Category: Rock (Page 52 of 241)

What do Beck and his friends do when they have 12 hours to kill?

March 25, 2010 /

Cover INXS albums, apparently.

Here is the formal explanation of Beck’s Record Club:

Record Club is an informal meeting of various musicians to record an album in a day. The album chosen to be reinterpreted is used as a framework. Nothing is rehearsed or arranged ahead of time. A track is put up here once a week. The songs are rough renditions, often first takes that document what happened over the course of a day as opposed to a polished rendering. There is no intention to ‘add to’ the original work or attempt to recreate the power of the original recording. Only to play music and document what happens.

Past coverees have included the Velvet Underground and Nico, Skip Pence and Leonard Cohen. This time around, it’s INXS’s Kick. Check out Beck with members of Liars, St. Vincent, and Os Mutantes covering “Guns in the Sky.” Check back here for more updates, which will be released in the same sequence as the album.

Record Club: INXS “Guns In The Sky” from Beck Hansen on Vimeo.

Alternative, Artists, Pop, Rock, Songs, Videos

SXSW 2010 Quick Hits, Day 3: Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles

March 25, 2010 /

I hightailed it over to The Belmont on West 6th Street for a day party featuring the Watson Twins. But the party was running behind, so I was fortunate enough to hear another band that caught my ear from the moment I heard them across the street.

Sarah Borges was on stage rocking out a melodic and bluesy sound to a good crowd at the Belmont’s outdoor stage, an excellent intimate venue for such a party. Based in Boston, Borges looks a bit like comedian Sarah Silverman, but she’s got a dynamite voice. Borges does humor too though, noting that she was glad to know her bassist because he “looks like he’s holding.” Borges and the band veered from harder rocking tunes to bluesier Americana, and did both very well. She exuded a dynamic presence throughout the set that made it hard to take your eyes off her. The band closed their set with a great cover of Texan Doug Sahm’s “Walking the Streets Tonight,” with Borges projecting a charisma and talent making her one to watch going forward.

Sarah Borges, SXSW 2010
Photo by Steve Hopson

Blues, Concerts, Rock, Rock Babes, South by Southwest

SXSW 2010 Quick Hits, Day 2: Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

March 25, 2010 /

I had one more to go over at Antone’s, where Vermont’s Grace Potter was scheduled to hit the stage at 12:20 AM. Things were running a little behind, but Potter and band hit the stage around 12:40 and threw down a triumphant set that went right up til 2:00. A variety of strong material from the band’s upcoming new album was a treat, featuring tunes like melodic rocker “Oasis” and a reggae-ish break-up song. New single “Tiny Light” was a bluesy yet uplifting rocker and featured a huge jam powered by new bassist Catherine Popper (formerly with Ryan Adams & the Cardinals). Popper’s dynamic skills provide an element that was missing from the Nocturnals before, taking the band’s sound to a higher level that enables them to throw down a big jam whenever the mood strikes. This is like the Cleveland Cavaliers acquiring extra muscle with Shaquille O’Neal, and whoever spearheaded Popper’s entry to the band should win an award for best musical trade of the year.

The gorgeous Potter dazzled on a wide variety of tunes, from blues to ballads to funk to full-on psychedelic jam rock. She also showed she’s not just a pretty frontwoman, jamming out on both keyboards and a Flying V guitar. A cover of Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” was a treat, especially following Krieger’s appearance with STP. “I Got the Medicine” closed the set with another great jam, and there’s no doubt that Potter’s music does indeed possess medicinal properties. The encore closed out with “Nothing but the Water,” an infectious high-energy tune that rocked the packed house one more time and featured another huge jam that blew everyone away. What a killer set.

grace potter
Photo by Adrien Broom

Blues, Concerts, Rock, South by Southwest

SXSW 2010 Quick Hits, Day 2: Stone Temple Pilots

March 25, 2010 /

Off to the Austin Music Hall in the warehouse district, where ’90s alternative heroes Stone Temple Pilots were scheduled for a full headlining set. The hall was packed and the band delivered the goods, mixing in strong material from their forthcoming new album with plenty of older classics. “Wicked Garden” sizzled, with vocalist Scott Weiland sounding great and the band firing on all cylinders. “Big Empty,” “Creep,” “Plush” and “Interstate Love Song” all rocked the house. New single “Between the Lines” rocked with the classic STP sound, mixing the hard rock with melodic lyrics, suggesting Weiland’s drug days are finally behind him. A Weiland relapse is the only thing that can stop this band, because the power trio behind Weiland was on fire. Dean DeLeo dazzled on guitar throughout the night, proving a master of grunge guitar, particularly with the tight harmonics. Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz still make a formidable rhythm section, demonstrating STP as a band ready for a second prime. The new “Huckleberry Crumble” was another winner, combining a groovy bass line with psychedelic guitar for something of a ’60s feel, yet with that modern rock twist. “Sex Type Thing” and “Dead and Bloated” shook the rafters to close the set, but the best was still to come.

Stone_Temple_Pilots_02

“We’d like to introduce someone that’s part of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in history,” said Weiland at the beginning of the encore as he introduced Robbie Krieger from the Doors. The band then tore into a smoking “Roadhouse Blues,” with Weiland nailing Mr. Mojo Risin’s vocals while the DeLeo brothers and Krieger got off on what may have been the best jam of SXSW 2010. The electrifying performance thrilled the assembled, with this clearly being one of those rare and special moments that you hope to be lucky enough to catch at SXSW. Krieger exited triumphantly to a standing ovation and the band then wrapped it up with one of their best tunes, “Tripping on Hole in a Paper Heart.”

Alternative, Artists, Concerts, Rock, South by Southwest

Allison Iraheta: Just Like You

March 25, 2010 /


RIYL: Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Fergie

If you follow “American Idol” at all, you know that Season 8 (2009) was all about Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, and maybe some of you know current country act Danny Gokey, who finished third. But usually the other finalists are less memorable or fade into oblivion over time. Not so with fourth place finisher Allison Iraheta, who turned 17 during Season 8 but never showed signs of being that young. This young woman is so full of spunk and charisma, and has rocker pipes that should keep her financially set for a long time. Iraheta’s debut on Simon Fuller’s 19 Recordings/Jive, Just Like You, is one of those formula fests as pop/rock albums go – in other words, guys like Mitch Allan and David Hodges (Evanescence) were brought in to write with Allison, who winds up sounding more like Pink than anyone else. And if you’re into Pink, there is nothing wrong with that at all. Of course, some of this stuff is borderline annoying, like the Fergie-ish first two tracks, “Friday I’ll Be Over You” and “Robot Love.” But it gets better from there, starting with the powerful anthem of a title track, and later on with two of the best songs that somehow got buried here, piano ballad “Trouble Is,” and “No One Else,” (ironically co-written by Pink and “Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi), which is reminiscent of Tina Turner’s “Simply the Best.” Come to think of it, Iraheta certainly has Turner elements in her voice, and that’s really saying something. No fading into oblivion here, just a really bright future. (19 Recordings/Jive 2009)

Allison Iraheta website

American Idol, CD QuickTakes, CD Reviews, Power Pop, Rock

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