So, in case you're face down in a gutter in the Meat Packing District of NYC, you probably have heard about Dave Grohl's new side-project super-group, Them Crooked Vultures (they kick ass by the way). They're currently touring the globe and probably will be for the next year, so to tide over the millions of fanatics (and to presumably make a shit ton of extra dough) Foo is releasing a Greatest Hits album with 2 new tracks.
Anyway, one of the songs got leaked over the internet this week...it's called "Wheels" and you can find it on Spin.com.
Not a bad song at all...kinda classic rock sounding, not at all the punk-grunge sound that was heard on Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace...but I'll let you decide for yourself. I, however, am a fan.
BAND: Muse ALBUM: The Resistance RELEASE DATE: September 14th
For those of you unfamiliar with Muse...get familiar. The British trio is probably the biggest band to hit Europe since U2 (who they're presently touring with as well), and with good reason.
If you're an American and you've heard of Muse, most likely it's because you know one of three songs: "Knights of Cydonia", "Hysteria", or "Starlight". All got major radio play and all are great songs, but you need to continue your education and pick up this latest album, because it blows away everything else the band has ever done.
It seems that Matthew Bellamy, probably one of the most well known lead singers in the world today, decided long before he started on this album that it was going to be the band's masterpiece. You can easily notice it in the way the album plays out from beginning to end. I don't want to call it a concept album, but in some ways it's similar....some of the songs fade into each other, and the tempos vary a lot from song to song...but more than that it is an album with a message...that one day (maybe the near future with the way things are going right now) the world must unite or humanity will fail.
The album starts with the grungy new single, "Uprising", which introduces the album to the public (it is also the first single, and it's getting a lot of airplay). It's very much an anti-establishment song...just listen to the lyrics:
Interchanging mind-control, Come, let the revolution take its toll, If you could flick a switch and open your third eye, You'd see that we should never be afraid to die
Rise up and take the power back, It's time that the fat cats had a heart attack, You know that their time's coming to an end, We have to unify and watch our flag ascend!
They will not force us, They will stop degrading us, They will not control us, And we will be victorious!
It's a powerful song...the power chords are riddled with heavy distortion and Bellamy's voice rings with a rallying charisma from the start. From there the album continues with some revolutionary ballads...a possible future single, "Resistance", followed by "Undisclosed Desires"...which is a song for those of you who like the hip-hop beats and heavy bass. It is probably my least favorite track on the CD, but is still very good.
The fourth track may be the bands greatest creation. "United States of Eurasia" may be my favorite song of the year. It mixes a lot of different sounds, but I believe that Muse took a lot of inspiration for this tune from Queen. That's right...Queen. It's not just the classical grand piano to begin and end the tune...it's Bellamy's voice...and it's very apparent in the small Brian May-ish guitar riff when the lyrics "there can be only one!" (Highlander?) are sung coming out of the second verse. The song may just end up being Muse's "Bohemian Rhapsody".
NOTE: A word on "United States of Eurasia". I found this excerpt on Wikipedia about the treasure hunt that took place around the world to release this song...one of the coolest promotions I've ever heard of. They hid pieces of the song in 6 different cities on 6 USB drives and the fans that found them had to upload them onto the bands website to release a free download of the song. Which is now available. Pretty cool.
The fifth and sixth songs on the album are both fantastic and continue the overall premise of the album. "Guiding Light" is another song the brings out Bellamy's strong vocals, while "Unnatural Selection" may be the most guitar-ridden track on the album. The next two tracks slow the pace down a bit before the incredible ending.
The final three tracks on the album are all one song entitled "Exogenesis", but is separated into three parts..."Overture", "Cross Pollenation", and the finale, "Redemption". Apart from each other the songs are all good, but together they really have that composition that makes it a work of art. "Redemption" is the perfect close to the album...it builds and builds and builds and then slowly fades out with another comforting piano part.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The bands sound is at its peak...its a mix of instruments and sounds of all genres...guitars, drums, synths, keys, bass...and its all done by three amazing musicians. Matthew Bellamy has the strongest, most powerful voice in rock music today and his heavily distorted, grungy, guitars are similar to the style of Tom Morello at points. Chris Wolstenholme plays some incredible bass parts throughout the album...particularly his bass line in "Resistance" is very prominent, and sounds like it was played by [Red Hot Chili Peppers'] Flea himself. Finally, drummer Dominic Howard may be one of the most underrated drummers in rock. Howard's fills in "Unnatural Selection" are awesome...heavy hitting snare, lots of crash symbols, overabundance of energy.
All in all...one of the best albums of 2009. This is the album that shoots Muse to superstar status. Mark my words...this tour with U2 will be the final non-headlining tour of their career.
The summer is just about over, which means the end of those cool nights laying down in the lawn and watching your favorite band jam outdoors...and time to head indoors to uncomfortable arena shows with jacked up ticket prices and overpriced food and alcohol. Unfortunately, for me, I had to move indoors a little bit early this year to catch a much anticipated Kings of Leon show at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT.
What had originally been a group of 3 or 4 people going quickly turned into a group of 10-12 in the months leading up to the concert. So, needless to say, we couldn't all sit together and a whole coordination process followed to make sure we all got rides down and had time to grab a drink and eat before the show. That's part of the atmosphere of being at Mohegan Sun though...lots of great food.
During dinner it was decided that no one had any great ambition to see the opening act, The Features (also from Nashville and signed to KoL label). So after sandwich's, beverages, and v-neck t-shirt jokes at Geno Auriemma's bar we decided to head into the arena at around 8pm to catch the show. We split up into groups and found our seats. It actually worked out well because we all had different views of the stage, which accounted for different stories.
When we entered the opening act was already done, and the stage was already set up for Kings of Leon. They had a pretty nice stage set-up (our side view was obstructed, but I saw some other pics and videos)...two giant wide-screens on top of the stage, surrounded by columns of speakers, but behind them was draped just a plain ole' curtain. The curtain seemed a little simple compared to the rest of the setup, but whatever, I wasn't that concerned with the setup from a side view.
The band came on at about 8:40pm and started with the song "Crawl" off of their latest album, Only by the Night. It was a great way to start the concert...it was heavy, energetic, and it was a song that both old and new fans knew. You could hear people belting the lyrics, "You've gotta learn to crawllllll...before you walk awayyyyyyy...before you walk awayyyyyy..." Great way to start the show.
They followed it up with another hit single, "Charmer", before regressing (much to my applause) to the earlier days by breaking out their first single, "Molly's Chambers", before getting people on their feet with the always-catchy tune, "Soft". Then it was time for some slower stuff as Caleb traded in his back-up electic, for an acoustic to accommodate "Fans".
It seemed like not a whole lot of the crowd knew of those three songs so the band reminded the fans "Hello...we're Kings of Leon"...which was lame. Everybody in this crowd paid $60 bucks a piece to come see you guys...they better know who the heck you are if they shelled out that kind of green. Anyway...to get the new fans back into the show the band switched back to their latest album...Jared's bass-line could be felt through the seats as the band cruised through "Revelry" and people were getting close on the floor when they followed with "I Want You".
They left the crowd wanting more as they switched melodies between, "The Bucket", "My Party", "Be Somebody" and "Four Kicks" before giving the crowd what they wanted...their smash hit "Sex on Fire". You could hear the fans singing along over Matt's riffs as they rolled through what was probably the best song of the night. Well at least that's what I thought until they finished the song and began one of my favorites, "Notion", right after. Caleb's vocals were flawless on one of their most testing tunes...I was very impressed.
From there they finished their set with "Manhattan", "Cold Desert", "On Call" and then left the stage after finishing with "Slow Night, So Long". The first set seemed short, and as a fan of their older stuff, I was waiting to hear an encore jam-packed with some of their early singles like "King of the Rodeo" and/or, "Red Morning Light". The crowd did the normal applause and cheering routine until the band took the stage for an encore.
The house lights come down, the electronic sounds begin to fade up through the sound system on top of the cheers, and Caleb Followill's haunting vocals come in as the blue lights pierce the darkness and "Closer" begins.
The encore continued as they switched back to their jammier roots with the 7-minute anthem, "Knocked Up", before appeasing the bandwagon fans with their pop-garbage latest single, "Use Somebody" (sorry...not a fan). Luckily, they finished off the show on a great note with the powerful, "Black Thumbnail". The crowd gave the band a well deserved applause as they threw out the picks and sticks and walked off stage.
So there's the concert...hope you enjoyed it...here are my post-show thoughts:
The band has not gotten over their "new to America" status. The fans are over it, but the media and the band are not. The fans that were there surprisingly knew a lot of their older tunes, but the band still introduced themselves...twice.
It sounds like they've been over-doing this tour a little bit (which has been going on since the beginning of summer 2008). Caleb brought a lot of energy in his vocals, but not in his on-stage antics. There was little to no crowd interaction, no putting the mic down and letting the crowd sing, or misdirection in song selection.
As far as the instrumentation goes...although Matt and Jared played their guitars flawlessly...it was Nathan's drumming that stood out to me the most...he was energetic, his cymbals were right on all night long, his fills were perfect, and he never missed a beat. However, as a band together, there was not a whole lot of energy present.
I had a lot of fun...the set list was great, the people I was with were great, and all-in-all...it was a show I'll never forget. The band has grown a lot over the years and you can hear it on their albums and through their sound...now, as they reach a "make or break" point in their career, they must not look down on the newer fans that missed them in the early days, but they must make those new fans want to go back and listen to how their sound matured and led them to such a highly celebrated album.
In my previous post I gave a list of criteria that I would've liked to had been met for the show to be considered a "good" show. So here are my final thoughts:
CRITERIA TO MAKE THIS A GOOD SHOW 1. "King of the Rodeo" must be played. - FAIL...the set list did not include this song. 2. "Red Morning Light" must be played. - FAIL...not played. 3. "Use Somebody" CANNOT be the final song...don't leave a crowd on a slow song...ever. PASS...although I had my doubts at some points. 4. Being that there is no opening band to the extent of my knowledge...the show must last AT LEAST 2 hours. N/A...there was an opening band, the concert lasted about 1:40 mins. 5. B-Lar and I must remember the concert. PASS! Geno's Strawberry Daquiris got nothing on B-Lar!
So they went 2-2-1...not a bad score. Either way it was well worth it. I'm also pleased to announce the next show on the concert agenda will be Silversun Pickups w/ Cage the Elephant on Tuesday, October 20th. Stay tuned for more information and enjoy the first weekend of NFL Football...
Well kids, it's a show week...so here's a quick preview for tomorrow's Kings of Leon show.
THE SETTING VENUE: Mohegan Sun Casino Arena LOCATION: Uncasville, CT SETTING: Small Arena Show CAPACITY: 9,518
THE BAND NAME: Kings of Leon FROM: Nashville, TN YEARS ACTIVE: 1999 - present MEMBERS: Ivan "Nathan" Followill - Drums/Percussion Anthony "Caleb" Followill - Lead Vocals/Rhythm Guitar Michael "Jared" Followill - Bass Guitar Cameron "Matthew" Followill - Lead Guitar * - For some weird reason they all go by their second names...some kind of family thing...sorry, but that's one lame thing about the band...
THE ALBUMS 1. Youth and Young Manhood (2003) 2. Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) 3. Because of the Times (2007) 4. Only by the Night (2008)
MY TAKE ON THE BAND
I became a fan of Kings of Leon right before my first Bonnaroo in summer of '08. I heard about them over the years through festival line-ups and reviews. I had always thought that they were a British band because of how many festivals they played in Europe. However, when I heard they were from Nashville I immediately wondered "how have I never heard these guys before?" So anyway, I was gearing up for Bonnaroo by watching some Best of 'Roo specials on Fuse and I caught them playing "King of the Rodeo" at 'Roo '06. The song got stuck in my head for days and is still my favorite KoL song. I immediately downloaded the album Aha Shake Heartbreak the next day.
The first thing that stood out to me was Caleb's voice. It had a kind of grungy, raw feel to it which immediately struck me as something different. I tend to like different (i.e. Coheed, Zeppelin, Rush, My Morning Jacket, Dashboard...all lead singers with very original voices). I find the music behind them pretty simple, but fitting. It's not too complex, not too dull...like a mix between The Strokes and Vampire Weekend at times. It fits Caleb's voice perfectly, and you can tell that these guys (3 brothers, 1 cousin) have been practicing with this sound for many years while growing up together.
I was real cool with this band until their latest album, Only by the Night. As a self-proclaimed, "music snob", I was a little upset that despite no one in the US ever hearing about this band until 2008, their breakthrough album became such a huge commercial success so fast. Two singles made the Top 10 charts ("Sex on Fire", "Use Somebody") after being released, and the album ended up being nominated for a Grammy for Rock Album of the Year. (NOTE: The band lost the award to those British losers, Coldplay, and their crappy blend of every other band that has ever played music...I would NEVER consider Coldplay as "Rock" music...it is pop in every sense of the word.) However, I was a big fan of the album and, after much delibiration, chalked it up to the American public just getting wiser.
Since then I've heard most of their collection and I must say, Aha Shake Heartbreak, is still my favorite album. They're all good, but I like the earlier two albums a little bit better because I love to hear a band at their beginnings. I'm very excited to see how the band plays out their tracks live.
CRITERIA TO MAKE THIS A GOOD SHOW
1. "King of the Rodeo" must be played.
2. "Red Morning Light" must be played.
3. "Use Somebody" CANNOT be the final song...don't leave a crowd on a slow song...ever.
4. Being that there is no opening band to the extent of my knowledge...the show must last AT LEAST 2 hours.
5. B-Lar and I must remember the concert.
I don't think that is asking much...and honestly, I think all of the criteria will be met...unless B-Lar lets me down with #5.
So it should be a good one...good friends, good venue, casino games, Frank Pepe's...I'm pretty excited. There will absolutely be a show review for this one so stay tuned...
Here's what's going on in the world of music (not affiliated with the popular music store located in Erie, PA):
1. Hope you guys enjoyed the Outside Lands link and some of you took advantage of it to help keep you occupied during work. I caught most of the Dead Weather concert, which was pretty phenomenal (one of the best of the weekend, or so I've heard). Here's a recap of the weekend from my friends over at JamBase.
2. Welp...it's almost here...moe.Down10 is this weekend! Unfortunately I'll be sitting here at work in nearby CT...wishing that I had vacation days left to take. Three days full of moe. could seem a bit too much, but I consider it more of a test of endurance. The loyal following will be out in full force to see moe. and friends. This year they've brought along some well-known bands as Method Man & Redman, Ani DiFranco, Cake, and Umphrey's McGee. When moe.Down first started 10 years ago it was pretty much just the band so this festival has grown quite a bit into something else. Only a handful of bands have their own festival so this is quite a big event for the kings of jam rock. I thought all hope was lost until my buddy told me that they are streaming the concert online over the weekend over at iClips...enjoy...I know I will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. So speaking of missing cool concerts because you work EVERY Saturday...this past weekend was Blink 182 and Weezer in Hartford. I had a couple friends go to this show (and was offered a free ticket...don't ask...I'm still kicking myself) and both gave me pretty much the same reviews. Both contained the 3 statements: 1. "Weezer kicked ass!" 2. "Blink 182 was kind of depressing(stay tuned...I'll explain)." 3. "I don't really remember too much, but..." (Sounds like my O.A.R. experience right?) As I heard...Blink 182 came close to breaking down while on stage since the passing of DJ AM (aka Adam Goldstein) late Friday night. Travis Barker is taking it particularly hard, especially since he survived a plane crash with the guy just about a year ago. Recent haunting reports call it an apparent suicide attempt, stating that AM had "wanted to die" and had overdosed after swallowing 8 Oxycontin pills, smoking a bunch of crack cocaine, and who knows what else. Just like the abuse of prescription drugs takes away the life of another awesome musician. What a rough year for the industry. (You can find more on DJ AM's death here.) Anyway...they apparently cut short the show by playing only for an hour...but I can't see Blink's up-tempo punk stylings shadowing over their apparent post-mortem depression. Clearly the audience could see through their music if I'm telling this second-hand. I still can't believe that Blink came out on stage that night. I couldn't imagine playing a concert the day after losing a close friend. In the aftermath...Blink did decide to take a couple days rest for mourning and rescheduled some shows. Read about it here.
4. The Black Crowes released a new CD this week entitled "Before the Frost...Until the Freeze". I'm pretty excited to hear this album that's been in the making for several years. Much of the album was actually recorded in front of a live studio audience at The Barn in Woodstock, New York. Here's some songs off the new album. Found a good review on SkyNet (aka Wikipedia). Also, don't forget the Mexican sensation, Rodrigo y Gabriela, have a new CD coming out next week.
5. Dave Matthews may be overdo-ing it this summer. Dave was sidelined for today's concert in Utah with strained vocal chords. Good thing he hit Hartford first, but still he better take it easy and stop pulling those eye-bulging high notes he likes to hit or else he's gonna have to rest for a lot longer than a day.
6. Them Crooked Vultures are touring in the United States! Best of all, they're coming to the House of Blues in Boston (somewhat close). Definitely gotta try and see this...then I will have successfully seen 1/2 of Led Zeppelin in concert (Jimmy Page would be all that's left for me to see...save the best for last I guess). Here's the full list of dates and some videos of their music (you HAVE to hear this!).
7. While we're on the topic of classic rock mixing with modern rock...how about this...Wolfmother has covered Jimi Hendrix! Apparently they recorded an 8-track LP at Electric Lady Studios last month and they intend on releasing it as a "B-Side" in the near future. I would definitely like to hear this (especially "If 6 Was 9").
8. And we'll save the ultimate travesty for last. I was really excited this week to hear about the release of the latest in music video games, Guitar Hero 5. What I didn't know is that one of the worlds most famous deceased musical artists, Kurt Cobain, would be featured as a guest character in the game. Whoever's idea it was to allow this in a video game should seriously be shoved through a kick drum. Do you honestly think this is what Kurt Cobain would've wanted? In his life would he ever have let himself be subject as a playable character in a video game that would allow him to sing covers of Bon Jovi (no disrespect Jon...you'll always be cool in my books) and Coldplay (no respect there...Coldplay blows goats)?! No fucking way! This is creating major controversy in major music magazines and all across the internet. In no way am I the world's biggest Nirvana fan (although I am a big fan), but just watch some of the videos in the articles...it's disgraceful! Spin.com's Take RollingStone.com's Take Who do they blame for the whole thing? Why Courtney Love of course!
That's all for now...here's our concert video of the week. This comes to us from STP at Mohegan Sun this past July 17th...this is one of the coolest songs they performed all night. A personal favorite of mine, "Big Empty"
"It's Not OK" by Zac Brown Band From the album The Foundation (2008)
A man was bothering me today and I wanted to tell him to go away
But I stood and listened to him anyway, okay.
He said he didn't want to shoot that man
And it was his thing and I wouldn't understand
And he had done all that he can, okay.
I guess his body was as good as mine
And just like me he was wasting time
Turning over every stone to see what he could find, okay.
He was filling tank and he asked for moneyI lied and said I didn't have any
Then my conscious took over and I gave him a hand full of change.
Don't do a thing.
Stay right there.
You'll lie there.
You don't seem to care
I know its hard to survive in the city
When the beautiful days don't look so pretty
And you don't have windows to keep the night away, okay.
He was dirty and stink and just a bit crude
But I didn't say that because that's kind of rude
And he didn't care what I had to say in the first place, okay.
I wanted to say you're a big disgrace to the world, yourself, and the human race
And reach back and pop him one good time in the face, okay.
No its not okay and I didn't do that
But I gave him a smile and tipped my hat and told him to have a very nice rest of the day
Don't do a thing.
Stay right there.
You'll lie there.
You'll lie there.
You don't seem to care.
Guess he bought some booze or shit
And sure that bothers me a little bit but it's his life and I can't tell him how to live it
As he turned and started to go his way I tried to think of something wise to say like...
Don't do a thing.
Stay right here.
You'll lie here.
You don't seem to care.
You'll die here.
You don't seem to care
What is there to know about me? Well I'll keep it simple. I'm 25 and I love music. I enjoy going to live concerts more than almost anything in the world. I plan on using this blog to tell you my thoughts on music. What I'm listening to, what you should be, what concerts are coming up around the Greater Hartford area you should check out, and reviews (and pictures, hopefully) of shows I have gone too. So read up, enjoy, comment, and feel free to offer suggestions...I'm new to this whole thing.
