part-of-it died as well... Hope my bluetooth dorky thing still works...

b) My "rock n roll camera". Some great shots of Muse below. However, I hung out with the "common folk" for about 2 hours to get shots with the band... I did, however, the photos got lost. Yeah, that camera (or memory card) is on its last leg...

c) My Comcast internet connection at home has been bloody shite! Anybody else having problems?

d) Blogger Images/Photos. WTF? Not working (as far as I can tell)

e) And yeah, let's not even talk about MySpace.

f) Non technology: A guy next to me in bathroom said this: "Welcome to hell!". Seriously. I said "WTF!?" Felt like some kind of "karma" of the post I put up last week. Gave me goosebumps, very weird...

This is supposed to be a Muse review!? I have to use my neighbor's unsecured wireless network to write this?!

I blame all this on:

a) Global Warming

b) A-Rod

And yeah, Muse was really good. Loud. Extremely loud. Thanks to buddy guest photographer Aaron who took some great shots (he was in row A, pit). I'm (again) so pissed the shots with the band didn't turn out... sorry, especially to my friend Amy.

Flickr photos / slideshow A few of these are NME worthy...

Two good things tonight:

a) My friend Amy (mentioned above) made me a kick-ass Pet Shop Boys Mix CD. It's awesome... more on that to come.

mp3: Pet Shop Boys - Paninaro [Italian Remix]

b) I love my buddy Ryan. Had a great chat with him before the show... my economic future is up-in-the-air (more on that to come next week). He sat in row A, right next to a left-hand speaker unfortunately.. here's the message I got on my phone during the show, to illustrate how loud/crazy the show really was:

"My seat is actually horrible. It's far too loud. Every note make my body vibrate. I'm going to leave before I puke from sheer volume. Sorry."

I didn't see the opening band The Cloud Room... I did run into the boys from White Light Riot, though. Check the pictures...

OK, I'm done... even this internet connection is giving me time-out issues all the time.

You know, I try, I try....

- Steve

P.S. I gotta let it out: "Faaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhck". OK, I feel better now. Have a great Thursday everybody!

P.P.S. This is the worst "show review" of all time. I agree with you...

Phoenix live @ Fine Line Music Cafe 7/24/06

le concert était grand:



Flickr photos / slideshow

je suis si fatigué je suis de coucher, avoir un grand jour.

mp3: Phoenix - Long Distance Call
mp3: Phoenix - Run, Run, Run (live on The Current)

Phoenix Website
Phoenix MySpace

Setlist:



- Steve

P.S. My French le sucks, no?

P.P.S. Check out what Fine Line's website stated for this event...

Please leave all cameras at home:
NO CAMERAS
NO AUDIO
NO VIDEO
Thank You!

Suckers... ha ha.

Jarvis Cocker performs live in LA

Just found this via Jarvis' MySpace...

A live performance of Jarvis Cocker performing "Running The World". I assume it was filmed recently.

3 takes makes perfect:



I'm out the door to watch Phoenix kick off their tour tonight...

- Steve

CSS - Let's Make Love and Listen to Death From Above

Can't wait to see these Brazilian girls with Diplo here soon...

Have a great weekend,

- Steve

Wibbling Rivalry

Unfortunately I have no time for much of anything, so I thought I'd give you this. "Fourteen minues of verbal mayhem" from 1994:

mp3: Oasis - Wibbling Rivalry

Read more about it here.

And a couple of other B-sides:

mp3: Oasis - (As Long As They've Got) Cigarettes In Hell
mp3: Oasis - Let's All Make Believe
mp3: Oasis - Boneheads's Bank Holiday

My "Summer 2006" mix to drop next week...

- Steve

P.S. Interesting article: Confessions Of A Car Salesman

Spock To Bridge...

Captain Kirk is asking you to check out these tunes:

mp3: Common People - William Shatner & Joe Jackson (Pulp Cover)

Stare at the picture above while listening...

Two more:



mp3: Cat Power - Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)



mp3: Radiohead - Everything In It's Right Place (Josh Wink Remix)

Related: Josh Wink MySpace

- Steve

P.S. Thanks Vu!

P.P.S. mp3: Travis - Sunday Bloody Sunday (live U2 Cover)

Update: Thanks C! The "Sunday Bloody Sunday" cover is actually The Edge singing live in Sarajevo...

So many live bands, so little time

Here's a brief live-band summary of gigs I attended over the past few days:

Fri 07/07/06: The Alarmists @ 400 Bar


Flickr photos / slideshow

Have I mentioned this band on my blog before? Ha ha. Yes, the put on another great show. Love the new stuff. Can't wait for their next CD.

The Alarmists Website
The Alarmists MySpace
HowWasTheShow.com Review

Fri 07/07/06: Kubla Khan @ 400 Bar


Flickr photos / slideshow

These guys are interesting... They have 8 band members (I think), including a horn section. I previously saw them open for The Hopefuls a while back, and didn't like 'em. I only watched their first 2 tunes this time... I still don't like 'em. Their music reminds me of Billy Joel for some reason.

Kubla Khan MySpace
HowWasTheShow.com Review

Fri 07/07/06: The Nina! The Pinta! @ Triple Rock


Flickr photos / slideshow

Minneapolis' very own version of The Hives! These guys rocked.

The Nina! The Pinta! Website
The Nina! The Pinta! MySpace

Fri 07/07/06: The Umbrella Sequence @ Triple Rock


Flickr photos / slideshow

I missed about 1/2 their set because (as usual) I was talking with various people at the gig. The 1/2 I heard was excellent, though. They're definitely very much influenced by Radiohead.

The Umbrella Sequence Website
The Umbrella Sequence MySpace

Sat 07/08/06: Duplomacy @ Turf Club


Flickr photos / slideshow

Turf Club was pretty packed; lots of audience members in skinny jeans who belonged to other bands. The music was great, really enjoyed Duplomacy. I didn't like the opening band The Deaths, though; definitely not my type of music.

Duplomacy Website
Duplomacy MySpace
2024 Records Website
HowWasTheShow.com Review

Mon 07/10/06: The Villains Of Verona @ Varsity Theater


Flickr photos / slideshow

The Villains delivered an energetic live set to a sparsely attended gig @ Varsity Theater. They sounded (and looked) great.

The Villains Of Verona MySpace

Tue 07/11/06: Red Fox Grey Fox @ Varsity Theater


Flickr photos / slideshow

Didn't really like this local band. The music was ok, but the vocals (especially the harmonizing) were pretty poor. Not everybody can pull off Sigur Ros.

Red Fox Grey Fox MySpace

Tue 07/11/06: Every Move A Picture @ Varsity Theater


Flickr photos / slideshow

They delivered a pretty good opening set for The Rakes. Too bad they sounded like The Bravery.

Every Move A Picture MySpace

Tue 07/11/06: The Rakes @ Varsity Theater


Flickr photos / slideshow

Spectacular. Definitely the best British band I've seen in a while.

The Rakes Website
The Rakes MySpace

Sorry the recaps are not more in-depth. Too much stuff going on at the moment...

Have a great weekend,
- Steve

The Villains fuck it up on the radio

Sorry, this is not a post about the last 8 bands I saw. Instead, I give you these 3 things:

1) mp3: Towers Of London - Fuck It Up (acoustic)

2) YouTube: Regina Spektor - On The Radio



3) Locals: Come watch The Villains of Verona live @ Nomad World Pub today. Pictures of their last gig @ Varsity Theater here.

- Steve

Pics: The Rakes live @ Varsity Theater 7/11/06

All photos from The Rakes here. Slideshow here.

Yes, that's what you call a "stage invasion" at the end of their set! "Best show since Art Brut" a friend of mine told me... I think I agree. More words (and like 8 other live band reviews from the past few days) to follow...

Tonight's setlist:



Actually the played "22 Grand Job" twice...

mp3: The Rakes - 22 Grand Job

The Rakes Website
The Rakes MySpace
Jarvis Cocker MySpace (they're friends)

- Steve

Out of time

(The Nina! The Pinta! live @ Triple Rock 7/7/06)

Updates to follow soon... In the meanwhile, you can stream The Alarmists' in-studio performance and interview on the Current from last Friday. Songs performed:

"Some Things Never Stop"
"She Will Love Again"
"Light A Smoke"

- Steve

My condolences

The following tune goes out to my friends Mike, Dawn, Heather, and Michelle for the tragic loss they suffered this past weekend.

mp3: The Beatles - In My Life

My deepest sympathies. Thinking of you...

Love,
- Steve

Introducing... The Villains Of Verona

I have great music friends here in Minneapolis / St. Paul. Case in point, my buddy Brody. He went all the way to Chicago this past winter to watch Hard-Fi. He didn't really like Hard-Fi, but returned with a love for the opening band, the up-and-coming The Villains Of Verona. Listening to their material, I now understand.

Yes, these guys (and one very lovely female lead-singer) are young. Fresh out of Elmhurst (Chicago), IL, high-school, actually. Younger than the Arctic Monkeys! They sound like a mixture between The Grates and Eisley, no? Throw in a little Pretty Girls Make Graves or Lily Allen and you may be getting there... Highly infectious pop/rock; no better music for the summer (or anytime) if you ask me...

Lucky for us locals, they're in town this upcoming week for a couple of gigs:

Varsity Theater: Mon 7/10/06 - The Villains Of Verona / Squareshooters / Ronni Saxon

Nomad World Pub: Thu 7/13/06 - The Dance Band / Sam Keenan / The Villains Of Verona

I highly suggest you check them out. Let's hear some tunes (both highly recommended):

mp3: The Villains Of Verona - Orson Welles
mp3: The Villains Of Verona - Vinyl

YouTube come in! They have a great video for "Orson Welles". It may just feature the best/worst dancing since the now infamous OK Go "A Million Ways" video:

Video: The Villains Of Verona - Orson Welles



The Villains Of Verona MySpace
Buy The Villains Of Verona - With A Twist Of Lime EP here

A few more pics of the band:








In other related news:

Is everybody having a great summer? I am. Lots of great tunes, including Gnarls, Lily, Snow Patrol, etc... Here's a tune which may make it onto my "summer mix" for the 2nd year in a row, thanks to the mixtape (CD) my friend Amy made for me:

mp3: The Cribs - The Wrong Way To Be

I had a great time mowing grass to this a few days ago...

I'm spent. Have a great weekend!

- Steve

P.S. Head over to Brody's blog for more info on the "Villains", or if you'd like to see them play at an event near you.

Low Lustre NY Tour!

I have some good news and some bad news for you. Which one do you want to hear first? Let's start with the good news (the glass is half full, right?!)...

One of my favorite local bands, Low Lustre is currently on their "NY Tour", and they'll be hitting a few other cities along the way. I saw these guys perform at The Alarmists CD Release Party 6/9/06, and let's just say it was a very memorable experience. They were excellent, reminding me of a mixture between Dinosaur Jr and Spoon. Very engaging live. If you live in any of the cities in the poster above, yes I'm talking to you in Chicago, Middlefield (where-ever that is), NYC (Arlene's Grocery!), or Madison, I highly suggest you check them out!

Here's what the fine fellows in Low Lustre look like:



Here's what Low Lustre sounds like:

mp3: Low Lustre - Dancing Blind (highly recommended!)
mp3: Low Lustre - Vampire (available on MySpace)

Low Lustre Website
Low Lustre on MySpace
Buy Low Lustre "EP" here

Now for the bad news...

Unfortunately for us locals, the band will be pulling a "Hold Steady" and relocating to NYC later this summer. Fortunately we'll get to say "Goodbye" at a couple of gigs later this summer @ 400 Bar:

7/21/06: Low Lustre / Sunday Morning Chameleon
8/12/06: Low Lustre / Michael Morris / White Elephant / Fresh Nest

You will be missed! Best of luck to them in the big apple, though. As long as they don't turn into Yankee fans, we're all good.

- Steve

Radiohead live @ Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, 6/29/06

Here's the second of two guest reviews by my lovely sister Victoria in LA:

Needless to say there is a lot of pressure in writing this review and I would like to put a disclaimer that this is from a Radiohead virgin. The expectations of this show were beyond high as everyone told me “This is going to change your life” or “That’s going to be an f*#*ing amazing show!” – I could go on and one with these sort of quotes, but I won’t.

I have to tell you that going to see a show at the Greek Theater, which to me is a cross between the Ford Amphitheater and the Hollywood Bowl is a great venue, but absolute hell trying to park. An hour of sitting in a queue just to get to parking and then it’s all stacked, so you’re out of luck if the person behind you or in front of you doesn’t show up for an hour or two – all I have to say though: COMPLETELY WORTH IT!

Radiohead definitely put on a great show. Because I’m a Radiohead virgin I don’t know the names of any of their songs, but I’m sure Steve will help me with that and post some sort of list. I did recognize the first couple of tunes and then the next hour was spent on new songs that pretty much no one had heard. This was actually great for someone like me, because I certainly didn’t feel out of place by just listening to them. Their light show was brilliant – definitely more than I expected but never overshadowed the band.



Now, after the first set I liked them. I didn’t think it was the greatest show ever but then they came out for the first encore and everything changed. Then it became a fantastic show. I found myself not being able to sit down in my seat or worrying about how I was going to get out of the Parking Lot. Hmm, maybe that was the second hand high... Sometimes Thom reminded me of a little Raver bouncing around on stage and I found myself completely entertained thinking of him as a 5-year-old kid with ADHD.

So, it didn’t change my life, but Radiohead now has a new fan and I have to say: The new songs are bitchin’ and I can see why they have such a die hard following. The melodies Thom Yorke creates with his voice are completely mesmerizing and then suddenly with a kick of the bass drum, you’re back out of the tranquil revelry and dancing to those hard drums and guitar completely amazed at what you just heard.

- Steve edit: Thank you Victoria for the excellent review(s)! Great job!

mp3: Radiohead - Killer Cars

Here's the 6/29/06 set list with a few YouTube links:

01 You And Whose Army?
02 The National Anthem
03 2+2=5
04 15 Step
05 Morning Bell
06 Arpeggi
07 Videotape
08 Kid A
09 Dollars And Cents
10 Street Spirit
11 All I Need
12 Nude
13 Paranoid Android
14 Bangers 'n Mash
15 The Gloaming
16 Idioteque
17 Follow Me Around
18 Everything In Its Right Place

Encore 1
19 There There
20 Down Is The New Up
21 The Bends
22 How To Disappear Completely

Encore 2
23 House of Cards
24 Lucky

Cat Power live @ Ford Amphitheater, Los Angeles, 6/28/06

Here's the first of two guest reviews by my lovely sister Victoria in LA:

This was my first experience at the Ford Ampitheater in Los Angeles and I have to say it was a great way to start! The venue is intimate, beautiful, with amazing sound. There was no opening act so we don’t have to waste anytime talking about that.



The stage was set with a piano, a guitar and some sort of harp thing. Cat Power came out on stage almost without any sound – so quiet in fact that I wasn’t sure it was her at first. She could have been a roady. I think the best way to describe her is “quirky” – sober but definitely still quirky. She began crooning in that amazing voice of hers, quickly changing songs as she began to get bored with them. Seriously, I don’t think she finished any of the first five songs, but it sounded amazing. I felt almost mesmerized by her, though I continued to drink wine throughout this, so you’ll have to pardon me if my memory gets a bit foggy.

The highlight for me was “I Don't Blame You” as this is my favorite tune of hers and a cover of the “House of the Rising Sun”. She would have moments of dancing around the stage and some fake smoking caused the security to rush toward the stage. Ahhhh a show outdoors in Los Angeles – ‘cause you know that cigarette is going to kill us – not the layer of smog or anything. I digress:

So in short: Amazing show, Cat Power proved that she is great - Being sober has not made her lose any of her charm and melodic vocals – it probably just saved the audience from any bruises.

mp3: Cat Power - I Don't Blame You

Related:
Cat Power MySpace

Jarvis is back

This was on Stereogum today, buy I'm posting it anyway. Jarvis Cocker (of former Pulp fame) is back with some updates and a new tune "Running The World" on MySpace.

You can download the new song here.

Leave it up to Jarvis to properly sum up the current state of affairs. I think he's pissed and I think I love it.

- Steve

Goodbye Top Of The Pops... Whatever!

(Oasis - Top Of The Pops - Whatever 1994)


(Oasis - Whatever Video 1994)

- Steve

Update: Thanks Anonymous! Yes, that is Damon Albarn introducing the band on TOTP! Didn't even notice when I posted it...

P.S. Was every performance on TOTP lip-synched?!