Kylesa/Bison BC/Landmine Marathon/Khenty at Chasers 9/29/2009

Came in a bit late, so I only caught the last song in Khenty's set unfortunately. They weren't bad, at least...it sounded pretty promising. But I can't really say for sure.

Landmine Marathon was interesting. I don't think they were bad, objectively. In fact there were sections I really liked in their music. But there were too many grind sections for my tastes, and the vocals could have been better at times. Of course, at other times they could have been louder. Definitely worth checking out if you like the local metal and have more tolerance for grind than I do.

Bison BC was really good again, despite the fact that I haven't listened to their CD in a long time. Really enjoyable songs and, again, I feel they are better live than on CD. The CD has a tendency to pound my brain a bit too much, while live they pound it in just enough. Maybe it's the earplugs. Either way, I expect good things from these guys in the future. Really nice and friendly folks too. Plus, beard metal.

Kylesa was great live, again. I even listened to Static Tensions earlier today just to see if I would still get more out of seeing them live right after listening to the album, and I definitely did. So many bands sound exactly the same live and on CD. Sometimes that is exactly what you want, but Kylesa really bring so much more to the table live, and it's great. They played just about (or perhaps all) of Static Tensions, and then closed with a few older ones. But in between the two someone yelled "drum solo!" and thus we also got to enjoy a fun dual drummer duel before they started up on the old stuff. After about half the band was getting off stage, they were somehow convinced to return for an encore, which was their cover of Pink Floyd's Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun. A rendition which I quite enjoy on record, and which improves even more live as they jam in the middle of the song extensively and feel it out in a way recording really fail to capture. Even if you think this band is just ok, they are a must see live.

Album Review: The Luxury - In the Wake of What Won't Change

Back when I reviewed albums for 91.3 KXCI Tucson ("real people, real radio"), I had the luck to stumble upon Boston-based britpop group The Luxury's debut album, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things. A piece of emotive, sharply cornered pop/rock that was remarkably recorded in singer/producer Jason Dunn's apartment/bedroom (I can't remember which). The band back then (2006? 2007?) showed great promise in their songwriting, even if they couldn't afford studio time.

Now that 2009 has borne our universe most of the way through the fruits of her many months--when September is the month--I admit I'm a little surprised to find that The Luxury have followed me to Tempe, sending a CD to The Blaze. Well, this is my chance to follow their progress.

As it turns out, The Luxury have been busy, finishing first in a Boston-area band battle and recording their second album with the free studio time they won. For the large part, In the Wake of What Won't Change is bigger, more elaborate, and an improvement on what the band probably wanted to make on their first effort. Gone are the rough edges of their first record; their sophomore work hones in on the type of anthemic, alt-influenced britpop that defined the band's debut. In the Wake has two "sides" (but you don't have to flip over the disc), both with short, abstract "intros," which feels like self-indulgent bloat until you realize that the first side is definitely different from the second.

"Getaway Car," which starts the record proper after the first intro, steps nimbly over the beat, bouncing on the usual rock band standard plus an arpeggiating synth. I compliment "Take It Back" for the way it mixes throwbacks to classic rock with studio trickery, at once both heavy and soft. The first side even comes to resemble power pop at times. The Luxury does some of the best harmonies I've heard from recent bands, especially on "'Til Your Last Year" and "The Mirror Fogs."

The second side, begun by "El Jefe Y Su Burro (intro)," represents The Luxury's foray into production indulgence. I can't imagine what could have inspired the band to find not one, but two trumpeters for the aforementioned track and its follow-up, "Straitjacket," which sounds like David Terry of Aqueduct ditched the synthesizers and got major studio backing. While I am biased against extravagant arrangements without cause, I cannot deny that the trumpet blares and Jason Dunn's ridiculous energy make my foot tap hopelessly. The rest of the side finds the five-member band building U2-style anthems, heard best on "Sing for the Last Train" and "Closer."

It is also on the second side that the band makes a big misstep--criticizing President George W. Bush. My political views aside, I remember the last KASC Music Director, Owen, remarking that that no one wants to hear outdated political commentary in song form (or something like that--sorry, Owen). And yet, "012009" (referring to January 20, 2009, when Bush left office) spends three minutes to this very subject. Songs like this one, with thinly-veiled lyrics about a specific person, can quickly date a band or mark a group's amateurishness.

Misguided political statements aside, The Luxury has made an album that should get them national attention (should being the key word). If you can make it past track 11, The Luxury are a band that you need to hear. In the Wake of What Won't Change has carved out the space between power britpop and big indie rock and filled it. I just hope that these guys can resist the allure of overproduction so common to mainstream rock and pop.

Bobby Dylan could never do you wrong. Or get you lost.

According to thetripwire.com, Bob Dylan is in discussion with several GPS companies to provide a new voice to guide those lost souls. Those on the road, meandering the highways and biways of this nation can now entrust the rock poet to direct them to -- well, wherever they wanna go. The grocery store. Grandma's house. The mall. Wal-Mart.

Does anyone else see the irony? Protest poet tells you how to get to any corporate mecca you want. (Likely in exchange for a rather large sum of money in the first place.)

And shall we even begin to discuss the practicalities of this? How the hell are you gonna understand him anyway. Even on his best days it's a stretch to decipher a sound clip of him talking.

And I'm not sure where he's gonna take me anyway. I'd probably end up on some stoner beach at the coast. (Not that there's anything wrong with that...) Brilliant songwriter? Absolutely. Good person to ask for directions? Gotta say no on this one.

Taking Back Sunday/Kinch/Raining and OK at Wells Fargo Arena 8/21/2009

Oh dear, in all of my time spent at metal and other more niche-market shows lately, I've forgotten what it's like to be at a show featuring a popular band, that normal people enjoy. Specifically, I forgot that the average, annoying normal person actually goes to concerts. Then of course it was at ASU to boot. Crowd aside though...

Raining and OK were the opener and the first of two local bands for the evening. Initially, I was writing this review in my head and it was quite negative. There was so much looping and electronic modification of the sound I was a bit upset this was supposed to be a rock band, rather than an electronic band. The latter half of the set, however, shifted to something a bit more standard, and being the judgmental person I am, I graded them down for sounding generic initially. Then I remembered they were local, and realized that considering that they weren't another terrible indie rock band, and in fact were a pretty average opener on say a national tour, I felt these guys weren't actually half bad. In fact I'd see them again, and given that they are local, I probably will.

Next the comedian Baron Vaughn came up between bands and his first set was not that good, really. I mean, I have a poor sense of humor, but only a few chuckles here and there out of the quite large crowd, so I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought so. Thankfully, his second set was much better (probably because he stopped playing safe and went for edgy...we're in college after all). Not the best comedian, but I'd see his latter set at a club.

Kinch was local band number two for the evening, and despite their popularity in the local scene, I'd never seen them before. Good choice on my part, as it turned out. This band is just plain not good. Someone needs to hit the whole of the Phoenix local music scene over the head (or maybe stop doing so, I'm not sure). The highlight of their set was the people dancing in the back, a group which eventually grew to probably over 100 people between the two sites...oh sheeple.

Taking Back Sunday was the headliner and the reason I bothered to go, but in hindsight I didn't think about that too carefully. Granted, it was a free show, so no complaints about wasted money, but it wouldn't have been a bad idea to realize that I only own two of this band's CDs and there is a reason for that. To be fair, there were one or two songs I wasn't intimately familiar with that they played and I liked a fair bit but given their preference in the set list to CDs I don't own, nor do I particularly like, I was a bit disappointed. The Tell All Your Friends and Louder Now songs were all good choices, though Tell All Your Friends could have been represented 100% more and I don't think anyone would have complained...even if I prefer the original vocals for those songs. Speaking of band members, I also feel obliged to point out that this band has three guitarists. Now, I'm not totally opposed to the idea of three guitarists...some bands can pull it off; for example, Iron Maiden. When you have rhythm and dueling soloists, or three-part harmonized guitar riffs, I can see the appeal in the third guitar played, but for a pop punk band? Overkill. Really. There's no way to really justify the use of three guitarists in any pop punk band, and the performance did nothing to argue against that point so I stick to it. Up until the title track from Tell All Your Friends was played, I was ready to walk away from the concert quite disappointed, but thanks to two dancing and energetic girls behind me, when that song came on the energy was infectious and kept with me the rest of the show, bringing up the overall quality tremendously. Taking Back Sunday live: saved by a couple of ebullient ladies.

Check Out Mos Def's new video "Casa Bey"

Check out Mos Def's New Album The Ecstatic Out Now!!! I recommend a track called "Workers Comp" from the record!!!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=57020701

Jars of Clay/Seabird @ Gothic Theater 6/4/2009

Seabird is a band I was previously unfamiliar with in their entirety, and to describe them I want to use one of my favorite terms: half-decent. That is not quite true though, rather, I should say they are half good. The pianist and guitarist (who are brothers as it turns out) have a great synchronization in their playing and the complexity and depth of the composition is absolutely fantastic at times. Unfortunately, the pianist also chooses to sing, and while he's perhaps not a bad singer, he's not a fitting singer for the band. The drums and bass, which are crucial to a truly great and cohesive band, weren't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but like the vocals, they brought the composition down from its potential,which is always a disappointing thing to see in a band. As it turned out the bassist was playing his last show, so maybe with a new drummer and someone else taking lead vocals I could see this band becoming great in the future. I'll have to keep an eye out.

Jars of Clay did not play what I consider an optimal set list. Perhaps, as my dad suggested, it was merely the fact that I had not yet heard their latest album. But I've heard new songs by bands live before and been blown away, and this was not the case here. To me, it sounded like they had just found garageband and were busy experimenting with it while playing straightforward rock, to a mediocre end at best. But it's ok for a band to have a poor album, the prior album was fantastic. Unfortunately, they may very well have played the entire album throughout the evening, which was a poor choice in my opinion. In addition, some older songs were re-imagined for this performance, and while I appreciate wanting to change up your old hits and experiment with them, for the most part I felt the new versions fell flat of the originals (though a couple were indeed better). I believe that if you want to change something, you should change it for the better, not just to change it. The whole experience made me wonder whether or not the prior album was a lucky fluke, because they have quite surrounded it with mediocrity and I begin to doubt their artistic vision.

No Doubt/Paramore/The Sounds @ Fiddler's Green 5/27/2009

First concert in awhile, how exciting.

The Sounds are a Swedish rock band fronted by a female (as with all bands on this tour), and a bit of an 80's synth influence throughout. In many ways they're sort of reminiscent of No Doubt in fact (when they ply the 80's style stuff). As an opener, they did all that could be asked for; though most of the crowd remained seated a few were already up and dancing, and most people were at least tapping their feet or bobbing their heads in time with the music. A few songs were really solid, a few were mediocre, but I'm inspired to grab a CD by them and check it out, and everyone I was with asked if I had any of their music I could get to them, so a good crowd response without a doubt.

Paramore seems to be a bit of a polarizing band. Some people see them as the epitome of the commercialization of music, another disposable band full of lackluster musicians selling the same songs corporations like to sell to mainstream America. Those people hate fun. Paramore is fun, so thus, this explains their hate of this band. I was a bit disappointed with the new songs they played, but maybe the album will be a grower just as Riot was (All We Know was an instant like though, interestingly). The crowd drawn by this band was an interesting mix by comparison to No Doubt fans. Hipster teen girls and ex-hipster 40-ish girls...always fun to see where people will end up in 10-20 years. I was also disappointed to find out Paramore has a (pretty good) song exclusively on the Twilight soundtrack. Now the question is if I will defile my computer enough to get the soundtrack. Oh and their failure to play Born for This was a sad let down.

No Doubt was without a doubt (no pun intended) the highlight of the night. From the entertaining and elaborate stage setup, to the crowd energy, just an amazing show overall. Gwen's ability to interact with the crowd is fantastic, and the band is entertaining while still performing well and not inhibiting the musical performance. Embarrassingly, I had not heard more than half of the setlist prior to this show, but thankfully those songs were all so catchy and enjoyable that I had no problem getting into them as if I'd heard them a dozen times. The middle of the set list did drag ever so slightly, but by the time they jumped into Don't Speak they were an overwhelming force that inspired the crowd to all but spark with the electricity in the air. Just a Girl was also a highlight of course, especially when she made the women shut up (for the first time all night hah) and just had the men sing. Quite entertaining. Of course, the women blew the men away when their turn came.

Love Them Now and Love Them in the Future

After I finished listening Chester French’s new album Love the Future, I honestly knew that this album became part of my favorite albums of 2009 and possibly ever! Chester French managed to include hilarious lyrics, quirky melodies, hip-hop, and rock into a thirteen track album.

The magic of Chester French does not stop at just amazing music, but they have an amazing story to tell. The duo, D.A. Wallach and Max Drummey, met in Harvard during their freshman year and found that they shared similar philosophies and musical taste. Original, Chester French were a five-piece band, but eventually they became a duo after spending their summer in Cambridge writing and producing music. It took Wallach and Drummey three years worth of writing and producing before they were discovered. Their discovery in its self is an incredible story because they became the center of a tugging war between Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Jermaine Dupri. These men are some of the biggest producers in the industry right now, to be the “thing” they are fighting for must be an incredible accomplishment!

Love the Future has such a diverse grouping of sounds that it takes the listener through all kinds of goose bumps. We get some rock and roll with “C’mon (On My Own)”, “Bebe Buell”, “The Jimmy Choos”,” Time to Unwind”, but then we are thrown for a loop with the subdued track “Fingers”…wait it’s not over yet…we get intercepted with “Country Interlude” that is a schizophrenic instrumental track with spurts of vocals mixed in with rich orchestras and electronic mixers. After we kind of get a break, “Beneath the Veil” takes us back to the old Wild Wild West. The next track is called “Neal”, which includes certain elements of country keeping with the theme of “Beneath the Veil”. The last three tacks of the album bring the listeners back to the beginning of the album with “Not Over You”, “She Loves Everybody”, and “Sleep”. Love the Future is a non-stop album that is fun and exciting to listen to!

Ida Maria Introduces Punk Rock to the 21st Century!

Finally! Punk Rock is making a comeback after being dormant for so long! Ida Maria is a Norwegian songstress with outrageous lyrics ranging from the incredibly blunt to the deliciously inappropriate. She will definitely be many girls' guilty pleasure! Her album Fortress Round My Heart will be released May 18th!

http://media.nabbr.com/ida_maria.html

Piles o' Promos, Part the Second

The Vaselines-Enter the Vaselines

Their entire (albeit short) discography's worth of horniness and Jesus-confusion, through the always youthful lens of twee. By turns brilliant and cloying. ("Son of A Gun, "Dying For It," "Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam," "Sex Sux (Amen)").
(+v+)

The Crocodiles-Summer of Hate

Is shitgaze already going stale? Fingers crossed on 'no.' Either way, here's your archetype. Crass garage rock takes turns with ambient yawning, resulting in a resounding "so what?"
(-_-)

Bill Callahan-Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle

Sometimes austerity is deceptive. Slowly meandering through organic strings and snares, Callahan's baritone eventually finds inner-peace--or something like it--in orchestral lushness. PB&J may have said it out of irony, but ultimately this one is quite literally a living thing.
(!u!)

Rating Guide: It's like eighth grade all over again!

(;_;) (>_>) (~_~) (=_=) <- (-_-) -> (|_|) (+v+) (!u!) (^U^)