OT: New Music?

[Brando70]

Off to see the classic mid-90s GBV lineup perfom in Chicago.

I can't really describe what it was like to see these guys around '95-'96. A bunch of kinda older-looking hick drinking buddies singing in fake British accents playing these weird two-minute (or less) British Invasion/psychedelic/punk songs. Loudly and very drunkenly.

And the songs were the best songs you ever heard.

Curious what you thought of the show, AJ. Really wanted to go to this one but couldn't.

[AJColossal]

Off to see the classic mid-90s GBV lineup perfom in Chicago.

I can't really describe what it was like to see these guys around '95-'96. A bunch of kinda older-looking hick drinking buddies singing in fake British accents playing these weird two-minute (or less) British Invasion/psychedelic/punk songs. Loudly and very drunkenly.

And the songs were the best songs you ever heard.

Curious what you thought of the show, AJ. Really wanted to go to this one but couldn't.

First off, let me say the last two concerts I've been to have been some sort of reunion show (Pavement the other one). I'm officially old now, right?

Last night I got the same feeling I kind of got from seeing Pavement. A group I loved doing an inoffensive, competent, "greatest hits" overview of their career. You love the songs, but everything was kind of obvious and safe.

And really what are they supposed to do? I really don't think these types of shows are for hardcore fans because by their nature, they have to give their broadest audience what they came for, which for GBV would be "Game of Pricks", I Am a Scientist", "My Valuable Hunting Knife", etc. That's wonderful, but I've heard these songs countless times during the last 15 years live.

Now, it was awesome to see the original guys. And they would play some things I can't remember the last time I heard, like "Striped White Jets", or "Closer You Are", and of course, all the great Tobin Sprout stuff. And they sounded good.

So I guess I'm complaining that they didn't dig a little deeper into that incredibly fertile period of music for them. Seriously, I could have made 2 3-hour shows of stuff I'd love to hear that I didn't, and I think I'm bitter that I will probably never hear that stuff again.

But all in all, a fun night.

[greggsand]

Off to see the classic mid-90s GBV lineup perfom in Chicago.

I can't really describe what it was like to see these guys around '95-'96. A bunch of kinda older-looking hick drinking buddies singing in fake British accents playing these weird two-minute (or less) British Invasion/psychedelic/punk songs. Loudly and very drunkenly.

And the songs were the best songs you ever heard.

Curious what you thought of the show, AJ. Really wanted to go to this one but couldn't.

First off, let me say the last two concerts I've been to have been some sort of reunion show (Pavement the other one). I'm officially old now, right?

Last night I got the same feeling I kind of got from seeing Pavement. A group I loved doing an inoffensive, competent, "greatest hits" overview of their career. You love the songs, but everything was kind of obvious and safe.

And really what are they supposed to do? I really don't think these types of shows are for hardcore fans because by their nature, they have to give their broadest audience what they came for, which for GBV would be "Game of Pricks", I Am a Scientist", "My Valuable Hunting Knife", etc. That's wonderful, but I've heard these songs countless times during the last 15 years live.

Now, it was awesome to see the original guys. And they would play some things I can't remember the last time I heard, like "Striped White Jets", or "Closer You Are", and of course, all the great Tobin Sprout stuff. And they sounded good.

So I guess I'm complaining that they didn't dig a little deeper into that incredibly fertile period of music for them. Seriously, I could have made 2 3-hour shows of stuff I'd love to hear that I didn't, and I think I'm bitter that I will probably never hear that stuff again.

But all in all, a fun night.

They've been mixing up their setlists on these shows. when I saw them they did a number of tracks of their wacky ep's like sunfish holy breakfast & such. At the LA show, Pollard got a little too wasted onstage they had to cut the show short. Same old Bob... As far as the hits, I didn't mind it all. I would have been pissed to not hear Motor Away!

ps-saw Belle Sebastian for the first time last week. Was so much better than I would have imagined. Great live band.

[AJColossal]

They've been mixing up their setlists on these shows. when I saw them they did a number of tracks of their wacky ep's like sunfish holy breakfast & such. At the LA show, Pollard got a little too wasted onstage they had to cut the show short. Same old Bob... As far as the hits, I didn't mind it all. I would have been pissed to not hear Motor Away!

ps-saw Belle Sebastian for the first time last week. Was so much better than I would have imagined. Great live band.

Ohh! Was it "If We Wait"? Would have killed to hear that live.

That's funny that he was so wasted in LA, because I thought he was more careful in Chicago. Towards the end of the set I told my friend "I've seen him 10 times drunker that this" lol.

B & S are a lot of fun live. What do you think of the new stuff?

[greggsand]

They've been mixing up their setlists on these shows. when I saw them they did a number of tracks of their wacky ep's like sunfish holy breakfast & such. At the LA show, Pollard got a little too wasted onstage they had to cut the show short. Same old Bob... As far as the hits, I didn't mind it all. I would have been pissed to not hear Motor Away!

ps-saw Belle Sebastian for the first time last week. Was so much better than I would have imagined. Great live band.

Ohh! Was it "If We Wait"? Would have killed to hear that live.

That's funny that he was so wasted in LA, because I thought he was more careful in Chicago. Towards the end of the set I told my friend "I've seen him 10 times drunker that this" lol.

B & S are a lot of fun live. What do you think of the new stuff?

I really like the new B&S. All the wit & chamber pop stuff you'd expect. The opening track is pretty great.

Here's the gbv setlist from LA:

A Salty Salute
Shocker in Gloomtown
Tractor Rape Chain
Pimple Zoo
Closer You Are
Buzzards and Dreadful Crows
Break Even
My Valuable Hunting Knife
Cut-Out Witch
Hot Freaks
A Good Flying Bird
Lethargy
Striped White Jets
Matter Eater Lad
The Gold Heart Mountaintop Queen Directory
Awful Bliss
14 Cheerleader Coldfront
Quality of Armor
Gold Star for Robot Boy
Dodging Invisible Rays
Gleemer (The Deeds of Fertile Jim)
Queen of Cans and Jars
Unleashed! The Large Hearted Boy
Echos Myron
My Impression Now
I am a Scientist
My Son Cool
Game of Pricks
Smothered in Hugs
Encore:
Postal Blowfish
Don't Stop Now
Motor Away
Encore 2:
Johnny Appleseed
Weed King

[davet010]

I hate you guys.

[F308GTB]

ps-saw Belle Sebastian for the first time last week. Was so much better than I would have imagined. Great live band.

I've been a fan of theirs forever, but unfortunately they never tour down my way. If I'm going to see them, I just may have to bite the bullet and head to Scotland.

BTW, their new album is OK. Not my favorite but still good.

[Brando70]

Off to see the classic mid-90s GBV lineup perfom in Chicago.

I can't really describe what it was like to see these guys around '95-'96. A bunch of kinda older-looking hick drinking buddies singing in fake British accents playing these weird two-minute (or less) British Invasion/psychedelic/punk songs. Loudly and very drunkenly.

And the songs were the best songs you ever heard.

Curious what you thought of the show, AJ. Really wanted to go to this one but couldn't.

First off, let me say the last two concerts I've been to have been some sort of reunion show (Pavement the other one). I'm officially old now, right?

Last night I got the same feeling I kind of got from seeing Pavement. A group I loved doing an inoffensive, competent, "greatest hits" overview of their career. You love the songs, but everything was kind of obvious and safe.

And really what are they supposed to do? I really don't think these types of shows are for hardcore fans because by their nature, they have to give their broadest audience what they came for, which for GBV would be "Game of Pricks", I Am a Scientist", "My Valuable Hunting Knife", etc. That's wonderful, but I've heard these songs countless times during the last 15 years live.

Now, it was awesome to see the original guys. And they would play some things I can't remember the last time I heard, like "Striped White Jets", or "Closer You Are", and of course, all the great Tobin Sprout stuff. And they sounded good.

So I guess I'm complaining that they didn't dig a little deeper into that incredibly fertile period of music for them. Seriously, I could have made 2 3-hour shows of stuff I'd love to hear that I didn't, and I think I'm bitter that I will probably never hear that stuff again.

But all in all, a fun night.

I could see that reaction. I caught them on on the Grand Finale tour and they were spectacular -- one of the most entertaining shows I've ever been to (helped by me being as wasted as the band and right in front of the stage). That's a pretty safe setlist that Gregg posted. Still, I can understand why they would do that -- its a pure nostalgia tour so they would dig deeper into "the hits" as Pollard calls them.

They are truly one of the great bands of the last 20 years. I can't think of another group that has so many A-quality rock songs.

[GTHobbes]

Like the rest of their records, it's taken me a few listens this week -- didn't care for it at all at first -- but I'm now warming up to the new Kings of Leon in a big way. I don't think there are any KOL fans here, and this new one won't win them any new fans, but now that the songs have grown on me its easy for me to see that this album is right up there with Aha Shake and the rest of their excellent catalog. Glad I sprung for the bonus edition on ITunes as the gospel-choir backed version of Radioactive, Celebration and the remix of Closer are all worth it. Great cd. No one sounds quite like the Kings.

[XXXIV]

Like the rest of their records, it's taken me a few listens this week -- didn't care for it at all at first -- but I'm now warming up to the new Kings of Leon in a big way. .

This is where the Zune Pass shines. I downloaded Comes Around Sundown this morning and have been listening to it most of today while playing NHL11 HUT.
I agree. They do grown on you

[EZSnappin]

Today sees the release of the new Slough Feg and the new Kylesa.

Slough Feg is classic, riff-tastic metal, and if you like early Maiden, Priest, Thin Lizzy and the like I'd say give it a shot. They've been releasing stuff since '96 and this record, Animal Spirits, seems like a career summation of sorts; it touches on all the different steps of their evolution but stands strong on it's own.

The Kylesa record, Spiral Shadows, is more of a unique thing; a mix of hardcore, psychedelic rock and classic metal. I got to see them last week and they made me a fan on the spot with their crunching grooves and sing-along choruses.

[ScoopBrady]

I'm already a fan of Slough Feg but hadn't heard Kylesa yet. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing.

A couple of weeks ago I went to see Greg Dulli (frontman of the Afghan Whigs and Twilight Singers) at the Double Door and it was fantastic. It was Dulli singing songs from his entire career stripped down with him on acoustic, another acoustic guitar, and a guy playing strings. It was phenomenal. If Dulli is coming to your town check him out.

And a quick recommendation. If anyone is a fan of Explosions in the Sky and Tool/Isis check out a band called Russian Circles. They are moody instrumental like EitS with a bit of an edge ala Tool/Isis. They have 3 albums out and they are all excellent.

[Spooky]

Thanks for the Kylesa rec...diggin it.

[EZSnappin]

If you like Kylesa keep an eye out for a gig in your neck of the woods. They are currently opening for Torche and High On Fire and, while the other bands were good, they stole the show.

[GTHobbes]

I absolutely can't wait to see Mumford and Sons here in Atlanta on Sunday night. The show (and their whole tour) has been sold out for months, tickets are going for $200 and up on Ebay, and the reviews I've been reading of their shows from the past couple of weeks have me pumped for an incredible experience. I've probably been to 200 concerts in my life and I can't remember the last time I was this excited.

[greggsand]

pitchfork just ran their annual 'bashing of kings of leon' album review. never fails. pretty funny stuff. not as brutal as the last few, & the writer seemed to spend plenty of time with the record. pitchfork cracks me up. def what makes them different from every magazine out there.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/148 ... d-sundown/

[pk500]

pitchfork just ran their annual 'bashing of kings of leon' album review. never fails. pretty funny stuff. not as brutal as the last few, & the writer seemed to spend plenty of time with the record. pitchfork cracks me up. def what makes them different from every magazine out there.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/148 ... d-sundown/

Can't say I disagree with the review one bit ...

[GTHobbes]

pitchfork just ran their annual 'bashing of kings of leon' album review. never fails. pretty funny stuff. not as brutal as the last few, & the writer seemed to spend plenty of time with the record. pitchfork cracks me up. def what makes them different from every magazine out there.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/148 ... d-sundown/

I cracked up when I read their 2.6 review of Mumford & Sons. Guess it will make them feel proud when Mumford cleans up on all of the critics' year-end best of lists. What a joke.

[JRod]

pitchfork just ran their annual 'bashing of kings of leon' album review. never fails. pretty funny stuff. not as brutal as the last few, & the writer seemed to spend plenty of time with the record. pitchfork cracks me up. def what makes them different from every magazine out there.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/148 ... d-sundown/

I cracked up when I read their 2.6 review of Mumford & Sons. Guess it will make them feel proud when Mumford cleans up on all of the critics' year-end best of lists. What a joke.

Exactly. Mumford and Sons is a far deeper album than Little Lion Man. For me it's one of those rare "complete" albums. It goes from strength to strength. Amazing considering they are a UK band doing Americana/folk/alt-rock mixture quite well.

[RobVarak]

Slate's Bill Wyman (the critic, not the bass player) wrote a startlingly brilliant "response" by Mick Jagger to Keith's recent biography. One of the best bits of music writing I've seen in a long, long time. Strike that, some of the best writing of any kind that I've seen in a long time.

http://www.slate.com/id/2273611/pagenum/all/

[pk500]

pitchfork just ran their annual 'bashing of kings of leon' album review. never fails. pretty funny stuff. not as brutal as the last few, & the writer seemed to spend plenty of time with the record. pitchfork cracks me up. def what makes them different from every magazine out there.

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/148 ... d-sundown/

I cracked up when I read their 2.6 review of Mumford & Sons. Guess it will make them feel proud when Mumford cleans up on all of the critics' year-end best of lists. What a joke.

Exactly. Mumford and Sons is a far deeper album than Little Lion Man. For me it's one of those rare "complete" albums. It goes from strength to strength. Amazing considering they are a UK band doing Americana/folk/alt-rock mixture quite well.

Indeed. I loved the Mumford and Sons record. A really good listen, and like JRod, it surprised the hell out of me when I learned they were from the UK!

[greggsand]

Mumford ain't my thing, but I get why people like them. I also get why pitchfork doesn't.

[EZSnappin]

Slate's Bill Wyman (the critic, not the bass player) wrote a startlingly brilliant "response" by Mick Jagger to Keith's recent biography. One of the best bits of music writing I've seen in a long, long time. Strike that, some of the best writing of any kind that I've seen in a long time.

http://www.slate.com/id/2273611/pagenum/all/

I hope every Stones fan reads that piece. Wonderfully done, and probably closer to the truth than anyone would believe. Easily the best piece of music writing I've read this year. Hope it's remembered when the next Da Capo collection gets chosen.

[RobVarak]

I thought the same thing about the DaCapo collection! It's also a better analysis of the Stones than I've seen in books 50x as long.

[GTHobbes]

Slate's Bill Wyman (the critic, not the bass player) wrote a startlingly brilliant "response" by Mick Jagger to Keith's recent biography. One of the best bits of music writing I've seen in a long, long time. Strike that, some of the best writing of any kind that I've seen in a long time.

http://www.slate.com/id/2273611/pagenum/all/

Thanks for posting this, Rob -- I'm only half-way through so far, but what a great read.