July 2008 Archives
Page of 3Via the official Oasis site, I give you the "preview" for the new track "The Shock The Lightning." Skip to about 2:27 to hear it.
The most linked-to thing on every DC blog in the next few days will undoubtedly be Jason's annual smackdown of The Hill's Most Beautiful People On Capitol Hill list. And with good reason, because it is fucking hilarious.
Enjoy.
CatPita coined the nifty little phrase of "concert nirvana" (which I have borrowed when needed) for those shows that hit you right in the gut and make you think that you couldn't imagine being anywhere else on the planet at that very moment. I reached that moment during just the second song of Spiritualized's incredibly brilliant set at the 9:30 Club on Friday.
After the chaotic drone of "You Lie You Cheat" abruptly segued into "Shine A Light" (my second favorite Spiritualized song - behind everyone's favorite) I lost myself for a moment as the two back-up singers gave their all to the song's gospel tinged background vocals. It was a moment, one you don't normally get 10 minutes into a gig. Off the top of my head, I can only think of one other time it has happened any earlier in a set, in 2000 when the Super Furry Animals opened with "Smokin'" at the Bowery Ballroom, the only time I've ever seen them open a set with that song, which they rarely play. But I digress...
I tend to go hot and cold on Spiritualized. I love Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (who doesn't) but their live CD and more recent work doesn't do much for me. I think Friday's show was the first time I've truly seen the band properly do their thing and while it wasn't necessarily a sight to behold (as you'd probably imagine, the band is quite stationary. J Spaceman stands on one side of the stage facing his band, never the audience) it was pure sonic bliss. I also realized you have to listen to the band at neighbor-annoying volume to truly appreciate what they are capable of. Which brings me to my next point. The sound for the show was quite possibly the best I have ever heard at the 9:30. Perfect in every way. You could feel the bass in your chest, but also hear each and every whisper from the vocals.
The best part of all of this is you don't have to take my word for it, you can listen to the show on NPR. You can also see all of my photos on Prefixmag.com.
It's a shame NPR didn't record The Dirtbomb's opening set. They were straight fire. Both The Future Ms. Leaf and I were dragging when we got to the club, so their uptempo garage rock stylings were just what the doctor ordered to shake us out of our doldrums. I was texting myself song titles to go buy from iTunes when I got home. The band doesn't have many tricks up their sleeve, but they do what they do very well.
Post Rock is all over this. Foo Fighters v. Underworld? That's a very easy decision.
I had an incredible weekend. Spiritualized blew my mind on Friday and then I met Ghostface on Sunday at Rock The Bells.
Beat that.
Full stories and photos to follow. V Fest schedule after the jump.
Here are a few other photos from last weekend's Whartscape festivities. You can, of course, see more over at Pitchfork.
No rest for the weary this weekend. I'm (very excited about) shooting Spiritualized at the 9:30 Club tonight (you can listen on NPR), ditto for the Rock The Bells Tour at Merriweather on Sunday. Check out this lineup! A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def, The Pharcyde, De La Soul, Rakim, Method Man & Redman, Raekwon & Ghostface, Immortal Technique, Dead Prez, Murs, Spankrock, Wale, Santogold, Jay Electronica, B.O.B., Kidz in the Hall, Amanda Blank.
Jeezy Creezy!
Whartscape photos:
Parts & Labor
Killer Whales
Jana Hunter
Grand Buffet
Future Islands
And, of course, Dan Deacon
...Dustin Diamond, whose high-pitched nerdy exploits as Samuel "Screech" Powers figured prominently in nearly thirteen (!) years of Saved by the Bell incarnations (plus that infamous sex tape), has jumped on the tell-all bandwagon. Behind the Bell, which Gotham Books preempted from Objective Entertainment's Jarred Weisfeld, promises to detail "sexual escapades among cast members, drug use, and hardcore partying," and for those of us who spent untold hours in our formative years memorizing "I'm So Excited" and the entire back catalog of Zack Attack, this is the greatest book deal in the history of the universe.
James have announced a US tour!
James Tour Dates:
September
15 Boston, MA - Paradise Lounge
16 Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
18 Washington, DC - 9.30 Club
19 New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall
20 Asbury Park, NJ - Stone Pony
22 Montreal, QB - Club Soda
23 Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre
25 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre
26 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom
27 Minneapolis, MN - Fine Line
29 Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre
October
1 San Francisco, CA - The Regency
2 Los Angeles, CA - The El Rey Theatre
3 San Diego, CA - House of Blues
5 Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
3 days, 28 bands and about 1800 photos later, the first festival of the summer is in the books. I can't show you much at this point (that will be revealed later today) but I will say that Whartscape 2008 was both bigger and better than last year. The focus of the festival this year was on the outdoor shows, which were held in an alley between two buildings last year. This year they held them in a parking lot on W North Ave and had three separate stages going on throughout the day. It was a run very smoothly (they even added a food vendor this year), although the sound was a bit shaky on Saturday due to the power generators continually giving out. There were only so many mic stands to go around, so when one set was over, someone would run them over to the next stage and then the next band could begin.
It will be interesting to see who breaks out of this pack of bands. Last year's Whartscape featured Yeasayer (very first band on the bill, I am pretty sure I missed them but have to go back and check), High Places (who I loved), Spank Rock, Beach House and, of course, Dan Deacon.
Bands I enjoyed this year: Killer Whales (had this funky, Primus thing going on), DD/MM/YYYY (very percussion heavy), Future Islands (my boys from the North Cackalack, currently B'more residents), The Death Set (lots of fun although they play to an iPod) and my favorite band of the entire weekend, Mae Shi. They were full of the manic energy that the Wham City kids get off so furiously on, but unlike most of the other bands there, they had the hooks and show to go along with it.
And hey, lookee there. They are at the Velvet Lounge tonight. I am seriously thinking about going.
Also, on the way up to Baltimore on Friday, as I was going over the line-up in my head, figuring out who I was going to shoot, etc., I realized there weren't any D.C. bands on the bill. I found out why when I got to the 2640 Space and went to the ticket booth/table. I handed them my ID and the girl at the desk said, "Arlington, huh?" and then went out of her way to roll her eyes at me. I guess that answers my question.
**UPDATE** My photos of Whartscape 2008 are up on Pitchfork now.
...and say a prayer for record producer Jerry Finn. He recently suffered a brain hemorrhage and is recovering in intensive care out in LA. He is only 38 and has many more records to produce before his time on Earth is done. I used to work at the company that managed Jerry and have nothing but good things to say about the guy. Hang in there Jerry.
Wow. Have you seen the trailer for The Watchmen?
W
O
W
.
Johnny Mac is in town with his World Team tennis crew. I will be there with camera in hand. It will be the first time I've ever gotten to see him play in person and the first time I've come face to face with him since this.
Grab it here if you don't have it. Totally loving that piano bit. Makes me wonder how those aborted session with Crystal Method behind the producers desk might have sounded.
BTW, have you seen the cover art for Dig Out Your Soul?
Moving on to "Love Is Noise" now. I really, really want to love this track but it reminds me of solo Ashcroft (i.e. mostly crap) rather than proper Captain Rock led Verve greatness. Maybe I just have to face the fact that the guy that wrote "On Your Own" is gone and is
never.
coming.
back.
Guess who is playing Washington, D.C. on the night of my wedding?
Maybe we'll hit up the show after the reception? (Unlikely)
Related: The Future Mrs. Leaf, in all her worldly wisdom, has given me even more reason to love her. She insisted we hang around on Sunday and leave for the first part of our honeymoon early Monday. As a result, we can go see Ra Ra Riot at the Black Cat Sunday night. Bonus!
I am such a dork.
Carry on.
Supposedly a Chemical Brothers remix of a new Oasis song hit the web today. I found it here. It's a big, dumb dance mix of what is hopefully a kick-ass rock tune. Me likey. Can't wait to hear the original.
A setting sun that blows my mind
Is falling down on all that I've ever known
Time to kiss the world goodbye
Falling down on all that I've ever known
Is all that I've ever known
Is all that I've ever known
Is all that I've ever known
Cry and scream... it makes no sound
Calling out to all that I've ever known
Here am I, lost and found
Calling out to all
A setting sun
That blows my mind
Time to kiss the world goodbye
We live a dying dream
If you know what I mean
A setting sun that blows my mind
Now we'll kiss the world goodbye
Interesting that Noel broke out a "Setting Sun" mention here too.
Everyone else seems to be leaving town this weekend, but not me. Tonight is the Julie Ocean / Half Japanese show at the Rock n Roll Hotel. I've been meaning to catch Julie Ocean for a while now but my schedule and theirs never seemed to match up. No longer!
I've been streaming their songs over on their MySpace all week and they are brilliant. Here is my current favorite song ever:
Julie Ocean - Here Comes Danny
So excited to hear this tonight. You can grab the Julie Ocean album, Long Gone and Nearly There, on eMusic or Amazon. Do it now. But don't take my word for it.
Saturday night is the Superliga match between D.C. United and CD Guadalajara. Should be fun!
Yesterday a co-worker of mine was shocked, shocked I tell you, that I have 151 feeds in my Bloglines RSS reader. What can I say, I like to read the interweb. One blog I am really enjoying is the WaPo's Post Rock Blog, written by David Malitz and J. Freedom du Lac. Good blogs over at The Post aren't exactly anything new (Wizards Insider and Soccer Insider are daily reads of mine) but it's nice to see the Post's music staff throw their hat in the ring as well. The reason I bring this up is they are in the process of putting together a summer mix tape, and today my favorite "summer" song came on my iPod and I had to give my two cents.
The songs, "23 Minutes in Brussels" by Luna, isn't a summer song by name, mostly by vibe and the memories I associate with the song. It just makes me want to chill out, have fun and drink a cold beverage in hot weather. It's also a staple of any road trip mix tape/playlist I make, and has been since 1995. Sonically, it's total perfection, from the tom-tom intro to the opening riff to the crack of the first snare hit 27 seconds in. After that, we are off to the races, only at Luna's leisurely pace. Having Tom Verlaine laying down some serious guitar leads certainly doesn't hurt either.
I absolutely adore this song. I'm guessing I've listened to it a few hundred times, and that's being a bit conservative. It's very easy on the ears and imminently repeatable. The guitars leap out of the speakers, the drums make your head nod and Dean's singing keeps everything chugging along. After the savage beating he's received in the press over the three R.E.M. albums he worked on, let's give a hat tip to producer Pat McCarthy. For my money, Penthouse is his finest work.
[mp3] Luna | 23 Minutes in Brussels
[mp3] Luna | 23 Minutes in Brussels (live at the Hultsfed Festival 6.12.99)
I also bring this up because I read Black Postcards on the plane ride back from San Fransisco and enjoyed it immensely. Definitely worth the purchase if you are on the fence.
If you're not familiar with Luna's recorded output, Captain's Dead has a good primer, but you should cop some of those albums, son.
Watch the live version of the song from the Tell Me Do You Miss Me DVD after the jump.
Being a music blogger of some repute (ill or otherwise), I am used to getting bombarded with emails from people hawking their band/client's latest release, tour, video and/or what-have-you. But it's been out of control lately. A while back I had plans to do a big report on all the promotional messages I received over the course of a week, but then I got so many of them I never had time to put it all together. I think, generally, I get around 30 promotional emails a day, on average.
But yesterday was out of control. As of 11:02 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8th, I had received 67 various promotional emails during the course of the day. Here's a not-so-quick breakdown:
61 of those emails were music related. A majority of them were deleted upon receipt.
17 were promoting new releases (Tuesday is new release day).
16 of the emails were from indie labels.
15 were from promotional marketing companies. Artists and labels hire these companies to get more people working on getting the word out on a particular record.
14 mentioned specific gigs or upcoming tours.
12 of the emails were from PR agencies.
10 had subject lines that referred to access to a MP3 file.
7 were promoting a new video or some sort of live video footage.
7 of the emails were from people companies I had ever heard of before and therefore have no idea what they actually are (Label, PR, Promo, etc.)
6 were from retail companies (i.e. no one promoting any music - JetBlue, Amazon, Crate & Barrel, etc.)
6 invited me to gigs in NYC, none of which I would ever be able to attend. I was actually surprised at this number. It was much lower than usual. Must be a slow week up there.
5 number of times Mr. Pink meowed at me, seemingly annoyed, while I put this list together.
3 were touting radio performances. The stations mentioned - KEXP, WNYC and NPR.
3 were weekly newsletters - none of which I signed up for.
3 of the emails were from the artist themselves.
2 the number of artists I got multiple emails about. That would be Albert Hammond, Jr. and Chromeo with two each.
2 of the emails were from major labels.
1 email was regarding Kanye West.
Whew.
But here's the point of this. Guess how many of these emails are currently not sitting in the trash in my Gmail account right now.
One.
So congratulations Mute Records! Your email promising me "New music from M83, Goldfrapp and Moby" made it to the top of the promotional heap for Tuesday, July 8th, 2008. I love me some Goldfrapp.
See and hear some of the the material they are promoting in the email after the jump.
Getty Images and Flickr are working together to establish the first commercial licensing opportunity for photo-enthusiasts in the Flickr community. The Flickr collection will feature photography selected by Getty Images editors based on their expertise in licensing digital content and insights into customers' needs. In the next several months, Getty Images will begin inviting selected Flickr members who will have the choice to participate in the collection.
So not everyone gets to play. It'll be interesting to see who exactly gets invited and how this all works through Flickr given their recently noted API problems.
When you're shooting bands at a big festival, sometimes it is hard to convey the day's atmosphere and energy, but Sigurd Fandango's Roskilde photos at Pitchfork do that quite nicely. There are some brilliant photos included here, go take a look.
Made my first trip out to For Reno last night to see The City Veins for the first time since I invited them to open up for Robbers on High Street. Rain had threatened us all day but it actually turned out to be a lovely night and Aaron, Charles and Spencer played a great set, throwing in a Nirvana cover to boot.
Early on a few people in our group pointed out two very recognizable faces belonging to Ian Mackaye and the one and only Theodore Francis Leo hanging out on the fringes of the crowd.
Even though I said otherwise at the time, I ended up going to say hi to Ted before we left. I figured the chance might not come around again for a while. He's just as gracious and polite as you would expect. We chatted briefly about the Pearl Jam tour, he said it was a lot of fun and he and the band were treated very well. I also asked him about the new songs he played during those shows and he said some tracking had been done on a few songs but there was still a bunch of work to be done as far as his next record. I put in a vote for my favorite record producer and then quickly said my goodbyes. He was chatting with Ian (who was there with baby in tow) so I didn't want to take up too much of his time.
All in all a pretty good night!
[mp3] The City Veins | Boy Makes Good
The City Veins are at the Black Cat next Tuesday with City Riots and The Dig.
I've always wondered why my photos are able to be RSS'ed out to other sites for them to display even though my settings clearly say ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Going forward, nothing is going up on Flickr that isn't watermarked.
[via]
I need four day weekends more often. Yes, unlike most people, I got Thursday off too. I spent most of my weekend playing and watching tennis, with some dinner and drinks with friends thrown in for good measure.
Without a doubt, my favorite July 4th tradition is watching Wimbledon. Oh how I wish I still had my VCR tape of the 1989 semi-final between John McEnroe and Stefan Edberg. A total classic. Thank the lord for Youtube. The 2000 semi between Agassi and Pat Rafter was also an epic.
How about this year's Men's final, eh? Johnny Mac says it was the best evah(here are ESPN's top five). He would know. He was so excited he gave Roger Federer a hug after the match even though he lost.
I was totally pumped to watch the final on Sunday, but I didn't expect it to last until 4 p.m. The Future Mrs. Leaf and I went to go play tennis ourselves during the third and fourth sets and got home in time to watch the fifth. Bonus.
I found an indoor tennis club out in Fairfax and joined so now I can play whenever I want. I rented a ball machine on Saturday and spent an hour or so taking my hacks, which I hadn't done since I was in high school. Good times. I'm demoing racquets right now and am going to buy one in the next week or so. Time to retire my old Dunlop Max 200G. I bought it used somewhere in Vermont about eight years ago for $20. It has served me well, but it's time for an upgrade.
We did try and see some fireworks on the Fourth, but the Waterfront in Old Town is not the spot to go. Too far away and too many trees. So we left early and headed to the bar. We also saw Wall-E and had nothing but good things to say about it.
Got a few shows and sporting events coming up this week. The City Veins are at Fort Reno tonight (weather permitting), Julie Ocean at the RnR Hotel on Friday and SuperLiga action on Saturday as D.C. United hosts Mexico's CD Guadalajara.
Apropos of absolutely nothing, here are some My Morning Jacket covers from their recent Bonnarroo set.
[mp3] My Morning Jacket | Hot Fun In The Summertime
[mp3] My Morning jacket | Get Down On It
Go get the entire set over at You Ain't No Picasso.
OMG. Nike remade the original Nike Air Trainer 1 cross trainer's that Johnny Mac used to rock on the tennis court. These shoes were my favorite pair of Nike's ever. I was crushed when I lent my pair to Neil Joyce in high school and never got them back.
The new version is geared more to the tennis court and feature McEnroe's likeness on the tongue.
Must. Buy.
[via sneakernews]
No, I haven't been sleeping on the goings-on of my favorite bands, I've just been hella busy at work. But there's been a ton of new activity lately! Let's recap:
The Verve (better than Keane, you know) release a "new" song that is actually a hold-over from 1994. Still, new/old Verve is better than no Verve (or solo Richard Ashcroft). Depending on who you listen to, their new album will either be called Four or Forth (Fourth, maybe?)and it will be out in mid-August. Can we get a US tour por favor?
An off-key Jay-Z mocks Oasis at Glasto (Grambo: "He should have done 'Common People!'"). Bloodied but unbowed, Gallaghers Incorporated sign on for three more albums for Sony and then reveal the details of their new album, entitled Dig Out Your Soul. Noel says the first single was recorded real fast and "sounds instant and compelling." This is encouraging news because much of (What's the Story) Morning Glory was recorded in the first few takes. But then again, Noel could do no wrong back in 1996.
Also, The Mighty Mozzer has revealed the details of his new album. Years of Refusal is recorded and in the can and will be released in September. Jerry Finn was back behind the boards for this one. Hmmmmmm...
Completely unrelated, yet no less awesome: Ra Ra Riot is touring later this year! Their debut album will also be released later this year on Barsuk.
Paul Weller - 09.13 - 9:30 Club Washington DC
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Of course, I'll be seeing him a few days earlier up in Toronto.
Everyone has been waiting for Canon to release the new 5D for what seems like forever. In the interim they keep releasing beginner cameras (Seriously, you don't have enough kinds of Digital Rebels now?) while Nikon keeps releasing higher end prosumer models that are enough to make me drool. The new full frame D700 is kinda ugly but has a very rich feature set.
I'm pretty happy with my 40D (save for the LCD screen), but Canon needs to raise its game soon if it's going to keep pace.
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