Top 5: Food Songs

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Meat Sandwich/GWAR

Mashed/Goon Moon

Mexican Seafood/Nirvana

Cracker/OhGr

Piece of Pie/Stone Temple Pilots

Genre(s): Lists

1265Comments (1)Top+5%3A+Food+Songs2008-11-27+07%3A07%3A47hardrockchick

The Decemberists @ The Warfield, 11/25/08

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

“You’d better hurry, they just went on stage!” It’s 9pm, which seems early to me, but apparently The Decemberists don’t run on rock ‘n roll time. It’s night two of my manfriend’s indie rock run, and while I am familiar enough with ‘The Engine Driver’ to know that it makes me very sad, I do not know one other Decemberists song.

It was a packed house, with a crowd that spanned the ages from teeny bopper to gray hair. As I prepared to be slightly bored by a nice performance from a nice band, the girl in front of me scarily fainted flat out on the floor. From then on, the show dealt surprise after surprise for me (all much better than that one).

During lead singer Colin Meloy’s first words to the crowd, the crazy fan-borderline-heckler was established, who would provide an additional layer of entertainment throughout the show, particularly because she was standing in front of me:

Colin Meloy: “Look at all of your beautiful faces!”
Crazy Fan Heckler: “I love you!”
CM: “Yes, I see your beautiful face. Among all of these beautiful faces!”
CFH: “But I want to be the only one!”
CM: “Uh-huh”

The first thing I learned about The Decemberists is that it’s really all about Colin Meloy. I don’t know why the band name is even plural. Not that they aren’t capable musicians wielding an array of rarely seen instruments, but it was only at the end that they became anything but a backdrop.

Crowd participation was key to the performance, as we were called upon to clap, hum series of notes, and scream, often divided up by section and given different instructions. We were reminded of our recent political event, as Meloy said “Yes We Can”, we were instructed to say “Yes We Did” and went through several rounds of that. This kind of thing only works when your crowd is obedient and largely intelligent. Most shows I go to have an IQ range wider than the Grand Canyon, and disobedience is kind of the point. It almost worked too well. As the crazy fan heckler tried to make herself stand out in one of these moments- he looked at her and said “except you”. And she obeyed. There were not one, but two points where the audience was told to hug each other, and they did.

Songs often got nice little introductions, making me draw comparisons to Dave Grohl as a lead singer. Everything was funny and/or insightful. Sometimes little musical interludes entertained us between songs- the best one being a short cover of the chorus to Dreams.

Early on, two notes were thrown on stage near Meloy from adoring fans. “Will you be my engine driver?” and what looked like a charcoal drawing- “Is that Obama?” he asked. Then he took the opportunity to tell people not to throw anything else on stage. And the crowd obeyed.

While The Decemberists are decidedly un-rock ‘n roll in my opinion, there were some moments within the set. Meloy played guitar while lying on his back (but it was an acoustic, mind you). At one point, it almost looked like he was going to crowd surf, as he jumped down and stood on the barrier and leaned up against some fans. He grabbed and sang into someone’s phone. He tossed picks to the crowd. And sometimes they stretched out songs too long.

crowd

The last song of the encore, ‘The Mariner’s Revenge’, transitioned the band, well, into a band. While the rest of the set was Meloy telling us stories, this was the band telling us- actually showing us- a story. It was very folksy but highly entertaining. The band came forward, the female member sang a bit, they danced while playing their instruments…it was quite the culmination of the show.

whale

I came to understand the magic of The Decemberists. While I usually judge a crowd’s enthusiasm by how loud they are, how wild they get, I can understand the crowd’s quiet enthusiasm for this band. It was the perfect thing to see going into holiday season, when my life could use a little family-friendly style music. Perhaps I’ll add them to my ipod for the next time my mom is in the car with me.

Set List:
Shanty for the Arethusa
July, July
Billy Liar
Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect
Valerie Plame
Oceanside
Record Year
The Engine Driver
On the Bus Mall
Days of Elaine
The Perfect Crime #2
Culling of the Fold
Dracula’s Daughter
O Valencia!
16 Military Wives
Sons and Daughters

Encore:
California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade
Mariners Revenge

OVERALL: 8.75/10
The Decemberists performance: 9/10
venue (The Warfield): 8.5/10
crowd/scene: 8.5/10
value ($30/ticket): 8.75/10
memorable: 8.75/10

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

1258Comments (1)2008-11-27+00%3A29%3A51hardrockchick

Mini Review: Wintersleep @ Slim’s and The Rosebuds, Fire & Whiskey @ The Independent, 11/14/08

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

The manfriend is more of an indie rock dude, so occasionally I find myself at these types of shows. And on this particular night, we show-hopped and caught the opener at Slim’s and the main act at The Independent.

Wintersleep, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, has had a rollercoaster of a year. After winning the Juno award (Canadian Music Award) for Best New Band 2008 and gracing the cover of CMJ, they had all of their equipment stolen in Louisiana. It was their first time in SF, and they mentioned that they were welcomed by “having a beer bottle thrown through their hotel window”. While their sound can sometimes fall into indie rock purgatory- they have several tracks that push the boundaries into hard and psychedelic rock. The vocalist has an exceptional voice that is best described as Dave Matthews meets My Morning Jacket’s Jim James. While their appearance lacks a distinct style, they make up for it with an energetic for indie rock performance. I most appreciated when the guitarist, who looked strikingly like Girl Talk’s Greg Gilles as of late, transitioned to the keyboard for the last song, stood on the seat to play and compulsively bit the side of the microphone.

sleep

winter

Off we were to The Independent, which felt empty compared to the warm reception Wintersleep had at Slim’s for being the first opener. We walked in to see the Magic Bullets finishing up their set, the singer bopping around the stage singing Morissey inspired vocals. A brief break and then one of the most unexpected things occurred. The female singer from The Rosebuds got on stage and told some sappy story about how last year their van broke down on her birthday, and they met this guy who was the cousin of the mechanic or something, and he baked her a birthday cake and made the day better. So, she has a special treat for us tonight- a performance from Fire and Whiskey. Out comes a guy wearing an obviously fake beard, and he sits down and starts strumming and singing something ridiculous about whiskey and sunsets. He stops, and tells the crowd that they are too loud. Several false starts later, a guy in front of the crowd starts singing along, and more back and forth ensues. Then the guy in the audience breaks out a melodica, and tries to play along. Right about now I’m like WTF is going on. The guy with the melodica gets on stage, and hilarity ensues as he tries to convince Fire and Whiskey to let him into his band, which involved MySpace jokes, Dexter references, and my favorite, the $5 Foot Long Subway jingle.

fire

whiskey

Shortly after this piece of performance art, The Rosebuds came onstage. I knew I would probably not like it as soon as the girl come out and high fived everyone in the front row. To me, they sounded amateurish- but are probably a lot of fun for their hometown Raleigh college locals. They were more about trying to create a party atmosphere than the music. I stayed up front searching for something to like when they started to teach the very willing crowd what was ultimately a line dance to one of their songs. Now I draw the line at line dances, so I left for the back of the room to see if the change in perspective helped. Nope. The manfriend and I definitely have very different tastes in music.

rosebud

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

1254Comments (2)2008-11-25+19%3A33%3A28hardrockchick

myspace find: the new regime

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

Last week, Trent Reznor announced that Ilan Rubin would be taking over drum duties for Josh Freese on NIN’s 2009 tour.

Now, I had never heard of Ilan Rubin, and I think many of us NIN fans were expecting one of the usual rotating industrial or hard rock drummers that may be between jobs. So, in checking out the worthiness of this new guy who would be banging away to some of my most favorite songs behind my biggest music idol, I’ll have to say I like what I’m hearing.

At 20 years old, it’s scary to think that Ilan was born at the same time that Purest Feeling was. But irregardless of age, Ilan has similarities to Reznor that will make him a good fit for NIN.

Take his recently released solo album, Coup, under the name The New Regime. He wrote and played every instrument and vocal on the album….a very Reznor-like undertaking. The sound is definitely genre bending- touching on industrial and hard rock while maintaining pure Chris Corner-like vocals.

I can’t wait to see the kid in action…but until then I will be listening to The New Regime.

Genre(s): You should check out:

1251Comments (1)myspace+find%3A+the+new+regime2008-11-23+22%3A29%3A40hardrockchick

OhGr @ Slim’s, 11/21/08

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

Walking into Slim’s last night was like entering a black mass. A largely homogenous audience of goths and cyberpunks all staring in eerily silent stillness at a screen projecting black and white footage of images we’d all like to forget, while American Memory Project played concealed behind the screen. It was oddly hypnotic.

It isn’t often that you get to see someone who had such a hand in pioneering an entire genre of music. OhGr is essentially Nivek Ogre, lead singer of Skinny Puppy. Working with other rotating industrial icons from Skinny Puppy and KMFDM, Mark Walk, William Morrison, and Tim Skold, OhGr is touring in support of their third album, Devils In My Details. Ogre has had a hand in influencing many, but in particular he paved the way for Manson, having engineered the mix of industrial music, horror aesthetics, and political undertones.

As the band took the stage, a red cloaked monstrosity emerged from the stairs leading up from the artist’s quarters. Making its way onto the stage, Ogre dropped the red robe, revealing what can only be described as a Matrix meets Predator style monster, partially melted by acid, guts spilling out. This monster was attached to Ogre’s back, and he performed with his back to the crowd. From my perspective, I could see the side of his actual face, which was not real as well. It was covered in a plastic see through mask, making it appear like his mouth wasn’t actually moving along with the words. This was the part that freaked me out…more than the crazy people that threatened me on the street on my way in.

He metaphorically shed the monster on his back, revealing his plastic mask and body partially wrapped up like a mummy. With this visual spectacle, it’s hard to focus on any of the other very capable musicians that were on stage. There’s something about Ogre’s voice that just slices through the beats like a dagger. When he shed his alst layer, the plastic mask, his face was still concealed by intricate black and white face paint.

The vibe of the set was more ominous and dangerous than a lot of shows that bill themselves as much. The sound, the transitions, everything was very smooth as the setlist flowed from track to track, spanning all three albums.

The audience seemed mesmerized into the point of complacency. Everyone was oddly still, or slightly dancing in place, clapping at the end politely. It wasn’t until later in the set that things got amped up…but there was a point where I felt sorry for the band because the audience was so low energy. But perhaps I’m starting to mistake bad behavior for enthusiasm.

It was the best set I’ve seen in a while. While I love Manson and NIN, and have seen both multiple times over the last year and loved every second, there’s a certain amount of audience bullshit that you have to put up with. But that’s because I grew up in that mid nineties industrial pop moment, where the genre was briefly acceptable and commercial. I missed the genesis of the genre by a few years. While I listened to Skinny Puppy and Ministry, it was also more of an afterthought; less a part of my DNA. It’s interesting as I sat there watching, thinking about how this is what a NIN show would be like if Reznor had never written ‘Closer’ or ‘Hurt’. Hmmmm. Same great music minus the douchy jocks that show up.

The only thing that was missing for me is that I wish Tim Skold had been there. I saw him play with Manson last year, and he puts on quite a show.

There was an interesting point at the end of the set where the band uncharacteristically did what looked like a football huddle, presumably making changes to the setlist. This was where I thought we were going to get docked for the docile crowd behavior, but when they came straight out of that and into ‘Water’ (I think), the crowd made it up to them.

We waited a long time for this tour, and it didn’t disappoint.

You can also catch Ogre in Repo! The Genetic Opera in theaters now.

Interview before the Slim’s show with NSTV

Beginning of Slim’s set from maxmin

OVERALL: 9.5/10
OhGr performance: 9.5/10
venue (Slim’s): 8.5/10
crowd/scene: 7/10
value ($21/ticket): 9.75/10
memorable: 9.25/10

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

1249Comments (2)OhGr+%40+Slim%27s%2C+11%2F21%2F082008-11-22+23%3A27%3A46hardrockchick

Mickey Avalon, Dirt Nasty, Beardo @ Slim’s, 11/19/08

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

It seems like yesterday- when myspace was in its heyday- that I got a friend request from Mickey Avalon. A skim of his page, a view of his mini-doc featuring Santino, and a quick listen turned me into a Mickey enthusiast then and there, and I spread the word to all my unsuspecting friends like crabs in a whorehouse. I’ve watched his performances grow over the last two years, from popscene noob to two night residencies at Slim’s…and from crowds full of bitches I can tolerate to just plain bitches.

logo

But first, Beardo. Flaunting a tagline that has something to do with coming from a trailer park, his appearance is unforgettable- a love child of Humpty Hump and My Name is Ed of sorts. It’s all a little confusing. He seemed to be filling in for Andre Legacy, both as a mediocrely received opener and consistence guest MC for the rest of the night.

Dirt Nasty, however, is much improved from the last couple times I’d seen him. More innovative beats, more dominating stage presence, and the same ‘I can’t believe I am singing and dancing along to this’ lyrics. Tributes to doggy style, small dicks, and the best one- gold chains and cocaine, get the audience in a good mood. Sure, Dirt Nasty has gone from MTV to porn to producing, but he’s really good as an audience fluffer. Unfortunately, a highly annoying entourage that trails him doused the audience in inappropriate amounts of water and alcohol at the end of the set. Good thing I was hanging out at the bar this time.

Did Mickey shrink since the last time I saw him? He looked more road weary, even starting off a little slow, performing the second song seated. I was a little concerned that he’d lost some of his fire. But once the hits started coming, and the crowd reactions to the new material were positive, he perked up. The set and the dancers were almost exactly the same as his Slim’s show last year, but mentions of a surprise and the new material kept this from feeling like a repeat.

I was worried that Mickey’s sophomore effort was not going to be strong- his first album happened over a long time, and ‘Dance’, which I’ve heard a few times, is very simplistic and unimpressive. However, I can’t wait to get to know some of the new tracks I heard. The storytelling, the slithering beats, they are all still there. And though the subject of success may trump the subject of struggle now, it’s still raw and dirty, and very Mickey.

There are more males at this show than I’ve ever seen at a Mickey show. The word is out that this is were the hot ladies go. Or perhaps they are there to ogle the half naked dancers. But one of Mickey’s new songs talks about how the girls want to be with him and the guys want to be him, and it’s very appropriate.

‘Dipped in Vasoline’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ are still my favorites. But hearing ‘Hustler Hall of Fame’ rapped over Zep’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ is an interesting twist. Mickey could probably continue to perform that first album for a long time- it never gets old.

‘Jane Fonda’ ended the set. Then Mickey mentioned a guest, and I thought maybe Andre Legacy or something kind of expected, but then I saw some very large security types. As soon as Mickey talked about how this guy was who they all learned it from…I knew it would be Too Short. ‘Blow the Whistle’ brings the house down, as we shouted ‘Bitch’ in perfect time. This was followed by the best transition ever, where Too Short says “Ya’ll know that blowing the whistle really means to suck my dick”, after which Mickey, Dirt Nasty, and Beardo step forward and break into ‘My Dick’. That song never gets old.

After the set, the stage immediately turned into a merch booth, where Mickey was signing his shirts for $20. I sat there and watched that madness ensue, as the lithe rappers and stage guys and even the dancers pimped their shirts in an interesting shift of personas. They really are hustlers.

too short

dick

You can catch the crew again tonight at Slim’s.

OVERALL: 8/10
Beardo performance: 6.75/10
Andre Legacy performance: 7.5/10
Mickey Avalon performance: 8.75/10
venue (Slim’s): 8.5/10
crowd/scene: 7/10
value ($20/ticket): 9/10
memorable: 9/10

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

1245Comments (3)2008-11-20+18%3A41%3A42hardrockchick

NIN News: New Drummer, New Dates

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

Reznor announced Freese’s replacement via nin.com this evening…and the winner is:

nin
(from nin.com)

“With great pride and excitement I announce the addition of Ilan Rubin to the lineup beginning next year. I had the chance to see Ilan playing his ass off at Reading and Leeds a couple summers ago and he blew me away. We recently invited him out to rehearse with us and he blew US away – the perfect guy to pick up the sticks after Josh leaves us at the end of the year.

Stay tuned for some 2009 tour announcements soon.”

Who is Ilan Rubin?

The cradle-robbed 20 year old has played in a couple bands you’ve probably never heard of (Lostprophets, The New Regime). Perhaps his vim and vigor will finally give us ‘The Perfect Drug’ live?

Genre(s): HRC loves NIN

1239Comments (2)NIN+News%3A+New+Drummer%2C+New+Dates2008-11-16+07%3A58%3A29hardrockchick

Mini Review: Gang Gang Dance, Marnie Stern @ Bimbo’s, 11/14/08

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 3 months ago.]

It’s good to step out of my musical comfort zone every once and a while to see what else is out there. Oftentimes, it reaffirms why I like what I like. So I went into this night cold, with an open mind.

Marnie Stern is a female guitarist, playing alongside another guitarist and drummer. She has an interesting tapping style of playing- something that always garnered points at the Guitar Superstar competition I went to earlier this year. I did have a hard time getting past her hippie meets sorority girlish exterior. This band is about geeking out on their instruments- the drummer was really quite exceptional, banging away as hard and fast as Dave Grohl did for. However, it all felt like cacophony to me. I am not a fan of the baby girl singing voice that she has, and that a lot of the song structures has her singing in tune with the instrument. I guess I didn’t get it. The highlight for me was that the drummer wore the band’s own t-shirt, and they had written the setlist on the back, so from time to time he would stand up and turn around so they could see what was next.

As we waited for Gang Gang Dance, we listened to hip hop fueled ’80’s hits like Flashdance. A look around the room showed a sea of what I will refer to as level one hipsters (early adopters), dancing around in ’80’s inspired clothing. On the Bimbo’s dance floor, it kind of looked like a high school dance.

Gang Gang Dance are about to be the next big thing. Sometimes I feel like that should be a genre of music all on its own: NBT, next big thing. Last time I found myself at one of these shows was when MGMT was opening for Of Montreal. Let it be known that this is all music that I will never own in my life. GGD could be declared the winners of CMJ, the newest music blog darlings, with a hot of the press New York Times article.

The female singer comes out wearing an absolutely atrocious but somehow couture looking baggy Ghostbusters-like uniform, paired with patent leather heeled booties. The other three members of the band are more nondescript, but feel purposefully incongruous with eachother. The music starts very spacey world music, and then after a long while of this it suddenly grabs a bumpin’ beat. GGD can best be described as reggaeton meets Enya. Wow. It’s one of those things that I can appreciate for being very different, but could never consume on my own. Kind of like pancakes and sausage on a stick.

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

1236Comments (0)2008-11-15+18%3A44%3A51hardrockchick

The Faint, Dr. Dooom, Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head @ The Warfield, 11/8/08

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

Here I am, at Faint show #4 for the year.

I missed seeing Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head a couple months ago at Bottom of the Hill, and the last issue of Spin rubbed that in my face. I think they’ve got a good thing going. They’re definitely much better than the openers for The Faint that I sat through earlier this year. Super high energy, catchy, distinctive beats, coupled with a cast of characters and an unforgettable name just might be the formula for success in today’s music climate. The girl keyboardist borrowed her hairdo from Lady Sov, and her leggings from M.I.A. Oh, and she wore a shirt with her face on it. All had on face paint, three dark lines that almost comprise whiskers on their cheeks. Mind you, people in the crowd had already copied this. They jumped around stage and played their hearts out. The crowd was very into it for being the first opener. Now they just need to become the Being John Malkovich of the music industry, and get Portman involved.

sophisticated side ponytail

Next up was Dr. Dooom, otherwise known as Kool Keith, which puzzled the crowd into blank stares. First, it was just an odd fit for The Faint, considering all of the good up and coming electro rock bands out there. Now, as a former owner of 10″ woofers in my car, I likes me some good hip hop. And at its best moments, Dr. Dooom sounds like old Outkast mixed with some DJ Screw. It’s routed in the simplified, less slick style of old school hip hop. However, the entire thing lacked polish. There were the freestyle moments that weren’t explicitly spelled out, so they came off as having forgotten the words or messed up somehow. The was strange banter about condoms, Walgreens, and how expensive condoms are, Motel 6, 8, and Econo Lodge. Kool Keith was draped in a gold sequined scarf, which was helpful to hide in when he didn’t produce his freestyles. I tried to dance, but ended up cringing a bit. Best part was that the DJ somehow reminded me of DJ Jesus from Lucy: Daughter of the Devil.

a recent dr. dooom/kool keith show

ldd

This is the abridged review of The Faint, since you can refer to this, that, or the other one for an in depth analysis of the songs from this tour, and the band members. All I can say is, their touring model works. What I mean by this is that from the shows at the beginning of the tour to now, The Faint seemed to have picked up a new generation of fans. A new generation that only knows FASCIINATIION songs, are incredibly young, and are in general kind of douchy. Good for them, bad for me. The Faint really burns the candle at both ends to tour, taking off fewer nights than most bands do. And this definitely showed in Todd’s voice, which was worn thin. They all looked a bit road worn, a bit more crazy eyed than normal. It was still a super set. No big surprises for the setlist, but I did finally get The Conductor again, though it sounded wonkier than I remember live. Ghosts in the Machine still sux, no me likely that song. While the crowd energy was mostly great, the absence of a barrier caused some territorial issues, and dancing up on the security guard was a bit weird.

So, last Faint show of the year, I bid you adieu. It’s been a fun ride.

the geeks were right

setlist:
Get Seduced (Fasciinatiion)
Glass Danse (Danse Macabre)
Drop Kick The Punks (Wet from Birth)
Take Me To The Hospital (Saddle Creek 50)
Forever Growing Centipedes (Fasciinatiion)
Psycho (Fasciinatiion)
Call Call (Blank-Wave Arcade)
Posed to Death (Danse Macabre)
Desperate Guys (Wet From Birth)
Machine In The Ghost (Fasciinatiion)
Birth (Wet from Birth)
I Disappear (Wet from Birth)
I Treat You Wrong (Fasciinatiion)
The Geeks Were Right (Fasciinatiion)
Worked Up So Sexual (Blank-Wave Arcade)
Paranoiattack (Wet from Birth) (with a comment about hoping this song will become less relevant once Bush is gone and Obama gets us out of Iraq).

encore:
Mirror Error (Fasciinatiion)
The Conductor (Danse Macabre)
Agenda Suicide (Danse Macabre)

OVERALL: 8/10
Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head performance: 8.5/10
Dr. Dooom’d performance: 5.5/10
The Faint’s performance: 9/10
venue (The Warfield): 8.5/10
crowd/scene: 4/10
value ($25/ticket): 9/10
memorable: 7.5/10

Genre(s): My Musical Adventures

1231Comments (0)2008-11-09+17%3A20%3A52hardrockchick

Russell Brand @ Cobb’s Comedy Club, 11/6/08

by hardrockchick [about 1 year, 4 months ago.]

So, I’m not usually compelled to write about the occasional non-music event I go to, but tonight, I just can’t help myself. It’s official, HRC has a new crush, and his name is Russell Brand.

I won’t divulge much about the evening’s affairs, as you can probably witness a lot of it yourself on his upcoming Comedy Central special. But of course, seeing it in person is always better. He works the stage like a rocker, and he definitely dresses like one. Sorta like Jim Morrison doing stand up.

The performance was very well put together; striking a balance between thought provoking quips, pop culture references, and a little gross out humor, all strung together by a common thread. It felt very unique and fresh, as well as personal. Those are ingredients for great comedy to me. So run off and see him if you can before he becomes a big(ger).