In the second part of my look back at 2009, here's the best gigs I saw all year.
The Melvins – Ding Dong Lounge
What a way to start the year!!!! It was a big call back in January to say that I’d just been to the gig of the year, but even then I could tell nothing was going to top this. The Melvins celebrating 25+ years of being a band, performing their classic album Houdini in its entirety, to a PACKED OUT Ding Dong Lounge. With Trevor Dunn on bass. And support from Umluat, with a guest appearance by Mike Patton.
I went to many shows with huge stage productions this year, but the power of three of rock’s best playing such a classic album just couldn’t be beaten. Then to top it all off they played Honey Bucket (the heaviest song ever written) AGAIN for the encore. Nothing could beat this.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Palace
This was my first time seeing Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and I’m so glad I made it along. Not only was Dig!!! Lazurus Dig!!! the most rock n roll album they’ve done recently, this tour also proved to be Mick Harvey’s last with the band. A shame to see him go given the awesome performance from the whole band on this night. New and old hits played with a dirty rock sound. What more could you want?
Propagandhi – The Corner
Propagandhi brought a mix of teenage skater punk nostalgia and the progressive hardcore of newer releases to the Corner stage. All delivered with the passion that can only come from people who truly believe in what they’re singing. Rock For Sustainable Capitalism was a true highlight about the power of music to change the world, not be a commodity.
Nine Inch Nails – Festival Hall
Nine Inch Nails kicked off the first leg of their Wave Goodbye tour down under. I’ve already written a long post about how sad I was to see them go, but I was very happy to get to see Trent’s live manifestation two final times. Stripped back and raw, these performances proved the power of Nine Inch Nails hadn’t gone anywhere.
Golden Plains
After the mudbath that was 2008's Meredith, the Supernatural Amphitheatre redeemed itself with perfect weather for the 3rd Golden Plains. Voted best festival in the country for a reason this proved to be the best weekend of the year. Highlights included Brant Bjork & The Bros, Black Mountain, Mogwai, The Drones and Gary Numan (even if he did seem to be doing his best NIN impersonation).
Ouch My Face / Assassination Collective – The Tote
Two of my favourite local bands team up for an awesome night. One of whom I’ve loved for ages (Ass Co.) and one who I’d never seen before, but won me over instantly (OMF). Ouch My Face’s cover of The Beautiful People was as hilarious as it was awesome.
The Flaming Lips – Festival Hall
At the other end of the spectrum from The Melvins was The Flaming Lips, one of the biggest stage shows I’ve ever seen. I already reviewed this so I won’t go on about it too much. But to summarise, this is one of the best parties you could ever go to.
Nick Oliveri – Northcote Social Club
Nick Oliveri showed exactly why Queens of the Stone Age haven’t been able to kick ass since he left. Armed with only an acoustic guitar this man rocked out harder than most people could with a full band behind them. There were Kyuss, QotSA, Dwarves, Ramones and Turbo Negro songs, originals and more. Highlights included You Think I Ain’t Worth A Dollar, But I Feel Like A Millionaire and Outlaw Scumfuc, both of which saw Nick scream bloody murder.
Wednesday 23 December 2009
Monday 21 December 2009
2009 Wrap Up Part I: My Favourite Records
Well, Meredith has been and gone (and what a fantastic time it was!) so I think it’s fairly safe to say the year is coming to an end. Like many others this has me thinking about the highlights of the year, and over the next few posts I’m going to share some of my musical highlights with you.
I’m going to start with my favourite records of the year. This is by no means a Top 10 (especially since there’s 11 of them), nor is it a “Best of 2009” list. There’s no way I could have listened to every album that’s come out this year (and I know for a fact there are some I should listen to but just haven’t given them a chance yet), and I don’t want to rank any of these albums to say they are better than any others. They’re ALL awesome. :) No, this is just a list of albums and eps released this year that I have loved and played to death presented in whatever order I remembered them. I’ve spent the whole year ranting about these bands to anyone who would listen so here we go one last time.
Cursive – Mama, I’m Swollen
I fell in love with Cursive back at their 2003 album The Ugly Organ. I know by now that every album has its own style but on first listen to Mama, I'm Swollen I found myself wondering whether they’d finally moved in a direction away from where I wanted to follow. But I felt the same when I first listened to Happy Hollow (2006), so I knew I needed to push on. The best albums only reveal themselves on repeated listens and there’s no doubt this is one of them. Within a week I loved it and if pushed, I would put this as my pick for album of the year. In fact it grabbed me so much that when I’d finally played it too much and needed a change, I could only move on to older Cursive albums and then a week later I came right back to this.
On the surface this album is less frantic than previous releases, with tinges of folk/country betraying the bands Omaha roots. But beyond that its still a pure Cursive album full of angular guitar, weird instrumentation (organs and horns) and contagious melodies built around the way the instruments intertwine with each other. For a perfect example of all this see the way Mama, I’m Satan builds itself from a simple drum beat and single guitar line into a driving beast never letting up the rhythm until its disjointed crescendo.
On top of all this are front man Tim Kasher’s brilliant lyrics. Personal and witty they often cross the line into post-modernist without it being clunky or laboured. Mama, I’m Swollen is written by a man in his mid 30’s struggling to survive as an artist while balancing this with the responsibilities and expectations of the world around. So, why not write about being that man? The aforementioned Mama, I’m Satan has the gem:
But it’s not just the lyrics, it’s the way Kasher marries them to the beautiful music underneath that makes them work so well. Watch these videos and you’ll see what I mean. Then go out and buy this album, along with all the others.
Every Time I Die – New Junk Aesthetic
Opening track Roman Holiday is a pretty big surprise on first listen to this album. Slow and doomey it’s like nothing Every Time I Die have ever done before. But as soon as we hit The Marvellous Slut (featuring a guest appearance from The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato) we’re back in familiar territory. ETID hit their stride with 2003’s Hot Damn! forging a perfect blend of hardcore vocals and aesthetic with huge southern rock riffs. They’ve never veered too far from this formula since but where most bands would become repetitive ETID have managed to make every album more exciting than the last. Hell just check out this video for Wanderlust. It sums everything up better than I ever could.
Every Time I Die have never taken themselves too seriously and this combined with their good time riffs make them the ultimate hardcore party band. In no small part this is also because of Keith Buckley’s lyrics. Intelligent, sarcastic and full of word play they are both funny and thoughtful at the same time (as opposed to your typical die/hate/heartbreak hardcore bullshit). I’m not going to harp on about the lyrics for every album in this list, but I think “Here we go again, I’ll come to your party if it goes until 4 question marks at least. Three or less and it’s not worth my time” could easily be the line of the year. Plus it’s from a song called Turtles All the Way Down, which also gets points. Then there’s The Sweet Life in which he actually quotes the chorus to Break My Stride. Like I said, the ultimate hardcore party band.
Sonic Youth – The Eternal
Another band who continue to do what they do and do it well. Sonic Youth have been making music since 1981, but they’ve never run out of steam. The Eternal is instantly recognisable as Sonic Youth and yet it’s also incredibly modern and just as exciting and vital as anything else they’ve ever released. It’s their best album since… the last one. Particular favourite tracks include Sacred Trickster, Poison Arrow and What We Know. I don’t know what else to say about this one, it’s Sonic Youth being Sonic Youth and evolving at the same time. It just is. And it’s Awesome.
Thursday – Common Existence
From the opening track Resuscitation of a Dead Man this album grabs you and pulls you along with it. Building on the promise from 2007’s stand alone track Ladies and Gentlemen: My Brother, The Failure, Thursday deliver one of the best albums of their career. Thursday have always combined elements of post-hardcore with new wave, drawing as much from At The Drive-In and Refused as they do from The Cure and Joy Division, but on Common Existence they’ve taken their song writing to a new level while bringing back the immediacy that was lacking in 2006’s A City By The Light Divided. Last Call and Friends In the Armed Forces soar with a truly epic beauty. Meanwhile Love Has Led Us Astray (an obvious homage to Love Has Torn Us Apart) gets its power from the restraint the rest of the band show around such a driving and ominous bass line. Unlike many albums these days which tend to peter out near the end the best tracks of Common Existence are the last three. As well as Love has Led Us Astray there’s the frantic and distressing Subway Funeral, while closing track You Were The Cancer is the highpoint of the album and only lets us go after dragging us through some beautiful, haunting and epic terrain first. (I know that sounds like hyperbole, but if I’m ever listening to this song on my own I have to stop what I’m doing and just sing along).
The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
One of the highlights of this year's Flaming Lips concert (aside from everything else), was getting to hear some of the new tracks they played. Unlike other bands where new songs can be a bit disorienting, these were instantly enjoyable. These songs had the expected psychedelic elements (this is The Flaming Lips remember), but it was more of a 60’s garage rock psychedelia. And that’s pretty much what this album’s like. Lots of jammy spacey bits, but also lots of crunchy guitar and tasty bass lines. This is an album that will end up on every second “Best of 2009” list so I’m not gonna write too much more about it, but that’s the important thing to know. That and this video clip, which is awesome.
Bomb The Music Industry! – Scrambles
Scrambles is kind of like a return to form for Bomb The Music Industry! Not that Get Warmer (2007) was a bad album, but it was a transition that hadn’t quite worked yet. Before that BtMI! had been a solo project played/recorded almost entirely by main man Jeff Rosenstock. A collective of musicians sprung up as the project started playing live shows and Get Warmer was the first attempt to include them in the recording process. The end result was a bit flat and ironically sounded less like a band than the solo albums. With Scrambles however they’ve managed to pull it all together into a very cohesive and vibrant whole. Rosenstock’s lyrics have always paralleled my own life to some extent, injecting his tales of a 20-something trying to make it as a musician while moving in and out of jobs with a heavy dose of humour and irony. This plus his ability to write catchy hooks had me shouting out to the sing-along chorus of Fresh Attitude, Young Body:
Like all Bomb the Music Industry! albums you can download Scrambles for free (or make a donation) from Rosenstock’s Quote Unquote Records. They’ve been operating on the donation model for years before Radiohead & NIN made it popular. Awesome!
Eleventh He Reaches London – Hollow Be My Name
This one is a little bit of a controversial inclusion. Not because of the album itself, but because I’ve only been listening to it for a week so unlike the others I haven’t had months to let it sink in and decide it deserves to be one of my favourite albums of the year. But in that week I’ve decided it’s damn good, so I have no doubt it’ll stay with me for a while and become one of those albums. Eleventh He Reaches London are kind of like an Australian version of Murder By Death. Not so much musically, but where MBD draw on American Pioneers and the old west for their subject matter, EHRL sing tales about the colonisation of Australia by the English. Song titles such as Girt by Piss by piss should bring a smile to the face and a sense of pride to most lovers of the local music scene. Musically the band move seamlessly from folky influenced post-rock into post hardcore reminiscent of the best this or any other country could offer, but in a way that could only be Australian. I haven’t seen this band live yet, a friend passed this album on to me and told me to listen to it, but I can’t wait until I do.
Them Crooked Vulture – Them Crooked Vultures
I don’t need to say too much about this album, since everyone else will. It’s almost a cliché already that this will end up on every end of year list around. It was probably going to end up on on most of those lists before it even got released. But there’s a couple of things want to say about it.
Bare Arms – Bare Arms 3" EP
Driving home one night I somehow ended up listening to the radio and for once I was glad I did. In The End, We’re All Dead came on and even though I’d reached my destination before it ended I sat in the car and waited (through the next song which I’ve forgotten but remember was nowhere near as good) to find out who it was. Bare Arms, a band from Sydney. When I got home later that night I looked them up and was not surprised to find one of the band members is Trini from The Thaw, one of my favourite bands in the country. There’s similarities between both bands as they both do post-hardcore the way it should be done, frantic and harsh but full of experimentation and unexpected turns. But where The Thaw tend to veer out with feedback symphonies which can extend over 10 minutes punctuated by sporadic bursts, Bare Arms are short sharp and focused. Only one song on this EP goes for longer than 3 minutes. Still it’s easily one of the best things I bought all year with every one of those 15 minutes being perfect. It also came on a mini CD with a hand folded origami style case and a note from Trini saying not to put it in a car stereo or mac – “it will get stuck!” Unfortunately the ep is sold out now, but you can download it and some bootlegs for free from their myspace.
Ouch My Face - Ouch My Face
The first time I saw Ouch My Face was the launch gig for this EP. I’d heard they were good but went along mainly because The Assassination Collective were also playing. After Ouch My Face played, there was no doubt I was leaving with this CD. In fact everyone in our group bought a copy of it. Unfortunately the production on this EP just doesn’t seem to suit them. The start of Knockouts reminds me of a 28 Days album (I’m sorry OMF kids, it just does). Of the three tracks on this EP only Obscena Misdemeanour and Don’t Take A Knife To The Graveyard come close to showing what the band can do. But I have seen them a few times since then, so I know that they really are as good live as I remember from that first night, and even the songs on this EP became as good as I remember them. They are good songs, it’s just the production isn’t suited to their style. So if I don’t love this EP why is it here, and why should you go and buy it?
Cuba Is Japan – Cuba Is Japan
This is another short one. Just a taster really for the band’s live shows and the upcoming album. Cuba is Japan aim through their music to tell the story of two English trade ships frozen in the Arctic Circle during a voyage in 1845, which have only just been discovered recently as global warming has started to melt the ice. As you can imagine from such subject matter the music is a mixture of sparse, desolate, beautiful, crushing and haunting. Cuba is Japan also features Cameron from Baseball, so as you’d the instruments extend beyond the typical rock band format to include violins, piano, xylophone and a marching bass drum. The full album will be out in 2010, look out for it.
I’m going to start with my favourite records of the year. This is by no means a Top 10 (especially since there’s 11 of them), nor is it a “Best of 2009” list. There’s no way I could have listened to every album that’s come out this year (and I know for a fact there are some I should listen to but just haven’t given them a chance yet), and I don’t want to rank any of these albums to say they are better than any others. They’re ALL awesome. :) No, this is just a list of albums and eps released this year that I have loved and played to death presented in whatever order I remembered them. I’ve spent the whole year ranting about these bands to anyone who would listen so here we go one last time.
Cursive – Mama, I’m SwollenI fell in love with Cursive back at their 2003 album The Ugly Organ. I know by now that every album has its own style but on first listen to Mama, I'm Swollen I found myself wondering whether they’d finally moved in a direction away from where I wanted to follow. But I felt the same when I first listened to Happy Hollow (2006), so I knew I needed to push on. The best albums only reveal themselves on repeated listens and there’s no doubt this is one of them. Within a week I loved it and if pushed, I would put this as my pick for album of the year. In fact it grabbed me so much that when I’d finally played it too much and needed a change, I could only move on to older Cursive albums and then a week later I came right back to this.
On the surface this album is less frantic than previous releases, with tinges of folk/country betraying the bands Omaha roots. But beyond that its still a pure Cursive album full of angular guitar, weird instrumentation (organs and horns) and contagious melodies built around the way the instruments intertwine with each other. For a perfect example of all this see the way Mama, I’m Satan builds itself from a simple drum beat and single guitar line into a driving beast never letting up the rhythm until its disjointed crescendo.
On top of all this are front man Tim Kasher’s brilliant lyrics. Personal and witty they often cross the line into post-modernist without it being clunky or laboured. Mama, I’m Swollen is written by a man in his mid 30’s struggling to survive as an artist while balancing this with the responsibilities and expectations of the world around. So, why not write about being that man? The aforementioned Mama, I’m Satan has the gem:
You wanna wipe that slate and start all over again? / You wanna hide your face in shame of what your grandpappy did? / Pretty soon here we’ll be grandfathers / Our offspring will sing the same shitAs well as this classic:
I’m writing out a confession: / Every record I’ve written has left me smitten / A career in masturbation / All in all we’re pawns / The ego of mankind stirs in us allBut his self-referential masterpiece is the closing track What Have I Done? A song about a man travelling the country trying to “write my ‘Moby Dick’ – more like scratching lyrics on a paper plate” and reflecting on what his life has achieved. A beautifully slow builder, the song reaches breaking point at the lines
You’re young and you’re “gonna be someone!” / And then you’re old and you’re ashamed of what you’ve become / But take a look around you Mama – We’re preaching to the choir! / HA, HA, HA!!! RIGHT?!?!Adding another level to this the lyrics for the album are written out hidden in a letter to Mama, providing context and stories for the songs beyond just what’s sung. The lyrics to What Have I Done? are even scratched out on both sides of a paper plate.
But it’s not just the lyrics, it’s the way Kasher marries them to the beautiful music underneath that makes them work so well. Watch these videos and you’ll see what I mean. Then go out and buy this album, along with all the others.
I Couldn't Love You from Cursive on Vimeo.
Cursive "From The Hips" from Lake Fever Sessions on Vimeo.
Cursive "Caveman" from Lake Fever Sessions on Vimeo.
Every Time I Die – New Junk AestheticOpening track Roman Holiday is a pretty big surprise on first listen to this album. Slow and doomey it’s like nothing Every Time I Die have ever done before. But as soon as we hit The Marvellous Slut (featuring a guest appearance from The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Greg Puciato) we’re back in familiar territory. ETID hit their stride with 2003’s Hot Damn! forging a perfect blend of hardcore vocals and aesthetic with huge southern rock riffs. They’ve never veered too far from this formula since but where most bands would become repetitive ETID have managed to make every album more exciting than the last. Hell just check out this video for Wanderlust. It sums everything up better than I ever could.
Every Time I Die have never taken themselves too seriously and this combined with their good time riffs make them the ultimate hardcore party band. In no small part this is also because of Keith Buckley’s lyrics. Intelligent, sarcastic and full of word play they are both funny and thoughtful at the same time (as opposed to your typical die/hate/heartbreak hardcore bullshit). I’m not going to harp on about the lyrics for every album in this list, but I think “Here we go again, I’ll come to your party if it goes until 4 question marks at least. Three or less and it’s not worth my time” could easily be the line of the year. Plus it’s from a song called Turtles All the Way Down, which also gets points. Then there’s The Sweet Life in which he actually quotes the chorus to Break My Stride. Like I said, the ultimate hardcore party band.
Sonic Youth – The EternalAnother band who continue to do what they do and do it well. Sonic Youth have been making music since 1981, but they’ve never run out of steam. The Eternal is instantly recognisable as Sonic Youth and yet it’s also incredibly modern and just as exciting and vital as anything else they’ve ever released. It’s their best album since… the last one. Particular favourite tracks include Sacred Trickster, Poison Arrow and What We Know. I don’t know what else to say about this one, it’s Sonic Youth being Sonic Youth and evolving at the same time. It just is. And it’s Awesome.
Thursday – Common ExistenceFrom the opening track Resuscitation of a Dead Man this album grabs you and pulls you along with it. Building on the promise from 2007’s stand alone track Ladies and Gentlemen: My Brother, The Failure, Thursday deliver one of the best albums of their career. Thursday have always combined elements of post-hardcore with new wave, drawing as much from At The Drive-In and Refused as they do from The Cure and Joy Division, but on Common Existence they’ve taken their song writing to a new level while bringing back the immediacy that was lacking in 2006’s A City By The Light Divided. Last Call and Friends In the Armed Forces soar with a truly epic beauty. Meanwhile Love Has Led Us Astray (an obvious homage to Love Has Torn Us Apart) gets its power from the restraint the rest of the band show around such a driving and ominous bass line. Unlike many albums these days which tend to peter out near the end the best tracks of Common Existence are the last three. As well as Love has Led Us Astray there’s the frantic and distressing Subway Funeral, while closing track You Were The Cancer is the highpoint of the album and only lets us go after dragging us through some beautiful, haunting and epic terrain first. (I know that sounds like hyperbole, but if I’m ever listening to this song on my own I have to stop what I’m doing and just sing along).
The Flaming Lips – EmbryonicOne of the highlights of this year's Flaming Lips concert (aside from everything else), was getting to hear some of the new tracks they played. Unlike other bands where new songs can be a bit disorienting, these were instantly enjoyable. These songs had the expected psychedelic elements (this is The Flaming Lips remember), but it was more of a 60’s garage rock psychedelia. And that’s pretty much what this album’s like. Lots of jammy spacey bits, but also lots of crunchy guitar and tasty bass lines. This is an album that will end up on every second “Best of 2009” list so I’m not gonna write too much more about it, but that’s the important thing to know. That and this video clip, which is awesome.
Bomb The Music Industry! – ScramblesScrambles is kind of like a return to form for Bomb The Music Industry! Not that Get Warmer (2007) was a bad album, but it was a transition that hadn’t quite worked yet. Before that BtMI! had been a solo project played/recorded almost entirely by main man Jeff Rosenstock. A collective of musicians sprung up as the project started playing live shows and Get Warmer was the first attempt to include them in the recording process. The end result was a bit flat and ironically sounded less like a band than the solo albums. With Scrambles however they’ve managed to pull it all together into a very cohesive and vibrant whole. Rosenstock’s lyrics have always paralleled my own life to some extent, injecting his tales of a 20-something trying to make it as a musician while moving in and out of jobs with a heavy dose of humour and irony. This plus his ability to write catchy hooks had me shouting out to the sing-along chorus of Fresh Attitude, Young Body:
If you don’t find a steady job now / If you don’t find someone to love now / oh no / You will die freezing cold and aloneAnother great line describes being stuck in the toilet line at the latest hot spot wanting to ask “the over privileged kids if they would fucking mind? I’ve gotta take a piss in the cocaine room!”
Like all Bomb the Music Industry! albums you can download Scrambles for free (or make a donation) from Rosenstock’s Quote Unquote Records. They’ve been operating on the donation model for years before Radiohead & NIN made it popular. Awesome!
Eleventh He Reaches London – Hollow Be My NameThis one is a little bit of a controversial inclusion. Not because of the album itself, but because I’ve only been listening to it for a week so unlike the others I haven’t had months to let it sink in and decide it deserves to be one of my favourite albums of the year. But in that week I’ve decided it’s damn good, so I have no doubt it’ll stay with me for a while and become one of those albums. Eleventh He Reaches London are kind of like an Australian version of Murder By Death. Not so much musically, but where MBD draw on American Pioneers and the old west for their subject matter, EHRL sing tales about the colonisation of Australia by the English. Song titles such as Girt by Piss by piss should bring a smile to the face and a sense of pride to most lovers of the local music scene. Musically the band move seamlessly from folky influenced post-rock into post hardcore reminiscent of the best this or any other country could offer, but in a way that could only be Australian. I haven’t seen this band live yet, a friend passed this album on to me and told me to listen to it, but I can’t wait until I do.
Them Crooked Vulture – Them Crooked VulturesI don’t need to say too much about this album, since everyone else will. It’s almost a cliché already that this will end up on every end of year list around. It was probably going to end up on on most of those lists before it even got released. But there’s a couple of things want to say about it.
- It’s not Songs For The Deaf part II
- We all knew it wasn’t going to be Songs For The Deaf part II
- Secretly we all hoped it would be anyway.
- It’s still a good album.
Bare Arms – Bare Arms 3" EPDriving home one night I somehow ended up listening to the radio and for once I was glad I did. In The End, We’re All Dead came on and even though I’d reached my destination before it ended I sat in the car and waited (through the next song which I’ve forgotten but remember was nowhere near as good) to find out who it was. Bare Arms, a band from Sydney. When I got home later that night I looked them up and was not surprised to find one of the band members is Trini from The Thaw, one of my favourite bands in the country. There’s similarities between both bands as they both do post-hardcore the way it should be done, frantic and harsh but full of experimentation and unexpected turns. But where The Thaw tend to veer out with feedback symphonies which can extend over 10 minutes punctuated by sporadic bursts, Bare Arms are short sharp and focused. Only one song on this EP goes for longer than 3 minutes. Still it’s easily one of the best things I bought all year with every one of those 15 minutes being perfect. It also came on a mini CD with a hand folded origami style case and a note from Trini saying not to put it in a car stereo or mac – “it will get stuck!” Unfortunately the ep is sold out now, but you can download it and some bootlegs for free from their myspace.
Ouch My Face - Ouch My FaceThe first time I saw Ouch My Face was the launch gig for this EP. I’d heard they were good but went along mainly because The Assassination Collective were also playing. After Ouch My Face played, there was no doubt I was leaving with this CD. In fact everyone in our group bought a copy of it. Unfortunately the production on this EP just doesn’t seem to suit them. The start of Knockouts reminds me of a 28 Days album (I’m sorry OMF kids, it just does). Of the three tracks on this EP only Obscena Misdemeanour and Don’t Take A Knife To The Graveyard come close to showing what the band can do. But I have seen them a few times since then, so I know that they really are as good live as I remember from that first night, and even the songs on this EP became as good as I remember them. They are good songs, it’s just the production isn’t suited to their style. So if I don’t love this EP why is it here, and why should you go and buy it?
- To support them. Ouch My Face are an awesome band and they deserve your money.
- When you know the songs, the live show becomes more memorable, especially when they show you how awesome these songs can be done.
Cuba Is Japan – Cuba Is Japan
This is another short one. Just a taster really for the band’s live shows and the upcoming album. Cuba is Japan aim through their music to tell the story of two English trade ships frozen in the Arctic Circle during a voyage in 1845, which have only just been discovered recently as global warming has started to melt the ice. As you can imagine from such subject matter the music is a mixture of sparse, desolate, beautiful, crushing and haunting. Cuba is Japan also features Cameron from Baseball, so as you’d the instruments extend beyond the typical rock band format to include violins, piano, xylophone and a marching bass drum. The full album will be out in 2010, look out for it.
Tuesday 13 October 2009
18 minutes of nostalgia (sorry)
For separate reasons I've found myself listening to two of my favourite bands from the 90's that no one has ever heard of in the last week. So I thought I'd share them with you.
First up is Catherine. Coming out of Chicago the history of Catherine is entwined with The Smashing Pumpkins from the beginning. Both bands practiced out of the same studio in the early 90's and it was Catherine who introduced Billy Corgan to the Big Muff guitar pedal, which so greatly influenced the sound of Siamese Dream. When James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky started their own record label (Scratchie Records) Catherine was one of the first bands they signed. D'arcy was also married to drummer Kerry Brown for a while. (The two split up a while ago, but Kerry is still working with Corgan as an in house sound engineer for all the "new pumpkins" work.) Hot Saki & Bed Time Stories is a lot poppier than anything the Pumpkins ever released, but there's still a lot of melancholy and psychedelia throughout the album which explains the kinship between the two bands. Lead single Four Leaf Clover also features D'arcy on guest vocals.
Catherine - Four Leaf Clover
(While looking that video up, I also came across this video of the original (and still the best) Pumpkins attending band counseling, which shits all over Some Kind of Monster.)
Smashing Pumpkins Counselling
Second we're going to look at Janitor Joe, from Minneapolis. Limited Edition is just under 2 and a half minutes of post-hardcore, proto-grunge noise rock bliss. (They never made a video for it though so you can check out the clip for Boys In Blue here if you need to know what they looked like.)
Janitor Joe - Limited Edition
Bassist Kristen Pfaff left the band in 1993 to join Hole, and part of the lyrics to Limited Edition became the chorus for Miss World. Unfortunately Pfaff died of a heroin overdose in 1994 around two months after the release of Live Through This (and about two months after the death of Kurt Cobain who died 4 days before the album was released).
Once again the lovely people of Universal Music Group have disabled embedding for the Miss World video clip, but you can still go watch it on YouTube right here.
First up is Catherine. Coming out of Chicago the history of Catherine is entwined with The Smashing Pumpkins from the beginning. Both bands practiced out of the same studio in the early 90's and it was Catherine who introduced Billy Corgan to the Big Muff guitar pedal, which so greatly influenced the sound of Siamese Dream. When James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky started their own record label (Scratchie Records) Catherine was one of the first bands they signed. D'arcy was also married to drummer Kerry Brown for a while. (The two split up a while ago, but Kerry is still working with Corgan as an in house sound engineer for all the "new pumpkins" work.) Hot Saki & Bed Time Stories is a lot poppier than anything the Pumpkins ever released, but there's still a lot of melancholy and psychedelia throughout the album which explains the kinship between the two bands. Lead single Four Leaf Clover also features D'arcy on guest vocals.
Catherine - Four Leaf Clover
(While looking that video up, I also came across this video of the original (and still the best) Pumpkins attending band counseling, which shits all over Some Kind of Monster.)
Smashing Pumpkins Counselling
Second we're going to look at Janitor Joe, from Minneapolis. Limited Edition is just under 2 and a half minutes of post-hardcore, proto-grunge noise rock bliss. (They never made a video for it though so you can check out the clip for Boys In Blue here if you need to know what they looked like.)
Janitor Joe - Limited Edition
Bassist Kristen Pfaff left the band in 1993 to join Hole, and part of the lyrics to Limited Edition became the chorus for Miss World. Unfortunately Pfaff died of a heroin overdose in 1994 around two months after the release of Live Through This (and about two months after the death of Kurt Cobain who died 4 days before the album was released).
Once again the lovely people of Universal Music Group have disabled embedding for the Miss World video clip, but you can still go watch it on YouTube right here.
Sunday 11 October 2009
word cloud
Wordle is a pretty awesome site that lets you make word clouds like this from any text you want, or any blog with an rss feed (like say, this one!) Obviously the post about NIN below pretty heavily influenced what you see. I wish it would go back through all the archives of this entire blog and do it though, it'd be interesting to see how that would come up.
On the music front, I'm loving the new Every Time I Die album at the moment, and am back on Cursive's latest album Mama, I'm Swollen because it is brilliant (like every Cursive album). And I just picked up Babes Say the Hottest Things by Mustache!, an old school sleazy rock 'n' roll band similar to Eagles of Death Metal featuring Adam from Murder By Death's "cousin". And finally also listening to the Saul Williams/Thomas Kessler/Arditti String Quartet collaboration NGH WHT, a combination of hip hop and strings which places one of Williams' poems from The Dead Emcee Scrolls over an experimental composition by Kessler.
All of the above are awesome and should be checked out.
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Now playing: Saul Williams - Chapter 18
Tuesday 29 September 2009
Quan, Yama Boy @ The Workers Club (24/09/09)
My review of Quan last week is up now on FasterLouder. Great show. Not so happy with the review this time, just wasn't in a writing mood. It's ok, but I kept getting distracted by just listening to Quan's album instead of working on it so it's a bit short. Anyway, go read it.
Wednesday 16 September 2009
Dead Letter Circus, Sydonia, Rincon @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (11/09/2009)
Rincon open the night with some big riffing. Soaring vocals are underpinned with chugging guitars, and it’s easy to see why they were chosen for tonight’s support slot. The crowd is still a bit small this early in the night, but those who are here seem pretty attentive and appreciative.
Sydonia start out a little slow, but as their intensity builds they manage to steal the show, in my mind, as most interesting band of the night. I saw Sydonia about three years ago and liked them, but they didn’t make a huge impact. Clearly the years in between have taught them a lot as they now seem tighter and more energetic. As a four piece they beef up their sound with extra percussion played throughout the set by their guitarist and bass player. This adds interesting rhythms to the songs and an oomph to their live sound. A rhythm based song which sees the band joined by members of Dead Letter Circus on additional percussion (including an upturned rubbish bin) is a highlight. They’ve also gathered quite a following since I last saw them, with a dedicated crowd at the front and many punters walking around in Sydonia merch.
Up until this point I’d been wondering how there could be so much room to move in a sold out Corner Hotel. But there’s a massive influx in the 20 minutes between bands and suddenly all is understood. By the time Dead Letter Circus hit the stage it’s hot, hard to move and there’s a mosh pit down the front. They kick things off with a fast pace and the crowd jumps along. DLC have somehow passed me by up to this point. I’ve seen the name around and had a vague idea of the musical style, but tonight is the first time I’ve really heard them. It’s easy to tell I’m in the minority here not just by the size of the crowd, but by how enthusiastically they respond to the band. And it’s also easy to see why.
Once again we’re treated to some soaring vocals and a strong rhythm section, this time with some more atmospheric and melodic guitar work layered over the top. Tracks from a forthcoming album are given an airing, as are tracks from their self-titled EP which are lapped up by the crowd. Disconnect and Apply particularly stands out with singer Kim Benzie grabbing a camcorder to film the crowd as they sing the song’s closing refrain. If I have one suggestion for Dead Letter Circus it’s that they could up their on-stage presence a little, especially when following a band like Sydonia. Only Benzie really interacts with the crowd, while the rest of the band seem a bit still. But this doesn’t bother the audience who more than make up for it with their own energy. Also surprising is that there is no encore, given how excited the crowd are by the end of the set.
Still, a great night all up with strong performances from all three bands. Surely we’ll be hearing from them all a lot more over the coming months.
(Originally published on FasterLouder)
Sydonia start out a little slow, but as their intensity builds they manage to steal the show, in my mind, as most interesting band of the night. I saw Sydonia about three years ago and liked them, but they didn’t make a huge impact. Clearly the years in between have taught them a lot as they now seem tighter and more energetic. As a four piece they beef up their sound with extra percussion played throughout the set by their guitarist and bass player. This adds interesting rhythms to the songs and an oomph to their live sound. A rhythm based song which sees the band joined by members of Dead Letter Circus on additional percussion (including an upturned rubbish bin) is a highlight. They’ve also gathered quite a following since I last saw them, with a dedicated crowd at the front and many punters walking around in Sydonia merch.
Up until this point I’d been wondering how there could be so much room to move in a sold out Corner Hotel. But there’s a massive influx in the 20 minutes between bands and suddenly all is understood. By the time Dead Letter Circus hit the stage it’s hot, hard to move and there’s a mosh pit down the front. They kick things off with a fast pace and the crowd jumps along. DLC have somehow passed me by up to this point. I’ve seen the name around and had a vague idea of the musical style, but tonight is the first time I’ve really heard them. It’s easy to tell I’m in the minority here not just by the size of the crowd, but by how enthusiastically they respond to the band. And it’s also easy to see why.
Once again we’re treated to some soaring vocals and a strong rhythm section, this time with some more atmospheric and melodic guitar work layered over the top. Tracks from a forthcoming album are given an airing, as are tracks from their self-titled EP which are lapped up by the crowd. Disconnect and Apply particularly stands out with singer Kim Benzie grabbing a camcorder to film the crowd as they sing the song’s closing refrain. If I have one suggestion for Dead Letter Circus it’s that they could up their on-stage presence a little, especially when following a band like Sydonia. Only Benzie really interacts with the crowd, while the rest of the band seem a bit still. But this doesn’t bother the audience who more than make up for it with their own energy. Also surprising is that there is no encore, given how excited the crowd are by the end of the set.
Still, a great night all up with strong performances from all three bands. Surely we’ll be hearing from them all a lot more over the coming months.
(Originally published on FasterLouder)
Friday 11 September 2009
Wave Goodbye - a tribute to Nine Inch Nails 1988-2009
Today, 10/09/2009 marks the end of Nine Inch Nails. In fact the final live performance of NIN is taking place at The Wiltern in Los Angeles AS I TYPE THIS.Like many other people, I first discovered NIN with 1994's The Downward Spiral. This masterpiece and 1999's The Fragile are still two of my favourite albums ever. And 14 years later Nine Inch Nails are still one of my favourite bands, and one of the biggest influence on me as a musician.
The liner notes to debut album Pretty Hate Machine (1989) contain the famous line "nine inch nails is trent reznor". A simple statement that sums the situation up entirely. In the studio, NIN has always been Trent Reznor. With very few exceptions every note, noise, texture or sound on every single NIN album has been made by Trent.
Reznor has stated that he will continue making music in the future, and some would say that as long as he is alive and keeps recording, NIN can never truly end. However tonight's show marks the end of NIN as a live act, a very different entity altogether, and that's what this article is a tribute to.
While always full of passion, NIN's studio recordings are meticulous and exact. Live and fleshed out to a full band, the power of the music takes over. Check out this footage from their appearance at 1994's Woodstock.
Nine Inch Nails - Happiness in Slavery
This version of the band consisted of Robin Finck on Guitar, Danny Lohner on Guitar/Bass, Charlie Clouser on Keyboards and Chris Vrenna on drums and was the first to really take Trent's ideas and bring them to a new place altogether. So good was the band that when shoots for a video clip for March of The Pigs didn't work out, Reznor decided to just shoot the band on a soundstage playing the song live and release that.
Nine Inch Nails: March Of The Pigs (1994) from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.
Nine Inch Nails: Gave Up (1992) from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.
First off, Somewhat Damaged. The opening track off The Fragile, and one of my favourite NIN songs.
Nine Inch Nails - Somewhat Damaged
Secondly, The Way Out is Through, which shows not just the power of the band, but also some of the awesome stage effects for which NIN has become known. Starting with the Self Destruct tour these effects have continued and only gotten better throughout the years (just wait til we get to 2007's Lights in the Sky Tour).
Nine Inch Nails - The Way Out is Through
There was also some amazing footage released on the And All That Could Have Been DVD, including this take of La Mer and The Great Below.
Nine Inch Nails - La Mer & The Great Below
Five years later, NIN released With Teeth and came down here on tour again. This time playing in Melbourne at Rod Laver Arena, which I reviewed for FasterLouder. The band at this stage consisted of Jerome Dillion returning on drums, Allessandro Cortini on keyboards, Jeordie White (AKA Twiggy Ramirez of Marilyn Manson) on Bass/Guitar and Aaron North (formerly of The Icarus Line) on guitar. Trent said of Aaron at the time
He shows up, he looks shitty, he’s got junk equipment, he looks like he’s just got up and I want to punch him. And then Aaron starts playing and on the first note it’s like, ‘You’re the guy’. He wasn’t trying to be me, and play like I play. He played and chaos came out. It immediately made the band turn into something else.
The juxtaposition of Trent's perfectionism and Aaron's punk background (often relying on noise and feedback) was perfect. Remember, North is the guy who did this:
Aaron North - Stevie Ray Vaughn Guitar
Since it was looking like a pattern of five years between albums at this stage (1989, 1994, 1999 and 2004), and I didn't want to have to wait so long to see them again, I flew up to Brisbane for this tour and saw the band twice. At the end of that show, North toppled one of the massive PA speaker stacks from the side of the stage onto his guitar rig. Again I don't have any footage from the shows I went to on this tour, but here's a performance of Closer from the Beside You in Time DVD (2007).
Nine Inch Nails - Closer/The Only Time
But it turns out I was wrong (YAY!) Having battled a serious heroin addiction since 1995, Reznor was now clean and replaced his drug consumption with a work ethic. Since 2004 there have been 4 full length NIN albums (including a double album) and almost constant touring. After the With Teeth tour finished, Year Zero was promptly released. With Josh Freese (who had previously played in A Perfect Circle with both Jeordie White and Danny Lohner) taking over drums from Jerome Dillon, the band hit Australia again in 2007. This time they replaced the huge arena tour with multiple small club shows. I was able to see this amazing band for two intense shows at the Metro, a relatively tiny venue for such a massive band. This time I reviewed the tour for JMag. By this stage North's influence on the rest of the band was clear and this became my personal favourite NIN lineup. You can see them in this performance of You Know What You Are? (also off Beside You In Time) and I've saved a video of them playing Head Like A Hole for the end of this article, because I want to save the best for last.
Nine Inch Nails - You Know What You Are?
The stage show became a bit more advanced on the following European tour, with some nice visuals used in this performance of The Great Destroyer.
Nine Inch Nails: The Great Destroyer live in Europe, August 2007 from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.
The Lights in The Sky over North America tour was NIN's most extravagant, ambitious and technical stage production. Three levels of video screens were used (utilising LED technology to create screens which could go in front of the band, but still allow you to see them play), along with cameras which recorded the band's movements, allowing them to interact with the visuals. Some of the footage from these shows is amazing, like this video of 19 Ghosts III, which also demonstrates the varied musicianship on display from the band.
Nine Inch Nails - 19 Ghosts III
Also, check out this video of Echoplex, in which Josh Freese controls the drum machine via the backdrop.
Nine Inch Nails - Echoplex
At the end of the LITS tour, Freese and Cortini both announced they were leaving the band. Rather than replace both of them, Reznor decided it was time to bring NIN to an end, and would do one final stripped back tour as a four piece. Ilan Rubin was brought in on drums and previous keyboard/sampling parts were to be shared among the band members, or dispensed with. This would be a really raw version of the band. Kicking off in Australia, I got to see NIN two final times, once at Festival Hall and once at Soundwave. Again, these shows were both excellent.
NIN: Burn Live from on stage, Melbourne 2.25.09 [HD] from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.
The Wave Goodbye tour has seen the reappearance of many old rarities and fan favourites in the setlist. Including Now I'm Nothing, the song after which it was named which hadn't been played since 1991.
Nine Inch Nails - Now I'm Nothing/Terrible Lie
There have also been some amazing guest stars. Including The whole of The Dillinger Escape Plan, who covered Wish on their Plagiarism EP.
NIN: Wish live with The Dillinger Escape Plan - Perth, 3.02.09 [HD] from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.
Saul Williams, who Trent worked with on his album The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust.
NIN: "Banged and Blown Through" with Saul Williams, live from on stage, Atlanta 5.10.09 [HD] from Nine Inch Nails on Vimeo.
Gary Numan, who performed Cars and Metal with the band in London (NIN having covered Metal on the Things Falling Apart EP)
Nine Inch Nails/Gary Numan - Cars/Metal
The club shows in New York, Chicago and LA that have taken place over the last two weeks have seen appearances from Peter Murphy, Greg Puciato, Danny Lohner, Eric Avery and Mike Garson. Two of the crowds in New York were treated to a performance of The Downward Spiral in it's entirety, followed by a second set of NIN classics. The second of these shows was filmed, and hopefully we'll see these videos soon.
The final NIN show is probably almost over by now. And I have to say I'm sad to see them go. Even though I got to see them twice this year, knowing it would be the last time, I still feel like we're losing something today. To Trent and everyone who has ever been part of the Nine Inch Nails live lineup, I thank you. For seven awesome shows, for brilliant live DVDS, for the countless bootlegs I own, and for making such exciting music.
I'll leave you with what I've already said is my favourite captured NIN live performance. Head Like a Hole was the second ever NIN single from back in 1989. It's heavily synth based and shows off much more of NIN's Prince and Public Enemy influece than it does their rock side. At least until the live band got it and turned it into a guitar heavy rock tour-de-force (especially in the hands of one Aaron North).
Bow down before the one('s) you serve. Enjoy.
Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole
(I wish there was a clearer video of this available, but I guess you use what You(Tube) get).
Monster Magnet @ Billboard, 08/09/2009
My Monster Magnet review is now up on FasterLouder. Unfortunately it wasn't the best show. It was ok, but just not the awesome rock 'n' roll spectacle it should have been. Like the video for Space Lord was.
(Unfortunately I can't embed the video because Universal music have disabled that function, but here's a link to the clip on YouTube - Space Lord Mother, Mother!)
Here's the Review:
It’s been a few years since I last saw Cockfight Shootout and if memory serves me correctly there’s been a few hair-cuts since then. They also seem to have focused their efforts. Thankfully there are still a lot of big riffs, but I wouldn’t have expected harmonised twin guitar lines from the stoner rock band I saw in 2005.
(Unfortunately I can't embed the video because Universal music have disabled that function, but here's a link to the clip on YouTube - Space Lord Mother, Mother!)
Here's the Review:
It’s been a few years since I last saw Cockfight Shootout and if memory serves me correctly there’s been a few hair-cuts since then. They also seem to have focused their efforts. Thankfully there are still a lot of big riffs, but I wouldn’t have expected harmonised twin guitar lines from the stoner rock band I saw in 2005.
Regular John share their name with a Queens of the Stone Age track, and for their first song they seem dangerously close to having borrowed the QOTSA sound too. But fortunately there’s a lot more on offer in the coming songs. As well as the notable stoner rock influence, there’s some early grunge fuzziness and psychedelic overtones – a nice mix of sounds complementing each other and held together with some driving bass work. The use of multiple vocalists also keeps things interesting; with clear singing giving way to shouts and screams reminiscent of early Nirvana work.
Before I discuss Monster Magnet’s set properly, there’s two things I have to get off my chest. As the band walks out on stage, I’m surprisingly disappointed by their appearance. I know this is rock ‘n’ roll and the true test of any band is how well they play, but for a band who have put so much into cultivating their image it feels like something is missing. I got my first taste of Monster Magnet while watching Rage ten years ago; fireworks shot into the air as they played in front of one of Las Vegas’ massive casinos. Their own team of cheerleaders danced behind the band, or hung off front-man Dave Wyndorf who wore a shiny blue suit in one scene, and a suit covered in light bulbs in another. Sure I wasn’t expecting all this to fit inside Billboard, but I did think the recent publicity photos of a leather clad band showed them to still be dangerous rock-super-stars. The kind of rock-super-stars you need to be to create an album like Powertrip, a title which so perfectly describes the combination of psychedelia, blues and straight out hard rock that is the Monster Magnet signature sound.
The closest we get to this is a solitary leather vest worn over a t-shirt by guitarist Phil Caivano, which is removed after a few songs anyway. Wyndorf is wearing an oversized grey zip-up hoodie and with his hair half its old length looks more like a guy coming home from the gym than a Space Lord.
The sound mix at Billboard isn’t great tonight either with Caivano’s guitar barely audible. Both he and bassist Jim Baglino do their part to rock out on one side of the stage, but lead guitarist Ed Mundell mostly stands still on his side. Those down the front are clearly enjoying the vibe and interacting with the band, but the mix and atmosphere of the venue seem to stop this from extending beyond the lowered dance floor.
So now that all that’s out of the way, let’s get into the good aspects of the show. Monster Magnet are a TIGHT band. Drummer Bob Pantella has a huge sound and drives the music hard all night. The set list is very fan friendly drawing heavily from classic albums such as Powertrip, Dopes to Infinity and going all the way back to 1992’s Spine of God, although it’s surprisingly lacking in tracks from the most recent album 4-Way Diablo. For all his stillness, Mundell is a fantastic guitar player and his wah heavy solo’s cut through the mix nicely. Also surprisingly clear are Wyndorf’s vocals, highlighting how good a singer he is and how strong his voice remains even after all these years. This is particularly evident in songs like Third Alternative (“It’s the blues baby, for the 21st century”) and Zodiac Lung which is performed by just Wyndorf and Mundell.
After a few tracks from 2004’s Monolithic Baby, the main set ends with the double shot of Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Space Lord, both crowd favourites (but again there are sound problems as a humming mid-song becomes so loud even the band get distracted). Wyndorf has a guitar around his neck most of the night, and while rarely played when he is singing, the triple guitar attack brings a killer fullness to the instrumental breaks. Especially in Melt which opens the encore and is one of the highlights of the night.
Unfortunately Wyndorf spends most of these times facing Pantella at the back of the stage, further diminishing interaction between the band and crowd. Monster Magnet have far too many good songs and are far too competent as musicians to ever put on a bad show, but there was just too much tonight holding this back from being the spectacular show it could, and should, have been.
Monday 3 August 2009
The Flaming Lips @ Festival Hall, 29/07/09
A Flaming Lips show is really a giant party. Complete with balloons and streamers. After their 2004 appearance at the Big Day Out and photos from their overseas shows, expectations were high for the band’s stage show. And they were met from the very beginning.
As noise filled the air, a naked woman appeared on the semi-circle screen at the back of the stage. Shown from behind and saturated in bright orange, she began to dance around in bright blue space. As she turned around, a pulsing light emerged from between her legs. She lay down and the camera zoomed in until the pulsing circles of light filled the screen. One-by-one the band members appeared from a door in the screen, being birthed from the bright light.
As they began to play, the camera refocused on the woman’s eye and frontman Wayne Coyne appeared in a slowly-inflating gigantic hamster ball. With a burst of confetti and streamers, Coyne began to roll around above the crowd, joined by at least 20 giant balloons (surprisingly most of these survived the whole night).
Coyne re-joined his band on stage as they launched into Race for the Prize, and we were away. As if the crowd needed any encouragement to dance cat ladies began to do so on one side of the stage, mirrored by a group of gecko people on the other.
At this stage you might think the antics had peaked, but they continued to build throughout the night. Other highlights included Coyne singing from the shoulders of a man in a gorilla suit, even BIGGER balloons filled with confetti sent out to burst over the crowd, a giant butterfly in a crown, a dancing cartoon sun, smoke bombs, videos of everything from space to static, to close ups of Coyne's face and of course, more confetti (Coyne even used a mic stand at one stage which also doubled as a confetti cannon).
Somewhere underneath all this lurked a rock show. And what a rock show it was. The band were clearly enjoying being here (apologising it took five years for them to come back, relishing playing on a stage The Beatles also played and dedicating a song to Nick Cave) and this translated to fine form. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, previously a song of anger at the Bush administration became a song of celebration for a changing world. Favourites such as Fight Test and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt 1 became sing-alongs, stripped back almost entirely to vocals and guitar, with only minimal keyboard additions. 1993’s breakthrough single She Don’t Use Jelly made an appearance, as did a few new songs. These were fuzzed out guitar jams, which wandered off into psychedelic territory at times.
And it all culminated in an encore of Do You Realise?, the perfect song for the end of the night. More and more explosions of confetti hit the air as the whole crowd sung along in a celebration of the moment. Sure the night was coming to an end, but what more could you ask for? After all, “it’s hard to make the good things last…”
As noise filled the air, a naked woman appeared on the semi-circle screen at the back of the stage. Shown from behind and saturated in bright orange, she began to dance around in bright blue space. As she turned around, a pulsing light emerged from between her legs. She lay down and the camera zoomed in until the pulsing circles of light filled the screen. One-by-one the band members appeared from a door in the screen, being birthed from the bright light.
As they began to play, the camera refocused on the woman’s eye and frontman Wayne Coyne appeared in a slowly-inflating gigantic hamster ball. With a burst of confetti and streamers, Coyne began to roll around above the crowd, joined by at least 20 giant balloons (surprisingly most of these survived the whole night).
Coyne re-joined his band on stage as they launched into Race for the Prize, and we were away. As if the crowd needed any encouragement to dance cat ladies began to do so on one side of the stage, mirrored by a group of gecko people on the other.
At this stage you might think the antics had peaked, but they continued to build throughout the night. Other highlights included Coyne singing from the shoulders of a man in a gorilla suit, even BIGGER balloons filled with confetti sent out to burst over the crowd, a giant butterfly in a crown, a dancing cartoon sun, smoke bombs, videos of everything from space to static, to close ups of Coyne's face and of course, more confetti (Coyne even used a mic stand at one stage which also doubled as a confetti cannon).
Somewhere underneath all this lurked a rock show. And what a rock show it was. The band were clearly enjoying being here (apologising it took five years for them to come back, relishing playing on a stage The Beatles also played and dedicating a song to Nick Cave) and this translated to fine form. The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song, previously a song of anger at the Bush administration became a song of celebration for a changing world. Favourites such as Fight Test and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt 1 became sing-alongs, stripped back almost entirely to vocals and guitar, with only minimal keyboard additions. 1993’s breakthrough single She Don’t Use Jelly made an appearance, as did a few new songs. These were fuzzed out guitar jams, which wandered off into psychedelic territory at times.
And it all culminated in an encore of Do You Realise?, the perfect song for the end of the night. More and more explosions of confetti hit the air as the whole crowd sung along in a celebration of the moment. Sure the night was coming to an end, but what more could you ask for? After all, “it’s hard to make the good things last…”
Friday 31 July 2009
Fantasyze with SPOD
Fantasyze with SPOD: Exersize & Fantasy... COMBINED??!!!?
The man who brought you Taste the Radness and Superfrenz, now wants to help you improve your life.
What do you get when you combine the magic of fantasy and the power of exercise? FANTASYZE! SPOD has decided to get in shape, and he wants to share it with you. Each week he'll be releasing a new mix of workout jams, tailored to a workout program. The mixes tell you when to push it, and when to recover with each week getting a little more intense. All you need to do is allow the majesty of SPOD to get you moving. It's a 9 week program, which means you'll be meeting up with the new you just in time for summer parties!
So stop fantasizing and start FANTASYZING!
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Now playing: Spod - Secks Party 4 Eva
via FoxyTunes
this week: flaming lips, a thousand shipwrecks and the innocent folk
This week has been a pretty awesome week. Poker night on Tuesday. Then went to see The Flaming Lips on Wednesday, which was awesome (there'll be a proper review coming soon).
Last night was also a busy one. first off attended the launch of A Thousand Shipwrecks Maiden Voyage.
After that it was off to the Drunken Poet for the debut gig from The Innocent Folk. Given The Innocent folk consist of my friend Fabian on keys and vocals, and my other friend Max (who also plays with me in We Came to be Robots!) on violin, guitar and vocals, it's not really possible for me to give an objective review of the band. But if you're after some soft, slightly melancholic tunes, then go check them out.
Band practice tomorrow. I get to try out my new Dr. Scientist Cosmichorus pedal! Yay!
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Now playing: Team Sleep - 11/11
via FoxyTunes
Last night was also a busy one. first off attended the launch of A Thousand Shipwrecks Maiden Voyage.
A Thousand Shipwrecks is acollective of young Melbourne designers and artists working together on collaborative projects.The launch was held at No Vacancy gallery, a great space for showing off the works, and ITA (who also have a CD included in the publication) played quite an interesting set. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Maiden Voyage.
We are pleased to present Maiden Voyage, our debut publication promoting young, local and emerging artists and designers.
After that it was off to the Drunken Poet for the debut gig from The Innocent Folk. Given The Innocent folk consist of my friend Fabian on keys and vocals, and my other friend Max (who also plays with me in We Came to be Robots!) on violin, guitar and vocals, it's not really possible for me to give an objective review of the band. But if you're after some soft, slightly melancholic tunes, then go check them out.
Band practice tomorrow. I get to try out my new Dr. Scientist Cosmichorus pedal! Yay!
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Now playing: Team Sleep - 11/11
via FoxyTunes
Monday 20 July 2009
The Guitar Hero generation.
A couple of weeks ago one of my favourite websites brought the following video to my attention:
Attack Attack! - Stick Stickly
I'll leave it to Buddyhead to make fun of the awfulness of the song (and video). They do a great job, and I'd just be repeating them.
"Do you realize how many friends and family members could have pulled these clowns aside and been like 'Dudes, your band already sucks, let’s maybe not compound the problem by playing like you’re shitting a guitar out of your mangina'? Apparently no one felt like doing that."
But the other thing that struck me about this video/song is how much it made me think of the Guitar Hero episode of South Park. Look at these kids, they look exactly like the kids you'd see at arcades playing Dance Dance Revolution. Like the kids in South Park, their first musical influence came not from bands, but from video games. When asked if they like this music, Kyle replies "Yeah dude, it's Guitar Hero!"
The song itself combines elements of the fairly pedestrian emo-core, metal and rock music that is a staple of Guitar Hero. Like game music it also changes often, and dramatically. And some of the elements seem like they don't belong together - Auto-tuned vocals in the style of T-Pain combined with screaming? Many record labels see video games as a lucrative source of song publishing these days and many songs are released in this media first. In this context such a combination not only makes sense, it's inevitable.
The biggest evidence of the video game influence on Attack Attack!'s musical development comes with the song's biggest change at 2:46. All of a sudden we go from a hardcore breakdown to DDR style dance pop. Right on cue the whole band starts to run on the spot too. Take away their instruments and put a mat with coloured lights on the floor, and it kinda looks like this:
DDR Tournament
I'd say most of their dance moves have their origin in DDR.
Personally, I'm not a fan of Guitar Hero. I was attracted to the concept, but I've tried to play it, and I suck. I find it's nothing like playing a real guitar, and being able to do so seems to make it harder. I do especially bad on songs that I actually know how to play. In fact, I'm pretty much like Randy Marsh:
Randy tries to play Guitar Hero
But then I've never been a big gamer anyway. You could follow Sharon Marsh's argument that "if they spent half the time learning a real instrument as they do playing that game, who knows what they could accomplish". But the fact is the majority of people who play Guitar Hero are gamers, not musicians. They love playing the games, but have no interest in playing music. Sure there's going to be some crossover. Two other members of my band love the games (in the last 2 weeks they've made me play Guitar Hero Metallica at least 3 times, despite sucking at it and not being a Metallica fan). But then music is so universal that there's bound to be a percentage of any culture who will become musicians - even gamers. And that's where we get Attack Attack!
The problem with this song for me is not that it attempts to mash so many styles together. I'm a big fan of bands who take risks and allow themselves to be influenced by styles of music outside their own. It's just that in this case the whole thing seems so forced. The changes sound like they've taken snippets of many different songs and pasted them one after the other. Games may have influenced their musical tastes, but they haven't taught much in the way of songwriting. Other bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan jump around as much, if not more, than Attack Attack!, but their transitions are smoother. And no matter how weird or unexpected the change, there's always a sense of purpose to the song. Bands like Attack Attack! and brokeNCYDE seem to just be trying to shove all their favourite things into the one box, whether they fit or not. For now, this seems to be the influence of games on the music scene. For better or worse, the Guitar Hero generation have arrived.
Attack Attack! - Stick Stickly
I'll leave it to Buddyhead to make fun of the awfulness of the song (and video). They do a great job, and I'd just be repeating them.
"Do you realize how many friends and family members could have pulled these clowns aside and been like 'Dudes, your band already sucks, let’s maybe not compound the problem by playing like you’re shitting a guitar out of your mangina'? Apparently no one felt like doing that."
But the other thing that struck me about this video/song is how much it made me think of the Guitar Hero episode of South Park. Look at these kids, they look exactly like the kids you'd see at arcades playing Dance Dance Revolution. Like the kids in South Park, their first musical influence came not from bands, but from video games. When asked if they like this music, Kyle replies "Yeah dude, it's Guitar Hero!"
The song itself combines elements of the fairly pedestrian emo-core, metal and rock music that is a staple of Guitar Hero. Like game music it also changes often, and dramatically. And some of the elements seem like they don't belong together - Auto-tuned vocals in the style of T-Pain combined with screaming? Many record labels see video games as a lucrative source of song publishing these days and many songs are released in this media first. In this context such a combination not only makes sense, it's inevitable.
The biggest evidence of the video game influence on Attack Attack!'s musical development comes with the song's biggest change at 2:46. All of a sudden we go from a hardcore breakdown to DDR style dance pop. Right on cue the whole band starts to run on the spot too. Take away their instruments and put a mat with coloured lights on the floor, and it kinda looks like this:
DDR Tournament
I'd say most of their dance moves have their origin in DDR.
Personally, I'm not a fan of Guitar Hero. I was attracted to the concept, but I've tried to play it, and I suck. I find it's nothing like playing a real guitar, and being able to do so seems to make it harder. I do especially bad on songs that I actually know how to play. In fact, I'm pretty much like Randy Marsh:
Randy tries to play Guitar Hero
But then I've never been a big gamer anyway. You could follow Sharon Marsh's argument that "if they spent half the time learning a real instrument as they do playing that game, who knows what they could accomplish". But the fact is the majority of people who play Guitar Hero are gamers, not musicians. They love playing the games, but have no interest in playing music. Sure there's going to be some crossover. Two other members of my band love the games (in the last 2 weeks they've made me play Guitar Hero Metallica at least 3 times, despite sucking at it and not being a Metallica fan). But then music is so universal that there's bound to be a percentage of any culture who will become musicians - even gamers. And that's where we get Attack Attack!
The problem with this song for me is not that it attempts to mash so many styles together. I'm a big fan of bands who take risks and allow themselves to be influenced by styles of music outside their own. It's just that in this case the whole thing seems so forced. The changes sound like they've taken snippets of many different songs and pasted them one after the other. Games may have influenced their musical tastes, but they haven't taught much in the way of songwriting. Other bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan jump around as much, if not more, than Attack Attack!, but their transitions are smoother. And no matter how weird or unexpected the change, there's always a sense of purpose to the song. Bands like Attack Attack! and brokeNCYDE seem to just be trying to shove all their favourite things into the one box, whether they fit or not. For now, this seems to be the influence of games on the music scene. For better or worse, the Guitar Hero generation have arrived.
zomblog
so i've decided to get back into music writing. and i'm starting by bringing this blog back from the dead. i have opinions about things and everyone should hear them (isn't that the true meaning of any blog?) really i just want to let people know about new things i've discovered, shows i've seen and thoughts i've had. over the last few days i've gradually copied many of my old posts/reviews/articles from my many other internet homes to this one . there's posts going back to 2004, so poke around and check out some old stuff. i've included tags for each post to make navigating easier. i may keep cross posting some articles on other sites, but this will be the main home for all my stuff going forward.
look for the first new article later today/tonight.
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Now playing: Broken Family Band - It's All Over
via FoxyTunes
look for the first new article later today/tonight.
----------------
Now playing: Broken Family Band - It's All Over
via FoxyTunes
Thursday 11 June 2009
Awesome mail times.
Fun things I have received over the last week in the post:
- 2 limited edition Dillinger Escape Plan t-shirts and a note from Greg
- mini-cd by Bare Arms and a note from Trini Arms (who is also Trini Thaw)
- 2 Split 7"s from Murder by Death/Amanda Palmer and MBD/O'Death
Sunday 24 May 2009
my shoes are more rock n roll than yr shoes
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Now playing: Love Like... Electrocution - We Only Fuck To Black Sabbath Vol 4
via FoxyTunes
Thursday 19 March 2009
The Camera Flash Experiment
A while back I wrote about taking part in a mexican wave of camera flashes over the Brooklyn bridge during my visit to New York last year. Well, I just came across the summary/photos of the night. You can get all the info on the Improv Everywhere website:
http://improveverywhere.com/2008/05/29/the-camera-flash-experiment/
Friday 6 March 2009
to make up for the sins of yesterday...
to make up for the song i posted yesterday, here is the coolest song i know right now.
anyone who can learn the words is welcome to join me for multiple repetitions at golden plains over the weekend. ;)
anyone who can learn the words is welcome to join me for multiple repetitions at golden plains over the weekend. ;)
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