Category: Alternative (Page 143 of 155)

By all rights, it shouldn’t be any good…

July 10, 2006 / Will Harris

…and, yet, there’s something that leads me to believe that the new album by the New York Dolls will kick ass.

Due for release on July 25th, the album – entitled One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This – features band stalwarts David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain…mostly because they’re pretty much the only two Dolls still among the living…and reportedly sounds like the album they didn’t release after 1974’s Too Much Too Soon. But, then, that’s what you’d expect the rumor mill to be saying. The reality, though, is that it’s a highly credible claim, given the power and enthusiasm the band produced at its various reunion shows over the past few years.

Count on the disc to be dedicated to, among others, the late Arthur “Killer” Kane, who died unexpectedly only briefly after the Dolls played the Meltdown Festival in the UK. (The documentary on Kane, New York Doll, is a must-see.)

Alternative, External Music, News, Rock

The Postal Service always rings twice

July 10, 2006 / Deb Medsker

Good news for fans of Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard’s side project, The Postal Service: a new album is in the works.

Gibbard and his collaborator, producer Jimmy Tamborello, have only recently begun working on songs for their second Postal Service album. As a result of Death Cab’s extensive touring schedule throughout 2006, Gibbard and Tamborello have altered their mode of correspondence this time around: While their debut album, “Give Up” was created entirely by sending tracks back and forth to one another via snail mail, their sophomore effort will rely upon email communication at least until Death Cab’s current tour is finished.

As busy as Gibbard is these days, we probably can’t expect the new Postal Service record until well into 2007. In the meantime, if you’re not familiar with their work, click here to sample key singles from the first album: “Such Great Heights,” “We Will Become Silhouettes,” and “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.”

Alternative, Artists, External Music, News

Summerfest: Day Five (Wilco, 7/5)

July 7, 2006 / John Paulsen

This was our last day at the fest, and we originally planned our return flight to California around a rumored Wilco show. Since I first heard A Ghost Is Born, I’ve become more and more enamored with the band, digging into their back catalog and whatnot, but I hadn’t had a chance to see them live. Luckily, the rumored show proved to be true and we were treated to a great night.

We got down to the Miller Lite Oasis at around 7 PM. Wilco was scheduled to go on at 9:30 preceded by a set by Andrew Bird at 8:00. Bird plays plucky, literate indie rock, using all sorts of instruments, including a violin, xylophone and a guitar. He plays a riff on one of the instruments then that riff is repeated over and over while he plays another instrument. Sometimes he lays three or four riffs over one another to create a very complex song, which is pretty impressive considering his band consists only of himself and a percussionist/organist Martin Dosh, who looks a lot like CAKE frontman John McCrea with his trucker hat and beard. While everyone was standing for their set, I heard a lot of chatter around me. Bird’s melodies make for great background music, but it simply doesn’t demand the listener’s attention.

Wilco came on stage around 9:35 and after opening with “Ashes of American Flags,” they went into a great three-song set, including “Handshake Drugs,” “The Late Greats” (my favorite Wilco song, and one of the best songs from 2004) and “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.”

Leading up to the show, I put my 16 favorite Wilco tracks on a CD for Amy to help her familiarize herself with the band. Of their 19-song set, 10 were from the CD, so much of the set list was amongst the band’s best work. (Amy only recognized seven songs, so apparently she didn’t finish all of her homework, but I’ll cut her some slack – after all, she is on summer break.)

The band has a tendency to go a little crazy with their intros and outros, but they kept it reined in for most of the show. Jeff Tweedy was a lot more personable than I expected, often engaging the audience with his witty remarks. After seeing the band’s documentary, “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” I was expecting zero crowd interaction from the insular singer. At one point he referred to his own his reclusiveness, saying, “You guys get out there and shake your ass. That inspires me to be a better frontman.”

I was extremely impressed by the show, which lasted almost two hours. From the catchiness of “Heavy Metal Drummer” to the Beatles-esque piano in “Hummingbird” to the fantastic instrumental portion of “Spiders (Kidsmoke),” it was just a great concert, top to bottom, and a great way to close out this year’s Summerfest.

Set list: Ashes of American Flags, Handshake Drugs, The Late Greats, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Impossible Germany (new song), Airline to Heaven, Forget the Flowers, At Least That’s What You Said, Jesus Etc., Walken, Theologians, I’m The Man Who Loves You, Heavy Metal Drummer, Kingpin, Hummingbird Misunderstood, War on War A Shot in the Arm, Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Recommended playlist: I Must Be High, Hummingbird, Forget the Flowers, Theologians, I’m The Man Who Loves You, Jesus Etc., Can’t Stand It, The Late Greats, Thirteen, Misunderstood, Handshake Drugs, Kamera, Heavy Metal Drummer, Wishful Thinking, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Alternative, Artists, Concerts, External Music, Rock

Summerfest: Day Three (Kings of Leon, 7/2)

July 3, 2006 / John Paulsen

Technically, it was the fourth day of Summerfest, but it was our third night at the fairgrounds. The main reason for the visit was to see Nashville’s Kings of Leon, a Southern rock-infused four-piece outfit, which consists of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill.

We caught the end of the Whigs’ set. The band hails from Athens, Georgia and their sound – tight hooks and good song structure – fits well opening for KOL. One of the coolest moments of the night came when lead singer’s guitar strap broke. He tried to reaffix the duct tape that was holding the strap on, but it wouldn’t stick, so he grabbed another guitar, plugged in, and finished the song. We only witnessed about twenty minutes of the set, but they did more than enough to get me to their MySpace page. They’re definitely a band to keep an eye on.

As I looked around the venue, it was amazing to see how many youngsters were not wearing ear protection. The mix was very, very loud and I’m certain there was a lot of hearing damage done that night. I didn’t wear earplugs when I went to concerts as a teenager either, but now I prefer it, mainly because I can hear the song better and I don’t have to deal with ringing ears the next day. If your ears are ringing, it means that you’ve damaged them. My message to the kids: Wear earplugs! And stop smoking while you’re at it!

Next up was Mr. North, a four-piece hard rock band out of Dublin, Ireland. Frontman Colin Smith has an impressive voice, but thick guitars with looooong notes just aren’t my thing.

Finally, the Kings of Leon took the stage. The venue had filled up at this point, and I realized, the smaller the band, the cooler the crowd. When a band is small, there is a sense of community amongst its fans, and once a group gets too popular, that feeling is lost. KOL are pretty big, but they aren’t huge. The general rule of thumb is: if frat guys are playing your music at their parties, it’s time to come out with a concept album.

Since we got there early, we were in the second row, standing on a set of bleachers. As soon as the KOL show started, a lot of people tried to get down front, but many turned around when they saw that there was nowhere to stand with a good vantage point. In general, the crowd was drunk, but reasonably courteous, so the people around us weren’t much of a distraction.

The Kings of Leon sounded great, though Caleb’s vocals were a little buried in the mix. They played a total of 19 songs in just over an hour, moving from song to song without much conversation in between. The band has been in the studio working on a new album, and they played several new songs during the set. Based on this snapshot, the new album should be solid.

The band played several great songs, including “Milk,” “Molly’s Chambers,” “Wasted Time” and “King of the Rodeo”, but the best moment of the night was the guitar opening of “The Bucket.” They closed the main set with a rousing rendition of “Trani” before playing two more new songs as an encore. I’ve seen the band play three times, and they’ve yet to play my favorite song (“Joe’s Head”) but it’s hard to complain after such a great show. I’d argue that Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak represent one of the best debut/sophomore efforts in rock history, and if the new songs are any indication, the Kings of Leon are still on the rise.

Alternative, Artists, Concerts, Rock

Summerfest: Day Two (Everclear, 6/30)

July 1, 2006 / John Paulsen

Last night, we had no real plans while down at the fest. Some friends came into town to go with us, so we were ready to play it by ear. We ended up seeing local cult hero Pat McCurdy perform a short set before the Lynyrd Skynyrd show at the Harley Davidson Stage. McCurdy combines comedy with his music, performing both original songs, such as “Sex and Beer” and “I Wish I Had a Monkey Paw,” as well as covers. He does a great bit where he plays several ‘80s or ‘90s songs and strings them together, creating a rapid-fire sing-a-long medley.

After that we headed to the U.S. Cellular Stage to catch a bit of Blue October. One of our friends (Joe) told me that they have a hit, “Hate Me,” but we weren’t around long enough to hear it. They have those thick guitars that are reminiscent of Linkin Park, Staind and Puddle of Mudd – I’m not a big fan. Joe tells me they sound much better on the CD, and from what I listened to on iTunes earlier in the day, I’d have to agree.

We headed over to see Everclear on the Mountain Dew Stage. Amy and I have always liked Everclear (stemming from the days of So Much For the Afterglow, one of the very best post-grunge albums of the mid-‘90s), but they have sounded progressively worse the past few times we’ve seen them. Unfortunately, Everclear is now just Art Alexakis with a backup band instead of the standard lineup of Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund.

The band actually sounded pretty good as they moved through hits like “Wonderful,” “I Will Buy You A New Life,” “Father of Mine” and “Santa Monica.” For an encore, Alexakis brought a ton of girls up on stage to dance and played “867-5309 (Jenny).” I’ve seen this encore before and it’s a little disturbing, but I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s the scene, maybe it’s the song – I don’t know.

After the show, we raced to the shuttle hoping to find a reasonable wait. The previous night, we queued 45 minutes to get on a bus, but this time, there was no line. As we hopped on the bus, we tried to describe to our friends how fortunate they were, but they just don’t know how good they had it.

Alternative, Artists, Concerts, Rock, Songs