Suicide @ South Street Seaport, July 27, 2007

I know that I am getting old when Suicide, a band that used to cause riots when they played, is playing a free outdoor show sponsored by the city. There was a big debut on BrooklynVegan's site over whether the band was brilliant or a "self indulgent embarrassment".

I am not exactly objective as I am a big Suicide fan but...I thought the band was brilliant. The band played about 70 minutes and finished their set with a great version of "Frankie Teardrop", which I haven't heard them play in years. Alan Vega was confrontational and, frankly, dead-on with his observations on the war. As to be expected, Suicide reworked a number of their songs but I don't think this is a bad thing -- it keeps the show interesting.








The most recent release by Suicide is a live DVD, One day + Live at La Loco / Paris, which was recorded live in early 2005.

Pelican @ Bowery Ballroom, July 24, 2007

Here is the last of the pictures from the MTV Urge Nights show at the Bowery Ballroom last Tuesday. Pelican was the headliner and played a long, sweaty set. The band is touring behind their latest release, City of Echoes, which was released on Hydrahead in June. Aside for a nasty review from Pitchfork, the new CD is getting great reviews.

The band puts on a great live show -- they are certainly worth checking out next time they come through town. (Unfortunately, I am not familiar enough with their music to attempt to put together a set list.)





Links:
Pelican's Official Website
Pelican's MySpace page

Earth @ Bowery Ballroom, July 24, 2007

Earth was the second band to play @ the Bowery Ballroom last Tuesday. The band played a nice, long set of low-fi drone music. I suspect many of the tracks played are from Earth's forthcoming CD THE BEE MADE HONEY IN THE LIONS SKULL (which is due out on Southern Lord later this year). I snagged a set list from Don McGreevy and here are the tracks listed:

- Carrion Crow
- Hung From Moon
- Ouroboros (or Coda)
- The Driver
- Bees
- Engine of Runes

Earth Onstage @ Bowery Ballroom
Don McGreevy (w/Adrienne Davies in the background)
Dylan Carlson
Dylan Carlson

Legal Music Downloads - TV on The Radio, Cold War Kids and Iggy (Pop) & The Stooges

I have been meaning to clear off my iPod and finally got around to listening to a number of the podcasts that I had downloaded.

The first podcast is TV on the Radio live on AOL's The Interface. The band's set was recorded in November of last year (2006) and they sound great!! They play three songs live in the studio and really show how far they have matured in both musicianship and songwriting since their debut. The band also gives a short interview and, amusingly, David Sitek grumping about the leak of the Cookie Mountain demos sounds somewhat like the Lars Ulrich/Napster wars (see below).


Tracks played are "Wash the Day", "Young Liars" and "Province". This is well worth the download.


The second podcast is The Cold War Kids live on KEXP's mid-morning show. As the only thing that I have previously heard by The Cold War Kids is Nathan Willet's solo set on The Interface, I don't have much of a point of comparison. I like the songs with the full band much better than Willet solo but, all-in-all, I don't hear what all the hype is about.

The last podcast is a twenty-minute set by Iggy & The Stooges recorded live at SXSW on March 16, 2007. This is a must for any Iggy fan as it features the reunited Stooges playing four cuts from The Weirdness. The tracks are "Trollin'", Interview with Iggy, "ATM", "My Idea of Fun" and "She Took My Money".

The Bleed Play Jones Beach on Aug. 15 and Release New CD on Sept. 25

The Bleed have a new CD, Silent Treatment, due out in late September (on Vagrant Records). The first track from this release, Shadetree Mechanics, is streaming on the band's MySpace page.

Silent Treatment is the band’s third full-length and was recorded earlier this year with producer Brian McTernan. The resulting 11-song set is an explosive document of The Bled’s trademark ability to join unexpected melodies and precision playing with the heaviest of rhythms. To get an early listen, the first track, “Shadetree Mechanics,” is currently airing on AOL’s Projekt Revolution radio channel and is also included on the Vagrant summer sampler being distributed free at the Vagrant Records booth along this summer’s Warped Tour.

The band is touring as part of the Projekt Revolution tour, which includes acts like Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday. The tour started last week in Washington state and there are a couple stops in the area in the middle to end of August.

Here are the tour dates in the area:

Aug 15 - Wantagh, NY @ Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Aug 16 - Lancaster, Pennsylvania @ The Chameleon (The Bleed headline a club show)
Aug 25 - Camden, NJ @ Tweeter Center at the Waterfront
Aug 26 - Hartford, CT @ New England Dodge Music Center
Aug 29 - Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center

Links:
The Bleed's MySpace Page
The Bleed's Main Website

Matt Costa Completes New CD "Unfamiliar Faces"

I remember Matt Costa from his stakeboarding days. A serious injury sidelined Costa from skateboarding so it is great to see his music career take off. Unfamiliar Faces is the follow-up to 2006's Songs We Sing and it is scheduled to be released on October 2nd.

Like Songs We Sing, Unfamiliar Faces will be released on Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records and Costa is once-again working with producer Tom Dumont (No Doubt).

“Being around Tom, it was easy to have all these feelings flow naturally. One of the first things he told me to do was to stop practicing and just let it come out – it was like the light went on in my head,” says Costa. “The more you learn about something, you still might not fully understand it, but at the same time that’s what keeps it fresh – that’s the key to music."

On this upcoming release, Costa mines his imagination once again, crafting an ambitious collection of songs that explore themes of love, loss and fear. From the piano-driven opener “Mr. Pitiful” to the title-track, Unfamiliar Faces traverses musical styles drawing on elements of pop, country, folk and rock resulting in an effortlessly intoxicating musical experience.

When Costa sat down to write what would become Unfamiliar Faces, he locked himself in his Sacramento bedroom with some of his most treasured belongings and let inspiration take over, absorbing stories and memories from his possessions which included his favorite books, a wooden pipe and a box of old 45’s among others. In the spring of 2007, Costa re-teamed with Dumont to record the album.

After the buzz that Songs We Sing generated, which includes playing Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza along with headlining his own tours, big things should follow for Costa with the release of this new CD.

Links:
Matt Costa's Website
Matt Costa's MySpace Page

Priestbird @ Bowery Ballroom, July 24, 2007

Priestbird kicked off the Urge Nights ambient metal show at the Bowery Ballroom last Tuesday. The band was formerly know as Tarantula AD and their sound has evolved quite a bit since the name change. The songs were mostly instrumental in the psychedelic vein of early Pink Floyd or Hawkwind. The song structures were ambitious and the sound was rich and full. I would imagine it to be quite the experience to catch these guys in a small room.

The band has a new CD, In Your Time, out on Kemando Records.

Saunder Jurriaans
Gregory Rogove
Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans
Tomorrow is the last night of the tour with Pelican and the band is then playing some dates with Helmet next month.

Here are the band's upcoming tour dates:

Jul 30 2007 8:00P Cat's Cradle Carrboro, North Carolina
Aug 27 2007 8:00P Ravari Room w/ HELMET Columbus, Ohio
Aug 28 2007 8:00P Peabody's w/ HELMET Cleveland, Ohio
Aug 29 2007 8:00P The Magic Stick w/ HELMET Detroit, Michigan
Aug 30 2007 8:00P The Vogue w/ HELMET Indianapolis, Indiana

Check out Season of the Sun from the new Priestbird CD.

Links:
Priestbird's Main Website
Priestbird's MySpace page

The Self-Righteous Brothers - In Loving Memory Of...

I have had a couple tracks from The Self-Righteous Brothers' In Loving Memory Of.. CD on my iPod for the last few weeks and have been playing them almost non-stop. The CD was released just about a month ago on Black & Greene Records and the band played a show right around the time of the release at the Mercury Lounge.

The first song Concerto In Drop D is a quirky power-pop tune about unrequited love. (Actually, all of the SRB tracks that I have heard seem to be about unrequited love.) Musically, the song is in same the vein as tunes by Fountains of Wayne or early Cheap Trick.

The second song, Diana, is a power-ballad ode to Princess Diana. While this tune isn't as "pop" as Concerto In Drop D, it isn't that much of a stylastic departure.

The third song, Sidecar Jesus, is a radical departure from the pop sounds of the previously mentioned tracks. This tune straddles the line between alt-country and punk. With its steel guitar and acoustic drums, this tune is comparable to work by the Violent Femmes and Frank Smith.

The Self-Righteous Brothers are talented musicians with a unique view (and imprint) on this genre of music. Based on the tracks that I have heard, this CD should be well worth checking out.

Links:
The Self-Righteous Brothers' MySpace page
The Self-Righteous Brothers' Website

Ford and Fitzrory @ Pianos, July 19th, 2007

Ford & Fitzroy just finished a series of residency shows at Pianos. I caught up with Jay (singer) and Glenn (lead guitar) right before they took the stage on their second night of the residency.


How did this set of residency shows come about?
Glenn: Jasper & Zack (Pianos booking agents) like the band

Jay: We recently played with Zack’s band [The Octagon] at the Mercury Lounge

How was the first night of the residency?
Jay: It was a good show and we are expecting each show to get better and better. As we are playing every week, we go into each show with a “high” and a sense of confidence from the previous show. The turnout for the first show was good (and there was a strong turnout for the second show as well).

Glenn: People stopped to listen when we played last week

How long has the band been together and what are the plans after this set of shows?
Glenn: The current band has been has been together about 1 - 1.5 years. Some of the band played together in a previous band.

In terms of future plans, the band will mostly be doing things around New York as it is hard to go anywhere without a car. Future plans include a show in Boston in September with HALLELUJAH THE HILLS, who are old friends of ours. (The show is Sept 29th at PA's Lounge)

The band is also recording its first CD later this year, around the Aug/Sept. timeframe and is currently looking at a short list of producers/engineers.

Jay: Releasing the CD is the top-priority for 2008.

Jay: The band came together around a love of Tom Waits. Things started picking up for the band last summer and we have been playing shows at a number of clubs around town. (which have included Mercury Lounge, Sin-e, Luna Lounge, Annex, Midway, etc.)


Any thoughts on the recent closing of a number of New York clubs? (Some reviewers see the closing of CBGB as the end of an era; others [Ian MacKaye] have essentially said ‘it’s just a room’)
Glenn: I miss Tonic and Sin-e but there is always another club opening

Jay: I don’t want to get nostalgic

What are you listening to these days/what’s in your iPod and are there any bands on the NYC scene that you like?
Jay: I’m listening to a lot of 60’s music and just picked up the Phil Spector Back to Mono box set. A Christmas Gift for You (Disc 4 of the box) is great and I picked up the box for $11.99.

I haven’t kept up with a lot of the bands playing around town but I do like Vietnam. I like bands with a retro sound who add something to the sound to take it to the next level.

Glenn: I listen to a lot of obscure 60’s girl groups. (Note: I asked Glenn about his thoughts on the recent girl group bands like The Pipettes). I like The Pipettes – great harmonies.

On the local scene, I like Man Man – they have a great Tom Waits feel.


What would be your “ultimate” band to tour with?
Jay/Glenn: Tom Waits!! (BR: by this point in the interview, I am slowly starting to figure out that these guys are Tom Waits fans)

Do you have any interest in any of the bands that reunited this year for summer tours (Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, Genesis, etc.)?
Jay: There isn’t much that excites me this summer. The last reunion that I got excited about was The Pixies. Van Halen might be fun from a nostalgia point of view.

Glenn: Mission of Burma’s reunion was the last one I got excited about.

At this point, the band had to leave to get ready to take the stage…

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The band's live show has a "wow" factor and Glenn's observation was dead-on -- I was one of the people that "stopped to listen". The band completely held my attention for the duration of their set and, by the end of the set, I wanted more.

Check out a live video of the band from the Moveable Hype party earlier this year.


Links:
Ford & Fitzroy's MySpace Page

The Kin @ The Delancey, July 18, 2007

The Kin headlined Barons Beer's AusFest show last Wednesday at The Delancey.


The band was coming off a sold-out show at Joe's Pub and, as always, sounded great. It really says something for The Kin's musicianship that they could hold the audience AFTER the free beer ran out.

Isaac made a comment about the large number of palettes of beer were drunk that night. (I am not sure how much beer is on a palettes but there seemed to be dozens of cases that were consumed).

Isaac opened the show playing the didgeridoo
Thorry/The Kin
Thorry Singing Through His Guitar/The Kin
Isaac & Thorry/The Kin
The Kin are playing this Saturday night at the Gramercy Theatre with Lez Zeppelin (the all-female Zeppelin cover band). This show is Lez Zeppelin's CD release party and their new CD was recorded with Zeppelin engineer Eddie Kramer.

This should be a fun show. As both The Kin and Lez Zeppelin have individually sold out the Bowery Ballroom this year, there is a good chance that this show will sell out. Don't wait to get tickets!

The Gramercy Theatre is at 127 E. 23rd Street(between Lexington and Park Ave. South). The show starts at 9PM and tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of show.

Links:
The Kin's MySpace Page
Lez Zeppelin's MySpace Page

Tori Amos Starts Fall 2007 Tour in Albany on Oct 9th

After playing to sell out crowds in Europe and Australia this year, Tori Amos is heading state-side this fall for the U.S. leg of her world tour. Kicking off in Albany, NY on October 9th and finishing in Los Angeles, CA on December 17th, Amos, joined this time around by her band, will be playing close to 50 dates on this US leg. iTunes and Ticketmaster are partnering with Amos for an exclusive ticket pre-sale starting

Most recently, Tori released her 9th studio album entitled American Doll Posse on which she introduced a quartet of new alter-egos named Santa, Pip, Clyde and Isabel. The critically acclaimed album - which the New York Times called ““Her most entertaining album in years” - entered the charts at #5, making it her sixth album to debut in the US Top 10. This places Tori among an exclusive club of female artists that includes Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, Madonna, LeAnn Rimes, Britney Spears and Barbra Streisand.

Launching today is the brand new www.toriamos.com. The new Tori Amos website takes a community-oriented approach; allowing fans to create their own profile pages within the site, upload photos, comment on news and blog posts, review shows, rate songs and much more.

Tori shared her enthusiasm about the new site saying, “so many of the letters I get from fans include stories of how they've met some of their closest friends at one of my shows. I love that they've created this network. It inspired the idea of creating an online place outside of the tour where my fans could get to know each other and hang out and once in a while I can pop in and say hello. This seemed like a fun way to do both."

Amos will also be announcing a series of official live bootlegs recorded during her Fall Tour. This is a follow up with a twist to her successful series of six live double-CD bootlegs released in 2005 featuring concerts in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Denver, London and Manchester.

Tori Amos, whose career was propelled by the release of her 1992 multi-platinum breakthrough Little Earthquakes, has led the charge in rejuvenating the era of the female singer songwriter. With worldwide record sales topping 12 million, multiple Grammy nominations and a memoir co-authored by Ann Powers entitled Tori Amos: Piece by Piece which topped the New York Times bestseller list, Tori continues to be one of the most intriguing and respected artists of our time.

Keep checking www.toriamos.com for more tour updates and www.ticketmaster.com/toriamos for info on ticket pre-sales

Here are initial dates with more to be announced shortly:

10/09--Albany, NY --Palace Theatre
10/11--New York, NY--Theatre at Madison Square Garden
10/12--New York, NY--Theatre at Madison Square Garden
10/13--Syracuse, NY--Landmark Theatre
10/15--Philadelphia, PA--Tower Theatre
10/18--Boston, MA--Orpheum Theatre
10/21--Montreal, Canada--Palace des Arts
10/23--Toronto, Canada--Hummingbird
10/24--Buffalo, NY--Shea’s Performing Arts Center
10/26--Washington, DC--DAR Constitution Hall
10/27--Detroit, MI--Fox Theatre
10/28 Louisville, KY--Palace Theatre
10/30--Pittsburgh, PA--Benedum
11/01--Cleveland, OH--TBA
11/02--Indianapolis, IN--TBA
11/03--Milwaukee, WI--TBA
11/05--Chicago, IL--TBA
11/07--Minneapolis, MN--TBA
11/09--Lawrence, KS--TBA
11/10--Omaha, NE--TBA
11/12--Nashville, TN--TBA
11/13--Charlotte, NC--TBA
11/14--Atlanta, GA--TBA
11/21--West Palm Beach, FL--TBA
11/24--Dallas, TX--TBA
11/25--Houston, TX--TBA
11/26--Austin, TX--TBA
11/28--Denver, CO--TBA
11/29--Salt Lake City, UT--TBA
12/03--Vancouver, BC--TBA
12/04--Portland, OR--TBA
12/05--Seattle, WA--TBA
12/07--San Francisco, CA--TBA
12/17--Los Angeles, CA--TBA

Links:
Tori Amos' Main Website

Carlos Giffoni Plays Water Street Lounge on August 1st

Carlos Giffoni is probably best known as the curator/ promoter of the annual festival No Fun but he also makes music in his "spare time". Norwegian electronics and noise pioneer Lasse Marhaug describes Giffoni as "the Jimi Hendrix of Noise". According to the bio posted on Giffoni's website, his sound "can be described as psychedelic electronics for the new era of death and destruction hope music."

It looks like a fun show and, if you have any doubt, check out these mp3s:
*No More Air
*Bellua Resurrectio

Carlos Giffoni is playing with The Cathode Terror Secretion, Halflings, Ahlzagailzehguh, and Diaphram. Tickets are only $7.00 and doors @ 8PM.

Water Street Lounge is located at 66 Water Street, DUMBO Brooklyn, NY 11201. F to York st. A or C to High St.
www.myspace.com/thtfl for details.

Second Dan @ The Delancey, July 18, 2007

Second Dan was the second band to play at the Barons Beer sponsored AusFest and I really enjoyed their sound. The band's bio describes their music as "combining the pop sensibilities of Foo Fighters and Janes Addiction with the passion and world-view of U2 and countrymen Midnight Oil" and this is a pretty accurate description. The band is currently finishing their debut CD, "Bring Down Goliath", which is due to be released later this year and their are a couple tracks from this release streaming on the band's MySpace page (link below).


The band has a show this Friday (July 27) at Crash Mansion and are scheduled to take the stage at 10PM.


Links:
Second Dan's MySpace page

Tamarama @ The Delancey, NYC, July 18, 2007

Barons Beer hosted AusFest this past Wednesday to celebrate the launch of their new craft beers. Aside for free beer and meat pies, three great Aussie bands played.

Tamarama opened the show and played a very enjoyable mellow set. I hadn't seen the band before but was reading that they just released a new EP, Wonderland City, earlier this year. Tamarama is playing the Gramercy on August 1st with Ryan Cabrara and Pianos on September 12th.



Links:
Tamarama's MySpace page

A Camp (featuring Nina Persson from The Cardigans) Plays First US Show in Brooklyn

A Camp makes their US debut at Union Hall on August 6th and follow this up with a CMJ show at the Knitting Factory on August 8th. A Camp is the side project of The Cardigan's Nina Persson and these two shows will likely highlight new A Camp material as Persson is is working on a follow up to her 2001 debut solo CD.

Below are some highlights from a recent interview with Persson in Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter:

Right now I'm super-inspired by Adam & the Ants trying to recreate their wet drum-sound on my coming solo record. I'm even thinking about making a cover of "Prince Charming", I love it. From childhood all I remember is a poster with "Adam Ant" and thinking he was cool, says Nina Persson, visiting Sweden to hand out DN's culture award.

Six years after the solo debut with A Camp, Nina Persson has started working on a new album with Niklas Frisk and her husband Nathan Larson. She has started with a bang with half a dozen songs that are going to get lyrics about everything from Chinatown in New York to "animals in Africa".

When we rehearsed with A Camp we felt immediately that the music is taking a new direction. There will always be a little "folksiness" in me, but I don't dig in my country-drawer anymore. Right now what amuses me most is girl-pop from the 60s, 80's punk and David Bowie, she says.

Tickets for each show are only $12 and are (surprisingly) still available.

Links:
A Camp's Myspace Page

More Concert Goers Arrested at Local Concert by The Fray than at Tool's Show

This goes to prove my point that emo-pop rots both the mind and soul.

The Asbury Park Press announced that 20 arrests were made at the Tool show at PNC Bank Arts Canter on Wednesday, July 18th. This total "is less than half the number of arrests made before and during a June 25 concert headlined by THE FRAY."

I can't say that I disagree with the concert goers though as I would have to be on "something" to sit through an entire concert by The Fray.

To sign off for the night with a word from the always "politically correct" Buckshot (from Dirty Rig)...

When ever I am feeling a little sad because of a bad day I like to watch this video. It just cracks me up. What the hell is wrong with some of these people?

Anyway I thought I would share this with you all. It just cracks me up so much. Good Times.

Beers Up

Buckshot

Municipal Waste: The Art of Partying CD Review

NME says that thrash "is a style of music that makes you want to pour lager over your head and jump off speaker stacks" and that the genre was founded by a "bunch of young metal dudes in the Bay Area of San Francisco [who] thought 'Gee, this music is ace, but it'd sound better if it was played faster and by drunk people'". There is a nice writeup on Municipal Waste and SSS (Short Sharp Shock - Earache labelmates of Municipal Waste) in the article.

NME has it right in that Muicipal Waste takes their music back to the pre-Satanic era of thrash metal. The music is fast and aggressive, comparable musically and lyrically to early Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, Gang Green and Kill 'em All era Metallica. Municpal Waste's lyrics center around beer (naturally), high school food fights, and radioactive warfare. The CD artwork, by San Francisco based artist Andrei Bouzikov, matches well with the band's lyrical themes and shows radioactive zombies at a keg party.

This CD continues where the band's previous release, Hazardous Mutations, left off. The band really doesn't slow down through the 15 tracks on this disc. As expected, the music is tight, the guitar work shreds and drumming constantly pushes the music forward. Stand out tracks include "Headbanger Face Rip", "A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Destroyer)" and "Born to Party" (which has the chorus "Municipal Waste is going to f*ck you up"). All of these tunes are perfect shout-alongs for the mosh pit. The band also shows their great sense of humor with the voice-overs on Beer Pressure and the 'hidden' bonus track. The bonus track sounds like a cover of an 80's pop song (but I haven't been able to track down the details on the track).

This CD has been released in Europe and is available on iTunes but the US release date has pushed back to July 31st. What is interesting is that the UK version (available through Play.com) has two bonus tracks:
Thrashing's My Business....and Business Is Good (Bonus Track)
I Just Wanna Rock (Bonus Track).

The band is finishing a short tour with Agnostic Front with a show in Detroit tonight and then they are off to a month-long run through Europe in August.

There is a new video for Unleash the Bastards (gore version) posted to the Earache site (link) along with photos from the photo shoot for Headbanger Face Rip (link).

Links:
Municipal Waste's MySpace page
Municipal Waste's Main Website

More Bands Booked Into Cha-Cha's in Coney Island

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the Agnostic Front show at Cha-Cha's in Coney Island. I didn't realize that was a Rocks Off show and Rocks Off is now booking bands at Cha-Cha's.



Here is what is coming up:

Aug 3rd - Agnostic Front
Aug 18th - The Slackers
Aug 20th - The Bouncing Souls
Aug 22nd - The Aquabats w/MC Lars
Aug 25th - Sound of Urchin (I hate this band with a passion)

Aside for Sound of Urchin, it looks like some great acts are going into Cha-Chas. Given the size of the club, I would think the Agnostic Front and Bouncing Souls shows will be completely crazy.

Links:
Cha-Cha's of Coney Island

Interesting Article on the State of the Music Industry in "The Economist"

I am finally catching up on my reading and there was an interesting article in the July 7th issue of The Economist on the state of the music industry. For years now, every band that I have known has said that they make almost no money from CD sales. I have heard repeatedly that a band needs to sell the volume (number of CD units) of a Madonna or Garth Brooks or they make next-to-nothing. I am a bit curious why The Economist is positioning this as new news. The reality is that most bands support themselves by touring and merchandising. Some bands make a ton of money from touring and others just scrap by.

I guess the awareness of this fact of life is growing now that artists like Prince are giving away their CDs and making all their money by touring. The Economist notes that "concert ticket sales in North America alone increased from $1.7 billion in 2000 to over $3.1 billion last year". The article goes on to state the "[r]ecord labels have come up with a remdy: the '360 contract'. Instead of settling for a cut of CD sales, they increasingly offer artists broader contracts that encompass live music, merchandise and endorsement deals." As you would expect, most artists are extremely gun-shy of these types of deals. Currently, the "major" acts who have signed these types of deals are Robbie Williams, the Pussycat Dolls and Korn.

I'll be interested to see what comments and feedback this article gets. I just don't see the major labels being able to replace the artist management agencies. It will be especially interesting to see what becomes of the careers of "packaged acts" like Robbie Willaims and the Pussycat Dolls now that they have put all aspects of their career in the hands of the major labels.

Arrested Development @ B.B. King's, July 16, 2007

This show really brought me back -- I saw the package tour of Arrested Development, Me Phi Me and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy at Max's on Broadway in Baltimore in 1992. At the time, it really seemed that Disposable Heroes and Arrested D were going to be huge. Disposable Heroes were opening the US ZooTV tour and you couldn't turn on the radio or TV without hearing Arrested Development. Well...a short time later, Dionne Farris left Arrested Development, the second CD tanked and the band faded from sight.

I was completely unaware that most of the original band reunited in 2000 and have been recording and touring.


The band sounded great and seemed much more comfortable with themselves than when I last saw them in the mid-90's. The crowd at B.B. King's seemed to think so too. Opening act Myself tried very hard to get people (other than the terrible wanna-be break dancer) on the dance floor. The crowd took to the floor from the moment Arrested Development took the stage. In fact, the crowd moved up so quickly, some of the B.B. King's wait staff seemed rather alarmed that they still had unpaid dinner/drink tabs in their hands.



It has been too long since I have active listened to Arrested D so I couldn't even begin to put together a set list. Some of the songs that I can remember are "Tennessee", "Africa Inside Me", and a moving cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" (see the picture below).


Obviously, Arrested Development is back with a vengeance. They performed a strong show and drew a decent sized crowd. I am looking forward to hearing the new CD "Since The Last Time" when it is released.

Links:
Arrested Development's Website

Myself @ B.B. King's, July 16, 2007

I hadn't heard of Myself prior to catching the man/the band open for Arrested Development last night at B.B. King's. I had trouble finding much information on this band as it appears their MySpace page has been "reassigned" (hacked?).

For those who were as uninformed as I was -- Myself is a hip-hop band. There were at least 7+ members in the band. Myself (the band) played a 50 minute set and Myself (the man) tried his best to work the crowd but I think most people were either eating or not open-minded enough to listen to the opening act. It was both sad and amusing that there was a gentleman (who looked somewhat like Napoleon Dynamite), who had to be the worst break-dancer ever, that spent most of the set on the dance floor showing his "moves"(...and his white socks with sandals were way too classic).

For fans of Bob and Ziggy Marley, Myself is well worth checking out.




Myself was in the crowd multiple times. Unfortunately, I was unprepared for him to come by my table.