I've always been a fan of former MTV VJ Dave Holmes, who is an encyclopedia of music knowledge. Now he's back in a new web series Indie Across America, obviously sponsored by GEICO (lizard looks much bigger in real life), that just premiered last Tuesday. Holmes travels across the country to hang out with indie bands and showcase their music.
You can watch episode 1 of Indie Across America featuring indie band Stereo Crowd at Blip.com. New episodes (along with music videos) will be released every Tuesday until November 12th.
Future episodes:
Episode 2: Baltimore featuring Sharkweek
Episode 3: Los Angeles featuring A House for Lions
Glee's music choices of late have been pretty off, but I highly enjoyed Boogie Shoes. The dance number was really well-choreographed and Alex Newell had a great voice.
Usually I find Christmas songs very irritating and this episode was full of it, but the above song (that I've even found certain versions to be creepy) was untraditionally sung by two males and came off as sweet and endearing. Plus it doesn't hurt that I love Kurt and am crushing on Blaine.
High Note runnerup: Last Christmas
because it's one of the few Christmas songs that I don't mind hearing constantly.
I thought Gwyneth Paltrow was an odd choice for guest starring on Glee. Then I was surprised by how many numbers she sang. Next I actually found her likable (I'm not really a fan of her work besides Royal Tenenbaums). Finally, I was impressed with the dance number and wondered why no one had thought of doing a mashup of these two songs before.
Looks like the idea occurred to Jamie Cullum last year, but it's not nearly as good or as catchy.
Hey Lady Gaga, 1995 called, they want this video back! (Videogum)
As soon as I read that, I was thinking the same thing, but I think Ace of Base wants their song back! Then I saw the video and realized there are a ton of references to early Madonna and even some stuff (like the stomping and coloring in that scene) that reminds me of Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation. I don't think the video is up to par with Telephone (that video was so strange, I couldn't help but watch it more than once), but the rubber nun's habit and machine gun bra definitely stand out. And I can see how the song is catchy, but I wonder if anyone else noticed that it sounds like something from the early 90s and isn't really that fresh or unique.
Shiny Toy Guns We arrived at The Wiltern just in time to catch them playing Ricochet!, which sounded great live. I also enjoyed Rainy Monday and Don't Cry Out. Honestly, I haven't really heard too many of their songs, but I like their style. The male vocals, Chad Petree, sounded great, just like on their albums. The only downside to their performance was Sisely Treasure. She didn't seem to understand voice control. Don't get me wrong, she was great on stage, dancing around all over the place. However, all that frenetic movement seemed to make her sound very out of breath on the mic and she just sounded like she was yelling all the time instead of actually singing. Turns out she's actually the third in the line of changing female vocalists. She's been with the band since last year. Maybe she still hasn't had enough practice coordinating her singing and dancing on stage?
The Sounds were great live, especially compared to the only other time I've seen them, at The Palladium, which was kind of a craphole. I really hate that venue, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt because it just reopened after being shut down for renovation. The place did look nicer, but they seemed to have upgraded everything BUT the awful sound system. I even passed up a $10 Franz Ferdinand show (even thought I've been wanting to see them since forever) because it was at The Palladium. Also, I got stuck all the way in the back and couldn't really see anything. I know their performance was probably great and I enjoyed it because I like the music and the people I was with, but certain circumstances didn't make it their best show.
I know people might think I'm mean for the comment I made about Treasure's singing above, but honestly, Maja Iversson was dancing, doing high kicks, climbing on things and her voice still sounded fantastic live.
I loved everything they played off their first two albums. I honestly hadn't heard anything off their latest album, Crossing the Rubicon, except for what they previewed at The Palladium show. I have to say that I did like some of their new stuff, a lot. Note to self: get new album, put it on repeat.
I knew Maja was very sexual in The Sounds' music videos, but I didn't know that was part of her stage show, since I couldn't really see them at The Palladium. I was a bit shocked, but I think she pulled it off well. She has the right look for it. She was wearing this leather body suit that looked like it was painted on her and very high heels. I'm surprised she was able to do all that dancing and climbing without tipping over!
High Note: Great view of stage and great friends to enjoy the show with. Also, seeing this ridiculously drunk / high (?) girl with her boyfriend who was merely there to prop her up. Extremely glad she was propped up across the aisle from us because she looked like she was going to throw up any minute. She was so hilarious, some of us watched her more than we watched The Sounds.
This was a night of unexpected events: 1. Taking the bus 2. Having Kogi Korean tacos 3. Travis having insane guitar solos 4. Bus being packed at midnight
I was originally planning on taking the Metro to The Wiltern to save some money on parking (public parking prices can be outrageous!). However, my friend decided she was in the mood for Korean tacos that night. Fortunately, the Kogi taco truck (http://kogibbq.com/) happened to be parked on Wilshire and Cloverdale that night, so we both ended up taking the bus there. I haven't taken a bus in forever, so it was kind of new to me and she had never taken the bus in LA, so it was completely new to her. The bus got us there within 15 minutes. Kogi hadn't even opened yet and there was already a line. I think over half the people in line were twittering and calling their friends to meet up with them at the truck. Kogi's following is pretty impressive. By the time we got our food (short rib, chicken, spicy pork taco; kimchi quesadilla; Kogi dog. All amazingly good btw) the line was already a block long. We took our food to a Coffee Bean across the street from The Wiltern, bought some tea, and began eating there. Halfway through, we got kicked out because "the establishment is kosher." Coffee Bean is Jewish?? We finished up and went into The Wiltern to get beers and a seat. The beer would've gone perfectly with the tacos. Wish we had them with our food instead of the crappy daily tea at Coffee Bean. I guess there's a reason why those teas are the cheapest drinks on the menu.
The Republic Tigers were so bland and boring that I started thinking about things I had to do the next day. They were all over the place with their genre of music. It was like they couldn't decide what genre they wanted to be in, so they just decided to try everything unoriginal. On their songs they sounded like they were trying to emulate Joy Division, Alkaline Trio, shoe gaze, 80s music without the catchiness. They did quite a bit of echoing and high pitched singing, which sounded so synthetic. I really disliked it. Then as a last resort, they tried to pull in the crowd by unsuccessfully covering Blondie's Heart of Glass. The lead singer tried to imitate Blondie with a really bad high pitched voice. It was horrendous. I have no idea why he insisted on using it for so many songs because he was really bad at it. Also, why cover a song and make it sound almost exactly the same, but slower and worse?? Why not choose a cover band that shows off the lead singers deep voice? I feel like Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, or The Cure would've been a better choice. It's not that the singer had a bad voice, I just think he didn't utilize it very well. Maybe he wanted to show that he had more of a range: from baritone to squeaky high. Sometimes the music sounded catchy and then got ruined by singing that wasn't going with the same beat or more high echoing voices during the chorus. At one point, I could tell my friend was starting to nod off.
Travis I was expecting them to be pretty mellow because of what their music typically sounds like. That's why we decided to sit this show out. I didn't even realize they used so much electric guitar! They had a fantastic set list that contained all the best songs from their new album (J Smith, Chinese Blues) and all the oldies but goodies (Driftwood, Side, Sing, Why Does it Always Rain on Me). I liked that it wasn't just a list of fan favs, but their favs as well and it was in an order that was related or transitioned extremely well. Also, LOVED the songs where they mixed two songs in one.
Side + Eyes Wide
I couldn't believe they actually played certain songs live. Humpty Dumpty Love Song, for instance, I had always thought might be too sappy to play live, but it was fantastically sweet. Also, the angry part of Slideshow was amazing to hear live!
And that guitarist...wow, I can't believe how well they hide him on their albums. He's like their secret weapon! It's as if they just let him loose during live shows. He was insanely good. I never imagined a band like Travis having a guitarist who played solos as if he were in a metal band. He was so rock and roll and just in his own world, which got a bit distracting at times, but he was so good I didn't mind. During their anthem, All I Want to Do is Rock, he climbed on top of a huge amp and started playing a solo with one hand, then behind his head, then jumped off the amp, and kept playing a riff with just one hand. On another song, he even played the guitar against a mic stand!
You would think a song as slow as Falling Down would be difficult to liven up, but Travis was able to do it by weaving through the crowd, serenading fans, and even slowdancing with them! At that moment, I really wished I hadn't decided to sit up in the balcony. I just had no idea a Travis show could be so exciting.
High Note: Travis puts on an electrifying show. Low Note: Travis didn't play Flowers in the Window. I was really looking forward to hearing that live.
Matt Sheehy opened for Kaki King last Wed. His voice wasn't bad, but I think his music is too slow for me. It was acoustic guitar with drums. I thought the drums overpowered his voice and guitar playing. Plus, I couldn't understand anything he was singing, he mumbled through his songs. I tried my best to listen, but I had no idea what any of his songs were about, so then I would start zoning out.
I thought I had never seen Kaki King before until F reminded me that we had previously seen her perform at MOCA and it was really long and boring. She did have a ton of fans though, but she came off as being very quiet. I had already told W that I would go with her, so it was too late for me to get out of it. I went to the show as kind of a n00b since W hadn't bothered to give me any of her music or her new album. So, I was dreading the show a bit because my only impression was of her at MOCA. Luckily, the show was extremely different from what I thought it would be.
She came out on stage with her acoustic guitar, as expected. Then she started playing, and I was in shock when the rest of her band came out. What?! She plays with a band?! So, things were looking up then. She started off with several very catchy songs, of which the names I do not know since that was my first time hearing them. She's got a nice Lisa Loeb-ish type voice. Not that strong, but it fit well with her music. Sometimes she would start out with this really catchy guitar tapping and then it seemed to get overwhelmed by the drums.
Some of the highlights of the night: - "Montreal" started off with her playing then the rest of her bandmates came out one by one and as soon as the drums started, the song became one of the catchiest songs she played all night. Totally made me want to dance.
- She started playing this spacey music and quoting something about spice that sounded extremely familiar. Then it turned out she had been doing this whole monologue about DUNE. It was pretty geeky, but totally ep-to-the-fing-ic! I was like 'no friggin way is she talking about Dune ON STAGE in front of all these people!' And she was really passionate about it!
- Stories about Amy Tan dressing as a dominatrix in her band. - The cover of Fashion Tattoo by Bubonix. AMAZING. It was like she was being ironic because she sings all these indie, folky songs and then all of a sudden she was singing this punk song and she did some emo screaming. I didn't know she had it in her. It was impressive!
Overall, she put on a great show. W told me that on this album she started singing and having a band, which totally deviated from her previous albums. I think it's a good direction to go in. It gives her a fuller sound and makes her a bit more radio friendly. Like the song "Pull Me Out Alive" reminded me of The Cranberries.
She had A LOT of male fans. They must realize she's gay, but I guess they don't care.
Why is it that any time there is a short person standing around at a show, a tall person MUST stand in front of them? I will call this Connie's Law. Guaranteed at every single show I've been to a tall person has stood in front of me at LEAST once. And at this show the law escalated because these 2 ridiculously tall people stood right at the front of the stage. Kaki King is already short enough as it is, but with this tall, balding, old man standing in front of her, you couldn't even see her at all! I mostly saw his bald head for half the night! He must've been like mid-fifties. What was he even doing there?! ESPECIALLY, at the front of the stage?! There should be a height limit for people who stand at the front of the stage.
High Note: In reference to the tall guys and one girl behind me said "Tall people need to die."
