Hip Hop With A Little Too Much Flavor

Last Friday afternoon, J and I were packing up to head down to the Loop to purchase some tickets for an upcoming Scissor Sisters show. My coworker, A, handed me her iPod and asked me to listen to Akon's I Wanna Love You. I told her that I knew the song, that I liked the song and that I heard it on MTV2 every morning. She kind of chuckled and then explained that when she made the decision to download it she chose the explicit version because "who cares about a few curse words, right?" Totally. However, she said that once she started playing the song in her car she immediately felt like she had made a huge mistake. I smugly hit play on the iPod thinking to myself "this can't be that bad". Uh, right. Basically, for the next few minutes I went from shocked to nervous giggling while A looked at me with an "now do you see what I'm saying?" expression. I think Akon singing "I wanna fuck you" rather than "I wanna love you" definitely changes things a little bit, don't you? And, to hear every unbleeped "pussy" and "dick" Snoop throws down just makes me blink a lot. Listening to the explicit version of that song was like once foolishly ordering a 3-star curry when the palate really and truly is used to a 1-star. I had the same reaction: "GOOD GOD!" -K

[Akon, Clean]
I see you windin n grindin up on that pole,
I know u see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna love you, you already know
I wanna love you, you already know

[Explicit]
I see you windin n grindin up on that pole,
I know u see me lookin' at you and you already know
I wanna fuck you, you already know
I wanna fuck you, you already know

[Snoop Dogg, Clean]
If u pick me then I'ma pick on you
d-o-double g and I'm here to put this [bleep] on you
I'm stuck on [bleep] and yours is right
Rip ridin' them poles and them doors is tight
And I'ma get me a shot for the end of the night
Cuz {bleep] is [bleep] and baby your [bleep] for life.

[Explicit] [I bleepin miss the bleeps]
If you pick me then I’ma pick on you
d-o-double g and I’m here to put this dick on you
I'm stuck on pussy and yours is right
Rip ridin’ the poles and them doors is tight
And I’ma get me a shot ‘fo the end of the night
Cuz pussy is pussy and baby your pussy for life.

MIKA's Grace Kelly

It's dreary and uninspiring in this city. The weather man says that the temperature was actually going the wrong way this morning, getting colder rather than warmer. Wonderful. Well, MIKA's Grace Kelly can fix all that. I don't know anything about him, but this song is a fantastic foil to our January blues! There are obvious similarities to Freddie Mercury, but I don't care. Nothing wrong with that when you can do it well. Click here for the official website.-K

Fall Out Boy Releases a Catchy Tune

I’m going to admit it here. Because of the lead vocals, the new Fall Out Boy single, “This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race” has grown on me. The video is clever and proves that they can laugh at themselves. I can’t wait to read their press as they release their new album because I’m sure I’m not the only one who has noticed Patrick Stump’s weight gain. Here's an old pic with Patrick third from the left:


And here is a more recent pic. Patrick is to the left, looking like he feels the same why I do about Pete Wentz:




No disrespect, it just makes me wonder if this will ever be mentioned in any of the press because you know if it was a female singer, the press would be all over it. Hello Heart’s Ann Wilson!

Speaking of fitness, while the New Year’s resolutions fall away, here’s a playlist to keep you moving. --J

Song 2 – Blur
Los Angeles – X
Wolf Like Me – TV on the Radio
MakeDamnSure – Taking Back Sunday
This is How I Disappear – My Chemical Romance
I Bet that You look Good on the Dancefloor – Arctic Monkeys
Woman - Wolfmother
I Want You So Hard (Boys Bad News) – Eagles of Death Metal
Do What You Want – Ok Go
Soft – Kings of Leon

Mississippi Nights 1979-2007

I must have been living in a cave because I just found out that Mississippi Nights is closing its doors. According to what I've read, the building will be demolished and replaced by a parking lot for Pinnacle Casino, the same company that operated the venue's lease. The owners hope to reopen the venue in a midtown location.

Since 1979, Mississippi Nights had featured a variety of acts that included Willie Nelson, Red Hot Chili Peppers, X, B.B. King, The Killers, and recently Wolfmother. It was the first place I ever saw a concert in St. Louis. Despite constantly looking over my shoulder as I walked out onto the cobblestone streets of LaClede's Landing, the venue was an attraction because it had some of the best acoustics a small place could offer. And, no matter where you stood you could see the stage (very important!). It will certainly be missed.

The venue's final concert was last night and was billed as a jam session for the best St. Louis bands of the last 30 years. -K

Gnarls Barkley is H.O.T.

Unless I'm actually at a show to see the opening band, the most enthusiasm I can muster is a Celine Dion-esque forearm clap while I hold my drink in my other hand. Not the case last Monday night when I found myself whooping for Gnarls Barkley, who opened for Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Scottrade Center.

The band came out in flightsuits and opened with Bowie's Space Oddity. Along with the Bowie cover, the setlist included a rundown of the tracks from their album St. Elsewhere. Highlights included Smiley Faces, cover Gone Daddy Gone, and Feng Shui.

With a little bit of that southern soul that is dear to Judakris, the band made you feel like you were experiencing a religious awakening rather than an opening act. It was so completely unexpected, and despite the fact that St. Louis had once again become arctic and powerless, from our perspective it felt like the warmest place on earth.

I would suggest running, not walking to see them. -K

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scottrade Center

Bear with me, this may be long...

I have seen them twice before and enjoyed both shows. Going to the show with someone who had never seen them before is kind of like inviting someone to your house so you can show them one of your favorite movies. You’re kind of half watching the show and then half worrying about if the other person is enjoying it.

On a lark back in 2003, I entered a radio contest and won a meet and greet with Anthony Kiedis before their St. Louis show. My friend M babysat that night so I could attend the show and when I came home he asked me how it was meeting Anthony. My response was, “He has beautiful olive skin”. The next day at work M laughingly repeated this quote a number of times. Sometimes it takes someone quoting you back to yourself to realize what an ass you sound like.

High up in the arena Monday night, some fans held up a sign that said, “Show us your socks!” Wow, it was hard to believe that this was the same band that used to perform in tube socks. It was a way more mature set and this time around, all band members had more clothes on than I have ever seen them wear during a performance.

Thinking back about the setlist, all of the songs performed were songs from albums that John Frusciante played on. I wonder if that was intentional.

I have been semi-obsessed with John Frusciante since he cleaned up. He is a fascinating individual who seems to live and breathe music and I think his guitar playing is amazing. I mean the man put out something like seven solo albums in a year. I was reading an article that described his daily routine which consisted mostly of listening to records of whatever band he was fascinated by and learning all of the guitar parts for all of their songs. I think he must be going through a disco or a brothers Gibb phase because at the beginning of this tour, for his little solo song during the set he was doing the Bee Gees “How Deep is Your Love”. As K mentioned, this time he did Andy Gibb’s “Shadow Dancing”, which sounded awesome (I have a place in my heart for the Brothers Gibb). In our cluster of fans I think K and I were the only ones singing along to that cover.

Tuesday I went online to look for the setlist and found it posted on a French fan site. Isn’t that funny that a setlist for a show in St. Louis, Missouri would be posted there? Here it is:

Intro Jam

Can't Stop

Dani California

Otherside

Charlie

Fortune Faded
ReadyMade

Get On Top

Nobody Weird Like Me

Don’t Forget Me

Shadow Dancing (John Solo)

Snow (Hey Oh)
....

C'mon Girl

Californication

London Calling Intro / Right On Time

Hey

By The Way

Encore:

I Could Have Lied

Give It Away

Final Jam

The encore was puzzling. “Give it Away” was the highlight, but “I Could Have Lied”? Come on, that is not an encore kind of a song. It’s more of a we just played five fast songs in a row and we’re gonna throw this in to give everyone a moment to breathe kind of a song. To end with an instrumental jam as Anthony walked off the stage makes one wonder if there are problems in the band or if he was not feeling well.

Especially after reading Kiedis’ autobiography, when I listen to their music, I sometimes think how awesome of a band they would be without him. We got a taste of that from the instrumental jams performed in between songs as well as at the beginning and end of the show. Because of this “what if” thought of mine, I enjoyed the jamming where usually that kind of thing totally gets on my nerves.

Songs I would have loved to have heard that they didn’t play were:

Wet Sand
Around the World
Parallel Universe
Breaking the Girl (my brother S hates this song)
Dosed
Minor Thing

The Chili Peppers never talk much in between songs and Monday was no exception. Towards the end of the show, Flea thanked the fans for their support over the years and said that we had their “love and gratitude”. Is this a farewell tour? It kind of felt that way.

--J

Red Hot Chili Peppers Fail to Give Much Away at Scottrade Center

The first time I heard of or saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers I was 14 and reading the latest issue of Bravo, a German teeny bopper magazine. Inside there was a small picture of some naked idiots onstage during their German tour wearing socks on their cocks. That was around 1988. 3 years later in 1991, my schoolmates and I were in our Europa Hotel room in The Hague and through a cloud of smoke we watched as "Give It Away" debuted on MTV Europe. I remember that one of my girlfriends instantly fell in love with Anthony Kiedis and would later claim from looking at the band's 1992 Rolling Stone cover that she could tell, based on the look of his torso, that he was "really tall". Right.

Despite never having been my favorite band, RHCP have been a constant peripheral presence in my life. In high school, you chose between Nirvana or Pearl Jam, but you always liked RHCP. If you didn't like them, you never admitted it. I did like them a lot, but for whatever reason I didn't love them. Perhaps that's why it has taken me over 15 years to finally see them live which I did at the Scottrade Center last Monday night. Like my feelings for the band, I liked the show a lot, but I didn't love it.

A seemingly apathetic Anthony wasn't on stage as much as I would have expected. Flea, a short-haired John Frusciante, and Chad Smith kept things going by peppering the set with instrumental jams that also opened and closed the show. I hate to say it, but Anthony came across as an aging rockstar trying to keep his signature energetic stage presence alive. Flea addressed the crowd a few times, but otherwise there wasn't much going on between the band and the audience- though I have to say the audience seemed to have a great time nonetheless.

Speaking of the audience, there was a lovely mix of 30-somethings, young kids, and periodic puffs of smoke. I guess I wasn't surprised that at some point instead of cell phones lighting the arena, a number of lighters provided the glow. I also wasn't really surprised that despite having wolfed down fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn before the show, towards the end I was fantasizing about the french fries stashed in my freezer waiting to be baked. Mmm-mmm, good!

The stage through a pinhole. This picture could not be smaller.

Along with my favorites such as Get On Top and Can't Stop, you heard a cover of The Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog and Andy Gibb's Shadow Dancing. I was surprised to not hear Under the Bridge, though I am as over that song as anyone could be. I would have loved to hear Soul to Squeeze and Scar Tissue. Give It Away was unmistakably the crowd favorite.

Although J and I had tons of fun hanging out Monday night, I have to give the show itself an Unmoving. While it was awesome to finally see the boys in person, the show wasn't as amazing as it could have been. -K

Gnarls Barkley at the Scottrade Center

Seeing Gnarls Barkley on the bill with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for their St. Louis date was just the nudge I needed to buy a ticket. While I wouldn’t classify St. Elsewhere as a solid favorite of mine, I like several of the songs and was very curious to see how they would translate live. K had mentioned before the show that Gnarls Barkley always wear a costume that corresponds with a cover from their set. The band, complete with a string section and backup singers, came on stage in flight suits and Cee-Lo made Space Oddity his own. Cee-Lo’s voice live is no less rich or full as it is on the record. I would say that it was even enhanced by the outstanding backup singers. Everyone in the band seemed to be totally into the performance, feeling the music in different ways like the guitarist’s aerial splits and the string section’s dance routines. Before launching into St. Elsewhere, Cee-Lo mentioned to the audience that he was from Atlanta, Georgia. He then said, “It’s not where you’re from but where you are”. Amen. Last night, in a city again plagued by power outages and 10 degree temperatures, I was unbelievably glad to be where I was. –J

Gnarls Barkley's Setlist

Space Oddity
Go-Go Gadget Gospel
Who Cares?
The Boogie Monster
Just a Thought
St. Elsewhere
Gone Daddy Gone
Feng Shui
Crazy
Smiley Faces

Out on a School Night...

Heartless Bastards got added to the Duck Room’s calendar last week and I thought I would go check them out. It’s a small club in the basement of a popular restaurant here in University City where Chuck Berry plays every month as well as other bands.

I got there in the middle of the opening band’s set. It was a group called Male Models, also a three piece like Heartless Bastards. There was a farfisa organ involved and, by the end of the set, every member of the band was playing a key instrument, but I liked it. Male Models commented more than once that Heartless Bastards were gonna come out and “blow our faces off”. I thought to myself, “Oh really?”

As for Heartless Bastards, they didn’t blow my face off but they were good. I liked the heavy bass, the mid-tempo groove, and I liked Erika Wennerstrom’s vocals better live, covered up a bit by the instruments. On their records they are a little to front and center for my taste because I think her voice is a little odd. I can’t take a lot of it. Highlights of the set were Done Got Old, Brazen, and All This Time. I didn’t make it until the bitter end of the set. It has been a super long week. As I was leaving the club, I looked over at the merch guy and I wish I could have taken his picture without him knowing it. He was sitting under what looked like a spotlight of his own, with his dark, wavy, boho hair hanging in one eye, reclined in his seat and looking like he was way over it. It just struck me as very funny because the light over his head made him look like he was on display and the look on his face made it look like being in a spotlight was the last thing he would want to do.

About the venue, it was a great, intimate setting. And it really is all about ducks from the framed duck comic books, shelves full of duck statues, and this entry way lined with pics of ducks. I'll give it an unexpected. --J

Stewart Copeland's Perspective

Okay, I promise this will be my last Police post, that is unless the rumors become fact and they tour this year to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Anyway, if you are a Police fan, and again, don’t tell me if you’re not, you must see Stewart Copeland’s documentary, Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out. Even H found it interesting and he is not really a fan. Early in their career, Stewart Copeland purchased a Super 8 movie camera and started taking all kinds of behind the scenes footage of their band on tour, and unknowingly, on their rise to fame. Wow, you can see them lugging their own equipment motel to motel at the beginning, and then playing to thousands of people in Rio with tons of crew and equipment in the end. We see coverage of them playing festivals, doing in-stores, and walking the streets of Japan mingling with the fans. It is an excellent first-person account of the experience. There is one moment in the documentary where they are now successful and the cameraman (usually Copeland himself) looks out the backdoor of the venue that they have just played. There is a sea of people surrounding the car that the band is to get in to leave the venue and the crowd is, a little aggressively, chanting Sting’s name. The cameraman then points the camera just inside the door of the venue at Sting, preparing himself to make his way to the car and I almost had an anxiety attack for him. I think I would have just slowly slid down the wall into the fetal position before facing that crowd! Copeland has the camera going during gigs as well, which is an interesting perspective.

Fashion note: count how many horizontal striped shirts the band wears. For awhile I was thinking well, maybe it’s one shirt and because they’re touring, they’re sharing clothes or something, but not so. Check it out, it’s unbelievable (the documentary, not the shirts). –J