popwreckoning updates |  |
- Justin Trawick @ The M Room, Philadelphia
- The Raveonettes ‘In and Out of Control’ artwork, mp3 “Suicide”
- Blondie, Pat Benatar, & The Donnas @ Chastain Park Amphitheater, Atlanta
| Justin Trawick @ The M Room, Philadelphia Posted: 04 Aug 2009 11:07 AM PDT Dear Popwreckoning friend and Washington DC native Justin Trawick made his way up to Philadelphia for a performance with local favorite Jason Agers. Opening the three bill show was Laura Cheadle. I was delighted to hear the jazzy and funky soul that emanated from the small stage. Cheadle was joined by a tight drummer, whom I found to be quite impressive, and her father on the keys. I found her father's playing to be a bit too experimental and avant garde to fit with the soulful sounds Cheadle strove for. It also slightly alarmed me/weirded me out to hear Cheadle singing the repetitive lyrics "lay me down" and thrusting her hips back and forth as her father played just feet behind her. I do, however, look forward to hearing more from the lovely and slight Laura Cheadle – definite potential.
Justin followed, this time around not only accompanied by upright bassist Jean Finstad, but also with a drummer and rapper, Daniel and Malik, respectively. The two have been part of Justin's entourage for quite some time and it was nice to see them in Philadelphia filling out Justin's already dynamic sound. They quartet kicked off a 35 minute set with funky riffs, bombastic beats and Justin spitting lyrics at a mile a minute. I definitely dug Malik's rapping over Jean's thumping bass and Justin's acoustic. The band was wildly energetic and pulled quite a crowd into the M Room that night. Due to Jean's lighthearted complaining that Justin didn't have any love songs in his repertoire, Justin wrote one which the band played that night. Jean's upright added a warm and thick richness to the set, which nicely contrasted Justin's thinner vocals. Jean later took the mic to rap and scat for a song, a nice, brief change of pace. My favorite part of the evening, however, was when drummer Daniel requested that Justin play his waltz song. Justin obliged and Daniel jumped out from behind his kit, grabbing audience members getting them waltzing and pairing them up to celebrate the spirit of the song. Admittedly, I'm terrible at waltzing – following someone else's lead isn't my forte – but I had a wonderful time waltzing around the room with both Daniel and later Malik. Having seen Justin several times over the course of about a year and a half, it's been great to see his career grow. He definitely has great public radio and commercial appeal. If XPN isn't already playing his music, I urge them to put him into rotation ASAP. Trawick has a new EP out, Starting Over, available now. Justin Trawick: website | myspace | @ tin angel  Related Posts |
| The Raveonettes ‘In and Out of Control’ artwork, mp3 “Suicide” Posted: 04 Aug 2009 09:09 AM PDT The first finished piece of music from The Raveonettes' fourth LP, In & Out Of Control, has been unveiled: "Suicide" —a sugar-coated, 60s-meets-shoegaze anthem. This first offering delivers on the descriptors, with one of the sweetest hooks (yet darkest refrains) in the Raves' ever-expanding catalog. After months of anticipation, the track was eagerly awaited by fans who had cataloged the band's Twitter demos and eagerly watched on during Wagner and Foo's publicly-documented LP4 recording sessions. It also comes on the heels of the announcement of the band's expansive Fall tour (dates below), set to officially kick off in New York at Webster Hall a week after the album's release. Tour Dates: * w/The Black Angels Tracklisting: The Raveonettes: website | myspace | Lust, Lust, Lust review  Related PostsThis posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Blondie, Pat Benatar, & The Donnas @ Chastain Park Amphitheater, Atlanta Posted: 04 Aug 2009 08:52 AM PDT For a show like Blondie and Pat Benatar, there is no doubt that it was devised as a nostalgia act, no matter how much of a badass each front woman may be. When it comes to playing shows at Atlanta's Chastain Park Amphitheater, every band that plays the here has a battle to wage on the audience. Blondie, Pat Benatar, and The Donnas were no exception at Sunday night show. Chastain is not the typical venue. Imagine 6,700 40-somethings, half of them season ticket holders in khaki sipping wine looking like they were settling in to watch “Law and Order” reruns rather than a rock show while the other half (on this particular night, at least) is modeling the worst of 80's fashion. The sticky 90-degree weather didn't help the mood or the teased hair. When the Donnas took the stage at 7:00PM in full daylight the crowd was less than receptive. The first of three slots is always a blessing and a curse; tonight it was more of a curse. With the exception of the few scattered groups of fans who were more than happy to dance and sing along to "Fall Behind Me", Take It Off", and the rest of the 20 minute set, the crowd seemingly ignored the band. It was still daylight as Pat Benatar took the stage singing "Shadows of the Night". She and husband Neil "Spyder" Giraldo banged out hits "Invincible", "You Better Run", and "We Belong" to an almost completely seated crowd. It wasn't until 2/3 through her 12 songs set that she finally kicked the crowd in the ass and made them move. By the time she had reached the first chorus of “Hit Me With Your Best Shot", it felt like the whole audience had taken over on lead vocals. Benatar kept her hold on the crowd through the rest of her set with classics, "Hell is for Children", "Love is a Battlefield", and show closer "Heartbreaker". As for Blondie's performance, there was a bit of CBGB's in the sticky air and every girl in the place still wanted to be Debbie Harry. Appropriately enough Clem Burke, one of three original members with Chris Stein and Debbie, sported a sleeveless CBGB's shirt as he banged away on the drums. Unlike Benetar, Blondie had the crowd from the first note of opener "Call Me" in front of a spray painted logo ripped from the video for "Rapture". For the whole of their 75 minute set, much of the crowd danced but everyone was singing along as Blondie churned out most of their hits, including "Hanging on the Telephone", “Maria", "Atomic", "Tide is High", "Rapture", "One Way or Another", and "Heart of Glass" mixed up with Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough." In the end, the gathering of bad ass rock chicks worked their magic on a crowd of aging yuppies and beat the amphitheater into submission to make it into a rock club, if only for a moment. The Donnas: website | myspace [asa][/asa] Related Posts |
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