Lights That Flash in the Evening: The National @ DAR Constitution Hall, Washington, DC (6-6-2010)

Seeing The National live was, for me, a little like my experience with seeing Wilco live: something always seemed to come up. I finally caught both bands separately last year, but The National's show, it just wasn't right...a band like The National should not be first experienced as a 5 pm slot at an outdoor festival like Virgin FreeFest. Lead singer Matt Berninger writes lyrics that describe emotional depths that tend to venture into the dark; as such, The National should be experienced inside somewhere, and at night, not in sunlight next to a truck selling funnel cakes.

I'm happy to say I finally got the experience at DAR Constitution Hall recently. It was simply amazing. Goosebump-giving amazing. The show ran close to two hours and at the end, my cheeks hurt from the never-ending grin I wore the whole time.



Their new record, High Violet, took a little while to move into. Lots was happening and I didn't have a lot of extra brain space to focus; it's not a hard record to focus on, but you need to be in the place to allow your mind to do just that. But once I did, boy, did I fall for it hard.



That's why when I saw the previous night's setlist from Boston, I was sorta bummed out, not knowing if this was a band who changed things up or not, because it seemed to lack some of the new tracks I had on repeat ("Lemonworld," "Runaway," "England," "Anyone's Ghost"). But the DAR show, they included all of these and more...it was like they asked me to make the set list of my favorites (includng "Karen," a song they said they rarely play).




There is a wonderful beauty of the almost orchestral arrangements that each of the new songs contain, but this was something that became much more obvious when I saw them live. Guitarist Bryce Dressner has a background in classical guitar and has worked with the likes of Phillip Glass and the Kronos Quartet, so this isn't a huge surprise. What was a surprise was the intensity with which everyone played. Dressner and his brother Bryce would bend themselves over and tear at the guitar strings, almost in frustration that they couldn't go just a little bit faster, or pull just one more note from their instruments. This was particularly evident in "England," when during its swelling center part, everyone on stage proceeded to play like passionate madmen. Berninger used his vocal instrument in much the same way, emoting lyrical banshee screams while pacing the stage, even knocking his mike stand over at one point.




DAR is not the ideal place for a rock show. It has seats. You can't take beers back inside. In DC though, it's the in-between place for bands too big for the 1200-capacity of the 930, yet too small for the Verizon Center, an arena. DAR isn't tiny, but Berninger was determined to make fans feel like it was. During "Abel," Berninger went out onto the floor, walking/singing up the aisles, then walking atop of seat backs, with fans helping him to glide along. This happened again during the encore when they played "Mr. November" (like they'd not play that in DC, c'mon). This time, he took his audience interaction up into the balcony, scaling the entire right side while singing all the while. I wasn't supposed to shoot photos from my seat, but I plead a delightful insanity, right along with the rest of the crowd. And this was before they even got to the end of encore with a mindblowingly stunning version of "About Today!"

(See the rest of the show photos here)
This show absolutely ranks as one of the best shows I've ever seen. That's some serious gushing there, but it's 100% true. There are some I know who find The National bland, overrated, "the same song over and over." I did once too. But the very lovely part of The National is that it not only appeals to the brain with Berninger's lyrics, to the mind with their powerful and incredible hooks and time changes, but also to the heart in a way that can only be achieved when experiencing passionate beauty. "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent," said Victor Hugo. Here's being incredibly glad that The National are compelled to make noise.

Washington's 930 Club to Host Mammoth Show for 30th Anniversary Celebration This Monday...for Free!

DC has become my adopted city since I moved here after grad school for my first "real" job. It's a city that has its problems, but it also contains some amazing aspects as well. For a music dork like myself, at the top of this list of amazing DC elements definitely includes the 930 Club.

My first experience to the 930 was at its old location, on 930 F St.,to see Paul Westerberg on his first solo tour after the Replacements in 1993. By the time I'd moved back in 2002, the club had relocated six years prior to a bigger and better (and definitely cleaner) location at 815 V St. The place routinely gets the bigger name acts in terms of indie rock and there's really not a bad sight-line in the place. Definitely one of the better places to see a show.

2010 marks the 930 Club's 30th anniversary (for a great oral history of the place, go here), and May 31st is the exact day in 1982 that the first concert was held. To celebrate, they're putting on an amazing anniversary show this Monday, 5/31...for free even! “We wanted to do something really different, we want to be surrounded by people who have made this place special, and we found out from the Virgin Mobile FreeFest how much fun it is to give tickets away, so we combined it altogether for our 30th Anniversary concert,” said I.M.P. Chairman and co-owner of the 9:30 Club Seth Hurwitz.

The lineup inclues surprise guests ("stars with D.C. roots") and "acts that hold special meaning to the 9:30 Club and its role in the independent music scene, that have been instrumental to the 9:30 Club’s history," they said.

No kidding...To start, the evening’s host will be D.C native Henry Rollins, which is worth it alone. And then there are the bands which will include:

Tiny Desk Unit – the first band to play at the original 9:30 Club. Its keyboard player is no stranger to the new club. It’s Bob Boilen, of NPR – the guy that broadcasts All Songs Considered shows from the 9:30 Club for the entire world to hear.

The Fleshtones – these CBGB grads were the very first band then-independent promoter Seth Hurwitz booked at the 9:30 Club, back when Carter was in office. Since then, Seth and partner Rich Heinecke bought the Club, Jimmy went on to start Habitat for Humanity and the Fleshtones have been doing what they do: recording and touring.

Tommy Keene – Bethesda native, played the original 9:30 Club with his band Razz, known for being one of the most critically acclaimed authentic power pop acts.

The Slickee Boys – the punk-psychedelic punk rock band may very well hold the all-time record of most times playing the 9:30 Club with 79 appearances. Monday will be 80!

The Psychedelic Furs – the very first “Big Act” booked at the 9:30 Club, the English rock band was one of the most successful acts spawned from the punk, new wave scene.

Marti Jones & Don Dixon - back when radio “broke” artists – D.C.’s alternative station WHFS catapulted this duo to fame, and they packed the Club with fans eager to hear hits like “Praying Mantis”

Clutch - Germantown, Md., based internationally-traveling metal funk band cut its teeth at the 9:30 Club, and returns every year to sold out houses. The band just released a two-disc DVD “Clutch Live at the 9:30 Club” with material going back as far as 1991.

Trouble Funk - one of the best live bands ever gave the 9:30 Club patrons their first taste of Go-Go. Like they say, once you go Go-Go, you never go back.

The Evens – is headed by the seminal figure in alternative music Ian MacKaye. While known around the world as the front man of Minor Threat and Fugazi, and a bastion of rock integrity in the music industry, he’s always been “just Ian” to the 9:30 Club.

Justin Jones – represents the future of the 9:30 Club, with his soul-filled Americana sound, Justin has opened the club a dozen times for acts like ZZ Top, Loretta Lynn and Cheryl Crow. His next CD will be the 1st release on the 9:30 Club record label later this summer.

The Pietasters - they met at Virginia Tech, horns in hand 20 years ago – and the soul ska band comes back home to D.C. playing to full 9:30 Club houses every time.

Ted Leo – though he was born in Indiana and grew up in Jersey, Washington D.C. and the 9:30 Club are running through the veins of this Indie rock doc, most notably known for his association with pharmacists.

Bob Mould - in all his incarnations, starting with alternative rock band Hüsker Dü, Bob has always considered the 9:30 Club his home. In other worlds, getting the blowoff is a bad thing. But thanks to Bob Mould, it’s a D.C. favorite. Bob, who lived in D.C. for years, takes his Blowoff dance party to the 9:30 Club every month, and now he takes that show on the road. (from press release)

In terms of tickets...

-Members of the 9:30 Club Forum, and subscribers to Volume, the 9:30 Club’s print newsletter, and the 9:30 Club's email list will receive the first opportunity to secure tickets by lottery. Instructions will be sent out via these forums today about lottery inclusion. If you're in, you'll be notified no later than Sunday.

-A very limited number of tickets will be available at the door on Monday, 5/31, first come, first served. We'll provide an update as soon as we hear an exact time.

Update (5/28): Looks like doors are opening at 5 pm. However, if you're hoping to score a ticket at the door, it's highly recommended you get there well before that.

Lights That Flash in the Evening: The National @ The Bell House,Brooklyn, NY (3-11-10)

The National @ Virgin FreeFest 2009 (8-30-09), originally uploaded by BetweenLoveandLike.

It took me a little while to warm up to The National initially, but once that fuzzy feedback and kicky drum beats got their hooks into me, it was all over. Lead singer Matt Berninger's voice went from being monochromatic to a wave of warm water in which I wanted to swim...

Last night's show at The Bell House in the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn, the first of two nights, was a hot ticket, due to the venue's size (small), the promise of new material (certain), and the limited notice of onsale (three days prior).

My "man on the ground," Russ Bleemer, sent me the following...Seems 2010 will be The Year of The National, and all the wine will, indeed, be theirs.

If the debut of the new material last night at the Bell House in Brooklyn is any indication, it's going to be quite a year for the National.

The new songs aren't all easy. But they have a big arena sound, the low-slow opening that swells to a big chorus or rave up instrumental ending that is reminiscent of the way Radiohead does Nirvana, which the Pixies basically pioneered after listening to a lot of classical music in art school.

The band is bigger now, with the keyboard/violinist they have toured with for ages, along with a second keyboard player who played for most of the show. A three-piece horn section was on stage the whole time.

If you are going tonight and have high expectations for the new songs, they will be met. But stop reading now, because there are bunch of spoilers below, though presumably tonight won't be identical. I gave The National new songs ratings below, FWIW....

The show ran exactly 90 minutes, starting at about 10:17. The opening act tonight is different, but last night, it was a sax/acoustic bass/guitar/vocalist that did a jazz set. The vocalist was pretty funny, well schooled in David Johansen's Buster Poindexter monologues, which he inserted into the songs. After a while, they veered slightly to a more Morphine-like sound, but the set remained a full-on jazz sound led by the guitarist's chords...kinda interesting. National lead singer Matt Berninger came out on their last song and sang a duet with the vocalist (which made it sound like a National song).

As for The National set...

1) They opened with "Blood Buzz," a song familiar from shows that circulated last summer. (Rating: 9)
2) New song that had a U2 undercurrent. Big key potential title line was "Didn't Wanna Be Anyone's Ghost." At the end of the song, Berninger said the song was called "Butterscotch Paraphernalia." (Rating: 8)
3) The next song, also new, was called "LIttle Blizzard." You had to be there, but this got a decent laugh. These obviously were not real titles. (Rating: 8)
4) Next song, new, had a big drum opening, then was a mellower voice/piano/bass verse that welled up into a huge full band finish. (Rating: 7)
5) "Start a War"
6) "Secret Meeting"
7) New song, short but full on Pixies soft to furious, might be called "I Am Afraid of Everyone." (Rating: 9)
8) Another new song with a refrain that sounded like "Losing my breath," with a weird funny line that stood out: "I gave my heart to the Army." Difficult to understand as the vocals were mumbly/muted, but again, same dynamics as described on 7. (Rating: 7-8)
9) "Slow Show." Berninger said his wife was really looking forward to the debut of the new songs, but got ugly-sick at the last minute and missed the show and was home, a few blocks away. He thanked her for not having to watch her be sick, and her help with "Slow Show" lyrics. He also credited her lyrics work on the next one which was...
10) "Apartment Story"
11) A new song, paced by a shaker played by the drummer, was a slow one with another hard to understand line/refrain like "I won't run--another thing coming undone." The title might be "Run Along." (Rating: 8)
12) New song called "Conversation 16." Big synth line, more like U2, again, than Nirvana. My fave new song up to this point. (Rating: 9)
13) "Abel." Crowd strangely polite and remained indie aloof.
14) New song with a big violin intro, with the violin underlying the whole song and carying a nice countermelody that soared to another big ending. (Rating: 8)
15) Set ended with "Fake Empire"--an incredible version of it, too.
16) Encore began with a new song that included the line, "I'll explain everything to the kings." Could be a good title. (Rating: 9)
17) "Mr. November." Much of it sang from the middle of the crowd, which finally lost their aloofness and got excited.
18) "Terrible Love," the song that they did on Jimmy Fallon two nights ago. Great ending, and very exciting. My fave new song, probably not surprising as I watched the video from the show repeatedly, so I was well prepared. :-) (Rating: 9)

The venue was perfect, everyone should have a Bell House in their town. Michael Stipe was hanging around...as well as a lot of media-types around us with accents, who felt the need to critique everything. And loudly. But the band? When I first saw these guys I thought they were too arty and indie-weird to make it. But now they sound ready to headline in the big places they are going to this spring, and arena headlining isn't out of the question.

The National release High Violet on 5/11.

The National - 2010 Tour Dates
26-28 MARCH: KNOXVILLE, TN - BIG EARS FESTIVAL 2010 / TENNESSEE THEATRE
22-23 APRIL: RICHMOND, VA @ THE NATIONAL
06 MAY: LONDON, UK @ ROYAL ALBERT HALL
07 MAY: PARIS, FRANCE @ LE ZENITH w/ PAVEMENT
09 MAY: BERLIN, GERMANY @ ASTRA
22 MAY: LOS ANGELES, CA @ THE WILTERN
23 MAY: SAN DIEGO, CA @ SPRECKELS THEATRE
27 MAY: OAKLAND, CA @ FOX THEATRE
02 JUNE: BOSTON, MA @ HOUSE OF BLUES
05 JUNE: PHILADELPHIA, PA @ ELECTRIC FACTORY
06 JUNE: WASHINGTON, DC @ DAR CONSTITUTION HALL
08 JUNE: TORONTO, CANADA @ MASSEY HALL
16 JUNE: NEW YORK, NY @ RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL

Locksley Record Release for Be in Love Tonight in NYC

Hey New Yorkers, do you like to dance? Do you like power pop? How about joy? Then forget that it's a school night and do some dancing to joyous power pop at the Mercury Lounge tonight for the Locksley cd release party of Be in Love. The band's second release, Be In Love is an upbeat collection of power-pop songs that are full of big fat hooks and non-stop energy, a musicial ode to love, "the greatest thing ever," says Locksley's lead guitarist Kai Kennedy. Plus, the ticket gets you into an after-party, which is hosted by Red Bull, so your potential lack of sleep...covered! You'll be glad you missed a little sleep to experience so much joy.

Physical copies of Be in Love will also be sold at the event, in case you can't wait until the store release date of 3/16. Tickets are $10 and available here.

Read our recent show review of Locksley here.

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Locksley @ Iota, Arlington, VA (1-21-2010)

When I last saw those Brooklyn Brit-poppers Locksley around here, it was last year and they were the openers for one of the originators of Brit-pop, Ray Davies at the 930 Club. While Locksley's stage show wasn't sedate, it was totally nothing like what they put forth last week at Iota. They were good at the 930, make no mistake. But a year or so of playing out in support of their first release, Don't Make Me Wait has tightened up this band as a collective musically, as well as made them comfortable enough to let loose and show an audience visually how much they enjoy doing what they do.





Playing for about 90 minutes, Locksley's set included most of the tracks from their upcoming release, Be in Love (out 2/23), a lot of Don't Make Me Wait, and a William Bell cover called "There's a Love," they had the audience moving about as much as they were onstage. With all the moving and jumping about onstage and off, I was surprised the Iota's bar glasses weren't rattling.


I liked this show so much in fact, I was bummed to hear they're heading to Japan and not Austin for SXSW in March so I could see them again. With all that Austin has to offer in terms of new music during SX, that's saying a whole lot.




Locksley's music isn't complicated and layered, it's not political and statement-filled, but that doesn't mean there isn't a bunch going on musically. I think with all the technology that bands have access to and the ways one can tinker with music these days, the basics of rock music are forgotten sometimes. And there's real beauty in those three chords and the truth. So it's great to see a band like Locksley see that and do it well, while invigorating their audience to feel that way too.

(See the rest of the photos from the show here)

Give a Listen: The Whip-Locksley from Be In Love (buy)

Wilco Will Love You & Haiti, Baby: Wilco Giving Away Concert MP3s for Haiti Donation

Entertainment Weekly of all things reported yesterday that Wilco is giving away recordings of two shows from last year. One of the two includes last year's show in Coney Island, NYC, which had guest appearances Feist, Yo La Tengo, and Ed Droste from Grizzly Bear. The other is from last November in London.

The show downloads are free but the band is requesting that fans make a donation for Haitain relief efforts to Oxfam (here) or Doctors Without Borders (here). "In exchange for the free music, we ask that you make a minimum donation of $15 to one of the organizations listed if you are able." Considering how completely mind-blowing the Coney Island show was said to be, $15 is well worth it for that show alone. So please donate what you can.

Wilco Shows for Haiti Donations

Wilco: Keyspan Park, Brooklyn, NY (07-13-09)

-Donate to Oxfam here
-Donate to Doctors Without Borders here

Wilco: HMV Forum, London, UK (11-04-09)

Show Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars @ BU Central, Boston, MA (10/17/09)

by Dave "Scout" Tafoya

If you had given me the Cymbals Eat Guitars record after their show last Saturday at Boston University Central, I probably would have laughed and said you'd made some sort of mistake. Don't take offense just yet, their record Why Are There Mountains is a heavily produced, oft serenely languorous, oft slackerish and crunchy rock record that strikes a near-perfect balance between its disparate elements. The show that I and a few dozen others saw on Saturday, however, was quite a bit different from that. Throwing their dynamics almost entirely to the wind, the Staten Island band came out screaming and left in a hale of distortion. It was all fury and dizzying guitar athletics, and I know I wasn't the only one who was blown out of the front row. Rock this intense requires a break.

Perhaps it was my proximity to the band but I simply wasn't prepared for the sheer volume and energy from a band whose debut was so calmly assured. Singer Joseph D'Agostino told me beforehand that this was effectively their 'melting faces' tour. They were making a short stint around the country to hook fans in little venues like BU Central (a pool hall and game room when not hosting bands) before embarking on a more serious headlining tour that will start with their impending trip to Europe; hittin' em hard and low, as it were. Their all-out aural attack was quite a surprise. D'Agostino roared like a lion for most of the show, turning songs like "...And the Hazy Sea" from psych-gaze into a song Dinosaur Jr. might have written in their heyday; blistering yet lackadaisical. D'Agostino's guitar playing, incidentally, is absolutely stunning; he has the chops of James Iha and the inventiveness of Jonny Greenwood or Will Sergeant. His shredding and screaming were the two definitive features of that night's show. And powerful though they were (he was like a one-man metal band), they did occasionally undercut the brilliance of his songwriting, drawing the audience away from the little things that make Why Are There Mountains such a powerhouse. Take for example "Wind Phoenix." On the record, it's a playful and slightly noisy Pavement-esque track with skipping guitar lines and an overall pleasing feel; live the song became their raucous, solo-laden closer, the one meant to keep the ringing in your ears long after you've gone home.

After getting used to the volume I started to focus on the rest of the band. The volume was, of course, helped by Matt Miller's assured drumming and together with new bassist Matt Whipple, they make quite an impressive rhythm section. Whipple's fingers were almost as taxed as D'Agostinos, constantly running Specials-style ska riffs, and Whipple and Miller did a most excellent job supplying the fast-and-furious changes in volume and speed to keep up with D'Agostino's ear-splitting charge. Each band member had his own personality on stage and it's both awe-inspiring and more than a little overwhelming. With everyone essentially playing lead even as they anchor the song, the group projects enough energy and ferocity to power an entire town (D'Agostino doesn't call himself Joseph Ferocious, for nothing, I guess). But it can be hard to keep up with them. I had to take myself away from the PA and hang back for a bit to avoid hearing loss and whiplash. Consider my face melted.

(CEGs is currently on tour and heading to Europe in November. Tour dates can be seen here)

The Wrens Announce a 3rd Maxwells Show, Will Play The Meadowlands in Full

As we announced last week, The Wrens are playing an couple of "themed" dates at NJ's Maxwells in December. December 3rd will be an "all-request" show and December 4th will be an "all new songs" night. Today, they announced an additional early show for December 4th, where they'll play "The Meadowlands from start to finish."

Turns out December 3rd is also bassist/vocalist Kevin Whelan's 40th birthday as well. They proclaim that there may be cake because of this, and possibly sherry, and in addition to requests, stories from Wrens' days of yore. (It all sounds very "Masterpiece Theater" doesn't it? I wonder if their stage clothing will include smoking jackets and pipes and Alistair Cooke accents.)

One can only imagine the madness these nights will bring. But if you ever wanted to see if the stories about Hoboken were true, or catch The Wrens at their best, this series of shows will be the best excuse to go for both.

Just dropping to our own electronic ghost town to say that we’ve added a third show for our 20th anniversary / mirthday shindig – an early show for Friday, Dec. 4th at 7:30. In keeping with our theme of…um, having themes, this show will be the Meadowlands record, top-to-bottom. We’d tried setting this up last year to put that baby to bed, but it never really came together. This will be the one time you’ll probably ever hear ’13 months in 6 minutes’ or whatever it is and ‘ex-grille confection’, although I think we tried that one live once. Anyway, thanks to the folks that requested this - very flattering.

Tickets here. More info on the other two shows here (two posts down).

And if you come by, maybe we’ll pour some sherry and regale you with the story of the time we walked one end of Hoboken to the other, handing out demo tapes to every bar & club in town – including Maxwell’s – in the hopes of securing one of the many lucrative live concert bookings that seemed just a lucky break away in the big city (that’s Hoboken in this story). And how we were surprised to find most of the bars closed.

It turns out both that it was the evening of January 1st – you know, the day after the busiest tavern day of the year – and that we were jackasses.
(It was also New Year’s Day 1990 but that part of the story is more about how old we are, not how dumb we were.) And come to think of it, that pretty much is the story.
Gaston, my son, it’s not much of a story, true, but hey…

And forgot to mention that if you’ll be attending the Dec. 3rd show, that also happens to be Kev’s special birthday (starts with a ‘four’, rhymes with ‘sporty’). And hilariously or sadly, depending, he’s the baby of the band. Tempted to say BYOCake but if we get it together we’ll have some there. (Wrens.com)

The Wrens Playing All-Request and All-New Nights for Maxwells' December Shows

As we announced earlier this month, one of our favorite bands, The Wrens is playing two shows in Hoboken, NJ in early December. News out today shows that while they may smell of Ben Gay and moth balls (Hi Charles! Hi Kevin!), they aren't curmudgeonly stuck in their ways after 20 years, they're letting the audience run the show (literally) for the Thursday, 12/3 show. The Friday, 12/4 show, they'll be playing all new tracks. Audience members are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite aging grape...or a bird who plays an instrument...or they just come as themselves.

Opening bands for each night will be "friends from days of yore." As these guys are known and liked by everyone from The Henry Clay People to Mates of State to The Hold Steady, one can only imagine who said openers will be.

For the Thursday, 12/3 show, you make the play, armchair Quarterflash. You write the set list. Yep, whatever obscure ditty from our vast catalog of 3.5 albums in 20.5 years that we normally wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot Kevin, you vote ‘em in, and we’ll…probably make you regret it.

Nope, you don’t have to be going to the show. How would we even know? And yes, you can vote more than once. Why would we care? The New Math that will be used to calculate your vote and compute our oldies set, exists where the plane of imaginary numbers is bisected by the tangent of nano-technology and will weed out your shabby attempts at rigging the system.

So tell us what songs to play and whichever get the most votes, go in the set. To do that, go to our contact / email the band page, drop us a message with a tune or two or even a whole set that, given an infinite space-time and a merciful god, you’d wanna hear us try to play. Maybe put ‘Play Drunk’ in the subject line since we’ll probably have to that night.

Voting will end…let’s say, a little over a week from now, October 3rd. Gives us two months to get it together.

As for Friday, 12/4, come dressed as your favorite wren. Balding, middle-aged Paunch Men are automatically disqualified per competition guidelines. Bird costumes, encouraged.

Kidding.

For that show, we’re doing all new songs. Or as many as we can muster.

Oh yeah, we’ll have some as-yet-to-be confirmed friends’ bands from the days of yore playing both shows as well. (Wrens website)

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Rhett Miller & the Serial Lady Killers @ Black Cat, Washington, DC (9-17-09)

Rhett Miller's solo show here last Thursday at the Black Cat was everything you'd expect in a Rhett Miller solo show: a set list compiled of songs from his three solo records and the eight from his other band, the Old 97s, top-notch playing, and quite a bit of hip-swinging onstage. (Should Tom Jones ever wish to hand his crown down to an indie musician, my money's on Rhett.)



What was also unexpected was just how stellar and incredibly tight his band, the Serial Lady Killers, played. When a musician has a side-band apart from the group for which he's more known, the side-band may play well as individuals but rarely does it perform seamlessly as a group; side-project musicians tend to be interchangeable so there are not multiple tours to get comfortable with each other. However, Miller's Serial Lady Killers are, in fact, the same people as when he called his band "The Believers," so they've all had time to settle in some. "We changed the name on a whim...well, my whim," said Miller from the stage.

(Bassist Greg Besher)

(Lead guitarist Tommy Borscheid)

The secret weapon of the Serial Lady Killers is most definitely the drummer, Angela Webster. Playing barefoot, it was really something to watch someone her size make that much of a noise; the power with which she hit those skins, you'd think there were two drummers back there.

(Drummer Angela Webster)
Another unexpected thing was the age range of Miller's fans. At Old 97s shows, it's mostly college kids and thirty-somethings. Here, I saw everyone from guys in their 50s, down to an 11 year old girl who discovered Miller via her dad's music collection. (What was so cool was that girl sang every word and danced the entire show. It's too bad every 11 year old doesn't have that keen a musical ear...).






The 11 year old girl who dug Miller's music first noticed him, her dad said, because she thought he was "cute." If you have 2 X chromosomes and like boys, chances are you would agree with this girl, regardless your age, 'cause well, he is a handsome dude. But when Miller's voice faltered a bit on some of the higher range notes (and I mean higher like the line 'You're the only one' during the refrain of "Come Around,") on Thursday, he cut the phrase short and added an enthusiastic "Yeah!" each time, which frankly, added an enthusiastic punch to the song. Sounds minimal but someone less professional would probably try to croak it out. "Cute" only gets you so far in terms of sticking around in the music business, just ask anyone from a 90s boy band (apart from Justin Timberlake of course). Rhett Miller continually writes great rock and pop songs, and is always happy to give audiences what they want. And that takes more than just a pretty face.

(See the rest of the photos from the show here)

Nobody Says I Love You Anymore...

Bon Iver to Play Special Sunrise Concert at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery this September

Bon Iver announced that the band will perform for fans (and whatever zombies are lurking) in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, CA at dawn on Sunday, 9/27. Tickets are onsale now.

With all the clubs in LA he's playing a cemetery...At the very least, it's different. Will there be a comparable show done for east coasters at Woodlawn we wonder?

Bon Iver will perform a concert on Sunday, September 27th, 2009 as morning dawns over graves of silver screen legends at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

The gates will open at midnight on Saturday night with the performance to commence at 6am on Sunday. Tickets are $25 and include a coffee and pastry breakfast. We encourage fans to bundle up (bring your blankets, too) and expect that various entertainment will be presented to them leading up to the big show.

Limited tickets are available here.

Hollywood Forever is located at 6000 Santa Monica Boulevard. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, in addition to being the beautiful resting place for hundreds of Hollywood's defining artists (including Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Rudolph Valentino, Jayne Mansfield and the venerable Estelle Getty), is becoming a cultural center for the arts with a popular outdoor summer film series, the annual Dia de los Muertos festival and musical performances at Hollywood Forever's Masonic Lodge.

Give a Listen: Skinny Love-Bon Iver

McCartney Imitating Beatles Rooftop Concert for Letterman Appearance

Paul McCartney is playing the David Letterman show this evening and it seems he will be playing atop the Ed Sullivan Theater, much like the famous Beatles performance atop Abbey Road Studios oh so long ago. Received this from a friend a little while ago:

McCartney is setting up on Letterman's roof...soundcheck soon...dunno if i can get there, they closed streets off just setting up i guess. Tapes at 5:30

So if you're in the area, could be worth a trip over to Broadway and 53rd for a look!

Update (4:22 pm)

So since I work like 12 blocks away, figured I'd go take a walk over to the Letterman studios...when I got there, maybe 500 people on sidewalk in the penned off pit.

When I left probably about 1,000...still plenty of time for people to get there! ;-)

I stayed for 40 minutes, he started right when I got there, unfrotunately they have a black curtain surounding them, but he kept poking his head out waiving too the crowd, etc. Most was only monitor, but they turned on the Pa's here and there, and it still sounds better than a Bruce show.

Not the biggest Beatles fan (no!)

But spoiler for what he rehearsed when I was there:

Some new song I guess, didn't know
Comin' up (quite good)
Get Back (also quite good)
Another newer song, I liked this, chorus has uh ohh uh ohs
Eleanor Rigby (2x's)

Figured at that point my 2 hour lunch hour was enough.

Lights that Flash in the Evening: The Avett Brothers @ Lisner Auditorium, Washington, DC (6-11-09)

Here are some photos from The Avett Brothers recent show here in DC at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium....







There's one beautiful consistent about the Avetts that's been proven every time I've seen them...







...and that's how it doesn't matter where they play-it could be someplace big and cavernous like Red Rocks, smaller and outside like Stubbs, or really small and scholarly like the Lisner- they always make it feel as close and snug as if everyone just gathered on your front porch late one warm summer's night.

(See the rest of the photos from the show here)