The New Found Glory and Senses Fail show that was November 8 at the Beaumont has been moved to The Granada, same night. Your tickets are still good.
Here's the picture the publicist, Eddie, sent with the press release, asking members of the press to guess who he is.
I got nothin'.
Some say Indian "Thriller" is the essence of Halloween. For others, it's "Halloween" by Helloween. Here's what's rocking our ghouls over at The Pitch on this howly day.
Bauhaus - "Telegram Sam"
More hand-picked Halloweeny viddies after the jump.
Van Halen
Friday, October 26
The Sprint Center
Better than: Valerie Bertinelli's weight-loss blog.
A crowd roughly the size (and appearance) of Independence, Missouri, poured into the Sprint Center last Friday night to worship at the altar of once-lusty '80s guitar rock kings Van Halen, fronted this time around by original bitch-on-the-mic David Lee Roth.
Side note: I would not go see Van Halen unless Diamond Dave was there. I'm pretty sure that man was the main reason my parents wouldn't let me watch MTV in the '80s. His persona was so lecherous and trashy that him simply dancing around, doing the scissor kicks in a pair of tights and what not, mooching at the camera, etc etc inspecting women... hell, him just being himself was an affront to moral living. His successor, Sammy Hagar, on the other hand, to me, was just a chubby red dude with a porcine howl. By the time For Unlawful Carnal Kabbage and its flagship video Poundcake came out in 1991, my parents didn't give a crap what I watched. VH and all those other bands had become so ineffectual by then that watching them made kids hate rock and roll. (Hence the rise of gangsta rap.) So, all that's to lament how Friday night at the Sprint Center, I made the mistake of expecting Dave to be entertaining -- or even really part of the show -- but more on that in a minute.
Fan footage of the night's show.
BY ANDY VIHSTADT
E=CD^2
The Eels are kicking off 2008 time-capsule style. Along with the Essential Eels Vol. 1 2CD/DVD greatest hits collection, the band will releasing Useless Trinkets (also 2CD/DVD), an all-inclusive anthology of B-sides and rarities that makes the cache of import singles I’ve been collecting just that -- useless trinkets. Get the inside story here.
Both are scheduled for January 15. In the meantime, brush up on E’s pre-Eels days with a ton of downloadable goodness here, courtesy of the Runout Groove.
On the House
Roger Sargent, 2006
The Charlatans UK will probably be pegged as biters, even though the band announced its free album giveaway on the same day as Radiohead. No title for LP10 as of yet, but you’ll be able to get the whole thing at no cost at XFM sometime in early 2008.
Until then, here’s the first single.
The Charlatans UK: “You Cross My Path” MP3
Architecture in Helsinki
Thursday, 10-26-07
The Bottleneck
Better than: Jet, Silverchair and Air Supply
Review and Photos by Richard Gintowt
The word “twee” scares the fuck out of me. Not because I’m particularly scared of cute girls or striped sweaters, but because it usually implies other things like “amateur” and “sucky.” Architecture in Helsinki has been described as “twee,” but fortunately they are neither amateur nor sucky.
First, a few thoughts on the opening acts. This is Panther. They’re from Portland.
Minus the Bear
Wednesday, October 24
The Granada
Review & Photo by Crystal K. Wiebe
Fashionably late is fine for a party. But I like to get to concerts on time — early, even. There’s an inherent thrill for me in getting to hear the opener. Who knows what new sound you might hear?
But, sometimes, I admit, I just want to hear whatever band I really came to see. Like last night at the Granada. Poor Tiny Vipers and Helio Sequence didn’t have a chance with me. Headliner Minus the Bear was one of the bands I was most proud to have “discovered” at South by Southwest in 2005. Having not seen the Bear since then, I was crazy excited.
Where's the Bear?
This may be old news to some, but apparently guerilla marketers for the spacey, screeching prog-emo band Coheed and Cambria scared the hell out of folks at Kansas University by painting the band's logo -- or some damn symbol -- and the date 10.23.07 in various places around campus to commemorate the Tuesday release of the band's album Long-Haired Dude in Tight Jeans Will Kick Your Whole Town's Ass.
Here's a brief LJ World blog article on the subject. Google Coheed Cambria Kansas University for more.
In other prog/emo news...
Less than a year after releasing The Guerilla Movement, KC rapper James Christos is back with The Coup: A 21-Day Revolution Within.
Two men figure strongest on The Coup, Christos, of course, and Jaz Brewer of 64111 Studios, a good place to have a soda and make a rap album. I haven't had much of a chance to listen to this yet, but a cursory skimming turns up mainly bangers, chock full of inspiring, self-esteem-boosting rhymes, good turns-of-urban-dictionary-phrase and catchy choruses, like on "Opus 2," with its mighty chant: Act ignint, here to get ya lifted!
James Christos: "Opus 2" MP3
By the way, none of the songs on The Coup have actual titles. They're just Opus 1, Op. 2, Op. 3, through all nine tracks. And there's lots of good morsels among these opi. Though definitely not gangsta, Christos is gruff enough to avoid backpacker characterization, and Brewer's production is full of hard, street-level beats. It's bravado for the well-behaved hustler.
See the energetic MC perform songs from The Coup this Sunday, October 28, at the Peanut Downtown. Cover is $3, and the show starts at 9. (Upstairs at the venue, pianist John Brewer, DJ Leonard D Stroy and percussionist Brandan Draper perform live jazz-soul-funk-world-turntable jams.)
Those crazy radio people. Those crazy California wildfires.
Just found out that San Diego-based sex rockers Louis XIV (featuring hometown boy James Armbrust on bass) are playing from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. this Sunday, October 28, at the Brooksider. Put on by the Buzz, the "Bloody Mary Breakfast" show also features and appearance by the station's syndicated morning host, Don Imus.
Just kidding. Dick Dale will be there. (Not this guy:
)
And these perps will, too. (That's Armbrust on the far left)
In the meantime, here's a kickass YT video of parkour moves set to a song by Louis XIV.
So I get this book in the mail, a book written by some limey about dead rock stars, and innit, I find a profile on this cat named Lee Collinson, who died of t'roat cancer -- but not before singing in this killer '70s British pub rock band called Dr. Feelgood. Collinson sang under the alias Lee Brilleaux. He was great. I wish he was still alive and was my granddad and stuff. Check out the YouTubery on Lee and his mates. I love discovering new old stuff.
"Roxette" by Dr. Feelgood
Rogue Wave
Saturday, 11-20-07
The Bottleneck
Better Than: America’s Most Smartest Model
Review and Photos by Richard Gintowt
Rogue Wave’s jump to Brushfire Records (home of Jack Johnson and G. Love & Special Sauce) made me reconsider a band I had always heard as contemporaries of the Shins and Band of Horses. Had I given them too much credit? Were they mere fodder for The O.C.? Did they enjoy playing music and surfing?
My skepticism was partially assuaged by the band’s new record Asleep at Heaven’s Gate, which has a couple absolute gems in “Like I Needed” and “Lake Michigan.” The entire record doesn’t live up to the promise of those two songs – and the band has yet to release a consistently great album – but I was intrigued enough to make the trip to Lawrence and catch ‘em at the Bottleneck.
Around lunchtime today, I walked past the Phoenix Jazz Bar, which has been closed since sometime in July, and saw a slip of paper taped to the outside of the door that read
"Coming Soon: Regan's Donut Shoppe"
Underneath that, someone had written in ballpoint pen: "16 October 2007 I was here and you weren't. WAMY!?"
To which I respond: WTF!?
A chagrinned musician, perhaps? Or maybe a donut-machine installer? Googling the acronym WAMY yields mostly the World Assembly of Muslim Youth. "Regan," though, is an Irish name.
Most important, will they have jazz in this donut shop? I think that would actually be a really good idea. Ack, the speculation's killing me!
BY ANDY VIHSTADT
THE LESSON PLAN
Even if you don’t recognize Steven “Steinski” Stein by name, it’s impossible not to feel the impact he’s made on DJ culture. Steinski and Double Dee’s Lessons releases are the Holy Grail for crate diggers, but soon they will be available on CD, courtesy of Illegal Art Records. Here’s what he told us via email, “Details at this moment are a bit hazy. Working title is What Does it All Mean? Multitrack Recordings by Steinski and Several Other People. Includes the Lessons.”
Steinski was also nice enough to hook us up with a couple hour-long cut-and-paste mixes that come highly recommended.
Steinski: Live From the Basement MP3
Steinski: Stop & Shop MP3
More fix after the jump.
There are so many things wrong with this video. First of all, there's the out-of-tune keyboard turning this monster classic into a sonic nightmare. Then there's Wolfgang clomping about instead of Michael Anthony* (read next week's Pitch for more on that). Then, there's DLR bouncing on a giant inflatable microphone. At the same time, the dudes did keep going and tried to look like nothing was wrong, which is usually the best course of action when your fly's down and you're hangin' wang in front of God 'n errybody. [Original post at RW370]
In other video madness, check out Stampa Med Leroy, so you can pick up some moves to impress Joakim and also learn how to have autoerotic sex without using your hands and while using a suit. (May be offensive to victims of Chernobyl, their family and friends.)
The Oct. 28 Van Halen tour stop in St. Louis was recently canceled postponed, due, evidently, to logistical problems with transporting the band's gear to Boston the next night.
But, according to a spokesperson from Live Nation, the Kansas City tour stop has not been affected.
P.S. Have you seen junior's grades?
