Friday Video Fun: Soundgarden

Here's the reunited Soundgarden performing "Beyond the Wheel" at the recent show in Seattle. Drop D goodness.

Live Review: The Dead Weather

The Dead Weather
The Fillmore
4.15.10
San Francisco, CA

There are shows, and then there are shows. The Dead Weather Thursday night was a show. In fact it was a fucking show - it was that good. Having missed them last summer at Outside Lands, our crew was eager to hear the dirty, skuzz rock blues of their debut album Horehound at full amplification. The band did not disappoint, and even played a handful of new songs from the upcoming Sea of Cowards album coming out on May 11^th.

Frontwoman Alison Mosshart is a force to be reckoned with as she stalked the stage with a vengeance, brimming with confidence. This is saying something considering she is prowling the same stage with Jack White, who has the ability to quickly overshadow musicians who share the stage with him. Keyboardist/guitarist Dean Fertita and Bassist Jack Lawerence more than held their own as well. In fact, I’ll go on record and say this is the first band I’ve seen Jack White in that is truly the sum of its parts. 

And in my best Jeff Spicoli voice, I’ll say this band slays live bro.

With a dimly lit stage, the band let the music do the talking and the songs pretty much cold-cocked the crowd. Beginning with the scrapes of White’s drum sticks along the rim of his snare drum, the band let off a few warning shots with the loud/soft dynamics of “60 Feet Tall” and let the amp buzz build the rest of the night. The new songs are even heavier and darker, particularly “Die by the Drop”, “Hussle and Cuss” and “Blue Blood Blues”.

A solid year of touring has sharpened the band musically. Jack White played some thunderous drum rolls while Dean Fertita peeled off sick guitar riff after sick guitar riff from his white hollow body Falcon. Mosshart is the femme fatale, luring you in seductively and then ripping your heart out of your rib cage with her bare hands.

Easily the show of the year and we aren’t even halfway through 2010. 

Setlist:

60 ft tall
Hang you from the heavens
You Just Can’t Win
So Far From Your Weapon
No Horse
Child of a Few Hours
Die By the Drop
Blue Blood Blues
I Can’t Hear  You

Hussle and Cuss

Rocking Horse
Will There Be Enough Water

-Encore-
I Cut Like a Buffalo
New Pony
Treat Me Like Your Mother

You Missed It: BRMC Play Jimmy Fallon

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club performed "Beat the Devil's Tattoo" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last Friday night. Enjoy.

Video Fun: DBT - "Birthday Boy"

 

Video Fun: Wilco "Country Disappeared"

Wilco - Country Disappeared - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Live Review: Devendra Banhart

Devendra Banhart & the Grogs
Regency Ballroom
San Francisco, CA
3.23.10

Freak folk. Gypsy rock. Hippie shit. More often than not, when you read an article about Devendra Banhart you also hear one of the above qualifiers as the writer attempts to describe Banhart's music. Whatever you want to call it, Banhart's music is as unique as the man himself.

After warming to Devendra's brand of rock 'n roll and many lazy Sunday afternoon's spent with an album of his blaring on the surround sound, it was definitely time to check him out live. How would the songs translate live? How are his backing band, The Grogs? A last minute venue switch to the Regency Ballroom put another wrinkle of wonder in our minds as we made our way downtown to the show.

The mellow Tuesday night crowd warmed up as Banhart (looking more indie hipster with short hair/two-day stuble, tight jeans and French sailor shirt) and the Grogs casually strolled out  and kicked off a two hour musical party that indeed covered the spectrum of musical styles - finger picking acoustic, full on 70's space rock, surf rock, tripped out latin grooves, reggae and even a metal jam.

With this melting pot of musical genres and layered vocal harmonies, the need for the Grogs to actually know how to play is an absolute necessity, and the band stepped up and made it look way too easy. With members of Priestbird and Little Joy in the Grogs, we seemed to be privy to a private jam session between musical friends where the physical stage barrier melted away and the party kicked into high gear. Devendra even surrendered the spotlight and mic several times to give the other guys in the band a chance to play some of their own tunes.

Devendra played a mini acoustic set that seemed to fit right in to the evening's mellow-but-we-can-still-rock-it-when we feel like it attitude.  The band pretty much covered most of his discography, including last year's What Will We Be album.. Highlights included a rockin' "Seahorse", "Baby", "Long Haired Child" and a version of "First Song for B" that saw all the typical background noise of a rock show die down to a hush as Banhart performed solo behind a keyboard.

Hell, we even got a few verses of "Chinese Children" and a show stoppin' version of "I Feel Just Like a Child". And by the end of the night, it was no longer a sleepy Tuesday night, but a night just beginning and the central question on everyone's mind being "where to next?".

Live color photos by Gretchen Robinette and used without permission from this blog.

Public Service Announcement: Record Store Day 2010

Records stores...remember them? Despite the death of Tower Records, Sam Goody and other national chains, records stores are still around.

For those of you who still enjoy walking the aisles in search of that elusive new musical find, national Record Store Day 2010 is approaching. On April 17th, visit your favorite local record store and enjoy the celebration. Here to help you understand all there is to know about Record Store Day is Queens of the Stone Age/Them Crooked Vulture member Joshua Homme.

Fresh Pots!

Coffee Addiction Never Looked So Fun

TV Rock - Pearl Jam and Drive By Truckers

In case you missed them, here are recent performances by Pearl Jam on last weekend's SNL performing "Just Breathe" and "Unthought Known"and the Drive By Truckers on Letterman performing "This Fucking Job".

Drive By Truckers: Webisode

In the days leading up to the March 16th release of the Drive By Truckers new album, The Big To-Do (ATO Records), the band has released a webisode chronicling the making of the album and other items.




Go here to pre-order and listen to a stream of the entire album