Pretty.Odd - Unmoving?

When I got back to St. Louis I had to ask my daughter A if she had purchased the latest Panic at the Disco record. It was her favorite band (note the word ‘was’). I brought her back the one Australian music magazine I could find with them on the cover. She told me she had bought Pretty.Odd but hadn’t listened to it all the way through. This is not a good sign since she has had it for about a week.

She quickly read the article in the magazine and told me, “Did you know they like dropped the exclamation point? It like wasn’t like a conscious decision according to that article. They didn’t like sit down and decide”. Actually she might have used ‘like’ one more time.

So on my way to and from work I have been listening to it and unlike Maxim, I’ve given it two thorough listens and I haven’t read any of the reviews. In my opinion, this record is their tribute to the Beatles. As I said to K, there are worse things a young band could do instead of move into a Beatles phase. Besides the single Nine in the Afternoon, nothing sounds terribly radio friendly. The one good thing about their Beatles phase is they have expanded vocals to both Brendan and Ryan. Ryan Ross’ voice is the polar opposite of Brendan Urie. While Brendan is almost Broadway polished, Ryan’s sounds a bit unconfident and natural. It is a nice change of pace. It’s very orchestral and some of the lyrics are trying too hard.

I was very glad when A announced that she has been listening to My Chemical Romance’ s Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. That means that my two thorough listens may be the end of the PATD rotation. --J

Tickets Anyone?

While K has some shows lined up, my lineup has just been shot to hell since I’m now in Australia for a month. I’ve sold the Panic at the Disco tickets since A is not yet in London. I’m fine with that one now that I have money in my pocket! And now I’m giving up my ticket to see The Gossip at the end of the month. I really wanted to see The Gossip live.

Since I can’t see them live, let me give their album “Standing in the Way of Control” an unbelievable rating. The instrumentation is very stripped down which gives Beth Ditto’s voice the room to fill in any gaps. I think the title song off the record says it all. I understand that Rick Rubin is big on this band. It will be interesting to see if they have the same success as they do in the UK. Beth Ditto is queen there.

P.S. I’ve been in Australia for about three days and the only music I have heard was overhead last night at a café. What was it? Of all things a single off of the new Britney record, the one where she complains about the media. Can’t remember the name and don’t want to spend the time looking it up. Usually when someone sings about themselves in third person it ain’t good! I was kind of surprised to hear her, since like the rest of the world it’s been kind of difficult with all the other press remembering that singing is supposedly her day job. --J

J and K's IM Musings

We join J and K mid-conversation, chatting about Panic at the Disco's anticipated new album, the latest photos, and the Honda Civic Tour… Oh yes and some stuff about Paramore.

J says:
look at them. Brendan, and Ryan "I have LOTS of issues" Ross
K says:
ha!
K says:
my god this tour is totally corporate sponsorship
J says:
yeah, they are picking up from FOB on this one
J says:
they did the Honda Civic Tour
K says:
yeah, that's right
K says:
I think I blocked out a lot of stiff I probably had mentally absorbed about fob
K says:
stuff, not stiff
J says:
hahaha stiff
K says:
"Panic at the Disco (previously known as Panic! at the Disco, and often shortened to merely Panic!, P!ATD, P!@tD, or PATD) "
K says:
haha
K says:
the abbreviations
J says:
oh i know
K says:
did they take the ! away because it's easier to text PATD rather than P!ATD
J says:
maybe. Is THAT what they have been doing for this year and a half they had off???? Dropping the exclamation point?
K says:
hahahahaha
J says:
can you imagine the conversation?
K says:
making executive decisions like that
K says:
well, they've also been rewriting the entire second album apparently
K says:
and shortening song titles
K says:
thank god
J says:
yep, they chucked the whole thing.
J says:
it was going to be conceptual
K says:
oh lord
J says:
it was a bit bizarre they said
J says:
ooooh
J says:
cutting edge
J says:
the wunderkinds
K says:
was it "pretty odd"?
J says:
"A" is way into Paramore right now
K says:
yep
J says:
it's very mall punk
K says:
oh no- the orange hair
J says:
utterly forgettable
J says:
she played it when I was home several times and i couldn't tell you what any of it sounded like
K says:
you know- we are long gone from the days of MCR
K says:
when you heard something and thought "yeah- ok that's gonna be a hit"
J says:
yeah
K says:
where is paramore from?
K says:
what is their story
K says:
did A fill you in?
J says:
i have no idea
J says:
no
K says:
oh wait- las vegas as well, aren't they?
K says:
let me google that
J says:
i think it is west
K says:
no- TN
K says:
Franklin, TN
J says:
Ah, yes!
J says:
i think i had seen that but forgot
J says:
because they are forgettable
K says:
utterly forgettable

2006 Concert Survey

It’s December and Judakris has decided to put together our own survey of the live shows we’ve enjoyed, hated, and obsessed about in 2006. Most of the shows and acts were seen here in St. Louis where occasionally the local time is 1840. Every act and show we mention in this survey has been reviewed somewhere on this blog.

Individual Acts:
Best Opening Song
J: Wolfmother - Dimension
K: Muse - Knights of Cydonia

Most Anticipated
J: Foo Fighters – Since this was a completely new setting, and the tickets were purchased so far in advance, I would definitely say this was the most anticipated for me.
K: HIM. It was my first time.

Best Storyteller
J: Dave Grohl easily! Who doesn’t want to hear a story about the first time he met Kurt Cobain?
K: I could only wish to be as engaging as Pete Yorn the morning after an all-night bender. The most I can usually pull off is to somehow find a way to say “shut the fuck up” politely.

Best Showman
J: Richie Kirkpatrick of Ghostfinger – I was very impressed at the energy and liveliness of the show when there were about 20 people in the whole bar. It was awesome.
K: Yeah, Richie. Gotta love that guy.

Show That Gave Us Best Story to Tell
J: This one is kind of tough but I’m going with Wolfmother. When is the last time I’ve been invited to a private performance? Never. Also the guys were so great that it made it extra special. I also loved being there with K and D.
K: J and I get a lot of mileage out of the Wolfmother night, but to me it’s the Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders show in Chicago. My head was practically in Taylor’s bass drum all night, the slutty white jeans girl was pretty engaging and the fact that Taylor used my skin as a canvas after the show gave me some pretty bloggerific material this year.

Most Disappointing Act
J: Hands down – Living Things
K: Living Things

Best Production
J: Muse
K: AFI

Best Sound
J: Muse – Their album sounds like it’s got a lot of studio wizardry so I didn’t expect them to sound so good live but they were amazing.
Foo Fighters – The acoustics at the Auditorium Theater were impressive and really enhanced the experience.
K: Nightmare of You.

Funniest Act
J: Under the Influence of Giants – They were so over the top with the clothing and the onstage antics, it was worth the price of admission. By the way, this is a compliment!
K: I don't know if this is a legit answer, but the Bonnie Prince Billy in-store at Vintage Vinyl had me rolling internally for most of it.

Best Connection with the Audience
J: Foo Fighters – The banter with the crowd makes even the largest venue feel intimate.
K: AFI. The fans loved Davey and he loved them for lovin' him.

Most Creative Production
J: As overwhelming as it was, Panic! at the Disco
K: Ditto

Most Impressive Production
J: For a band with only one album, Panic! at the Disco
K: I’m not trying to be a copycat; I have to agree with J once again.

Biggest Ass-Hole Lead Singer
J: Lillian Berlin of Living Things – You won’t be playing bigger venues than the Creepy Crawl if that’s how you treat people who pay to see you perform. It’s all about karma fellas!
K: I agree with J. Never have I been so disappointed after a performance.

Sexiest Lead Singer
J: I’m gonna go with Pete Yorn here. If you can be sexy at 2:00 in the afternoon under fluorescent lights in a record store when you’ve just rolled out of bed, you’ve got something there.
K: I’m sure it’s obvious what my answer will be. Sick, chain-smoking, and hiding every inch of his flesh, by mid-concert Ville Valo’s 6’1 lanky frame and smoky baritone made me want to jump off the balcony and die for him this year at The Pageant. Luckily, I had J there to keep me in check.

Best Scream
J: Dave Grohl always wins this category for me. I wish I could make his scream the alert sound in my Outlook email at work. I might smile at work every once in awhile if that was the case.
K: Veruca Salt’s Louise. I’m sure she was tutored by Dave. Actually, I remember J and I commenting that she sounded JUST like Dave. We might all know why that is.

Worst Opening Act
J: Dead Meadow – I just wanted them to go away!
K: Oh god, yes, Dead Meadow. I wanted to kill someone by the time they were done.

Honorable Mention
J: Veruca Salt – I have to give Louise props for holding her own in a 2006 concert lineup of men. She was super cool.
K: Alkaline Trio’s opening act, Against Me! For making Judakris stand up and take notice during their set.

Shows:Best People Watching
J: HIM – Since I was just there for the ride, I focused more on the crowd than usual. Also, it was completely diverse from frat boys to goth kids.
K: Muse- Geeks, freaks, gays, fratboys, and a handful of disgruntled library automation coworkers all having a grand time together.

Best Post-Show Feeling
J: Kings of Leon – I wanted to jump in my car and follow them forever.
K: HIM, The Pageant. Again, it was my first time. I found out recently that the reason the band stood us up after the show was for legitimate reasons so I'm over it. Let's face it, I was over all that an hour after the show and practically emigrated to Finland over the following months. Not since seeing U2 for the first time years ago did I feel a post-show love (metal) hangover quite like that one.

Most Disappointing Night
J: I am going to go with HIM because I was hoping to be won over by the music and wasn’t and then to be stood up for the meet and greet was pretty shitty. I hated that for K.
K: Alkaline Trio because I realized I wasn’t as much of a fan as I thought I was that night.

Most Anticipated Song Not Performed
J: Time to Waste at the Alkaline Trio show and also Ain’t it the Life at the Foo Fighters show, especially since that was on the setlist for other venues.
K: In Joy and Sorrow- HIM

Thanks to all the bands in 2006 that made us feel alive. Judakris has already begun planning dates for the 2007 concert schedule. Don't hold back, bands. You know we won’t. XOXO J and K

Panic! at the Disco - A Mom's Perspective

I’m afraid if I write a straight review of the Panic! at the Disco concert I attended last weekend, the night before seeing Wolfmother, Panic! will suffer terribly by comparison. Instead I thought I would write this from the perspective of a mom taking her eleven year old daughter to a show she had been dreaming about for months. From that perspective, it was unbelievable.

A. has been listening to Panic’s album, A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out nonstop since the end of July. Every morning when I walk into her room to wake her for school, a Panic song is quietly coming from her CD player that’s set on infinite loop. Every day when I drive her to her bus stop and I let her take control of the music until her bus arrives, it’s always the same three or four Panic songs. A couple of months ago after going to the mall with K and looking over all the Panic merchandise at Hot Topic one Saturday afternoon, she woke up the next day begging me to take her to the mall. She had decided which shirt she wanted to buy. She loves them.

The day of the show A. was all aflutter. Her cousin D was going with us as was K. When were we going to leave? Did I know how to get to the arena? A. is also as anxious of a kid as I was, worrying about things neither of us have any business worrying about. We got into the arena and headed for the merch table so A. could spend her report card money on some fingerless Panic gloves and a poster. Gone is her Harry Potter poster now off of her wall, hello Brendan Urie! When part of the arena was blocked off, forcing us to walk out of our way to find our seats, A. worried that our tickets were not valid.

A. could have cared less for the opening bands Plain White T’s and Jack’s Mannequin. I agreed with her on the latter. As for Plain White T’s, a number of their songs sounded exactly the same, so the high points were the variety in their set which came in the form of Hey There Delilah and Hate. When Panic hit the stage, A. began to scream and was basically fixated on the stage until the bitter end. The show had a circus/Moulin Rouge feel to it. The band members wore costumes that were a mixture of circus ringmaster and Oliver Twist and there were also contortionists/performers dotting the stage during every song. I found it all very distracting from the music, but A. ate it up. She is still talking about how awesome the show was. They played most of their album as well as covers of Killer Queen and Eleanor Rigby, which were both perfect, and the set even included a drumline performance. These boys are classic overachievers. It all left me a little cold, but happy that A. had had the best night of her eleven year old life.

After the show, with memories of meeting Brendan Urie back in July fresh in her mind, A. wanted to go back by the buses and re-live that experience. We headed back there and there were probably two hundred kids waiting. It was cold and when I looked back at D and K who were hanging back, all I could think about was, how can I talk her out of wanting to wait? Here’s when A. becomes more of an eleven year old with a bedtime than a hardcore fan. I say to her, A. there are too many kids out here. I doubt they will sign anything with this crowd honey, let’s go. She responds and says I don’t want to go; I don’t want to go to bed, knowing it’s past her bedtime. I explain to her that she doesn’t have to go straight to bed. Her face brightens up and she’s outta there. Brendan who? Everyone is happy! --J

St. Louis or Hell – Is there a difference?

Since Wednesday, I have been sick with the flu, respiratory distress, fever, aches, etc. Since Wednesday, between chills and the sweats I have been laying in bed in the fetal position with my eyes closed listening to the television as I waited for death to arrive. Thursday, as H reported to me that our first winter storm was really happening, all I could think of was who cares?! I’m dying! Yes, I can be a bit dramatic when I’m ill. I think it comes from the fact that I’m not sick like this very often, and also, when I was sick as a kid, even if I was coughing up a lung, my brother M would tell my mom and anyone who would listen that I was faking it. I feel the need to state my case.

Then at about 2:00am on Friday the power went out and was not restored until Monday night. What the fuck?! Again?! Friday I laid in bed under a down comforter until H got home from work and could coax me out of bed to go check into a hotel. As I laid there with my eyes closed in the silence Friday, many things ran through my mind. Was it sheer coincidence that Panic! at the Disco was in town during both St. Louis power outages? Did they have some preternatural force surrounding them giving them unbelievable talent and success at a young age and bringing death and destruction to all that stood in their path? What else could explain 18/19 year olds instantaneously getting a record contract and selling out venues left and right? Hmm, my nephew D was also in town close to both power outages. Has he been practicing the dark arts and failed to mention it on our drive to Springfield, IL on Tuesday? Will I get over the sticker shock of the Red Hot Chili Peppers/Gnarls Barkley $71 concert ticket I recently purchased? Also, what happened to The Soup Dragons??? There were other strange thoughts that I won’t admit to here. The Soup Dragons curiosity comes from the ubiquitous Chase Freedom commercial that samples the Jagger/Richards song I’m Free that they remade back in the early 90’s. If you haven’t seen the commercial yet, trust me, you will. Before the power went out, I think I heard it in the double digits.

Now it’s Wednesday and I’m in a different part of the country for work and on the mend. I could care less about the Soup Dragons so I’m making progress. Onward and upward. --J

Which is worse?

The scene of the crime was a suburban St. Louis middle school, Friday, September 15th, 2006. A., a sixth grader and novice to the ways of the school dance, attends her first. Streamers were hung in the gymnasium, and the substitute teacher/DJ begins to spin some tunes. What’s the next song on the playlist? “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” by Panic! at the Disco, and before Brendan Urie can sing his second “Goddamned”, Principal M. as A. explains it, “shuts it down”. As they drive her home from the dance, A’s parents curiously ask what other songs were played throughout the night. The big hit was “SexyBack” by Justin Timberlake. So are we to believe that "Goddamned” is worse than "I'll let you whip me if I misbehave"? I am glad not to have to be the judge. Play them all. --J

Panic! In Herre

What the hell, St. Louis? We had a storm Wednesday night and it’s the following Monday and power has just been restored. Is that crazy?

The power outage dovetailed into my nephew D’s first solo visit to St. Louis. This same week, one of his favorite bands, Panic! At the Disco (with The Hush Sound and the Dresden Dolls) were playing at our favorite local venue, The Pageant. When the tickets first went on sale, K and I had considered going but in the midst of our waffling, they sold out. D was able to buy a ticket outside of the venue the night of the show. It was 102 degrees outside that day and the kids were lined up down the street waiting for the doors to open. They seemed to be unaware of the heat. Looking at the crowd, we all noted a predominance of 13 to 16 year old girls. This must have been a first concert for many. D texted me when Panic! was hitting the stage. Seeing as all we had to do was sit in a sweltering house with no electricity, my daughter A was anxious to go down with me to pick up D when the show was over. I called K and asked her if she wanted to ride down with us and check out the after show scene and she willingly came along. I figured a band with one album wouldn’t play long.

When we were standing in the back of The Pageant with some folks ready to hand out promotional stuff when the concert let out, we were approached by a homeless man, who, no joke, looked like a dust-covered, human version of the muppet, Animal. You know, the one that played drums. He launched into a life is real rough right now speech as he attempted to straighten his severely crooked, but unexpectedly trendy glasses. I gave him a buck and then he launched into a “Are you from around here?” speech. How does a homeless person have the latest in eyewear? His frames were more up to date than mine.

When D came out, I asked him if he wanted to wait and maybe see if he could meet the band. He asked if the electricity was back on at the house. When I told him, no, the wait was on. The security guards were assholes, telling the fans that the band was going to eat and relax and then MAYBE come out for autographs. K and I got yelled by security at three different times for standing in the wrong place. One time, the security guard kept yelling at us and we were oblivious that we were the point of irritation. K snarled back, “We aren’t even fans!” How dare he try and tell us to get in line. They informed people waiting for autographs that they could take pictures OF the band but not WITH the band, they could not kiss or hug the band, but they could “high five” the band. High five? Is that the most retarded thing you’ve ever heard? Do people actually high five each other, besides maybe when playing beach volleyball? I wanted to yell back at the security guards, “Fuck you!” because I knew the teeny boppers waiting in line were too nervous waiting for their chance to meet their heartthrobs, but I didn’t think that was a good thing to do in front of my kid. The “high five” only policy dashed the dreams of the 13 year olds waiting behind D. I heard one of them tell her friends, “I want to kiss all of them, and I hope ALLLL of us get to kiss all of them”. Eew.

I noticed that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, tired of reporting on the blackout, reviewed the show. I was surprised to read that they covered Smashing Pumpkins and Radiohead. I bet most of their audience has no idea who those bands are.

D got his shirt signed and we got some pics. He enjoyed the show except for the two opening acts. It is hard to believe that the members of Panic! are 18 and 19 years old. D and I were discussing this. He thinks it would be so cool to be them. He said something like, “I’d give my left arm to be them!” Then he one-upped himself and said, “No, I’d give both my arms to be them!” I said, “D, no you wouldn’t. You couldn’t be them without arms”. He said, “Yeah, you’re right. I’d give my left toe”. Yeah, maybe that useless baby one on the end. --J

Panic! and A.

My Daughter, A, is in the right corner, oblivious to Brenden Urie, lead singer of Panic!, behind her.