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Concert review: The English Beat, Skully’s Music Diner, Columbus OH

March 28, 2011 /

When a lone member of a band continues to tour under the name that made him famous, it’s usually a sad sight. Infighting has led to acrimony, lawsuits and injunctions are filed, and worst of all, the last person standing, most likely the lead singer, is too proud to admit that maybe their songs and their singing or playing ability have just not held up well, and it’s time to pack it in.

Then there’s Dave Wakeling.

English_Beat_Dave_Wakeling_02

Wakeling is the leader of ska pop giants the English Beat, and rather than get into legal dust-ups with his former band mates, he and fellow singer Ranking Roger have worked out a deal where Wakeling tours as the Beat in the United States, while Roger, along with original Beat drummer Everett Morton, tours as the Beat in the band’s native England. Everybody makes money, everybody’s happy. How refreshing. Even better, Wakeling is not content to waltz into the sunset – the band he hired to round out the US version of the English beat are smoking hot, and the two-hour show they unleashed on the ecstatic audience at Skully’s Music Diner was a textbook lesson on how to do a so-called nostalgia show.

We use that word ‘nostalgia’ reluctantly, but it must be said. Wakeling loathes the recording studio – his direct quote to us, when we interviewed Wakeling in 2009, was “I think the process of recording 12 songs in a row, at the same time, I used to find it interminably boring. I hated it. You know, you just listen to your own songs for three months, good God” – and hasn’t released anything new under any name since 1995. Not surprisingly, the evening’s set list contained the lion’s share of the Beat’s debut album, I Just Can’t Stop It, with a few songs from Special Beat Service and Wakeling’s spinoff band General Public mixed in (“Never You Done That” was a most welcome surprise), and by sticking with their best-known songs, Wakeling and crew had a mostly 40+ crowd dancing nonstop for two straight hours, which is no small feat. Wakeling’s between-song banter is lightning quick and often hilarious, and his band, anchored by terrific drummer Rhythmm Epkins, were super-tight, with several songs stretched well past their album running times.

There are only eight dates left on the English Beat’s current US tour. If they’re playing in your town, or even within 50 miles of your town, go. The live show is sensational and the tickets are cheap, plus they still have the coolest t-shirts of any band alive.

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Concerts, Pop, Rock, Ska

Concert review: The Trashcan Sinatras, Legendary Scottish Band

March 24, 2011 /

Forgive the decision to use first person for this one, but the editorial ‘we’ just doesn’t apply here.

I am not one for acoustic shows. Whenever I see a guy with an acoustic guitar anymore, I want to pull a Bluto and smash it to bits. This from a guy who did an acoustic gig with his brother the weekend of his wedding. I blame Jack Johnson, really. That whole surfer/hippie scratcha scratcha scratcha thing just bores me. Long story short, when I saw that my beloved Trashcan Sinatras were coming to Dayton to play the Canal Street Tavern, I was in. When I saw it was an acoustic show, I was slightly less in.

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Boy, did they show me. Breaking the evening into two sets, and playing requests submitted in advance online by their fans, the Trashcans positively soared. The harmony vocals by the Douglas brothers (Jon on guitar, Stephen on drums) stood out much better in the acoustic setting, and the band shrewdly mixed in a few electric instruments to give the overall sound a little more thump. Smart move, that.

The set list was divine, showcasing each of the band’s five albums relatively equally. From what my friends who saw them in Cleveland said, though, they’re shaking up the set list drastically each night, so you might hear six of the songs they played here. The main focus, of course, was on In the Music, the band’s newest album, from which they played six of the album’s 10 tracks. Guitarist Paul Livingston sat in the back on a chair, staring at his (electric) guitar as if there wasn’t anyone else in the room (think Johnny Greenwood, without the floppy hair), while drummer Stephen Douglas had the coolest “acoustic” drum setup you’ve ever seen. The kick drum was digital, just a pedal with a pre-amp that gave extra impact to the various shakers, bongos, triangles and snare hits (brushes, of course) that he mixed in. Also, he had a tambourine on his left foot. Very cute.

The star of the show, though, was lead singer Frank Reader, whose voice sounds just as pure as it did when the band dropped their debut Cake in 1990. And speaking of Cake, what a nice surprise to hear the band break out not just “Obscurity Knocks” and “Only Tongue Can Tell,” the album’s two singles, but also “Drunken Chorus,” A B-side from the Cake years. The most pleasant surprise, however, was the inclusion of three songs from the band’s rare 1996 album A Happy Pocket (which goes for upwards of 50 bucks on Amazon), finishing the evening with a rousing version of “The Therapist.”

You have to hand it to bands like the Trashcans. The new album isn’t selling because no one buys records anymore (though I saw them sell a few copies at the show), and the tickets were cheap ($12, holler), so they’re probably not making much on those. I hope they’re shifting a lot of merchandise – they were selling flash drives containing the evening’s performance shortly after the show – because it would be a shame to see a band like this pack it in due to financial constraints, especially when they have proven time and again that they still have so much to offer. There are only a few dates left on the tour, so if you live in any of the following cities, go. You shannae regret it.

March 24 St. Louis, Mo Firebird (acoustic)
March 26 Minneapolis, Mn Cedar Cultural Center
March 27 Kansas City, Mo Knuckleheads (acoustic)
March 28 Denver, Co The Walnut Room (acoustic)
March 29 Salt Lake City, Ut The State Room (acoustic)
March 31 Los Angeles, Ca The Bootleg Theater (acoustic)

Alternative, Artists, Brit Pop, CD Reviews, Concerts, Pop

Top Five Songs You’ll Hear In The Sweet Sixteen

March 24, 2011 /

Surely, a team’s odds to win March Madness doesn’t have much to do with their fight song….or does it? A team can get very inspired by hearing their band play their school’s song, and along with singing from their fans, it could be a spark. Here is a look at the top five fight songs left in the NCAA Tournament.

North Carolina

“I’m A Tar Heel Born” is instantly recognizable and was born in the 1920s, and will usually be played after “Hark The Sound”, which is the Tar Heels’ alma mater (a school song or hymn). The final “rah rah rah!” in the song is now usually replaced with “Go to hell Duke!”.

Florida State

The “FSU Fight Song” was written by student Doug Alley (lyrics) and professor Thomas Wright (music) in 1950 at their homecoming, and although it may be second fiddle to the “War Chant”, this fight song still holds a place in the heart of FSU fans.

Kentucky

“On, On, U of K” was actually written for the football team if you listen to the words, but it is now associated with the hoops program since that is their bread and butter. And honestly, who cares about words when Ashley Judd is singing it?

Florida

“Orange And Blue” is the fight song of the Gators, and you’ll usually only hear the chorus played by the band. Even a Florida State fan can admit this is a solid fight song.

BYU

“The Cougar Song” was copyrighted by Clyde D. Sandgren in 1937 and replaced “The College Song” at BYU, who also had to change some lyrics due to pressure from women’s groups. It is also called “Rise and Shout”, which are both things we believe you are allowed to do under BYU’s Honor Code”.

Songs

Seen Your Video: The Cars, “Sad Song”

March 22, 2011 /

When Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton teamed up with Todd Rundgren, Prairie Prince, and Kasim Sulton in 2005 and set out on the road (and, briefly, into the studio) under the name The New Cars, some fans were amused and entertained with the results, but most cried, “Blasphemy!” It’s not as though Ric Ocasek had decried the project – if you can trust Wikipedia, he actually gave his blessing, saying, “I want Elliot and Greg to be happy” – but, really, if the line-up of the band doesn’t feature Ocasek or the late Benjamin Orr, be it old or new, it simply isn’t The Cars.

In July 2010, however, something very surprising happened: out of nowhere, the official Facebook page for The Cars – not The New Cars, mind you, but The Cars – posted a photo of Ocasek, Easton, Hawkes, and even the previously-retired David Robinson back in the studio together.

By October, they’d posted a snippet of a new song entitled “Blue Tip,” and November brought the news that the band was recording an entire album and was toying with the idea of touring behind it. A few other snippets turned up here and there, along with confirmation that the new album would be entitled Move Like This. Now, at last, we have a video for the first single from the album.

You’d be hard pressed to ask for a track that sounds more like the classic Cars sound than “Sad Song,” and the video definitely tries to go for an ’80s feel with its odd visuals (hands pressing through walls, circus people, a mad scientist, weird lighting all around), but while there’s no question that the guys are taking this reunion very seriously, there’s one major element that’s missing from this thing: Mr. Ocasek. He used to be the star of the band’s videos, but if he’s in this thing at all, then it must be only the quickest of glimpses, because it didn’t even register.

Still, it’s a hell of a song. Can’t wait to hear the whole album.

Artists, External Music, News, Seen Your Video, Songs, Videos

Sucker Punch: Bringing the soundtrack back

March 16, 2011 /

We were disheartened to learn that Warner Bros. would not be screening “Sucker Punch,” Zack Snyder’s “Alice in Wonderland with machine guns” fantasy adventure flick, in our market. Warners is usually very good about showing us their wares, and the last two times they passed us by, it was because they had something to hide (“Cop Out,” “The Rite”). Which of course has us concerned that “Sucker Punch” is going to be a dud, even though it has the best title since “Hot Tub Time Machine” (or “Hobo with a Shotgun”) and the trailers make it look, at the very least, like a total blast.

sucker punch

Further adding to our disappointment is the recent acquisition of the movie’s (spectacular) soundtrack, which sports cover versions of modern rock classics (as well as two psychedelic standards) remodeled as widescreen epics. Actually, calling these tracks cover versions is patently unfair, given the work that went into their arrangents. These are mini-operas, where even the most straightforward of songs will bend, and swoop, or change speeds, until they ultimately explode. Check the positively chilling version of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” that opens the album, or the heartbreaking, string-kissed version of the Smiths’ “Asleep.” The two ’60s nuggets lend themselves the best to the style, though, and they chose two doozies in “White Rabbit” (yes, it’s overdone, but it works wonderfully here) and the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows,” which is stretched out to a full seven-and-a-half-minute freakout. If there is a misstep, it’s the Queen mash-up. Yes, we get it, hip-hoppers love Queen beats, but the pitch shift they applied to “I Want It All” just sounds wrong.

Simply put, “Sucker Punch” is the ballsiest, most ambitious soundtrack since “Moulin Rouge.” It’s nice to see someone think of pop songs in a broader, grander sense than “Let’s come up with the most hipster-y compilation ever assembled.” We can’t wait to see how these songs work as the backdrop to Snyder’s visuals.

Click to buy Sucker Punch soundtrack from Amazon

Alternative, Artists, CD Reviews, Melodramatic, Pop, Rock, Widescreen

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