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| Free Stuff Friday: Win a Signed, Screen-Printed Brody Dalle Poster Posted: 13 Mar 2009 02:14 PM PDT It’s time for even more free goodies! We’ve got a signed, screen-printed poster from Brody Dal To win this poster, comment on this post with the correct answers to the following questions: What is Brody Dalle’s real name according to her birth certificate and what famous musician is she currently married to? Please use a valid email address and unfortunately, we must limit this contest to US residents. We’ll select a winner by Sunday, March 22nd. Check out Spinnerette’s video for “Ghetto Love” from the new Ghetto Love EP: Spinnerette: website | myspace Related Posts |
| New Franz Ferdinand video for “No You Girls” Posted: 13 Mar 2009 01:41 PM PDT Check out Franz Ferdinand’s new video, if only for the… interesting fashions. Franz Ferdinand - No You Girls Franz Ferdinand: website | myspace | rmx mon.  Related Posts |
| Mansions @ Jerry’s Bait Shop, Lees Summit MO Posted: 13 Mar 2009 12:17 PM PDT For the people in Jerry’s Bait Shop enjoying the $5 pizza special, they were soon to learn that they were in for an even better deal: Mansions. The Louisville group that is essentially Christopher Browder and friends took the stage first and though a group from Alaska and a 90s cover band followed, at least for me, the show began and ended with Mansions. There was no way the other bands could even compare to Browder’s passionate performance. Kicking off with “Por Favor Is Spanish”, Mansions was off to a good start. And by the time the band got into the instrumental section of “Talk Talk Talk”, I think everybody in the venue had no choice but to look up from their pizzas. The touring guitarists were blazing, leaning into every chord. The drummer used actual chord progressions and with the musical tension mounting, Browder leaned into the drum set before breaking away at the crux of the instrumental bridge. For the next few songs, Browder’s vocals stole the show as the guy went from a wide-mouthed, high volumed chorus to softer verses with tiny breaks in his words. Closing the set was an explosive performance of “The Worst Part” that saw Browder climbing on the drums. After a huge build-up during the repetitious line, “I don’t wanna be you,” Browder calmly held his hands behind his back and quietly whispered the lingering line, “The worst part is you don’t know it.” With an ending like that, this band surely will not be playing small clubs and opening for cover bands much longer.         Set List: Mansions: website | myspace | Mansions EP review | Talk Talk Talk EP | New Best Friends review [asa][/asa] Related Posts |
| M. Ward @ Aladdin Theatre, Portland Posted: 13 Mar 2009 10:38 AM PDT One measure for a great concert is how a live performance not only changes how the songs sound, but also how you feel about them. For example, each song M. Ward played was amazing — beautiful, warm, emotional — but going back over the set list, there are a handful of songs on that there that I, although a fan, had mostly overlooked or otherwise not loved. However, in concert he made every song vibrant. It sounded as if I was listening to a set of only my favorites. How could I not walk away a bigger fan? I can safely say that I haven’t been to another concert quite like this one. Ward started out the concert in almost total darkness, except for a window projected on a screen above the right side of the stage. Eventually, the lights came up a little bit, but it was still hard to make out who exactly was on stage at any given time. The dramatic lighting reminded me of seeing a play more than going to a concert, and yet somehow it created a perfect intimate setting in which to enjoy his music. He began the night with a solo acoustic guitar instrumental that was both beautiful and captivating, ranging in styles and moods. After building the crowd’s anticipation, M. Ward gradually moved from the quiet acoustic songs to the louder, more rambunctious numbers. He wasn’t accompanied on stage until his third song, and that was just to add the whistle to “Lullaby + Exile”. The band finally joined him two songs later for “Post-War”. As the set moved forward, the band picked up momentum, adding a pounding beat to “Chinese Translation” and drawing cheers as they launched into the full sound of “Poison Cup”. The crowd, which had been respectfully quiet in the beginning sang and clapped along boisterously to “Magic Trick”. The concert reached it’s peak with “Epistemology”, which had a great guitar riff intro and even better jam in the middle. He ended the set with a rocking version of John Fahey’s “Bean Vine Blues No. 2″, but came back on for the encore with two more rollicking numbers. I had come early because I didn’t want to miss seeing openers Port O’Brien’s “I Woke Up Today”, one of my favorite songs last year. While musically compatible, the two performances couldn’t have been more different in their presentation. Ward barely spoke the entire show, where as lead singer Van Pierszalowski had funny things to say between almost every song, from giving dancing directions to handing out pots and pans for the grand finale. Although Port O’Brien was good, I’d like to see them in smaller, standing room-only venue. I think the seating and the size of the venue kept the crowd interaction from reaching its full potential. It was truly a wonderful show. Fans might not have heard every song they loved — I didn’t — but it’s hard to imagine that they didn’t leave satisfied. I know I got in my car wishing that I had bought tickets for the following nights. Set List: M. Ward: website | myspace | @ austin city limits 2008 [asa]B001NJY53K[asa] Photo: Jessica McGinley Related Posts |
| Dan Auerbach @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland Posted: 13 Mar 2009 08:29 AM PDT Dan Auerbach got his start in the Black Keys, but he wanted some more, so he went solo and released his first album, Keep It Hid, last month. What is this thing that he has, you might ask? Well, I'm not sure, but he definitely had it at The Beachland Ballroom for his homecoming/CD release party show. The show was sold out and the atmosphere suggested celebration with all of the mingling and familiar faces. The show started out with a band made up of three energetic women on the strings and a male drummer (with awesome chops I might add) called Those Darlins, out of Nashville, Tennessee. They played a spicy medium sized set with upbeat strummed out songs about topics that range from driving drunk to eating chicken in the middle of the night. Following Those Darlins and preceding Dan's performance was a band named Hacienda from San Antonio. Hacienda is a powerful band with great talent distribution on every instrument. They rocked the venue and got everybody's blood flowing and ready for the main event. Dan Auerbach finally hit the stage with great anticipation. The stage was completely dark except for small remaining light on Dan as he went into an amazing moving performance of "Trouble Weighs a Ton". Dante Schwebel (guitar/vocals) of Hacienda came out and harmonized most of the song with Dan adding to the already exponential amounts of emotion. After the first song wrapped, the lights came on and he started playing "I Want Some More", getting everybody in the Ballroom dancing. Though Dan is playing his solo music for this tour, he is being backed by the opening band Hacienda, which does a phenomenal job along My Morning Jacket drummer Patrick Hallahan. Dan played his set for the majority of the show non-stop song after song, only stopping for small chit-chat and tunings. Radiating bluesy riffs/slides and hard rockin' solos/vocals off the walls in all his bearded goodness, Dan the man played to a full house with his family and friends on the side of the stage in his hometown area. I couldn't think of a better situation or environment to spend an evening. Near the end of the show someone threw a rose on stage and he played a little bit with it in his mouth. Nothing says bad ass like throwing down some crazy licks with a rose in your mouth. He played his last song and (surprise!) came out and played two encores before calling it a night. Everybody slowly migrated out and left with better lives than they came in with. Dan ended up playing two songs not on his album, "Oh Carol" and "Money and Trouble" along with the rest of his catalog of songs from Keep It Hid except "Going Home" (says the set list), which I found rather odd. If you don't have his new album, pick it up because it is well worth its weight in gold and you won't regret it. The show was beyond amazing and if you haven't seen (tour dates below) Dan play yet, you are really missing out, because Dan truly is the man.        Set List: Tour Dates: Dan Auerbach: website | myspace  Photos: Joe Gotschall and Evan Rutledge Related Posts |
| Tindersticks @ 9:30 Club, Washington DC Posted: 13 Mar 2009 07:26 AM PDT When All Tomorrow’s Parties brought Tindersticks together in September of 2006, their future was looking bleak. They’d been apart for three years, members were working on solo projects, and for all intents and purposes they’d split up. They were asked to play in the Don’t Look Back series of whole-album concerts, and that performance proved inspiring. Soon enough the band, pared down from six members to three, were in France recording what would become The Hungry Saw, their highly-acclaimed seventh album. Tindersticks is on tour now and, after a jaunt in Europe, they’ve come over for the North American leg, including a stop at the 9:30 Club in DC. Tindersticks is known for its symphonic style and the band has brought over the same live seven piece band as on its European tour, including trumpet, sax, cello, and something that may have been a glockenspiel. It seems that their ATP experience provided them with inspiration for the tour as well, as they played the entirety of The Hungry Saw in it’s LP form, with a break of older songs between side A and side B. It takes confidence to put on a show consisting almost entirely of new songs, and that confidence was there in abundance at this show. The 9:30 Club provided a suitably intimate setting for a group of fans who applauded and cheered warmly for every tune, bringing a shy smile to the face of Stuart Staples - somewhat shocking when many of us have only ever seen his far more somber press shots - and producing a joyful performance by the whole band. Suitably enough, the band came on to “Introduction”, taking up their instruments one at a time, then immediately went on to the sultry soul of “Yesterdays Tomorrow”, all spangly guitar and booming vintage backbeat. Tindersticks’ pleasure at being on stage was palpable, and they performed with a jaunty liveliness, Staples shuffling and sashaying around the microphone. The sound set up suited the nuances of the band’s music brilliantly, each note ringing clearly, right down to the tinkle of the triangle. So the soft melancholy of “Come Feel the Sun” came across as well as the dark Motown style of “Boobar Come Back to Me”, and Staples’ spare whisperings were as easy to hear as his unique baritone. Highlights of a great set were the dark mutant jazz of “Say Goodbye to the City”, the fevered spaghetti Westernisms of “Her”, and the playful, C&W tinged romance of “Buried Bones”. But the band’s entire set comes together so well that it’s unfair to pick it apart — their renewed enthusiasm comes through clearly in their on-stage camaraderie, and it’s obvious that shows are carefully executed to give as much to the audience as possible. Songs were passionately performed, but that passion wasn’t expressed through the loudness or noise of your typical Myspace indie band; instead it came through more subtly, in the space that allowed songs to breath, the ornate arrangements, and in the sheer fizzing energy displayed on stage. Tindersticks don’t merely try to overwhelm you with bombast, power, and cheap emotional engineering; instead they charm you with their skill, warmth, and love for what they’re doing. This kind of maturity might not be for everyone, but it made for a great concert, one that I’m still buzzing from days later. I recommend you catch them while they’re on a high, and while you can — there’s no telling how long the next hiatus will be. Set List: Tindersticks’ latest album is The Hungry Saw on Constellation Records. A tour-only Live CD from the Glasgow show of 2008 is being sold at shows. More information on special offers during the tour can be found at www.cstrecords.com/promo/cst055/about.php and at the band’s website . Tour Dates: Tindersticks: website | myspace  Related Posts |
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