Ben on Ryan

Check out this great article where Ben Harper gushes about our boy Ryan Adams, read it here.

Tattoo ideas

Here are a few tattoo ideas for my wife.

Yelle the art of the dance

Cute French electropop lady Yelle has this great remix out now. I've convinced two of my kids that this is the way people dance in France.

Banksy in the flesh

I spent way too much time on BME the other day and couldn't help but notice that Banksy tattoos are getting pretty popular.

In other news threadless is having a $10 sale.

Ryan's new tats

It's nice to see that Ryan's new tattoos are all healing so well.

BK Cain's: Ryan Reports

Ryan and my wife's nephew Jimmy(Ryan on the left Jimmy on the right BK in the middle) caught Ben Kweller at the Cain's ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma last night. Ryan wrote up a great drunken review last night and posted it on the lamest blog ever. There are some great pictures and videos, make sure you check out the video of In other Words, awesome. Sounds like he put on another great show, his cover selection is always great, i'm surprised he didn't do She Don't Use Jelly by the Flaming Lips like he did the last time he played Ok. I think the most intriguing part of the whole thing is the report of a BK country album in the works.

Double Nickels

Before we moved to Vermont we got rid of a lot of stuff, although looking at our garage it seems like we didn't get rid of enough stuff. I got rid of three boxes of cassette tapes, one carrier full went to Ryan and two big boxes went to goodwill. I hadn't had a tape player in a couple of years so it wasn't a big deal but a lot of the stuff on tape i still don't have on disc or in mp3 so it's time to start rebuilding.
The Minutemen's Double Nickels on a Dime is a great disc. You probably don't need me to talk about the significance of this disc or how it's supposedly a one up of Zen Arcade. I'd never claim to be a punk rocker but some of the stuff that came out of the punk/hardcore scene really speaks to me even today when I'm probably way too old to be listening to it. I had a conversation with a twenty something at work the other day, he had on a jacket with a big misfits patch on the back and a jerry bear on the front(i shit you not) and he had on glasses that looked like the ones the lead singer of the descendants used to wear. To make a long story shirt he'd never even heard of the Descendants although he did like the clash but again had no idea who the minutemen were. I felt old.
Download - Minutemen - Political song for Michael Jackson to sing
Download - Minutemen - Shit from an old notebook

By the way i got in trouble(from the wife) for listening to Danzig and Black Flag videos the other night. I do what i want.

Igloo Tornado Goodness

This box showed up on my doorstep yesterday chock full of Igloo Tornado goodness and light.
Look at this stuff, Zines, t-shirts a graphic novel, the Igloo Tornado boys have been busy.
Here is the product i was most excited about, the Losergoes1st X Lace lock Losers shirt. The graphic is very involved and looks great(The original art looks like it will be on sale soon). Take a moment to notice the custom tag, the reverse even has a print on it. You can kind of see in the second picture that it came in its own silk screened bag, attention to detail kids.
Check the wicked new Igloo Tornado shirt.
Here's my signed copy of Tom's new graphic novel The Blot. Check it out, it's genius.
The new Henry and Glenn is as funny as the first but with 100% more Hall & Oates. Somehow the guys got Henry Rollins to actually autograph a copy(i assume no one was killed in the process) stop by the Igloo Tornado site to see the pictures. Another gem is the zine of poetry inspired by the movie Highlander. I know some of this stuff is still available email Losergoes1st@gmail.com to see what's available.

Band of Horses/ Love as Laughter/ Higher Ground

From what i could tell from last night's show, Band of Horses have been doing two things since Everything all the Time came out; writing great songs and growing kick ass beards. My wife went to the show with me, something that happens too rarely because shows with her are always fun, she knows what she wants to hear and does what she can to make it happen. If you were at the show you probably heard someone yelling out "St. Augustine" between most songs, that was her. While they didn't play St. Augustine they did play most of the album along with quite a few great songs from the upcoming(Oct. 9th) disc(False 45th has a picture of the set list. For up to the minute coverage and photos see False 45th, they had their review up about 45 minutes after the band walked off stage!). The band was funny and talkative during the show and sounded great. It's hard to get over the fact that the vocals sound exactly like they do on disc. It's really amazing that he can hit those notes night after night. I have to take a moment and comment on how hilarious the final song was, i would have thought it would be titled "Don't get fucked on a Tuesday" but apparently it is called "Earl". Before playing it Ben explained that the record company didn't like it so it didn't make the album. At one point in the song it veered close to a hoedown.

Love as Laughter put on a solid set, part of Band of Horses came out and played on a couple of the more rocking tunes. In concert you can hear a bit of country in the indie rock of Love as Laughter. I spent a few minutes talking to the drummer between sets and most of the songs in the set are from an upcoming album they are finishing up now the ep i bought at the show contains some of the songs that will ultimately appear on the album.
Download - Love as Laughter - Coconut Flakes
Download - Band of Horses - Bass Song(Our Swords Demo)

Band of Horses/ Higher Ground

Band of horses will be playing Higher Ground in Burlington tomorrow, I'll be there.
Download - Band of Horses - St. Augustine

Pitchfork Records

On our way to Boston yesterday we stopped in Concord N.H. where my wife had a business meeting. The three youngest kids and i wandered around town while she met and found a great record store called Pitchfork Records. The shop occupies a huge two story space with mostly new product upstairs and used stuff in the basement. The hippie working the counter was super friendly and didn't seem to mind the kids running around half crazy. The vinyl selection was awesome and cheap. They had a huge selection of singles that would be worth the price just for the cover art. They had used cd, vhs tapes DVDs and stereo equipment. I bought this sweet shirt for $10 and a vhs copy of Evil Dead II for $2. I honestly could have spent all morning there digging through the bins but the kids had spotted a toy shop down the block. I highly recommend that you stop in if you are in the neighborhood.

Download - Ash is Back(Evil Dead Remix)
Download - Evil Dead Groovy

Lets get physical

I had a woman come into work today looking for a workout cd not a cd to workout to but something that was made specifically to motivate you while working out(she basically wanted it to say Workout in the title). All I could find were some yoga companion cds and dance mixes for workouts neither of which she wanted. The woman kept saying she wanted "something fast like the Rolling Stones". Guess how I remedied this problem, that's right, i talked her into the Rolling Stones Greatest Hits. I should have told her to go across the street and buy an ipod and put whatever she wants on it.
Any way during the search we talked about what type of music is good to work out to and that made me think of an interview with Henry Rollins i read years ago where he talked about how he works out to slower music so he can focus on his breathing. She was all for really uptempo stuff I, like Rollins, prefer something a bit mellower, but then i'm in terrible shape.

Download - Black Flag - Rise Above

Feist on her way.

G! picked up two tickets to the Feist show in Burlington on 9/9. If her friend backs out I get to go. Maybe Jason Collett will show up and they will do Hangover Days(rightclick-save as).
There are a veritable ton of shows coming to the Burlington area in the next few months, here are the ones I'm most excited about.
Ben Harper @ The Flynn
Band of Horses @ HG
Grizzley Bear @ HG
Okkervil River @ HG
Andrew Bird @ HG
Del tha Funky Homosapien @HG
I don't know how many i'll get to, it all depends on money and timing but things are lookin good.

I am fuel, You are Friends has a great review of the recent Ryan Adams show at Berkley. I'm sure you picked up the excellent album Easy Tiger, but did you see the picture in the booklet of his Black Flag bars tattoo? Who knew?

If you have a strong stomach you should check out the first eye tattoos. It ain't pretty kids but if you like Dune this might be the look for you.

Liam's likes

My youngest son has recently discovered the glory of youtube. He spends the entirety of his time on the site watching the videos for "forever Lost" by the Magic Numbers and "Young Folks" by Peter Bjorn and John. He can seriously sit for half an hour going from one to the other. For a little more insight into the Beez here are his top five favorite songs.
1. "Young Folks" Peter Bjorn and John. He refers to this as the Whistle song.
2. "Forever Lost" The Magic Numbers
3. "Laika" The Arcade Fire. He cals this Alex.
4. "Love My Way" The Psychedelic Furs. Referred to as Mom's song.
5."You can have it all" Yo La Tengo

honorable mention: "Fix up, Look Sharp" Dizzee Rascal "500 Miles" The proclaimers
It won't be long before he'll want a video ipod.

Ipod update

Every once and awhile I have to do a major musical overhaul of the old ipod it could be for any number of reasons, things get stale, i realize something esential is missing, whatever. The last time i did an overhaul i dipped into my hip hop folder(which is admittedly full of 80s and early 90s artist) and added some old favorites.

Wilco Shelburne Farm/ late post

I was very tempted to just make this review of the sold out Wilco show one sentence long. If i were to do that it would read: Wilco played a rousing version of California Stars. False 45th has a well written review up right now so i'll just throw out some random observations.
Most of the kids were in Oklahoma so G! and i took D with us for his first concert. Here he is rocking the summer tour shirt. The merch was pretty good, in addition to the tee G! picked up a bag for $5 and i grabbed a patch. The limited edition show poster was a bit lame so i passed on it.
Low played a pretty good set although it seemed a bit out of place on a beautiful day at an outdoor show. We arrived early so we saw their entire set i really liked it but again the fit was off.
There were a lot of kids everywhere which ended up being pretty cool. There was a lot of dancing going on in the area we were in which was to the left of the soundboard close to the merch tent. At one point we realized that several of the families had cleared out and then we realized that a group of meatheads had a couple of joints going not far from us.
I teased G! all concert long at her weak attempts to yell out songs requests between songs but they did end up playing Claifornia Stars so way to go girl.

Lace Lock Losers

Somehow i've not posted the fact that Scot and I are doing a sneaker blog together. If you want to read two guys geeking out about shoes check us out at Lace Lock Losers.

In related news i got my print in the mail and it is amazing! There are still some left but don't wait, get one now.
I've also got to mention that i got a sneak peek at the graphics for the new Igloo Tornado shirt, prepared to be blown away.

The Cribs - Men's needs

If you could wear out an Mp3 it would be time for me to rebuy The Cribs new single Men's Needs. I don't know what it is about the song but i'm hooked. CSS just put out a great remix of the tune.
Download - The Cribs - Men's Needs(Css Remix)
Check out this perfect lotech video for the song.

Look Out, Igloo Tornado!

Scot has an awesome new limited edition print for sale on his site Losergoes1st. Get one quick before those things sell out, but you're behind me bitches, my checks already in the mail.

The rest of the Igloo Tornado are busy with lots of projects, catch up with them via the web site, Igloo Tornado. Sounds like ComicCon is going to be a lot of fun, good luck gang.

Download - Spoon - The Underdog

Have I said how great the new Spoon disc is?

Ryan Adams Higher Ground 6/24/07

The sold out Ryan Adams show at Higher Ground finally happened. Deep down I felt like it might go the way of his show in Oklahoma and get canceled at the last minute but it came off and i was there. Let me start by saying that i somehow got sick in Oklahoma and was running a fever the day of the show, in fact, i was in such bad shape that my wife drove me up to Burlington, dropped me off, hung around town with Dylan and then picked me up after the show. I know, she's an amazing lady.
No Ryan Adams show is ever uninteresting and this one was no exception. With no opener the stage was already set up for the band with a simple line of chairs with the piano on one end and pedal steel on the other. When they came out Ryan and the rest of the cardinals were simply dressed. The lights were a little strange, the band was lit from above with low reds, blues and purples. You can see more in the pictures then we actually could in the venue. The lights were so low that it was impossible to make out expressions on the bands faces and i was pretty close to the stage. The scene was set for a chilled out set.
The show was great, it was the lowest keyed show i've ever seen him do with Let it Ride being the most uptempo song he played, they had even reworked Halloweenhead, the rockingist song on the new album, to fit into the tone of the set. Ryan Adams opened with Please do not let me go followed by Dear John. The band played through several songs before Ryan ever addressed the crowd. When he did speak most of what he said was low and mumbly but he did clearly introduce each of the cardinals and said something funny about each one. After the song two Ryan declared that they would have to play it again because his shirt tail had come untucked and that was unprofessional. He then proclaimed that the crazy bug had bit him on the ass during the song and then blamed it on the two diet cokes he'd drank so far. Goodnight Hollywood blvd from Gold was the oldest song in the set. The majority of the set was from the new disc Easy Tiger and Ryan had to refer to the lyric sheets in front of him a few times during the show. The band ended up playing about an hour and forty five minutes with a one song encore.

Let me stop here and say that this is the first time i've seen Ryan Adams sober. He drank diet coke and didn't even smoke while on stage. He made a few jokes about how his name was synonymous with professionalism which sounded like a plea to us to reconsider how we think of him. His voice sounded great, probably the best i've heard him.

Some musical highlights:
Please do not let me go. The opener, the crowd was amazingly quiet during the first two songs. It was evident from the first note that his voice was in rare form.
Dear John. Somehow all the high notes were hit, lovely.
Let it Ride. I love this song regardless but it really got the set moving for a few minutes and sounded great.
Two. A great song from the new album sounded heartachingly exquisite.
I see Monsters. Spot on, it gave me goosebumps.
Down In a Hole. An Alice in Chains cover that they've been doing lately. It was the encore of the show and sounded good.
The rest of the songs i remember:
Oh My God, Whatever, etc.
Starlite Diner
I taught myself how to grow old
Goodnight Hollywood Blvd
Halloweenhead
The sun also sets
These are the only pictures and videos i was able to get. Higher Ground usually allows pictures but after being lit up by a flashlight and talked to by three members of security in the space of a minute I didn't take any more. The last guard explained that "Mr. Adams requested that there be no photography". The sound on the video is bad but it gives you an idea of what we could see.

Did you notice the limited edition poster at the top of the post? I admit i'm a concert tee junkie so i bought a cool one with the date on it but they also had a nice belt buckle and a great looking watch with the rose logo on it.

Wolfmother Videos

Ryan has the vodeos from the Wolfmother show posted on youtube. You can see all of them here.


Warning:
Hard rock may make you pretend to fight.
And it may cause you to eat pancakes and burgers in one meal.

Wolfmother/ Cain's Tulsa, Ok

I spent a few days in Tulsa, Oklahoma last week and was able to catch Wolfmother at my favorite venue, The Cain's Ballroom. Wolfmother is a much louder and harder rocking band then i've been out to see in quite some time. I wasn't expecting too much from the show but was thoroughly blown away by the power of Wolfmother. While they don't have an extensive catalog to draw on they had a commanding presence on stage and sounded great. The pictures below say a lot.
You know you are going to be rocked when a band brings out a double necked guitar. That afro was made to be rocked back and forth in time to heavy Rock and Roll.
Yes sir, that is a Gibson flying V and it is rocking.
What's more rock than a flying kick from the bass drum? You can tell that this is the encore because the jacket has come off.
All in all this was the best hard rock show that i've been to in years. Try to catch this band if you can, they have a power and intensity that you've got to experience live. I won't even bitch about the $30 t-shirts because i'm sure they are using the money to buy more rocking guitars.
Hopefully Ryan will post some of the videos that he shot.

Download - Wolfmother - Dimension
Download - Wolfmother - The Joker and the Thief

Off line

I'll be in Oklahoma for the rest of the week so probably no posts for the two of you that read this. I'll be back in time for the Ryan Adams show on Sunday. It looks like he might still be laying off of the guitar after his recent wrist accident so the show might be interesting. Look for me at the show, I'll either be in this sweet shirt(thanks Andrea) or the timeless Ryan Adams for President(again props to my resident t-shirt wizard).

Arcade Fire/ St. Vincent Montreal

I just realized that I haven't posted this review of the Arcade Fire show G! and I attended last month. Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger.
The Arcade Fire's homecoming gig took place in the Maurice-Richard Arena, which is where the hockey and ice skating events took place during the '76 Olympics. Despite that distinction the space wasn't all that big and the acoustics were fine and we were there early enough to grab a great spot(thank god we had floor seats).

Highlights:
The entire band ended In the Backseat with a goose bump inducing acapella finish.

The opening organ on Intervention shook all of my internal organs, but in a good way. You knew it was going to rock after just two notes.

My Body is a cage was another outstanding song. Win played the organ and sang from a raised platform behind the rest of the band, not unlike a preacher perched up in his pulpit.

Laika, which occurred towards the end, finally got the crowd moving and singing along. G! almost jumped over my head during the chorus.

One of my favorite songs is Tunnels, which they played.

The Merch was awesome! I know it's not hip to get excited about stuff like this but i love me a good concert t-shirt. It was a terrible tough choice. G! and I both got great shirts. They also had a great limited edition hoody, stickers, buttons, a bitchin messenger bag and every album and single on vinyl. It was a tad bit pricey but it was The Arcade Fire.

A short complaint:
The only gripe i have with the show has nothing too do with the band, i is with the crowd. I've been to shows in Montreal and have always found them a very polite bunch but the crowd at this show didn't perk up until the very end of the concert. I would have thought they would be going ape shit to see their hometown band. It might have something to do with the fact that there were two long lines to get in the door, one was marked Tickets/Billetts the other was marked Guest List.
I was a little disappointed that Will wasn't running wild the entire show, I remember him spending an entire song just literally running into the wall when I saw them at Stubb's. Apparently he has a lot of new musical duties that keep him from tormenting Richard or running into walls so in service to the music, I'll let it slide.
Just a few lines on the opener St. Vincent(Anne Clark) of Polyphonic Spree/Sufjan Stevens fame. She sounded great, I wasn't really feeling the first two songs that she did solo but when the full band came out things really picked up. I had no idea she could wail on guitar. She closed with a Jefferson Airplane cover that I can't remember the name of at the moment. Unfortunately St. Vincent suffered from the curse of most opening bands, the audience wasn't there to see her. You could tell that the majority of the crowd wasn't really paying attention but thems the breaks.

Zombies

If you are interested in zombies the stars of Shawn of the Dead lay it all out for you.

Mount Cardigan

It's cold at the top of Mount Cardigan, but check out that view.
Last week D and I hikes Mount Cardigan in New Hampshire. My hiking guide rates it very challenging for children with an 1800 feet elevation gain. It was a lot of fun. Here we are at the top. The top of the mountain caught fire about 150 years ago and all of the soil blew away before any vegetation could grow back so now the top is completely rock.
It rained a bit last week so the trail up was pretty muddy and there were great cold pools near the top.
Here's D right at the tree line appreciating the amazing view.

Easy Tiger

As most of you know Ryan Adams and the Cardinals will be playing Higher Ground on June 24th. I, of coarse, will be there as close to the front as possible clutching tightly to a Long Trail and trying not to squeal like a little girl on Christmas morning. The tour, with the newly sober Adams, has been getting some amazing reviews. I've never been disappointed at one of his shows, whether he was cursing out members of the audience, drunkenly insulting Mariah Carey or leading a sing along of Come Pick Me Up while standing on the bar, he always delivers. I hope to see you there.
We all know how litigious Ryan Adam's label Lost Highway can be so let me just say if i had happened to hear the new album Easy Tiger i would probably say that it is better than i expected. I would probably say that there are some amazing cuts that find Ryan in rare form. You can preorder the album here.

Video roundup

Video roundup

A brilliant lo fi video from the Silver Jews


Probably the best thing to ever emerge from Texas.


I was acting indifferent at the merch booth putting on makeup. One of the best lyrics of all time, The Faint.


Everytime i hear Pavement i wonder why i don't listen to them more.

The Dead milkmen

We listened to the best of the Dead Milkmen at work yesterday. Here are a couple of clips, the first is from the Dave Blood memorial show and contains three of my favorite Milkmen tunes. The second clip is the Punk Rock Girls video.