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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar @ Lincoln Hall


Ben Gibbard & Jay Farrar played tracks from their recent collaboration, the Jack Kerouac inspired, "One Fast Move or I'm Gone" to a sold out crowd at Lincoln Hall last night. The two met after contributing to the new Kerouac movie of the same title. The pair decided to make 12 songs based exclusively on Kerouac's work and the result is dark folk album with occasional shades of country and blues. Opening with "California Zephyr" the mood was set early as an attentive audience let the band accent and expand the material. Throughout the set, both singers split vocal duties and hopped onto keyboards when needed. Despite both being accomplished artists, the secret weapon of the night was in fact Mark Spencer who played a gorgeous slide guitar and spooky keyboard during "Breathe Our Iodine", the chugging, gritty highlight of the show. Being a huge fan of Ben (and Death Cab For Cutie) I was ecstatic when he chose to add "An Open Letter" to the set, a hidden gem he wrote with Styrofoam.

As far as the venue, Lincoln Hall showed the growing pains of a place that has been open for only 2 weeks. Although I would definitely purchase tickets to another act there, it does come with a disclaimer. If you choose to see a band perform there, get there early and on the floor. The second floor is nothing more than a railing around the top with limited viewing at best. It got so disappointing and crowded, some people chose to leave the show after not being admitted to the floor and unable to see from the second floor. At one point I was told that if I went to the bathroom, which is outside the floor area, that I might not be permitted back inside. Thankfully a manager came over and did his best to assist people trying to get back to friends, but it lead to a few headaches and complaints. I kind of have to wonder if the owners of Schuba's may have bitten off more than they can chew by trying to make an upgraded edition of Schuba's. The stage was awkwardly large which lost a bit of the intimacy, but I'm sure the venue will eventually find its' image and atmosphere.

The posted song is from their recent appearance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic", one of the best radio shows in the country.
One Fast Move by theearlynerd

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

The Bloody Beetroots Get A Deadly Remix Just In Time For Halloween


The Bloody Beetroots recently released Romborama and have been remixing tracks for a couple of years now. The Italian duo of Bobby Rifo and Tommy Tea formed in 2006, releasing albums through the always cool, Dim Mak Records. Similar to Justice or MSTRKRFT, the beats are very aggressive. After seeing them crush the DJ tent at Lollapalooza this year, I've kept my eye on them and you should too. I have no info on the guy who cut this remix, but he took a great song and made it even tougher. Download it now and immediately toss it into your Halloween mix...
Warp 1.9 (GTRONIC BadAssRMX) by theearlynerd

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Claudio Sanchez Unleashes "Kill Audio"

Claudio Sanchez, lead singer of Coheed & Cambria just released his second comic book series and this one seems to be getting a lot of good reviews. Kill Audio is a 6 issue series following the adventures of our hero, Claudio.

For those of you not familiar with Coheed & Cambria, all of the group's material is based on The Amory Wars. The story is ridiculously elaborate, taking place in a large solar system named Heaven's Gate. "Coheed" and "Cambria" are the mother and father of Claudio, a savior for the war torn galaxy. Some people have talked about it's similarities to Star Wars, but I found that if you listen to the music and read the comics it works very well. FYI, Coheed & Cambria (the band) are hard at work in the studio making a new album based on a prequel to The Amory Wars, so this could get very confusing. However they have promised to release a series of comics in chronological order to tell the story further.

One character from The Amory Wars is Jesse "The Prize Fighter" Inferno which has lead to the creation of a new band called? The Prize Fighter Inferno! Taking away most of the progressive rock and punk in their other band, this one tends to lean more on electronic beats. All of this is quite meaningless if you either hate Coheed & Cambria or hate comics, but I love both so check out any of the music or art and enjoy the trailer for Kill Audio below, featuring music from The Prize Fighter Inferno. Just so you know, the stories do not have any relation, nor do the intersect so you can pick up a comic from this series without wondering if you missed anything. Lastly, those interested in purchasing the series with variant covers can click here, yes I know that is very geeky.

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Volcano Choir - "Island, IS" Video

As I patiently wait for the webcast of Bon Iver's set from this year's Austin City Limit Music Festival to start, I can't stop listening to this track from Volcano Choir's "Unmap". A collaboration between the talented Justin Vernon (of Bon Iver) and members of the group Collection of Colonies of Bees, the first single is a good representation of the full album. Please don't expect anything as lyrically honest as Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago". Volcano Choir manage to say very little, using Justin's voice as just another instrument in a very lush and atmospheric tone. Also, don't expect any live dates soon with both bands having an already booked schedule. That might also be the reason for no actual members being in the video, instead something reminiscent of the classic game Simon.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Phoenix Remix Album

After catching Phoenix last month at the Aragon, I can see what all the fuss is about. Their music is energetic and catchy, just the right stuff to make a crowd go nuts. They have been growing in popularity with their recent release "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" and rightfully so. The album is stacked with great songs, my favorite being "Love Like A Sunset". Of course with hype and talent comes remixes, and if you take a look at Hype Machine you will be amazed at how many are out there right now.

It seems that some bands have so much confidence in the original product, they welcome remixes. Radiohead, Bloc Party & Interpol all have released remixes and in the coming months, you will see remix albums from Kings of Leon and Phoenix. "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Remix Collection) will be released on October 13th, with some very good artists contributing. The track below is not on the new album, so enjoy and let me know what you think. I'm using Soundcloud now, which is so much better than Imeem. Just click the arrow on the player to download and that's it. You're welcome...
1901 (Alan Wilkis Remix) by theearlynerd