Spring 2010: Carnival of Sorts

Well, spring has sprung in the south. Outside activities rule with long, sunny days made for trips to the beach, hanging or working out, and just plain basking in the sweet sounds of spring. With lots of new music popping (e.g. Indie Rock Cafe), and accompanying tours looming on the horizon, I’m hoping to hit at least a few shows this spring and summer. Although Charleston, SC remains a bit of a remote outpost for visiting (and resident) indie music, there are a couple of decent shows on the way. My Morning Jacket tops the list and is playing here on Daniel Island and it definitely will warrant a drive back from Columbia for a Wednesday (4/28) night take. I've heard real positive things about their live shows, I love their sound, their new album and videos and I'm thinking this one's a keeper. I’m not exactly sure this will work at the Family Circle Cup Stadium, an outside tennis venue filled with good seats and site lines, but I’m hoping for the best.



On a somewhat related note, I caught a Sox-Yankees game the other night on NESN and tuned in just in time to hear Steven Tyler and a daughter not named Liv, sing God Bless America. On the positive side, he didn’t try to finesse the song and pretend to be someone other than a rock and roll singer, but a few words sprung to mind as I listened; limited, flat, good try, and bad decision. This is one, his agent should have nixed. My 11 year daughter Bridget, who plays guitar very well and has a great ear for music had just gone to bed and heard the rendition from an adjacent room. She called out of the bedroom to ask if the Red Sox had brought someone out of the crowd to sing the song. Well, anyway, the next night they had Steven Tyler back at Fenway and in the booth along with Peter Wolf of the J Geils Band to announce a twin bill of Aerosmith and J Geils at Fenway in August. The interaction with Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo was awkward at best and upon reflection, pretty damn funny. Of course, Peter Wolf had his signature lid on and was doing his schtick which led me to provide a pretty lengthy description of J Geils, Peter Wolf, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Aerosmith and some associated trivia to my little guys. I think they appreciated it and got a kick out of some of the clips of the legendary Boston bands. My kids were familiar with Freeze Frame and Centerfold and I broke out the Run DMC – Aerosmith version of Walk This Way. All great stuff and mightily appreciated. That version is pretty classic and worth a view: Walk This Way.

Some other interesting shows coming up:

Coachella, the big indie festival at Indio CA, headlined by Them Crooked Vultures, Thom Yorke, Gorillaz, Pavement, Echo and the Bunnymen, PIL, Muse, Phoenix, Faith No More, MGMT, Jay-Z, Grizzly Bear and others would be a good take out in California next week. Hot desert shows reminded me of a couple of shows that although I did not attend, I’ve heard and read some interesting things about. Take a look at the clips and other related information for the US Festival in 1982 and 1983

Cool detail from Wikipedia on the US Festival, organized by Apple’s Steve Wozniak and some of the battles between the heavy metal and new wave acts. Pretty funny stuff.

Anyway, take a look at the opening night of the first US Festival and tell me that braving the 110 degree heat wouldn’t have been worth bragging about the following lineup:
• The Police
• The Ramones
• The English Beat
• Oingo Boingo
• The B-52’s
• Talking Heads
• The Police

Bonnaroo is also around the corner, a serious road trip away and although I’d love to rent an RV and take that one in alas, that is a bit of a pipe dream. Lots of cool “second tier” bands although the headliners (Dave Matthews, Conan O’Brien, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Norah Jones) don’t cut it for me. However, the xx, Kings of Leon, Tenacious D, the National, the Black Keys, Fanfarlo, Japandroids, Dropkick Murphys, Phoenix and John Fogerty would make it a worthwhile take but certainly not a “can’t miss” show.

Some other random festival tidbits:
I was cruising around cable the other night and saw some footage of The Who at the Monterey Pop Festival (see sidebar) and they performed an awesome set. Although I really enjoyed this year’s Super Bowl, I was pre-occupied and unable to catch the Who’s halftime performance although I heard a mixed bag of opinion on the performance. I did, however, catch the youtube clip and felt Roger, Pete and boys did a very nice job. Bill Simmons (aka the Sports Guy and formerly the Boston Sports Guy and writer for and friend of Jimmy Kimmel), my favorite sports writer and guru of all things sports and pop culture for ESPN.com Page 2 column wrote one of his infamous diaries about the Super Bowl that included the following gem, that after review of the performance, I disagree with wholeheartedly: “By the way, Solomon Wilcots just reported that the White House is labeling The Who's halftime performance as an act of terrorism on American soil.” Bill, I love you, but man, Monterey Pop Festival was 40 years ago and although not comparable, these guys did a really nice job. Cut 'em some slack. Hey, not as good as U2’s 9/11 tribute at the Patriots' first Super Bowl victory in New Orleans in 2002 with Where the Streets Have No Name but good nonetheless.



Lollapalooza also looks pretty good again with my new favorite band Arcade Fire leading the way along with Soundgarden, Green Day, The Strokes , the xx and others. Some iffy choices with other headlining acts but all in all, it appears to be another nice take. Maybe that warrants a plane flight!

How ‘bout this triple bill I saw at the Cow Palace on New Year’s Eve in 1991?
1. Nirvana (opening act)
2. Pearl Jam (second act)
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers (headliner)

Enjoy the spring and happy Earth Day to you on April 22. Do something to make things better, will you?

Winter Indie Music Review: Best of 2009

Upon reflection, my inconsistencies and deficiencies seem quite consistent and relatively predictable these days. Like my chronically late Christmas cards (let's just call them holiday cards because the sentiment and period represented does include New Year), this post will be delivered a bit late and look back at some of my favorite music of 2009 while also looking forward. Approximately a month behind (my consistent tardiness usually means I'm about 10% behind schedule) traditional best of 2009 reviews, this one is neither comprehensive nor scientific. It just contains the music I like from my hours tuning into satellite radio (primarily SiriusXMU that focuses on indie rock) but also includes some reflections on some new wave tunes from the '80s. No apologies but after this sentence, there will be no further mention of Lady Gaga, Eminem, Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas, Taylor Swift or Rihanna. Full disclosure: I have not listened to terrestrial radio in more than two years.

With my new job in January '09 came a significant increase in time spent in my car with SiriusXM. Despite some minor shortcomings, I am very pleased with all the options presented by satellite radio. Of course, I get the filter of SiriusXM's bias, but it is far less restrictive than the bias of say a clear channel or citadel radio station. It's fun to look back nostalgically on my favorite songs of decades past but more importantly, it's even better to peer into future at the bands and music that keeps me young.

Here goes with my Best of 2009. The lists below include my favorite new bands and the songs (and video) that turned me on to them along with a list of old friends that created some good music in 2009 and some friends whose music keeps finding its way into my ears. Take a look at the list and the links below (and to the right) and let me know what you think. I hope you enjoy and perhaps find some new music to make your life a little more enjoyable.

New friends found or re-discovered in 2009:
24. Kid Cudi and MGMT (Pursuit of Happiness)
23. Throw Me the Statue (Lolita)
22. The Decemberists (The Rake's Song)
21. Spoon (The Underdog)
20. Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Maps)
19. Passion Pit (The Reeling)
18. Fanfarlo (Harold T. Wilkins)
17. Peter Bjorn and John (Nothing To Worry About)
16. Dirty Projectors (Stillness is the Move)
15. Bat For Lashes (Daniel)
14. Bon Iver (Blood Bank)
13. Big Pink (Velvet)
12. Arcade Fire, from Soundtrack to Where the Wild Things Are and Neon Bible (Wake Up, Neighborhood, Black Mirror)
11. Port O'Brien (My Will is Good)
10. Antlers (Kettering)
9. Santogold (L.E.S. Artistes)
8. Shout Out Louds (Walls)
7. Black Keys with The Blak Roc Project (Ain't Nothing Like You)
6. The Thermals (Now We Can See)
5. White Rabbits (Percussion Gun)
4. Japandroids (Racer X and Young Hearts Spark Fire)
3. Deer Tick (Easy)
2. Andrew Bird (Anonanimal)
1. The XX (Crystalised, Basic Space)

Big buzz, hot indie bands that I just don't get:
Especially Vampire Weekend. Damn, they are pushing these guys and I just don't see it. I guess it took me a while to warm up to bands like Radiohead but I don't think these guys are very original or good, for that matter. Also, Animal Collective and Grizzly Bear keep getting perfect 10s from Pitchfork.com and lots of best of 2009s and I'm not quite seeing it. However, I do like the new Animal Collective song more and more and will keep tuned there.
1. Vampire Weekend
2. Grizzly Bear
3. Animal Collective
4. Atlas Sound
5. Girls
6. Pains of Being Pure at Heart

Old friends that put out worthwhile music in 2009:
1. U2
2. Sonic Youth
3. Dinosaur Jr.
4. Radiohead
5. Ian McCulloch
6. Depeche Mode

Old friends (including above) that are standing the test of time:
1. The Ramones
2. The Clash
3. Elvis Costello
4. Superchunk
5. Pixies
6. Anything with Bob Mould
7. Uncle Tupelo
8. The Jayhawks
9. The Police
10. Talking Heads
11. Big Country (specifically "In a Big Country")
12. Alphaville (specifically "Forever Young"

Have a great 2010 and beyond...