Blogs

Evidently, some people had paid cash money to ring in the season with KEM, Tank and THE ONE AND ONLY BOBBY BROWN this Saturday at Starlight Theatre. Well, the concert's been canceled, so these mysterious Bobby Brown/KEM/Tank fans will have to go and get a refund.

My first thought upon reading this news, however, was, The one and only Bobby Brown nearly almost just came to town and I didn't even notice he was coming? Then I thought, Wait, Bobby Brown is still performing? Clearly, I'm not up on my ex-Mr. Houston. Or my KEM or my Tank, either, because I have no idea who those persons/entities are. So, I went to Lexis-Nexis, the reporter's best friend, an online archive of newspaper articles, to check out the latest story on Bobby Brown and the persons/entities known as KEM and Tank...

In the early '90s, it was Bobby Brown's prerogative to have a sloping, asymmetrical hairstyle.

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Cursive, with the Show is the Rainbow. Wednesday, May 30, at the Bottleneck.
Review by Crystal K. Wiebe

I keep dooming myself to draggy Thursdays by hitting up Lawrence shows on Wednesday nights. Last week it was the Album Leaf at the Jackpot (atmospheric rock that turned out too mellow for me). Last night, it was Cursive at the Bottleneck.

My fellow Nebraskans came on after a short set by another act from the Cornhusker state, the Show is the Rainbow. The one-man band is best described as performance art. Tubby Darren Keene sings along (and sometimes doesn’t) with his homemade music videos, which are projected on stage as he cavorts with the audience. I caught the guy several times back when I was living in Lincoln. Although a bit more high tech, his act hasn’t gotten any less silly. The subjects of last night’s songs included a pedophile shortbus driver, a guy begging for anal sex from his girlfriend, and gay marriage.

Tim Kasher and Cursive squall away at the Bottleneck.

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You know, I never thought "Se7en" really ever looked like "Seven" but that didn't stop me from doing another podcast. Also, I've been told I look like a cross between Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

Download it as an MP3 by right-clicking HERE and doing the "Save Target As" thing or, if you have a Mac, Option+click it.

You'll hear my usual banter, along with songs by the Rosebuds, the Only Children, Shiner, Grinderman, the Noisettes, In the Pines and Minus Story.

At the core of the New Tragedies is husband-and-wife couple Aaron and Bev Weidner. They're joined by Jason Wright on drums, Dustin Kinsey on lead guitar and Nate Hofer on pedal steel. Aaron writes the songs and plays rhythm, Bev plays bass, and they team up on singing in a virtually constant duet manner reminiscent of Low. And like the chair-kicking couple from Duluth, the KC-based Weidners don't have the sunniest disposish of all the kids in day care. But they aren't the saddest, either.

More words and a free song after the jump.

Photo by Kenny Johnson

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I don't have much to report today, so I thought I'd direct your attention to a couple of local bloggers who might be able to help you while away this Tuesday-that-feels-like-Monday afternoon.

At the half-year-old Midwest Music and More, they love them some indie and college rock.

And at the year-and-a-half-old Don't Need Anything, the tastes are pretty eclectic. You'll read about the Decemberists, and you'll read about Cracker.

Now's your chance to pimp your blog or the blog of someone you love. Locals only, please. I'm always looking to build my blogroll (down and to the right).

Whatcha gonna do when you get out of jail?
I'm gonna have some fun!
What do you con-si-der fun?
Fun, natural fun!

Truer words than these were never spoken. Thank you, Tom Tom Club.

Genius of Love you say? Nay, Genius of LIFE!

It is with this mindset that we approach that most liberating kind of weekend in our American lives: the Three-Day Weekend. Here's what you can do with your freedom:

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If a cartoon snake – or G.I. Joe’s nemesis Cobra Commander – ever embarked on a music career, Shagrath, the frontman for Dimmu Borgir, would have to provide the vocals. I caught Dimmu at the Beaumont Club earlier this week. It was a performance I’d been looking forward to since 2004, when I discovered the band on Ozzfest’s main stage.

Obviously, Tuesday night’s show was scaled back quite a bit from the festival gig. In fact, there was hardly anything epic about the club show. The organ sounds, which are the backbone for a lot of Dimmu music, weren’t very prominent. Visually, the band didn’t seem so gothed out. Singer Shagrath’s look was more Viking than vampire.

Which isn’t to say the experience wasn’t entertaining.

It tastes like burning!

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Morrissey. Wednesday, May 23, at the Uptown Theater.
Concert Review by Jason Harper

No one can say that Morrissey went about things the wrong way last night at the Uptown.

Arriving on stage in a dapper blue suit, which the nearly 50-year-old singer rapidly shed as his sweat glands kicked into fifth gear, the Moz looked like a suburban father home from a hard day at work and violently in need of a cocktail. All the chaps in the band, including guitarists Boz Boorer and Jesse Tobias, were clad in identical getups of candy blue vests and trousers and red Oxford shirts with the sleeves rolled up past the elbows. Given their youth (with the expection of Boz), they looked as if Morrissey had hand picked them from some Irish boys' bugle corps academy -- an impression that was cemented when one of the musicians blasted out a couple of solos (erring on the flat side) on trumpet and trombone. And then there was the backdrop: two giant, tiled photos of James Dean. There was a lot of lad on the stage that night.

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I visited Mike’s Tavern Friday night for the first – and what may be the last – time. According to a message on the bar's Web site, which I posted in my weekend music forecast, the club is closing indefinitely come May 31. New owners will remodel the place. I heard rumblings from regulars, however, that the deal may have fallen through. But that could just be wishful thinking.

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While Harper’s on a break from the scene, it’s up to me to point out the relevant rock going down in KC and Lawrence this weekend. You should have read up on some if it already in the Pitch music pages . For instance, on Saturday, the Replay Lounge and Jackpot Music Hall are “springing into summer” with a big old bash that spans both venues. According to earlier e-mail announcements, the party would include a buffet. But the final menu seems to offer only music. Oh, well. At least it’s cheap. For $2, you can feast your ears on Old Canes , the Appleseed Cast , In the Pines , the Esoteric and more. And rumor has it this could be the last live appearance by the Esoteric for a while; the much-troubled band is figuring out what to do next.

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It's for the song "The Block" and features Joe Good.

The Block -- CES Cru featuring Joe Good

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Bonus Track: The Miles Bonny remix

If an e-mail correspondant ever asks you for an overview of our fair Paris of the Plains -- or for driving directions here -- just pass them this video from the Heet Mob:

Catch the Mob live at the Beaumont's DJ Battle on Sunday, May 27.

The Wayward Son is actually wayward this week. It's not clear where Jason Harper is right now, but we're told it has something to do with west Texas and Penthouse magazine. So this week, expect some fill-ins in this space.

Today, here's a review by Pitch freelancer Richard Gintowt of The Killers show:

It doesn't take a major-label A&R pedigree to understand why The Killers are huge. When it comes to '80s nostalgia and pseudo-Springsteen stadium rock, Brandon Flowers & company are spot on. And although I've always enjoyed the songs I've heard on the radio, I've never quite felt moved by the band like Jama Crady.

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I ran into Wes Gartner, drummer for the now-defunct Doris Henson (woops, try their MySpace, the other night, and he said that completions are being made for a new, and presumably final, DH album.

A few months ago, DH frontman Matt Dunehoo sent out an email directing people to a Web site where he'd posted some solo songs -- rather bizarre ones, too, like with cheap Casio drone tones and spaced-out singing. That site has also been taken down.

If anyone's heard anything, feel free to update us.

Concert Review by Nadia Pflaum

Last night at the Granada in Lawrence, El-P took the stage beneath white sheets imprinted with the disturbing icon from his album, I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead: a skeletal bird in flight, head twisted to look heavenward, crowned with a halo. His bassist, DJ and keyboardist arrived dressed in woolen facemasks with holes for the mouth and eyes. Sleek, expensive-looking projectors blasted the background with images of gray-smog-chugging smokestacks, Matrix-like grids of streaming green codes, smoke, flames and cartoon animations befitting his concept of his latest work: a post-traumatic stress album.

El-P, with skeletal bird creature. Photo by Mike Schreiber.

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