Armchair Concertgoer

Thanks to my new hi-def television, I felt like I had (very comfortable) front row seat for some of the best performances of Glastonbury this year. It even had the capability of switching the program to different stages if the current performer was not to my liking. All that and no port-a-potty! I found myself thinking well if this is possible in 2008, when I’m in the old folks’ home technology will probably be so good that I’ll be able to virtually crowd surf when I’m 80 years old!

All kidding aside, the weather was beautiful and there were some really good performances. My favorites were Kings of Leon, The Kills, The Ting Tings, and The Enemy. Would Amy Winehouse show up to perform? Yes, she did. Once again though, I am just not very taken with her live performance.

I have to comment on the Jay-Z performance. There was a lot of controversy about him taking the headlining slot. I believe Noel Gallagher stated that hip hop had no place at a guitar based festival. I love that Jay-Z took it upon himself to perform an Oasis song during his set smiling the whole time. I was unexpectedly impressed with Jay-Z, since I only like a tiny bit of the music that the hip hop scene has to offer. I do find it interesting that a hip hop artist can come to England in 2008 and project an enormous picture of the U.S. President and state very clearly “Fuck Bush”. Only a few years ago an artist (Natalie Maines from the Dixie Chicks) with a more Republican fan base almost got burned at the stake for saying something a lot less blatant. --J

Duffy - Warwick Avenue

Duffy’s Mercy was the free download on the U.S. iTunes awhile back. Last week when I was on vacation I spent probably a day just watching music videos. This one’s getting heavy rotation in the UK and it’s got that great vintage girl group sound. --J

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Martin, clever as he is, knew full well that by enlisting the sonic assistance of Brian Eno on their latest album Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends), that the already present comparisons to U2 would be now undeniable. But by working with Brian and not hiding it Coldplay takes control and throws it in your face. Yes, they are influenced by the sounds of U2. Yes, like U2 they even take themselves too seriously at times, but I dare anyone to hear the opening notes of their songs and think that it’s a U2 song and not Coldplay.

VLV is a wide-angle beautiful work of art. It doesn’t force itself on you, which is exactly why I keep listening to it. Eno’s own ambient music and his collaborations always allow for the listener to make a choice; to pay attention when one wants and not when the song dictates. I read one review that encapsulates the album for me perfectly. The writer felt that the band steps back into the scenery at times letting the music tell the story without words and then comes back into the spotlight to offer the occasional rock-out; all very Eno and all the while maintaining their identity as a band.

The album begins with a sweeping instrumental called “Life in Technicolour” that leads in a catchy little stomp-clap tune called “Lost!” that refuses to leave my head. “42” reminds a lot of the Rush of Blood to the Head era Coldplay. It’s got that lonely piano and Chris demonstrates his falsetto with the regretful tone he’s so well-known for and then halfway through rocks out. “Lovers in Japan” just makes me want to skip down the street. “Reign of Love” is a beautiful ambient piano-piece that reminds me a lot of that scene in Trainspotting when Renton dives down into the toilet to find the opiate suppositories (seriously). The Asian twangy sound of “Strawberry Swing” is incomparable to me, but it does have a pinch of David Bowie thrown in which is itself reason enough to give it a listen. “Death and All His Friends” is going to be stunning live. Towards the end there’s a second version of “Lost!” called “Lost?” that is the piano version that I think my friend M will put on repeat. There’s also an acoustic version of “Lovers in Japan” that just calms the soul.

Y’all, I have tried to find the negative in this cd and I can’t. I recommend everyone try it. Just note: if the temptation arises to compare this band to U2, try listening to Gang of 4 and The Clash and realize that U2 were once “inspired”, too. -K

Photog Mishandled by Security at MCR show, St. Louis

This link was sent to me by a fellow MCR fan who attended the May show at The Pageant in St. Louis. I was shocked at first, but cannot bring myself to be overly sympathetic. Read on to find out why.

http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-05-14/news/just-shoot-me/

I was at the show that night and had to sign a waiver in order to get my pass, which seemed very stringent to me. When I reviewed the agreement, I thought it stated that you could only shoot during the first three songs and that you could not use the photographs you took for anything outside of the publication you were photographing for. I thought it also mentioned no camera phones could be used during the show. It was extremely strict and I remember feeling a bit nervous after signing it. It didn't matter if you had a photo pass or not- after your time in the pit was over you needed to exit the area and not even think about photography while you were still in the venue. I can remember chatting with Todd from ishootshows.com, a regular photographer at The Pageant, about this. He had never had to sign a waiver before either and we both were a little taken aback by it. I'm too German to even think about not following the rules so I was determined to play it straight and narrow all night. I'm always too grateful and shocked that I've been granted the opportunity to shoot a show so I am usually operating under a submissive mindset anyhow!

After I finished shooting and joined my friends, I was standing in view of the photographer when she was shooting from the balcony. When I spied her I thought "good on her, but she needs to watch herself." Security was tapping on shoulders all night. It was not the most relaxing atmosphere despite the fact that the band out on a helluva show. I hate that she was so excessively manhandled like that and it's good that MCR tried to compensate her, but she was in direct violation of the agreement. Full stop.

I have never had a bad experience with security at The Pageant. They've been annoying at times, in fact J and I got in trouble a few times with those guys because we didn't want to stand where they wanted us to stand, but they've always been a necessary presence that we have to accept and we do. They've never been rude or aggressive. If anything, they've been guys we'd share a laugh with when things got really crazy. When I read this article I knew it couldn't have been a Pageant security dude being so aggressive. In fact, the more I read about it, it was indeed an MCR security guard who may or may not be employed by the band anymore after this incident. -K

Martha Wainwright- I Know You're Married But I Have Feelings Too

Years ago Rufus Wainwright’s song April Fools became part of my life soundtrack. I’ve never been able to take a lot of his sedate and draggy voice, but for some reason I’ve never been able to write this boy off. I will never say you shouldn't put some Rufus W on if we’re drinking wine. I have never cared who his family is, I just think he’s charming.

So, the other day I came across this his sister’s cd cover and thought “now that looks like one of many pictures I took back when after a series of questionable decisions at a party I would get myself to a point where I would be legs up on a couch with my good shoes on”. I was intrigued. I finally bought the album because of Rufus’ strange pull and because the title just cracks me up. You know what, this cd is really good.

Martha Wainwright goes from sounding like Ani DiFranco to Kate Bush to Annie Lennox to Maria McKee on this album. She does an ambitious yet fascinating cover of Eurythmic’s Love is a Stranger and Syd Barrett’s See Emily Play. My favorite is probably You Cheated Me because the chorus feels very Suede-like, but the whole album is download-worthy. -K

Download- Crying on the Inside

My aunt in England called to tell me that the Download festival was happening just down the street from her. Sigh. I love Huntsville, but the lack of live shows I want to see is killing me. I've been reading great reviews of HIM's performance which is wonderful for this fan. Poor substitute, but I found this NME interview on You Tube from Download. About 1:50 is fantastic. -K

Kanye West BonnaBoo'd at Bonnaroo

Picture from E!Online.
I cannot wait to ask my coworker who went to this year's festival about this. Check out this link to read what happened. -K

Webb Wilder

I have never been a big fan of the roots rock, no-frills Americana style that characterizes bands such as L.A.'s The Blasters. Had I not gone down to Huntsville's Humphrey's Saturday night I would ignorantly have grouped Webb Wilder into this genre. I would have also walked out before I finished my first beer had I not had respect for J's brother's taste in music who suggested I see this guy perform. In his words Webb Wilder is "a good example of how music should sound."

Humphrey's in downtown Huntsville is a place that used to be called Bubba's years ago. This is going to sound crass, but when I was in college and later a starving library clerk in grad school, my friends and I would go to Bubba's every weekend and get loaded. They had a great music. It was in walking distance from my $250/month 80-year old apartment so I never had to worry about getting home. Bubba's was a down-home watering hole. Something went down with the owner and it was soon replaced by Humphrey's, which is the same kind of place only upgraded. The back of the bar/restaurant opens up into a courtyard with a giant old tree in the middle that grows up into the sky. The courtyard is old-south style, with black wrought-iron latticework and brick. The side of the brick building (Mason's Pub) creates a backdrop for Humphrey's courtyard and is where the small stage is constructed for weekend performances. Saturday night was a sultry, moonlit southern night and the courtyard was buzzing with eager fans while fans blew cool mist over their heads and beer flowed freely.

A little after 9 the band ripped into a lengthy set that had the locals on their feet in no time. The collection of guitars played were an impressive part of the evening. Webb dominated the set with his Fender Telecaster and occasionally moved to his Stratocaster. The lead guitarist played a Fender Strat (old school colors from the 60s- looked like surf green or daphne blue color). He also played a natural Gibson Explorer (shark fin look) and a white Danelectro for his slide guitar. Webb wore his fedora hat and at one time bragged that his last album had sold "dozens." Ha!

The set included his original catalog, peppered with blues instrumentals and a cover of Jumpin Jack Flash. This may or may not make sense, but I observed a British influence in his material with a reliance on chord transition and melody rather than a percussive rhythm like that of most American roots-rock artists, i.e., Bo Diddley. It spoke to me more than The Blasters did, for sure. I give it an UNEXPECTED. -K

Big Butter Jesus

Some coworkers and I recently went on a business trip to Peoria, IL where we stayed at a hotel that reminded us of butter. The walls were the color of butter cream icing, with a broad spackling effect that reminded me of cake. The bedspreads were a yellowish beige. The furniture was light beigy wood. Anyway, one of us on the trip kept mentioning that the hotel reminded him of the "big butter jesus". I thought this was just a creation of his imagination, but apparently not. He just sent me a link to a song written by Heywood Banks called "Big Butter Jesus." Frightening that this thing is real. Only in America. -K

In southern Ohio, just north of Cincinnati
I beheld a vision, next to the expressway.
Was a 60 foot jesus, with his hands in the air
looks like he’s carved out of butter,
just like at the state fair.
Big butter Jesus
Sweet cream Jesus
Oh country fresh Jesus
Unsalted Jesus
Oh Promise Jesus
Imperial Jesus
Can’t believe it’s not Jesus
Oleo Lord.
Well you see him from the chest up
like he’s about to do a back flip,
like he scored a touchdown
or maybe melting or about to drown.
Well I’ve been to the state fair
seen a cow made out of corn cobs
Garth Brooks made of string cheese
and the virgin out of olives.
Big butter Jesus
Sweet cream Jesus
Oh country fresh Jesus
Unsalted Jesus
Oh Promise Jesus
Imperial Jesus
Can’t believe it’s not Jesus
Oleo Lord.
Shipped in pieces on a flatbed
staring backwards was his big head
Driver stuck in traffic backups
desperately avoiding eye contact
Well don’t make no graven images.
That’s one of the 10 commandments
I hope the grading curve is kindly
You get to heaven with a 90
Big butter Jesus
Sweet cream Jesus
Oh country fresh Jesus
Unsalted Jesus
Oh Promise Jesus
Imperial Jesus
Can’t believe it’s not Jesus
Oleo Lord.
Can’t believe it’s not Jesus,
Oh spread the word.

Which One is The Celebrity?

One day at work we were laughing about how when you see a picture of a celebrity with a fan, even if you don’t recognize the celebrity, you can easily decipher them because the other person looks insane with excitement. When I got my moment to have my picture taken with Dave Grohl, I just looked insane. I’ll blame it on the delayed flash of the digital camera and the fact that it was 2:30am, hell, who knows. I remember asking our friend M, who is a master with Photoshop if he could work his magic and somehow make me look normal. I think he simply said, “No”. Hahaha

So I was so pleased when Ross Halfin’s pictures were posted from Saturday night’s Wembley show. Dave looks like a true fan beaming with joy as he shares the stage with John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page. It’s nice to see someone have a moment like that. --J

Wal Mart's Honey Roll Over

I’ve got most of my AC/DC catalog in tape form. So, as I’ve been working on my digital music library (cds are in my past), I’ve been very disappointed that their music has not been available on iTunes or Amazon or any digital music source that I used. Verizon Wireless bought the rights to AC/DC’s catalog through its VCast Music Service, but only in album form for $12 a pop and only from their PC version as the full-album format is too big to sell from mobile phones. Sigh. I miss hearing AC/DC whenever I want.

Ever the fan of these Aussies, I am thrilled that they’re releasing a new album soon. To my surprise, I heard they plan to release it exclusively through Wal Mart Stores, Inc. Let’s face it, your average red blooded American shops at Wal Mart. I think this will be a smart business move on AC/DC’s part, no matter how much I wish it weren’t so.

If only Wal Mart would release AC/DC through its digital store I might feel a little better about it. -K

Sons & Daughters - Another One Bites the Dust

My family is finally making their way to the UK! Because I under-estimated everything I needed to do to prepare for this move, I missed the Sons & Daughters show at Scala last night in London. This particular song reminds me a lot of X. Enjoy! --J

Way to Keep Up VH1!

I don't know why it always takes VH1 a while to play vids that could almost be considered old news in MTV Land. I was getting ready work the other day and Flyleaf's "All Around You" came on as a "new" video. OKaaay. I can remember watching this video while I was still in St. Louis almost a year ago. Hats off to this little TX band that may or may not be Christian-oriented who I suppose have "made it" into the mainstream. -K

The Raconteurs - Consolers of the Lonely

Their last record left me a bit cold but I’m liking this one better. Here’s a clip of them performing on Jools Holland a few weeks ago. I love the beginning of this song. --J

The Boys are in Town

Instead of going to Wembley, I was jet-lagged and watching the Sex and the City movie. I was thinking on the train ride home that Sex and the City never had good music in it. Why is that? Do girlie girls not care about music unless it’s accompanying a runway show? Random thought, I digress. --J