April 2009 Archives
Page of 3
Sorry for disappearing the last few days. Been busy at work and at home. All my spare time has been taken up by all the overtime in the Celtics / Bulls series. Seriously.
I spent the weekend shooting Kings of Leon and Fall Out Boy / 50 Cent for washingtonpost.com.
Also, I got interviewed by the Washington Examiner. They are obviously out of interesting people to talk to.
Talk soon.
Rajon Rondo through four games in the 2009 NBA Playoffs:
23.2 ppg
10.8 rpg
10 apg
3.5 spg
50% on field goals
40% (2/5) 3pt
76% ft
40 assists
7 turnovers
That's major.
I'm going to be completely honest here. We got to shoot the first two songs for this show and I left halfway through the third song. I was beat and didn't feel like sticking around very long. Can't say much for her music, but I will say Katy Perry is very charismatic and a very capable performer and it's easy to see why she's so popular. She gives her all during her live show.
[Photo Gallery] Katy Perry @ 9:30 Club
I have a busy weekend ahead. Shooting Kings of Leon and The Walkmen tonight, Fall Out Boy (and maybe 50 Cent) and a bunch of bands on Saturday. And on Sunday we have some friends coming into town. Rock. Also, a little birdie told me that some primo seats for tonight's KoL show have been released, so if you're on the fence about going, now's your chance.
I have a million saved items in my Bloglines account. Here's my attempt to clear some of them out.
Yankees tickets: too expensive.
Who Shot Rock: Photographers of Rock and Roll - coming to Brooklyn later this year.
11 greatest Sesame Street guest performances. Did I already link to this?
Wired: Tweetie is a beautiful, slick and intuitive app that meets and exceeds the high standards set by its mobile predecessor. We love it, and we'll go as far as to say that Tweetie will create a significant impact on Twitter as a whole.
Get Right To the Download With SkipScreen Add-on for Firefox.
Fluxblog mixtape essentials: Archers of Loaf, Blur, Phoenix, Wu Tang and Stereolab. I was also going to link to his recently posted PJ Harvey one, but it appears he took it down. More here.
If you don't have the Radiohead at Outside Lands bootleg, see if this link still works.
Dan The Automator produced the new Kasabian album? Really? Interesting.
WFMU Launches the Free Music Archive.
Listening to Swoon, the new album by Silversun Pickups. Sounds amazing on headphones, but this thing is way overproduced, so much so that the songs and melodies get buried under everything they are throwing at you.
I gave you the festival rundown on Monday, now see the visual evidence.
[Photo Gallery] Flaming Lips @ 2009 Green Apple Festival
My little slice of the internet is six years old today. Hard to believe, I know. At times over the last year I've felt entirely burnt out on the whole operation, but recently I have learned to enjoy it again. The leafblower is very much a labor of love, and it's changed and adapted right along with me over the last six years.
Thanks to everyone that stops by and reads what I have to say (and to those of you that just come for the cat photos - you know who you are).
I was scrolling through my iTunes collection last night trying to pick out a few appropriate tunes to post here, and since I don't have Mansun's Six anywhere handy, I decided to go go old school with a nod to my roots from the North Cackalack.
[mp3] Archers of Loaf | Nostalgia
[mp3] The Connells | Stone Cold Yesterday
Honestly I was too busy running around taking photos to write up yesterday's free concert on the mall. So instead I will point you to Josh's Washington Post review, Dave's Flaming Lips review from Post Rock and Amanda's excellent (and spot on) recap on DCist.
As for the Lips, they were a tad underwhelming. After opening with "Race For The Prize" they played slowed down versions of their next three or four songs and lost any momentum they had. Long pauses in between songs, etc. It wasn't until the last bit of the set that the audience got the sturm and drang they had been waiting all day for. But when the Lips decided to turn it up a notch, they were spectacular.
Also, I got to chat a bit with Wayne backstage. Nicest guy ever. Answered every question asked of him and was just generating good vibes everywhere he went. Respect.
DJ Spooky's set got cut short, which was a shame, because he was killing it mixing Radiohead, Jimi Hendrix and MLK Jr. into one big mash-up. Sadly, moe got a full set. It was 35 minutes but seemed three times longer. Ugh.
I was on assignment for Washingtonian, so head over there to see my photos from yesterday.
Via Matablog, here is the first mp3 to be released from the band's upcoming album, The Eternal, which is due out June 8 in Europe and June 9 North America.
[mp3] Sonic Youth | Sacred Trickster
Matador is doing another "Buy Early, Get Now" deal with the album, so head over to Matablog to get the details.
I don't know much about Papercuts but the two or three songs I have heard definitely have me intrigued. I have an older mp3 of theirs, "John Brown," that I like a lot and I'm really digging the two tracks I've heard from their new release You Can Have What You Want, which was released last Tuesday. Above is the video for one of those songs, "Future Primative." They just announced tour dates and are starting their tour in Arlington at the Iota, so I might have to go check them out.
[mp3] Papercuts | Future Primative
[mp3] Papercuts | Future Primitive (Ruby Suns Remix)
Tour dates:
04/24 San Francisco, CA Cafe Du Nord *
05/02 Arlington, VA Iota #
05/03 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom #
05/04 Petersborough, NH Glass Museum #
05/05 Winooski, VT Monkey House #
05/06 Allston, MA Harper's Ferry #
05/07 Brooklyn, NY The Bell House #
05/08 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie
05/09 Baltimore, MD Metro Gallery
05/10 Cleveland, OH Grog Shop #
05/11 Athens, OH Union Bar and Grill #
05/12 Chicago, IL Chopin Theatre #
05/13 Pontiac, MI The Pike Room at The Crofoot #
05/14 London, ON Call The Office #
05/15 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern #
05/16 Buffalo, NY Big Orbit's Soundlab #
05/17 Pittsfield, MA Copperworks #
* = w/ Cryptacize, The Finches
# = w/ Vetiver
I get to see The Flaming Lips today! Wayne and Co. have been avoiding the D.C. area like the plague since they played Virgin Festival in 2006. Haven't been back since! Today they are headlining this year's Green Apple Festival in conjunction with Earth Day on Wednesday. Also on the bill are moe, DJ Spooky and Lod Lobos. Should be fun. The action goes down from noon to 6 p.m. (which will hopefully beat the rain that's supposed to start right around then). If you're not in D.C., you can watch the whole thing on the web.
[mp3] Flaming Lips | Borderline (Madonna cover)
[mp3] Flaming Lips | Seven Nation Army (White Stripes cover)
[mp3] Flaming Lips | Knives Out (Radiohead cover)
[mp3] Flaming Lips | Moonlight Mile (Stones cover)
Sweet! This summer's Pitchfork Music Festival added Mew to the bill this week! Love them. Also added were Yeasayer, Plants and Animals, Disappears, Blitzen Trapper, Japandroids, and Women. This probably seals the deal for me as far as attending. I went to the first Pitchfork Festival back in and it was pretty awesome.
Still a bit torn on the new record. Sounds epic, but where are the hooks?
"Turning your crystal clear studio sound into a shit muddy festival experience".
One Week Only @ P4k TV: Super Furry Animals: Dark Days Light Years With in-studio performance footage and endearingly inscrutable interview segments, this 48-minute special delves deep into Dark Days, Light Years, the new album from veteran Wales weirdos Super Furry Animals.
(Editors Note: I really hate it when the Furries are described a "weirdos." Totally lazy. Visionaries? Yes. Middle aged sophisticates? Yes. Weirdos. No. Not at all.)
Ainge suffers mild heart attack.
The Celtics have confirmed that president of basketball operations Danny Ainge suffered a mild heart attack early this morning. He is expected to make a full recovery.
Not the best day in Boston. I fully blame this.
Get well Danny.
NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*jumps off bridge*
Black Dice have a new album, REPO, out now.
[mp3] Black Dice | Glazin
Watch the video.
Check their MySpace page for tour dates.
A Camp ( featuring Nina Persson and Nathan Larson) have annouced some tour dates for the next few months. RCRD LBL has some MP3s and the details. They are at the 9:30 Club May 28th.
Great Northern have a new album out. Here is a track from the album.
[mp3] Great Northern | Houses
They are on tour all of May with The Dears. The D.C. date is May 7 at the Black Cat.
Stream the new Crystal Method track, "Drown in the Now," featuring Matisyahu. They play Coachella tomorrow.
Deer Tick's new album Born on Flag Day will be out in late June. Here is a track from the record.
[mp3] Deer Tick | Easy
I was really sad not to see Say Hi when they played DC (I decided to see Glasvegas instead - bad move). Hopefully they will come around again. I loved The Wishes and the Glitch and am taking a liking to their latest album Oohs & Ahhs. Grab them both on eMusic.
[mp3] Say Hi | Hallie And Henry (Demo)
If you live on the West Coast you can catch them on tour with Cloud Cult.
Camera Obscura just announced a bunch of tour dates. They play the 9:30 Club on June 21st (the day after my birthday - hint hint).
[mp3] Camera Obscura | My Maudlin Career
The Veils have a new album, Sun Gangs, out now on Rough Trade.
[mp3] The Veils | The Letter
Check out this mashup:
[mp3] Matt & Kim v. Beastie Boys | Good Ol' Fashion Rump Shaker
Side note: On the Beastie front, I have been obsessed with Check Your Head lately, although I won't be buying the reissue because I have all the b-sides already and I have it on vinyl. The "So Wat'cha Want" CD single used to get mad play in my car in high school and college. Skills to pay the bills, y'all. Although I totally want the "The Fat Shit in '92" shirt. I used to have one but it is in t-shirt heaven now.
King Khan and the Shrines are at the 9:30 Club next week.
[mp3] King Khan and the Shrines | Land of the Freak
Dead Confederate did an Aquarium Drunkard session. Fuck yes.
Dead Confederate :: The Rat (Aquarium Drunkard Session) from Aquarium Drunkard on Vimeo.
Lots and lots of good things happening lately. Last week was the opening of "I'm With The Band," an art show at Dahlak on 18th & U featuring five photos by yours truly. The opening reception was last Thursday and it was packed! Thanks to everyone for coming out. Don't fret if you missed it, the exhibit is open through the first week of May. You can see photos from the opening here and here.
Also, The Examiner ran a story on one of my photos on Sunday.
Last, but certainly not least, today's edition of the Washington Post features one of my Katy Perry photos from her show last Friday.
I have heard alot about Matt & Kim before finally seeing them a few weeks ago opening for Cut Copy. Their energy on stage in infectious, but I didn't think the songs they played were anything special. They seem like great people to hang out with, but not the best band in the world by any means. That said, I'd go shoot them again in a second. If only other bands were so expressive on stage.
[Photo Gallery] Matt & Kim @ 9:30 Club
[mp3] Matt & Kim | No More Long Years
[mp3] Matt & Kim | Yea Yeah
Quite a few people that were there really liked this show. Not me. I still listen to the album quite a bit, but after seeing them twice, I don't think they do it for me live.
[mp3] Glasvegas | Be My Baby
[Photo Gallery] Glasvegas @ Black Cat
I love this song despite its weird song structure. Phoenix has the best guitar tones out there, always super-clean and polished.
Here's "1901" as well.
I honestly knew nothing of Estelle before going to see her at the 9:30 show a few weeks ago. I had heard "American Boy" once or twice (love that shell-toe reset) but that's it. But she totally owns things in concert. Smart, sassy and full of talent. I think UK R&B in general is light years better than the American version, it's less formulaic and takes more chances.
I would go see Estelle again in a heartbeat. I bet she'd be a big hit at a big summer festival, unlike someone like Duffy, who was a total snoozer.
[Photo Gallery] Estelle @ 9:30 Club
This is the song that really helped me "get" Radiohead. This and "Planet Telex" were the soundtrack to the summer of 1996 for me. I played this song constantly.
I have a photo of me drinking a beer with Ed O'Brien from that summer. I need to dig that up.
This entry also won for "Most Overlooked Song On Vanishing Point" and "I Cannot F@cking Believe I Didn't Have This Song On My iPod Until Last Weekend."
Thanks for playing.
What was you first 45 you ever owned?
OBVS!
Still LOVE this song 29 years later. That bass line owns. And yes, I listened to this on my Fisher -Price record player.
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