Happy Halloween!

J-Girl and I carved pumpkins. Guess which one's mine:



We dressed up our dogs Ringo and Savannah (for ~ 5 minutes). Yes, we're that cruel:



And in the music world... The Pierces just released a brand-new Halloween themed video for "Sticks and Stones". It's pretty cool (thanks to reader Doug for the tip):



mp3: The Pierces - Sticks and Stones (YSI)

The Pierces Website | MySpace

Car crashes into First Avenue 10/19/07

More on Flickr: Photos | Slideshow

So I just got back from First Avenue... Holy shit, a fucking car crashed into the side of the building last night! Here's what I heard happened: Car and limo collide. Car goes into side of First Ave and hits a couple of people standing outside.

I saw one woman walk away (in shock) ok. One other guy was more seriously injured. I think he had a broken leg... First Avenue had hardly any damage. I still can't believe ~ 14 police cars showed up. I thought another bridge went down ;)

And yeah, I did watch Stars of Track and Field tonight. I also managed to get some photos of Drive By Truckers. They were actually really entertaining... Crazy night. More to come.

Quickies: I'm back | Luciano RIP | Ruckus on the Westbank | Tony RIP | VHS or Beta | Arctic Monkeys on Letterman | M.I.A.

> So... it appears I took a much needed blogging vacation in August. Yeah, I had loads of fun. However, as of today, the blog is back in session. Regular updates to follow.

> Luciano Pavarotti RIP. My favorite tenor. I was lucky enough to witness the legend live a few years ago at Xcel Energy Center. Absolutely amazing show. This song still gives me goosebumps:

Luciano Pavarotti - Nessun Dorma:


> Cool event alert! Ruckus on the West Bank goes down tomorrow, Saturday 9/8/07, 1pm - 2am. Lots of great bands and it's FREE! I'll see you there...



> Tony Wilson RIP. Tragic. 24 Hour Party People may be my favorite music film every made.

Happy Mondays - 24 Hour Party People:


> I watched VHS or Beta live @ 7th Street Entry a couple of days ago. Photos and words to come soon. In the meanwhile, check out their in-studio appearance on The Current. Brody also has a short review.

> Arctic Monkeys are performing live on Letterman tonight, 9/6/07.

> M.I.A.'s new album Kala is fantastic. After camping last weekend, this tune is officially one of my favorite songs of the summer:

M.I.A. - Paper Planes - live @ Lollapalooza 8/3/07:


OK, that's all I have for now. More to come. Have a great weekend!

Cheers.

Misc

A few things that are new, or I forgot to mention:

> The Current, has some great recent in-studio performances:

• Patti Smith
• The Cribs
• Dappled Cities
• Blitzen Trapper
• and more...

> New concert announcements (at least they're new to me):

• Regina Spektor @ Myth 10/06/07 (tix)
• Figurines / Dappled Cities @ 7th Street Entry 10/23/07 (info)

> The Cribs love The Replacements. Duh.

> New Underworld!



> I need to get a new cell phone soon. iPhone or Blackberry? I need something that works as a phone, but also to text people and check my email. I'd love to surf the web while on the bus as well.... Whatcha' think?

> One more time:



Have a great week!

I35W Bridge Collapse

(Photo courtesy of Dani Bora)

Time-out from the music for a second. I just wanted to let everyone know I'm alive and kicking. So is everybody else I know. Thanks for all the concerned phone calls, texts, and emails.

By now I think you've heard that the I35W bridge collapsed over the Mississippi here in Minneapolis yesterday at 6:05pm. I think I'm still in shock. I was actually on the bus on the way over to J-Girl's house when it happened... Crazy to think that when I drive to work (I've been taking the bus lately) I often go home right around that time via I35W over the bridge. What a tragedy; definitely a day I will not forget for a long time.

My thoughts and best wishes go out to anyone affected.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Release Party - Mall of America 7/20/07

My girlfriend J-Girl left me during The Alarmists CD Release Party... only for a little while, though. Yes, she's a Harry Potter fan. Here are her pics from the book-release party at Mall of America:

Outside Barnes & Noble at Mall of America ~ 10:30pm:


An all-ages-event ~ 12:00am:


The Happy Muggles ~ 12:45am:


Looks like a good time was had by all. You know how it ends? I'll tell you... ok, just kidding, I have no idea...

J.K. Rowling Website

White Light Riot CD Release | Friends & Family | Arctic Monkeys | Alarmists @ Bascilica Bloc Party

Ahhhh, where to start. So long since I've updated, so let's try to summarize some news...

> Looking at my last post about the White Light Riot CD Release show at Fine Line Music Cafe. That one turned out kinda' ugly... By the time I got there with friends and family (around 10pm) things were completely chaotic at Fine Line. Super-huge line and the guest-list wasn't being honored any more. Way to treat friends of the band, Fine Line! OK, I'm already over it (still, I'm not linking to fucking Fine Line)... Sounds like it was a great show, Chris has the review for you.

White Light Riot Website | Myspace
The Alarmists Website | MySpace
The Villains of Verona Website | Myspace

Chaos in front of the club actually looks like fun in this picture:



> As mentioned above, I had friends and family in town for a couple of weeks.

a) My friend Jan from Germany (via Texas):



b) My sister Victoria (via LA, CA):



Needless to say we had a great time, especially with 4th of July holiday. We went to Canterbury, did some camping in Northern Iowa, visited Duluth, ate & drank a lot, etc, great times... My girlfriend J-Girl and I miss them!

> My boys Arctic Monkeys:

a) Played live @ Glastonbury. Setlist (A+++) and audio here.

b) Played "Diamonds Are Forever" live @ Glastonbury. Mp3 here. Video here.

c) New single "Fluorescent Adolescent" dropped July 9th. Track-listing and them live (in clown outfits) on Jonathan Ross here.

d) Tom Jones "I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor" at the Princess Di thing... pretty horrible.

> I watched Friday's Bascilica Block Party from a roof overlooking the city. Pretty bloody briliant... The Alarmists were amazing as always:





Biggest news, though, I watched a certain Minneapolis icon 07.07.07. See next post.

Updates... Personal | The National | The Horrors | Maps

Some stuff that might interest you:

• I really wish I could update the blog a bit more... Unfortunately/fortunately I have a pretty kick-ass corporate day job and an awesome girlfriend, and I'm super-busy. Plus, I have to enjoy the 3 months of nice weather we get here in MN per year... expect updates to be pretty slow (once per week, I'm thinking) through-out the summer.

Here's a picture of my girlfriend and my dog Ringo (He he):

• I saw The National. Pics. Pretty boring, actually. Erik is a fan and has the review.
  
  

A Few More National: Flickr Photos | Flickr Slideshow

• I did love this tune by The National live (then again, I loved every tune where the bassist shouted/sang):

mp3: The National - Abel (YSI)

• I hung out with The Horrors' lead singer-dude (I only saw 5 seconds of the band live). He's very tall and doesn't like to reveal his face. Super-nice guy, though:
  

• Maps. Check 'em out. Great stuff. My favorite song at the moment:
  

mp3: Maps - Don't Fear (YSI)


As always, thanks for reading. You know where to find me.

- Steve

Happy 2nd Birthday!

...to my blog. Yes, I started this shit 2 years ago, today. To celebrate, three random songs I've listened to a lot over the years...

David Bowie - Rock 'n' Roll Suicide (live - Japan 1972):


Travis - All I Want To Do Is Rock (live - Glasgow 2001):


Oasis - Slide Away (live - Chicago 1994):


(You thought I'd post "Rock 'n' Roll Star", didn't you?)

Falco - Rock Me Amadeus (live - Salzburg 1986)


RIP Falco (1957 - 1998).

In case you haven't noticed, I'm currently on "blog vacation". Regular posting to resume next week...

Thanks for reading, you #@$% rock!

Cheers,
~ Steve

Look who I found hangin' out... part trois / !!! (Chk Chk Chk) / PB&J / Billy Joel

I think I have a theme going this week:





Yeah, that's me hangin' with vocalists Shannon Funchess and Nic Offer from !!! (Chk Chk Chk). These guys were amazing last night @ Fine Line Music Cafe. Imagine 8 band-members putting on a non-stop dance party. Insane. Don't believe me? Stereogum would agree...

OK, a couple more quickie pics from the show:

Mr. DJ Soviet Panda. He opened the show since Flosstradamus canceled. He was actually pretty good:



!!!:




!!! Setlist (paper on the right):


I'm worn out. Enough live music for a little while... Seriously, it's not easy holding down a day job and doing this full time. However, after work today, I'll try to summarize the following gigs I've seen in the past few days:

• Electric Six / The Ponys 5/4/07 @ First Avenue
  
• Arctic Monkeys / Be You Own Pet 5/7/07 @ First Avenue
  
• Mando Diao 5/8/07 @ 400 Bar
  
• !!! 5/9/07 @ Fine Line Music Cafe
  

We're talking 1000 pictures and 20 videos + that I took... so wish me luck ;)

In other news:

> Brody went to Peter, Bjorn & John last night. Look for his review and pictures here. He's also got a nice Mando Diao recap.

> Some dear friends of mine went to Billy Joel last night. I'm not a huge fan, but I like some of his tunes. Strib review. Pioneer Press Review. Setlist.

Update: Greg over at Perfect Porridge has some great photos and a review as well...

Here's my favorite tune by Billy.

Billy Joel - Honesty (1978):


mp3: Billy Joel - Honesty (YSI)

Billy Joel and !!! in the same post. Classic. I think I need to go to bed. Have a great Thursday!!!

P.S. To show I'm still "cool" (ha!), this is pretty new.

!!! - Must Be The Moon:

Arctic Monkeys - The View From The Afternoon live @ First Avenue 5/7/07

OK, I'll give a sneak peek of the wrap-up of the big Arctic Monkeys gig Monday night in Minneapolis. Here's a video I shot of "The View From The Afternoon". It features a classic stage dive by one "portly" British Rugby player at the 00:45 mark. Check it out, it's classic:



Wow, the gig was absolutely fucking brilliant. Until I get my stuff up (trust me, it's worth the wait), check out Brody's pics and Erik's review.

Update: Due to popular demand the video is up on YouTube. Also, you can download the original video here (85MB). Go Old Laurentian RFC!

Look who I found hangin' out... part deuxxxx

My friend Amy and I hangin' with Mando Diao last night... Brilliant. More to come...

Look who I found hangin' out...

Lots more to come...

The Hold Steady: "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" sucks!

I love baseball and the MN Twins, so this really bugs me:

• Hold Steady record the Twin Cities version of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".
  

This is the WORST rendition (shit) of the tune I've ever heard. Again, has everybody completely lost their mind??? Seriously, I'll take the Goo Goo Dolls version over this any day.

The Hold Steady sucks. Almost as much as The Decemberists do. OK, just had to let that out; I feel much better now...

Let the hate-comments begin ;) Have a great Wednesday!

P.S. RIP Herb Carneal... you'll be missed.

P.P.S. There's been a lot of talk about this tune lately (funny, yet very disturbing). Here's the original (which is way sexier):

23 - 20 Days to go: Arctic Monkeys found in Cuba and India! Mashups & Covers...

Hope my reader(s) had a nice weekend! I did. Nice and relaxing, no live rock 'n' roll after last weekend's craziness...

It's early in the workweek so let's have some fun. A couple of cool, amusing, and even booty-shakin' mashups and covers for you:

Rhythms del Mundo vs Arctic Monkeys - Dancing Shoes:



Bollywood Vs Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor:



Arctic Monkeys - Love Machine (Girls Aloud Cover):



Sugababes - I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor:



This is still my fave, though:

Arctic Monkeys - Baby I'm Yours (Barbara Lewis Cover):



Related videos:

• Too many ;)
  

Other info:

• Rhythms del Mundo: Cuba on Amazon.com.
  
• "Baby I'm Yours" can be found on the CD Single: Leave Before The Lights Come On
• Arctic Monkeys play First Avenue Mon 5/7/07. Tickets.
• Arctic Monkeys new album Favourite Worst Nightmare drops April 23, 2007, in the UK. (April 24 in the US).
  

Arctic Monkeys Website / The Riot Van / MySpace
Girls Aloud Website / MySpace
Sugababes Website / MySpace

Previously:

• 24 Days to go: Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down (live @ Reading, 2006)

• 25 Days to go: Arctic Monkeys - Leave Before The Lights Come On (live @ Reading, 2006)

In other news:

• Kings of Leon release their new album "Because of the Times" today and you can catch them live in Mpls/St. Paul @ First Avenue Friday 5/18/07. Did anybody else notice Albert Hammond Jr. (from The Strokes) is opening? Sweet.

• Yeah, I know, you don't have to email me anymore... another good band is playing here 05/07/07: The Rapture @ Fine Line Music Cafe.

• Jarvis. Yes, his album is out in the US today. Bloody brilliant, pick it up.
mp3: Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time
mp3: Jarvis Cocker - Running The World
YouTube: Jarvis Cocker - Don't Let Him Waste Your Time (A+)

• This should fit for today: Sometimes it snows in April (Prince cover).

I'm up way too late once again... I gotta' go. Have a nice Tuesday.

24 Days to go: Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down (live @ Reading, 2006)

Let's stick with the Reading Festival 2006 for one more day. Did you know: "When The Sun Goes Down" was actually titled "Scummy" on the band's early demos? Now you do. I love the audience participation in the live version.

Related videos:

• Arctic Monkeys - Scummy (live Astoria, London 06-10-2005)
• Arctic Monkeys - When The Sun Goes Down (official video)
• And while I was looking through AMs' videos, this one came up as "related" on YouTube: Blur - Song 2 (live @ Wembley Arena, 1999). Wow.

Other info:

• "When The Sun Goes Down" can be found on the album: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
• Arctic Monkeys play First Avenue Mon 5/7/07. Tickets.
• Arctic Monkeys new album Favourite Worst Nightmare drops April 23, 2007, in the UK.
  

Arctic Monkeys Website / The Riot Van / MySpace

Previously:

• 25 Days to go: Arctic Monkeys - Leave Before The Lights Come On (live @ Reading, 2006)

In other news:

I wasted a LOT of time today playing around with imeem. Has anybody else tried this out? I'm pretty impressed. Seems like an ideal combination of social networking, music, video, photography, blogging, etc... pretty much all the stuff I'm really into. I think I'll start using it quite a bit. I haven't really done a whole lot with my profile yet, but if you wish, you can add me as a friend (I have zero at the moment):

http://therocknrollstar.imeem.com/

I've also updated the blog's right toolbar with this info and even added a playlist. Check it out.

So, let's try this thing out by posting a tune. Click the green play button twice to start streaming the song (once to activate the control, and once to begin playback):



And here's the first one I actually uploaded to the site (nobody had previously posted it):



Cool, huh? As mentioned, more on my imeem.

Check CityPages or Vita.mn to see what's going this weekend. Have a good one. Cheers.

Birdmonster live tonight / Jamie T / MSP Concert Announcement / Culture Bully Interview / Alex Gaudino

(Birdmonster live @ 400 Bar 10/24/06)

Just a few quickies for you today:

> San Francisco's Birdmonster returns to the Twin Cities tonight @ Varsity Theater. To say these guys are fun live, would be a great understatement. I would know, as I wound up playing the drums on stage last time they were here @ 400 Bar. Don't miss 'em; Pulse and Brody agree. Local bands Belles of Skin City, Aneuretical, and Jayber Crow open the show.

Birdmonster will also appear in-studio on The Current today between 9:00AM - 11:00AM.

mp3: Birdmonster - Skeleton Suit

Birdmonster Website / MySpace
Belles of Skin City Website / MySpace
Aneuretical Website / MySpace
Jayber Crow Website / MySpace

> Speaking of the Current... I heard this song on my drive home from work last night and can't get it out of my head. Jamie T rocks.

Jamie T - Calm Down Dearest:



Jamie T Website / MySpace

> MSP Concert Announcement:

• 06/13/07: Fountains of Wayne / The Broken West @ First Avenue.
• WTF Moz? Milwaukee, but no Twin Cities... You HAVE to be kidding me.

> Solace and I were interviewed as "local music experts" over on the great blog Culture Bully. Read it here. I think it turned out pretty well. I laughed very hard at the picture they used of me... The original photo is up on my MySpace.

> Last but not least. My awesome roomie once again told me "Dude, you gotta' post this!" OK, Brian:

Alex Gaudino - Destination Calabria: (probably NSFW)



Such a sweet video (in so many ways)... The tune is an anthem in Ibiza. I really need to go there soon.

Alex Gaudino Website / MySpace

I'm so outta' here. Have a great weekend!

My St. Patrick's Day

More: Flickr Photos | Flickr Slideshow

I actually managed to get out a little bit last Saturday. Downtown Minneapolis was crazy; I had loads of fun. Check the photos for more evidence, the rest is censored ;)

I spotted this:



Who's going to the show with me?!

Good excuse to post a Benassi video, right? Right.

Benny Benassi - Satisfaction (probably NSFW):



Benny Benassi Website / MySpace

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Pogues Website

Cheers!

Thanks!

This one goes out to the lovely peeps who chauffeured me around last night, thank you:



And this one goes out to one of my best friends. Happy Birthday, buddy!



That beats coverage of Bishop Allen live @ Triple Rock any day, don't you think?!... Hope you all had a nice weekend!