4/27/08 - Ultraviolet Rock Show

omigod, what a fuckin blast i had on saturday night at the Ultraviolet Rock Show and Art Auction for CF at Club Dada. man, what a night - an incredible line-up of bands, some cool art, a huge crowd full of great people, perfect weather, etc. etc. c'mon, can't we do this every weekend? seriously, i loved the way they alternated inside and outside stages, so there was no break in the action. they packed an amazing amount of entertainment into one evening.

luckily, i had a couple buddies with me (batman and zac), plus all my favorite people were there - fred, dave (who's apparently had some work done lately (only AA's, tho)), amanda, Giggly Underpants Boy (you'll have to ask him), and sweet petey F. lots of incoherent babbling and laughter ensued (well, at least on my part).

anyways, on with the show:

(fair warning - this one's gonna be kinda rough, folks. saturday night was the third day of my three-day live-music bender, so i was what you might call Thoroughly Pickled by then. i'm having trouble recalling a lot of the details, but i'll do my best)

first up was disconnected in '73, a solo acoustic singer/songwriter. couldn't hear all that well (he was outside) but i remember i liked his voice. i think i thought it was unique. that's all i got.

next up was blue petal. very nice. one vocalist, with two back-up musicians on guitar and harmonica (i don't think there was a drummer). when i first saw manya (the lead singer), i instantly thought of Bic Runga, and then i heard her sing, and that reminded me of her too (strange). some really beautiful, haunting songs. loved her voice - amazing. only caught a couple songs, but i'd love to catch these guys again.

outside, lovie took the stage. i've been waitin forever to catch them, but i swear i could not hear a damn thing that night. i still have no idea how they sound live. seriously - you could not hear them. ah well, next time...

next up inside was sunward, who i've seen once before. jeebus christ, their performance was orgasmic (is that gay? that's not gay. is it? i don't care). i'm serious, these guys floored me. absolutely incredible stuff - easily the highlight of the night for me (read my earlier write-up for a description of their sound - i don't wanna repeat myself). yea, they've lost their sundress-wearing keyboardist, who definitely provided some nice scenery, but i hardly noticed. wished their set would never end. they are now tied for first place in the 'My Favorite Local Band' contest.

back outside, the felons (the other co-leader of the MFLB contest - check here and here) cranked it up. unfortunately, they also suffered from the sound system problems, though not as bad as Lovie. i'm used to being surrounded and enveloped by their sound, and the outside system just wasn't quite up to it. still, i loved their set as usual.

next up was el gato, who i was really lookin forward to hearing. unfortunately, i missed most of it, and i really don't recall much of what i did hear (damn you, free beer lady! (just kiddin, can you come back next week?)). heard a couple songs, but they didn't really grab me, so i stumbled back outside.

next up outside was bridges and blinking lights. now, i have made my opinion known aboot these guys many times before (check here and here), so i aint gonna say any more, except to say that after hearing them for a third time, i can definitely say - I Am Not Wrong.

closing out the night was Wonderfool. really enjoyed these guys, some really cool wall-of-soundish psychedelic stuff. some glam, too - heard spacehog, bleebe it or not. would definitely like to see them again (to further evaluate).

have to say, during the wonderfool set, i was distracted and very confused by these gals,

who sat there calmly thru the whole set and slowly waved those giant sunflowers back and forth. very strange. 10 bucks says they're Girlfriends of Band Members.

well, there you have it - one hell of a show, and for a great cause, too. check the link below to pick up the compilation CD - 21 tracks for $15:

http://www.theconnextion.com/ultraviolet/

see you out there...

4/26/08 - Red Monroe, Green River Ordinance, Burning Hotels, AM Ramblers

on the second night of my three-day live-music bender, i headed out to haileys to catch their end-of-school free show (gawd bless you, mr hailey).

first up were the AM Ramblers, a folk/bluegrass outfit wif 2 acoustics, a mandolin, a banjo, and a stand-up bass. good stuff. love the four-part harmonies. was hopin they'd do a dirge-like number (dono why, i was just in the mood for it), but alas. i dont know bluegrass too well, but i enjoyed their stuff, and they really seemed to be good at what they do.

talked to Jamie from Green River Ordinance and his (smokin hot) wife between sets. really nice dude. i cant remember much what we chatted about, but i can tell you he's a cool dude.

tons of short people in attendance, once again. tried to document it with my camera without gettin my ass kicked. the pics didn't come out - yer just gonna have to bleebe me.

next up was the burning hotels. seen these dudes before at the cavern (see writeup here). totally loved it. again, heard radiant sometimes. some great jangly stuff sometimes, too. could swear their last song (stuck in the middle) was a cover (i said the same thing the first time i saw 'em), but they told me it was theirs. i swear to gawd i've heard that song before, but i'll be damned if i can figure out where. one of these days i'll figure it out. anyhows, all of that nonsense aside, i totally fuckin loved their set.

btw, definition of a Really Bad Sign - i run out of coke, but i'm so far gone that i drink the vodker straight outta the flask. really cheap vodka, mind you. ack.

Green River Ordinance - also awesome. very polished, very tight - more so than your typical local band (apparently, they've been signed, and they recently sold out the house of blues). some great guitar-based indie pop, some songs with a tinge of alt-country. definite third-eye-blind influence. really loved it. plus which, these guys win the award for having the Highest Percentage of Drunk-ass Hot Chicks Dancin in the Audience. best turnout i've seen in a loooong time. thanks for that, boys.

Red Monroe - kicked my ass as usual (seen them too many times to count). their set is now entirely composed of their new stuff, except for Blue Mountain Air (one of my faves). love the new stuff, but miss the old stuff, too.

Black Tie Dynasty was up next, but they aint my thang, so i split.

4/25/08 - State Bird, Midwinter Fits, Tiger!

yea, you guessed it - went to Dada on thursday night. sure wish the whole early-start thing would catch on everywhere - it sure makes it nice (or at least, easier) for us workin stiffs.

was very excited - actually found somewhere to park for free down there (screw you, i aint tellin). jeebus chrust, how pathetic is it that i get a chubby over savin two bucks for a parkin meter? ah, me.

First up was Tiger!, which was just Andy on piano that night (no drummer). My third time to see him, and it was easily my favorite of all three. Dono if it was cuz he did covers that i didn't know, or more of his own stuff, but it definitely felt more heartfelt and emotional that night. Some really good stuff. talked to Andy afterwards and told him i'd really love to hear more of his own stuff. Dude has a gift, and he needs to start sharin it.
so andy - get after it. make us cry.

next up was midwinter fits, who i also saw two weeks ago (see writeup here). once again, some really beautiful mellow folk rock tunes. seemed like they were havin a hard time gettin tuned, and why it was all on-mic i dono (i'm not savvy bout those sortsa things). if i had to offer one suggestion, i would say that, at least once or twice during the set, they should crank it up a bit, let that electric guitar loose, and pin your ears back (calhoun-style). but that's just me. still, a really nice set.

Last up was state bird, from ohio, who was a nice surprise. based on the small amount i'd heard, i expected straight-forward folk rock, but what i heard was far from that. kind of hard to describe, actually - definitely folk-rock based, but more complex than that - some songs almost straight rock, then the next, they'd whip out the accordian. some strangely structured songs, too. very creative. really enjoyed it.

yes, as you can see, i've found a way to waste even more time doin this blog thing, by taking and posting pics (bleebe me, addin pics on blogger.com sux balls). well, i used to be into photography, and so. plus which, no one can stop me.