Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Nada Surf - The Orange Peel - Asheville, North Carolina - 10.30.07

Finally got to see Nada Surf after all these years, and really after the last 5 years of actively pursuing a show. For some reason or another, I haven't been able to make any of their shows that were reasonably close by. Great show...details to come, but for now, check out the set list.

Setlist:
Happy Kid
Hi-Speed Soul
What is Your Secret?
Fruit Flies (with audience singing back up)
Killian's Red
Who's Authority (NEW!!...and Great!!)
The Blizzard of '77
Concrete Bed
Inside of Love (w/ story about his Mom getting married on Saturday...)
I Like What You Say
80 Windows
Imaginary Friends
Paper Boat
Hyperspace

------encore------

Blonde on Blonde
Cretin Hop (Ramones cover)
Popular
Do It Again
Always Love
Blankest Year



I'll post a review of the show later...I'm still thinking about how good a show it was, especially with only/maybe 100 people there...maybe 150. I've got a few pics too. Stay Tuned...

Halloween Songs 2008

So it's Halloween...whhoooo, spooky. scary. eerie. Yea, frightening. Even funny. I also call today Wednesday. I just don't get as pumped up as I used to (some 15 years ago or more). Maybe I'm old. Maybe I'm not as festive as I used to be. Or maybe I'm not in college anymore and it's not just in the cards on week nights to go out all night since some of us have to work and all, hide from the Po-Po's (the Law, the Po-lice) as they are out in full force looking for this guy, and sorority girls ruined dressing up parties/Halloween for me in school...long stories...I really just think I'm old. But I digress...

But...here is a list of songs that Vegas and I (your West Coast Party City Boys) put together for you, while we were obviously quite busy at work. These are not all necessarily Halloween-themed tunes, but more of a collection that are spooky, possibly scary, maybe a little eerie, and sometimes frightening. Some might even be a little funny. But you can link all of these songs together for this Hallow's Eve Day in some form or fashion. This might not be the most original list of songs, but I think you’ll find a few surprises and a few hidden gems and nuggets here. Once I figure out how to post mp3s online, I’ll start doing that so you can experience the, um, experience. But in the meantime, here are some of the highlights on YouTube.


AC/DC - "Hell's Bells"
Alice Cooper - "Feed My Frankenstein" & "Welcome to My Nightmare"
Alice in Chains - "Angry Chair" & "Rooster"
Black Sabbath - "Black Sabbath" &"War Pigs" & anything else really
Blue Oyster Cult - "Don't Fear the Reaper"
Bobby "Boris" Pickett - "The Monster Mash"
Bruce Springsteen - "Murder Incorporated"
Danzig - "Crawl Across Your Killing Floor" & "13"
The Doors - "Riders on the Storm" & "The End"
Dr. Dre & Ice Cube - "Natural Born Killaz"
Drive-By Truckers - "Where the Devil Don't Stay"
Edgar Winter - "Frankenstein"
ELO - "Evil Woman"
Hank III - "Country Heroes"
Jefferson Airplane - "White Rabbit"
Jim Carroll Band - "People Who Died"
Johnny Cash - "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
Led Zeppelin - "Kashmir" & "The Battle of Evermore"
Link Wray - "Rumble"
Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
The Misfits - "Halloween" & "Halloween II"
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - "Red Right Hand" & "The Mercy Seat"
Ozzy Osbourne - "Mr. Crowley"
Rob Zombie/White Zombie - "Dragula" & "More Human than Human"
Rolling Stones - "Paint It Black"
Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs - "Little Red Riding Hood"
Screamin' Jay Hawkins - "I Put a Spell On You"
Talking Heads - "Psycho Killer"
Theme to Halloween
Theme to Friday the 13th
Theme to The Munsters
Tool - about half of their catalog
“Tubular Bells” (Theme to The Exorcist)
Warren Zevon - "Werewolves of London"


Honorable Mention: Bobby Brown & Mike Tyson - "The Monster Mash" - live on Jimmy Kimmel

What did we forget? Please let us know…

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

The Kings of...Knoxville

The Kings of Leon played Knoxville on Sunday night at the Tennessee Theatre.

In short, the Kangs burned. the. town. down...

to. the. ground.


I'll post on it tomorrow.


oh yeah- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (BRMC) and The Features opened the show.

More to come- stay tuned.

I'm going to Surf...Nada Surf that is!

Finally gettin' to see my boys of Nada Surf at my new favorite club, The Orange Peel...Yes, Nada Surf- the guys that sang "Popular" ten plus years ago, and then you never heard from them again.

Well, since then, they have put out several wonderful albums. Start here, and then go here. I'll fill you in later on the rest...and on the show.

"I'm the party star...I'll never get caught" oh boy!!

Hey Porter, Hey Porter...sorry...

I was so excited yesterday about the Tom Petty doc, and was subsequently exhausted when it ended, that I forgot to post about the passing of one of the originals in Country music: Porter Wagoner. Sorry to leave you hanging and not mention anything about this great loss to the music community.

picture borrowed from The Tennesseean


Unfortunately, Porter is best known for his rhinestone nudie suits and for giving Dolly Parton her start in the biz as his duet partner (nothing wrong with that in the least bit- I just wish that more people knew him and his music, rather than his outfits and for someone else and their music).


Now, I could type out a long dissertation about Porter and his importance, but there's probably not a lot that I can say that hasn't been already said, especially since I missed early posting on this. I meant to post about him going into the hospital recently, but just got totally sidetracked with ROCKTOBER.


So, check out these posts about P-Dub (what I called him when we came up together):


Tennesseean

CMT

Country Music Hall of Fame

LA Times



Also, check out his last release: Wagonmaster. It is PHENOMENAL! You won't be sorry.

Runnin' Down a Dream

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times.


Tom Petty is the most UNDERRATED American rock artist of all time...well, him and Creedence (Fogerty). The two of them do not get nearly enough credit that they so deserve.

Tonight though is about Sir Thomas, not Saint John.


Petty is the best kept (non)secret that everyone knows about but doesn't talk about. Petty is the giant elephant in the room: everyone sees it, knows about it, respects it, but just doesn't really talk about it and gives the due credit. Petty is an American Icon, influencing every garage band, every singer-songwriter and every rock musician in the last 30 years. Go ahead: Argue with me. Make a point. Bring it. You got nothing. You ain't got shit. I will beat you down, then Sir T will come behind me and blow you away. He will play two and a half hours of music for you, and you will know every song, every chorus, you'll tap your toes, hum at the very least the melody and sing at least a line or two from every verse...and then you'll remember that he wrote every single song that he just played, and that you just sang. "Wow, I haven't heard that song in years! What? Tom Petty sings that? Oh Yeah!"

You better recognize. And if you don't, you better start now. You have been missing out. If you're a naysayer on the Petty bandwagon, do yourself a favor and set aside 4 hours (I know...but what do you really have to do? Re-runs of Friends and Sex in the City?) and watch this...well, I mean the entire documentary by Peter Bogdanovich, not just the trailer. It premiered on the Sundance Channel tonight and will be on several more times this week- click here for listings...or watch it on your own time by ordering it here and adding it to your collection that I guarantee is nowhere near complete until Petty is included.

I watched Runnin' Down a Dream tonight, and it only made me realize how important TP has been, and how no one gives him enough credit for all that he and the Heartbreakers have done. Yes, four hours is a long time, but this is worth it. It is absolutely incredible. Imagine Unplugged & Storytellers rolled into one 4 hour show, with electric performances, old home videos of the Heartbreakers when they were starting out as teenagers, interviews with everyone in the band and other collaborators, friends, producers, etc...The list of guests is too long to list. You'll just have to watch.

You are kidding yourself if you don't spend some time with this doc...and you called yourself a music fan. Harummph!


More to come on TP...

Monday, October 29, 2007

Type...Oh...well

I must say that I was a bit disappointed, and definitely more bored than I ever expected to be at a metal show. Now, I'll be honest, I don't know much about Type O Negative...ok, very little, other than the singer's name is Peter Steele and he is an absolute beast of a man.. He is not your typcial frail, girl-ish 150 pounds soaken wet pansy rock star. He is a towering 6'7" brick wall of a giant. The other fun fact that I know about them is that Steele posed for Playgirl back in the day (uhh, have fun with the pic...).

Either way, I wanted to check it out as I have tried to immerse myself in metal in the last year and a half or so. So when Type O finally took that Bliue Cats stage, I was ready for some real metal. Lordi, although quite entertaining from a visual perspective, were pretty cheesy and over the top, with Darkness type melodies on top or Tenacious D rock-n-roll worshipping lyrics on top of 80s-esque Ratt riffs (their current single is entitled "Hard Rock Hallelujah")...so I was both let down and in awe at the same time of Lordi. Ok, ok...I'll say it. They are a poor man's version of Conan O'Brien's "If They Mated" if KISS and GWAR somehow mated and made little shock-rock monster-costumed bastard metalheads- from Finland.

When Steele and company came on, I was prepared for what was sure to be a heavy, bombastic fusion of metal, droning chanted tunes and sheer loudness. I was right. What I left out of my preparations, and apparently they did too, was the enjoyability level of the music. Again, I went in not knowing much (if anything), so I guess I can't be all that disappointed, but I certainly let down. Remember the band Rammstein (you know, that German industrial band from the mid-90s that sang "Du Hast")? Well, take their sound, but subtract the industrial intrumentation, amplify what I equate to and imagine that the Nazi army sounded like if they sang when they were marching as they escorted millions on their long walk to Doomsday, and add in a crowd of 600 of some of K-town's roughest rockers (clad in, what else, all black), and you've got Type O Negative. Yeah, I made it through about 6 songs...then it was bedtime for this johnny-come-lately. If you are a big Type O fan, then I guess you had the time of your life. (I have since been listening to some of their albums, so as to not totally dismiss them without a proper sit down with them.)



The one highlight of the evening, other than the booze, was local up and comers Generation of Vipers. Their opening spot served as their release party for their new albume, Dead Circle. I haven't heard the new album yet, but I hear that it blows away their first album! The Vipes debuted a couple of new tunes during the show for the more than modest and attentive crowd. Vocalist/lead guitarist/aux percussionist (he played a set of free-standing toms at the end) Josh Holt brings absolute violence and anger in his voice as he folds his head backwards on a hinging jawline and lets out a growl you will not believe...especially if you have ever heard him speak in real-life conversation. The Vipers songs are not just adventurous, but are straight up epics. Most songs are longer than conventional "metal" songs, which have a history of being on the longer side, but these epics take the listener/onlooker/prisoner on a trip all over the world, and then deep down below.
You have to hear it to believe it- trust me. Generation of Vipers are not your typical metal band. You can't really just describe them as metal. They describe themselves as Metal / Ambient / Experimental on their Myspace page. But I think they should call it amazing. I wouldn't suggest taking a few hits of some blotter and seeing or listening to them. If you do, don't call me for help. I won't know what to tell you. What I do know to tell you though is this: Do your self a favor and pick up Generation of Vipers' Grace and the newly released Dead Circle here from their own label/imprint Red Witch Recordings.











Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Metal Show

Going to see Type O Negative tonight...with Lordi and Generation of Vipers at Blue Cats. Should be heavy as hell. Full report coming...

In the meantime, check out:

Type O Negative - The Drab Four from Brooklyn...with Mr. Steele

Lordi - Metal from Finland!

Generation of Vipers - Up and comers from the backyard of Knoxville...Check the Vipers out FOR REAL!!

Something in the Way...No More!!

Finally. What's been the hold up?? {cough cough} Courtney.

From Wikipedia:


Nirvana - Unplugged in New York to be released on DVD...finally:

According to a release schedule from Universal Music, MTV Unplugged concert will finally be released officially on DVD November. At this time the DVD is slated for a worldwide release on November 19, 2007 with the US and Canada version following November 20. Bonus features include extended interviews and 4 songs from Nirvana's soundcheck.

The extras include:

  • 2 additional tracks not originally broadcast: "Oh Me" and "Something In The Way" (available on the CD)
  • Behind the scenes documentary with band interviews
  • 4 tracks from pre-show rehearsals


HellaBama Getaway...Getaway

Another big part of life, entertainment and reality around here is college football in the fall. We count down the days, beginning in the spring, until kickoff...then "It's Football Time in Tennessee". Every Saturday we are all glued to the tv, radio and internet, watching and keeping up with as many of the games as we can. Like the concert calendar from a few posts earlier, football is very time, energy and money-consuming, with games every weekend, and 6 or 7 games being here in town between September and December.

This past weekend was an away week, so our boys were traveling... My brother, a couple of his buddies and one of my boys DK decided that we were going to travel too. So we packed up Ste. Genevieve (our 26' beast of an RV) for the 320 mile (one way) trek and headed down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to see our Tennessee Volunteers take on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.

(Below are pics from from our yearly Talladega trip, in which the RV plays an integral role in Shenanigans and Boozin'.)



The weekend was a great time...the game not so much. I don't remember much of Friday night, except that I had no money left, I was hungover, and that Saturday morning came reeeeeaaalllllll early, especially with the Central Time time change, making the already-early-enough-as-it-is game even earlier at 11:30am. It was on the miserable side, being nearly 90 degrees in mid-October in Alabama, especially sitting way up high in the sun. The seats were awesome. The sun was not. Oh, and not to mention that UT got spanked 41-17. The Bama fans weren't exactly the nicest and classiest fans that I have ever encountered- that's for sure. I hope that when I am 60 that I have alot more important things to do than run my mouth, act obnoxious and brag about a football game...especially one that my team was picked to win.



Now as far as the young frat boys that like to run their mouths, they can't help that they are dickheads. That's in the rules of being in the frat. I don't know which was funnier, the guys that are younger than me running their mouths, or the ones old enough to be my daddy, or even granddaddy. Dumbasses.

I won't down on all the Bama fans, as the ones on the shuttle ride to the stadium and in the RV parking lot were cool to us...It was after the 24 point drumming and everyone was fully liquored up that Tide turned on us...literally. Oh well...they are from Alabama.

Monday, October 22, 2007

The Misfits - 10.15.07 - The Orange Peel - Asheville, North Carolina


With the recent release of the remake of John Carpenter's "Halloween", as revisioned by Rob Zombie, it's perfect timing for this post about another recent ghoulish event. Remakes and reissues aren't always the same, or as good...sometimes they are able to somehow eclipse the original, but not very often....none come to mind right now. There are many remakes of movies and plenty of re-issues of old albums, complete with demos, out-takes and bonus materials to make it worth your while to buy (but you know you gotta have'em 'cause you're a super fan). Then there are totally new recantations of older products, acts and art. In this case, I am talking about the Misfits, and their "30th Anniverscary Fiend Fest" Tour.


The Misfits for all intense purposes, to the hardcore old-school fan, do not even really exist any more (naturally). To those of us that weren't always punk, or were too young to experience the original run, or hell, just didn't really care or even know much about them 'til recently, recent tours and merchandising hurricanes and blitzes have finally introduced the world to the Misfits...or at least to their Skull logo, thanks to every band in the word, celebs and Hot Topic, where there are now at least 50 different versions of the Skull shirt available, amongst countless other Misfits knick-knacks, clothes, skateboards, clocks, pencils and anything else that a cool looking skull can be put on and sold to the masses for more than a modest DIY price that it was all conceived around.
The Misfits of today are Jerry Only, Robo and Dez Cadena (both members of Black Flag as well). Long gone are the days of the "classic" lineup of Misfits: Jerry Only, Robo, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein (Jerry's brother) and a young, unknown and much lankier punk from Jersey by the name of Glenn Danzig (who is he again?). Just because it wasn't Danzig and all of the original boys, and despite the mall punks that keep the Misfits (merchandising) legacy going, Jerry and company can still put a show on!

They came out and didn't let up 'til there was nothing left. Opening with seasonal favorite Halloween, the Misfits tore through most of their classics from 20 years ago...or more. They managed to sneak some of the newer ones in as well, like American Psycho and Dig Up Her Bones, but most of the show was a greatest hits collection, minus Where Eagles Dare. They played probably 20 songs, including Skulls, We Are 138, She, Teenagers From Mars, Hollywood Babylon, I Turned Into a Martian, Horror Business, London Dungeon, Die Die My Darling and Astro Zombies. I think they played Bullet, but I can't remember for sure. I don't think that they had an actual setlist- Jerry would shout something out and they would play it. They didn't play anything off of their newest release "Project 1950". I thought that they might play their cover of Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Monster Mash, since it's getting close to Halloween and all, but alas, they did not.


Dez sang Black Flag's Six Pack and Rise Above, which was really cool to hear him sing and play them, let alone just to hear them in general.

After the show ended, pretty much immediately, Jerry came back out on stage and signed autographs, took pictures and hung out for at least 30 or 45 minutes. I didn't stick around much longer after he signed a cd book for me and took this picture with me:


Say what you will, all you old-schoolers and hardcore Misfits fans...but the show rocked. Aside from it being the Jerry Only show (yes, he vamped enough during the show, flexing his muscles and doing rockstar poses), it was awesome to hear the songs that I've been listening to for a while, and that so many others have worshipped for so long. If you get the chance to check them out and you aren't too snobby about the Misfits not really being the Misfits anymore, go check them out. You may not have another chance...and besides, who knows when Danzig will play anymore Misfits songs, especially under the guise of The Misfits.

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Coming next...

a recap of the Hellabama Getaway...and back...and the ensuing Alabama Ass Whuppin', sunburn and hangover that were all obtained while in the great state of Alabama...

Here's a preview:




Tiger Army and the Street Dogs - 10.9.07

Whoa- such a great show in Atlanta at the Masquerade. I made the 215 mile trek from Knoxville to Atlanta...and back again returning to the Broadway Penthouse very late that night or early in the AM, depending on how you look at it. Just enough time for about 3 hours of sleep before work...ugh. However, it was a night of many firsts: my first Tiger Army show, first Street Dogs show and fisrt show at the Masquerade...and all three were outstanding!!

First of all, The Masquerade in Atlanta is awesome: it is small- less than 500 people. The stage is set up where people can stand on by sides, as well as the front. Plus, one of the sides is raised by 2 or 3 feet so you can look down on the band and stage, but not like from the upper deck. The other side of the stage you can just stand on the floor and look up. Plus it sounded great. All ages show, so good for the youngsters, but I didn't see too many of them. Security not too tight- no obnoxious pat downs, searches or bigheaded guards...plus they were letting folks on stage to dive off. Some climbed the speaker stacks and were jumping off of there. The stage hands/guards looked at each other and just shook their heads during that. Haha (I guess). The Masq also has the biggest bottles of Newcastle that I have ever seen.

I have somehow never seen the Street Dogs after all these years (they have been known to open for my fave Social Distortion on occasion). I have been wasting serious time by missing these guys...and you have too if you haven't seen them. Just like everyone has said, they put on a hell of a show. It was 100mph the whole way through, with some sing alongs, some shout alongs, a few dedications to the soldiers and fallen friends and an ode to a band member with a drinking problem. Such a great set, only wish they could have played longer than 45 minutes, but that's always the case. I even had to buy one of their albums. Plus they were super cool after the show hanging out, drinking, taking pics and signing autographs for everyone.

Tiger Army came out and it was just so relieving to finally see these guys after three years of obsessing over them. I don't have the setlist, but it was similar to other recent show setlists that I have seen on around on blogs. They didn't play any of their western-y style songs (The Long Road or In the Orchard) as I had hoped, but it was all good. I didn't realize how talkative Nick and Jeff would be with the crowd. That Jeff sure is a talker. Great set, great show. Jeff and James hung out after the show, and actually packed up their own gear which surprised me. They both took time to sign autographs and take pics with fans. Jeff even bragged about his new toolbox that he had just gotten as he showed it off to me after the show. I was asking him how to make the upright bass pop like it does. (I can play everything but an upright...just never had an opportunity to try, but now I HAVE TO!!). Jeff gave me some tips and told me to keep trying at it. He was super cool about talking to me about it all, but I could tell that his real focus was on 1) the girls around (I don't blame him) and 2) packing up and getting out of there, as they had to go the NYC after the show.

Nick didn't come back out and hang out, so I didn't get the meet and thank him for the show. Jeff said that he probably left right after the show to go the airport to fly to NYC. I guess Jeff, James and the crew were all driving...Must be nice to be the singer I guess...but I won't go there...tonight at least.

Both Street Dogs and Tiger Army were very pleased with the Atlanta crowd, saying it was always warm and welcoming to the SDs and the best ATL crowd ever to TA. If you have seen these guys, you know how good the show was. If you haven't, go NOW and check them out!

Opening band was The Static Age (Misfits fans, I assume). They were pretty good for what I saw (last 2 songs), but their profile songs on myspace and their stage songs sounded totally different...I don't know...Pretty cool either way.


From where we stood on the side of the stage, taken with my obviously high powered professional photographic Verizon cell phone:

Nick 13 of Tiger Army:


Jeff and Nick 13 of Tiger Army:

Myspace links:
Tiger Army
Street Dogs
The Static Age

ok, ok...

So here we are. The third week of October, and I finally sat down to actually do this. I wanted to start this a month ago, in order to celebrate ROCKTOBER...yeah, I know. It's a cliche, but with the concert schedule of this month, there is no other name for such a month of pure rock bliss.

It's been spectacular so far, and there is still a third of the month to go. Anyways, as I was saying, I wanted to start this a while ago, but just never did...there were several reasons, none of which shall be discussed, as there are plenty of more interesting topics to discuss, i.e.: ROCKTOBER 2007.

Thursday, Oct 4th: Foo Fighters - The Tabernacle - Atlanta, Georgia

Sunday, Oct 7th: Hank III & Assjack - Blue Cats - Knoxville, Tennessee

Tuesday, Oct 9th: Tiger Army & The Street Dogs - The Masquerade - Atlanta, Georgia

Monday, Oct 15th: The Misfits (30 Anniversary Tour) - The Orange Peel - Asheville, North Carolina

Tuesday, Oct 23rd: Type O Negative, Lordi & Generation of Vipers - Blue Cats - Knoxville, Tennessee

Friday, Oct 26th: ZOSO - Blue Cats - Knoxville, Tennessee

Sunday, Oct 28th: The Kings of Leon & BRMC - The Tennessee Theatre - Knoxville, Tennessee

Tuesday, Oct 30th: Nada Surf - The Orange Peel - Asheville, North Carolina


Missed Shows:
Monday, Oct 1st: High on Fire - Blue Cats - Knoxville, Tennessee

Friday, Oct 12th: The Melvins - Blue Cats - Knoxville, Tennessee

Friday & Saturday Oct 19 &20th: Superdrag (Reunion shows) - Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria - Knoxville, Tennessee


So, there is the tentative ROCKTOBER calendar, both hits and misses...November is shaping up to be not too shabby itself...of course, nothing like its predecessor, but pretty good for a November.


This is kind of what Saints Don't Bother will be about. A little of this, a little of that, lots of music. Some other random stuff at times...always entertaining (hopefully) and maybe a bit insightful too.

Holler