April 2008 Archives
Wilbon: “Bloggers? What are their credentials?” Jesus fucking Christ. This is really simple, you dense, out-of-touch, holier than thou dinosaur: You DO NOT need credentials to a) be a fan, b) have an opinion on sports. Blogs combine those two elements to create something just as valid — if not, more so — than anything Wilbon’s done in, oh, I don’t know, my lifetime. The journalism degree hanging on your wall does not mean your thoughts on sport are more important or worthy or whatever.
**Update** The discussion portion of the show was even worse. That's the last time I ever watch Friday Night Lights.
Some of the best sports photos from last year. Great stuff.
I thought I would give everyone a break from my "All Elbow, all the time" coverage late last week before I wrote up the review from their show on Sunday night at the 6th & I Historic Synagogue. Simply put, the show was phenomenal.
Guy and Co. worked their way through a hand-picked set of tunes that played up the band's sonic strengths in a venue unlike any other. Although we did a get a few stompers ("Leaders of the Free World," "Grounds For Divorce"), the band mainly stuck top their mid-paced material like "Mirrorball" and "The Stops," letting the songs expand and contract as necessary. The audience, seated in pews, sat in wonder and gave the band no fewer than three standing ovations. "Newborn" earned one of them, and rightfully so, even if the end bit didn't melt anyone's face off like I had hoped. Elbow saved the best for the last song of the night, as they played a truly memorable version of "Scattered Black & Whites", one of my favorite Elbow songs and one of the songs I requested from Guy when I did my DCist interview earlier in the week. That's what I call BEST.
Last night The Future Ms. Leaf (formerly known as Ms. Smith) and I went to see Dolly Parton at the Patriot Center, which was ultimately a bit disappointing. Mostly because the show was a concert for people that don't go to concerts. Everyone sitting in our section was twice our age. Seriously. It was more like a dinner theater show without the meal. Dolly talked for what seemed like forever in between songs, so the pacing was a bit hit-or-miss.
Oh, and the show STARTED at 7:30. Started. It took us forever to find parking and to be honest I wasn't in that much of a hurry, because, who starts a show at seven freaking thirty? So apparently we missed "Jolene." (Argh!) But Dolly's voice was fantastic, and she did tell some good jokes. I just wished she had played more tunes.
Main Stage - Saturday, Aug. 9: Bloc Party, Cat Power, Chuck Berry and The Silver Beats, Citizen Cope, Duffy, Foo Fighters, Gogol Bordello, Jack Johnson, KT Tunstall, Lupe Fiasco, The Offspring, Paramore, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, The Swell Season and Wilco.
Dance Tent - Saturday, Aug. 9: DJ Dan & Donald Glaude, Erol Alkan, Ferry Corsten, Soul Wax, Steve Lawler and Underworld.
Main Stage - Sunday, Aug. 10: Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire, The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bob Dylan, The Go! Team, Iggy & The Stooges, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Nine Inch Nails, She & Him, Shudder to Think, Stone Temple Pilots and Taking Back Sunday.
Dance Tent - Sunday, Aug. 10: Armin van Buuren, Chromeo, Deadmau5, Moby (DJ Set), Pendulum and Richie Hawtin.
At a quick glance I'd say it's probably not as sexy a line-up as last year, but there are a lot of acts I'm very excited about seeing (and shooting): STP, Foos, Gogol Bordello, Sharon Jones, Go! Team, Iggy & The Stooges, Kanye, NIN. This is probably one of the most diverse festival lineups out there.
According to the press release I received, more acts will be added to the bill.
Tickets go on sale May 3rd.
Wait. I just noticed Shudder to Think is listed. Best!
Oh, and UNDERWORLD! I would go just to see them.
I just did an interview with Guy Garvey from Elbow and he let me put in some requests for the set list!
Fuck yes.
I went heavy on the early stuff and told him I expected them to play the last bit of "Newborn" so loud it would melt someone's face off.
Don't miss the show on Sunday! Look for the interview tomorrow on DCist.
We're only a few days away from a date I've had circled in my calendar for quite some time. On Sunday, Elbow will be performing at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue here in Washington, D.C., the only East Coast date the band is playing in the US outside of NYC. The Synagogue seems like the perfect place to see Elbow, given phenomenal acoustics and the band's dynamic sound.
If this isn't one of the 10 best shows I see this year, I'll be very disappointed.
To celebrate, I'm giving away a pair of tickets to the show. To enter, just send me an email with "Elbow Ticket Giveaway" in the subject line. I'll get back to the winner some time tomorrow.
All due respect to the guy that usually handles these things, but....
After their horrible second album, I had put The Music out of my mind completely, but then today I saw they are touring the UK soon and I remembered how much I loved "The Truth Is No Words" and especially "The People." Sadly they were entirely cringe worthy the one time I saw them - at the 9:30 with Kasabian. I felt like I was at a Journey show.
Can't say much about Tokyo Police Club, other than I also saw them once and I don't remember a single hook in their entire set. I'm not even sure if they played one. Oh yeah, they are at the Black Cat next Tuesday.
Helping cats is laudable, of course. But if you believe as I do that God's great plan includes affording our animal friends a certain degree of dignity, then you will please refrain from dressing your cat as a wizard. Thank you.
Oh wait. Shit.
Man, time flies when you're having fun and writing about it. On this day five years ago, yours truly fired up Blogger and tried out this newfangled fad called "blogging."
A lot has changed since then (I've moved six times, had three different cats, used three different blogging systems and had four different blog designs) and it's been quite a journey from writing stuff that I never thought anyone will read to running one of the longest running music blogs on the web*.
Late last week I found out I got a promotion at work, which means less time for blogging, but we'll deal with that as it comes. Five years ago I certainly didn't think I'd still be at this today, so...here's to the next five.
[mp3] Primal Scream | I'm Five Years Ahead of my Time
[mp3] Stereloab | Transona Five
[mp3] James - Five-O
[mp3] The Housemartins | Five Get Over Excited
* a sweeping, tongue-in-cheek generalization that I have no facts to back up. Notice I didn't say "one of the most popular."
Happy Record Store Day everyone. Go buy some vinyl or that long lost import single that you can't get on iTunes.
To commemorate the day, Washingtonian asked me to share some thoughts on the matter. Here they are.
And here are some tunes to celebrate:
[mp3] Supergrass | Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Smiths cover)
[mp3] Oasis | Street Fighting Man (Rolling Stones Cover)
Play them loudly!
I haven't talked basketball lately, but I could not be more excited about the NBA playoffs.
Wake up, folks -- this is one of the best teams of all time, and you might be surprised how easily they roll through the playoffs. I realize this is raining on the parade a bit since everybody is so jacked up about the competition in store this postseason, but I have to warn you there's a chance the Celtics are just going to flat-out destroy everybody.
Fuck yeah.
Via the good folk at Quarterlife Party, Jim James and My Morning Jacket have made the title track from their new album available for the masses to download for free. It is the 90's after all....
It was a beautiful night last at RFK. The stadium smelled like freshly cut grass and i got to give my new 40D a run for its money as United took on the Columbus Crew. D.C. gave up two first half goals and never really challenged in the second half, losing 2-1.
I forgot to tape the match and see if I made it onto ESPN2.
I was very anxious to try out the 40D in a sports setting, as that is mostly why I upgraded from my 30D. It was definitely worth it. Focus is much more accurate and the better frames per second really came in handy. I got many more keepers than usual, hence the 35 photos above. Enjoy them while I go back outside on the balcony and enjoy the beautiful weather today.
More United:
DCist recap by Matt.
Behind the Badge recap.
DCenters recap.
Soccer Insider recap.
So as I said before, I went in to the 9:30 Club last night with an open but still slightly pessimistic mind about seeing (and enjoying) Okkervil River and The New Pornographers. After a quick bite during our first ever visit to Nellie's Sports Bar (First impression: Thumbs up!) Ms. Smith and I got there fairly early and secured a spot dead center, about three people back.
Unlike when I saw them in 2005, Okkervil River really impressed me. I have a hard time listening to their recorded work (it's soo S L O W), but it's much easier to connect to the band and lead singer Will Sheff in a live setting. We he gets those far away eyes and his voice cracks on the high notes, you're there with him. I feel disconnected to him listening to the CD. They started out strong and faded in the middle of the set with some slowies before picking it up again at the end. They sounded great even though you could tell they weren't used to playing venues so big. When Sheff was pitching back and forth on the stage it looked like he kept expecting to bump into another band member, but he hadn't accounted for the extra few feet of space everyone had. My only complaint was they didn't play the two songs of theirs I really like, "No Key, No Plan" and "Last Love Song For Now," but that's nitpicking. So yeah, I finally "get" Okkervil River.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for The New Pornographers, even with Neko Case in tow. I tried, I really did, but all of their songs have the same tempo and feel really samey to me. This group should be right in my wheelhouse, but I just don't get it. I will say that the harmonies between A.C. Newman and Neko sounded brilliant, I just couldn't hear any hooks in the tunes. To make matters worse, there really is no "show" to speak of with this band. Neko just stood there and stared at the floor when she wasn't singing. Newman did little more stand behind the mic or walk back to the drum kit with his back turned to the crowd. And he had his eyes closed the entire time he was on stage. We left after 7 or 8 songs and headed down the street for a beer.
[mp3] Okkervil River | Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe
[mp3] Okkervil River | The President is Dead
[mp3] The New Pornographers | Myriad Harbour
[mp3] The New Pornographers | My Rights Versus Yours
Remember when I wrote this about The New Pornographers?
Ummmm...yeah.
In the interest of full disclosure, Ms. Smith bought us tickets to tonight's show so she could see Okkervil River. I've seen both Okkervil and TNP before and neither did much for me, so I hope they can do something to change my perceptions tonight.
Gallagher told BBC News that Oasis had finished their new album, but hadn't found a label to release it on, adding the first single is "4 minutes 30 seconds long".
Ms. Smith and I made our first trip to Nationals Stadium yesterday. We had hoped the weather would warm up a bit but no such luck. After shivering through seven slightly soggy innings, we decided to call it a day. Here are my impressions of the newest MLB ballpark.
The Good:
1) The food and beer options are much, much better than they were at RFK. I drank Pilsner Urquell and Blue Moon, but they had Peroni, Red Stripe and a bunch of other good beers as well.
2) Lots of room to wander around a see the game from different vantage points. You can basically walk all around the ground level and watch the game as you stand behind the seats. Pretty nice. The outfield has a plenty of space to walk around and there are some picnic tables along the first base side.
3) The standing room only spots in the outfield (where this photo was taken). A nice place to drink your beer and eat your food.
4) The Nat Express. I decided we would try the "park at RFK and take the bus over" route to the stadium and it couldn't have been easier. Took us under 20 minutes each way. As long as you're not in a hurry, this is the way to go.
5) Merch prices are apparently negotiable. Ms. Smith was freezing her ass off, so I bought her a hoodie for just $30, almost half of the $55 price tag. Thanks talkative merch-seller dude!
The Bad:
1) Lines for food were still pretty bad. Hopefully this will improve as the concessions people get used to everything.
2) There are still some bad sight lines in the outfield. You can't see what's happening below you if you sit up high on the first base side.
3) Ticket prices. Jeebus. If I am reading this right, there are no cheap seats in the outfield! Apparently the Nats don't believe in bleacher seats. Shame.
4) The team still sucks.
Overall, I liked the stadium, although it has too much concrete to have any sort of vibe or personality. It's kind of like a junior version of Comerica Park in Detroit. I'll definitely go back to see a few games this year, but I can't see me buying a ticket plan any time soon.
Check out some more photos on Flickr.
Why do American music blogs post European tour dates?
I mean, I know the answer, I just want to hear someone else say it.
For the record, I'm not picking on this blog in particular. Many blogs do it, this was just the latest example to pop into my RSS reader.
I don't understand why people have been and continue to be excited about U23D. I mean, Rattle and Hum sucked and the band was actually good back then.
Bono is such a pompous twat. Especially so in sports coats with shoulder pads.
Kobe jumps over a moving Aston Martin.
I link to this (obviously fake video) only because 1) it's a great piece of viral marketing and 2) it's one of the few times where it seems like Kobe has any sort of personality.
Usually I think he's just some incredible basketball playing robot that used to be a really, really bad rapper. Like, worse than Shaq. Coolfer, cue up that MP3!
Or peep the video:
![Bed[1].jpg](http://www.informationleafblower.com/blog/Bed%5B1%5D.jpg)
I have a pair of tickets to giveaway to the Jealous Girlfriends / Kaki King / Nada Surf show Saturday, April 12th at the 9:30 Club. To enter, just send me an email with "9:30 Club Ticket Giveaway" before 8:00 a.m. Friday morning, April 11th.
Kaki King is touring behind her recently released album Dreaming of Revenge. Here's a taste:
[mp3] Kaki King | Two O'Clock
Feel free to check out more of her stuff on the Kaki King Myspace.
Here is the video for "Pull Me Out Alive"
"Coaches, organizations and those handing out the honors love to talk about sacrificing personal statistics for the sake of success yet rarely reward it," he said. "Dennis Johnson epitomizes that. He did so many things that effected winning. Many were intangibles. Much of what he did gave his team's superstars the freedom to focus on what they did best."No, Dennis Johnson's stats aren't Hall of Fame. But his game was Hall of Fame. You actually have to understand the game to understand that."
[via CSTB]
Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced. That first photo and the story about it is incredible.
I came in fifth in the DCist Bracket Challenge. Kansas is the first national champ I've picked correctly since 2001. And not to say "I told you so" but they totally won in spite of Bill Self. Box and One? Seriously?
Everyone's is missing thew big question about the 20th Anniversary Sub Pop show. Is the original Gates/Plouf lineup of The Spinanes going to reunite? And if so, will someone please bootleg that shit?
That might finally get me to play Guitar Hero.
The best thing I've heard all year? Ra Ra Riot's WOXY Lounge Acts session.
Speaking of, lookee there. Congrats, boys!
New mp3 from The Little Ones (who are, incidentally, touring with Ra Ra Riot).
Oh, almost forgot. i bought a new toy.
Being a glutton for punishment a good rock show, I ventured down to the Black Cat on Friday night to take in a triple bill of The Dodos, The Big Sleep and Les Savy Fav. I actually wasn't in the mood to go out when the time came, but I went anyways, thinking that a good killer show might do me some good.
First up were current interweb darlings The Dodos. I am not ashamed to say I had all but convinced myself I would hate them before even getting to the show. All the lavish praise from SXSW will do that to me. But the band won me over by putting on a very intense set that had everyone in attendance pushing up against the stage so they could see the seated duo. The drummer only plays toms and uses the rim for his cymbal. He duct taped a tambourine to his shoe to act as a hi-hat. The guitarist totally shredded his acoustic guitar and used his array of pedals to create all sorts of loops that ran under the bands songs, which were made up of all sorts of weird time signatures. It was enthralling. Add me to the interweb cognoscenti that are singing this group's praises. They are the goods.
And as good as The Dodos were, The Big Sleep were better. I had listened to their latest CD, Sleep Forever, quite a bit in the last few weeks. It has this ...Trail of Dead meets Mogwai vibe that I really like. They used their own lighting system, powering up some spotlights you would hang in your garage to set a dark and sinister mood that was perfect for their propulsive, post-rock stylings. Their album has a few clunkers on it, but they wisely stuck to their guns during the live show, focusing on their more urgent, up-tempo, rocking numbers. Their set was for me, the best of the night. I can't wait to see them again.
[mp3] The Big Sleep | Bad Blood
[mp3] The Big Sleep | Pinkies (highly recommended)
I had never seen Les Savy Fav before Friday but their reputation preceded them. Front-man Tim Harrington might just be the funniest person in indie-rock. As for their live show, lets just say I was unprepared for the chaos that ensued. A good time indeed.
Full photo set after the jump.
Wow. Cue the goosebumps.
To a college-aged leafblower, the Archers of Loaf were the be all and end all of indie rock.
They still are today as far as I'm concerned.
[via Frank, keeper of all things Bachmann]
GO TO HELL CAROLINA! GO TO HELL!
It's been a long time since I've felt so good about a UNC loss. MDT put it best when he said "The first half was like watching a snuff film."
Fuck you UNC, fuck you Roy Williams, and fuck you Psycho T.
The best part is we'll probably get to watch Tyler Hansbrough do this again next year! How great would it be if UNC's savior never makes it to Championship Monday, much less wins the whole damn thing?
That's a rhetorical question. It would be pretty damn great. Obvs.
Also:
And:
"The movie's okay," declares the New York Times' Manohla Dargis. "But Ghostface is spellbinding."
A somewhat smallish but vocal crowd braved the rain and generally crappy conditions last night to see Robbers on High Street and D.C.'s own The City Veins put on a great show at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Sincere thanks to everyone that came out.
Last night was my first time seeing both bands and I walked away very impressed. The City Veins played a smattering of new tunes from their forthcoming EP, as well as a few old favorites, to great fanfare. Robbers were super tight, incredibly so, and their melodies and harmonies sound even better in the live arena than they do on disc. They turned in a great set and made it look easy. For the last song of the night, they played a fierce cover of New Edition's "Cool It Now" that brought down the house. But that's easy for me to say because I heart New Edition.
Can't wait to see both of these bands again real soon. I'll have more photos from this show up over the weekend.
Jens Lekmen was amazing last night but that's a post for another day. I hope everyone can make it down to the Rock n' Roll Hotel tonight for what promises to be a great gig with Robbers on High Street and The City Veins.
Door are at 8 p.m.
Could not be more excited for the Jens Lekmen show at the Black Cat tonight. Should be awesome. I only saw a portion of his last D.C. show but it left a big enough impression to make my Top 10 gigs of 2007 list. Seriously, when he played that Chairman of the Board sample at the end of "The Opposite of Hallelujah" it was one of those moments you hope to have at a concert. Everyone in the venue perked up and was like "Hell Yeah!" and readied themselves for a special night. And that was just the second song!
Hoping for more concert nirvana tonight.
Jens will be on NPR's Talk of the Nation at 3:40 for an interview while also playing some material from his excellent album Night Falls Over Kortdela.
[mp3] Jens Lekman | Friday Night At The Drive-In Bingo
[mp3] Jens Lekman | The Opposite of Hallelujah
In advance of Thursday's show at the Rock and Roll Hotel with openers The City Veins (doors at 8 p.m., buy tickets here!), I spoke with Robbers on High Street lead singer/guitarist/keyboardist Ben Trokan about the group's latest album, Grand Animals, and the band's penchant for, among other things, choosing cover songs.
I wanted to start off talking about Grand Animals, which came out last year. It seems more varid than your debut record. I felt like your first record had this hurried feeling to it, while this one is more laid back.
Well, that one was recorded a lot more live than this record. I don't know, with that one we just tried to make the best power pop record we could do with the songs we had. That was the plan. But with this one, we had talked about making this one have a mixed tape sort of feel.
Peter Katis produced your first record, but for this record you imported an Italian, Daniele Luppi, to man the boards.
Yeah, he did the cool string part on (Gnarls Barkley's) "Crazy," and all the bass arrangements.
How did you find him?
He had put out his own record, this really cool instrumental record he did with these 60 year old Roman guys that recorded all of the spaghetti westerns, they were like the house band. It's a pretty interesting record actually. Well, we heard that record and then through a mutual contact, his name came up. It's an unorthodox choice I guess, because he'd never recorded a rock band before. Peter's sort of like, you let him deal with the sonics and you tell him if you like it or not. He stays out of your way in terms of the songs. This was more of a producer in a traditional role.
So if this was his first time recording a rock band, was it a learning curve for him as well?
It was. There were some grueling moments during tracking. He's pretty thorough. And, of course, he's Italian! So he sticks to his fucking guns. And we have some really strong ideas as well, so...
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