Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Hot Rails @ the Grog Shop in Cleveland, Ohio (May 31, 2009)
Last night, Lashea and I went to the Grog to see The White Rabbits. In addition to The Subjects (WHO WERE AWWWWWSUMMMMM) and The Mother Country Madmen (who I missed due to a broken shoe mishap), The Hot Rails opened. I had never heard of them and so I didn't know what to expect. Truth be told, I probably won't listen to them. I thought they were aight. The lead singer's stage antics were entertaining and I'd see them live again for that reason...if it was free. Oh, and aside from chatting it up with me, he also gave me a PBR tall boy during the set. Most people seemed to be there for The White Rabbits, but the crowd seemed to enjoy The Hot Rails.
And might I add, this camera is better than I thought, for a point and shoot. The pictures look shitty on the camera but look way better once uploaded to the computer. It's my dad's 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix.
"Something, something, something, you don't think I'm cool enough for your little hipster art project."
That isn't sweat. It's a self-inflicted beer stain.
Why didn't my dad take me to shows at this age?
One of The White Rabbits, which I didn't know at the time. Dunno why he's making that face. Maybe I can ask him when I see them again in Columbus on June 7. More about them and The Subjects after that show.
And might I add, this camera is better than I thought, for a point and shoot. The pictures look shitty on the camera but look way better once uploaded to the computer. It's my dad's 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix.
"Something, something, something, you don't think I'm cool enough for your little hipster art project."
That isn't sweat. It's a self-inflicted beer stain.
Why didn't my dad take me to shows at this age?
One of The White Rabbits, which I didn't know at the time. Dunno why he's making that face. Maybe I can ask him when I see them again in Columbus on June 7. More about them and The Subjects after that show.Saturday, May 30, 2009
photography: Sarah M, age 22
"Taj Mahal"
3/13/08
Taj Mahal, Agra, India
3/13/08
Taj Mahal, Agra, India
"Shoulders"
5/9/09
Traveling British Acrobats, Boston, MA
5/9/09
Traveling British Acrobats, Boston, MA
Friday, May 29, 2009
Yeah Yeah Yeahs @ Clutch Cargo's in Pontiac, Michigan (May 27, 2009)
I can't think of a better band to kick this thing off with.
This past Wednesday, Nick, Derrick, and I made the treacherous, hurricane infested trek up to Pontiac, Michigan (which I'm pretty sure is basically Detroit???) in hopes of landing in the path of one of the droplets of beer that Karen O would undoubtedly project from her mouth. Even though it was a life-threatening drive, it was no big deal considering our unconditional love for Karen O.
Did I say unconditional? I think I meant unconditional...until that night.
This guy who sounded like he was doing Bright Eyes covers bored the crowd for about 20 minutes on a beautiful guitar and got the loudest applause when he finally left the stage. I'm pretty sure he was Karen O's little cousin who had the power of being able to "tell Uncle Johnny if you don't let me tour with you guys!" on his side.
Grand Ole Party was next. I had heard of them but never heard any of their music. They were...cute. I don't say that with any type of disdain. I just can't think of any other word to describe them. It was two guys--one on bass, the other on guitar--and a girl on vocals/drums. It was an interesting set up, considering I had never seen a drummer stand for their entire set before. The girl's mic needed to be turned up so I couldn't understand what she was singing (although, she did have a beautiful voice and a fabulous hair piece), and she drummed very daintily, as if she were a lady riding side-saddle.
After listening to these two under agers next to us Negative Nancy it up throughout Grand Ole Party's entire set and in the time between their set and the next, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally came out. Brian Chase sat at the drum set and began turning the giant orb that had been mysteriously protruding from the back of the stage until a giant eyeball faced the audience.
Even though the effects were pretty sick (and my, was that burning, Lord Of The Rings-esque eyeball burning a hole into my soul the entire show delightful!), I was a bit disappointed. I had held the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on this pedestal ever since seeing them in Cleveland at the Agora Ballroom for the Show Your Bones tour a few years ago. They were ridicoulsly good that time. The energy was insane and that has gone down in history as one of the best shows I have ever been to ever. So even though I didn't like It's Blitz! nearly enough to pay the amount of money that I paid to see the show, I liked the band and the last show I went to enough to pay and drive 3 hours.
It wasn't worth it.
Oh, it wasn't that they weren't good. They were good. But that's just it. They were good. They were just good. Not amazing. Not mindblowing. Not wild. Just good. And in my book, especially since I have a standard to compare to, good just isn't good enough. In addition to that, their set wasn't very long. Oh, sure, they played Gold Lion and Date With The Night and Honeybear and Maps and Y Control and Modern Romance, and Zero and Phenomena, but last time I checked, they had more songs than that. I felt as if the effects were supposed to compensate for the lack of everything else. If that's what upped the price of the show, then I would rather they cut all the effects and play a longer set. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
(idunnowhyhemadethisfacebutilovehimanyway)
After the show, we went around back by the tour bus and hung out with Screamer Girl, who insisted on yelling at the security guards every five seconds, "WE DON'T WANT YOU, WE WANT KAREN O! GO GET KAREN O!" To which they just nodded and smiled and made some (un)witty remark every third or fourth time she would scream.
So annoying. Then, we brought our questions about what Karen O actually says in the chorus of Dragon Queen to the attention of everyone else standing around us. The general consensus was that she just makes up words each time. We decided to ask her ourselves.
She confirmed our belief, saying that she doesn't know what she sings and it's kind of a relgious experience for her each new time she sings the song. Kind of like speaking in tongues.
I will let you guys decide what to think about my favorite song off of the album:
DOWNLOAD: Dragon Queen
This past Wednesday, Nick, Derrick, and I made the treacherous, hurricane infested trek up to Pontiac, Michigan (which I'm pretty sure is basically Detroit???) in hopes of landing in the path of one of the droplets of beer that Karen O would undoubtedly project from her mouth. Even though it was a life-threatening drive, it was no big deal considering our unconditional love for Karen O.
Did I say unconditional? I think I meant unconditional...until that night.
This guy who sounded like he was doing Bright Eyes covers bored the crowd for about 20 minutes on a beautiful guitar and got the loudest applause when he finally left the stage. I'm pretty sure he was Karen O's little cousin who had the power of being able to "tell Uncle Johnny if you don't let me tour with you guys!" on his side.
Grand Ole Party was next. I had heard of them but never heard any of their music. They were...cute. I don't say that with any type of disdain. I just can't think of any other word to describe them. It was two guys--one on bass, the other on guitar--and a girl on vocals/drums. It was an interesting set up, considering I had never seen a drummer stand for their entire set before. The girl's mic needed to be turned up so I couldn't understand what she was singing (although, she did have a beautiful voice and a fabulous hair piece), and she drummed very daintily, as if she were a lady riding side-saddle.
After listening to these two under agers next to us Negative Nancy it up throughout Grand Ole Party's entire set and in the time between their set and the next, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs finally came out. Brian Chase sat at the drum set and began turning the giant orb that had been mysteriously protruding from the back of the stage until a giant eyeball faced the audience.
Even though the effects were pretty sick (and my, was that burning, Lord Of The Rings-esque eyeball burning a hole into my soul the entire show delightful!), I was a bit disappointed. I had held the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on this pedestal ever since seeing them in Cleveland at the Agora Ballroom for the Show Your Bones tour a few years ago. They were ridicoulsly good that time. The energy was insane and that has gone down in history as one of the best shows I have ever been to ever. So even though I didn't like It's Blitz! nearly enough to pay the amount of money that I paid to see the show, I liked the band and the last show I went to enough to pay and drive 3 hours.
It wasn't worth it.
Oh, it wasn't that they weren't good. They were good. But that's just it. They were good. They were just good. Not amazing. Not mindblowing. Not wild. Just good. And in my book, especially since I have a standard to compare to, good just isn't good enough. In addition to that, their set wasn't very long. Oh, sure, they played Gold Lion and Date With The Night and Honeybear and Maps and Y Control and Modern Romance, and Zero and Phenomena, but last time I checked, they had more songs than that. I felt as if the effects were supposed to compensate for the lack of everything else. If that's what upped the price of the show, then I would rather they cut all the effects and play a longer set. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
(idunnowhyhemadethisfacebutilovehimanyway)After the show, we went around back by the tour bus and hung out with Screamer Girl, who insisted on yelling at the security guards every five seconds, "WE DON'T WANT YOU, WE WANT KAREN O! GO GET KAREN O!" To which they just nodded and smiled and made some (un)witty remark every third or fourth time she would scream.
So annoying. Then, we brought our questions about what Karen O actually says in the chorus of Dragon Queen to the attention of everyone else standing around us. The general consensus was that she just makes up words each time. We decided to ask her ourselves.
She confirmed our belief, saying that she doesn't know what she sings and it's kind of a relgious experience for her each new time she sings the song. Kind of like speaking in tongues.I will let you guys decide what to think about my favorite song off of the album:
DOWNLOAD: Dragon Queen
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