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.

4/10/08 - Laura Palmer, They Mean Us, Riyad, Tiger!

being as how it was thursday night and all, i headed down to dada for my midweek fix. wasn't really sure aboot goin, but after havin a couple Tsing-has with the Piledriver (aka Glow-in-the-Dark Lefty) after work, it sounded like a damn fine idear.

nice to see amanda and josh back in town, after a much-needed break. always enjoy talkin with them. good people.

first up was Tiger!, artist in residence for April. Once again, i dug what i heard - nice, melancholy piano playin and a soulful voice. got to hear his original material this time - nice, though there didn't seem to be a whole lot of it. heard the same covers as last time. have to say, it did drag on just a bit - he seemed to run out of material, and kept askin the crowd what they wanted to hear, and they had nothin (i tried Rufus, be he didnt know any).

after he was done, i for some reason ('tho it might've been the alcohol) thought it would be a good idea to walk the three miles (kidding) over to the Allgood Cafe, where i knew Romp Almighty was playin. i had almost gone to that show to begin with, being as how i loves me some Romp Almighty, but there were too many uncertainties aboot the show, so i ended up at dada instead. anyways, by the time i got there they were done, and Laura and Trey were sitting outside on the porch. and yes, as you can imagine, the incoherent babbling began. i went on and on about how much i loved their set at haileys a while back (see review here), how she almost made me cry that night, etc. etc. really enjoyed talking to her, i mean, them. i'm pretty sure she said they had a full-length coming out soon - lookin forward to that. they also apparently play every monday at the barley house, so i'm gonna have to add that to my schedule one of these weeks (like, tomorrow, maybe?).

back at dada, Riyad was just about done. solo acoustic dude wif dreads and all. umm, not so much. did not have what you'd call a pleasant sanging voice, sang a lot of fast-talk-singy sorta protesty folk stuff. not my thang. and his closer, a protest-folk-style medley of hip-hop songs, has got to go. not sure who is supposed to enjoy that.

next up was They Mean Us, from McAllen. 5-man instrumental band - guitars, bells/violin, drums. 'twas ok and nice and all, but if you're gonna be totally instrumental, you really gotta have somethin special, at least to catch and keep my attention (like Mom, or D Numbers). they did play some nice atmospheric, lush tunes - just nothin i could get really excited about.

last up was Laura Palmer. holy shit, what a hoot. just her (wearing a giant indian headdress) on acoustic, plus a drummer who sometimes sang back-up. totally hilarious, catchy, clever pop songs about a great variety of oh-so-inappropriate topics ("he's got a hipster hairdo and he's kind of a rapist. once, twice, three times a rapist"). had me in stitches. check out her myspace for a sampling of her wit. "i wanna dance on the belly of god and queef right in his eye". now that's not somethin you're gonna hear too often out there. loved it.

that's it. see you out there...

4/3/08 - Clint Niosi, Midwinter Fits, Roy Ivy, Tiger!

in what is rapidly becoming a regular thang for me, i headed down to dada on thursday night to catch a midweek shew (gotta get my fix, you know).


first up was Tiger! (the artist in residence for the month), which is mainly one dude (andy, i later learned) on piano (yes, an actual piano), joined by a drummer and sometimes a second vocalist. andy's got a wonderfully deep, gruff, emotion-filled voice that can make damn near anything sound soulful, including the goddam Mattress Giant jingle (you know it: ooohh-ah! ooooh-ah! etc.) - funny as hell. got there late, so i only heard a few songs, but i dug what i heard, including two leonard cohen covers and a beatles cover. loved the moody, melancholy piano playing - it matched his voice very well. would've liked to have heard his original material, but that was probly earlier in the set. maybe next week.


during the outrageously-long and leisurely-paced set change (doesn't anyone else have to work in the morning?), i got a chance to chat with fred (from my Favorite Local Band the felons), who kept me thoroughly entertained and laughin my ass off. amazing, how with-it and together that dude is, at such a young age (nice job, bill h). now if only he'd quit smokin ('tho i think he said he was gonna quit smokin when he turned 21, just to be ironic. ha!). thot for a second i was gonna get to watch the felons rehearse, but alas, it was not meant to be.


next up was Roy Ivy, lead sanger from the Tah-dahs, who did a solo acoustic set. it was exactly what i expected from the tah-dahs lead - funny, clever, smart and quirky pop tunes. he sang what should be my work buddies' theme song, the one that goes "i got a damn good excuse for drinkin, it's called monday. i got an even better excuse for drinkin, it's called tuesday", or somethin along those lines (sorry - it was thursday, so i was drinkin). anyways, the dude is truly talented. enjoyed the set.


next up was Midwinter Fits, from Arlington. really really liked these guys. some absolutely beautiful, haunting, melancholy, mellow folk rock. 5-man - acoustic, bass, mandolin (nice!), keys, drums. great vocals on the lead, and wonderful harmonies 'tween the lead and bass player - you know i love that. great set. the highlight of the evening for me. definitely would like to catch them again.

last up was Clint Niosi, another talented solo acoustic singer/songwriter. a real natural behind the mic and on the guitar. loved his voice - kept tryin to think of who it reminded me of, and landed on Bono. really like his fully-arranged stuff on myspace, and would love to catch him with a full band sometime.

that's it for now.

see you out there...