Concert Review

Yim Yames, Ben Sollee, & Daniel Martin Moore
12/29/11 - The Brown Theater

In truth, the first part of this show, while stark and beautiful, wasn't much different than the show Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore did in this same venue, two years ago.  You can read that review here.  They were supporting Dear Companion, the album they teamed up to record along with Yim Yames behind the console.  They ran through the highlights of the album, as well as, shining moment from both artists' solo catalog.

But just as the show was began to feel long, and maudlin (aprox. the 18th song of the set) - Jim James took the stage - and a pulse of electricity was shot through the audience.

His presence on three of the songs from the Dear Companion album beefed up the performance in a way that had been lacking in the songs played before he arrived.

Then Sollee and Moore left and let rover take over.  Arguably, James might be at his best when its just him, an audience, and his acoustic guitar.

The new song "Welcome Home" was breathtakingly sweet, hearing him sing it to a theater filled with fans in his hometown of Louisville.  And the early MMJ ballad "Bermuda Highway" is never anything short of a show stopper.  However, some of the more interesting moments in his set might've been the covers he's chose to play - including "Wild Honey" by Fruit Bats, "Ain't it Funny How Time Slips Away" by Willie Nelson, and "The World is Falling Down" by Abbey Lincoln.

As with most of his solo sets, the songs mostly consisted of My Morning Jacket tunes, and ones he wrote and performed with Monster of Folk, James' indie-rock supergroup he formed with Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis and M. Ward.  It was refreshing though to James press himself out of his comfort zone, even if it was with varying states of success.  The times he messed around with looping - his guitar or vocal - generally built a beautiful, textured swirl around the performance.

But his sax solo on "I Needed It Most", well, Coltrane it wasn't.



The encore performance of James calling card song (at least as of late) "Wonderful (the way I feel)" - with both Sollee on cello, and Moore on vocals was absolutely beautiful.  Moore's voice compliments James' in a way that makes you wonder why would they ever not sing together.

33 1/3 (#82 ): Dinosaur Jr., "You're Living All Over Me"

331/3 (#82):
Dinosaur Jr.
You're Living All Over Me
by: Nick Attfield
 
If you haven't read any of the books from the epic 331/3 series of books, then you might not know what to expect.  They hand an album over to a writer - who is then allowed to write a book on that specific album in any way he chooses, letting his/her creativity take over in the telling of very real stories.

When it comes to Dinosaur Jr.'s You're Living All Over Me, Nick Attfield writes a compelling disertation on the relevance of the album, if only to the band.  You're Living All Over Me was not their flagship album, or best selling album, or even their most critically acclaimed album.  But it was album for a young band that defined their sound.  That hinted at genius of their forthcoming opus, Bug.  And in many ways set wheels in motion for bassist Lou Barlow's poast-Dinosaur-Jr. career with bands like Sebadoh and Blues Implosion.

Written in six non-linear essays, Attfield presumes that the music on You're Living All Over Me strays from the band's roots in hard core heavy metal - on account of now being in their late teens, they finally had sex and exorcised all of their sexual frustration.  He recounts their run-ins, tours, and inevitable influence on their own mentors, Sonic Youth.  However, one of the more incendiary sections of the book, Attfield implies that Barlow's acrimonious split with the band two years later might've had to do with his own bi-sexuality and guitarist/singer J. Mascis' tendency to make homophobic cracks.

The book is fascinating.  They're a band where much has been written, but little has ever been said.  And after Attfield interviews all three members of the band you end up with a compelling look at the early career of what would become one of Alternative Rock's most influential bands.

Show Review: Here Come the Mummies

July 16th
Iroquois Ampitheater, Louisville, KY


Last night at Iroquois Amphitheater...it felt like sensory overload as Here Come the Mummies tore through a nearly two hour set.

Amy Winehouse Finally Laid to Rest

Over the weekend it was discovered that singer Amy Winehouse was the latest member of The 27 Club when she was found dead in her London apartment at age 27.  After an autopsy failed to pin-point a cause of death, the singer was laid to rest today in a traditional Jewish service.  Mourners included the singer's parents, her boyfriend, Mark Ronson, and Kelly Osbourne.

Amy had a turbulent twenty-seven years and hopefully she can finally rest in peace. 

Song of the Moment

"I've Been Everywhere", Johnny Cash, American Recordings II: Unchained (1996)

The man, the myth, the voice. Hearing Johnny's take on this standard, at the beginning of his creative resurgence is nothing less than a punch in the stomach. His thoughtful, calling baritone implies that he isn't lying...he has been everywhere, man. And not just in the geographical sense, but this is the voice of a man who has loved, and already lost, but is preparing for a more devastating loss than he can possibly imagine. But Cash is as ready for it as anyone can be, because he's been everywhere, man.

Lynx live

Lynx
5/21/11 Main Park, Artsposure, Chapel Hill, NC


Lynx is a force to reckon with. The multi-instrumentalist and singer is a varitable one-woman band. Her voice fills a room, even when the room is wall-less park in the middle of downtown Chapel Hill. The woman has a voice, not just literally, but in her engaging since of self as she commands the stage with an unparalleled presence. It's eccentric, her look, her music, the whole package - but it still never waivers from the ebb and flow of human heartbreak.

Armed with an acoustic guitar and an iMac, she creates sinewy worlds and soundscapes that explore loss, love, and occasionally even politics. The California native's set centered mostly on her latest release, "On the Horizon", a sweeping album that critics have been gushing over for months. And it's no secret that as good as she sounds in the studio, she definitely doesn't falter on stage.

The highlights of her, oh too short, hour-long set, were forelorn renditions of "Young Blood" and "Tricksters and Fools" - politically minded tracks that hold our leaders to task without crossing the fragile line into preachy. Her self produced backing tracks, wrap electronica around her traditional bran of coffee shop folk, building a musical tapestry that sucks the audience into her weird little world. And her a-capella/beatbox rendition of "This Is Not a Remix" should hail her as a modern goddess of hip-hop that would put these other fools to shame.

Lynx is an artist that has with a hard-line to human emotion. And her show confirms that's she's a performer whose chemistry will enamor an audience. Definitely not a show to miss.

The Fervor, "Arise, Great Warrior"

The latest offering from Louisville’s own The Fervor is serenely electric – there’s a charge of urgency that hides just below the calm surface. It’s beautiful, haunting, and a little bit stunning.

Natalie Felkor’s vocals are earnest and sad and make you fall in love with her from the first note of the first word of the first song, the title track “Arise, Great Warrior”. Her voice is cold and heavy – like that empty side of the bed after a break-up. Her brutally honest lyrics can speak volumes with only a phrase…and sometimes with only a single word.

Besides Felkor’s voice and impassioned lyrics, its hard ignore her ferverant keyboard parts. The intro to “Let’s Get Loaded” sounds like such a brilliant callback to early 70’s Elton John, I can hardly stand it. And I’m going to venture to say now, that “Let’s Get Loaded” might be the best song you’re going to hear this year.

If Felkor is the heart and soul of this band, Mat Herron’s drum set is the whole goddamn body. The way each tap of every roll or tumble fills out the body of these arrangements proves that he is nothing less than a master, as well as a student, of his craft.

And the often somber band never sounded as playful as when they bounce their way through the first verse of “Crazy for the Feeling”. But be careful with the fun even when The Fervor sounds happy, heartbreak is right around the corner, when Natalie sings, “I’ve got hands that are colder than the thought that’s on your mind.”

In the end, the seven songs on “Arise, Great Warrior” show that these guys are every bit as good, if not better than the bands that are crowding the Louisville scene right now. And if this album doesn’t make you take notice, then nothing ever will.

"Talking to Girls About Duran Duran"

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Hair Cut

By: Rob Sheffield

If you’ve read Rob Sheffield’s first memoir “Love is a Mix Tape,” then his latest offering, “Talking to Girls about Duran Duran,” will initially offer lots of existential quandaries for the reader to wrestle with.

Long gone is the hopeful melancholy that flowed through “Mix Tape,” a memoir that documented his first star-crossed marriage to Renee Crist (who died tragically of a pulmonary embolism at age 31). In “Duran Duran,” we are reading a post-modern/post-millennium/post-Renee memoir and, in a lot of ways, a post-Rob Rob. The awkward, love-struck young man from “Mix Tape” is not here; left is the awkward, love-fascinated boy as told through the filter of a humbled middle-aged man.

Sheffield doesn’t seem like the forlorn romantic he was in “Mix Tape,” but this material isn’t as heavy from the outset, so there’s no beautiful sadness weighing down these memories. He remains an engaging, passionate writer who sucks you in with every quirky observation and obtuse pop-culture reference — from “Heathers” to “Purple Rain.”

Each chapter is titled after a different song and artist from his New Wave youth, like Hall & Oates’ “Maneater” or The Smiths’ “Ask” or Madonna’s “Crazy For You.” And each of these songs has, somewhere in the back of his mind, melded itself to a specific memory or point in time. Sheffield’s thought process is far from linear. Figuring out how he brings his disconnected thought process to bind the stories of his life with the songs that define them (or is it the stories that define the songs?) becomes part of the joy in this book.

Prime example: In the chapter about “More Than This” by Roxy Music — the actual song isn’t even brought up until the last four pages. The first six are dedicated to the wisdom spewed in Kenny Rogers songs, leaving you to find the through-line from where you are (Kenny Rogers), and where you know you’re going to end up (Roxy Music). And between these two points, Sheffield weaves in the story he wants you to read.

In “Mix Tape,” he told the tragic story of he and his wife, and in doing so, told the tragic story of the ’90s, an uncertain time that seemed pretty certain and was played out to a soundtrack of feedback and fuzz. “Duran Duran” is a series of disconnected stories that combine to tell the story of the ’80s, a decade of excess that seemed like a decade of depression, bad clothes, bad music, bad hair and bad presidents, all of which felt like part of the norm. There seemed to be a comfort in all of the badness of the era — a security blanket of badness that was unceremoniously ripped from our hands with the inauguration of Bill Clinton and Kurt Cobain as the following decade’s pacesetters.

The smeared, Technicolored tapestry of the ’80s offers the perfect backdrop for Sheffield to mull over his relationship with his sisters, his childhood friends or the guy on the Amtrak train. In a weird, cyclical, chicken-or-egg sort of way, this leaves neither Sheffield nor his adventures to drive this book; rather, the decade itself emerges as the protagonist of this story.

Perhaps the ’80s are the star-crossed lover he’s pining for this time around … that 10-year block of time that dripped of cultural and socio-political innocence is his new Renee. Although it’s hard to tell through the changing lens of so many selves we’ve seen of Sheffield, here he seems fully content sucking his proverbial thumb, basking in the safest unsafe decade our country’s ever known — and talking to girls about Duran Duran.

Random Song of the moment

"Supergirl" - Gin Blossoms, Major Lodge Victory (2006)

I'm sure you're thinking...Gin Blossoms? Really? Yes. Really. "Supergirl" is a sadly passionate song that will break the heart of anyone with long gone high school sweetheart. And unlike the rest of this forgotten 2006 album, "Supergirl" harkens back to the day when no band had a better ear for pop hooks than these guys.

Think about the smile on your face the first time you heard "Hey Jealousy", or "Found Out About You", or "Allison Road", or "'Til I Hear It From You", or "Follow You Down". Think about that smile and get prepared to see it again when you put on "Supergirl".

33 1/3 (#75): Slint, "Spiderland"

331/3 (#75):
Slint
Spiderland
by: Scott Tennant

The latest installment in the 33 1/3 series, music journalist Scott Tennent has taken on Slint's 1991 masterpiece, "Spiderland."

It seems more than appropriate that someone has finally decided to probe into one of music's most mythic albums, released by one of the most mythical bands. The first two-thirds of the book are fascinating, as he deeply researches and probes into the birth and methodology of the mysterious Louisville quartet. However, when he gets to actually discussing "Spiderland" the pace comes to a screeching halt. His in depth descriptions of how songs like "Nosferatu Man" and "Good Mornin, Captain" become tenuous. It's as though he assumes the reader hasn't heard the album, and apparently feels that his bland descriptions can somehow replace the experience of acutally listening to the album.

In the end, it does offer a context around the album that has previous been lacking when you look at the limited discography that Slint's career left behind. And it offers perspective as to why this album, as quirky and abstract as it may be, is one of the most influential albums of the past two decades.

December's Children Top 100 Albums (2001-2010)

001. Wilco - "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" (2002)
002. Johnny Cash - "The Man Comes Around" (2002)
003. Drive-by Truckers - "The Dirty South" (2004)
004. My Morning Jacket - "It Still Moves" (2003)
005. The Killers - "Hot Fuss" (2004)
006. Radiohead - "In Rainbows" (2007)
007. Kanye West - "The College Dropout" (2004)
008. Ryan Adams - "Gold" (2001)
009. Coldplay - "A Rush of Blood to the Head" (2002)
010. Bright Eyes - "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" (2005)
011. Loretta Lynn - "Van Lear Rose" (2004)
012. Morrissey - "You Are the Quarry" (2004)
013. Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (2002)
014. Queens of the Stone Age - "Songs for the Deaf" (2002)
015. Gnarls Barkley - "St. Elsewhere" (2006)
016. Levon Helm - "Dirt Farmer" (2007)
017. Postal Service - "Give Up" (2003)
018. Outkast - "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" (2003)
019. R.E.M. - "Accelerate" (2008)
020. Tenacious D - "Tenacious D" (2001)
021. Gorillaz – “Gorillaz” (2001)
022. Hockey - "Mind Chaos" (2009)
023. Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore - "Dear Companion" (2010)
024. Clutch - "Blast Tyrant" - (2004)
025. Tom Waits - "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers, & Bastards" (2006)
026. Jay-Z - "The Black Album" (2003)
027. The White Stripes - "White Blood Cells" (2001)
028. Bruce Springsteen - "The Rising" (2002)
029. Drive-by Truckers - "Southern Rock Opera" (2001)
030. Mitch Hedberg - "Mitch All Together" (2003)
031. The Roots - "Phrenology" (2002)
032. John Mayer - "Room For Squares" (2001)
033. Robert Plant & Allison Krauss - "Raising Sand" (2007)
034. The Avett Brothers - "Emotionalism" (2007)
035. Band of Horses - "Cease to Begin" (2007)
036. My Morning Jacket - "Z" (2005)
037. The Good, The Bad, & The Queen – “The Good, The Bad, & The Queen” (2007)
038. Ryan Adams "Love is Hell" (2004)
039. Beastie Boys - "To The 5 Boroughs" (2004)
040. The Black Keys - "Attack & Release" - (2008)
041. Derek Webb - "She Must and Shall Go Free" (2003)
042. The Shins - "Oh, Inverted World" (2001)
043. Shooter Jennings - "Put the O Back in Country" (2005)
044. 50 Cent - "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" (2003)
045. The Raconteurs - "Broken Boy Soldiers" (2006)
046. Spoon - "Gimme Fiction" (2005)
047. Neil Young - "Prairie Wind" (2005)
048. Zac Brown Band - "The Foundation" (2008)
049. Backyard Tire Fire - "Good to Be" (2010)
050. Lucero - "Nobody's Darlings" (2005)
051. The Walkmen - "Bows + Arrows" (2004)
052. Jason Isbell - "Sirens of the Ditch" (2007)
053. Radiohead - "Amnesiac" (2001)
054. The John Mayer Trio - "Try" (2005)
055. Danger Doom - "The Mouse and The Mask" (2005)
056. Bright Eyes - "Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground" (2002)
057. U2 - "How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb" (2004)
058. Wilco - "Sky Blue Sky" (2007)
059. Greg Giraldo - "Midlife Vices" (2010)
060. Gorillaz - "Demon Days" (2005)
061. Caedmon's Call - "Share the Well" (2004)
062. Cage the Elephant - (2008)
063. Guster - "Keep it Together" (2003)
064. Wax Fang - "La La Land" (2009)
065. Jack Johnson - "In Between Dreams" (2005)
066. Elton John - "Songs from the West Coast" (2001)
067. Probot – “Probot” (2003)
068. Golden Smog - "Another Fine Day" (2006)
069. Tom Petty - "Highway Companion (2006)
070. Willie Nelson - "Songbird" (2006)
071. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - "III/IV" (2010)
072. Tool - "Lateralus" (2001)
073. Eddie Vedder - "Into the Wild Soundtrack" (2007)
074. Bob Dylan - "Modern Times" (2006)
075. Rodrigo y Gabriela - "11:11" (2009)
076. Modest Mouse - "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" (2004)
077. Them Crooked Vultures - "Them Crooked Vultures" (2009)
078. Death Cab For Cutie - "Transatlanticism" (2003)
079. Sliversun Pickups - "Swoon" (2009)
080. She & Him - "Vol. 1" - (2008)
081. Dave Attell - "Skanks for the Memories" (2003)
082. Steel Panther - "Feel the Steel" (2009)
083. Eyedea & Abilities - "By the Throat" (2009)
084. The White Stripes - "Elephant" (2003)
085. My Morning Jacket - "Evil Urges" (2008)
086. The Whigs - "In the Dark" (2010)
087. Lewis Black - "Rules of Enragement" (2003)
088. Band of Horses - "Everything All the Time" (2006)
089. Monsters of Folk – “Monsters of Folk” (2009)
090. Jay-Z - "The Blueprint" (2001)
091. Pearl Jam - "Backspacer" (2009)
092. Prince - "Musicology" (2004)
093. The Raconteurs - "Consolers of the Lonely" (2008)
094. The Shins - "Chutes Too Narrow" (2003)
095. Flobots - "Survival Story" (2010)
096. Dane Cook - "Isolated Incident" (2009)
097. Weezer - "the green album" (2001)
098. The Hold Steady - "Stay Positive" (2008)
099. Drive-by Truckers - "Decoration Day" (2003)
100. The Walkmen - "Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone" (2002)

...And the Winners Are...

Here is a list of all of this year's Grammy winners...

I have to admit that I'm upset Cee-Lo Green, whose "Fuck You" was perhaps the greatest pop song in a decade, didn't win more awards.

But here's a video of his amazing performance at this year's ceremony.

December's Children 2010 Show Count

The following is a list of show we here at December's Children attended in the 2010 calender year. The shows counted below were all music, theater, comedy, or otherwise; however, cover bands, bar bands, and open mic shows were not included in this count or else this list would be WAAAY too long.

2010 Show Count

01/09 The Improv: Whitney Cummings (w/David Waite & Patrick Pasafume)
01/23 Headliners: Alejandro Escovedo (w/Roman Candle)
01/27 The Improv: Tom Green
01/31 Headliners: Phantasmagorical (Wax Fang, Ultra Pulverize, D.W. Box, Second Story Man, The Lucky Pineapple)
02/05 Zanzabar: The Whigs (w/Royal Bangs)
02/06 The Improv: Natasha Leggero (w/ Al Jackson)
02/12 Gerstle's: Backyard Tire Fire (w/ The Elms)
02/16 Ear X-Tacy (in-store performance): Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore (album release show)
02/18 The Improv: Brian Posehn (w/ Jeremy Essig)
02/24 Hard Rock Cafe: Barenaked Ladies (102.3 The Max Radio Performance)
02/26 The Brown Theater: Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore (w/ Maiden Radio, Silas House, Jason Howard)
02/27 The Brown Theater: Brian Regan (w/ Joe Bolster)
03/07 The Brown Theater: Rodrigo y Gabriela (w/ Alex Skolnak Trio)
03/12 Ear X-tacy (in-store performance): Titus Andronicus
03/12 Comedy Caravan: Nicholas Anthony (w/ Joe Cocozzello, Dario Konjicija)
03/13 Ear X-tacy (in-store performance): Company of Thieves
03/13 Freedom Hall: John Mayer (w/ Michael Franti & Spearhead)
03/14 The Improv: John Caparulo (w/ Matt Molchen)
03/29 Skull Alley: Tim Barry of Avail (w/Red Clay River & John Ashley)
03/30 The Palace Theater: Stone Temple Pilots
03/31 The Palace Theater: Shinedown (soundcheck only)
04/07 Hard Rock Cafe: Ambasadors of Rock (Overdrive, Voiceflow, Mamakitty Southwood, Sub-Urban Situation)
04/09 The Palace Theater: Cheech and Chong (w/Shelby Chong, Joey Marin)
04/12 Derby Dinner Playhouse: The Monarchs
04/13 Freedom Hall: AC/DC (w/ The Broken Spurs)
04/21 Hard Rock Cafe: Ambassadors of Rock
04/27 Zanzabar: Wax Fang (Performance of Prince's "Purple Rain")
04/29 Waterfront: Candlebox (w/ The Crash Kings)
04/30 Phoenix Hill Tavern: Puddle of Mudd (w/ The Delicates)
04/30 Expo 5: Two Pump Chump
05/05 Hard Rock Cafe: Ambassadors of Rock
05/10 Deja Vu Showclub: Jackyl ("She's Not a Drug" video shoot & Mini Concert)
05/11 The Vernon Club: Ray Wylie Hubbard
05/14 Headliners: Endpoint (w/ Sun Spring, Big Wheel, Shedding)
05/15 Headliners: Endpoint (w/ Cerebellum, Face Value)
05/16 Comedy Caravan: Kristin Key (w/ David Bizanis)
05/22 The Improv: Robert Kelly (w/ David Waite)
05/26 The Palace Theater: Neil Young (w/Bert Jansch)
06/03 The Improv: Michael Ian Black (w/ Tim Northern, C.J. Harlow)
06/04 Comedy Caravan: T.J. Miller (w/ Adam White, Patrick Passafume, Nick Vatterott)
06/06 Comedy Caravan: T.J. Miller (w/ Adam White, Bryan Schneider, Kent Carney, Nick Vatterott)
06/11 Horseshoe Casino: Weezer
06/19 Horseshoe Casino: The Moody Blues
06/19 The Improv: Chris Franjola/Sarah Colonna (w/ Jamie Uteley)
06/20 Comedy Caravan: Gallagher
06/26 The Brown Theater: The Second City Touring Company: 50th Anniversary Tour
(w/Shad Kunkle, Kate Duffy, Mark Pienga, Katie Rich, Chuck Malone, & Tim Stoltenberg)
07/02 The Second City Chicago: Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies
(Allison Bills, Shelly Gossman, Timothy Edward Mason, Sam Richardson, Tim Robinson, & Emily Wilson)
07/03 Aragon Ballroom: Silversun Pickups (w/ Against Me! and The Henry Clay People)
07/04 A Taste of Chicago: Passion Pit
07/09 Waterfront Park: Forecastle Festival - Day 1
(Widespread Panic, Manchester Orchestra, Drive-by Truckers, Scott Miller & The Commonwealth
Kinetix, Dead Confederate, 23 Strings, Maiden Radio, Sandpaper Dolls, Cirque Berzerk)
07/10 Waterfront Park: Forecastle Festival - Day 2
(Modern English, Nerves Jr., Umphrey's McGee, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Cake,
Devo, Cloud Cult, We Were Promised Jet Packs, Smashing Pumpkins)
07/11 Waterfront Park: Forecastle Festival - Day 3
(Death on Two Wheels, Morning Teleportation, The Fervor, She & Him, Spoon, The Flaming Lips)
07/17 4th Street Live: Blues Traveler (w/ Peter Searcy)
07/25 Comedy Caravan: John Fox (w/ Sarah Hyland)
07/31 The Improv: Pauly Shore (w/ Sandy Danto, and Dave Williamson).
08/02 Headliners: Hanson (w/ Rooney)
08/06 The Improv: Josh Wolf (w/ Warren B. Hall and Lindsay Boling)
08/14 4th Street Live: Sister Hazel (w/ Ingram Hall)
08/19 The Improv: Carlos Mencia (w/ Danny Browning)
08/21 Kentucky State Fair: Jackyl (w/ Slaughter)
08/31 Expo 5: Deftones (w/ Baroness)
09/02 The Improv: Mitch Fatel
09/11 The Palace Theater: Crosby, Stills, & Nash
09/26 Comedy Caravan: Dave Waite (w/ Jamey Stone)
10/05 Expo 5: Clutch (w/ Children of Bodom)
10/06 Ear X-Tacy (in-store performance): Brad (featuring Stone Gossard)
10/12 Freedom Hall: Slayer, Megadeth, & Anthrax
10/16 KFC Yum Arena: Eagles
10/22 Schottenstein Center: Roger Waters performs "The Wall"
10/28 Comedy Caravan: The Paranormal Comedy Show (w/ Don Reese and Mike Brody)
10/29 KFC Yum Arena: My Morning Jacket (w/Wax Fang & Louisville Youth Orchestra)
11/13 KFC Yum Arena: Dane Cook (w/ Al Delbene & Chris J. Newberg)
11/25 Phoenix Hill Tavern: Jackyl & DMC of RunDMC (w/ Nigel DuBree)
12/03 The Bard's Town: Stochasticity (w/ De Blennis, Patrick Passafume, Lindsay Boling, Raanan Hershberg, Mark Parris, Sean Smith)
12/04 Ear X-Tacy (in-store performance): Marshall Chapman
12/22 The Improv: Tim Northern (w/ Sarah Hyland, Jamie Utley, Brad Lanning, Dario Konjicia, Lindsay Boling)
12/26 Headliners: Ear X-Travaganza (w/ Jim James/Patrick Hallahan [of My Morning Jacket], Cabin, Ben Sollee, The Watson Twins)

Top 10 Albums of 2010...

Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore - "Dear Companion"
Oh yes, Dear

The Ravenna Cult - "Slight Spell"
Stark and stunning.

Spoon - "Transferance"
They're as good as ever.

Backyard Tire Fire - "Good to Be"
Catchiest southern-rock album in a decade.

Benjy Davis Project - "Lost Souls Like Us"
From Baton Rouge, with love.

Flobots - "Survival Story"
Hip-Hop handled at its finest.

The Hold Steady - "Heaven is Whenever"
Finally figuring out a formula.

Band of Horses - "Infinite Arms"
Just another stroke of brilliance.

Ryan Adams - "III/IV"
Stopped being sad, and picked up a Joe Strummer album.

Gangreen - "Gutter Water"
Hip-hop's underground supergroup is super.


***COMING SOON***
Show count for 2010
and
Top 100 albums of the decade 2001-2010.

I Can't Waits...

So I haven't gotten around to mention how TRULY excited I am that Tom Waits will be getting inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame next year (alongside Beastie Boys). I can't think of anyone that deserves it more than Waits.

This is a guy who quietly wrote a canon of material so beautifully elegant, that other artists can't help but reinterpret it over and over. The list of people who have covered Waits, is long - people like The Eagles ("Old '55"), Rod Stewart ("Downtown Train"), Pearl Jam ("Picture in Frame"), Neko Case ("Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"), Bob Seger ("16 Shells from a 30 Ought Six"), The Ramones ("I Don't Want to Grow Up"), 10,000 Maniacs ("I Hope I Don't Fall in Love With You"), Elvis Costello ("Innocent When You Dream"), Bruce Springsteen & The E. Street Band ("Jersey Girl"), Dion ("Heart of a Saturday Night"), and Los Lobos ("Jockey Full of Bourbon") just to name a few. And while age has left some artists insipidly lame - Waits has somehow managed to remain perpetually cool (who, other than Waits, is cool enough to have Dion and The Ramones cover them?). He has an unflinching ability to remain relevant in a world that eats their idols, that alone is a Herculean feat for a singer/songwriter hatched in the post-war baby boom.

With a voice like 4a.m. cigarette he refuses to yield or compromise neither his integrity nor the integrity of his songs. A reputation that has made him the bullheaded saint of "brawlers, bawlers & bastards."

Waits continues to write heartfelt songs pining for an America that no longer exists with minstrels, vagabonds, and gamblers still roaming its streets. Listening to his gravely, forlorn voice, you can't help but long for the world he sees, a world where jukeboxes take a leak, flamingos drink from cocktail glasses, and hookers actually write Christmas cards.

So for what's it's worth...congrats, sir. Congrats.


The following video is stunning. I mean quite literally breathtaking. But for some reason the audience keeps laughing throughout it, and Waits seems as perplexed by it as I am.