The Big Sleep March 9, 2008

I went to see Say Hi the other night, last Thursday to be exact, at Local 506 in Chapel Hill. I usually hate opening bands so I was amazingly unprepared for the two fantastic ones who performed before Say Hi…The Big Sleep being the middle band, and the subject of this gushing post.

I take dreadful photos usually, but I do still make the effort, unless the bands are so insanely good that I can’t be bothered to take the time to look away in order to figure out how to turn the flash off. The photos here are from Gene, my show companion and close friend. OK so on to The Big Sleep! I can’t really describe them accurately, unfortunately. They were hard. They were kinetic, they were LOUD, and they were truly and utterly magnificent. I love female bass players (and drummers, can’t forget Georgia!) and I love bands who look so intense when they play, that you feel almost worn out by the time the song ends. Their set went by way too quickly, but I did manage to drunkenly stagger up to the front and buy both of their cds, which fully live up to the sound they had live.

They are a threesome, from Brooklyn NY, with listed influences like Led Zeppelin and Funkadelic, both of which were quite apparent. I thought they sounded a lot like “Red“-era King Crimson, but none of my show companions agreed, being nasty people who enjoy arguing. Their drummer, the lovely Gabe (according to their MySpace page) was soaked with sweat within about 30 seconds of the first song, so I was as happy as a clam. Clem Burke can go to hell now. I’ve no need for him.

Nick Cave and Grinderman February 24, 2008

Nick Cave’s side project Grinderman has been getting lots of good press in the music scene…and understandably, because it IS Nick Cave. The imagery used in the Grinderman site and in the video for “No Pussy Blues” reminds me of something Trent Reznor would do, but the music is something that you can only imagine coming from a Bad Seed. Honestly, I couldn’t name anything bad that Nick’s ever done. He’s quite rare in that regard. He’s also the only man alive who looks good with such shitty facial hair. Check it out in the video below:

The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo January 18, 2008

Yo La Tengo is truly one of the best bands that there has ever been…I’ve seen them live twice now, and the first show was the absolute best rock show that I’ve ever attended. It was loud, there was lots of distortion and feedback, and I fell in love with Georgia, the drummer. Yes, I know she’s taken, damn it. Anyway, this last show was an acoustic(ish) one and it was perfect for the serious YLT fan.

You don’t find many rock stars that seem all that nice these days. NONE of them seem to be all that funny either…the members of YLT are definitely an exception to this, however. They honestly seem like the kind of people that you’d want to come over for dinner. OK so I’ll stop gushing and say that I wish I had some good photos, but due to the lighting of the show, it was quite difficult to get anything of value with the flash off. I’m nothing if not respectful.

Recommended song to tell you how great they are: Sugarcube. It’s truly one of the best songs ever recorded.

An amazing songwriter by the name of Kurt Wagner (frontman of the Nashville alt-country band Lambchop) was the opening act. My idiot husband and his friend almost fell asleep but no one said that either of them has good taste. Luckily, Gene Gene the Dancing Machine loved it, as did I, and we’re already becoming big fans of this guy. He was like Randy Newman and Wilco and Warren Zevon and David Sylvian all rolled up in one person. If you have the chance to catch this show, DO it. You won’t regret it, as long as you stay awake.

Say Hi (To Your Mom) Show October 30, 2007

My good friend and fellow show attendee Gene Gene The Dancing Machine has a good review of the Say Hi show with much better photos so check that out. The show was great…not much to say other than these guys are so insanely unpretentious that I felt like I was seeing The Pixes 15 years ago. If you haven’t heard their stuff you need to check them out. It’s just really, really well-done stuff.

Archaic Music: Still Good Stuff September 5, 2007

My good friend Gene just called my taste in music “archaic” and I have to admit that he’s right…that being said, let’s talk about Gang of Four and Magazine.

Gang of Four toured last year so you may have seen them or heard some of their stuff in case you missed them way back when. I highly recommend just about anything they have ever done though, but their cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane” is probably one of the best covers ever. OK it IS one of the best. “To Hell With Poverty” is my favorite…check out the video. Their style is insane. I don’t recommend trying to run on a treadmill whilst listening to them though…rhythms will knock you flat.

Then there is Magazine…another amazing band that a lot of people have never heard of. I like bald so I really dig anything with Howard Devoto embarrassingly enough. Here’s a video of my favorite Magazine song, “Song From Under the Floorboards.”

What’s New Siouxsie Sioux? August 4, 2007

My lack of posting to this blog has more to do with the fact that I’m not usually a fan of new music than my general laziness about writing. The most exciting news that I’ve heard lately is that Siouxsie Sioux is coming out with a solo record. However, I’m not holding my breath that it’s going to be mindblowing. It will probably be better than most crap out there since she’s insanely good at what she does, but solo albums, as a rule, are not my thing. Still, she’s looking good and I look forward to hearing her newest release. It’s coming out September 11th, 2007 and you can currently pre-order it at Amazon…a bit pricey though as this is an import for us in the US.

Rock Goddesses Part 3: Kate Bush July 13, 2007

Kate Bush hopefully needs no introduction but she seems to inspire either insane devotion or total hatred amongst people I know. Those of us who are rabid fans love everything from her theatrical performances to her operatic voice, but I know of several people I was in college with who wanted to kill me every time I played her music. In terms of rock goddesses, she has so much class that I hestitate to even list her. Not saying the others don’t but Kate has something different really. She was one of my idols back in high school–I think it was the hair. You don’t see anyone with that level of creativity anymore, which is quite a shame!

Here’s the video for “Wuthering Heights”–probably the best piece of music she’s ever done. Possibly one of the best pieces of music ANYONE has ever done honestly…

Rock Goddesses Part 2: Annabella Lwin July 12, 2007

Annabella Lwin was so much more than what you saw in the “I Want Candy” video…honestly, that’s one of my least favorite Bow Wow Wow songs. The one hit wonders usually are.

First of all, if you’ve never actually listened to Bow Wow Wow, you should. So many people think of them as fluff but that band had amazing rhythm and talent. Songs like “TV Savage” and “See Jungle See Jungle!” were absolutely brilliant. Annabella is like every mother’s nightmare too, the sexualized 14 year old hanging out with the older boys. Her voice is amazing and her style was incredible. Have you ever seen any other woman look THAT good with a mohawk?

I admit to not being a big fan of her solo work, but as a rock goddess back in her day of glory, she was truly close to perfect.

Happy Independence Day! July 4, 2007

It doesn’t get much better than John Doe doing X’s “Fourth of July” does it?

Rock Goddesses Part 1: Siouxsie Sioux June 27, 2007

I was thinking about women in rock the other day…there are so many amazing women in music. After seeing the doubleheader of Midnight Movies and The Raveonettes earlier this month, I was really in awe of the power of women onstage especially. Therefore, I thought I’d do a few pieces on the women that have most amazed me.

Number one is Siouxsie Sioux. Without anyone even coming close. I did get to see her at Lollapalooza way back when, and it was one of those moments I will never forget. She’s insanely gorgeous in such a strange way…I had posters of her in high school and wore my Siouxsie tshirt for about 10 years. Not only is the woman gorgeous, she has the most incredible style that no one can come close to imitating. I’ve never seen anyone that actually looked good with armpit hair but she did. She looked her best ever in the video for The Passenger though…like a gothic Louise Brooks. Budgie isn’t bad either now that I think about it.

Recommended songs:

Dear Prudence (her Beatles cover in case you live in a cave)

Hong Kong Garden

Spellbound (my favorite of all her work)

You can listen to all three of these on Amazon actually…