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Post by motörben on May 6, 2012 15:09:43 GMT -5
I went as far as From Here To Infirmary. Seen them a couple of times in the last, say, four years. It's an inconsistent pleasure.
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Post by doctoracula on May 6, 2012 15:42:47 GMT -5
good mourning has some really great stuff! i saw them after that came out, though, and they played for way too long. lost me about halfway through.
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Post by motörben on May 7, 2012 3:26:36 GMT -5
Last time I saw them they kind of outstayed their welcome. Enjoyed it the other night, though I nipped out for a couple of cigs/went the bar when they played stuff I didn't know. Will check out Good Mourning, you're the third person to big it up to me this week.
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john k
Midnight Hauler
Posts: 2,035
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Post by john k on May 7, 2012 12:49:28 GMT -5
Anyone else got love for The Sadies? They were on fire in Bristol on Friday. love them. excellent live band
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Post by doctoracula on May 7, 2012 18:00:35 GMT -5
Last time I saw them they kind of outstayed their welcome. Enjoyed it the other night, though I nipped out for a couple of cigs/went the bar when they played stuff I didn't know. Will check out Good Mourning, you're the third person to big it up to me this week. that's what happened to me last time i saw them. they played for over 90 minutes, and i just don't have that kind of attention span for a punk set
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Post by motörben on Jun 13, 2012 0:35:17 GMT -5
Future of the Left and Todd Barry on the same stage, separated by about 22 hours. What a weekend!
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Post by doctoracula on Jun 18, 2012 19:03:10 GMT -5
how were FOTL? i'm not too into their new record
i've been to a buttload of shows recently, but the most notable were against me! last sunday and radiohead last wednesday. both bands' new songs are fucking wonderful live
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Post by motörben on Jun 24, 2012 3:31:40 GMT -5
Yeah the new record's a bit of a mess, isn't it? The gig was spectacular though, the current line-up works wonders and I think they really only played the most coherent of the new songs.
There was a little Unified Scene reunion here in Manchester over the weekend: mattjs, Mrs. mattjs, wealdstone and lilhan were all in full effect. We had some drinks and saw Bruce Springsteen. Thumbs up.
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Post by doctoracula on Jun 24, 2012 9:36:47 GMT -5
the biggest problem with the new record is that it starts out so strongly, then falls off and just...keeps...going. there's really no need for it to be 15 songs.
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Post by doctoracula on Jun 24, 2012 23:52:46 GMT -5
went to a totally stacked pop punk show tonight!
house boat - sloppy and didn't play the 10 min long song, but still pretty fucking great. and hilarious mean jeans - sat outside dear landlord - very on point, played almost everything including new shit that i love dopamines - the lights stopped working, and i think they had trouble seeing their guitars. lots of mistakes, and not enough new songs. but they played my favorite from the new LP (really well!) and covered "i am the walrus" in a super noisy way. copyrights - i always forget how great this band is. their live show can make even the shittiest day better. i left with a huge grin on my face and hugged everybody
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Post by motörben on Jun 25, 2012 3:23:14 GMT -5
the biggest problem with the new record is that it starts out so strongly, then falls off and just...keeps...going. there's really no need for it to be 15 songs. I agree, though I find it's totally unnecessary longevity quite charming. Notes on Achieving Orbit feels like a reward.
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Post by yesterdayspapers on Jun 27, 2012 11:57:38 GMT -5
saw Neil Diamond last Thursday. spectacular.
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Post by doctoracula on Jun 27, 2012 22:12:43 GMT -5
mixtapes tonight!
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wackojacko
Hoodrat
I was not involved at the Northtown Mall.
Posts: 267
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Post by wackojacko on Jun 28, 2012 3:21:24 GMT -5
Springsteen last Friday - best night of my life. And, coincidentally, got to meet some of the band.
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Post by motörben on Jun 28, 2012 7:57:25 GMT -5
There was a strong Unified Scene turnout at Friday's Springsteen gig! We should make a big deal of it next time.
The night before that I sort-of accidentally saw Kate Nash. It was full of underage girls and I was alone and hammered. Well creepy.
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Post by jtd7 on Jul 1, 2012 20:55:04 GMT -5
This is turning into a Festival year for me. Early May we went to Jazz & Heritage Fest in New Orleans. The two best acts I heard there: Mavis Staples -- Her voice is such a powerful instrument, and her band emphasized the human voice: guitar, bass, drums, and five backing singers. She sang in the Gospel Tent and sang a gospel set: Creep Along Moses, Wade In The Water. She also paid tribute to Levon Helm by singing The Weight, and Glen Hansard joined the band to sing it with her. After singing On My Way -- Pops Staples' song, "I'm on my way and I won't turn back" -- she spoke over a musical interlude "That's right, I won't turn back until Dr. King's dream is fulfilled." Just as she spoke Dr. King's name, the setting sun dipped below the rim of the tent and illuminated the stage with a shaft of sunlight. Bombino of Niger -- He plays electric blues but with African polyrhythms and picking patterns and a wide-open feel suited to the desert he hails from. His set was in the Blues Tent and the sound didn't convey all his sonorities but it was still a great set, much more free-form than his studio recording. I was grooving to his rhythm the whole set and I wasn't the only one. He moves a lot while he plays, too: dancing, twirling, leaping, undulating like a snake. And he dresses like a rock star: white pants, textured orange tunic, and a long white scarf. Here I am second-lining in the traditional jazz tent:
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Post by jtd7 on Jul 1, 2012 20:55:44 GMT -5
Weekend before last I went to the Orion Music & More FEstival in Atlantic City. This was headlined by Metallica who also booked the acts, and introduced many of them. When I told folks I was going I got a lot of "I didn't know you were a metalhead." Well, that's right, but Metallica booked a real variety of bands, enough of which were among my favorites to make it worthwhile, and I got to hear some other acts I wouldn't have known about otherwise. Here's who I heard Saturday:
Wooden Shjips -- yes with a "j" -- first of several bands I discovered. They're a psychedelic band from San Fran, and I didn't know heavy rock could be so dreamy. Also their keyboard player draped his gear in gold foil, very Sun Ra, and their bassist played a 3/4-sized bass. He must be very confident.
Roky Erickson -- Only heard a few songs from him but made a note to hear a full show sometime. The power in his voice is extraordinary. And surprising: the band handles all the stage banter, he just plays and sings.
Those two acts were at the Frantic stage, the only one in a tent, and I think we saw our favorite acts there just because we could get so close. Rest of Saturday, though, we ran back and forth between Orion and Fuse stages.
Lucero -- Real fun set once we got over our disappointment at being so far away. The main stage had two tiers of premium areas, so with general admission you couldn't get closer than forty or fifty yards form the stage. Lucero was the first of several acts that had sign language interpreters on one side of the stage. After a couple acts I noticed they began to move like the performers they were interpreting. During instrumental solos they played air guitar, or air piano.
F***ed Up -- Not my cup of tea but an amazing spectacle. Their front man, Father Damian, spent most of the set down in the crowd, a roadie paying out mic cable. You could always find him by the halo of upraised cell phones snapping his picture. I saw some things there that I've never seen before, like a girl riding someone's shoulders, wearing a black bikini top and a donkey's head.
Gaslight Anthem -- Another great set.
Cage the Elephant -- I've liked them a while, this is the first time I've seen them live, but I knew just from their recordings that their front man would move the way he did: loose-limbed, flailing his torso up and down, stomping his foot, whipping his hair.
Modest Mouse -- a little bit disappointing, they sounded detached from their own performance. They also sounded heavier than I expected. So did Gaslight Anthem although it worked better for them. I wondered, were they trying to sound like Metallica? Or was it because they played through Metallica's sound system?
Arctic Monkeys -- I barely knew their work but I'm a big fan now. Intricate songs with high energy and flawlessly-executed tempo changes.
It may seem funny to you but we skipped Metallica both nights. What seemed funny to us was the number of people we saw just arriving for Metallica. Really? At those prices? You couldn't try just one more band? If only to get your money's worth?
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Post by jtd7 on Jul 1, 2012 20:56:01 GMT -5
We stuck to the music but there was a lot of other entertainment. I think the Metallica guys brought all their hobbies. There was a Metallica memorabilia display; a horror movie memorabilia show ("Kirk's Crypt"); custom car and motorcycle show; skateboard ramps. Members of Metallica introduced a lot of the acts, and spent the day wandering the festival grounds. Sunday as we ate a late lunch I saw James Hetfield walk right past us eating his lunch, and throw his trash in the bin nearby. When we were done I went right over there and threw our trash in the very same trash bin used by James Hetfield mere moments before. Rock And Roll! ! !
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Post by jtd7 on Jul 1, 2012 20:56:22 GMT -5
On Sunday I heard:
Black Angels -- Another psychedelic band, from Texas, The songs were real simple -- some of them repeated a single riff all the way through, with maybe two chords total, but it's all about getting the guitar tones and the feedback and distortion just right. I found it hypnotic. Then they played one straight blues number and it was refreshing. Closed their set with a cover of Norwegian Wood, so heavy I did not recognize it for a while, even with one guy playing an actual sitar.
Gary Clark, Jr. -- He played a good set and made a lot of new fans. Sign language interpreters for him, too, falling into moves like his snaky grooves.
Soul Rebels -- Brass band from New Orleans, one of my favorite sets of the Festival. One of the Metallica guys introduced them as "the heaviest brass band around -- we think of them as a metal band." I couldn't stop moving their whole set. Much of the crowd came out of curiosity, until out of respect for their hosts the Soul Rebels played a cover of "Enter Sandman." The whole crowd sang along, a mosh pit opened up front, and a couple guys commenced to slamming each other. I love that kind of culture clash.
Black Dahlia Murder -- Heard them from a safe distance. They're death metal / speed metal, not my cup of tea, but I had to be impressed at their drummer. He was a real athlete, firing off non-stop rapid-fire beats like an automatic howitzer. And they had incredible crowd control When their lead called out "I want to see your f***ing fists in the air!" every fist in the crowd pumped the air. We also heard a bit of Volbeat, who sounded almost power pop.
Eric Church -- Straight country and-western but he won the crowd over. Us too. We loved a line from one of his songs: "You keep talking 'bout Johnny Cash / The Man In Black woulda kicked your ass." His act also used pyrotechnics: jets of flames punctuated his songs.
Titus Andronicus -- Back in the Frantic tent. Most of the festival crowd was over at Orion positioning themselves for Metallica, but those who came to hear Titus Andronicus pressed together up against the stage. All at once the outdoor festival turned into an intimate club. They played an explosive set -- it is a different band without Amy Klein's violin but they still covered a lot of moods. Ended with A More Perfect Union --> Titus Andronicus Forever.
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Post by jtd7 on Jul 1, 2012 20:56:41 GMT -5
The festival was very well-run, at least for the number of people who attended. Festival grounds could have accommodated a larger crowd. (The low end of the range for attendance estimates was 25,000 people each day.) We never had to stand in line for food, water, or Port-A-Pottys. The grounds had more grass lawns than I expected, which made it pleasant, as did the occasional sea breeze. One amenity I liked a lot, and have never seen before at an outdoor festival: free water. There were a couple stands with high-speed taps dispensing chilled city water. You could bring in a couple empty water bottles and refill them all day.
One feature I did not like so much: premium standing room at the main stage, Orion stage. Patrolled barricades separated premium areas from general admission. With general admission the closest you could get to the stage was thirty or forty yards. And there were two different tiers of premium areas: VIP Passes, and Metallica Club.
While this didn't help our feeling connected to the performers (especially early in the day, when the premium areas were largely deserted), it only applied to the main stage, and the sound was exquisite even that far back. With some bands, even a hundred feet from the stage I needed earplugs (outdoors!), and it felt like the kick drum was going to take the back of my head off. Yet the sound was very clear and distinct, the only distortion being what the performers wanted.
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Post by doctoracula on Jul 1, 2012 21:14:00 GMT -5
i would've gone to that festival if it weren't for metallica. their involvement made the venue size and ticket prices something beyond my tolerance level. but i would've loved to see roky, fucked up, a place to bury strangers, titus, and a few others. the last one or two times i've seen modest mouse have been similarly detached. it's like they just dont give a shit anymore.
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Post by Bluemessiah on Jul 9, 2012 6:06:32 GMT -5
'Danny and the Champions of the World' at a party on Saturday night. Very good indeed.
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bigontheinside
Midnight Hauler
If you don't know the words, don't sing along
Posts: 1,478
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Post by bigontheinside on Jul 9, 2012 8:50:08 GMT -5
I am going to see Bruce Springsteen on Saturday at Hyde Park. Still can't believe it. Also kind of terrified I won't be able to get a anywhere near the stage
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Post by hoodrat on Jul 10, 2012 12:08:06 GMT -5
Finally went out again last weekend - first show in over 3 months. These United States - always fun - headlined. Henry Clay People rocked my socks off first. And the opening slot was locals Kingsley Flood, who got pretty damned awesome sometime over the last year and a half since I last saw them.
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Post by doctoracula on Jul 10, 2012 20:36:33 GMT -5
i might go to riot fest east next week if i can get in for free because fuck paying for that
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