Brief Show Review: The National @ The Casbah, 9/27/2007

I can't write much, because I have to wake up in four hours to drive 10 hours or so to the Grand Canyon. But Jesus Christ, The National did it again. Their last show here, which was about a year ago, completely blew me away and made me appreciate Alligator even more than I already did, which was a lot. I think this show did the same for me with Boxer. All I can say is, I was shaking throughout the entire show and "About Today" made my face do that twitchy thing that means tears aren't too far away.

Amazing.

Full write-up and photos will follow once I get back from this nature adventure. But seriously, do whatever you can do to see these guys live as soon as possible. I imagine this is how most people feel after seeing Arcade Fire.

Oh, and Matt Berninger gave me two drink tickets. That was pretty awesome, even though I wasn't leaving my spot front and center.

Festival Review: Street Scene 2007, Sunday 9/23/2007

Photos: Street Scene 2007

I didn't go to Street Scene on Saturday, even though I had a free ticket. Lack of a photo pass made most of the bands uninteresting for me (sometimes I'll endure hearing a band I don't care about just to take photos), and the few that were interesting just weren't worth the drive down to Coors Amphitheater. Plus, there was plenty else to be done, what with planning a trip to the Grand Canyon next weekend and all.

However, Sunday I got a call from Jake of Roman Spring (who also does sound for Louis XIV) that he had a ticket and photo pass for me. So I hurried my way home from shopping for camping supplies at Costco, jumped in the shower, covered myself in sunscreen, and then headed down to Chula Vista.

After a brief mixup where Will Call didn't have Louis XIV's list yet, I headed in sans camera to check out Voxtrot's set on the Captain Morgan stage. I had been pretty thrilled with their EP's, but not so much with their full-length album. However, they put together a pretty rocking set, and while watching them I realized that they were the band I saw getting golf-carted around in the parking lot while I was waiting for my ticket. I really should get better at recognizing musicians, but that's probably unlikely to happen.

After their set, I headed over to the Wrigley stage to meet up with Jake who handed off photo passes for The Album Leaf for Rosey and I. Then it was back out to my car to get my gear, which thankfully meant I could bring in a backpack to cart my sweatshirt around in. It was pretty warm during the day, but I knew as soon as that sun went down it was going to get pretty chilly.

After that it was off to the backstage "Artists' Lounge," which my photo pass got me into without a problem. And umm, I'm pretty sure the artists' lounge was cooler than the VIP area that other people had to pay to get into. A big tent gave everyone some shade to lounge around on couches, get massages ($1 per minute), play air hockey or foosball, and grab food and drinks. You could also watch the acts on all the stages, courtesy of the many plasma screen TV's hung around the tent.


Air Hockey Backstage @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


Backstage @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

My next act of the day was The Album Leaf, who, as I already mentioned, secured me a photo pass for the day. That meant I was allowed in the pit for their set, but only their set. Of course, that didn't stop me from taking photos guerrilla-style of other bands from the crowd. The Album Leaf sounded good for the few songs I stuck around for, but for me, it's the kind of live show that's interchangeable with listening to a band's CD. So I headed out to try to catch a few minutes of The Editors' set, but unfortunately they were done for the day. So back to the backstage lounge it was.


The Album Leaf @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


The Album Leaf @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


The Album Leaf @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


The Album Leaf @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

After that the day got a little crazy. After another drink and some food, I headed to the tent to catch a few songs of Simian Mobile Disco's DJ set.


Simian Mobile Disco @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

They got the crowd moving, which was good to see, but I already had plenty of tanbark in my shoes for the day so I left to see a bit of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I somehow had missed seeing them ever before, but I can't say I know either of their albums that well. They put on a decent set, but the ADD was starting to kick in hardcore at that point, so it was off wandering the amphitheater grounds, killing time for Spoon.


Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


Clap Your Hands Say Yeah @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

I ran into Molly, who always catches me at shows when I'm lost in thought and about to walk right past her. I also saw Nick and his girlfriend and Steph and Chris, which was nice because I haven't managed to see any of them in awhile.

I made it back over to the main (Pacific) stage in time to catch most of Spoon's set. I've seen them twice before, and Britt Daniel always manages to pull off a good show. He seems to have a good opinion of San Diego, as he's played here for many local-type events (FM94.9 Independence Jam and Street Scene in years past), and he also mentioned that he's going to come back and play the Casbah at some point. It's just really nice to see certain bands like Spoon, The Flaming Lips, and the Hold Steady that really appreciate this town, even though they're not from here. It almost makes up for the preponderance of negative feelings toward the San Diego scene, or what some people perceive to be the lack thereof. We've got good bands in this town, and good people that want to support those bands, and it's nice when out of town bands get this. Anyway.


Spoon @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


Spoon @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


Spoon @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

Spoon's set consisted of songs both old and new, and they even had a horn section (trumpet, trombone and baritone sax) for some of their songs. Britt was in fine form, his voice suiting his songs' melodies perfectly. His band was probably the only one that I really got into that day, and he's the one band member that I sort of grew giddy over when I saw him backstage. But as you can see, he's also a nice guy and let Rosey and I get some photos with him after his set.


Me with Britt Daniel @ Street Scene 2007, shot by SD:Dialed In

After Spoon's set, I didn't really catch a whole lot. There was free booze and food to be consumed and friends to hang out with. I would have liked to have seen Air and the Arctic Monkeys, but it just didn't happen. I did catch a few songs (and photos, before a security guard caught me) of Louis XIV. I've never been a huge fan of theirs, but their new material sounded great on the main stage and they really got the crowd into it. Ray from the Ex-Friends also looked awesome onstage with them, playing his violin.


Louis XIV @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos


Louis XIV @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

After Louis XIV's set, I was back in the artist's lounge getting another drink when I stumbled into a conversation with the trumpet player from Spoon. He ordered a whole bunch of drinks, more than he could carry away (or that the bartenders could allow him to carry away). Since I was only getting one drink for myself, in my drunken state of politeness I told him I'd help him out - assuming we were only going a few feet to one of the tables that were set up in the tent area. But no - we headed backstage backstage. To a dressing room. With the premise of getting the rest of the horn players together so I could get a photo of them (since I couldn't manage to during their set), he left and I never saw him again.

I ended up hanging out with Zach and Ryan and another guy who all did sound for Spoon. After chatting in the room, we decided to head side-stage to see The Killers. It was pretty neat being up there for a few songs, seeing how The Killers' live show has changed since I saw them about two and a half years ago at Rimac. There was confetti! And sequins! Brandon Flowers has really emerged as a frontman, ego aside, and the crowd was eating it up. Unfortunately though, we decided to move from the side-stage scaffolding because the security guards kept checking everyone's passes.


crowd for The Killers @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

I lost the guys from Spoon when I ran into Dusty and Andrew from the Swedish Models, and that was it as far as music went for me for the night. I left the venue shortly after while The Killers were still wrapping up their set. Getting out of the parking lot wasn't that bad of a hassle - it just took a bit of patience and semi-aggressive driving on my part. I could have done without the long drive home, though.

All told, I had a great fucking day. Although I have to admit, it had almost nothing to do with the bands I saw. Mostly it had to do with the people I met, the friends I hung out with, and the hospitality that was offered to me, with my lowly one-band photo pass. As far as the outlook for Street Scene, I'm torn. I loved it two years ago when I saw The Flaming Lips, The White Stripes, and The Pixies, among a host of other bands that I gave a shit about. And yes, that was one of the years it was in Qualcomm, and I for one didn't have a problem with it. Coors Amphitheater was an okay alternative venue for Street Scene, in my opinion, but the lack of public transportation combined with the $10 charge for parking in a place where THERE WAS NO ALTERNATIVE kind of got under my skin. On the other hand though, I have two words - flushable toilets - that were made available to everyone and kept clean throughout the event. So I guess it came out even.


graffiti in bathroom @ Street Scene 2007, shot by Natalie Kardos

But at the same point in time, the lineups have been getting weaker and attendance is down (possibly related to each other). Really, the only reason I went on Sunday was to see some bands and because I had a free ticket and limited photo pass. No way was I going to pay 70-some dollars for that event. So my perspective is skewed when I say I had a great time, but there were plenty of folks there who didn't have guest/backstage passes and they looked completely content. So who knows?

New Daytrotter Sessions: The Rentals

If you missed the Rentals' show at the House of Blues last Thursday night (due to Arcade Fire in another city, hatred of HOB, or whatever reason), be sure to catch their four songs up over at Daytrotter. 'Twas a nice treat for an otherwise rough Monday morning.

Grand Canyon on My Mind

Grand Canyon
Originally uploaded by jpnuwat.

Thursday's trip to LA, combined with the recent autumnal weather, awoke in me a restlessness. I always get this way in the fall - or at least, I used to when the fall used to feel like the fall (i.e. on the East Coast). I yearn for road trips and adventures and stories to tell for years to come.

I haven't gone on a real road trip since I've moved to California. In college, Joe and I used to head out of State College at least one weekend a month, whether it be to Philly to catch a show, DC or Pittsburgh to visit friends, or "down the shore" to experience New Jersey at its finest. But out here, they just aren't all that appealing. There's no call to the open road, because the roads usually aren't all that open. Driving is more frustrating than liberating, and travel turns into a nightmare - a rush to get somewhere just so you can get off the road.

But driving into work on Friday, I was struck by the idea of a road trip to the Grand Canyon. I haven't been there since I was in high school, and P's never been there. Instead of going to the more popular (and more easily accessible) South Rim, we're making an adventure out of it by going to the North Rim. Since it's 1000 feet higher in elevation than the South Rim, and consequently much less desert-like, I'm hoping for some fall vegetation and temperatures. There's nothing better than being snuggled in a sleeping bag with crisp air outside.

Oh, and as for when we're going? Ummm, this coming weekend. While it may be crazy to plan a trip like this in such short amount of time, we're doing it. The campsite's booked, the Costco trip was made, and I'm already scheming up cool photos I want to try to capture. Like some long-exposure views of the canyon at night with star trails above, or maybe some night landscape shots with some light-painting of various objects.

I cannot fucking wait to hit the road at 6AM on Friday.

Television Review: The Ex-Factor

Due to extenuating circumstances involving a friend, I ended up watching some incredibly late night television in the early hours of Thursday AM. And all I can say is, WHAT THE FUCK, MTV?

I stumbled upon a show whose premise, it seems, is to fuck up people's lives. They put an ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend up in a hotel room for a weekend and see what happens. But not only that. They take the current boy/girlfriends of the people in question, put them in a room, and basically try to drive them crazy with jealousy. Worried that the exes might be touching? Well, if they do, a red light will go off in the room. Want to see what's going on? Watch the TV in your room, which shows footage of what's going on in their room. Want to know how many times your name has come up in conversation? Check the name counter (I shit you not). You can even pick out the activity the ex-couple gets to engage in - a harmless game of basketball, which you don't get to watch, or couples yoga with live footage for your viewing pleasure.

Jesus Christ. Is this seriously the new low that television programming has sunk to? I'd rather watch hip-hop videos. Seriously. Or Robot Chicken, which is what we ended up switching to. Thank god for Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network.

Show Review: Arcade Fire @ Hollywood Bowl, 9/20/2007

After LCD Soundsystem's too-short set, it was time for the Arcade Fire. I was pretty excited to see them at this point. I missed the show at Spreckle's Theater last spring for a variety of reasons, including the fact that their music on record never really made me feel what most other people feel when they listen to it. There's no question in my mind that it's good, that they write soaring melodies and great lyrics, but there's always been a sort of emotional disconnect for me. It's the same way I felt after reading Catcher in the Rye and On the Road - these were books that should have connected with me. I understood the point to them, the greater meaning, and could clearly see how they were genius, but there was some gap in wavelength that just wasn't being bridged. Having heard so much about the band's live show, I had high hopes that seeing them live would make it all make sense.

However, it was not to be. It's not that the show wasn't great, or that the chill to the air wasn't perfect for their sound. Perhaps it was the nosebleed seats, or seeing the band in a much less intimate setting than most people have before. Maybe it was having seen The Decemberists play a life-altering show with the LA Philharmonic in the same venue just a few months prior. Who knows? Maybe I'm just not that into the band, and it wasn't meant to be.

That's not to say that I didn't get chills down my spine at a few points during the show - most notably during "No Cars Go," when the chorus-punctuating "Hey!" was heard in stereo from audience members yelling it on cue all around me. And that's not to say that I won't go see them again, although I think I'll stick to smaller venues, at least until the band learns to transition the intimacy of their show to larger audiences.

Show Review: LCD Soundsystem @ Hollywood Bowl, 9/20/2007

Last Thursday was the perfect day to take off from work and drive up to LA. Most of the experiments I've tried to do in the last two weeks haven't worked for some reason or another, so it was nice to break out of the routine and clear my head away from lab, even if only for a day.

I was pretty excited about this trip, although it didn't really even sink in that I was going until a day or two beforehand. After taking care of some things and meeting British Joe on campus around 1, we were off to LA, Amoeba Records, and the Hollywood Bowl.

We headed straight to Amoeba upon arrival - thankfully I remembered how to get there from the last trip I took up there with P. Not that it's all that hard to find or anything...I bought a few CDs, as did Joe, but Rosey somehow managed to restrain herself. For me, it's kind of like my reward for not dying/going insane on the drive up. So I indulged myself, but just a bit.

After that, it was a quick hop down the street to The Cat and Fiddle, a British pub that Joe knew about. The food and wait service there turned out to be quite British in its mediocrity (we were all thinking it, but Joe was the one who said it), but the company? Well, wouldn't you know if Owen Salerno and Tim Pyles happened to walk into the pub right as we were finishing up our meals. Talk about random. After sharing a quick chat with them, we were off to rendezvous with Rosey's friend Kristian and head to the Bowl.

Once we got there, Joe and I parted from everyone with better seats than us (grad student salary + waiting awhile to get tickets = cheap seats). It felt like we kept climbing up and up, until finally we reached our seats - 5 rows from the back of the Bowl. Ah well. At least we were there, and pretty much right in time for LCD Soundsystem to start.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from them. Joe saw their set at Coachella and wasn't that impressed. I liked their new album, but I'll be the first to admit that electronica/dance type music doesn't always go over so well live.

In the end, I was thoroughly impressed with James Murphy and crew. It really wasn't at all an electronica-type set - he had a full band backing him, and they were ridiculously tight. The drummer and bassist were amazing, and Murphy's voice blew me away - even more than it does on record. Dude could literally be a lounge singer or something. He hit all the vocal tweaks in his songs dead on, playing them up for emotional appeal or just humor. In between songs he bantered about how lucky he was to be able to tour and get up on stage as a job (although he's got plenty of other jobs as well), and joked about how they brought their own extremely wide microphone stand - because it's slimming.

They worked through a set that included songs off both their albums, including the ever-popular "Daft Punk is Playing at My House," "All My Friends," "Us v Them," "North American Scum," and "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down." All in all, it was a nice warm-up for Arcade Fire, even though I think it ended up being the better set of the night for me. But I'll get to that later...

Show Review: New Pornographers @ House of Blues, 9/18/2007

Most reviews of the New Pornographers' new CD Challengers have been lukewarm. I personally don't agree with those reviews - I think it's a wonderfully understated album, beautiful in the simplicity of its songs, but moving due to the sheer talent involved in recording those songs. And I dare anyone who thinks differently to still hold that opinion after seeing those songs performed live, like I did last Tuesday night.

I don't have any photos, because I was unable to secure a photo pass through any of the three bands playing that night. Fancey (a band including the guitarist from New Pornographers) opened, but we missed their set due to an early start on the part of House of Blues (again) and a late dinner at Fred's on our part. Lavender Diamond was the second band to perform, but I really can't say much about them either, as us of-agers were relegated to getting our drinks in the crowded (and loud) balcony bar. Again, I ask, WHAT THE FUCK HOUSE OF BLUES? Anyway.

During the set change, we made our way down to the relatively uncrowded lower floor - I guess that's the one benefit of sequestering most of the show goers to a small space away from the stage. The band came out, and I was immediately blown away by all of the members, but most of all by Neko Case. I can't stress enough (and it's been stated by plenty of other people) how beautiful her voice is. Their set list was composed mostly of songs off of their new album, including "All the Old Showstoppers," "Myriad Harbor," "Mutiny, I Promise You," and "The Spirit of Giving."

But they didn't fail to reach into their back catalog as well, playing "Mass Romantic" off their first album of the same name, and several off of Twin Cinema ("Twin Cinema," "Jackie, Dressed in Cobras," and "Sing Me Spanish Techno"). They ended their regular set with "The Bleeding Heart Show," which I sort of expected. But, it being my favorite NP song, I was pretty happy with it. That song, along with Neko Case's "power waltz" of "Go Places," were probably the highlights of the night for me.

It was quite touching to see the audience break into "Happy Birthday" for AC Newman, when he started to say something about "it being a special day" for him. Also, twice during breaks between songs, the soundman played clips from the Beatles' "Birthday." Dan Bejar was quite entertaining to watch during the entire set. He wandered on and off stage as needed, always with a beer in one hand and his eyes mostly closed. Somehow, it didn't manage to affect his performance at all.

The encore consisted of all older songs, to the pleasure of the fans in the audience. "A Testament to Youth and Verse" was followed by "Slow Descent Into Alcoholism," and the trifecta was nicely rounded out by the final song, "Letter from an Occupant." Neko and the rest of the band didn't hold back on any of the songs, and even though I already liked the new album, I know I'll enjoy listening to it more now after having had the benefit of seeing the songs live.

Weather Drama

I try not to be that bad of a weather snob. Title of my blog aside, I usually love not having to check the weather forecast before dressing in the morning and heading out for the day. But it seriously cracks me up how worked up people get out here about a little rain.

On our way to the Hollywood Bowl last night, someone remarked that we should bring our rain gear because "there's a 30% chance of rain." Are you kidding me? 30% chance of rain means there's a 70% chance that it will remain completely dry - which it did. I'm not dragging out my rain gear for those odds.

And now there are reports of a "severe storm" coming through San Diego this weekend. I understand the danger from flash floods and all, and driving is hazardous on roads that haven't been wet in months and have had oil building up on their surfaces all that time, but still. In a local NBC news story, campers reported about a "severe downpour" Thursday morning. It "was so bad it sounded like someone was spraying a hose on the tents." That's not a severe downpour to me. A severe downpour is when you're driving and have your windshield wipers on high but still can't see out the windshield because the rain's coming down so fast. A severe downpour is when it sounds like your tent is underneath a waterfall, not a hose. Seriously, people.

On that note, I look forward to this "severe storm." It might rain for all of 10 minutes.

Disturbing Police Action

SanDiegoish dug up a video documenting a University of Florida student getting tasered after asking a long-winded and somewhat inflammatory question at a John Kerry forum. It's fairly disturbing, so be warned:



Although the guy was pretty rowdy, I don't think he in any way necessitated tasering by the police/security guards there. He tried to ask a question, and yeah, didn't stop talking/yelling when told to, but there were several security guards there bigger than he was that could have just removed him from the forum. They already had him on the ground when they started tasering him, for chrissakes. Just as disturbing was the fact that people in the audience were yelling at the security guards to stop, but they just kept right on "doing their job." Jesus.

San Diego Music Awards Winners

Sadly, I missed the San Diego Music Awards. Actually, had I been feeling up to doing anything, I would have been at the VHS or Beta show at the Casbah last night, but instead, I wound up on my couch with soup, popcorn, Children of Men, and my pseudo-roommate.

Anyways, Sign on San Diego's got a list of the winners here, as well as a sorta liveblog of the event. Congrats to the winners and all the nominees for making San Diego a fun and interesting place to live, musically speaking.

Sessions Fest Review: As Seen Through the Eyes of a Drugged-Up Blogger

And no, not drugged up in the "fun" way. I spent most of this weekend (Friday night until 7AM Monday morning) in bed, moaning about being sick when there was so much going on around town.

I did drag myself out of bed for about 2 hours worth of Sessions Fest on Saturday though, and I'm glad I did, even if I didn't bring my camera along. I caught MC Flow's act first. P was skeptical about a female hip-hop artist in San Diego, of all places, but was won over in the end. As was I. I'm not much for hip-hop normally, but when it's about shit that matters, I'm all ears. And MC Flow fits into that category nicely. What was most amusing about her set, though, were the kids running around/dancing in front of the stage the whole time while she was onstage dropping the F-bomb. Did I mention that two of the kids were wearing wife-beaters and one was wearing a Mr. Incredible costume? Awesome.

We ran into some friends and stuck around for a bit of The Atoms' set, but by that point the drugs (Dayquil Sinus, to be exact) were starting to wear off and there was homemade chicken soup waiting at home. Much thanks to Scott and Sophie for putting on this event - I wish I could have stayed longer or taken photos, but it just wasn't in me. Colds suck.

Sunday was spent entirely in bed, having anxiety dreams about lab work and shooting a White Stripes concert (HA!) when I couldn't change the lenses on my camera and my battery had run out. WTF why can't I have normal passed-the-fuck-out sleep when I take Nyquil?

I should probably still be at home in bed right now, as it's kind of hard to focus on the type as I write this now, but I had cells that needed to be fed and some Western blots that needed to get done. Also, I think I'm supposed to meet with my boss in an hour? That should be fun...

Show Review: Built to Spill @ House of Blues, 9/12/2007

Photos: Built to Spill @ House of Blues

Dear House of Blues,

I try so hard to like you as a venue. You have killer lighting, great sound, and a photo pit. But that's balanced against the high price of drinks and the gauntlet of security folk that I have to run through to even get into the show. And then there's the fact that sometimes, you seem willfully determined to piss off your customers as much as you can.

I understand that it's a good thing to have all-ages shows. I'm not against them at all. What I don't understand is why you decided to close the downstairs bar for a show involving one band (Camper Van Beethoven) that originally split up in 1990, and another band (Built to Spill) that did its seminal work in the late 90's. I didn't see a single soul on the floor that night that looked under 21. What I did see was a forty-year-old playing a mean air guitar amongst a crowd that was 90% full of people that were older than me. And I jumped the legal drinking age hurdle a few years ago. I just don't understand the reasoning behind making all these people go upstairs to a tiny, cramped area in order to buy a beer to drink while enjoying the show. I can't understand how House of Blues missed out on that profit opportunity.

But even more than that, I can't understand why they would advertise a show as "doors open at 7, show starts at 8," and then start the show at 7:30. That's just false advertising. If I'm supposed to be covering the second band on a three band bill and I show up at 9PM, I should be right on time to jump in the photo pit for those first three songs - not hustling down the stairs to hear the last band of the evening sound-checking. Oh yeah, they sound-checked before their set because "they didn't have time to earlier." If I was a paying customer that had bought my $20 ticket to see Camper Van Beethoven, I would have made myself heard. I just don't understand how any of these things constitute smart business practices.

However, with all that aside, Built to Spill put on an incredible set. They weren't that interesting to watch, but it didn't matter because aside from the first three songs when I was taking photos, I was mostly listening to the music with my head down and my eyes closed. Built to Spill play that kind of introverted rock music that manages to sound both simple and complex at the same time.





I'm not hugely familiar with their catalog (mostly I just know Keep It Like a Secret), but I did catch "Timetrap" and "You Were Right" in their setlist. They also covered Brian Eno's "Third Uncle" and Velvet Underground's "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'." The Velvet Underground cover sounded completely different, and I probably wouldn't have caught it if it weren't for the whole "say a word for Ginger Brown" lyric. I think they also threw in something about Charlie Brown as well...





All in all, even with the missteps and mishaps on the part of the House of Blues, it was a great evening filled with intricate guitar melodies intertwining in my brain. It was really interesting to hear the originator of the sound that quite a few bands have been influenced by. I could definitely hear some Death Cab for Cutie in the vocals. Oh, and hey Band of Horses - Built to Spill called and they want their sound back. Or at least for you to shut up and stop sounding like a douchebag.

Show Review: The Vultures/Wild Weekend/Endless Bummer @ Casbah, 9/8/2007

I'm getting kind of bored with taking photos at the Casbah. I love it as a music venue - it hosts a lot of great indie bands, the staff are awesome, and I'm usually assured to run into someone I know while there. But the lighting never changes - it's always dim and centered on people's torsos, giving them an unflattering orange-ish cast, and the black back wall ensures that anyone with dark hair blends right into the wall.

That, combined with the fact that I had just taken photos of the Vultures at the Che Cafe the night before, left me sort of uninspired to take photos Saturday night. It was a fun night out, if only to support CatDirt and the Vultures.

Having never heard of either of the two opening bands, I wasn't sure what to expect. It turned out that Endless Bummer was sort of a pre-twee band, with one member playing a keyboard balanced on his lap and the other three people contributing various simple percussion instruments (and not always with the most accurate rhythm). It wasn't really my thing - a little too subdued on a night when I could have used something more upbeat.





Fortunately, Wild Weekend and the Vultures stepped in to pick up the energy slack. Wild Weekend is an all-girls Zeros tribute band. Usually I don't really "do" tribute bands, but given my unfamiliarity with the original band, I was okay with it. Now I just need to dig up the original stuff.







The Vultures killed, as usual. Chuck's vocals sounded a lot better/more intelligible at the Casbah than they did the night before at the Che Cafe. I didn't attempt to take any photos of them because, as I mentioned, it was really dark in the Casbah and I had taken photos of them the night before in a venue more suited for it. But also, I didn't feel like competing with two other photographers who were letting their flashes go off like strobe lights for most of the set. Seriously. Ugh. And to the one guy who was taking photos with flash and a point-and-shoot camera - please respect other photographers around you. Your wild arm waving after taking a shot (are you trying get slow-sync flash effects with a point-and-shoot camera?) resulted in me having to crop you out of many of my shots of the earlier bands. I'm know I'm pretty subtle, what with my usual policy of not using flash, but I'm still trying to do a job just like you. Please try to respect that.

Here are some older shots of the Vultures from a Casbah show:

New National Video

Stereogum's got the video for The National's "Apartment Story." I kind of wish they had kept with the tracking shot they started with, but then, I'm a sucker for a long tracking shot. Well done, and kind of a metaphor for my introduction to The National - they slowly sunk into my brain and now I don't think they'll ever leave.

Daytrotter's Got Blitzen Trapper Tunes

Daytrotter's got four songs from Blitzen Trapper up on their page, including a previously unreleased tune entitled "Jericho." They wowed me when they opened for the Hold Steady back in June, and they'll be back in town on October 17th with Two Gallants.

Photos: Blitzen Trapper w/Illinois and the Hold Steady

Brief Recap: Penn State vs. Notre Dame @ Penn State, 9/8/2007

This is not a football blog and will never be a football blog. I only really care about one team, and only have a few things to say about the game today. We definitely got even for our loss to Notre Dame last season, which was terribly painful for me to watch. ND's quarterback Jimmy Clausen played damn good for a true freshman in his first start, and I'm a little scared of what he'll become in the next three years. I almost felt bad for him, because his defense let him down time and time again. Oh, and all the penalties they had? Most of them were false starts, delay of game, or too many men on the field because the whited-out crowd was so loud. ND ended the game with, um, 0 rushing yards (I shit you not) and still no offensive touchdowns this season (the touchdown they did get was off of an interception).

Shit, I would have given just about anything to be in those stands today.

Also, Derrick Williams is my new football crush.

The Vultures @ Che Cafe, 9/7/2007

Sometimes I hate the Che Cafe for being on UCSD's campus. There are a lot of good shows going on there, and I love the colors (and bathroom graffiti) as far as photography goes. But it's seriously 100 yards from where I work, so the chances of me going there on weekends, or even hanging out for shows on the weekdays, are slim. Plus, going to a show on a weeknight there means I have to drive in to work, because the last shuttle to Hillcrest leaves at 9PM. And I hate driving to work.

But on occasion I do make an effort to see bands there, especially when they have nice people in them or the band is really good. In the case of The Vultures, both of those apply.

I've already reviewed them elsewhere on this site, but I'm going to reiterate some things here. The band is really fucking tight and intense. The bassist and guitarist are completely locked in on each other the entire time they are playing, but you barely notice because all your attention is on Chuck, the singer. Because he is an awesome frontman. One moment he's getting in your face, the next he's slamming the mic stand into the stage, all the while growling/singing into the mic. It's amazing to behold, especially if you either know him in "real life" or have seen him play bass in The Prayers. He has a completely different persona in this band, and I like it.





The stage was pretty dark for their set, because they have a new lighting rig on the drumkit. It looks pretty cool, but it renders Chuck almost completely backlit. Which is unfortunate, because he's really the center of attention. My suggestion? Get two more little spotlights and put them in front of the stage and have them facing Chuck. I know stage lights get really hot, but think of the neat shadows it would throw up on the wall behind the band!


This photo was a 2 second exposure. Chuck is merely a ghostly image in front of the drummer because he moved around so much. It looks like the bassist moved right in the middle of the shot, which is why both images of him appear equally opaque.


See what I mean about the backlighting?

After the Vultures' short (20 minutes?) set, I hung out for a bit watching Mr. Tube and the Flying Objects set up and goof around to "The Power of Love" and "Stuck on You." I guess it's okay to ironically like Huey Lewis and the News now? Or is it unironic? I can never keep this shit straight...

But then I realized my back hurt from standing, so I headed out. I had a brief notion to drive to the Casbah to catch John Vanderslice, but it was going to be 11 before I got there and tickets were $12. And I am cheap/poor. So instead I went home and watched Hot Fuzz.

Che Cafe bathroom graffiti

I've been in the Che Cafe bathroom a few times before, but never managed to take any photos of the graffiti adorned walls/ceiling/mirror/etc. I never had the equipment (wide-angle lens) before, nor, frankly, the idea. But it is pretty much a total visual overload in there.




"Ignorance is contagious. Repression kills freedom. Don't follow. Don't lead. Just live."


This was written on the ceiling. Contort - what you have to do in order to close the stall doors.



And finally...

If I ever get to the point where I actually publish a book of photos, this might have to be the cover.

Campus at night

I thought the red and blue colors were neat. Dunno what building this is - it's across from the Che and on the way back to my lab, on the "biology" side of Gilman Drive.



This is the Biomedical Sciences Library. I took a nap in it once after getting up for an 8AM journal club after a rough night. It's conveniently located across the street from the building I work in.

We're Really Moving to SF

Sign: "Final lab coat pickup Wed Nov 21. Please return all lab coats here prior to that date."

Shit.

Perspective

Shooting live rock shows, I tend to come away with a lot of photos of people making silly facial expressions. While possibly useful at some point in the future for blackmail purposes (I kid), they're mostly just useful for a chuckle or two before I click the magic button that whisks them out of my Adobe Lightroom library (but not off of my hard drive, of course - I may be hard up for cash one of these days).

So I thought it was pretty interesting when I stumbled across this quote from Kevin Cummins. You know, one of the guys - another would be Anton Corbijn - responsible for the iconic photographs of Joy Division.

In an interview regarding his reaction to Corbijn's upcoming biopic of Ian Curtis (Closer), Kevin offered up this gem:

"Ian & Co were learning how to pose as a band. I was learning how to shoot bands. We had our own agenda. It wouldn't be politic to release shots of Ian smiling, so on the rare occasion I captured a hint of a smile I cursed my bad luck at wasting a frame. Often, as Ian stood in front of my camera looking contemplative, the other band members, bassist Peter Hook 'Hooky', drummer Stephen Morris and guitarist Bernard Sumner, would stand behind him pulling faces. Occasionally Ian would yawn. These images only exist in my mind. I could never commit them to film. I couldn't afford to. Would my pictures tell a different story if I'd had the luxury of being able to shoot endless frames digitally?"

An interesting question for sure. If more photos existed of Curtis looking less, um, somber, would the public's opinion of him be the same? What would it have done to the mythology surrounding the band? Does the prevalence and ease of digital photography these days diminish the status of iconic rock stars? When you have the ability to snap a photo of a performer on stage picking a wedgie or scratching his/her ass, does that drag them down to common-folk status? If so, is that a bad thing?

Other random thoughts while reading that article:

• I should really learn more about the history of rock photography and key photographers. My justification so far has been that I worry that looking at a lot of other people's photographs, I may just start emulating styles that I like, as opposed to developing my own. In this case, ignorance can be key to development. But then again, maybe I've just been lazy/haven't found the time.
• Yeah, maybe I should look into other people's work more, but should I really be doing it while sitting in lab with thesis work to complete? Answer: I just planned out all my experiments for at least two months, so I deserve a break.
• Ian Curtis had a daughter before he died. Her name is Natalie, and she's three years older than me. She's also a photographer, but she actually went to school for it and stuff. Neat.
• Wow, a simple wikipedia query turned into an interesting hour spent reading articles. WTF did people do without the internet? How did people learn things? What are these "books" you speak of?
  

Rilo Kiley on Jimmy Kimmel Live

Via Stereogum. Jenny Lewis and the gang performed "Dreamworld" last night on Jimmy Kimmel live. My real reason for posting this? Check the familiar face on congas and backup vocals - our very own Kristin Gundred from Grand Ole Party, as correctly identified by Mitch in the comments section over at the 'gum. Enjoy.

Fancey Opening for New Pornographers @ House of Blues September 18th

mp3: Fancey - Lost In Twilight

I just got word that Fancey is opening up for the New Pornographers for their show at the House of Blues on September 18th. Todd Fancey, naturally one of the band's members, is also a member of the New Pornographers, which makes things pretty convenient. Can we get Neko Case to open as well? And Destroyer? Jesus that would just about be the best band bill ever...

Official press release:

Fancey's "Schmancey" Album Arrives / Tour Coming Up Soon!

Don't you love all the extra mail you get after a long weekend? Well, we're particularly thrilled this Tuesday, because the brand new album by Fancey just showed up. It's called "Schmancey," and it's pretty damn amazing. If all goes well, you should be able to hear the whole thing for yourself by September 14th.

That same day, bandleader Todd Fancey starts a serious indie-rock double duty tour. He'll be opening the show with Fancey, and then roaming stage left behind his Gibson Explorer with his other long-time band, The New Pornographers.

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, raised as a student of 70's AM Radio, and also a closet metal-head, Fancey's music can most simply described as "soft rock that rocks," but be careful not to oversimplify, because there's a lot going on here, as evidenced by the reviews for their debut album: