Nightwish/Sonic Syndicate @ The Ogden 5/26/2008

Sonic Syndicate was forgettable. Completely and utterly mediocre, at best. The best parts of the songs were keyboard leads...but there's no keyboardist in the band. It would also help if the band didn't sound like Killswitch Engage or, as Nick said, "These guys sound like Atreyu." Well now I've confirmed why I don't listen to Atreyu either. At the end of their set they announced it was their last song and there were a few shouts to the effect of "Thank god!"

Nightwish, however, was amazing. Normally, when you go to a show, you tend to enjoy the songs you already know well. That wasn't even the case here. The songs I knew were good, but some that I didn't know ranked among my favorites of the night. Let me get one thing out of the way now, Annette is not Tarja. Her range and operatics just do not match Tarja's at all. But if she is taken on her own and not compared to Tarja (though she performs songs Tarja originally did), she is actually not bad really. She's a more subdued voice, and has less focus in this new version of Nightwish, but it's by no means ruined by a lack of Tarja.

In fact, all five band members were, in my opinion, essential performers of the night. The keyboardist is a great player and also quite entertaining. The bassist (the other vocalist) not only provided a good stage presence, but had good, fun stage banter too. He even was well-versed enough in Colorado lore to know that Colfax (where the venue is located) is known as a street to pick up whores, and make a joke about it. The drummer has as much stage presence as most any drummer can have, about 1 in 2 songs he ended up on top of his set jumping and giving the crowd energy. The guitarist was also great fun to watch and had some great solos (especially the improvised harmonization with the keyboardist, that was awesome). Annette did a great job of not only singing but continually engaging the crowd, dancing, doing whatever she could to keep everyone entertained, and it was effective.

Also, unlike far too many bands, Nightwish does not play live like they do on CD. The songs are different, there are added sections, there are neat recordings added not from the album, and it's great. I pay far too much money listening to bands play what I already own, only with worse sound quality. Not true for this band.

Also, the band did a great job of making the show feel intimate, and they are so friendly they were still greeting fans when I left 5 minutes after they stopped playing. They were so appreciative too. Rare in bands that are well-known in their music scene.

Free Download? Cha-TING

The Ting Tings' full length We Started Nothing drops July 22, but here's a killer remix of "Great DJ" to tide you over till then!

New ScarJo, No More [Tom] Wait[s]ing

Except I'm lying about Tom's absence. Scarlett Johansson's debut album Anywhere I Lay My Head hits shelves May 20. Listen to clips right hizzere. If you have an Imeem account, you can experience it in its entirety over thizzere.


After seeing her do Just Like Honey with Jesus and Mary Chain at Coachella last year, I kind of wanted to hate this album. I'm not yet sure if I hate it, and I might even slightly like it.

What do YOU think?

Top 10 Most Annoying Singers of All Time?

This list was posted today. I have to admit adamantly disliking or at least not liking any of the artists on the list other than Lily, so it works alright for me.

I imagine some of you will hate it though ^_^

Thrice/Circa Survive/Pelican @ The Marquee 4/19/2008

Pelican was my second favorite of the night by a large margin. It's funny but I always think these Post-Rock/Metal groups are always going to be boring live and every time they blow me away. Unlike when I saw Mono, the crowd never really got into these guys, but they really were great. Like all of these sorts of bands, it took me about 5 minutes to really get into it with them, but once I was there, the whole journey was amazing. Also did a good job of moving around and getting into the music which the crowd never ended up feeding off of unfortunately. Also really friendly folks, ended up manning their own merch booth after the show and they were quite nice and enthusiastic about what they do. Every time I go see a Post-Rock/Metal band I think I should go to a sitting venue but every time I am so mistaken. These bands are amazing live.

Circa Survive was maybe on par with the last time I saw them. The music is good, and the crowd energy level was high when they came on, the crowd was jumping just seconds into their set, but they failed to harness that energy. By the end of the first song, the crowd was more subdued and just sort of nodding along. I don't know what it is, because the music is fine, but the extra hidden factor just isn't there for these guys. It's a shame because they had such a solid base to build on that i thought they would be really great.

Thrice was amazing as usual. Still nothing from Identity Crisis but a few from Illusion of Safety including Trust which was a new one for me. A lot of focus on newer songs of course, which was cool and not cool at the same time. The newest album came out Tuesday but I had not yet heard it so there were a handful of song I was completely unfamiliar with. Add to that the drunk next to me who couldn't stop ruining the show for everyone around him and we have so strong negatives. But all the same I think this was the best show of theirs I have been to. It might have just been my long hiatus from going to shows, but I really felt...cathartic...going to this show. I screamed my heart out along with the band, moved my head until my neck was stiff as a board, and through it all thoroughly enjoyed the whole show. Objectively, their set up is getting better everytime though. The whole experience continues to improve music remains amazing as ever, with some extended endings even on a few songs.

Kissing the Beehive!? Oh my Wolf Parade

For those of you not already aware, warbly Montreal janglesmiths (running out of original descriptions here) Wolf Parade are dropping a new album called "KISSING THE BEEHIVE" (caps mine) this coming June 17th. And that thing is so leaky it's about time we re-lined our music umbrellas, if you know what I'm saying.

Ostensible single "Call it a Ritual" is on the blog circuit already, with a 1-minute sample of it being played on NPR's All Songs Considered a week or so ago. The band has been playing the new songs live apparently, and they sound exciting - though little sign of that delightful Krug number about bones and captains. Hope springs eternal, though.

Walter Yetnikov Interview

If you are remotely interested in how the music industry as a whole totally missed the Internet boat, you need to watch THIS INTERVIEW with Walter Yetnikov. Yetnikov ran CBS Records, which later came under Sony ownership. Dude dishes the dirt!

Wolves and Wishes? Oh My Dosh!

Dosh (as in Martin Luther King Chavez the Anticon multi-instrumenalist sensation, not to be confused with the three energies of Ayurvedic medicine that circulate in the body and govern physiological activity) has a new album coming out May 13th.

From the sounds of new track "if you want to you have to", Dosh is coming out with more of the same delicious Rhodes and drums compositions (don't worry kids, the beat stuttering is still alive and well) that made his previous LP The Lost Take so terrific. The cherry on top is a mid-song venture into that rarest of dosh instruments, the human voice. No discernable lyrics yet, but we'll see.

Kanye hands

Kimya Dawson to play Trunk Space 3/8

The following is a MySpace post from Trunk Space regarding Kimya's upcoming show Saturday:

Unfortunately there are no advance tickets for this show.
We added this show really late and didn't have time to do them.
Also, if this is you're first time coming to Trunk Space, please note we are not a big venue. If you've got an image of something Marquee size in your head scale back . . . a lot.
The shows going to start at 7PM, there are lots of great bands, 4 touring acts, 3 locals and all are worth seeing.
This will be Kimya's 4th time playing our space, and we're excited to have her back, we want everyone--including her--to have a good time.
Also, please car pool, you're going to have to park on side streets in a neighborhood and we'd rather not clog everyone who lives there.