HELL YEAH!!! This is the best news I’ve heard in a long time! THE NATIONAL ARE RETURNING TO LOUISVILLE FOR A SHOW AT THE BROWN THEATRE THIS SEPTEMBER. No word yet on the exact date, but I assure you as soon as we find out, you will be the first to know. Needless to say, we are huge National fans and back in 2007, we ran dangerously close to just being a National tribute blog. With the recent release of one of the best albums this year (and their third best for the record), High Violet, this is sure to be a memorable show. We were there at the Bell House in NYC in March for their show and I watched their live youtube show a week or two ago and they do not disappoint. I, for one, am going to get in line early for my tix.
If you are still with me after that fan boy rant, here is another bit of good news. Owen Pallett (Final Fantasy) is going to open (I am not shitting you). Get ready ladies and gents. I’ve put my whole September on hold to save whatever date this show lands on. From the National’s show page, below are the September dates already taken. I’ll go out on a limb and guess that it will be after the 9/11 show in WA (but, who knows?).
UPDATE: Word is the show will be on September 27, 2010. We will confirm once we are sure.
UPDATE 2: Hit the nail on the head. The National + Owen Pallett in Louisville. The show will be September 27, 2010. Tix will cost you a reasonable $35 bucks. They go on sale June 4th at 10:00 am. Member pre-sale begins on June 2nd. Get them ASAP.
Jusin Bieber will be at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati on June 26, 2010. Need I say more? Get your tickets HERE! If you are not familiar with Bieber’s amazing story, his bio is below (abridged for space). Also, he has one of the best fan videos ever. Be sure to watch it before the show (below).
A . . . soul is the last thing you would expect to find inside Justin Bieber. But all it takes is one . . . 15 year-old soul-singing phenomenon to realize that he is . . . manufactured . . .
After posting dozens of homemade videos on YouTube in 2007 . . . Justin racked up over 10,000,000 views purely from word of mouth.
. . .
In an effort to share his victory with his loved ones, Justin began posting so his . . . family could watch them,” he says. “But it turned out that other people liked them and they started subscribing to them. That’s how my manager found me. He saw me on YouTube and contacted my family and now I’m signed!”
“Scooter drove us to . . . Usher . . .,” remembers Bieber. “That was my first time . . . so I went up to him and was like, ‘Hey Usher, I love . . . you . . .’ He was like, ‘No little buddy, just come inside . . .’”
All it took was a short time . . . for Usher to realize he was in . . . “A week later Usher flew me back to Atlanta,” says Bieber. “…he really wanted . . . me then and there but I still had . . . Justin Timberlake who also wanted . . . me. It turned out Usher’s . . . was way better. He . . . and Scooter had a lot of really good connections . . . I always tease Usher now and remind him how he blew me . . . the first time we met.”
In October of 2008, Justin Bieber officially signed to Island Records. His debut album, My World is an intimate look into . . . a budding young . . . man. . .
His first single, “One Time” produced by Tricky, is about one of Justin’s favorite topics, puppy love. Usher joins Justin on “First Dance” where the two share . . . “A slow groovy song that people can dance to.” On the Midi-Mafia produced “Down to Earth” Justin digs deep to talk about growing . . . “Bigger” . . .
. . . Now I have a 4.0 grade point average and I want to go to college and just become a better person.”
. . . virtually untapped . . . Justin Bieber is primed to be a solid force . . . to come. “I think older people can appreciate my . . . heart . . . and it’s not corny,” he says. “I think I can grow . . . and my fans will grow with me.” And just think, he’s just getting started.
UPDATE: In what has been described by pundits as a “landslide victory of the ages,” The Pass stunned Mr. Pitera and his fans. The people have spoke. Mr. Pitera has yet to issue a concession statement, but did sing the “Whole New World” song at the concert, possibly representing his new outlook on life as 2010 continues to be “a magic carpet ride.”
Tonight (1/20) you have two options. One involves YouTube sensation, Nick Pitera, the guy who did that Aladdin song and sang all the parts (and was pretty good at it, see below). The other involves a rapidly rising dance rock band from here in Louisville, The Pass. Let the debate begin…
Nick Pitera
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20
Where: Paul W. Ogle Cultural & Community Center at Indiana University Southeast, 4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany.
Tickets: $18.50. Call Ticketmaster at (502) 361-3100, or go online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Ok, now for the opponent…The Pass.
Like I said, The Pass is from right here in Louisville and have quickly made a name for themselves. They recently signed with SonaBLAST! Records and their debut album is in the works with help from the same producer behind Passion Pit, Tokyo Police Club, Harlem Shakes and The Walkmen. Their EP, Colors, should be available soon. They are playing tonight at the Z Bar (Preston St.) for FREE. Here is their response to Mr. Pitera youtube presence:
The Pass
When: 10:00 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20
Where: Zanzabar (a/k/a Z Bar), 2100 South Preston Street.
Tickets: FREE. Call Ticketmaster and tell them you don’t need a ticket for this show.
We report. You decide. Since we are in the no spin zone, I cannot tell you that I will, in fact, be at Zanzabar tonight at 10pm.
I’ve been a huge fan of Rodrigo y Gabriela for a while now, but to truly experience this duo, you have to see them live. I had watched youtube videos of their live stuff and it is enough to peak your interest, but you need to be there in person. I finally got a chance to see them at Bonnaroo last summer and was blown away. It’s hard to explain, but they sit nonchalant on stage then break into one of their songs and all you see is a blur of hand strumming, picking and banging on the side of their guitar. They make it look so easy, but it is far from it. Luckily, they have decided to make Louisville’s Brown Theatre a stop on their 2010 tour. The show is on Sunday March 7th. Tickets go on sale January 15th. They will run $35 bucks, so start saving, but it will be worth it!
Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, January 15, at 10 a.m.
Description: Mexican guitarists Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero rose to prominence playing a passionate blend of acoustic music fueled by the smoldering fire of flamenco and bossa nova, plus heavy metal pyrotechnics.
Honing their live performance skills by busking their way across Europe, the duo is now a favorite at festivals worldwide, and continues to diversify their instrumental repertoire in a variety of styles.
Their most recent release 11:11 features 11 songs dedicated to 11 different musical influences – from Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix to the jazz-fusion band Shakti.
Walking on the edge of becoming a Bonnie “Prince” Billy tribute blog, we were in attendance of Oldham’s show at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater in Bloomington, Indiana on March 12, 2009. His newest album, Beware, releases on Tuesday, so, as expected, a large chunk of the setlist was from the album. Before going into the show, I’ve listened to Beware and wasn’t blown away (however, I still bought the vinyl). Granted, the bar he sets is well beyond that of your mainstream artist, but when you have Oldham’s talent average doesn’t fly. Beware feels over produced and lacks the in-your-face and/or playful lyrics that drive his rapidly growing discography. At times the album feels distant; like you are standing outside a country bar and Beware is playing on the Jukebox. There wasn’t a single time that I had to rewind to hear a line again because it was so amazing. “Flat” may be the way to characterize it, even though it pains me to do it. Lie Down in the Light made the indie rounds pretty heavily, but it seems that Drag City is pushing this one even harder and Oldham is on board. I would be remiss to say that Oldham is loosing his indie cred because of promo (including a music video), so I’ll leave that rant to a single paragraph and not mention it again. Basically, if you are an Oldam fan, you will like Beware. You won’t love it.
To the show. Oldham showed up on stage in all black and played a black guitar, just like the color of the new album cover. This was the first time that I’ve seen him in a large venue, about 600 capacity. The theater was full and they even had to add three rows of chairs in the front (two of which we were able to grab after sitting in the balcony for the opener, Azita). Granted, it was no Funtown experience, but quaint nonetheless. Arnett Hollow’s Cheyenne Mize provided the female vocals and violin for the show and was absolutely fantastic. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was their duet “The Girl In Me” featured on the new Louisville for Lovers release (see video below). My second favorite was the first song of the encore, “Easy Does It” from Lie Down in the Light. At that point, everyone was out of their chair and moving to the tunes. Perhaps Oldham was comforted by a standing audience, but he seemed more at home when he wasn’t playing songs from Beware. They ended with a Stanley Brothers cover “Nobody’s Darling on Earth” in which each artists on stage took a verse.
During the concert, Oldham was his normal self and took some time to take shots at the hometown audience (just as he did in Lexington). He asked the Hoosiers why is it that Kentucky doesn’t fall into Tennessee, to which he informed them “Because Indiana Sucks.” Throw in a few other random, but heartfelt, interactions and you have to think that everyone was able to forgive him for his love of Kentucky. Your next chance to see Olham will be on April 11th at the Vogue in Indianapolis (put on by MOKB). Not sure yet if I’m gonna make it up there for it, but if you missed his last few shows, it is not a bad drive for the experience. Also, check out Beware…released on March 17th.
I am an enormous fan of a little application on Firefox called StumbleUpon, and the following is just one example of why…
Yesterday I was stumbling and came across the video below called “Disorganized Fun“ by this kid named Ronald Jenkees and it kind of blew my mind. Something in the comments made me think Ronald was from Kentucky and so I got in touch. Come to find out, the kid is living in Louisville right now & is simply murdering YouTube with some of the sickest beats I’ve heard. The video above has more than 2.5M views already, with a 5 star rating after 14,000+ votes. If I could see this kid perform with Dan Deacon, I would probably implode. Unfortunately, it seems Ronald is more key on production than performance at the moment, but perhaps if enough of you start sending the requests, perhaps we can change his mind…
I’ve included a second video, which is probably even a little better musically, but it is collaborative with some preset drums, which shouldn’t take away from it, but it’s important you don’t think he’s playing it all from the computer. Regardless, I seriously cannot encourage you highly enough to turn your speakers way up and check out Ronald’s YouTube channel to hear beats that will send you straight into a epileptic fit. Also, be sure to check out Ronald’s first album, which you can buy HERE as a physical copy or digital download…
It’s like Louisville’s very own Dan Deacon, and it’s amazing…
Merriweather Post Pavillion just released this month and they already have a music video for one of my favorite tracks on the album. Also, condolences to my brother and the other west coasters who had tix to AC’s LA show last night that was canceled.
Nine Inch Nails are expanding the Ghosts project by teaming up with YouTube to host a film festival based around Ghosts. Trent is calling for fans to take whatever tracks they want & create visual pieces to correspond to them, which he & a team will sort through to find those that are worthy, and the first true YouTube film festival will be born with Trent, among others, presenting the works.
There are no prizes other than ego…instead its a creative and collaborative experimentation calling on fans to interact in a way beyond the remix projects of the past. The final result will depend largely upon the quality of the works received…as this is an experimentation, there are as yet many unknown variables…
Fans should visit the official YouTube page for Nine Inch Nails at http://www.youtube.com/ninofficial for information on how to participate, and subsequently, for viewing the festival.
Our good friends over at We Listen For You have come up huge in finding a video of the Dan Deacon performance. This should give you kids some notion of where we were watching the show from. I’m the guy in the green american apparel hoodie going nuts, nick is the guy rubbing my head & zach is the one who hugs me. We were caught in the moment. No explanations needed…
CunninLynguists was at Ear-x-tacy tonight, promoting their new album, Dirty Acres. The crowd was pretty thin, about 15 of us with a few shoppers. This didn’t stop the crew from interacting with the crowd. Kno even dedicated one of the songs to a baby in attendance. CunninLynguists will be in Atlanta on Friday, then next stop…Switzerland in January. I wish I could be there.
I was writing notes on my hand so I didn’t get the whole set list…but here is what I did get down:
CunninLynguists will be giving an in-store performance at Ear-x-tacy tomorrow night, 11/27, at 6pm. They are promoting the release of their new album, Dirty Acres. The group, from Lexington, had a release party on the 16th at The Dame, but the album doesn’t officially drop until tomorrow (yeah, I said “drop”). See you there.
Beowulf was not my first choice of movies to see yesterday. I wanted to see The Darjeeling Limited. Too full of turkey, with the tryptophan kicking in, I didn’t object when my cousin recommended Beowulf in 3D. I actually found the prospect of wearing paper 3D glasses with red and blue lenses quite appealing.
The ticket cost a little more than normal ($11.50), but seemed worth it when I was handed a pair of black glasses with black lenses (ala The Blues Brothers). The days of flimsy 3D eyewear are over (if they ever really had a day). We took our seat and after 30 or more minutes of trailers and commercials, the movie began.
Old vs. New
The movie opened with the title “Beowulf” entering from the back of the room and traveling slowly over our heads. The story was kept basically the same (except compressed into just under two hours). Did I mention it was digitally animated? Anyway, the 3D made the film (that and Angelina Jolie’s wardrobe). I would recommend this movie purely for its spectacle value, but don’t go looking for an enlightening experience (in fact, parts of the movie were flat out comical, when they were meant to be serious). Check out the trailer below….
Uncensored Internet Trailer
Louisville Showtimes (The 3D version is only playing in two theaters):
NY Times- “Somewhere in B-movie heaven Steve Reeves is smiling.”
Roger Ebert- “I’m serious when I say the movie is funny. Some of the dialog sounds like Monty Python.”
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone- “Put on those plastic glasses and ride, baby, ride. I’ve never seen a 3-D movie pop with this kind of clarity and oomph. It’s outrageously entertaining.”
These guys have a really nice indie pop sound to them, back with a variety of instruments including a little bit of synth, giving you a sugarhigh just listening to them in the best way possible. The excitement is at the Dame and they came all the way from Athens, the least we can all do is spend a few dollars and hours and go to the show.
Jesus Christ. Somebody needed to prepare me for that.
Tonight was the 6 shorts by the Brothers Quay. While I’d consider myself an oddball, I’m far from being confident to talk film noir. I’ve made a few miscellaneous videos available…they’re realtively indicative….except that you NEED to see Streets of Crocodiles, which I’ve posted for your viewing. I could always pick very basic themes out, but truthfully they were a bit hard to follow. They do present a surprising amount of realism in spite of the puppetry though.
VS. 
