tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36077342406476924472024-03-13T07:46:52.597-05:00Jim's Sound LabThoughts about music I have seen, heard and am working on.Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-64467925677115457802011-11-04T09:26:00.003-05:002011-11-07T17:28:27.639-06:00Building Your Own Sound<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have had these pictures around since Thanksgiving of last year and was just prodded into sharing them. This blog seems to change primary subject matter enough that a brief interlude chronicling a guitar speaker cabinet build might not be too out of place.<br />
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My dad is about 65 and after years and years of ties, fishing lures, sweaters, and coffee mugs adorned with "World's Greatest Dad" I was set to buy him something that he might really love. He had recently retired to a far North woods cabin with my Mom and moved all of his wood shop equipment up there. He has, throughout his entire life, built things out of wood. Nothing that would wind up in an Ethan Allen gallery, but good working furniture. I have been married for 18 year and I can count on 3 fingers the pieces of furniture I have ever purchased. Desk? We'll build it. Floating bed frames? Sure. File cabinet? No problem. 18 foot book case with sliding library ladder? Let me call you back... OK, got it. Every table in my home he built. I have helped enough along the way to know the tools he does and does not have and he pretty much has them all. But new tool was the direction my head was going.<br />
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If you know me at all, you know that my head rarely if ever goes in one direction. I am planning my next fishing trip while I am packing for the current fishing trip. I am weighing options for fixing a roof leak while changing a headlight. So it makes perfect sense that while out shopping for tools I might stop at a music store to shop for a cab to drive with the old Fender Bassman amp project I have at home.<br />
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While browsing around a local music store I tripped across an old Mesa Boogie amp that either had had it's covering taken off or was originally shipped with a wood grain finish. It was sweet. The wood looked great and you could see the box joints at the corners. I snapped a pic of it and emailed it to my Dad with the message "Up for a Thanksgiving project?" His reply was quick: "Can't do box or dovetail joints."<br />
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Two shopping problems suddenly turned into one great Thanksgiving weekend project. I bought him a Porter-Cable 4212 Dovetail Jig that we used to cut all the box joints for the cab.<br />
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I got the idea to document the build a little late, but still got some nice pics. Basically it is all pine, 11" x 31" x 16", a 3/4" plywood soundboard, with two Weber Chicago 12" speakers mounted and wired for 8ohms.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The basic box cut made using the new jig.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Affixing the mounting rails for the speakerboard</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clamping and gluing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full rails on three sides of the box</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joints during sanding process</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soundboard painted flat black</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speaker mound hole recessed in front</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screw recessed flat</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Recessed in back so nut was tight into hole<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soundboard finished</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before last coat of urethane</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Speakers mounted and wired</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing jack mount plate</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished </td></tr>
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This combo is responsible for blowing some fine glassware off my kitchen shelves and most of the lead guitar work on my band's 2011 album, Leash on Life.<br />
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I thought I had a pic of my dad and I playing through it together, but I could not find one, so here we are kicking it 1970's style, when we both had a lot more hair... and style. <br />
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Thanks Dad!<br />
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<br />Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-30021122753422237652011-09-06T10:36:00.003-05:002011-09-06T10:40:40.096-05:00Be back soonHey, sorry for the lag in updates. My band has spend the last year getting in sync with a brand new guitar player while we wrapped our new record due later this month. I have seen only a handful of shows, but have some cool pictures from the Amy LaVere Milwaukee show to share once the dust settles on our new record.<div><br /></div><div>We are also getting ready for a show at Bradford Beach on September 17th. Loads of great bands including reunited versions of Bumpy Jonas and Moloko Shivers. We play sometime between 2:30 and 4:00. More info here: www.rmutt.us<br /><div><br /></div><div>Jim</div></div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-11473774823525653122010-12-08T16:40:00.004-06:002010-12-08T16:44:44.929-06:00This Is American Music 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TQAJiz1vgoI/AAAAAAAABfE/hs9hn5NdAKw/s1600/Tiam%2Bposter%2B2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 304px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TQAJiz1vgoI/AAAAAAAABfE/hs9hn5NdAKw/s400/Tiam%2Bposter%2B2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548445234556273282" /></a>Having just returned from the epic roadtrip that was "This is American Music" I have a lot of film and recordings to go through before I can provide a proper post here. In the meantime you can check in on videos that I shot as I upload them here: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/jimdier">www.youtube.com/jimdier</a><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">More to come.</div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-2233213912319220802010-11-19T15:41:00.003-06:002011-09-08T16:41:57.777-05:00Quick Facebook Merch TutorialMy band, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/rmuttband">R. Mutt</a> has been looking at different ways to sell merchandise on the web for sometime now. Our music, CD's and digital downloads, have all been handled quite well by CDBaby. For a small fee they will take in 5 CD's and warehouse them for shipping direct to customers and pay us a portion of the sale price at the end of every month. They also get the songs on all of the digital sales website like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=R.+mutt&x=0&y=0">Amazon</a> and <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/r-mutt/id192602029">iTunes</a> and when those sites sell our music we actually get about 90% of the revenue.<br /><br />The problem for us has always been other merch like t-shirts. The online companies akin to CDBaby take a much bigger chunk of the revenue or they want to do the printing on demand. The shirts we have seen have not been very nice so we decided to get really nice shirts printed by a local, eco-friendly, company <a href="http://www.orchardstreetpress.com/">Orchard Street Press</a>.<br /><br />On Facebook I found an application called FBML that allowed me to create custom tabs on our band page where we can list and sell our merch exactly as we wanted. As soon as I had it done and posted an update to our friends and fans I had a flurry of questions from other musicians asking how I did it.<br /><br />So, I put together my first video tutorial to share with others how to do this.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aGVZOSFU8-A?hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aGVZOSFU8-A?hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><div><br /></div><div>This does not have to just be for bands. Non-profits could use it for donations, small business could use it to sell other products. Take a look if you are interested in selling anything on the web.<br /><br />Hope this helps.</div><div><br /></div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-86356886224009298722010-11-05T08:31:00.014-05:002011-07-18T14:59:41.388-05:00Regret Found<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWc8G-hFmI/AAAAAAAABcU/o8oApWuPX4Y/s1600/DSC_1659.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWc8G-hFmI/AAAAAAAABcU/o8oApWuPX4Y/s400/DSC_1659.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536503873400804962" /></a>I used to keep a list of all the shows that I almost went to. The '82-'83 Zappa tour, The Clash at the Aragon Ballroom right before the breakup, The Who's first farewell tour in '82, The Dead Kennedys at the Metro at Midnight on Halloween, Stevie Ray Vaughn's last show at Alpine. I had access to tickets and a ride to every one of those shows and for various stupid reasons I decided against going. The list is much longer that this but, at some point the list just got so long that I stopped keeping track as it became depressing.<div><br /></div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWJUiZ4Y1I/AAAAAAAABbs/oeDNohXdTCw/s400/DSC_1441.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536482302847640402" /><div>Last month Lucero was coming through Chicago supporting Social Distortion. I had missed Lucero on their last turn through the midwest so I figured I should catch them this time. Social Distortion is a band that I know pretty well. I have three of their albums and, while I like them all, none really ever grabbed me the way my favorite albums do. To me, they were collections of good songs, played well, but lacking any real serious punch.</div><div><br /></div><div>While planning for the show I learned that the Riviera did not allow cameras of any type. I had the thought to drop a note to the pedal steel player from Lucero (Todd Beene, also of Glossary) who I had had the opportunity to meet on a few occasions and ask if he knew of any way I could get an OK to bring my camera in. I did not hear back until I was driving down to the show and an email came across telling me I he had put me on the photo pass list. </div><div><br /></div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWIw8Ik7AI/AAAAAAAABbk/92GoJTc5tzg/s400/DSC_1467.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536481691279092738" /><div>Traffic coming into Chicago combined with a terrible lack of parking options around the Riv to get me to the venue late. I entered, figured out the photo pass thing and headed to the stage just in time to be told that I had missed my chance to take any pictures of Lucero from the front. I could take pics from the crowd, but not from the stage.</div><div><br /></div><div>I settled into the crowd about 15 yards from the stage to enjoy the show and snap a few shots but not be too much of a nuisance. Lucero was great. Only real complaint would be that they seemed to keep the house lights down. The lighting was super underwhelming, like a show in someone's basement. Very dim white or red lights with little to no changes throughout. The dim setting made it clear that they were the supporting band. I get it, they are playing first, their set is short, they are set up in front of the other band's stuff. Come on man! At least give them some light. </div><div><br /></div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWM-Z6ZinI/AAAAAAAABb0/8QZoDLbB-ps/s400/DSC_1595.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536486320657500786" /><div>The crowd seemed to be spotted with Lucero fans, fists pumped in the air, singing along to Tears Don't Matter Much. There were also a good number of Social D fans who seemed to be interested and getting into them but don't be fooled, this was clearly a crowd of rabid Social Distortion fans. As soon as Lucero was done the already packed floor in front of the stage became even more packed. Just as it was getting truly uncomfortable the security guy who had earlier told me no pictures grabbed the back of my jacket and tugged me into the photo pit. "Now you can come in."</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWYYEK1fnI/AAAAAAAABb8/TN3QiECv0i8/s400/DSC_1528.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536498856125365874" /><div>Being on the photo pass list means that for the first 3 songs of each band's set you are able to get between the stage and the barriers that keep the crowd away from the stage. It is about 4' deep and fills up with photographers about 15 minutes before the bands come on. During those 3 songs you are able to take as many pics as you can, then you have to clear out so the fans can have unobstructed views of the band. I mention this photo pass stuff just to explain how I got the pics I share here.</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWcTJg4r-I/AAAAAAAABcM/N6Kuu0QMtoU/s400/DSC_1511.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536503169707192290" /><div>As Social Distortion took the stage the big banner lowered from above the stage and the low blue lights started coming up. As soon as the instruments were plugged in the band launched into The Creeps. I am not great at math, but Mike Ness has to be older than me but from the energy on stage you would have thought he was 23. The sound was thick, not blisteringly loud, but full. I had read a few past reviews where people had criticized Mikes voice stating that he had clearly lost something. To my ears his voice sounded more full of life and vigor than any of the albums I had. He moved from one end of the stage to the other between verses, slinging his guitar with authority. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first song was followed by Another State of Mind and Mommy's Little Monster. After that, the security guards flashed their lights and told us to clear out. I moved to the back of the room as the room erupted with Sick Boys. Later in the night they played Machine Gun Blues which I think is going to be the first single off the new record.</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TNWbPimRSqI/AAAAAAAABcE/vmQWV38tASc/s400/DSC_1686.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536502008209558178" /><div>Yeah, I had two different chances to see Social Distortion. I never really regretted that I passed them up. One while still in High School, maybe the Metro, then after High School at the Cubby Bear. I can almost justify missing the Cubby Bear since I lived in Milwaukee by then, but that High School show was missed for no good reason.</div><div><br /></div><div>I guess I owe it to Lucero for bringing me down to this show. Thank you, for regret found. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-59548693854044191382010-10-16T09:46:00.005-05:002014-06-24T07:23:26.341-05:00Bobby Bare Jr, Chicago Oct 7th, 2010 (or: Maybe I didn't say it first)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TLpXzwVuUbI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/-AfVA4NCALs/s1600/DSC_0965.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TLpXzwVuUbI/AAAAAAAAAsQ/-AfVA4NCALs/s400/DSC_0965.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528828039211667890" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>About a year ago my buddy Pete was at our house visiting and, as usual, we were eating, drinking, listening to music, talking about movies, telling lies and generally annoying members of our family unfortunate enough to walk through our conversations. During one of many pointless conversations, Dane Cook came up. Pete had been getting back into stand up and doing some open mics, so perhaps this is how Cook winds up in our discussion.<br />
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I do not have strong feelings for or against Dane Cook. I have seen a special once and had a few chuckles but was not so taken that I wanted to seek out more of his work. Nor was I so offended that I swore off ever watching him again. His bits seemed to be aimed at your traditional, middle of the road, frat type, of which I'm not. So, I make the proclamation that "Dane Cook is the Nickelback of stand up comedy." </div>
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Genius. </div>
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Minimal words used to gently and cleverly mock Cook, Nickelback and fans of either.</div>
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As the conversation wandered through the afternoon in the back of my mind I kept wondering if not only am I the first person to make this incredibly insightful connection between Cook and Nickelback, but also the first to do it so elegantly.</div>
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"Pete, is there any way to find out if I am the first, because if I am, I want to make damn sure I get credit for it."</div>
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Well, with a few finger strokes of the iPhone Pete is able to find an earlier example of that exact phrase on a random blog. Mind you, the original utterance was no more than 3 months old at the time and, as much as he could try, he was unable to find another example of the phrase being used. OK, dream crushed, but not by much.</div>
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On October 7th, 2010 I had the good fortune to see Bobby Bare Jr. play at Schuba's Tavern in Chicago. I love Schuba's. I like that it is an old Schlitz building, I like the size of the room, I like that the performers have to walk through the crowd to get to the stage, I like the beer offerings on tap, I like that I can get right up to the front of the stage without much trouble. It is pretty hard to find something not to like about Schuba's.</div>
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My only other time seeing Bobby Bare Jr. was at the Bloodshot records 15th anniversary party. If I remember correctly the band for that show included bass, drums, trumpet and bari sax. Maybe a keyboard. The band sounded great and the set list was excellent, but the show was basically in a back alley behind the Chicago Department of Sanitation and the set seemed to end as soon as it started. The Schuba's show had Bobby backed by Blue Giant of Portland, a traditional 'rock band' type line up. Many of the same song, but presented with completely different instrumentation. </div>
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At the show I picked up his (fantastic) new record and The Longest Meow and listened to both on my drive out of the city. The next day I found myself switching between his albums all day in the car. All the songs, all the different instrumentation, all the colors that he can conjure up. None of the songs employ terribly complex chords or dramatic changes in rhythms, they are all presented in remarkably simple form. Everything from a full rock sound to an acoustic guitar and voice, are used to get sounds ranging from heavy grooving rock to straight ahead old fashioned country. </div>
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All this listening and thinking brought me to another Dane/Nickelback type revelation. I can't imagine I am the first to say it, and this time I really don't care, so here goes: Bobby Bare Jr is the Tom Waits of Nashville Music.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwFRSlqD4FDA3Yc6d83Z_HPL1dk8GSQk6Pyr0N-7iUlvY3iqkny0S_ArTmyj8Oll6ou0aldQOgcl-PQJSVBbA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Done on the original album version with trumpets, elsewhere on youtube with just acoustic guitar and banjo, here is Valentine, three chords of greatness, done as a rock anthem with Blue Giant at Schuba's.</div>
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(more videos from this night posted to youtube)</div>
Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-7938015499952646562010-10-05T09:00:00.011-05:002010-10-05T10:29:15.673-05:00The Bottle Rockets vs. Farm Aid<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKsvfFMkBLI/AAAAAAAAArU/X16bMCFC4WI/s1600/brox+vs+FA2010.jpg"><img style="text-align: right;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 137px; " src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKsvfFMkBLI/AAAAAAAAArU/X16bMCFC4WI/s400/brox+vs+FA2010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524561578917364914" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I would not call my two daughters spoiled in the least, but in terms of seeing music, they are pretty lucky. Living in Milwaukee, less than 90 minutes from Chicago, we are located driving distance to all types of great shows and festivals. Milwaukee loves to tout itself as the "City of Festivals" and pumps up Summerfest as the World's largest music festival, but I find myself more impressed with the outlying WI festival line ups and the incredible offerings in Chicago at their various street fairs.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >In the past two years my girls (age 7 and 9) have had the chance to see Slobberbone, Glossary, Backyard Tire Fire, Willie Nelson, Bobby Bare Jr., The Deadstring Brothers, Lucero, Airborne Toxic Event, Jeff Tweety, Built to Spill... I am guessing there are more, but that list alone is a pretty good start. The Bottle Rockets are on that list too. They have seen them twice, including this summer in St. Louis opening up LouFest. It is also fair to say that The Bottle Rockets albums are on heavy rotation at our home and in our cars.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >This weekend, with my wife out of town, I decided to head down to Farm Aid 2010 and walk the lot to see if any scalpers were stuck with tickets. The initial draw for me was to see Neil Young live for the first time and to see Willie Nelson again. I pretty much knew that my girls could not last until 11:00pm but I figured this was a semi-historic event and there was bound to be some good music in the noon - 9:00 time frame. I picked up my teenage nephew, who is learning guitar and taking a big interest in music, and the four of us headed down to the bars outside the stadium to see if we could find tickets. Luck was on our side and we wound up with aisle seats in the first level in the 7th row. Absolutely perfect.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >By the time we made it to our seats the Band of Horses was wrapping up. We stayed and saw </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Lukas Nelson and The Promise of the Real (Willie Nelson's son,) </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Jamey Johnson, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Jason Mraz, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Jeff Tweedy, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Norah Jones, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Kenny Chesney, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Dave Matthews, and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >John Mellencamp. Willie came out and played with a few of the artists. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >The girls loved being at the show. Lukas Nelson ripped it up. He played the guitar behind his back and with his teeth and you could see that he had broken a guitar string during the last song. The girls could not get enough of this. My youngest queued the classic Tom and Jerry line right on time: "You can't play guitar with out a guitar string." Jason Mraz was a hit as they knew the words to a few songs from the radio. My nephew was taken by Dave Matthews acoustic take on All Along the Watchtower and Satellite. Mellencamp came on when the sun was down and the full band and light show was pretty impressive for the girls.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Many of the artists played stripped down sets with no drums. My girls asked after every acoustic set "Will the next band play loud?" </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > Well, they are all pretty loud, don't you think? </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > "No, like with </span></span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >real</span></span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" > guitars and drums?" </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Ahhh. Be still, my heart.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >As expected, girls were out of gas a little after 9:00 and we had to take off. Most of the car ride home was talking about our favorite bands or songs. When the discussion came to full band vs. acoustic sets my girls shared the following gems:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >"I like rock and roll, like The Bottle Rockets."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >"Yeah, they don't even have acoustic guitars."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >"When we saw them in St. Louis, we almost knew every song."<br />"yeah, and every song has drums, and they are really loud."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I do not know if The Bottle Rockets have a Jr. fan club, but I have the feeling one might be starting at our house.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: medium; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); "><br /></span></div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-69849702055658067652010-10-01T20:59:00.011-05:002010-11-19T07:28:33.238-06:00Worse ways to spend $5 on a Tuesday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKd7lnBg0VI/AAAAAAAAAqo/jn_Mm9ADNVI/s1600/deadstring+bros+1021-23.JPG"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><br /></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKaTeBCwR7I/AAAAAAAAAqY/YJwqNpqwrG0/s1600/highres_4714327.jpeg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKaTeBCwR7I/AAAAAAAAAqY/YJwqNpqwrG0/s400/highres_4714327.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523264136901838770" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px; " /></a>It seems Minneapolis is better known for its' new buildings, fancy stadiums, big malls and clean downtown, but the more you get to know the Twin Cities the more you can find small special places that seem like they were pulled right out of a Tom Waits song or from under the tracks of the El in Chicago. Greasy spoons, private pawn and resale stores, insanely cool little guitar shops, and bars like Lee's Liquor Lounge. Lee's is located close to where the Minnesota Baseball Twins play and my visit happened to be on the day that the Twins clinched the AL Central title.<div><br /></div><div>As much fun as it can be to watch a local win among townies this is certainly not what brought me out. I came to Lee's Liquor Lounge to catch The Deadstring Brothers for $5. $5. I still do not get how I can see a band this good for $5. I have played in a number of bands significantly worse (by all measures) than The Deadstring Brothers where we have collected $10 at the door. I have paid $10 and more to see buddies cover bands play at crappy bars. This price of $5 was so confusing to me I was a little worried there may be another band called Deadstring Brothers. </div><div><br /></div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKd2Kf2WCdI/AAAAAAAAAqg/82bz_E1u9Pg/s400/deadstring+bros+1021-11.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523513390713407954" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 400px; " /><div>Yeah, I checked their website and this show was listed... right alongside all of the $15 and $20 shows. Second guessing aside, I was already in Minneapolis, a healthy pour of Jim Beam on the rocks was $3, and this was better than another night in a hotel room.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Deadstring Brothers have always been an anomaly to me. Since my buddy Kyle told me to buy Winter Starving Report I have not understood why these guys are not being played on the radio. It is not that they play music that would easily fall into a current pop music category, but because their music sounds so much like lost Rolling Stones albums. With the recent re-release of Exile I enjoy playing DSB albums for friends and having them guess who the band is. Every time the guess is Stones, and more times than not they guess it is some of the tracks off the Exile re-release.</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKd7lnBg0VI/AAAAAAAAAqo/jn_Mm9ADNVI/s400/deadstring+bros+1021-23.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523519354053906770" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px; " /><div>I do really love the Stones. When the gloves come off and British music discussions get to picking sides I tend to lean Stones more than Beatles. The problem for me in those discussions is having to defend all of the crap that came after Tattoo You. The convenient thing about the Beatles is that they broke up before any garbage was recorded. There are no Bridges to Babylon or Steel Wheels to account for. I can always point to McCarthy's solo work and some of the lows from Wings, but none of that is included in the Beatles body of work.</div><div><br /></div><div>Where Emotional Rescue and Tattoo leave off these two DSB's albums kind of pick up. Incredible tight, yet somehow natural sounding harmonies, tasteful use of slide guitar, warm B3 organ sounds, and choruses that sound the first time as though you have been singing them since high school. Winter Starving Report is probably more full of hits, but the new album San Paulo is just brimming with nods to old blues music in a way only the Stones were able to do believably in the past.</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKigJU4Mx-I/AAAAAAAAAq4/fHZNIqeluIg/s400/deadstring+bros+1021-2.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523841025053607906" /><div>This is not my first time seeing the Deadstring Brothers. I was at the Bloodshot 15th Anniversary party in Chicago and saw a load of great bands. That night the DSB were working in a brand new line up after losing a few members. The show was rough to say the least. It seemed band members were still learning parts and there was uncertainty about who was doing what. This show was vastly different. Unfortunately the pedal steel/lead guitarist who has appeared with the band in the past was not on hand, so the band was drums, bass, guitar/singer, and organist.</div><div><br /></div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKifDfQmJAI/AAAAAAAAAqw/86RKas8RROc/s400/deadstring+bros+1021-33.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523839825249444866" /><div>When the opening bands were playing and the Twins game was still going there may have been 50 people in the bar, maybe 65. By the time the Deadstring Brothers took the stage the Twins had won, Sox had lost and the division was clinched. Bar emptied out to about 25-30 people by the time they took the stage. The show was about 1:15 long and set list was heavy on Starving Winter Report songs with a few songs from San Paulo and the other albums thrown in too. I think the lack of a lead player may have had an effect which songs were played. </div><div><br /></div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TKiksp25jYI/AAAAAAAAArA/7sMmkWuxGzU/s400/deadstring+bros+1021-7.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523846030027230594" /><div>I have played rooms with 5-10 people. Not proud or energizing nights, but to this day I still run into people who saw one of those shows where we gave it all we had, playing like we were in a packed stadium even though we nearly outnumbered the audience. Invariably they speak of those shows with reverence. Every show is important, not just the packed houses. The Deadstring Brothers took this show seriously and I felt privileged to have been there.</div><div><br /></div><div>And all for just $5.</div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-15175513649522247952010-08-05T10:05:00.013-05:002010-08-19T07:59:52.436-05:00Old 97's, July 2010, Milwaukee WI<div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TFrcGMvgqJI/AAAAAAAAAn4/X3hgEYdSEeE/s400/DSC_6459.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501951893844306066" /></div><div>Right, I have come to the conclusion that I pretty much stink at blogging. I understand how a computer works, I know how to make posts, I continue to stay involved in the main subject matter of my chosen blog, but it all breaks down after the show. Without something somewhat witty to say or some breakthrough musical or emotional insight to share, I have wound up with a collection of half written entry that sits in my draft folder for 18 months. (Amy LaVere, Band of Heathens, Slobberbone...)</div><div><br /></div><div><div><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TFrcykACu8I/AAAAAAAAAoQ/yoe0ABYjAAE/s400/DSC_6363.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501952656001907650" /></div><div>Now, if I tape the show and post the audio somewhere easily accessible, that's an easy post but I have tired of carrying my recording equipment to shows then spending 2 hours turning them into MP3's to post on the internet only to learn someone else has recorded the same show with better equipment from a better location (thanks Morst!)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TFrcSUv5k8I/AAAAAAAAAoA/9L7mu_FgeX4/s400/DSC_6596.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501952102151852994" /></div><div>Enter new camera. Well, enter 8 year old camera purchased from ebay. After years of really wanting a nice digital SLR camera to replace my trusty Nikon F, I finally took the plung. With minor modifications all my old Nikkor lenses are fitting on the new body and I am off and running.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TFrdLPSjqSI/AAAAAAAAAoY/CTdchPTCJnY/s400/DSC_6503.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501953079939148066" /></div><div>First assignment, the Old 97's at the Pabst. Armed with only three lenses my first attempt of shooting in a concert setting was a struggle, but I wound up with some decent shots.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>As for the concert, </div><div>it was one of the better attended shows I have seen at the Pabst in recent years. The balcony was closed down but the main floor was really filled in well. General admission made it possible for me to get up close to the stage to get some pics.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/TFrchWi0UHI/AAAAAAAAAoI/BvFtYtpEV_8/s400/DSC_6356.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 268px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501952360331890802" /><div>The band was really incredible. Just the 4 guys and man did they fill out the sound. Something about that machine gun/train rolling snare drum attack and the perfect blend of guitar sounds makes for an onslaught of sound that I was not convinced they would be able to achieve live. The band was not perfect. They sounded like a very well rehearsed bar band with a small mistake or missed note here or there, but that just added to the excitement and energy for m</div><div>e. The song choices were a veritable cavalcade of hits going all the way back to Hitchhike to Rhome and including at least one song from their upcoming fall release. They even threw in a cover of David Bowie's Five Years... Rhett had some trouble remembering words around the second verse, but we all got the idea.</div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I have a few more concerts on the calendar to wrap up the summer season and I hope to share either audio and/or photos from those show. I am feeling good that I can deliver on decent photos from shows much more consistently that I can musical insight and wit.</div><div><br /></div><div>Up next, The Bottle Rockets and Lucero.</div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-86641202897339706352009-01-23T10:57:00.007-06:002012-01-06T13:14:53.559-06:00What a way to end/start the year!<a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SXn424eqnNI/AAAAAAAAAVA/FyZNyCpzIhU/s1600-h/IMG_6531.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 183px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SXn424eqnNI/AAAAAAAAAVA/FyZNyCpzIhU/s200/IMG_6531.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5294536458708360402" border="0" /></a><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Bottle+Rockets" class="bbcode_artist">The Bottle Rockets</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> were the band that first got me interested in what some might call alt-country. I know that they are hardly alt-country, but they were my gateway to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Uncle+Tupelo" class="bbcode_artist">Uncle Tupelo</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Son+Volt" class="bbcode_artist">Son Volt</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, and </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Wilco" class="bbcode_artist">Wilco</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.<br /><br />Knowing that I have always been a fan of bands I can see play in a bar or small venue, two buddies, Kyle Chapman and Kevin Nicholson, told me about the Bottle Rockets and what a great show they put on. </span><br /><div class="journalBody"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >This was back in the Napster days so I think I downloaded the first 14 songs that came up when I did a search and burned them to a CD and tossed it in my car. This would have been right around the time that I discovered Napster, which was just months before it's demise, so we would be talking around 2001-2. Songs of Sahm was not yet out.</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >That disk lived in my car for about a 6 months before I wound up buying </span><a title="The Bottle Rockets - The Bottle Rockets" href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Bottle+Rockets/The+Bottle+Rockets" class="bbcode_album" style="font-family: arial; ">The Bottle Rockets</a><span class="Apple-style-span" >, </span><a title="The Bottle Rockets - The Brooklyn Side" href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Bottle+Rockets/The+Brooklyn+Side" class="bbcode_album" style="font-family: arial; ">The Brooklyn Side</a><span class="Apple-style-span" >, and </span><a title="The Bottle Rockets - 24 Hours a Day" href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Bottle+Rockets/24+Hours+a+Day" class="bbcode_album" style="font-family: arial; ">24 Hours a Day</a><span class="Apple-style-span" >. Shortly there after I had a chance to see them play live at a short lived Milwaukee club called Union Station or Main Station. Right before the tour it seems their guitarist quit so they performed as a trio and dubbed the tour "Cavalcade of Hits." They ripped through every song on that original CD I had burned and you would have never guessed that they were missing a guy. Sounded great.</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >I have had opportunities to see the Bottle Rockets about 3 other times prior to NYE 2008. This show was the last show of 2008, a year where they celebrated their 15th anniversary by playing 15 shows. I think this was actually the 16th show, but since I missed both their Chicago and Wisconsin show during 2008, I was happy to ignore the official count.</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >The Beat Kitchen is a small club typical of the Schlitz tap rooms that pepper the neighborhoods of Chicago and Milwaukee. It is on a corner with the tap room in the front with windows covering the two walls opposite the bar and then there is a room in the back that at one time likely hosted neighborhood meetings, parties or receptions. This back room is where the band plays. The layout is much like Schubas.</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >I can go on and on about how great the show was, but I think it was typical of what you would see at any Bottle Rockets show... Great songs, few if any breaks, energetic performances and a sea of people singing along with the band. I think the highlight for me was a Neil Young song called </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdgu6gDynlI" style="font-family: arial; ">Lookout Joe</a><span class="Apple-style-span" >. I am not a big Neil Young fan at all, so this was the first time I had heard the song.</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >I was lucky enough to capture a great recording of the show and to meet up with some other fans who shot some video. I was able to sync my audio to their videos and came up with some really nice live videos from the night that I posted on Youtube. You can check them out </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/jimdier" style="font-family: arial; ">here.</a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >I will note that while the band likes to joke that their fan base is 99% male, this show was closer to 60% male, 40% female, and the girls were right there up front screaming out the words too. If you check out any of the videos that I posted on youtube you will see the entire front row is women.</span><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >Here is a set list:</span><br /><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Perfect Far Away</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Gravity Fails</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Slo Toms</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Gas Girl</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Brand New Year</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Wave That Flag</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Every Kind of Everything</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >24 Hours a Day</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Headed for the Ditch</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Happy Anniversary</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Get Down River</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I'll Be Coming Around</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >1000 Dollar Car</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Nancy Sinatra</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Indianapolis</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Gotta Get Up</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Ooo La La (Faces Cover)</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Welfare Music</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Radar Gun</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Take Me to the Bank</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Suffragette City (David Bowie Cover)</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Love Like a Truck</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Lookout Joe (Neil Young Cover)</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >When I Was Dumb</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Kit Kat Clock</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Kerosene</span></div><div class="journalBody"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" >If the last shows you have seen have been big arena rockers or larger theaters, get out to see the Bottle Rockets at a bar near you. I assure you that it will be the best $15 you spend! </span></div>Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-62366285056234132942008-11-19T10:20:00.001-06:002008-11-19T10:22:23.287-06:00Centro-matic at Schuba'sWed 12 Nov – Centro-matic, South San Gabriel<br /><br />It is rare that I go to a show and do not leave wishing that certain songs had been included in the set list. I typically enjoy all the shows I attend, but find myself calculating in the moments between the last set and the encore if there is any way the band can jam my 3-4 picks into the encore. I drive home happy, but always wondering what song X would have sounded like that night.<br /><br />Centro-matic at Schuba's was an exception. <br /><br />It is not that I need to know every song in a set to enjoy it. I do not yet have Dual Hawks so many of these songs were new to me, but Redo the Stacks and Love You Just the Same are rank up there with London Calling and Man who sold the world as some of my all time favorite albums.<br /><br />The show this night was perfect in so many ways. It was a rainy Wednesday night in Chicago and Schuba's was about 3/4 full. The room is the back room of an old Tap Room. If you have visited Chicago or Milwaukee and gone out to corner bars you will know what I am talking about as they are so common in this part of the country. From the front entrance you walk into the bar area which is just one big long bar that runs the length of the room and then some raised tables on the opposite wall against a windows that look out onto the street. Follow the bar to the back, past the bathrooms and there is a door that leads to what used to be the dinner or banquet area. This is where the band plays at Schuba's. The stage is all the way at the end of the room. No back stage or side entrance, just 5-6 stairs leading up to the stage, which is the width of the room and about 20' deep.<br /><br />It appears that nothing has been done to this room to make it sound great, but man does it ever sound great. I have played their two or three time with my band (the first time back in 1996) and as crazy as this sounds I think they still have the same sound guy there. He does a great job. Every band I see there sounds great.<br /><br />The show started with South San Gabriel. It was a subdued set well performed. The lead singer from the Baptist Generals played solo acoustic next. His set was plagued with tuning problems blamed on heat from lights causing trouble with his nylon strings. It was a decent showing, but not nearly as interesting as he was with the full band when they came through Milwaukee 2 years ago.<br /><br />Right before Centro-matic went on I ran into Matt Pence and asked about recording the show and he gave me the OK. I have a great recording of the show but am waiting to hear from Matt about posting it or widely distributing it. It turned out great.<br /><br />The band was in good spirits and made reference a few times to their joy over the Obama victory, to which someone yelled out "What Up Texas?" Will replied that he thinks "Texas would look beautiful in a Blue dress."<br /><br />There was also an amp problem which led to a impromptu performance of an improvised song which was good fun. The rest of the set broke down like this:<br /><br />Post-it Notes From the State Hospital<br />Fountains of Fire<br />Good As Gold<br />Most Everyone Will Find<br />Flashes and Cables<br />Technical Difficulties for Me<br />Mighty Midshipman<br />The Rat Patrol and DJs<br />Quality Strange<br />Argonne Limit Co.<br />Discussion of Obama Victory<br />Calling Thermatico<br />Strychnine, Breathless Ways<br />Counting the Scars<br />the pilots on the wall<br />The Blisters May Come<br />Fidgeting Wildly<br /><br />I wondered if I were to revisit my Centro-matic albums back to back if I would find a few favorite songs that were not included in the set, but as I continue listening to the recording of this night I cannot help but think that I am not missing anything.Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-11480535766070136542008-09-21T18:15:00.005-05:002013-09-12T09:09:28.299-05:00The evolution of a live music scene and the revival of a music festivalOnce upon a time I was an undergrad at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Marquette (MU) is located in the heart of Milwaukee, a real city campus. As a freshman at MU I would go to house parties and sneak into the bars that did not check ID's on most weekends. At that time, MU did not have an active Greek scene at all, so the parties and events that we attended where hosted by the University, local bars, or students who lived together in houses.<br />
<br />
I guess I took it for granted that there was always live music around. The University did a great job hosting 'Grill Concerts' every Friday afternoon in the basement of the Union bringing in regional and local acts including the Violent Femmes, The Bodeans, firehose, and many others. At the MU bars and house parties though, it was bands comprised of MU students providing the soundtrack. I would guess that my freshman year I saw no fewer than 10 different MU bands play at multiple events. At the end of my freshmen year I attended the student run music festival we knew as Jigglesfest.<br />
<br />
Here is some back story on the event with more accurate facts and names filled in:<br />
<blockquote style="font-style: italic;">
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jigglesfest Back Story:</span><br />
Originally started in 1986 100% by students as a reaction to MU canceling Spring Block Party. Anthony 'Tony' Caroli (class of 1986) was the original founder and he performed in a band called the Peasants which included Tony, Tom Luke, Dave Wolff, and Chris Foos. Also performing at that first show were Surrender Dorothy and MCBO (both bands which returned with their original line ups for Jigglesfest 2008) The event was originally known as Mr. Jiggles Spring Jubilee and was held at the Mitchell Domes.<br />
<br />
When Tony graduated the torch was carried by a series of people, most notably Dave Tills (class of 1988) and the festival continued through the 90's moving locations as it grew. In 1991 it was estimated that Jigglesfest drew over 3000 students to Lake Michigan's Rod and Gun Club for what was likely the events largest crowd.</blockquote>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">The Old MU Scene</span><br />
This atmosphere for live student music at MU is one of the things that lead to the start up of my band, <a href="http://www.rmutt.us/">R. Mutt</a> in 1988. From 1988 through the mid 1990's we played regularly in Milwaukee and Chicago and surrounding areas but we always had shows back at Marquette and continued to play with new younger bands as they emerged. Some of the groups from this time are still around making music while others have broken up as members have moved on to other music projects. Bands and performers that we had the pleasure of playing with during this time include: <a href="http://www.surrenderdorothyband.com/">Surrender Dorothy</a> (still playing and recording music today,) Freezone and Wolfgang Green (featuring <a href="http://www.patrickgreene.com/">Pat Greene</a>, acclaimed SF Jazz Guitarist and instructor,) The Eisenhowers (early project of <a href="http://www.ikereilly.net/">Ike Reilly of the Ike Reilly Assassination</a>,) Big Sky (<a href="http://www.joepanzetta.com/">Joe Panzetta</a> and <a href="http://www.petermulvey.com/">Peter Mulvey</a> project,) Blue Utah (Kevin Blackwell of <a href="http://sassparillapdx.com/">Sassparilla</a>'s first band,) <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.southboundrocks.net">Southbound</a> (still active Milwaukee band,) The Gufs (still active Milwaukee band,) and Moloko Shivers (whose members have gone on to The Cocksmiths, Willie Porter Band, and The Boogiemen.)<br />
<br />
At any given time during this period in the late 80's and early 90's there were no fewer than 10-15 MU bands actively playing out. Bands like Ventriloquist Cat, Grotto Sandwich, The New Aviators, The Eisenhowers, Radioactive Sludge, MCBO, Big Mother Gig, Fuscia Boys, Domino Theory, Groovus, Last Call and others joined forces and split bills to create a vibrant music scene. If you went to MU and played an instrument you were probably in a band or at least sat in with one of these bands. When people went abroad for a sememster, someone from another band would fill in. When your guitarist graduated and moved to Georgia for post grad, there was someone younger waiting in the wings to step in. I was lucky enough serve brief stints playing bass in both Big Sky and Surrender Dorothy in addition to playing in R. Mutt full time.<br />
<br />
Bars like Thoma's, The Glocca Morra, Hurricane's, Theo's, The Green Tree and the Avalanche hosted music from these bands and houses would charge $2-$5 for "All you can drink/Two Band" parties in their basements or back yards. These shows were not 45 minute sets littered with Louie, Louie and Wipeout. By and large they were serious sets of music including original music and plenty of experimental jamming covering blues, jazz, and rock. Some shows at Thoma's would feature two bands and have music run solid from 9:00pm until 2:30am as the two bands traded off playing time. People would leave the bar at the end of the night dripping in sweat and exhausted from dancing.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Reviving Jigglesfest</span><br />
Fast forward to 2007 and my band was preparing for the release of our latest album, '<a href="http://www.rmutt.us/2011/03/heptane-or-pushing-rope-uphill.html">Heptane</a>' about the same time Surrender Dorothy was prepping '<a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/surrenderdorothy">Three Days in Chicago</a>' for release. In the midst of an email string with Linda Bloszies (lead singer of Surrender Dorothy) I signed off "See you at Jigglesfest 2008."<br />
<br />
Now sometime in the 90's Jigglesfest had ceased operation. I am not sure if it was lack of interest or perhaps a poor hand off of the organizing responsibilities, but it was officially dormant.<br />
<br />
Linda proposed that we get in touch with some of the current MU bands and see if we could bring it back to life. Surely as alumni we would get the support of the University and we could host some type of battle of the bands to figure out which current MU bands would play. Setback #1 - No one at the University was really interested in talking to us about this event at all. Setback #2 - We could not find a single band at Marquette. Linda and I continued on with the planning assuming we would eventually connect with MU bands. A string of emails out to our old friends found us with 4-5 older bands willing to get back together and return to play. In fact, two of the bands that played at the first Jigglesfest were willing and able to pull together their original line ups to come back for the show. We were also able to get committment from Freezone for a reunion which would pull 2 players from the East Coast, Pat Green from California, a guitarist from IL and their original drummer from the UK.<br />
<br />
Around that time we lucked into a great relationship with the team that runs Bradford Beach which provided us a location along with sound, permits and a great stage.<br />
<br />
Eventually we connected with the college radio station, WMUR, and found a group that was not only interested in helping us find bands and promote the event but also in learning more about the older scene at MU. They got us in touch with three great MU bands, Planet Dastardly, The Nodes, and New Wave Bossa Nova.<br />
<br />
The show happened September 20th and the music was beyond great as was the weather and turn out (although, very light on MU Students.) As the day wore on I found it amazing that the current MU bands had never met each other. In some cases they had not even heard of each other. I spoke with these guys and they reflected on the lack of places for bands to play, difficulty finding locations for practices, and a student body not terribly interested in live music.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/Jigglesfest">Photos from Jigglesfest (new and old) found here</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Music is important work.</span><br />
We have been invited back to Bradford Beach to do <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Jigglesfest">Jigglesfest</a> again in 2009. I hope that this will help breath life back into MU music and give current students a reason to make their scene work.<br />
<br />
It is funny, but listening to talk about current challenges and barriers brought back memories of our struggles back when the scene was vibrant. Part of being in a band is getting kicked out of your practice space, having your power cut when house parties are shut down, getting a flat on the way to a gig that will not pay enough to cover your gas, landlords threatening to kick you out of your house, skipping a test because you have a chance to play in Madison, playing on crappy guitars, broken down amps, snares held together with duct tape... You fight through all those things because music is important.<br />
<br />
You only need to hear your band's name chanted once to realize that you don't do it for the babes or the money, you do it because you love the music. You do it because you love being in a band.Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-86727763620081466212008-07-23T05:15:00.013-05:002009-07-09T16:53:50.973-05:00Texas Bound: Lucero, Sleepercar, and Glossary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdpMHg3RrI/AAAAAAAAAHY/fecjxw01ZqA/s1600-h/l_7768.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 232px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdpMHg3RrI/AAAAAAAAAHY/fecjxw01ZqA/s200/l_7768.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226261549482985138" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><a href="http://www.last.fm/event/673820" class="bbcode_event">at: Club Dada</a><br /><a href="http://www.last.fm/event/673821" class="bbcode_event">at: Emo's </a></span><br /><br />I recently became obsessed with <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Glossary" class="bbcode_artist">Glossary</a>. I mean really obsessed. The last two albums have been in almost constant rotation in my car and home stereo. I bought a bunch of copies at their last Milwaukee show and The Better Angels of our Nature has been my standard birthday gift to friends for the last 6 months. I really tried to evangelize the band using <a href="http://www.glossary.us/the-better-angels-of-our-nature-free-download/" rel="nofollow"> the free copy</a> of the album available on their web site, but it seems my friends are too lazy to even get <span style="font-style: italic;">free</span> music these days. (what is it with music fans? - Save that thought for another blog.)<br /><br />I had heard of <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Lucero" class="bbcode_artist">Lucero</a>. One of my great friends, Kyle, had lent me <a title="Lucero - That Much Further West" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Lucero/That+Much+Further+West" class="bbcode_album">That Much Further West</a> which bounced around my place for almost a year before he asked for it back. I listened a few times, but was never really drawn to it. He also favors Drag the River, Bobby Bare Jr, and the Jayhawks, none of which hold my attention, so I grouped Lucero in with those acts and never gave them another thought.<br /><br />My travels allowed me to be in Dallas for the show at Club Dada and Austin for the show at Emo's. I have since learned that Club Dada, right off the main drag in a section of Dallas called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Ellum" rel="nofollow">Deep Ellum</a>, was once a primary player in the Dallas punk scene and has a lot of history. While it is very small, I would guess this punk history makes it a sentimental choice for Lucero.<br /><br />I entered the club with music playing and was scared that I had missed the start of Glossary's set, but did not recognize the tunes. Started to think perhaps Sleepercar was on first. Turned out to be a local start up band called <a href="http://www.myspace.com/somebodysdarlin" rel="nofollow">Somebody's Darlin'</a>. Typically when I see a lead singer on stage with an acoustic guitar I expect to be bored, but these guys really converted me. The female lead singer must get sick of comparisons to Janis Joplin, but the wild hair, aggressive stage presence and uber powerful pipes make it a deserved comparison. The songs on their myspace page fail to excite, but I understand that their first proper CD is coming later in the year along with a possible tour up HWY 35 (ala This is American Music 07).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdp3xN7aPI/AAAAAAAAAH4/wsWb6Mdfb6s/s1600-h/G_7595.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 322px; height: 240px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdp3xN7aPI/AAAAAAAAAH4/wsWb6Mdfb6s/s200/G_7595.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226262299412228338" border="0" /></a>Glossary was up next and their set was littered with songs from both Better Angels and <a title="Glossary - For What I Don't Become" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Glossary/For+What+I+Don%27t+Become" class="bbcode_album">For What I Don't Become</a> as well as some songs that I am not familiar with. I have 2003's How We Handle Our Midnights, but it never stuck with me.<br /><br />The set was great. About 1/3 of the people near the stage seemed to know the words to their songs, especially the ones from Better Angels. Two highlights for me were Almsgiver and Shout it from the Rooftops. Both where performed with extreme gusto and the crowd reacted accordingly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdpa8uBTnI/AAAAAAAAAHg/5HSLct66WnM/s1600-h/s_7703.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 219px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdpa8uBTnI/AAAAAAAAAHg/5HSLct66WnM/s200/s_7703.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226261804283416178" border="0" /></a>Sleepercar was next and this was my first time seeing or hearing them. They struck me as somewhat similar to some of Will Johnson's (Centro-matic) stylings but with a more overt twang element. Hate to be the cover guy, but for me the highlight was their rousing cover of FBB's <a class="playbutton" href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Flying+Burrito+Brothers/_/Older+Guys?autostart"><img src="http://cdn.last.fm/flatness/global/icon_play.png" class="play_icon transparent_png" width="17" height="17" /></a><a title="The Flying Burrito Brothers – Older Guys" href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Flying+Burrito+Brothers/_/Older+Guys" class="bbcode_track">Older Guys</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdmswMEp0I/AAAAAAAAAGg/P8yM4GV65UE/s1600-h/L_7634.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 183px; height: 244px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdmswMEp0I/AAAAAAAAAGg/P8yM4GV65UE/s200/L_7634.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226258811622565698" border="0" /></a>As Lucero was loading in I got my first glimpse of what was to come. As each member loaded their gear on to the small stage the crowd erupted in cheers. You would have thought Bono or Springsteen had walked in the place. The crowd continued to grow and the people from the outside patio started to filter in just to secure spots standing near the small stage for the show.<br /><br />This was a Monday night. This place was packed like a Milwaukee bar would be packed on a Friday or Saturday. The cameras were flashing out of control. Taking pictures of the guys plugging in their guitars and tuning... the show had not even started.<br /><br />I wound up sitting right at the corner of the bar about 10' from the stage next to the Somebody's Darlin gang and asked if this was a normal sized crowd and Azure explained to me that this is far from typical for the club, but to be expected for Lucero.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdpa7NK6HI/AAAAAAAAAHo/y8XP6PlRACg/s1600-h/l_7767.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 251px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdpa7NK6HI/AAAAAAAAAHo/y8XP6PlRACg/s200/l_7767.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226261803877197938" border="0" /></a>When the band started it seemed every person in the crowd hoisted beer or fist in the air. They anticipated the first words and sang aloud with the band. So loud in fact that should the singer trip up a line the crowd would overpower him with the correct one. I figure, OK, so this must be their big song, of course everyone knows it.... song after song after song. Same thing.<br /><br />Now I have never been to a Bon Jovi concert, but this is what I imagine the front 10 rows would be like. Everyone knows every word and shouts them at the top of their lungs.<br /><br />Besides the completely kick ass crowd, the band was also incredible. Drums and voice stuck out for me the most. Both so sure and authoritative while remaining organic and earthy. Springsteen, booze-soaked, heart felt, anthem, epic... the classic list of exhaltations all apply in spades. I felt like I had stumbled into the Stone Pony in 1970-71 and caught one of the first shows by Springsteen... when only people in NJ knew who he was and would never miss a chance to see him play.<br /><br />Songs like <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Lucero/+videos/+1-gkfJgfIzbBM">What Else Would You Have Me Be</a> borrow heavily from Springsteen in terms of chord structure (see Born to Run's I VI V verse) and over all format, but the song pulls in the Wall of Sound Phil Spector rhythm section sound. Lyrically it should resonate to any one who has had a partner that wanted them to change or grow up. How can anyone resist screaming along to:<br /><br />"You used to love me<br />A drunkard running wild out in the streets<br />C'mon baby, what else would you have me be?"<br /><br />Another favorite of mine is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5P4ggLrY9Y" rel="nofollow">I Can Get Us Out Of Here</a> which details the plea to "dump the one you are with and run away with me."<br /><br />"Long legs use 'em and run<br />Blue eyes that blind like the sun<br />I might not be the one<br />But that's alright<br />I can get us outta here tonight"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdnaI35yJI/AAAAAAAAAHA/EjztSdJ9xPA/s1600-h/G_7681.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 195px; height: 261px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdnaI35yJI/AAAAAAAAAHA/EjztSdJ9xPA/s200/G_7681.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226259591342966930" border="0" /></a>If you are not familiar with Glossary, they are not quite the anti Lucero, but they certainly stand in stark contrast. While both have extremely talented drummers and singers with somewhat tough voices, the song writing and guitar interplay is very different. In Glossary it is more often than not that the two guitars are playing parts that intertwine with one another both rhythmically and melodically. The rhythm section is typically providing a somewhat sparse but powerful back bone for the guitars. In Lucero the rhythm guitar works very closely with the rhythm section to create a big band sound that then the other guitar will play a counter melody, or hook, or lick that adds texture to the backing track.<br /><br />The Show at Emo's was excellent too. Unfortunately we lost Somebody's Darlin, but that was more than made up for with the incredible performances by the other three bands. Glossary had more time, seemed less rushed, had a larger stage to spread out. Prior to starting Almsgiver Joey pointed out that <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdnaG0ucHI/AAAAAAAAAG4/l2btXXTTcdE/s1600-h/G_7660.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 209px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SIdnaG0ucHI/AAAAAAAAAG4/l2btXXTTcdE/s200/G_7660.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226259590792769650" border="0" /></a>it was his and Kelly's wedding anniversary. Sleepercar was also much more exciting for me this time. Might be due to the fact that I recognized some songs from the Monday show. Lucero was just as powerful as they were in Dallas. The Emo's crowd seemed a bit more beer-centric than lucero-centric, but none the less everyone was into it. When the first song started at least 10 beers were sprayed in all directions and within the first 3 songs we had a young chap body surfing over the crowd up to the stage for a half hearted stage dive. <em></em><br /><br />Well, I am now the proud owner of both <span title="Unknown album" class="bbcode_unknown">Nobody's Darling</span> (the Lucero album) and <span title="Unknown album" class="bbcode_unknown">Rebels Rogues and Sworn Brothers</span>. If I had to pick one, in an attempt to get someone into the band, I think I would have to pick Rebels... in fact, I just ordered 5 additional copies, so I you are someone who gets birthday presents from me, you can pretty much bank on a brand new Lucero CD.<br /><br />Happy Birthday!Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-38003580905440625022008-06-26T11:41:00.005-05:002010-11-03T21:29:09.642-05:00Tom Waits: Houston v. Dallas<a href="http://www.last.fm/event/610904" class="bbcode_event">Tom Waits - June 22nd, Jones Hall, Houston TX</a><br /><a href="http://www.last.fm/event/610906" class="bbcode_event">Tom Waits - June 23rd, The Palladium, Dallas TX</a><br /><br />Yeah, I missed all of the Orphans dates and the Katrina shows so I was ready for this tour. I will confess to being a bigger fan of the Asylum albums specifically <a title="Tom Waits - Nighthawks at the Diner" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Waits/Nighthawks+at+the+Diner" class="bbcode_album">Nighthawks at the Diner</a>, <a title="Tom Waits - The Heart of Saturday Night" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Waits/The+Heart+of+Saturday+Night" class="bbcode_album">The Heart of Saturday Night</a> and <a title="Tom Waits - Heartattack And Vine" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Waits/Heartattack+And+Vine" class="bbcode_album">Heartattack And Vine</a>. I have bought all the new ones also, and certainly enjoy them, but when push comes to shove I find myself reaching farther back in the catalog for more of the piano/lounge sounds.<br /><br />The tour is announced and I knew I would see one show and with Houston and Dallas back to back it just made sense to see them both. What a great decision. The two shows could not have been more different.<br /><br />Houston was a assigned seat show and while I was on the Ticketmaster site the moment tickets became available, I wound up 3/4th of the way back in the hall. This hall was an Orchestra hall. Velvety seats, fancy art, elevators, toilets that flushed... really high class. The stage was sparsely populated with Tom's raised platform right in the middle, drums left, sax right and bass and guitar in the back behind him. There was also a baby grand to the right of Tom's platform. Some extra drums, auxiliary percussion and megaphone were at the ready next to his platform, but none but the maracas were used.<br /><br />The show started right on time and the audience was incredibly well behaved. Little to no talking and almost no yelling out our heckling.<br /><br />There were two things that did not work for me for this show. The sound and the pace. I found the middle of the set slow... the 3 piano songs were incredible. How can you beat <a title="Tom Waits – Innocent When You Dream" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Waits/_/Innocent+When+You+Dream" class="bbcode_track">Innocent When You Dream</a>, <a title="Tom Waits – Tom Traubert’s blues" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Waits/_/Tom+Traubert%E2%80%99s+blues" class="bbcode_track">Tom Traubert’s blues</a>, and <a title="Tom Waits – The House Where Nobody Lives" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Tom+Waits/_/The+House+Where+Nobody+Lives" class="bbcode_track">The House Where Nobody Lives</a>?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SHOwmPvrEWI/AAAAAAAAAEg/qeZ0oJDoU5k/s1600-h/Colleen+Texas+Tom+Waits+Birthday-44.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 408px; height: 306px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SHOwmPvrEWI/AAAAAAAAAEg/qeZ0oJDoU5k/s320/Colleen+Texas+Tom+Waits+Birthday-44.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220710564160541026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On the sound I found the vocals to be very muddy and the drums sounded very timid and weak. When he spoke between songs I and the people around me were all straining to understand and there were waves of "what did he say?" or "did you catch that?" I am going to attribute this to my seating location as I spoke with others at the show and they reported that the sound was great.<br /><br />Now, wake up and drive 4 hours to Dallas. The Palladium had the look and feel of an old 1940's-50's dance hall. Big open floor, all wood, few to no seats, bars lined each wall. It just felt like the type of place you might run into Tom Waits by chance. We lucked out in the initial rush when the doors opened. It seems most people either ran to the swag table to pick up their shirts or CD's while the other half rushed the stage to stake out a good standing spot. You could consider me smart, but the truth is I am lazy and the thought of standing for 90 minutes waiting for the show to start made me tired. So, I walked along the back of the room, near the soundboard and spotted two bar stools right next to the mixing board. They were partially blocked by a larger party, but I asked, and they were not spoken for. I think this was the key to this show for me as the sound was perfect. Not only every joke and story, but every word to every song. The drums were forceful and out front. The drummer sounded like he was really running the show. I could hear everything and they just sounded incredible.<br /><br />The show followed the same basic format. Innocent when you dream was drawn out and Tom lead the audience in singing the chorus at the end eventually standing up, stopping singing and conducting us through the close of the song... something he tried less effectively in Houston. The megaphone was used sparingly but to the delight of the audience. There was much more talking and joke telling. A bit more heckling and cat calling from the audience, but somehow it really fit the vibe just fine.<br /><br />In addition to the great sound the show also had a perfect pace. The drums felt like a pulsing heartbeat the carried the show from start to finish. It just felt like it had more energy.<br /><br />One additional note. The group that I wound up next to included some contractors who did work for the venue. They had sat through the 3.5 hour sound check and shared some interesting information. According to them part of the performance contract required all of the bars but one to shut down once the music started. (This did not present a problem, but I found it interesting.) It was also explained that the air conditioning was to be cut once the show started. It was tripped back on two times when the temps got out of hand, but it seems the plan was for the room to be hot. My wife and I noted that when the air was off the smoke on stage held better and the lights made a bigger impact. When it was turned back on briefly those two times most of the haze was blown right off stage.<br /><br />All in all, two great shows. Very different experiences, but both great in their own way.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SHOw8CN5jiI/AAAAAAAAAEo/DLj1xboNcGI/s1600-h/Colleen+Texas+Tom+Waits+Birthday-39.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 412px; height: 309px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_9ohocqS_VSk/SHOw8CN5jiI/AAAAAAAAAEo/DLj1xboNcGI/s320/Colleen+Texas+Tom+Waits+Birthday-39.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220710938486345250" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I grabbed these set lists from the <a href="http://eyeballkid.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">http://eyeballkid.blogspot.com/</a>:<br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Houston</strong></span><br />Jones Hall, Houston Tx.<br />June 22<br /><br />Lucinda<br />Down in the Hole<br />Falling Down<br />November<br />Dead and Lovely<br />Lie to Me<br />Day After Tomorrow<br />Hoist that Rag<br />Get Behind the Mule<br />Cemetary Polka<br />Trampled Rose<br />Jesus Gonna Be Here<br />Lucky Day<br />Tom Traubert's Blues<br />House Where Nobody Lives<br />Innocent when you dream<br />Make it Rain<br />Murder in the Red Barn<br />Come on up to the House<br />Dirt in the Ground<br />Eyeball Kid<br /><br />Goin' Out West<br />All the World is Green<br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Dallas</strong></span><br />Palladium, Dallas, Tx.<br />June 23<br /><br />Lucinda<br />Way down in the hole<br />Anywhere I lay my head<br />November<br />Chocolate Jesus<br />Frank's wild years<br />Singapore<br />Hoist that rag<br />Get behind the mule<br />Such a scream<br />Eyeball kid<br />Lucky day<br />Invitation to the blues<br />Lost in the harbor<br />Innocent when you dream<br />16 shells from a 30 ought 6<br />Lie to me<br />Fannin St<br />Black market baby<br />Misery is the river of the world<br /><br />Make it rain<br />Jesus gonna be here<br />9th and Hennepin<br />TimeJim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-4274452124951272102008-06-02T11:40:00.000-05:002008-07-07T15:38:04.747-05:00...when is this f'n show going to start?!<a href="http://www.last.fm/event/564472" class="bbcode_event">Wed 28 May – Los Campesinos!</a><br /><br />I travel a great deal for my job. Typically it is meetings all day followed by working dinners or catch up work in the hotel at night. Sometimes I get a chance to do something fun in the evenings.<br /><br />So, I get called up to Minneapolis and a quick search shows me that <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Los+Campesinos%21" class="bbcode_artist">Los Campesinos!</a> are playing at the Varsity Theater in the Dinkytown section of Minneapolis. A call to the box office confirms that there are tix available, the doors are at 8:00 and the show will start at 8:45. I had heard reviews of the Los Campesinos! SXSW performance and their latest album and I was really looking forward to this.<br /><br />Great.<br /><br />I love the chance to see bands that I have not seen. I really like this when I do not have their albums and my first experience hearing them is live. This is a real excitement for me. In the past I have been lucky enough to see <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Drive-By+Truckers" class="bbcode_artist">Drive-By Truckers</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Centro-matic" class="bbcode_artist">Centro-matic</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Robert%2BRandolph%2B%2526%2BThe%2BFamily%2BBand" class="bbcode_artist">Robert Randolph & The Family Band</a>, and a few others in settings just like this. So, this was going to be another great opportunity just like those.<br /><br />The Varsity Theater is a really nice venue. It was an older building with open seating/standing. Around the room there were raised couches and chairs almost like small island living rooms and the middle of the floor was wide open.<br /><br />Quickly on the bands, <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Jeffrey+Lewis+and+the+Jitters" class="bbcode_artist">Jeffrey Lewis and the Jitters</a> were the opening band. I had never heard of them until they announced their name at the start of their set. They are akin to Kimya Dawson but with a male voice and drums. I would suggest if you like Kimya Dawson you would like this group.<br /><br />Los Campesinos! were a great big group with dueling guitars, a tight rhythm section, a violinist, and pair of lead singers who trade off leads, keyboards and glockenspiels. The sound was a non stop onslaught which included great hooks, danceable beats, noise, distortion, hand claps, and sing-along choruses. The sound in the room was decent, but it struck me that the mixing engineer may have been struggling either with the room or with the number of instruments he had to control. It was not bad sound, but it was not great sound (especially for a room that appeared very manageable.)<br /><br />Did I love it? No. Was it interesting? Yes. Will I buy the album? Yet to be determined.<br /><br />So, where did this all break down? How did this picture perfect opportunity to become their next big fan not work out?<br /><br />Simple. The opening band started after 10:00pm. By the time Los Campensinos! took the stage it was after 11:00. The room was no more filled at 10:00 or 11:00 than it was at 8:30.<br /><br />I know I am old. I also understand that I am not included in any demographic a new indie band may target. Perhaps the target demographic wakes midday and does not go to work or class until 3:00pm. That is all fine. It just seems odd, that when all of the band members are there, that they would choose to have their audience stand around for 90-120 minutes waiting for them to take the stage. I felt a little disrespected. I was waiting for a band to start a concert, not for a child to be born or my transmission to be rebuilt. What is the sense in keeping people waiting that long?<br /><br />I went to the show looking forward to writing a review of the great show I had just seen. I was ready to buy the album and start telling my friends that they NEEDED TO HEAR THIS BAND, but in the end, I left feeling mistreated. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth.<br /><br />Maybe I am just too old.Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-60434521996325814052008-02-07T11:38:00.002-06:002012-02-17T16:03:56.482-06:00Grand Champeen, Where have you been all my life?So, I go to see the This is American Music Revue in Milwaukee in Dec of 2007. I had seen <a class="bbcode_artist" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Two+Cow+Garage">Two Cow Garage</a> and <a class="bbcode_artist" href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Drams">The Drams</a> a few times each in Chicago and Milwaukee, and I was about a month into my first two <a class="bbcode_artist" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Glossary">Glossary</a> Albums: For What I Don't Become and <span class="bbcode_unknown" title="Unknown album">The Better Angels Of Our Nature</span> (which can be downloaded here: <a href="http://www.glossary.us/">www.glossary.us</a>) but I had never heard of <a class="bbcode_artist" href="http://www.last.fm/music/Grand+Champeen">Grand Champeen</a>.<br />
<br />
Of the 4 bands that played, Grand Champeen seemed to me to be the most out of place. Certainly some nods to twang and they even had a Telecaster Deluxe on stage if I remember correctly, but few if any of your standard bendings of 2nd's to 3rd's, overt Keith Richards sounds, and certainly no steel guitar.<br />
<br />
Given that I came to see the other bands, and I clearly have a soft spot for your standard country/alt-country/whatever-it-is-called-these-days types of sounds, I was not sure what to make of these guys. They looked like they would have fit in better at a hardcore show in the 80's at the Metro along side Black Flag or Naked Raygun.<br />
<br />
Their show was good. I was not familiar with the songs, but I was intrigued by them. They never seemed to completely hit their groove as the bands were limited to short 30 minute sets.<br />
<br />
So all the bands were selling their CD's for $10 a pop so I picked up their latest, "Dial T For This," on the recommendation of Kelly from Glossary. This is an excellent album. I feel like most of the bands in the greater Americana genre have roots in bands like the Stones, Guthrie, Gram Parsons, Little Feat, Neil Young... It is a little more rare that you hear the Beatles or Big Star mentioned as an influence or reference. These guys combine the musical creativity of the Beatles with the pop sensibilities of Big Star and present it as though it was being played by The Clash circa 1979. After the hooks and the creative chord/melody lines what grabs me is the raw energy. This sounds nothing like an album done in a proper studio... yeah it sounds great, but it is just too filled with energy to be grouped in with your standard studio album. A lot of the type of energy that you can feel in the best of Slobberbone and White Stripes recording is here in full effect.<br />
<br />
So, where do you go from there? I got the album one earlier: "The One That Brought You." I get nervous going back into a catalog that is new to me after falling for a recent release but The One That Brought You really delivered. Maybe a bit less evidence of love for the Beatles, but more raw and more energy.<br />
<br />
I have Battle Cry for Help coming from Gulp! records now and am hoping to enjoy it as much as these other two.<br />
<br />
The one thing that struck me today (as I was snowblowing 2 feet of friggin' snow from my driveway and listening two times through these albums) was how little self indulgence there is on these records... No showy guitar solos or over the top drums or over emotive singing... A band playing as a unit. Heartfelt, Raw, and Filled with Energy.<br />
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Do yourself a favor and pick up one or both of these albums.Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3607734240647692447.post-47644503241932098092007-12-07T11:36:00.004-06:002008-07-08T14:00:14.500-05:00This is American MusicJust saw <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Glossary" class="bbcode_artist">Glossary</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/The+Drams" class="bbcode_artist">The Drams</a>, <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Two+Cow+Garage" class="bbcode_artist">Two Cow Garage</a> and <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Grand+Champeen" class="bbcode_artist">Grand Champeen</a> here in Milwaukee. May have been one of my favorite shows ever.<br /><br />The venue is one that I had not been to on the south side of Milwaukee called Club Garibaldi. Far from a dream club, it was perfect sized and the staff along with the regulars fit right in with the music.<br /><br />How lucky are we that this show that only made it to 6 cities included Milwaukee? What a great deal. $8 for the door and beers were really cheap too. The bands were selling all their CD's and Shirts for $10. It made everything really affordable.<br /><br />Each band played 4-5 songs then the next band jumped up and did the same. They went through the whole rotation twice and ended with everyone on stage for American Girl and Born to Run.<br /><br />The Drams seem rougher around the edges these days and really had a nice sound. The regular guitar player was out as he wife just had their first kid so the other guitarists from the band filled in throughout the night. They did some stuff off Jubilee Drive and some <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Slobberbone" class="bbcode_artist">Slobberbone</a> stuff too. Also a new song that I cannot recall the name of that was my favorite from them.<br /><br />Grand Champeen's sound did not transfer as well live in the rough and tumble setting of this show, but I grabbed their new CD 'Dial "T" for This' and it is really strong. There were some strong points in their two sets but I kept feeling like they would have a better showing if they could have the stage to themselves for 2 hours.<br /><br />Two Cow has put out some of my favorite albums from this group of bands. I like that they have always stayed really rough and raw. However, the last 3 times I have seen them it has always been too loud and a little too messy. There are a few of their songs that absolutely rock live, and here they rocked even harder with extra guitars and vocalists on stage. I love their albums but struggle to enjoy the live stuff. That said, this was the best I have seen them live.<br /><br />The show for me was all about Glossary. Somehow they are able to sound remarkably like their recorded work but still sound vibrant and live. Their performance was one of the best live performances I have ever seen. Everything could be heard clearly and the performance was brimming with energy. Just great. I am waiting on their next visit to Milwaukee or anywhere in driving distance.<br /><br />I left the show energized to go home and write some music. That is what a great show does, makes you want to be in a band!<br /><br />This is American Music.<br /><br />(great photos of the Milwaukee show that I attended available at: <a href="http://youbethemouse.blogspot.com/2007/11/this-is-american-music-rock-roll-revue.html"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">You be the Mouse</span></a>)Jim Dierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00460094488363028957noreply@blogger.com0