The Hold Steady drunk live review in Brooklyn

LIVE ROCK REVIEW: For being my first time seeing a show at Warsaw in Brooklyn and The Hold Steady it was pretty damn good time considering the low opinion of the venue on City Search. Their obscure location(definitely drive if you can), makes it a weird commute in and stay away from the food, although I didn't try, the people were friendly enough, not sure if that had to do with live nation or not but the sound was pretty damn good and the price was reasonable; and I have to say the polish bottled beer was pretty good. From the moment THS were ready to rock, and it was obvious the kids were there to have a blast and get-down or kicked out, the energy was a like a mist. I dug the music of the first opening band, the singer needs some work but she'll get there. The Constantines [mp3s from torture the garden], were groovy, musical and echo and the bunnymen-esque and better than some of their recorded material i've heard. They had this Talking Heads thing mixed with a bit of gang of four and were not afraid to get a little slow and dirgy, wah-wah out some guitar solos and keep some Who inspired rock fills in-between.

Once they were done, I scooted my self close enough to smell the Jameson from the stage and look into the eyes of the local stage hands, who were eagerly sizing up the audience and getting ready to pick-off the kids and throw them out. I think the singer was pretty much oblivious to this, enjoying himself a whole bunch, and guzzling budwesiers down faster than his twin city brethren from the punk days long gone he references. The past was a glossy glean as he stared into the future kids. A preacher-man, arms extended giving the kids the lessons from his dense storylines, crumpled brow, he said, and said, riff after riff. They certainly started out pretty sober and actually held it together as good as any first-half of a Guided by Voices set. The rock was steady, there was a bunch audience soccer hand-clapping participation, but I think this is what the kids are doing these days since there is no smoking anymore(clapping that is) as the drinking age is still applied, so they gotta do something with their energy and get down to the classic rock. The bouncing around was a refreshing thing to see actually, so if you can catch them while they are out this time around, it will be important for you to grab your bar stools you call friends and drag them away from their misery. These gentlemen are in 'tip-tap' shape and I can't see them being able to keep the drinking pace-up for too many years without some serious AA but I have the sense that the words and stories will be there for a long time to come; long after they've hung up their livers and kidneys and need for some enablement and you're still mumbling here comes a regular and I should have when... I was impressed, from my 10,000 foot Bukowski view, is the realness of this band. There is nothing faux about the hold steady, this is a real rock band once you get past the fact there is not much singing and more of the middle part like any decent ac/dc or Zep song.

Music podcasts that are ruling the earth

So on one visit to Digitalpodcast.com this past week I've found some really quality podcast shows and I am greatful to know where the bar is production wise:

• 
  a good day for airplay | feed - spining mostly power pop with some hot trax inbetween. +++


• Not your usual bollocks | feed - rock and electronic music genres complete with English accent to make you feel cutting edge, in with the new wave. +++++
• Radio Free Brooklyn | feed - "Their summary saysTwo guys from Brooklyn drink beer and play the best indie and unsigned music they can find" - which about sums it up. ++++


• Sundays Away | feed - 52 songs over the course of year. A brave songwriting endeavor so check it out! ++
• bands under the radar | feed The regular rules and filters apply here: unsigned indie artists, decent playlist gives it its edge. ++

Key: + = random needle drop quality control Rating systems are meaningless. Pay more attention to what were spinning and not what I'm saying - your good taste is the only thing that applies but thanks for stopping by.

Will the Men of Chavez ride the fader again?

As reported by pitchfork there are some live Chavez shows on the horizon. Nobody would confirm or deny new material eventhough I did get the word that there is actually some twiddling going on from a myspace pocket man insider. So hopefully some of the new noise will be spawned at the upcoming shows. Why else would you make a Men of Chavez website? Seems like an extreme amount of effort if new material is not in the works.

• 12-02 Baltimore, MD - Ottobar


• 12-09 Chicago, IL - TBA


• 12-16 Brooklyn, NY - Warsaw


• 12-30 San Francisco, CA - Slim's

Just playing the odds - dig a double hitter MP3 from Matador The Guard Attacks / Unreal Is Here [from the Better Days Will Haunt You reissue]

Also, don't forget to RSS or download the latest djspork podcast as featured here. Podcast Show #13 themed 'War all the time' slated for release on mischief night!

Trail of Dead So Divided from their Label?

...AYWKTBTTOD are musically a band under the terror of noise from Conrad Keely's head and I think the band are just getting better at interpreting music and taking it all to a different level much in the same way the Stones did in the 70's but this time for indie rock. Christ they've been keeping at for 10 years with no big hit but still manage to raise the proverbial bar to the point where indie snobs get noise bleeds and then break their neck after it was jammed in their ass (crude but fair- I know). I would be pretty bored if every record they made sounded what the early adopters discovered and then abandoned.

Trail of dead are yet another band in 'rebellion' and that is pretty much what they've have always been about (breaking live shit etc) so it is no surprise they leaked their album to stick it to the man. The conspirators may bring-up it up as something
more calculated by the band, label or management to create a buzz (ok i'm starting the rumor but see how easy brilliant marketing spin control can be?) But will they remember? Will the kids care 2 months from now? Granted, I was able to get most of record for free on various blogs, so please grab some free mp3 while you can:

hype.non-standard.net | Neiles life | I guess I'm floating

So Divided has secured it's spot in my top 11 for 2006 and if they could only remove some other undeserving crap from the airwaves we could say we've witnessed some justice.

Best music of 2006 in my top 11 list

Now that we're in Q4, it's time to look back and see what releases have secured their spots in my top 11 for 2006, so here it goes:

• radiodread by Easy Star All-stars- which if you haven't the justice that prevails to the bands music, these dub-masters remake the classic ok computer as if it were their own. it is awesome
• The outsider by DJ Shadow is quite the diverse mix from acoustic to blow your trunk open speaker bangin' rok the house. I have turn it down at stop lights
• Just like the fambly cat by Grandaddy, ok so totally bummed this is the last one but looking forward to his 'solo' material efforts.
• curses by rye coalition, ode to jersey metal you can't go wrong
• At War With The Mystics by the Flaming Lips. Disguised anti-war songs and the regular fun art-rock associated with this modern day uplifting acid induced band.

The contenders: m ward, ben kweller, hold steady(haven't heard the whole thing yet) tons of discovered bootlegs from r bally that might require their own category and perhaps a singles list, which the will include th re-mastered "you faded" by Chavez; as the number one single from their upcoming box set Better Days Will Haunt You dvd/cd, as there is no indie guitar rock band that even comes close to the tones, textures, drumming, and massive 10 chord attacks. I think I played it like 10 times in a row today having lost the original pentagram ring ep to my college days at RU, and to think this track is just the b-side! We'll see what time allows but if you do anything and don't know anything about Chavez. Do your guitar loving ass a favor and pick it up 10/10 and crank-it. It was cutting edge in the 90's and yet the band still holds the bar way up there as far I am concerned and about 20 other snobs I know. If you know of any band that it reminds you of; I am all ears? Thanks.

Cheap Trick in NJ Sept 16th

Now i'm not used to major shows happening right around the corner from my house, but it seems The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders will present Music Fest ’06 on Saturday, September 16 in Cranford featuring Cheap Trick!(8:30) Mike Peters of The Alarm Is going to play the second set(2pm), w/ bunch of more expected performers like a beatles cover band Fab Faux and LaBamba’s Big Band with guest vocalist Southside Johnny.

On ther turn table is radiodread which OK Computer done by the Easy Star All-Stars. Highly recommended.

Cover it with gas and light it on fire by ween

I am getting very excited for the PA ween show on Aug 31 with the Lips and sonic youth. To get me in the mood I've been digging into the archives over at ween.net's audio archive that has classic duo ween at The court tavern where they futz with cassettes inbetween songs, hassle their friends to bring them beers to stage while Kirk Miller their sound guy messes with the analog delay. I was always inspired by all the folks and rabid fans ween had that have been following them around since the days of fanzines and cassettes.

Some other ween related bands and cast of characters that have played a part in lives of ween are for starters: Amandla which is Claude Coleman;s band who also played in Skunk with Sweeney of Chavez fame. Chris Harford, is another awesome fellow with lots of great recordings with Mickey. Probably one of my favorite singer song writer types. Sim cain and Andrew Weiss(Rollins band/ Gone/ Greg Gin Band / Ween producer) have also done stints along with Coleman in Harford's Band of Changes. other goodness to seek out is False Front which is Guy’s or band Dickie Moist the singer in moistboyz.
Tiny lights and instant death a drums and bass duo were Dave Dreiwitz. Their classic 'The Enabler' as relived by ween with Dave singing is great.

Who the hell is Sebadoh?

I completely agree with Brandon Stosuy that "those stoner fucks created something essential" as he remembers the indie glory days with the re-release review of Sebadoh III over at pitchdork. Mr. White Bread (Brandon’s old self published zine) makes you want to relive the hey-day of indie-dome. He or Lou Barlow might not say it but they seem to speak of a certain time period that reminds me of the moment when you peeled apart his zine, Boiled Angel, Crank, or some other rag like Insight there in print was some band you’ve never heard of or some off the wall reference. You knew you found something real in some little dustbin of a shop, a nugget amongst the stax of wax and in the corner hidden like porn. In our case one of the congregrasion shops was Cheap Thrills(RIP), in New Brunswick for local rags, mail order or literally trading shit through the mail. Postage was somewhat cheaper and everything was new well sorta because we still remembered the 80's, or at least I did, and all the cool crap that it had to offer (sst, twin-tone, homestead ) and then we were presented with lo-fi. "Oh lordy" I was pretty dumbfounded to be honest at first, although I did quite thoroughly enjoy the Lync cassette Brandon passed over to me, icky mettle from Jim T and No Pocky for Kitty from my housemate rocker Ted. There was a charm to be had, music revealed itself much slower than it does today but like all cool things there was some hurtin' material out there, so like any good discerning shopper you will need to check it out for yourself. What makes music essential these days? Somebody please answer.
I know like all good music blog readers today, you relied on the guys who's only reason to start a fanzine was so they could get some free swag at first(my story) but told it like it was or it least they tried until somebody else convinced you otherwise. I remember having unhealthy amounts of Epitaph swag in my po box all the time that paid for a few six-packs over the course of a couple years. I usually dug all the Dischord stuff (in particular Fugazi on vinyl) and usually found a home for the empty records and a few other record peddlers. You had fun poking fun at the ones you didn't get but you didn't abuse your power for fear of literally getting into fight with some band because you slagged them.

Anyway, the true test of overly hyped bands is that if when you can spin it 6 month to 10 years later and if does not make you sick to your stomach that it is still fresh, it takes you on a time warp but for a moment. The Meadowlands get me a little queasy because I did overdose on it a little for awhile when it came out and it has past the test. Looking forward to the new one fellas!

The best bastard pop mp3 music blogs

Personally I look for variety from mp3 bloggers. They are my modern day djs and heroes. Their tastemaker agenda is usually pretty clear: They breath music on their sites through one another and like rapid fire they constantly feed off each other to produce some great content. For instance I read an awesome review of the Scratch documentary on I am Fuel, you are Friends and got 'Rock it' by Herbie Hancock, and The Ultimate Lessons 'tracks 1,2 & 3' by Double Dee & Steinski and then down the bottom I was reminded of The Whitey Album by Ciccone Youth(1988) which was Sonic Youth's inside joke project that was released after Day Dream Nation, which i just saw on the counter of Tunes in Hoboken just last week. She give props toYou Ain't no Picasso, for posting and then I spied a bunch of songs Beck has covered including 'Pink Moon' by Nick Drake and 'Clementine' by Elliot smith. He's seems to be out having fun at Lollapalooza in Chicago enjoying things the way us old music scenesters used to.

You get the idea. The rules are simple and road is deep and wide. If you see something you want removed they will oblige with obligatory purchase link; simple freakin enough rule to follow i would say. The new is always mixing with old and nowhere is this more evident than on this mash-up of the The Clash's 'magnificent seven' and basement jaxx by 2 Many djs(soulwax) posted by Analog Giant.

What is strange is the language of music is compiled of jargon and the 'next thing' as the kids just want to be different for sure PDB. We know we were once these kids. I was so out of the loop a little and I had no idea what a mash-up was until a friend at work gave me whole bunch of flaming lips mash-ups or 'Bastard pop'. Once the alignment was straightened out, I might not have been paying close attention, almost like drunk driving; if it weren't for the fact these blogs keep me somewhat in tune and on course fill the addiction. I of course being able to smell re-hash in 2-3 chords or less using my sonic ears I can dissect boring rock from somewhat innovative music as like my spanglish. I am an immediate fan of any new band that can pass the spork test, give a decent nod to old ideas and take "it" to that next level even if it is 1.5 degrees removed. Does real music need decades or centuries to take a large leap or will it matter soon? Someone smart said years ago that pop music would turn into coverland and so it is bastard pop is born.

Free Majestic Twelve mp3 swag

Ok, If you like that 'I'm on the Mexican radio' song by Wall of VooDoo mixed with your beer and politics then my dear friends you will dig North Carolina's Majestic Twelve's new album Schizophrenology
which they are distributing for freakin' free on my space and their site. The single is "Condoleezza Check My Posse" which is pretty funny in a puppet sort of way. My particular favorite standard indie track is called "Cry". All tunes have politics and a nod to the earth that makes the music personable. This Kenyata guy is somebody you could hang out with late at night and just kick-it. Oh, wait I've done that over at wefest a hundred times where DIY lives and your mother wonders what a we-tard is because you seem to have an average iq, 'you went to college, and you have a decent job but you won't blink at driving 500 miles to hang with a bunch of music loving freaks. Anyway, check out the tunes.

Addicted to Mp3 blogs

So, always wanting to pay my way but interested in what fine gems people like Heather from Fuel Friends and the Aquarium Drunkard are serving up. I now find myself digging into the realm of live bootlegs and well recorded shows. There are a few must haves over at rbally.net: GBV at the 40 Watt, a Jeff Tweedy 48 song set, Jesus and Mary Chain Live in Vienna and over at Transmission3000.com: two sets by the Afghan Whigs, Fugazi, and Hot Snakes to name a few. The T3 server is a little slower than Bally's imac server but you will be happy. These guys have almost any sort of live band from The Smiths to The Cure in the alternative genre that is worth having. It's pretty incredible that people took such care to document some of these bands. So now you can just sit back and putt stuff in shuffle mode and the trip is on. No need to worry about never seen such and such band.

This has not replaced purchasing music of course, for instance, I picked up the new Thom Yorke at Tunes in Hoboken the other day and it is fantastic. It's pretty much in the vain of the Radiohead Kid A material. "Black Swan" us a stand out track because Yorke says fuck a lot in the refrains. This is mp3 blog thing is on some level satisfying my completist and budget needs when it is too damn hot to do any yard work, waste cash on crap i might not have checked out to othewise. So the Rock will always be on.

Once last thing as a fyi in the freebee music circuit. The recent issue of Mojo comes with a really good James Brown summer compilation cd featuring a bunch of Mr. Brown's influences, some classic tunes and some of the funk he contributed too. If can find any copy's I say go for it.

...one last tidbit just in from the Pitchdorks for the complete indie rock fools, there is a Chavez re-issue in the horizon which will include one unreleased track(which is sad) and a 'documentary' of the band when they toured with Guided by Voices called Boys Making Music ...Music Making Men. They never got the large respect they deserved outside of nyc but i see it in my future to be stuck inside riding the fader once again. No noise yet on the matador site so must be some insider stuff. The Guitarist Clay Tarver went onto make his millions producing the Got Milk adverts and bassplayer Scott did some acting. Really was a shame they never did a third record. Their recent reunion shows these past few years were awesome.

Kung fu Prog Champions by Hiromi

If you like Jaco and some of the out there King Crimson you are going to dig the in-f-ing-credible keyboard playing of Hiromi from this live perfomance to what looks like a very polite Japanese audience. Granted there is some prog i detest. Like how many notes can i fit in beat type of stuff. This is musical, there is a bass solo, and she switches to piano mid-way, which is a cool move. Reminds me a in strange way of Drums & Tuba, without the sampling and funk and copious notes, because those fretless basses sound like a dobro.

Vegetable Man Syd Barrett dead @ 60

One of my favorite singles was a Jesus and Mary Chain 7" that had a Syd Barrett Cover on the b-side called "Vegetable Man". While the cause of death has not been disclosed, CMJ reports he was a type 2 diabetic. Famouse for downing unhuman amounts of acid and then quiting Pink Floyd when they broke and moved into his mum's house in Cambridge, there were tons of bands like the Flaming Lips, Johnny Mar and Bowie to name a few who credited him as an influence to their music and existance. Nevermind the Beatles, he was an innovators innovator for Rock Music as we know it. Music of the momemt has some mp3s and I guess I am Floating.