Oh you know I can’t wait for this to come out. I love this teaser, it is sort of Mad Max and comic book like and you all know how I feel about Gerard Way. Check out his red hair in here.
Rumor has it their new CD, Danger Days: True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoy will be out November 22, 2010.
I get CNN breaking news from my Twitter account in the form of text messages. When I got the one about Michael Jackson being brought to the hospital in cardiac arrest I was sure that was the end. Not too many people live through that if their heart stops at the hospital.
If it stops at home? Really almost no chance. I guess this is why some radio stations were announcing his death before the cable news networks were calling it.
So Kara calls all upset about what she’d just heard on the radio. Eighteen years old, and she’s a fan.
Spanky had a house full of friends here at the time, all sixteen year olds, and when I told them, they were upset. Really upset.
When Blane Jr. was a toddler and I’d take him in the stores, he’d point at the magazine covers and say, “Michael Jackson” and start dancing. He couldn’t say much else, but he could say that.
When I first heard Jackson’s Off the Wall album, I was just a kid, but absolutely mesmerized. How could one person come out with such a perfect set of tunes. One after the other?
Then there was Thriller.
And that moonwalk.
You know the rest.
Here’s an cool video I swiped from TPGoddess. I’ve never seen this before, it’s a Pepsi commercial (I think) that was edited to show Jackson singing a duet of “I’ll Be There” with a child version of himself.
I never could listen to his stuff and not dance.
Spanky’s Facebook status says: “He’s totally choreographing the angels through Thriller, right?”
I can see it.
Spanky and I were on our way to the Fall Out Boy concert Friday night when I said if I was a psych major I’d do research on why people like certain songs over others. Those things fascinate me.
She popped in a Led Zeppelin CD and when it got to “Stairway to Heaven” I asked her what I always ask when that song plays, “Why do you think so many people say this is the best rock song ever created? Is it the lyrics, or is it the music? Or both?
I tell her one thing I’ve noticed about people and that song. When somebody dies, a surviving friend will wear that song out. I’ve see grown men cry to it.
Then we just listen and allow each other to point and say, “This is my favorite part” several times.
“Wait, no, this part.”
“That one too.”
We both agree the section when the drums come in is also our favorite part.
I tell Spanky it’s as if someone took the favorite parts of a bunch of songs and put them all in Stairway to Heaven. She agrees. She also knows we will talk about this again next time we hear the song. We’ve been on a Zeppelin tear for a good two weeks running.
The concert, yeah…
We had some fantastic pit tickets and got there to see Fifty Cent open. Spanky said it was surreal being fifteen feet from him. She never thought she would ever end up in the same room with Fitty. I, too, found it absurd.
But hey, you gotta respect a guy who got shot in the face and lived to sing about it.
I had seen Fall Out Boy perform live on tv before and wasn’t expecting much. Some bands just can’t cut it live. They were great and we were blown away by their performance. Stumps vocals were in tune and it’s early in the tour so everyone’s fresh.
Hanging to the back of the pit works well for us, we can see everything and are still close. At one point a huge mosh pit opened up and I teased Spanky, told her if she could run straight through “the hole” without getting slammed she’d end up right next to center stage. It wasn’t the usual mosh pit, not rough at all, so we did actually make a run for it and got about 5 people deep from the stage. In the sweet middle, right in front of Patrick Stump.
It was great for a few songs and then the moshers decided to make another pit behind us. I didn’t want to get shoved around, so I took off toward the back of the crowd. Spanky didn’t follow. I couldn’t see where she was, but I knew she would be okay and find me soon.
I kept scanning the crowd for her, walking around the pit edges and then finally parking myself to the front and side of the stage where I could see faces. Where was Spank?
I had just grabbed the barricade and was pretty much by myself because it was such an extreme distance from where the action on the stage was. Then Pete Wentz (the one all the fan girls scream over) jumped on a speaker directly in front of me. He smiled at me then made this flapping motion with his arms. Like a bird. Dude, it was freaky. I think he wanted his picture taken.
So I took pictures!
It really sucked that I didn’t have my good camera.
A little later Wentz jumped off the stage and hung over the barracade to sing. Half his body was directly over the people in center front. Where was Spanky?
No wonder she didn’t come looking for me. He was singing right in her face.
After the show, on the drive home, we resumed Zeppelin analysis. Spanky told me she couldn’t think straight. I told her she was star struck.
As we drove into the garage, Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop” was playing. We got out of the car and Spank said, “That song’s funny, I think it’s about how they’re hanging in the park, the cops come to make arrests but end up smoking pot with them.”
I say, “Hang on, did I miss something? I never heard that part.”
So we listen to the song again once we get into the house. There’s something about a policeman and tea. Spanky says, “Oh, not pot, mushroom tea.”
I crack up. Tell her Zeppelin’s British and they drink tea like we drink coffee. She giggles like the school girl she is and turns red, red, red.
Fry’s is a gigantic electronics store in town that is a supergeek hangout. They have crazy weekly specials that get all the nerd boys and girls out their cubicles on Fridays.
Both my Blanes are Fry babys. Their faces light up at just the mention of the place. When Blane Jr. was still in school, I remember him waking at 5AM to go get the newspaper for their ad page. It was the craziest thing because he’s like me, he likes to stay up all night and sleep late.
The only time I go there is when we stop by on the way home from our favorite BBQ hole. Once in Fry’s, we’ll divide up and hit the aisles that interest us. I’m not sure where the others go, but I usually start by watching people’s faces as they play video games. Some stick their tongues out, some jump up and down when they win or lose, and some just sit there lifeless.
Another thing that interests me is the Apple aisle. I’m prepared by the time I get to it by repeating to myself, I’m not buying anything, I’m not buying, not buying… Not while Blane’s around, at least. He lets me splurge on things, but like he says, he doesn’t want to know about it. It’s just the way things are and I don’t abuse it too much.
Back to the Apple aisle. This is where I got my ears all jacked up. Ruined for life. Where I casually slipped on a pair of Dr. Dre’s headphones.
Now I have some great earphones, a pair of wireless Sennheiser’s I got some years back for my birthday. Top of the line stuff, you know, gift from Blane.
But those Dr. Dre headphones? It was a moment like in Wizard of Oz when the wicked witch gets smashed by the house and everything turns to color. Also a little bit like touching an electric fence and not being able to let go. I have never in my life heard music like that before and now I’m all messed up because I’m listening to craptastic sound without them.
I wish I’d never tried them. I’d rather not know what my ears are missing.
Here’s a guest post by my dear, dear, Spanky:
________________________________
Just when everyone thinks I am some sort of supergenius freakjob immune to spurts of adolescent activity, I have to go do something so utterly teenager that my mom laughs at me for it.
Supernatural started it.
I could go on a very, very long time about Supernatural; the perfection in dialogue and casting, the guns, the knives, the kicking in of doors and the knock-down, drag-out fights.
My type of show.
More specifically, I’ve been mooning over the two main characters. This is probably where I began my descent. So cute, I raved. So funny and so perfect. And manly. God knows I need manly after my ex.
But this obsession was quickly thrown to the backburner (mind you, still a smouldering backburner) in favor of a more overlooked component of the show.
The music.
I like rock. A lot. But I’d been a bit lost in the realm of techno and Japanese music before I started listening to the songs behind the pretty boys.
Suddenly, the long-neglected iTunes card came into play, dwindling away quickly.
I rifled through my mom’s old CDs, in search of Kansas or Black Sabbath.
This was music I’d heard my whole life, music with which I’d been completely familiar, and I’d ignored it?
A crime, to be sure!
So I popped album after album into my overheated drive and loaded up, reveling in radical riffs and watching the songs pile up.
More recently, an associate sent to me twenty or so very subject-specific songs.
“Why, what subject deserves so many songs?” You might ask.
I’d hit you on the head for not waiting for me to answer the question before you asked it, then whisper, “Zombies.”
Because every good library needs a few good zombie songs.
In fact, for such a powerful cultural phenomenon, it struck me as peculiar that some backwoods internet crawler could only dredge up a few. Still, not terribly determined to search for any of my own, I settled for the meager brain ballads provided to me.
Curiously enough, I came to the conclusion that there are apparently two types of post-apocalyptic envisioners: zombie-half-alive types and zombie-half-dead types.
I’m still unsure as to which one’s more optimistic.
And that’s how I ended up with four hundred “Recently Added” songs on iTunes.
Here are some, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Zombie Zoo by Tom Petty
Walk Like a Zombie by the Horrorpops
Brains! by Voltaire
Re: Your Brains by Jonathan Coulton
And, for a blast to the past…
Heat of the Moment by Asia
Besides the obvious reasons for exercise, I like to get on the treadmill to debride my mind and soul of all the dead and unnecessary junk that drags me down. Whenever and wherever I roll, I pack light.
The best exercise equipment I have is my iPod. I don’t think I could do it if I didn’t have music to take me away. Actually there is not much at I can do without music.
I am constantly making new playlists as I don’t want to create song aversions, that is, I don’t want to hear a song and think oh, exercise.
I’ll share my most recent playlist with you in hopes that one of these songs will get you too off your butt and on the bandwagon.
For warming up/stretching out, I must have a great song to get me motivated for the entire ordeal. So I like slower paced songs for this. Meditative type songs.
Razor by Foo Fighters.
I love the acoustic guitar in here. I especially like the line, “Day after day, cutting away.”
10,000 Days (Wings for Marie part 2) by Tool. One of the best songs ever made, and it makes me cry sometimes.
The tempo builds toward the middle of this long song so it’s a good one for increasing the grade of the treadmill while it’s playing.
I need faster paced songs for the climbs. Thirty minutes of brutality and I turn it up loud so I don’t have to hear myself gasp and groan.
Love Lockdown by Kanye West. The percussion in here is amazing. The video is pretty cool, especially when those people jump out the frame.
w.a.m.s. Fall Out Boy.
I love the line, “Let’s meet in the purgatory of my hips and get well”.
Tear Away by Drowning Pool. The ultimate narcissist song, but the last thing you’ll think of is you when you listen to the lyrics. I love the refrain, “I don’t care about anyone else but me.” Know someone like that?
Piece of Me by Britney Spears. I know, but yeah, I do listen to pop sometimes.
Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf ft. Lil Wayne. One of those songs that gives me a burst of energy. Lil Wayne has the midas touch, he’s in everything on the radio right now.
Land of Confusion by Disturbed (remake). I like this one better than Genesis‘ original. I know, shame on me, but I do tend to be open to remakes of old songs.
Sam’s Town by The Killers. Love the crazy keyboard opener. Like a circus show! I love every note of this song.
Enter Sandman by Metallica. That one’s on just about every playlist I’ve ever created. That is my second wind song. It’s funny, I think I have trained my body to pump out adrenaline when this one comes on.
Save Yourself by Stabbing Westward.
Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine. Love the bass in here.
Riot by Three Days Grace. Why not start one?
Hypnotize by System of a Down.
Snychronicity II by The Police.
15 Step by Radiohead.
Revelry by Kings of Leon (Every song on their last CD, Only by Night is excellent)
And how’s this for strange? I have a classical one on there:
Rain by Ryuichi Sakamoto. Great for a fast paced walk. Gets slow in the middle, so sometimes have to skip to the next song.
Some world music, too.
Jai Ho by AR Rahman. From the soundtrack Slumdog Millionaire. Westernized Bollywood. This is an uplifting song, I can listen to it three times back to back.
Sometimes I won’t make a playlist, I’ll just target a certain artist and listen to that.
What do you listen to when you work out?
We were so lucky to get a break in the cold weather with a 70 degree day and some bonus sunshine. I took the angel mosaic outside and jigsawed the wood around it.
The blades on the jigsaw are worn or maybe I don’t know how to use the damn thing but it was taking forever and despite the fact I had safety glasses on, the wind blew sawdust into my eyes.
I kept getting this gut feeling that I was going to end up cutting off one of my fingers or maybe even rip an artery in my arm. I always think of the worst thing that can happen, no matter what I’m doing, but I’m used to it, thinking like that. Maybe it’ll earn me some money one day.
So what do people think about while they’re doing man-work with power tools? Drinking beer. I didn’t have any beer. I popped a bottle of wine.
Working with power tools isn’t dangerous enough, you know?
I’m not much of a drinker. I still can’t have a glass of anything without gagging after each sip, no matter how good the stuff is.
So here is how the thing is looking now with the darker grout, post jigsaw. And no I didn’t lose a drop of blood in the process.
Second chances, hey?
Here’s a band I’ve been listening to lately, Shinedown. What’s cool about this video (Second Chances) is they incorporated material from fan stories, photos, videos, and voicemails about their second chances.
Oh, and the temperature outside has already dropped back to 39 degrees in the last couple of hours.
Where’s Mercury? It’s gotta be retrograde. The last twenty-four hours have been one craptastic thing after another.
It started when I was ready to do my first Holidailies post. That’s when I found WordPress gutted the dashboard and didn’t put all the buttons back. It wasn’t too terrible at first, almost like getting into someone else’s car and looking for the headlights and windshield wipers. You can still drive the thing.
Then Blane reminded me his cousin was coming to town. I’d forgotten about that and he’d forgotten about the concert tickets I had for the night. No big deal, Spanky could bring a friend. No ticket would be wasted.
Thing is, Spanky ended up having to stay home from school. Just a cold. But it kept getting worse and worse. By late afternoon Spanky said she wasn’t going. So I’m calling everyone I know at the last minute to see if they want these tickets.
Finally Spanky changes her mind and she calls a friend of hers who, turns out had been begging her dad to take her to this exact concert. Lucky kid.
This kid, she’s really nice, but she is freaking loud. She’s a theatre student, so, LOUD.
And she never stops talking. She talks over the irritating nav system lady’s voice and I miss a key turn. She’s smart enough to know what she does to people’s nerves and apologizes. Poor kid. Poor us. The thing that kept running through my mind was, I hope they have those concert speakers way up, I can’t wait to see this kid’s mouth move and not be able to hear her.
We saw Snow Patrol first, an Irish Indie band that never fail to make me feel melancholy. But what cracked me up about these guys was how they came out cussing up a storm and there was like, no reaction. This audience were, uh, let me just say, more the studious type, not the Metallica crowd. In fact, there was absolutely no pit.
So no body surfing. What I did notice was a ton of people texting. At a concert? Ah hell, I decided to get online too, check the blog. See, I left moderation off and I wanted to see if there was anything out of control over here.
Some way, some how, in all this new WordPress ruckus they managed to change my avatar to my creepy photo of me that I used for the halloween season. Great. I will scare off all the new people on day one. Thanks WordPress. (And many hours later, I am still unable to change back to my smiling-happy-welcome-here face.)
Between sets we went out to the lobby to see who was at the autograph signing table. No clue who these guys were, Carolina something or other, but the fan girls were worked into a frenzy. Two of them crawled under the rope and begged this guy to pose with them for a photo. He rolled his eyes but agreed. What was really pitiful about these “fangirls” was they appeared to be in their late thirties (the band dudes, early twenties).
And they kept giving this poor guy come hither eyes.
Death Cab for Cutie pulled of a great set and we were done for the night. Wait, time to go home and entertain the house guests.
Get in the car, “Empty.” (Blane I will kill you a thousand times for this)
Traffic.
The Nav lady spazing, “Lost satellite reception.”
Finally find a gas station and it’s freezing cold. So I’m sprinting to go pay for the gas and my keychain explodes. Keys all over the parking lot. Don’t ask me how that happened, I am still clueless, but there were little patches of oil for every single key.
So I’m running around the parking lot, dodging cars and picking up keys thinking, I am going to get run over and my legacy on the blog will be that stupid-ass halloween avatar.
My father was a veteran of the Korean War.
All of his life he was an active member of his local VFW. I’m sure those guys did a lot of things, but all I’m aware of is he cooked for bar-b-que fundraisers, called out the numbers at their bingos, things like that. The most important thing he did was play Taps on his trumpet at veterans’ funerals.
Just before his burial (this was 15 years ago) I kept thinking about how hard it would be not to collapse when they played Taps for him. I thought of a million things to give me the strength to make it through that moment.
It was a moment that never came. My dad was the Taps guy. Doh.
So there was a moment of silence at that point instead. I should have been relieved, I didn’t have to worry about collapsing, but I got angry. He’d spent so many years doing this for others and when his time came, there was no one to do the same for him. I didn’t have any brain left that day to think it out, that no one else was trained for this. I kept this all to myself, of course.
In honor of my father, I support three Veterans charities. My favorite is Help Hospitalized Vets. It’s a group that provides craft kits for patients in VA Hospitals. My father had been in and out of the VA for years and he used to rave about these kits and was so proud of all the things he made.
Here’s a pair of mocassins he made for me while in the hospital:
I can’t tell you how much these craft kits helped him pass the time or how they gave him the feeling of accomplishment.
T.S. Young can, he’s a veteran in Battle Creek, MI who recently sent me a thank you card.
I get a lump in my throat every time I receive one of these in the mail.
For all you vets and current soldiers out there, thank you.
This is from the booklet they gave out at the entrance and not specific to the Dallas show. Keep in mind that show times could change.
Just Blane and I went to this one. Since it was just the two of us, we got gold seats which means they mailed us a package with a couple of metal Linkin Park water bottles, LP bandanas, and a lanyards to wear. The seats were pretty close to the stage and I am getting quite good at sneaking my DSLR into concerts. Haven’t uploaded anything yet, but I’m sure I got at least one decent photo of the hundreds I took.
We couldn’t have asked for better weather. It threatened to pour down rain, but all we got was a cool breeze the entire evening.
This is the first year LP takes this tour to Europe and I understand they sold more tickets to each show there than they did in the States. Maybe we are too spoiled with all the great music that comes around here.
Linkin Park’s performance was just as energetic as last year’s show but the voices were a bit worn as the they hit Dallas late in the tour this time around. Still excellent, but not as flawless as last year.
Okay, time flies in the summer when there is so much to do. Just wanted to write a little about Van’s Warped Tour, what it is, what to expect if you are interested in going.
We went last year and while I didn’t write anything about it, maybe I should have. I guess it was the same thing. Summertime, not enough cycles.
A measly thirty two bucks gets you a ticket which give you access to about fifty bands. In some cities there have been as many as a hundred. It’s a one day thing so we’re talking about multiple stages with bands playing at the same time.
You may have to pay to park, we paid $15 in Dallas. There were some people in nearby homes offering cheaper parking in their yards, but I really wouldn’t do that since there might be no one watching the car.
We were allowed to bring our own water bottles this year for the first time. You will want one of those and keep refilling it at the water fountain so you don’t dehydrate and have to be brought out of the concert on a stretcher. That could be quite embarrassing unless you are a drama queen. They sell drinks for $5, even beer ($7), if that’s your thing.
This tour usually has shows at outdoor amphitheaters. That’s one stage, but there are two setups on that stage since it is so big. Stage left plays while stage right sets up instruments. As soon as stage left finishes, stage right starts up.
The rest of the stages (we had six, set list is here) set up on the adjoining grounds and in the parking lots. Bands play for about 30 minutes each. At any given time there are three bands playing. No problems with one band drowning out the sound of another on a nearby stage.
At ours, there was no reserved seating in the amphitheater. Since most people want to be in the pit, the front rows are clear you can almost always find a seat in there. We sat in the front row.
But you know me and my camera. I move around a lot. That’s what I like best about going to concerts, taking photos. I had no idea they allowed SLRs and wanted to kick myself when I saw a guy with one. I talked to him and he said he had no trouble getting it in there.
My Panasonic point and shoot does pretty well, though. What you think?
That is 3Oh!3, a couple of guys who sing to prerecorded music. Garage bandish. Some of it a little techno, some a little hip-hop. Don’t know how to classify them.
What? You thought this was a skater punk thing? Not entirely. There are all sorts of genres, mostly metal though. Mostly starter, unknown type bands trying to break into the big time.
Some are up and comers with recent radio hits. Like Katy Perry (pop).
Others are somewhat established, or have been in popular bands before.
That is Tom DeLonge with his band, Angels and Airwaves, a band I am not ashamed to admit I like. He used to be in Blink-182.
If you play the game Rock Band and know all the levels, he is at the tour bus stage. A little bird who got to hang out behind the scenes told me he doesn’t mix with people, just hangs out in his bus all day. I think the guy is married and has kids. I’d do the same.
But a majority of the bands are at the run-down, small rv stage. We passed a row of them in the parking lot and there were many. It must have been wash day for one band, they had all of their clothing spread out on the hot cement to dry. I thought about taking a photo of that but didn’t because it seemed a little invasive. Underwear and all, you know.
So, what sort of people will you see at a thing like this?
Mostly normal ones.
Lots of 15 to 20 year olds, but people of all ages, even a few little kids. It’s a bit loud for those little ears, so it’s not a bad idea to get some of those foam ear plugs if you are bringing one. There is nothing uncool about earplugs. I’ve seen tattooed people wearing them. Hey, you want to still be hearing music when you’re older, right?
If you want to see some punks, there’s that too.
I haven’t seen any of them cause any problems. I never was a punk, but I love taking photos of their hair. When my kids were babies I would always punk out their hair while shampooing it. See?
That was Spanky after I found a can of foam soap for kids.
What else?
Moshing. It’s not allowed.
But they do it anyway.
I’ve seen wise guys rule these mosh pits. I don’t know how they do it but they create an empty space in the middle of the tightest crowds and maintain it for an entire show. Everyone around knows not to step foot in that space. Until it is time to mosh. That is running around and slamming into each other.
If you want to see more of my photos of Warped, I have them in an album on Flickr.
We did not see as many bands as we would have liked. It was scorching hot. Miserably so. Being in the crowds made it worse. We visited a lot of the merch booths because they were in shady areas and there were a lot of other starter band barkers playing music samples. I love talking to these guys and asking them, “Why should I listen to your band?” See what they say.
Because one day these guys might be at the jet airplane level.
:::Click Here::: to enlarge.
Always great to have one of these before a show. If you are going to Warped Tour in a city near you, keep in mind the bands and set times change with each date, so think of this as a rough guide.
Just wanted to get this up here as it is quite useful to some people. I’ll write more about this later and post some photos along with it.
Here’s a list of all the bands on the tour and the dates they will play. Note that not all bands play on all dates. Some do.
Also note that there is a Hurley Stage (that would be the bigger one) and a Hurley.com Stage (small stage). A lot of people got these two mixed up.
I’ve added more photos and a few tips about Warped Tour :::here:::
So Spanky and I are in the car listening to the radio and this song comes on:
If YouTube doesn’t work, the song is “I Kissed A Girl” by Katy Perry.
That song has a hook if I ever heard one. Anyway, I don’t think a guy could get away with singing a song about kissing a guy.
Spanky says all the kids her age say they like this song, don’t love it, and oh, they’re not gay. Still this song plays on the radio every time I get into the car.
She thinks it’s funny that I like this song. Better than staring at the ceiling, thinking, awwwk-waaaard.
BTW, I have never kissed a girl, would never kiss a girl, would not care to see a girl kiss a girl, am married, have three kids, two dogs and a mother… And I still like this song.
P.S. If you are a girl and you want to kiss a girl, I don’t care.
P.S.S.S.T. If you leave a gay-bashing comment on here I will throw it in the trash.
Have you ever seen a blue eyed horse? I didn’t know they existed until I saw one today.
I think she’s pretty.
I was listening to Fall Out Boy’s cover of Micheal Jackson’s “Beat It” today (go see, it’s worthy) and thought about something from a long time ago. My Board of Nursing exams.
This test was either a full day or two full days, I can’t remember exactly, but it was quite stressful and took an incredible amount of concentration. We were all in this giant room, hundreds of us applicants from all over the state, seated at long tables. Anyway, not too far from me was a major distraction.
A Micheal Jackson look-alike sitting for his Board exam. He had the Gerri curl, the tight pants, the red zippers-all-over jacket, the shoes, and that one glove. It was stunning, as Jackson was quite popular at the time.
First thing to happen was this massive download of Jackson’s songs into my needed more than ever brain. Oh my. Then I kept looking over at him thinking what it might be like if that dude was my nurse. Moonwalking into my hospital room. Followed by the Thriller zombies. The floor tiles lighting up as he stepped on each one.
Along the lines of oddity, here’s another one of my all time favorite videos. It is Christopher Walken dancing to Fatboy Slim’s Weapon of Choice. It is flat out bizarrrrrrre. He even flies at the end.
Okay, the video won’t post, :::click here::: to see it.
I can’t watch it without laughing.
One of Sweetpea’s friends came over last week saying she had to offload two Honda Civic Tour (Dallas concert) tickets due to a scheduling conflict.
Spanky and I just looked at each other, quite surprised at our good fortune. Headlining that tour was Panic At The Disco, one of her favorite bands. I never liked them until a few weeks ago, with the release of their “Pretty. Odd.” CD.
Spank and I dropped everything and went, of course. She says she feels she must to do a review of the show so people will open their minds to this band. I don’t know if she’ll get to it though, she has a pretty bad cold right now.
I’ll give you a run down of what it was like for me.
First, the cool factor. There is nothing about being at a concert that makes me feel cool or hip, especially one such as this where most of the fans are teenaged girls and I am one of the oldest persons in the place. I keep in mind that all the teenagers at these concerts probably don’t feel cool, either (it comes with being that age), AND I don’t think a single person notices me, anyway.
Is it horrifying? Maybe for a hip music reviewer who can’t stop thinking about how out of place he/she is for being there at the age of over 25. I find it taints their work and the reviews are not usually well thought out but a hit job on the talent because of who their audience is. They should actually pay attention to these acts because they grow with their audiences and change styles as these kids get older.
Panic At The Disco (PATD) is a perfect example of this. Spanky started listening to them when she was about twelve. I wasn’t too crazy about their music then, it was a bit on the whiney side. Three years later, this band has a new CD, “Pretty. Odd.” and it is exceptional. I’d think if one likes the Beatles, they’d like some of these songs. Maybe. Beatles fans can be a bit possessive about a music style and shout, “That’s a rip-off!” I don’t feel this way since I’m not happy with a finite set of tunes.
Now, about the show.
Starter bands usually suck because they’re new and trying to make a name for themselves. We were downright shocked with the first band, Phantom Planet (here’s their MySpace page). They’re not new, but I think they’ve recently become “quite good.” I don’t even know how to categorize them, it’s like classic and new rock rolled into one package. Their live performance was spectacular and missing their set because they are the first band would be a big mistake for anyone with a Honda Civic Tour ticket. Trust me on that. It’s forty-five minutes of pure music bliss.
The second band, The Hush Sound was excellent, if you like breeezy California rock. The front-woman, Greta Salpeter’s voice is pristine, but sounds a bit too much like other popular front women vocalists such as Hayley Williams of Paramore, Avril Lavigne, and Lacey Mosley of Flyleaf. After about three songs, Spank and I were hoping they’d hush their sound as it got into Brady Bunch territory.
Third in the lineup, Motion City Soundtrack, another of Spanky’s favorite pop-rock bands. I don’t like their music, but they performed well. I was fixated on Jesse Johnson’s (synthesizer) dramatic emo bang. One of the things I like to do at these concerts is get at least one great photo of something unusual. That was my challenge of the night, to capture this thing. The guy has this chunk of hair in the front that is about a foot long while the rest of his hair is buzz cut length. The entire time he plays, he rocks his head back and forth really fast and this hair thing is an act of its own.
Come on, emo bang, cooperate.
Yes, you.
It’s hard enough fighting the lights and fog.
Don’t get all smug. you haven’t won, yet.
Ha ha, Gotcha!
Now for the headliner, Panic At The Disco, which started at about 10 PM. Their lead vocalist, Brendon Urie pulled off his part with perfection. I usually find that about half the time at any given show of any given band the vocals are not en forme. All four bands on this tour did surprisingly well as far as vocals go. It could be that this is the first week of the tour and voices are still fresh.
Okay, Spanky just passed by and said to save her some space for her forthcoming review. Yay, Spank saved the day. It won’t be in this post as she hasn’t started it yet.
In the meantime, I’ve uploaded a few photos here, if you’re interested.
Here’s a YouTube I uploaded of one of my favorite songs from their current CD. What’s funny about this video is what’s happening at the beginning, left of screen. A security guard struggles to heave a kid out of the pit. Reminds me of birthing. From my perspective, a mom bringing her kid to a concert… well you get the metaphor.
Maybe it’s just me, but I can hear Spanky’s voice singing in there. Funny thing.
Oh, and about the venue. What’s odd is how the name of the venue changes with the type of music… They call it the Palladium Ballroom for rock concerts, but Gilley’s the rest of the time.
Gilley’s as in Urban Cowboy. Mechanical bulls. Country music. Small place. Small crowd.
This was a great show. Go see it if it comes to your city.
I have two or three questions today.
Angel food cake or devil’s food?
—If angel food, do you use a knife or rip it apart with your bare hands?
Reptillia by The Strokes…
This line:
The room is on fire as she’s fixing her hair.
What does it mean?
Is the room literally on fire and she could care less, or is the room metaphorically on fire because she is fixing her hair? As far as I know The Strokes have never said exactly what that line means.
Here’s the video:
Here are the lyrics.
He seemed impressed by the way you came in
“Tell us a story, i know you’re not boring”
I was afraid that you would not insist
“You sound so sleepy, just take this, now leave me”
I said: “Please don’t slow me down if I’m going too fast”
You’re in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night’s not over
You’re not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changing lanes
You ran me off the road
The wait is over
Now I’m taking over
You’re no longer laughing
I’m not drowning fast enough
(perfect solo)
Now everytime that I look at myself
“I thought I told you, this world is not for you”
The room is on fire as she’s fixing her hair
“You sound so angry, just calm down you found me”
I said: “Please don’t slow me down if I’m going too fast”
You’re in a strange part of our town
Yeah, the night’s not over
You’re not trying hard enough,
Our lives are changin lanes
You ran me off the road
The wait is over
Now I’m taking over
You’re no longer laughing
I’m not drowning fast enough
AJ, this is a direct hit from Spanky for making fun of her band.
I second it since you can no longer sleep late.
Check it out, Panic! At The Disco. If you don’t like this sort of music, at least watch it without the sound (the singer sounds like he’s had too much cooooooffffeeeee). Reminds me of Sergeant Pepper…
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCto3PCn8wo]
You know the way some girls keep getting asked over and over to be a bridesmaid? Well Blane keeps getting asked to be a pallbearer, over and over. Tomorrow will be the sixth time in just over a year that he “carries.” (This one isn’t tragic, he had a great aunt pass of old age.)
That’s how they say it in the business. Carry. Blane’s father, a funeral director asked Blane yesterday, “Are you going to carry?”
It is of course an honor to be asked to carry. People know that in life, Blane carries a lot of people. He’s a save-the-world-hero type. Always doing amazing things for people and never asking for anything in return.
There are very few people who will do things for you without keeping score. Blane is one of them.
As odd as this may sound, Blane did not carry me over the threshold on our wedding night. We forgot to do that. It wasn’t important. He’s always there to carry me when I need it. That’s all that matters to us. I’ve done the same for him.
Since I can’t be there with him tomorrow (this is out-of-state, he’s flying there now), I’d like to honor of my hero, Blane, for what he will be doing tomorrow. For what he always does, symbolically. Carry.
Here is a video by My Chemical Romance. It’s gothic, shows the beauty of a Christian funeral. I especially like the ending with the pallbearers and the umbrellas.
Radiohead have finally released their experimental album “In Rainbows” on CD and for download from iTunes ($9.99) and here at Amazon for $7.99. I know Radiohead have done some experimental music before, but what was different about this one was the way it was first released.
Radiohead offered the download for sale over the internet in November 2007. The price? Whatever you wanted to pay.
Since it got such great reviews, I decided to buy the entire album. I prefer hard copy if I’m buying the entire CD, so I had to wait until it came out in stores a couple of weeks ago. (It is no longer available as a pay what you want download.)
I’m liking it, especially this track, “Weird Fishes/Arpeggi.” It has a liquid sound.
The animation is “Wind Along The Coast” by Russian animator Ivan Maximov.
Okay, here’s a photo I took at the concert last night. This is Modest Mouse.
Notice the two drummers.
The little mouse perched near the drums.
The banjo.
The modded bass.
There’s Waldo.
Concerts are difficult to photograph because of the changing light conditions and the evil fog.
Gotta run, going to the HDNet fights. Should get some great photos there.
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