Concert Review: Black Kids 10.10.08 at Neumos in Seattle

I guess my exploration of Seattle wouldn't be complete without going to a live show of some kind, as it has such a rich musical tradition. My friend Katie and I made an impromptu decision to see the Black Kids and the Virgins at a place called Neumos in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. This show should not and will not be the yard stick by which I measure Seattle's music scene, since the bands are neither from Seattle, nor very talented. My blanket judgments of the city's music scene are adjusted accordingly.

It's pretty apparent to me, though, that the city's ultra-hip status is in danger of being run out by yuppies. The famed Crocodile Cafe, a Seattle music landmark, has closed. Belltown, the neighborhood at the epicenter of the grunge scene, has become overrun with condo developments and fratty bars. I've only been here a couple of days, but I would bet a lot of Seattlites would agree with me that the Emerald City is in a cultural decline.

I'm not sure what kind of reputation and regular crowd Neumos has, but the people at this show were less hip than I expected. Capitol Hill, after all, is the heir to Belltown's hipster throne and has not yet been completely gentrified and condo-ized. I'm sure part of the reason for this was the quality of the bands, but I can't help but think non-Seattlites give the city more credit than it is currently due for being cultural and musical trend-setters. Anyway, Seattle definitely still is very cool. Just more yuppified than I expected. 

But wait! Isn't this supposed to be a concert review? That's what the title says? Oh dear, I better get on with it then. 

I didn't catch whatever the first opener was. The second opener was the Virgins. They were pretty bad. It's not their fault they aren't talented. It's just sad that this band has actually gotten so hyped by their label. Shouldn't record contracts be handed out by people who know good music from bad music? Clearly that's not very important these days. The Virgins are similar to the Killers and the Offspring in that they're all bands whose only real talent is doing bad impersonations of other bands... only the Virgins are much worse. The singer couldn't sing his own songs, and they just looked like a bunch of amateurs. But, enough about them. They suck, you get the point.

The Black Kids came on with the benefit of having the bar set really low for them by their openers. Though Katie would disagree, I think they sucked much less than the Virgins. They were at least tight instrumentally, could sing their songs, and had some genuine energy. Their synth-heavy dance music and Robert Smith-esque melodramatic vocals made me want to get up and dance... but the Seattlites wouldn't have it! I'd have thought the whole point of going to this show was to show off some dance moves, but these folks were content to do the standing still. I was pretty surprised. Katie and I agreed Seattlites are a self-conscious lot. 

But I digress... again. The show... well, it wasn't bad, definitely worthwhile, but didn't leave much of a musical impression on me.

Yup, Seattle Is In Fact Pretty Cool

They have an incredibly nice library.

Poetry on the buses! Brilliant!

The original Starbucks. I'm told they made a few more since. 

High tech cranes

Pike Place Market

So, I've been in Seattle for a little over 24 hours now, and I have to report on some discoveries:

• The rain is seriously not that bad. It's like a light drizzle that comes and goes.
• They must be the most caffeinated populace in the world.
• Their bus system is crazy. But everyone says thank you to the bus drivers. Even the crazy people.
• KEXP is a fine radio station.

Cascadia

"The Doug"- a proposed flag of Cascadia

Tomorrow, I head to the Republic of Cascadia.

Concert Review: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 10.6.08

I know Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds have a fiercely loyal following, and that he deserves every bit of the adoration of his fans. He's a very talented musician and songwriter, and he's still coming up with quality albums well into his middle-aged years. But this show was a disappointment for me. It probably didn't help that I had a headache, and I'm sure I'd have enjoyed it more had I had a few beers and been on the floor instead of the balcony. And probably the biggest factor in my non-enjoyment was the fact that I'm not that familiar with his catalogue. There were definitely a lot of people there who had been listening to him for decades, and who had probably seen him a dozen times. They seemed to think the show was amazing. "That was one of the best shows I've ever seen," said a 50-something, tattood, soul-patched, spikey haired, aging hipster. I just didn't see it.

They did a bunch of things that annoyed me, actually. These things made me think about all the things that annoy me at shows in general. Here's a list:

1. It really annoys me when singers completely change the melodies of their songs when they play them live. Ok, so you've sung them a million times and you want to make it interesting. I'm all for improvisation, as long as it maintains the same feel and sounds good. On songs like "Red Right Hand" and "Deanna," Cave just seemed like he was winging it because he couldn't hit the high OR low notes.
2. I had a real problem with the showboating tonight. I expected and enjoyed Nick Cave's antics. He was all over the place, jumpin around, making fun of his bandmates and the audience, doing pelvic thrusts to accent his singing. I enjoyed it. It was one of those Bad Seed guys that pissed me off. The one that plays the violin and what looks like a tiny electric guitar (electric mandolin? electric ukelele?). That guy looked like a psychotic homeless man/ serial sex offender. He had crazy long hair and a crazy long beard. He made vaguely sexual movements throughout the show. He did the playing over the head thing with his violin, which in my book, should only be done if you are playing a solo or something really impressive, which he was not. And most of the time he was doing all this showboating, I couldn't really pick out what he was playing in all the commotion of the 7-piece group. I'm sure he's a very talented guy, but he was a distraction to me.
3. It always ticks me off when people yell out song requests between songs. I accept that there's always gonna be some asshole who will do it, as much to call attention to himself as to actually have the song played. There were a lot of those assholes tonight, but Nick Cave actually encouraged the calling out. I'm not sure which, if any, songs he actually did play because of a shout-out, but he made clear that he was listening, and even asked, "what else do you guys wanna hear?" after the first encore song. Don't encourage them Nick! Don't make them think it's ok to do that at all the other shows I have to see with these people, where their shouting is just an annoyance to the audience AND the band.
4. They had the amps up so freakin loud that I actually regretted not wearing earplugs. I never wear earplugs. Not to System of a Down. Not to Rattler. Not to any show I've ever been to. I rarely regret it. I listen to my Shure inner ear headphones for several hours a day, often at pretty high volume. My eardrums can take a beating. This show was excessively loud. I don't know whether to blame the band or the 930 club sound guys, but I am definitely slightly closer to deafness than I was before the show. There were a couple of times, maybe from feedback, maybe on purpose, there was a burst of sound so loud that it HURT, and I grimaced. What's the point of that? Who's gonna enjoy the show any less if it's slightly less deafening?
5. The band tonight committed what I consider a truly unprofessional musical sin, too. One I'd never actually witnessed. They were playing "God is in the House," one of my favorites of their songs, and they messed up and stopped a whole bunch of times. Then Cave just said "fuck it" and gave up on the song, promising to come back to it later. Then he didn't come back to it. What the hell!? Who does that??
6. Another thing that irked me at this show, which was not at all the fault of the band, was the demographic of the crowd. It wasn't any different than I'd have expected: a lot of older white people, especially men. Not that there weren't young people, but I saw a lot of people that could've been my parents. Still, no big deal. The band itself is full of old guys too, and they've been around for years and years. The thing that irked me was that I saw my future in these old single men with long hair trying desperately to be hip, but just not pulling it off. I don't judge them. For all I know, they're enjoying their lives more than anybody. I just don't want that for myself, and I see myself heading in that direction. I'm already obsessed with music, and not much of a ladies man, and go to a lot of shows, and try to dress hip, and have long hair, and wear band t-shirts, and search out obscure bands. I don't want to stop going to shows. I just don't want being a music fan and critic to take over my life. This blog isn't helping that, but I'm having a good time doing it, so I won't rain on my own parade. Still... eeek, it's a scary thought.

I'm sure there were other reasons I came away from that show with a bad taste in my mouth. It wasn't a great day for me to be going to a show, what with my headache, lack of sleep, and generally snarky mood. And it's not as if there wasn't anything good about it. I enjoyed the beginning of the show a lot. They had great energy and chemistry, and they were very good showmen. The show just happened to poke at a couple of my pet peeves, and it took away from the whole experience for me. Oh well.

[I asked Ed, my housemate who I saw the show with, to write a guest post/review of the show. Hopefully he will do it, because he is a longtime fan, and he liked the show, and it'd be a nice point-counterpoint.]

Set List:

1. Hold on to Yourself

2. Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!

3. Tupelo

4. The Weeping Song

5. Red Right Hand

6. Midnight Man

7. God Is in the House (gave up)

8. Love Letter

9. Today's Lesson

10. The Mercy Seat

11. Moonland

12. Deanna

13. Papa Won't Leave You, Henry

14. More News from Nowhere

Encore

15. Your Funeral, My Trial

16. Jesus of the Moon

17. Get Ready for Love

18. Stagger Lee

suggestion box

I'm uninspired today, but I wanted to post something, because I won't have much time over the next week and a half. I'm going to Seattle and Portland to do some exploring and memory-making. 

Anyway, today, I want to invite comments from anyone and everyone about what I can do to make this blog as interesting as possible, so it gets on your (and others') daily list of sites you peruse.

Recommended Viewing: The Story of Stuff

A good friend of mine introduced me to this online video that I think is pretty awesome. It's about our consumer society and its effects on the world. It's really well-made and entertaining too. The clip above is just a teaser. Go to www.storyofstuff.com for the full 20 minute video. It'll be well worth your time, I promise.

song of the day - 10.3.08: delta spirit - trashcan

Delta Spirit opened for Dr. Dog when I saw them at IOTA about a month ago. I was pleasantly surprised. As if it wasn't sweet enough that I got to see Dr. Dog at such an intimate venue, I learned about a new band too.

These guys have a very classic rock, folksy kind of sound. Singer Matt Vazquez's voice reminds you of the nasal hollering of Bob Dylan. He also reminded me a little of Julian Casablancas of The Strokes in the way he can sing on pitch in a shouting voice. They're solid song-writers and instrumentalists, if unspectacular. Their Wikipedia page describes them as "Americana/soul," which is a good label for them, especially because of Vazquez's singing style.

"Trashcan" was their finale at the show I went to. Multi-instrumentalist Kelly Winrich actually beats on a trashcan lid with a drumstick through out the song. The steady, grooving piano part is also vital to the song, and to the band as a whole. But really, the highlight of this band, and of their live performance, is Vazquez. He can really belt 'em out.

The Hilarity of Failure

My older brother likes to tell a story about when I was a baby, and I was watching him and my dad play badminton. He says that every time one of them missed the birdie with their racquet, I'd crack up with devilish laughter. Apparently this was one of the first recognizable personality traits I exhibited as a human being: my finding humor in watching people fail. [No, that's not a baby picture of me. It's somebody else's devil baby.]

Things haven't changed much on that front since I sat in that stroller. I still find people's mishaps utterly hilarious. Nothing makes me laugh more than seeing someone fall. I've tried to analyze this part of myself, but haven't come up with much. I don't think I'm just an evil person who enjoys watching others mess up. I think it has more to do with the fact that these falls and spills are unexpected, spontaneous, comic events that happen in otherwise mundane settings. For the record, I don't enjoy watching people get hurt. I actually am pretty squeemish about that. But as soon as I realize someone's public fall hasn't resulted in any injury other than to his ego, I cannot hold in that same cackle from my infancy.

So, naturally, the site failblog has been a godsend for me. It's a site where users upload the most extreme failures they've witnessed. Not only does it feature some of the most hilarious spills I've ever seen, but it also features other comical errors like poorly designed signs, poorly executed building plans, and countless pages of other hilarious pictures and videos. 

I pretty much wrote this whole post to lead up to the following video, which is basically the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Upcoming Shows [Updated]

gogol bordello

I go to a lot of shows. Here are some upcoming shows that I plan to see and would recommend that you see.

10/6 nick cave and the bad seeds (930 club washington, dc) sold out
10/22 broken social scene (state theatre, falls church, va)

10/27 billy bragg (930 club washington, dc)

11/6 the mountain goats (930 club, washington, dc)
11/28 dr. dog (starlight ballroom, philadelphia, pa)

12/3 dr. dog (930 club, washington, dc) "soft sale"

1/2 gogol bordello (930 club, washington, dc) "soft sale"

1/3 gogol bordello (930 club, washington, dc) "soft sale"

See you at the show.

song of the day - 10.1.08: the knife AND jose gonzalez - heartbeats

Since it's been over a week since my last song of the day, I'm giving you all a double-dose today. It's still one song, but two versions. The original version of today's song, "Heartbeats" is by The Knife, an electronic duo from Sweden, and was released in 2004. It's a somber but danceable electropop groove. The singer's voice is captivating, and the dirty synth hook is addictive.

Jose Gonzalez, also a Swedish artist, but of Argentine descent, covered "Heartbeats" on his 2006 album, Veneer. I swear, he could make a living just playing covers; his version of Massive Attack's "Teardrop" (better known in the U.S. as the opening credits song for FOX's "House") is another solid cover. What makes the covers so good is that he makes them thoroughly his own. They are mellow, acoustic versions of synth-dominated electronic songs with female lead vocalists. He's not afraid to change up the melodies here and there either. (Apparently, he also covered Joy Division's classic, "Love Will Tear Us Apart.")