9/6/08 - Sean Kirkpatrick, Baboon, Red Monroe

jeezchrist what a royal clusterfuck saturday night turned out to be. pretty sure i shoulda gone to dan's instead. ya, pretty sure.

lineup at dada was supposed to be Glen Reynolds, 2/3rds of PPT, Baboon, and Red Monroe (in that order). when i showed up, beard tells me the lineup is Red Monroe first, then Baboon, Roy Ivy, Frankie 45, and PPT. wtf? crazy-ass music biz.

The Les Savy Fan came out wif his friend Scott, both mos definitely on the prowl. Amazing number of hot chicks in the crowd, like i've never seen before at dada. LSF tells me it was deceiving, tho - they were all attached (yes, he checked. yes, all of them).

first up was Red Monroe, only it wasn't. eric steele was MIA, and some dude from Mission to the Sea was in his place (which i knew in advance, thanks to josephus). Was kinda interested to hear how all my favorite RM songs would sound without Eric, but it didn't happen - i recognized one RM song (blue mountain air, one of my favorites), but the rest was i dono what. must've been a bunch of MTTS material, cuz i didn't know any of it. don't get me wrong, i actually liked it quite a bit, and i'll be checking out MTTS, but i loves me some RM, and i was really lookin forward to seein them.
next up was Baboon. they was aight, but i couldn't figure out what was up with the lead - there was definitely Something Very Wrong With His Pants, or maybe he just has Pants Issues. Either he had forgotten his belt and was grabbing his pants to keep them from falling down, or he was trying to hike them up so we could all see his perty shoes, or he was trying to bunch up the material around his package to make it look bigger. i dono, but it was very distracting, and kept the LSF and I chuckling thru the whole set. anyways, it was some pretty good high-energy, slightly-shouty post-punk. heard weezer on some songs, too.
near the end of the set, my man pete shows up and asks if i'm goin to see sean k at the lounge. now, i knew sean was playin there, but i thot i was gonna have to miss him cuz he would play the same time as Red Monroe, but now that things were all fucked up, i realized i could catch him. and so's i did. thanks, petey.

so i stumbled down to the lounge and paid my second cover of the night (so you know i must've been feelin pretty happy). it was a gutterth thing, so there was the usual gutterth trappings everywhere - tv's playing snow, projected images on a screen on the stage, and that one dude who's always front and center, rocking back and forth like he's at the wailing wall, and over-clapping like mad. nah, just kiddin, i love those gutterth guys, they do good work. sean had his full band with him (they are apparently now called "Nervous Curtains"), just like last week, and it absolutely kicked ass. they seem to be coming together more and more each week, as they fine-tune the new material. the addition of Ian's dark synths and Robert's pounding drums make sean's material come alive and kick you in the nuts. and maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like it was definitely harder-rockin than last week. this is no namby-pamby piano pop stuff, folks, it'll kick your ass. absolutely loved the whole set (as i always do).

went back to dada, where LSF and scott were still hangin out, listening to what had to be The Worst Crap I Have Ever Heard. it was 2/3rds of PPT, plus some guy on acoustic guitar. so there were two guys hip-hoppin/rappin, plus the guy playin guitar and singing the most godawful stuff ever (mostly in falsetto, it seemed). they were tryin to get the crowd into it (throw yer hands up, etc.), but no one was buyin it. seriously, what a bizarre and unpleasant combination. maybe it was performance art of some sort? dono, but i found it unbearable. LSF and friend headed to the doublewide (where they apparently attempted to sabotage Kim Pendleton's marriage), and i went back to the lounge to catch The Great Tyrant, which i instantly regretted (a sean k reference, heh heh). i admit, i have pretty narrow taste in music, so i cannot objectively judge bands in genres i don't like (see above), but jeezchrist are you serious? i couldn't take more than one song. sorta like goth screamo death-metal? 3-man band, one goth dude in all black playin keys, plus ZZ-top wannabe on guitar, and drums. mos def not for me.all in all, a very unsatisfying night, only saved from disaster status by my man sean kirkpatrick (and band).

5/31/08 - Margot and the Nuclear So and So's, Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Red Monroe

had a pretty good night at Rubber Gloves on saturday:


drove up to the place and wtf? a LINE to get in?? outrageous. never seen that before at RGRS. couldn't bleebe it. the place was packed (with squishy female goodness, no less). had to park in the weeds. was worried i was gonna start a grass fire and have nothin but a flask of vodker to fight it with.


first up was Red Monroe, who proved once again why they're in my top 5. i've seen them now too many times to count, and every time they kick my ass with their jangly, groove-filled rock. this time was even better cuz they played not only Blue Mountain Air from the first album, but they closed with A Return to the Old Way of Thinking (prolly my favorite RM song) and Carolina Cigarette. hell yeah! only one problem - waaay too much reverb on eric's vocals - so much so that you could barely hear him. i complained to the sound guy, who looked at me like i was insane, then took time out from eatin his dinner to defiantly swipe at some slider on the board, but i don't think it did anything, i think he was just tryin to get rid of me, cuz i didn't notice much difference. oh well, still enjoyed the set.
next up was Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, who also happen to be in my top 5. totally love their stuff - haunting, beautiful, spacey folk. love matthew's voice. dug their set, for sure, but it sure seemed like a damned short one - like only 4 or 5 songs, maybe? mebbe it was just me, but i was left unsatisfied, wanting a few more.
headlining was Margot & the Nuclear So and So's, from Indiana. was pretty impressed with these guys. 8-man band, with rotating line-up of instruments including geetars, keys, lap-steel, violin, auxilliary percussion, trumpet (dude was amazing when he finally let loose), french horn (!), trombone. lead singer separated at birth from dave grohl. hot chick on keys. unnecessarily illuminated bass drum. some really polished, multi-layered, sophisticated melodic pop/folk. some songs totally connected with me, some fell flat. about 3 songs in i realized - hory sheet, half the damn crowd is singing along! on just about every song! so that explains the huge crowd. these guys must be on college radio a lot or somethin (shows what i know). anyways, really dug the set. i'll never understand it, tho - why is it that kids will come out in droves for some out-of-town air-played band, when equally talented local bands play to near-empty rooms on a routine basis? hmmpf.


p.s. soory for the extra-crappy pics

Saturday night show

Tonight I'll be at Rubber Gloves, listening to two bands in my top 5 list: Red Monroe and Matthew and the Arrogant Sea. So if you're there and you see a middle-aged unhipster stumbling around (yea, flyin solo tonight, as usual), come by and say hey.

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.

2/24/08 - Red Monroe, MOM, All in a Golden Afternoon

short and sweet, just like my trip to dada...


actually had to be at work on sunday night, but needed to kill some time, so i thot i'd head down to dada for a couple hours to catch some of the last day of the melodica music fest so's i could keep my local music cred intact. plus i wanted to see red monroe.

had two stages goin on - the outside stage was a lotta death metal, grindcore, noise, that kinda shtuff. lotsa black, lotsa hair, lotsa tats. not the usual dada crowd. felt a little out of place wearin my american eagle sweatshirt (and the fingers plugged firmly in my ears didn't help either). i won't pretend to understand that uh, music, so i won't even try and critique what i heard. one band had a dude wearin a giant longhorn-type skull over his head, another dude in stained choir robes with his face painted red. couldn't figure out if it was supposed to be funny or not, but i thot it was ('tho i kept the giggling to a minimum, lest i get skewered by a longhorn).

inside, the acts were closer to the usual dada fare. first band i saw was all in a golden afternoon - one chick, one dude, two guitars, plus lots of electronics. ambient, atmospheric, slightly psychedelic instrumentals with wispy vocals. whipped out an autoharp at one point - don't see that too often. some nice, pleasant tunes.

next up was MOM, who get a ton of press around here, so i was pretty excited to finally hear them. really dug these guys. two man instrumental band - violins, cello, guitar (played with a bow sometimes), plus lots of electronics. some beautiful, enveloping, soothing, multi-layered tunes. reminded me of lemon jelly sometimes (check 'em out, if you like MOM). for a brief second, i heard mannheim steamroller, but only for a moment. nice accompanying visuals ('tho it was hard not to be distracted by the 'cinema dada' playing on the wall - had to close my left eye to block it out). a very unique experience.

red monroe - phenomenal, as usual (seen them 3 or 4 times now). i think these guys get better every time i hear them. driving bass lines, incredibly catchy guitar riffs, infectious vocals. if their live performance doesn't get you rockin, there's somethin fundamentally wrong with you. played blue mountain air, one of my favorites, for the first time (pretty sure). had to head back to work after their set, but they alone made the trip worthwhile.

11/10/07 - Bridges and Blinking Lights, Red Monroe, MATAS

went to RGRS to see B and BL and red monroe and MATAS. buddy joe showed up too.

first up was matthew and the arrogant sea and i loved em. totally down-tempish and folky and mellow, but with a twist and i loved the songs. one electric guitar, one acoustic, plus trombone (always like that) , plus dude on floor with gadgets. totally loved the sound, great vocals on lead, love the trombone and the effects, great songs, wouldve bot the cd but joe beat me to it. wnated to talk to the guys afterwards, but they seeem to have split right after. oh well - next time.

next up was george neal - not hte whole band, just him, i'm afraid. just one dude with his acoustic. very angry, he seemed sometimes. sorry, i didn't hear much of it - was too busy tryin to convince joe about my shorter-than-normal people theory about denton, of which there was ample evidence. he didnt seem to buy it, tho. i'm not sayin there's anythin wrong with that - short gals make me ho-ney, i'm just sayin it's weird, is all.

third was red monroe, and first i have to say that eric steele has the hottest fuckin girlfriend on the planet. saw her at the cavern last week too and thats enough about that. second i can say forget what i said last week - this was an awesome performance. how was it so different from teh cavern show i do not know, but it was. did they do more songs from cd #1? carolina cig, a return, and they closed with shotgun heart/fingertips, which just fuckin slayed me. lotsa people up front dancin like fools added to the atmosphere. twas awesome - definitely takin a liking to the newer stuff, too. some really great songs on that new cd. wanted to talk to eric afterwards, too, but he seemed to have gone the way of the MATAS guys - nowhere to be found.

last was bridges and blinking lights. man, they had some great songs. many people on the stage, upwards of 7 or so at some times, even a steel guitar or some shit at one point. fantastic songs, but i have one complaint - the lead vocals. either he was havin an off night, or the mix wasn't right, but every goddam song would start off great, then when he would come in it would just lay a turd. sort of a glen frey type voice - nice but softish or somethin. he seemed to be tryin to belt it out but nothin was comin out. again - fantastic songwriting and musicianship. had some overly-loud and obnoxious goddam friends in the audience that i was wantin to pelt with rocks and garbage, but hey thats not their fault. would definitely like to check out again to see if 1st impression is correctamundo, as fonzi would say.

overall, a very nice night. and only 5 bucks to boot.

.043

11/1/07 - White Rabbits, Red Monroe, Record Hop, Burning Hotels

Went to the Cavern on a thursday night - never seen lowest greenville that dead, but there was actually a decent crowd at the cavern.

First up was the Burning Hotels from Ft Worth - 4-man, 2 guitars (mostly). guitar work sometimes reminded me of U2, songs sometimes reminded me of Radiant. all 3 guitarists sang at some point, sometimes all together (love that), great interplay between vocalists, nice harmonies. noticed the drummer workin overtime back there, trickin it up, great job (i don't normally notice the drummer). closed w/ cover. some really nice songs. would definitely see again.

Next up was Record Hop from denton (who i'd never seen before, despite all my trips over there), and holy shit were they good - fuckin incredible, on a totally different level. 4-man (no keys) - just dirty, grungy, bluesy, raw, the kind of stuff that just grips you by the balls, pulls you in, and doesn't let go. the word that kept coming to mind - visceral. this is not the kind of stuff i usually listen to, but damn, was i sold on these guys (and gal). speakin of that, i usually don't care for the female lead vocalist (in a rock band), but ashlee absolutely destroyed my bias on that front. fantastic set - wanted it to go on all night. definitely look forward to catching them again.

Third was Red Monroe, the band that was the main reason i had gone to the show ( i had yet to catch them since their second cd release). their first cd is easily one of my favorites out of all the cd's from local bands that i've accumulated over the last year, so i was looking forward to hearing the new stuff. i have to say, tho, that the new songs just didn't grab me like the old ones. the new songs share the same jangly guitars and whine-shout vocals, but they just seemed to be missing the hook or groove that i came to love from the first cd. it's probably because i'm much more familiar with the old songs, but whenever they played a song from the first cd, it just seemed like it was infinitely better. for some reason, the same vocal stylings that i dug on the first cd grated on my nerves on all the new songs. i don't understand that, but that's what i felt. still plan on gettin the new cd.

headlining was White Rabbits from NYC, who showed (in my opinion) why they deserve the hype (they've been on letterman). these guys are highly skilled songwriters and musicians. 6-man band, usually two drummers (and sometimes a third), giving almost an animal collective feel at some points. really cool songs.

spotted ringo starr in the crowd, i could swear. lotsa sister pants and pointy black shoes, too. seemed like everyone there was either in a band, or a friend of the band.

for the first time in a long time, made it thru the night without "using" the bathroom. yay, me.