Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Ramblings: Update

The road trip portion of this trip has been finished. In two hours I'll be on my way to the East European adventure! After a lot of stress in the past couple days, my stomach is starting to become at ease.

I will try to write up some review of the Röyksopp show... some time...


One thing I do not look forward to about this trip is the amount of videos I'll have to upload once I return. But at least I'll be able to go back to my usual Soundtrack To The Day schedule.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Ramblings: Bobapalooza 2011

As a little background, one of my good friends nicknamed my second 4000 mile long road trip "Bobapalooza." Since then I've named each trip this.

This year's Bobapalooza has been a more musically oriented trip. It started at the beginning of this month (hence my lack of constant update lately). I started in Macon, Georgia, where I was working at the time, then travelled to Orlando, Florida to visit a friend; Athens, Georgia for Caspian; Knoxville, Tennessee to visit another friend; Clarksville, Tennessee for Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson; Kent, Ohio to visit a long-time friend; back to Athens (with a quick stop in Knoxville) for Godspeed You! Black Emperor; and now I'm in Atlanta for the Röyksopp show tonight. I'll be heading back home (Oklahoma) either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Part two of this tour is going to commence next Tuesday (3/29) as I step on the plane to Hungary. I'll be visiting Hungary, Slovenia, and Austria and going to a bunch of concerts.

02 April - Budapest, Hungary - tapeunderground
08 April - Ljubljana, Slovenia - God Is An Astronaut
09 April - Budapest, Hungary - 30Y and Isten Háta Mögött
10 April - Budapest, Hungary - God Is An Astronaut and marionette ID
13 April - Zalaegerszeg, Hungary - Harcsa Veronika Quartet*
16 April - Budapest, Hungary - Realistic Crew
17 April - Budapest, Hungary - Our Ceasing Voice and Képzelt Város
20 April - Vienna, Austria - Our Ceasing Voice
26 April - Vienna, Austria - Tides From Nebula

*I really want to see Harcsa Veronika, but Zalaegerszeg is really far away from Budapest.

I may not be able to do a Soundtrack To The Day as frequently, but there will be many concert updates... and even more videos to upload. Bleh. I already have 12 to upload, 4 more after the Röyksopp show tonight.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Concerts: Godspeed You! Black Emperor at 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia (3/22)

I arrive in Athens quite early, four hours before the show started. I pack my obnoxiously large backpack with all of the important stuff, just in case my car gets broken into and start moseying on down to Trapeze to have some Beer Cheddar Soup, which was delicious.
After the meal I thought I'd walk around, probably hit up a coffee shop or two, until I walked past 40 Watt. There was already a line three hours early. Granted, just four people long. That shouldn't have surprised me, it's GY!BE after all. I decided against the coffee shops and casual walk to chill out in line. I find out that the guy ahead of me is also going to see Röyksopp this Thursday. What a coincidence.
One interesting thing happened in line, some bum rapper, with what looked like his assistant or producer or something, started trying to freestyle for tips and claimed to be the one everyone was there to see. He insisted the man ahead of me in line to get a picture with him. He apparently didn't want to waste battery life on a pointless picture.

Anyway, three hours fly by quickly and we start our path to the inner sanctum of the venue. The line split into last names by A-K and L-Z. I get up to the L-Z podium just to find out that I wasn't on the list nor did he have my "will call" ticket. This was the very thing I was afraid of. "I KNEW they didn't get my order... but my account was charged... maybe if I pull out my laptop and show him my bank statement..." Well, come to find out A-K also had some L's, where my envelope apparently was. I walk into the venue shaking from all sorts of emotions from that scare.


Erik Chenaux
He was kind of a "neo-folk" if there is even such a thing. He was very experimental and had a lot of crazy guitar effects. I can't say I liked the songs that had a lot of effects. They were interesting, though. He had a couple that had minimal effects that I actually liked a lot. And he had a song where the lyrics consisted of only beer brewery and brew names. A man that knows is beers and sings about them is A-Okay in my book!


Godspeed You! Black Emperor
They opened with long drone buildup that must have lasted 15 minutes. And then they jammed into their first song. I don't have all of their albums, so I'm not sure what song it was. But it was intense. As the crescendo reached its peak I gripped at my backpack strap and I could feel tears rolling down my cheek. Wow.
They played for 2.5 hours and ended their set with Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada, the entire thing, Moya and Blaise Bailey Finnegan III. Experiencing Moya live was just amazing. Then ending the set with BBF3 was even better. At the end of the song they each walked off through a drone of noise. This show was perfect. The crowd was appeased. No "One More Song!" or "Encore!" just people staring at an empty stage in awe, drone noise blaring.


I walked to my car in muse, attempting to recover from what I had just experienced. Right now, as I write this, I still find it unbelievable.


Pictures

These pictures are poor. I don't know whether I was just in a bad spot or if GY!BE just isn't photogenic. I'm almost always in the same position at every concert, though. I just found this one exceptionally hard to photograph at least mildly decent. However, I did take video. Instead of uploading my backlog of videos before getting to my recent, I'm going to upload GY!BE every other upload starting with my favourite, Moya.



I'll be uploading more in the next couple days, hopefully will catch up before I head off to Hungary.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Charles Spearin - Anna



This is a part of Spearin's (of Do Make Say Think, Broken Social Scene, and KC Accidental) experimental project, The Happiness Project. In a lot of post-rock often times a band will play spoken tracks and the band will play a background tune. In this project, however, he recorded his neighbour's conversations and turned their spoken tracks into music.

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Purchase his album on his website or iTunes.)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Volkova Sisters - Early



I've been slacking pretty hardcore in the music department since I started this trip. Though, it's only going to get worse when I head off to Hungary in April. But I'll definitely have a LOT of Concert reviews to post while I'm over there.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Concerts: The Ascent Of Everest at The Coup in Clarksville, Tennessee (3/14)

First off, I'll start with the venue. The Coup is a nice little place. The ground level portion has a small stage, a bar, some couches, a rigged xbox, and a few tables and chairs. I hear they have great sandwiches, and they have a beer selection that would make everyone satisfied, from the casual Bud drinker to the craft beer enthusiasts (such as myself). It's just a chill hang-out spot.
The basement/garage is where the main stage is. It is completely graffiti'd up and has a skateboard ramp in the corner. It's very "punk," really cool.
Pre-show setup is pretty much nonexistent. No sound checks. Pretty much just go up, plug in, play. There are some adjustments of course, but not quite as meticulous as... say... Troubadour in Los Angeles. That does provide a number of problems, but it also kind of adds to the grittiness and "garage" aspects to this entire venue.
Overall, it's a cool place.

Anyway, on to the bands.

Yeshuá (?)
I'm not entirely sure what the first band's name is. One of them said "Yeshuá," but then another seemed to be uncertain of the name of their group. Either way, they don't have anything out... no bandcamp, no myspace, no facebook, which will just make it challenging for me to follow them. The band consisted of two guitarists and a drummer. I think they all ran The Coup as well, or at least one of them did. Their set was short (just two songs) but strong. They also played with their backs facing the crowd, which I thought was kind of odd.

Deadhorse
A five-piece outfit from Erie, Pennsylvania (two guitars, bass, keyboards, drums). Their set started with a contemporary poet, which was a pretty cool. It reminded me of Unwed Sailor's sets opening with a book reading in last year's Norman Music Festival. These guys rocked hard. They also did one thing that I've always wanted to see done... using a violin or cello bow on a guitar. It was pretty awesome. I personally think this should be done more often.

Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson
A seven-piece from Oslo, Norway (four guitars, bass, cello, drums). I was invited to this show by Anders back when I was working in Macon. I didn't think I'd be able to attend until that job ended a week and a half ago. I'm glad I got to see them. They played a great set. Though, being a seven-piece required a little more time in setting up, and some more equipment, that would have made them sound so much better. The Coup is a great place, but I feel like their limitations didn't bring out Youth Pictures' full sound. But they still sounded great. And the use of an old phone as an additional mic was pretty neat too.
Also, they have, by far, the coolest cd case ever... a small hardback art book.

The Ascent Of Everest
I kind of felt bad for these guys. They weren't able to show up with the entire band, normally an eight-piece. The two guitarists, bassist, and drummer were the only ones that could show up that day. They played only new stuff, which makes sense. The older stuff everyone would be familiar with has a specific sound that only the entire band would be able to make. They had a bit of a rough start, and I could kind of tell they were a little out of their element. They did end their set very, very strong, though. But by the end the venue had cleared. That was a bit disheartening. I have to hand it to them, though, they put everything into it for those that stayed. I hope I can see the entire band play soon.


Pictures.



Deadhorse
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook]

Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

The Ascent Of Everest
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]

Monday, March 14, 2011

Concerts: Caspian at Caledonia Lounge in Athens, Georgia (3/11)

I have to say, Athens is possibly one of the most inconveniently placed towns I've ever been to. If you're not travelling there from Atlanta, you'll be hitting all sorts of heavy traffic back roads. Google maps said 1.5 hours from Cummings, GA. Hah, more like 3.

Okay, enough about that, hah hah. So, I FINALLY arrive in Athens and meet up with a couple friends. We drop by the Trappeze for a beer then walk to Caledonia. I hardly walk three steps in before I hear Ben's (Caspian's band manager) generous greeting. Then I try to scope out the rest of Caspian. After a few hugs, hand shakes, and various conversations about mom and dad, Daughtry, and the future direction of Helium Erin Season 2, the show starts with For A Minor Reflection.


For A Minor Reflection
I embarrassingly mistaken them for being Norwegian. I thought I read somewhere that they were, so I was getting all excited about seeing another Norwegian band a few days later (Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson). FAMR is Icelandic. Hah.
Anyway, they opened with a very strong set. I'm excited to pop in my newly purchased cd! I'll definitely be following these guys.

Chiaroscuro
The best way to describe them is "Big guys producing big sound." They're more ambient than the other bands that played that night. They also have epic beards. Hah hah.

Native
These guys were more on the indie/screamo side. It wasn't quite my "cup of tea" but they weren't bad. Actually, they were really good. I guess I'm just not much into that style of vocals.

Caspian
They were Caspian. Hah hah, need I say more? This is the fourth time I got to see them. They still blew me away.


Sorry about the brief descriptions. I'm hurrying this post because I'm currently at the venue for The Ascent Of Everest, Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson, and Deadhorse. Which I hope to update for tomorrow!



Pictures!





For A Minor Reflection
[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]

Chiaroscuro
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]

Native
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]

Caspian
[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace]

Pi



Today I'm doing something different. It is 3/14, so I think today's soundtrack wouldn't be any more appropriate than Pi.
I came across this from a facebook post a couple days ago and being that I love mathematics and music this was absolutely delightful.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Quick Update

Again, sorry for the lack of updates. I lost my charger the night I planned on making a new Soundtrack To The Day post, and my computer had already died. This road trip has been pretty hectic and will be even more hectic until next Wednesday. There will be two Concert updates soon for the Caspian (Athens, Georgia) and The Ascent Of Everest/Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson (Clarksville, Tennessee) shows.

In short, Caspian was amazing, looking forward to The Ascent and Youth Pictures this Monday, and a cop woke me up sleeping in my car in a McDonalds parking lot and searched my vehicle for paraphernalia.

Hopefully I'll have time to write details when I arrive in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Ramblings: The Wandering Part

I'll try to update my blog frequently but currently the "Wandering" part of the name is in effect. ROAD TRIP! And hopefully soon will be on a Euro trip too. Here are the planned music events...

11 March - Athens, Georgia - Caspian
14 March - Clarksville, Tennessee - Youth Pictures Of Florence Henderson
22 March - Athens, Georgia - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
24 March - Atlanta, Georgia - Röyksopp
02 April - Budapest, Hungary - tapeunderground
07 April - Budapest, Hungary - The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble*
08 April - Ljubljana, Slovenia - God Is An Astronaut
09 April - Budapest, Hungary - 30Y and Isten Háta Mögött
10 April - Budapest, Hungary - God Is An Astronaut and marionette ID
16 April - Budapest, Hungary - Realistic Crew
17 April - Budapest, Hungary - Our Ceasing Voice and Képzelt Város
20 April - Vienna, Austria - Our Ceasing Voice
22 April - Dresden, Germany - Our Ceasing Voice*
24 April - Milano, Italy - marionette ID*
26 April - Vienna, Austria - Tides From Nebula

*Still trying to decide if I'll go to these

All of the April dates aren't quite set until I step on the plane. There are a series of events that COULD happen that would definitely cancel that April trip. But as for now, that is the plan.
Crazy? Yes. Yes it is. But it will be AWESOME!

I'll have a new soundtrack for tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

The American Dollar - Anything You Synthesize



[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Big Cartel]
(Albums are available for purchase on bandcamp. 3 dollars for one album, 20 for all 8.)

Sunday, March 06, 2011

Astronautalis - The Wondersmith And His Sons



I've heard some interesting things, but this is the first I've heard any kind of fusion between hip-hop and indie.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Albums available for purchase on iTunes. His bandcamp seems to just have one song, Midday Moon.)

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Friday, March 04, 2011

God Is An Astronaut - Suicide By Star



I posted Snowfall last year as a commemoration to the year and I don't usually do reposts of the same band, but after hearing this song on my newly obtained All Is Violent, All Is Bright vinyl I couldn't help but post this. The double bass is chilling...

[Last.fm] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Purchase their music on iTunes, Facebook (Shop Now), or Revolvermann Records.)

Thursday, March 03, 2011

P.O.S. - Optimist



I feel the general view of this genre has been twisted because of popular artists and their complete unoriginality and lack of true passion for the music. I used to be among the many that despised the genre. But now I'm intrigued, now I want to hear more like P.O.S. and Katrah-Quey. Hopefully in the up-coming months there will be more gems of this genre.

[Last.fm] [Bandcamp] [Facebook] [Myspace] [Website]
(Albums available for purchase on iTunes.)