updates

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 0 months ago.]

1. I got my own page over at songkick. Check it.

2. I started a new youtube channel, so look for concert vids to be here now.

Genre(s): HardRockChick

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Goon Moon w/ Sun Trash @ GAMH, 12/9/07

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 0 months ago.]

Goon Moon and Sun Trash brought desert rock to the city by the bay this Sunday. The southern fried psychedelic stoner rock warmed up the otherwise drafty venue, reverberating the walls with its special kind of lyrics, such as Sun Trash’s ‘Sour Cream’ and Goon Moon’s ‘Mashed Potatoes and Cream’. It was the kind of show that was for the real music lover- one that scratches below the surface of being a fan of the band, and follows the musicians that make it tick.

Sun Trash is, first and foremost, and excellent band name. This six piece ensemble contains members with names like Lightnin Woodcock, Sexual Chocolate, and, of course, Captain Sean Doe. The look is sailors and pirates marooned on a rock ‘n’ roll dude ranch island. Sean Wheeler (Captain Sean Doe) has been around the Palm Desert Rock scene for what I can only imagine is ages, fronting previous/simultaneous bands such as Throw Rag and Charley Horse. I can only describe his voice, which is full of character/not quite so easy on the ears, as Tom Waits meets David Lee Roth. There’s a Flying V guitar, a tambourine, a slide guitar, and songs entitled ‘Unicorn Shave Your Horn’. Needless to say, they are lots of fun to watch. Rather than feeling pulled in a bunch of different directions by the genre mixing, I enjoyed the progression from song to song that led the crowd through punk, rockabilly, country, and psychedelic rock. They projected a sense of really wanting to be up there, having a good time doing what they do without an aire of pretentiousness.

So, how does one find out about a band like Goon Moon? Either you are a fan of Chris Goss and Masters of Reality, and/or you are a fan of Jeordie White, former bassist for HRC faves Marilyn Manson, A Perfect Circle, and Nine Inch Nails. I would expect that there were more present in the crowd that were fans of the latter, as members of the Gotheratti were lined up quite early. Hopefully they had heard the music beforehand, because Goon Moon is quite a departure from what you would initially expect from White. It’s much more like Goss’ previous work. The beauty of side project bands is that you can see what these artists are really made of. They are removed from the pigeonhole of ‘bassist/back up vocals’ to ‘writer/bassist/guitarist/vocals/tambourine man’. And this is when you can truly evaluate their merits as a musician.

Goon Moon is bathed in red and blue lights and a haze of incense emanating from a large bronze pot which is initially placed by White’s post. It has to be moved after the first song because its impossible to inhale that and sing. They pulled off an hour plus set with minimal talking, mesmerizing the audience with their fantastic songs. It’s not perfect music- not the shiny polished industrial pop that we’ve seen from White before- but it is genuine and impassioned. The song themes tend to revolve around love and loss, ranging from modest to slightly vengeful. Highlights including ‘Sleep With A Gun’, ‘Autumn That Came Too Soon’, ‘I Know Where You Live’, and ‘Feel Like This’. And who could forget the cover of ‘The Dope Show’, the song that highlighted White’s bass skills, which seemed to reflect his, what I have heard are, not so kind feeling towards Manson.

I can only describe the feeling of leaving the Goon Moon show as similar to that of when I saw Tom Morello’s The Nightwatchman- I’m lucky that I follow the musicians that I love.

Watch my montage from the show:

Visit the Goon Moon/Jeordie youtube channel

Genre(s): Live and In The Flesh

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immigrant, Triple Cobra, and The Frail @ BOTH, 12/7/07

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 0 months ago.]

This particular Friday evening was one of those SF nights that occurs every few months, where there are 10 different great things going on and you can only choose one. I decided to keep it local by going to my neighborhood music venue to see some of SF’s finest bands.

It was my first time to see The Frail, a band that has been generating some great buzz lately. They’re a bit pop-y for my usual tastes, with their sounds lingering somewhere between Hot Chip and The Postal Service. It will probably be my last time to see them. The lead singer was so wasted that he couldn’t carry a tune, which is unfortunate for a band that is so vocals focused. It was painful. He drunkenly removed his shirt during the first song, revealing his tightie whities, and in the process did something to the mic that kept making it cut out. I wish it had stayed cut out. He stumbled around both onstage and off, with a far and away glint in his eyes, occasionally grabbing himself. It was a miracle that he remembered all of the words. The band barely looked up the entire time, and some of the crowd bailed from the front in order to avoid contact with this walking catastrophe. The only forgiving ones were the 16 year olds and a few drunks.

You need to be further along the success highway before you are allowed to behave like this. And not in this type of band, either. Only a screaming guitar can cover that shit up. I would advise the rest of the band to do an intervention before he derails their success.

Next up- Triple Cobra, who I’ve seen once before. They are quite the well oiled machine. They have a logo, and it is plastered all over the place. The theatrics included the two usual dancers, who seemed a bit cramped up on this stage, and sailor outfits to commemorate Pearl Harbor Day. Interesting. While I think that Triple Cobra puts on a tight show that the crowd has a lot of fun with, there is something missing. I think their song structures are a bit shallow, and I’m not the biggest fan of the singer’s voice. However, it’s rare that I see a band who has nailed their aesthetic so well, especially on a local level.

It was my third time to see immigrant, and I have yet to think of anything bad to say. They put on a great show. If memory serves me, they played 2 new tracks. It’s great to hear that they are already working on new material- Novakinesis just came out a couple of months ago. They continue to be on a different level than their peers. There is something to say about creating music as a new band that is clearly rock, and not some hybrid bastard genre that fails to be fulfilling in either direction.

Interesting observation:

MySpace friends:

immigrant: 5870
Triple Cobra: 5143
The Frail: 14657

What gives.

Genre(s): Live and In The Flesh

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Bauhaus breakup :(

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 1 month ago.]

Hey, guess what? Bauhaus is finishing up their first album since they broke up in 1983! Oh, but what? They are breaking up again and won’t tour to support it? No….

Well, at least I got to see them in 2006. Neener neener neener.

Genre(s): Rock in the News

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NIN news

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 1 month ago.]

Trent and I are pissed that he got dissed by the Grammys.

From nin.com:

While the music industry is doing everything they possibly can to go out of business, can we all make sure to rid ourselves of the Grammys, too? Out of touch old men jacking each other off.
ENOUGH!

Plus, vid from a ’secret project’ (titillating)

Genre(s): Nine Inch Nails

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Dr. Rockso, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Clown

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 1 month ago.]

Ah, the genius of Metalocalypse. Dr. Rockso is particularly brilliant. I freaking hate clowns, but I might make an exception for Rockso.

Best of Dr. Rockso:

A Dr. Rockso fan:

The Dr. Rockso inspiration:

K-K-K-Yeah!

Genre(s): Rock Video

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Rob Zombie interview in RS today

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 1 month ago.]

There’s a nice interview on Zombie today on the Rolling Stone blog. The thought of him making a western horror (apparently called Weird West) has me reeling already.

I’m envisioning this, but better:

plus this:

If you need any western prop connections, I know a few people…

Genre(s): Rock in the News

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Mickey Avalon vids

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 1 month ago.]

Mr. Right now has a video, peep it here:

and, he’s in a Boost mobile ad:

Go, Mickey!

Genre(s): Rockin' Things To Do

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Nirvana Unplugged vs. Metallica Unplugged

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 1 month ago.]

With the recent release of Nirvana: Unplugged In New York, I thought about my recent live music experience with Metallica. This year’s Bridge School Benefit ended with a Metallica Unplugged performance, a set which did not succeed in the same way that Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged set did.

Nirvana’s appearance on MTV’s Unplugged was met with skepticism. People had a hard time envisioning what Smells Like Teen Spirit would sound like. Apparently, so was Nirvana, because they didn’t play it. The only hit that they played was Come As You Are, and filled in the rest of their 14 song set with obscurities and covers. This model of setlist construction was an anomaly for the Unplugged series, as most artists stuck to their hits. However, they made it work. The obscure tracks, from a mixture of Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero, were transformed into much more consumable sounds when made acoustic. Many of them were overshadowed by the monster hits that SLTS, Lithium, CAYA, and Heart Shaped Box were. The covers, Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For a Sunbeam, by The Vaselines, The Man Who Sold the World, by Bowie, Leadbelly’s Where Did You Sleep Last Night, and three Meat Puppets covers- Plateau, Oh Me, and Lake of Fire, demonstrated the eclectic influences that Nirvana drew from. Nirvana made these songs their own- so much so that the Meat Puppets- who performed with Cobain on these songs- have voiced their frustration with trying to reclaim the songs as their own.

Metallica’s Bridge School performance began with I Just Want To Celebrate (Rare Earth), Please Don’t Judas Me (Nazareth), Veteran Of Psychic Wars (Blue Öyster Cult), Brothers In Arms (Dire Straits), followed by their own Disposable Heroes, All Within My Hands, The Unforgiven,, and Nothing Else Matters. Halfway into the second cover, the hardcore fans that had paid to see Metallica became disgruntled. The band seemed disjointed, and maybe even a litle rusty. Where Kurt’s “Am I going to do this by myself” comment was a jab in jest, Hetfield’s response to a fan’s yelling to play some Metallica- “Whatever you said, man- I agree”, seemed like a scene from Some Kind of Monster.

There are several factors which separate the success of Nirvana Unplugged from the lukewarm Metallica Unplugged:

- Nirvana Unplugged was elevated to legendary status when Kurt died 4 months after it aired. Metallica is coming out of a five year hiatus with their 9th album in 2008.
- Covers and acoustic tones were a new and different thing for Nirvana, while Metallica has a cover album (Garage, Inc.) and lighter songs like Nothing Else Matters.
- Kurt’s mode of presentation of his setlist eased the audience into his rationale. Metallica played each song with little intorduction- at one point saying ‘this is a harder one’, and then it still wasn’t a Metallica track.
- Nirvana’s cover songs were peppered into the setlist, while Metallica started with four covers before going into their own material.
- The acoustic environment highlighted Kurt’s singing voice, where many hadn’t ever realized it before in its normal presentation, while Hetfield’s voice incite comments such as ‘his voice is back’ (as in, it sounds as good as it did in the nineties).
-Nirvana’s selection of covers were either admired or obscure artists to their fanbase, while Metallica’s covers were more mainstream, odd fits (the previous night’s Bridge School performance featured Garbage’s I’m Only Happy When it Rains).

Seeing a band unplugged is a special thing- a stripped down version of a song can reveal elements that would have otherwise remained concealed. When the unplugged band is metal, or punk, or some genre that is not a natural transition to acoustic, the construction of the set must be handled with great care. Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged set should serve as an example to be followed.

Nirvana- Where Did You Sleep Last Night

Nirvana- Plateau

Metallica- I Just Want to Celebrate

Metallica- Unforgiven

Genre(s): Rock Themes

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rockin’ you soon

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 1 month ago.]

On sale Sunday @ 10am

The Cool Kids @ The Independent, 1/17/08

Genre(s): Rockin' You Soon

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