Fall Rewind

Every year, I see way too many shows. I need an interesting way to document them, so I tend to make lists and put lots of posters and concert tickets up on my walls. Or I go online and make lists that are completely arbitrary to everyone but me...so here it is for nobody to care about.

Show Recap, 2008...PART 1 since I'm going to forget about a few, I just know it

plus the year isn't even over yet!

2008 was highlighted by a stretch in September that consisted of 5 shows spanning just over 1 week. It was ridiculous, dangerous, inspiring, and amazing...something I suggest to everyone...

09.16 Devotchka @ the El Rey
- Devotchka alone is a spectacle; throw in a gymnast rolling around and doing flips in a cirque du soleil ribbon-type contraption and you have a wicked burlesque-inspired, eastern folk adventure. Devotchka does it up often, and they do it well. Tubas, mandolins...and a guy who can, for lack of better words, tear up a violin and accordion. And he wears a suit. And the drummer plays the trumpet. Mighty cool.

09.17 MGMT @ Fonda
- Now this show...I had no idea what to expect, and realized upon arrival that MGMT had made it. The place was more packed than I had ever seen it and people were begging out front for extra tickets. Those art rockers sure know how to pack a place. I'd have to say the show was a bit of a letdown, although no fault of the band. The place was just amazingly packed to the brim, and inside the theater the temperature rose about 15 degrees. Uncomfortable...but the performance certainly was something.

09.21 My Morning Jacket @ Greek
- I took my parents to this show. Jim James recently played in Iowa City and fell off the stage, requiring the postponement of a few shows. After watching these guys, I can see how that would be a definite possibility. A nice relaxing night outdoors at the Greek was really anything but, as MMJ blasted the thousands in attendance with cuts spanning four albums, playing for well over two hours. Jim James' melodic howls set the tone for the rest of the band; the guys are damn hard workers who can smash away at their instruments to create a sweetly Southern sounding art-rock that can really only be experienced live. They finished with the epic "One Big Holiday", which must have stirred up some curiosity in the nearby Los Feliz neighborhood. Hearing that huge opening build-up is an Arcade Fire-like catharsis, and nobody seems to be feeling it more than James. Rock on MMJ, even though your new album was wacko...

09.23 Fleet Foxes @ El Rey
- I have had the privilege of seeing these guys twice this year, and both times have really blown me away. Sure they're the most recent indie-rock buzz band, but these guys will stick around. At Spaceland, I could only imagine hearing this stuff at the Greek or at Red Rocks, echoing throughout the place, heavy reverb and all. At the El Rey, they completely blew me away, even with the same songs. "Oliver James" is something to see, as Robin Pecknold just belts the thing out over a soft, minimalist acoustic guitar. And "Winter White Hymnal" is awesome as virtually every member of the band contributes his voice perfectly. I'd see them many times again...probably at the Wiltern or something huge next time...

09.24 Cold War Kids @ Fonda

- These guys are great, and the fact that they're from down the road in the LB makes them that much better. CWK have a unique sound that I can't just describe; their lyrics tell epic stories about ordinary people, especially since the release of "Loyalty to Loyalty". Their music is unique as well, with prominent piano and catchy drum beats. Slick bass lines and a complementary lead guitar interjecting in perfect spots lead to an old-fashioned yet modern feel to modern rock. It also doesn't hurt that their merch is some of the best ever. CWK just have a sense of style and storytelling unrivaled by many indie bands. They can take you away to many a cold, dark street or dimly lit theater...somewhere something interesting is happening without people really knowing about it...exactly like the Fonda that night. I sincerely think this band will be huge...nothing else sounds close. And they're from LB!

November Blitz

Tonight kicks off a weekend unheard of since, well, mid September?

Tonight we have Mr. Kevin Barnes and the Of Montreal gang, undoubtedly ready to conjure up a whirlwind of dark, abstract lyrics sugar-coated and packaged into sweet, dance able hooks and melodies. All this set to a theatrical, surreal show chock full of lights, video screens, props, and wicked costumes. Rocking is not Kevin Barnes; freaking out is more along the lines of past shows (ninja fight anyone?). All this and more gives Of Montreal's live spectacle the feel of an intimate Radiohead or NIN show blasted into hyperdrive, through a galactic war between the gingerbread men o Candyland and the Smurfs (WHAT?). Just gotta go check it out.

Tomorrow comes Yeasayer, on their first headlining tour. These guys have something crazy going on and I have no idea how to describe it. I've seen them once before...but didn't really concentrate too hard on what was happening. This show, at the Troubadour, will pretty much force me to pay attention, what with the massive speakers, concrete floor, and sound bouncing off every imaginable surface 15 times over. Gotta love the Troub...

Finally, we cool off to a nice evening with the Decemberists, over at the Wiltern. Go early, get a wristband, chill out, have a beer, its the right kind of night to end a psychedelic little weekend. Colin Meloy's immense fairy tale epics will surely keep us all going well into the week...shame about that Long of It and Short of It going under...but with the new vinyl's and a new LP on the way, there really isn't much to complain about. Los Angeles, I'm Yours.

Come out to the shows, you really can't go wrong. I promise.

letdown

When it comes down to it, I get myself up out of bed, slide into this black office chair, and hunch over a keyboard covered in dust and old insound receipts to write a blog I sincerely believe nobody will read...but that's okay, isn't it? I expect it, and I embrace the idea of anonymity in an ever-more anonymous world. Are blogs not for the enjoyment of the writer infinitely more so than the reader? I can pretty much say anything I please after this line right here>>, for if you're still reading you probably want to hit that myspace.com tab up above and check what new friends your friends have. That's what I enjoy about the blog ideal today; it's exactly opposite of the xanga ideal we all shared so intimately in high school. Not so much an emotional call for help, a place for teenage angst and everything else they use to describe pop punk these days...it is an open door into the ego of employees, fans, critics, cynics, (pessimists? faithless?)...I fit 'em all twice over and welcome you with open arms. A journal for the 21st century, a place to call attention to yourself and a place for a reader to feel as if he has stumbled across lost thoughts from another place. But alas no, this will be an ever-changing photograph into the subconscious...here for the enjoyment of a few, more importantly for myself. In college, they post pictures all over the internet of themselves, I want to jump in. I indulge as much as the other guy, perhaps more so...After all, I'll be reading my blog more often than you ever will.