PMJ Reviews (So Far)

I must say, I'm enjoying Kutztown University's first-ever Pop Music Journalism class a lot. It concludes my busy Tuesday/Thursday schedule and it always ends on a high note. We're learning a lot about the trade and we've got one of the coolest and smartest professors around showing us the ropes. So far we've been reading a ton of articles, having great conversations, and have submitted two pieces: a song review and an album review. Jim and I are both doing pretty well in the course so far. Would you expect any less? All kidding aside, it struck me on my walk home today that it'd be fun to share our work on this blog. So check it out, here's my first piece: song review of Vampire Weekend's "Diplomat's Son".

Short 1: Vampire Weekend’s “Diplomat’s Son” (2010)
By Mike Pop

Vampire Weekend’s second studio album, Contra, has seen some surprises in its early public life: it prompted an MTV Unplugged session, sought critical acclaim from blogs and zines alike, and reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart on January 20th, a distinguished feat for a band on an indie label (XL). The album features an array of ten breezy, pop tunes, but for those who reminiscent of punk rock’s iconic history and youthful escapades, behold the penultimate track, “Diplomat’s Son”, a mere 6-minute ode to boarding school scandals and the late Clash front man Joe Strummer. The song does not acquire the stereotypical three chord guitar riffs and unifying, anti-oppression punk themes; however, it does do well to praise a man who saw the world from his own eyes in the 1970s and wrote stories that rallied a generation of disgruntled lads (later to be labeled punks).

The tune opens with an arrangement of springtime strings, “cha-cha’s”, and a steady, undemanding drum beat. It comes to an arrest when front man/guitarist Ezra Koenig begins with a sobering introduction, accompanied by striking keyboards: “It's not right / But it's now or never / And if I wait / Could I ever forgive myself?” About a minute into the piece, Ezra enacts his plan: “Cause I'm gonna cut it where I can / And then I'm gonna duck out behind them / If I ever had a chance it's now.” The song quickly bounces into a calm, cool, never-say die agenda and an apparent successful drug-fueled night with an associate. The song hits its climax when Ezra takes Joe’s place and recalls a distinctive teenage night for the punk figurehead: “That night I smoked a joint / my best friend we found ourselves in bed / when I woke up he was gone”. Joe Strummer was the son of an English diplomat and the Clash were riding the popularity wave in ’81, with their album Sandinista!.

In the end, are we positive we accompanied a hooligan on a heist? A gamble? A crime of passion? All scenarios seem to fit the lyrics as the song’s protagonist recalls that satisfying sense of accomplishment in the tracks final moments: “Looking out at the ice cold water all around me / I can't feel any traces of that other place / In the dark when the wind comes racing off the river / There's a car all black with diplomatic plates.” His high jinks either ended with a chilly escape or the shit indeed hit the fan. Either way, it’s accepting the diplomatic conclusion that whatever the outcome of the disreputable event, just or unlawful, the adventure was worth a story. The song captures a shining moment for not only Strummer’s legacy, but for Vampire Weekend’s ability to pay homage to influence and experience.

Short 2: R.E.M.’s Live At The Olympia (October 27, 2009)
By Mike Pop

“This is not a show, this is not a show,” declares front-man Michael Stipe through his megaphone to the mass audience at Dublin’s Oylmpia Theater on one of the night rehearsals between June 30 and July 5, 2007. The 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee is correct; the series of performances is what R.E.M. calls a testing ground for new songs and revved up relics. Before the crowd can react to such a statement, the band ignites with what would be the lead track off their 2008, return-to-form record Accelerate: “Living Well Is The Best Revenge.” From the first riff on Peter Buck’s twanging Rickenbacker guitar, the band welcomes you to one energetic evening of jangling alternative rock.

The entire set was recorded and released as Live At The Olympia, R.E.M.’s second live album in two years and it contains a whopping 39 songs. For many years, the band was not keen to releasing live records, but after 30 years of touring the world and selling millions of albums, the band collectively decided to introduce listeners to the live R.E.M sound.

The show introduced the crowd to a company of new songs that would appear on the band’s most recent effort, Accelerate: “Man-Sized Wreath,” “Horse To Water,” “I’m Gonna DJ,” among others. The band also experimented with two songs that did not make the final cut on the album, but have been played during tours since: “Staring Down The Barrel Of The Middle Distance” and “On The Fly”.

The record shows this influential rock band acting as inventive and unrestricted as they were when they were signed to the independent label, I.R.S., in the early to mid-1980s. This is because the band communicates directly with members of the audience and plays deep tracks from records that were recorded over 25 years ago. Such artifacts include “Letter Never Sent (1984),” “Sitting Still (1983)”, and “Gardening At Night (1982)”. The band’s sound is amplified in live form and Stipe’s vocals come in as clear as they do in studio recordings. Along with bassist Mike Mills’ and touring drummer Bill Rieflin’s vibrant rhythm section and Peter Buck guitar-plucking chime, each one of the 39 tracks captures a divine group effort that has reached its zenith after decades of collaboration and ingenuity.

R.E.M. has put in enough years as megastars and has grown on their own terms in the demanding music industry to do as they please, even if that means resorting back to older styles of performing or releasing live records. Any admirer of R.E.M., young or old, will unearth tunes to enjoy and reminisce in with this exceptional recording.

VW: Contra Review & New Cover Tune

As promised (about a month ago; sorry for the delay), here's my review of Vampire Weekend's latest album, Contra, which was released by XL Recordings last month. The article is featured in Kutztown University's campus newspaper, The Keystone.

Also, check out the band covering California-based street punk outlet Rancid. We've known for a while now about frontman Ezra Koenig's punk infatuation, so it seemed only right for the group to take on "Ruby Soho".

Vampire Weekend - "Ruby Soho (Rancid Cover)"

Concert: Weezer & Blink 182 (8-26-09)

Last night, Taking Back Sunday, Weezer, and Blink 182 (I'll leave out Chester French) graced the stage at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ. A trip to the south for us northern Jersey boys, but not too far out of our way (though a new concert venue for myself). We planned the trip down to the minute, this being our final summer show. We got our lunch at Jersey Mike's Subs (at an employee discount) and hit the parkway at 2:30 PM. However, once we reached the Arts Center, we were told that the lots weren't open yet and we were pointed to parkway north. Lame. After a quick 22 oz. Bud Light at a local Chili's, we hit the streets again, passing through fields and farms, to once again arrive at the show. We were directed to the reject, additional lots (how appropriate). We had a few cold Busch originals, did the door trick (peeing with two car doors open to block the view of any passersby), made new friends, made new enemies, and walked through a pathway in the woods to reach the venue. Bring on a great night of music.

We arrived in the center around 7:30, only getting to hear three Taking Back Sunday songs: "A Decade Under The Influence", something new, and "MakeDamnSure". I was pleased with the Jersey natives from what I heard. My buddy, Colin said, "all the singer [Adam Lazzara] does now is swing his microphone". Ha. True, though. They have gone down in our minds after Louder Now proved they had changed, but we heard some good ones, so as far as I'm concerned, their live performance is still decent in my mind.

Taking Back Sunday - "Liar (It Takes One To Know One)"

Next up: WEEZER! All hail the crown princes of nerd rock. So many hits were played, it really was an all around great set. I was especially pleased with "The Good Life"; that's a nice one. They all came decked out in their matching grey track suits to the Fox Searchlight theme song. The crowd connected instantly. On a bill like this, either Weezer or Blink could've headlined, but we were treated to Weezer first. Other high notes: "Buddy Holly", "My Name Is Jonas", "Perfect Situation", "Undone (The Sweater Song)", and the opener "Hashpipe". However, I was letdown because of the lack of "El Scorcho", "We Are All On Drugs", and the fact that Rivers Cuomo played "Island In The Sun" by himself. Cheese. Perhaps the greatest moment of their performance was their finale, a cover of The Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?". They've been doing covers like this for a while now (Nirvana's "Breed" got a great reaction in concerts past). I got my clocks cleaned in the pit during that one. Almost fell down the hill, too. Ouch. This being my first Weezer experience (well, Blink and TBS, too), I was impressed and in fact, I'll go on to say I loved it. Well done, Weezer.

Weezer - "Beverly Hills"

Finally, the epic return of the band that captivated most of our adolescent and teenager years: BLINK 182! Mark, Tom, and Travis! The boys were back, in our home state, playing the songs that made us love them so long ago. They opened with "Dumpweed", followed by "Feeling This". Explosive. Light up that weed, audience. Jesus Christ, there was so much dust and smoke I could barely see the stage. In between songs, the band would joke around, making fun of the crowd and each other, like they always did. It feels weird after all that happened with the breakup and the awful bands in between, but they seem to have not missed a step and can still play and make us laugh at the same time. During a few songs in the set, Blink totally slowed down the pace, with "I Miss You", "Stay Together For The Kids", and "Down". But fear not, they did pick it up, with my personal favorite "Always", "Stockholm Syndrome", and "First Date". A lot from the self-titled album, which is indeed my overall favorite. Best tune of the night came via "Not Now"; it really was intense and brought back some great feelings. After yelling at kids for texting during the show (just like Arctic Monkeys at APW, the kids were BAD. Annoying, out-of-place, young, on their phones, etc. How old were they when Blink came onto the scene anyway? We're they embryos? And why would they try to start a circle pit for "Adam's Song?" Kill me. Okay, I'm done), the band played closer "Anthem (Part 2)". They eventually came out to a loud roar from the crowd: "ONE. MORE. SONG!". Travis dominated a sick drum solo to hip-hop beats while he and his drumset ascended from the stage and cricled around it. It was sick. The video's below. Then the rest of the band came on, finishing the night with the classic oldie "Carousel" and ending with "Dammit". A massive stampede ran through the lawn during "Dammit" so ferociously, I thought my friends had been killed. Luckily, no one died and the show ended in epic form. Loud, raw, and true. Blink is back. Thank the good lord in Heaven.

Travis Barker's Sick Drum Solo

Blink 182 - "Always"

After the show, we found the nearest White Castle, where we inhaled burgers and licked our dirt-covered wounds clean. The night was over, and for the most part, the summer, as well. It's all over. But what a way to go out. To all those who went, or have seen Blink/Weezer before, you know how awesome it was. Just awesome.

What's next for the Blink boys? I don't know, nor do I care. I can proudly say that I saw them, redeemed, vindicated, and playing their greatest hits. One night only. In my homeland. And it kicked ass. God Bless.

For more pictures (like the one's I stole), check them out here, thanks to Jersey Shore/MetroMix.
And for more videos, just find them on YouTube like everyone else does.

Blink 182's setlist.

Recent Stuff Wrap-Up

How have all you been? Good? That's good. How about that Radiohead? Pretty wild, eh?

It's been a busy week for me, personally. I officially feel like a grown-up workin' man after knocking out a 40+ hour work week. That sucked. But now it's over, and I'll have a nice paycheck in time for school (leaving for Kutztown on August 30th), and I can finally catch up on sleep/the world of rock 'n' roll. Let me see what I can muster up for a respectable post:

First, Woodstock was 40 years ago this weekend. I can't think of anything more anti-mainstream than the late 60's counterculture/hippie movement and the greatest concert of all time (I like to think Tim & Eric live in Philadelphia this past February was a close second). Have you seen the trailer for Taking Woodstock starring Demetri Martin, Emile Hirsch, and Eugene Levy? It looks really cool. And it's getting some nice reviews. Here you go:

My dad has a close friend who actually made it up to Bethel, New York back in '69 for the "3 Days of Peace & Music". He said it was incredible, and from all the footage and documents I've seen and read, I believe him. And my envy for those born in past generations that experienced great events like these, continues to soar to higher levels of jealousy. Dang.

Joe Cocker - "A Little Help From My Friends"

Next. Did you hear about Bob Dylan in my homeland, peeking into houses and spooking the natives? I'll go to CNN for this one. "Like a complete unknown". The man can do no wrong, despite his wacky antics. Check out this dude's quote at the end: "Dylan was really cool about the whole incident," Ahart said. He said he asked the singer why he had been walking in the rain and was told, "I just felt like going for a walk." Weird NJ.

Moving on. Be on the look out for new music coming out soon. The latest from Destroyer and Jay Reatard (August 18th); Arctic Monkeys and Imogen Heap (August 25th); and Whitney Houston (September 1st). Guess which one I'm really excited about. And though it hasn't been proven yet, Radiohead might slip us a surprise EP or a single tomorrow. Read Jim's post to get filled in. What an exciting time for good music.

In live music news, (I should've covered this while it was happening), KUR recently broadcasted live from Musik Fest in Bethlehem, PA. The whole thing lasted from July 31st til August 9th. Our manager did a lot of the work himself, covering the artists and the festival as whole. That's a bit of a distance for me, but I heard it was great. A lot great bands: The Wallflowers, Yes, Third Eye Blind, The B-52's, and a ton of local acts.

Yes - "I've Seen All Good People"

That's all for me. But like I said, the summer really is flying by. I can't believe it. I'm getting so old...

Concert: Cursive (8-07-09)

Arriving at the First Unitarian Church, my favorite Philadelphia venue, the line to get in was around the block as it usually is. Waiting outside was no problem, as it was a beautiful August night in Center City. Once inside, it was a different story. It was ridiculously hot and humid inside the church basement, as it always is. Even with all six ceiling fans on (the first time I've ever seen that) it didn't seem to have any effect.

The first band, Philadelphia's own The G, played loud. Loud and fast. It was hard to really form an opinion on them, they had great energy, but it was very hard to make out anything other than one guitar and the drums. I'll have to look into these guys again, but I was neither impressed nor disappointed.

The Love Language played next. Hailing from Chapel Hill, NC, the septet (that's seven people) played a very soul inspired form of southern indie rock. They can be compared to the Delta Spirit, but with more soulful, smooth vocals. The crowd was very unreceptive to them at first, but their happy pop jams won everyone over and Cursive fans actually started dancing. Well, a little bit. They closed their set with an amazing cover of the Ricky Nelson classic "Hello Mary Lou". Definitely a band worth checking out live if you get the chance.

Now the big boys came out. In any other setting I would have been worried about the Love Language overshadowing the headliner. But that isn't a problem when Cursive is headlining. Now bearing a five man line-up (a touring musician plays the keys and horns) they sounded extremely tight all night. Tim Kasher's trademark yells, yelps, whispers, and screams were all perfectly in tune, which I was shocked at. He truly sounded better live than on record. And they wasted no time kicking things into high gear, opening with fast paced classic, "The Great Decay". Any doubts as to the fanhood of the crowd were immediately put to bed. I don't think I saw more than two closed mouths not singing along all night. Stopping rarely between songs, Tim and Co. gave the profusely sweating crowd barely any time to catch their breath. After first addressing the heat ("Are you angry as us? Oh, your angry at the heat? And God?"), Tim played with the crowd a bit. After a fantastic rendition of this year's "Mama, I'm Satan", Tim said "Either you guys didn't like that song, or you haven't really listened to the new record yet....It's okay, I haven't listened to your new record either, I like the old stuff though." The set list was a spectacular mix of old and new, hard and soft, slow and fast. They tore through blistering performances of "Big Bang", "The Casualty", "The Martyr", "From The Hips", and had Tim giving his best wise preacher motions on "Rise Up! Rise Up!". They took it down a notch for slower songs "Driftwood", "The Recluse", and "Making Friends And Acquaintances". The two biggest live stand outs were an unexpected cover the The Cure's "Lovecats" and most recent album closer "What Have I Done?". The latter was arguably the best performance of the night, with both Kasher and the audience giving it everything they had left. They closed their set with arguably their fastest song, "Some Red Handed Sleight Oof Hand", which left everyone in the audience completely wiped out.

I went in to the show wishing I was seeing The Good Life, Tim Kasher's other project. I left knowing that if I never get the opportunity to see Kasher live again, in any incarnation, I was lucky to see him when I had the chance.

Here's my video of "The Recluse".

Concert: Warped Tour 2009

The long awaited Warped Tour review commences now. Sorry for the wait. The times are quite busy during the changing of the months, my friends. Especially with the more exciting concert that occurred two weeks post-Warped, which is still fresh in my memory (that being All Points West). Nevertheless, grab a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and enjoy this long review, you fucking scenester.

The 15th Annual Van's Warped Tour stopped in Oceanport, NJ, on July 19th. A beautiful day, to say the least. And just to throw it out there: I've been getting very lucky with nice weather when it comes to shows this summer: The Shins - nice, no humidity (though indoors); Warped Tour - hot, but breezy; All Points West - temperate, then slightly chilly at night. No complaints about the weather. And the trip down the Garden State Parkway was chock-full of old jokes, friendly annoyances, and predictions. With this being many of my friends' (who were with me) umpteenth Warped Tour, the day was worth looking forward to, mainly because ska music had returned in heavy force to the tour.

After pounding warm brewskies in the parking lot, the five of us (Sean, Camilo, Colin, and Guo; all the buddies from All Points West, minus Eric, but plus Colin) walked through the various lots and into the entrance, which was cluttered with young scenesters, desperate for individuality and attention, sporting ridiculous clothing and moving in awkward evasive maneuvers. My guess is they're parents couldn't wait to drop them off so they could go drink themselves into a shame-free-offspring bender.

Ads, ads, and more ads were grown onto the fences, road signs, and pavement sections like vines and weeds. They ranged from shitty cover bands to awful blogs (Who put this Never Mind the Mainstream sticker on this parking cone?) College drop-outs looking for drug money held up flyers like picket signs with the words: "(Blank band) plays at (blank time)", "Free Hugs!", "Will mosh for food!", and other exasperating passages that made me question why I'd be spending the next 7-8 hours with people like this. But in the back of my head, it continued to lightly dawn on me: "You'll be skanking with the dedicated few in just a few hours, so be patient."

Beer: 8 bucks. Okay, whatever. The one thing that Warped Tour beat All Points West on was the Beer Garden. Better beer, better quantity, and not so many people. A lot of chill folks, including Warped veterans (those who bragged about seeing Deftones, The Specials, Sublime and The Vandals) telling us the proper way to hunt for ladies at a show like this. Needless to say, we did not take the old men up on their generous advice. Once the beer was consumed, we took a dive to the outskirts of the venue, all the way at the end, near the main stage, to see the schedule. A lot of bands, I see. Interesting. We picked our desired acts and we were on our way.

Up first: Bayside on the Hurley stage. We were pretty far back for these guys. I have some high school buddies who were pretty into this group. I'm a fan of vocalist Anthony Raneri; he's got a solid set of pipes and a somber tenor. The rest of the band played well, and even for someone who is fair-weather fan, I was amused. Nice warm-up for the punk-heavy day, if we had even decided to spend most of our time going that route. Best tune: "The Walking Wounded" off the 2007 album that bares the same name.

It's important for me to describe the layout of the show itself. Many stages here, guys. A lot of them sponsored by MySpace or Skateboard companies, you know, kids stuff. That's to be expected. But food was everywhere, as were drinks, and of course, there were novelty tents, promising "Q&A's with the band!" or "Free Giveaways!" I was not there to spend a million bucks on T-shirts or stickers. Alcohol was my only expense. And the breeze felt so nice that you could barely feel your skin burning. That's what the shore area will do to you. But really, just a lovely day.

Next: Senses Fail. ... Let's move on, shall we?

Followed by: Streetlight Manifesto on the Hurley.com stage. Finally, some ska action. I knew this band would be the first dub, punk, reggae, ska, or two-tone act out on stage. They're still a small Jersey band out of East Brunswick (Rutgers University area), though their records have received critical acclaim and much praise from both punk and ska publications. Some local friends met up with us for this joyous occasion. Warped Tour is a great show for friends. Many of them were younger, but hey, we're immature, so we could relate. Streetlight exploded onto the stage after Senses Fail finally shut up. Lead singer Thomas Kalnocky received a large pop from the crowd. He came out in a sling. Turns out he had a little stumble not too long ago and fractured his wrist. Ouch. Still, the man sang and the band played as if their wounded leader was 100%.

Streetlight Manifesto, as band, has evolved over the years, and so have the fans. The Streetlight boys have moved on past the childish beef with former-ska alliance Catch 22 and have gained an enthusiastic audience of their own. Members have come and gone, but the core members remain a talented group of musicians who bring both exuberance and high-octane power to their live sets, along with raw and melancholy lyrics in their songs. Some of their tunes bring you up high, and then bring you down hard, crashing like a roller coaster off the tracks. People in the pit were so connected to the sound and dance that they barely noticed the half hour fly, which is a shame because for someone like me, I’m used to Streetlight headlining smaller gigs up north and playing for hours on end with multiple encores. Still, the sound was ferocious and newer tunes dominated the fast-paced set. Best tune(s): “Failing Flailing”, “Would You Be Impressed”, and “Somewhere In The Between”. Very pleased on how much energy they could put into a short set. Great group of guys and great music to match. Check them out. Moving on.

Streetlight Manifesto - "Here's To Life"

NEXT!: The always fanatical and spunky Less Than Jake came on the main stage. Nice, some Warped old hands. The were through doing their “Price Is Right” parody set from 2007, but still juvenile enough to come out to the Star Wars theme. That was indication enough that we were in for a fun set. Roger Manganelli and Co. came out loud and connected with the audience right away. No surprise there. However, they were victims to the short time slot on stage. But it didn’t stop them from completely ruling the concert grounds. The skanking was great; a good mix of oldies and newbies. Crowded, but you were able to move and strut your stuff. At a few points, I decided to do some crowd surfing. While I was in my “Cowabunga!” trance on the sea of arms, I lost my cell phone. Luckily, I was able to find it – on stage. Security gave it back after I yelled at them and they got off their high horses. What a lucky snag. Camilo’s picture made the Star Ledger which was fun. We also flung hats off kids’ heads (always a pleasurable game), and got drenched in our own sweat to one of the greatest bands of the day. Best tune(s): “The Science Of Selling Yourself Short”, “The Ghosts Of You And Me”, and “Look What Happened”. The band signed off and we all applauded graciously. A band well played, a crowd well skanked, and a job well done by everyone around. Killer.

Less Than Jake - "Plastic Cup Politics"

Hitting the Smartpunk.com stage next in a drunken stupor: NOFX. The guys spent most of their time telling extremely racist (but funny as hell) jokes to each other, before welcoming out one of the only Black guys on the tour, one of the various members of The Specials who plays the trombone (awful with names, my bad). NOFX impressed to an extent, but I’m still not a big listener. Maybe it would’ve changed if lead vocalist and bassist, Fat Mike, hadn’t stated “I’d rather be anywhere else but here”. I didn’t know how to take that one. Most people leaned to the side that it was a joke, but I thought to myself, “Meh, when’s Big D & The Kids table playing?”

At long last: My most anticipated act of the day and when of my favorite bands: Big D & The Kids Table came out to an overwhelmingly ecstatic crowd at the Hurley.com stage. The Doped Up Dollies came out to sing back-up, too. Here they are, pre-show, talking about the tour:

Big D, Short Chat

Okay, so let’s break it down. Despite being from Boston, these guys won the New York/New Jersey-highly-spirited crowd over. Playing mostly older tunes, the band (even with a small electrical error in the beginning of their opener, in which they made light of) reacquainted the fans with their standard hits. I was excited for new material, though, as their new release Fluent In Stroll dabbles into mostly stroll, dub and reggae, while all the songs are pretty much love songs (we can so tell Dave’s been maturing from a relationship). It already makes the list of my Top 10 favorite records of the year, even after being released in late June. A lot of people came in close for this one. The pits were a little slower, but that’s to be expected with the kind of music Big D plays. It’s not in your face, and for the most part, it’s just fun to sing and dance with your friends to. To our surprise, the definitive Big D song made its return after hiding from big, bad Pittsburgh. “LAX”, a rebellious number about snooty Los Angeles brood who have too much money and bad attitudes to compliment, caused the crowd to roar. Safe to say, the crowd knew it, loved it, felt it, and responded. Best tune(s): “Noise Complaint”, “I, I, I,”, “Steady Riot”, and “Little Bitch” (The Specials cover). I was hoping for “Wailing Paddle”, my group of friends and my own personal favorite, but all we got was bassist, bald and creepy-smile man, teasing us with the opening riff. Unfair, but we didn’t mind too much. The set was a ball. I look forward to a larger audience hopping on the Big D train and skanking to their new sound for years to come.

Big D & The Kids Table - "LAX"

Ska had retired for the day. And no one really wanted to stick around and inhale the reefer with Westbound Train. Bummer. But we were treated so well by all of it. Only one band worth our while remained: Bad Religion. Talk about veterans! These guys deserved the headline over “A Day To Remember” (in a few years, who’s really going to remember a band like that? A-Ha! That destroys everything they were wittingly hoping for). One more band and then the day would be done. Bring on the Bad Religion.

Now it’s time to note that at this point, my back was withering in pain. A bit of a personal note, my doctor had informed me of pretty extreme back spasms in my lower lumbar region. I thought I was just growing more! It’s about as fun as school in summertime (and believe me, I know what that’s like). So the dancing and moshing and what not definitely agitated my already sore back. Whatever. If it meant I had to stand back and actually watch a band, rather than bounce around and get wild, then so be it. Bad Religion was the band to watch. Much like Tool fans weeks later, T-shirt baring fans propelled themselves towards the stage, opening pits and clearing the area of the weak. Lead vocalist, Greg Graffin, ignited the crowd with his mighty tones that acted as a call to arms for massive 40-year-old ex-frat boys to start beating the shit out of little kids in the pits. How natural. Strong, compact, and well-played; they proved that the old guys can still rock and attract more of a mature and seriously music-inclined crowd at a "teen-rawk" concert. Best tune: “Fuck Armageddon, This Is Hell”. And was it “hell”? No, but anarchy? At times, if you believed in it hard enough: close.

Bad Religion - "No Control"

My first Warped Tour (at 21? I know!) had concluded. A long day was done, back pain was bothersome, and a lengthy road trip up north was still in store for us. Like after any good ska show, we stopped at the nearest White Castle, ate delicious rat burgers, reflected on the day’s events, and as usual, I got a severe leg cramp. Must’ve been the dehydration. No need to do anything after the show. The night would be reserved for showering and sleeping, with the fulfillment of knowing that we witnessed a great show on a legendary tour, with feel good band and friends that know how to have a great time. One more great summer show in the books…Great Job!

Skank on.

Fest Chat: All Points West '09

Pardon my French, but holy shit. ... APW Saturday: What a show. Now there's so much to talk about, as well as so many pictures, videos, comments and more, but you'll have to be patient. I've gotten little sleep since the end of Tool's blockbuster performance last night, and I really should try to gather my thoughts and re-create brain cells somehow, because my mind has been blown ever since. I'll be updating shortly with the full Saturday re-cap (as well as Friday's & Sunday's reviews; but fair warning: they'll be biased because I did not attend those days, and I'm pretty sure the entire park was flooded anyway.) Oh man, so many great tales of interest. Stay tuned!

*P.S. Warped Tour...I'll get to that review soon, too. Good thing my summer classes are over, because now I'm on to some heavy blog posting...in English.

A taste of what you can expect in the upcoming post:

(Just pretend you don't see The Ting Tings playing later than Tool on the schedule...)

Concert: The Shins (Live at The Wellmont Theater: 5/17/09) + More!

Well folks, if it's been about two weeks since I posted. The summer's picking up quite rapidly, much more than before. Instead of laying around, bored, and waiting for some action, I've started my summer Spanish courses at the County College of Morris (not so bad, actually) and making bank while I make sub sandwiches for business types. Both unflattering tasks, but I'm getting decent marks and pretty nice pay. Enough to let me go see The Shins at least.

What a terrific show. Despite losing two members to a destined, failed taco business (so indie), the Seattle outfit showed up in Montclair, New Jersey to showdown. The Delta Spirit kicked ass as openers; most impressive newbie set of the year so far. We've played one of their tunes on our show. Lots of percussion creativity and emphasis on noise. A+ plus to those guys. Young dudes, opening for the The Shins, making their names. I've spoken enough about opening acts on this blog, let's get away from the appetizer and into the main course.

The Shins opened with "Know Your Onion! - Pam Berry - Phantom Limb" !!!. Totally set the pace for an explosive evening. Throw in some surf rock covers (courtesy of The Beach Boys), new tunes "Double Bubble", and a massive punk rock rebellion/girls-in-the-audience-guitar-playing-slaughter fest, and you've got yourself one hell of an evening. They played from roughly 9 til 11:30 PM. Me, who was suffering from upset stomach and a reluctant case of being the designated driver, did not get as nearly as messed up as my local concert go-ers, but I witnessed some great rock 'n' roll by an expeirenced and humble rock band. No bullshit. They played their old tunes better than recorded sessions and recieved a standing O. Garden State bump or not, these guys carried their own. Best performances of the evening: "Gone For Good", "Sleeping Lessons", or "New Slang". Well done. Well worth my 40 bucks. Looking forward to new material and a new record in 2010.

Though this is from a week earlier, this is pretty much how the song went... Fact.

In other news, I thought I had swine flu earlier this week. Whoo-oo-oa I was on fire. Fever fest!

Just starting to feel better now. Memorial Day Weekend, staying up late, and alcohol destroyed my immune system. I met a ton of new people, swam in a freezing cold ocean, and stole many a-drinks. I should not be alive. I should've been the pork's disease's next victum, yet here I am. Blogging late on past events. Whoever said the summer is time to relax was mistaken. Seriously.

Want more?: Bell X1 put out a new record. Check that out, along with "The Great Defector". Really great stuff. Thanks to RXP in New York City for the new tuneage.

Also, Bruce Springsteen is up for best song in a movie at the MTV Movie Awards this Sunday for "The Wrestler". He'll lose to Paramore because we live in a cruel and uneducated world.

Buenos dias! (Learning already...)

Concert: Bloc Party (Live at The Electric Factory: 3/21/09)

Photos by Jim Adair. Most of them are sick, just like this one.

Well indie-lovers, Bloc Party played a live show, with openers Longwave, Saturday night at The Electric Factory in Philadelphia. Months of anticipation boiled down to one epic experience: our third Bloc encounter in three years (pretty impressive streak if I do say so myself). Instead of a writing a huge review, Jim and I decided it'd be good to just import our AIM conversation about the show onto the blog. Innovators - just like Kele and Co. Here's what we came up with (and we're giving out our real screen names! Above and beyond, we go):

truthoradair88: hi sir
mpops88: word up
mpops88: lets talk bloc
truthoradair88: sounds good
mpops88: hold on, i'm putting "letter to my son" on right now
truthoradair88: first off before we start
mpops88: oh, we've already begun
truthoradair88: lady from pela management said shes gonna set up an interview and will get back to me with a day and time
truthoradair88: and we have begun
mpops88: sick as hell
mpops88: good shit
truthoradair88: since im sitting here rockin a KIR
mpops88: haha
mpops88: okay, so the show, it was pretty fucking sweet. 3rd time bloc's played in philly...that we've attended
truthoradair88: yessir, and i agree it was sweet, though i wish we got tulips and once and future like DC
mpops88: yeah man, i'm a little jealous
truthoradair88: i def am
truthoradair88: especially since that happens every time
mpops88: how many times did we scream once and future king? so many times
mpops88: they were not having it
truthoradair88: the first time we saw them, they deputed once and future the show after that, and last time, intimacy came out like 2 weeks later
truthoradair88: debuted*
truthoradair88: i dont know what deputed is
mpops88: haha me neither
mpops88: yeah, it was great seeing the intimacy tracks live
mpops88: what was your favorite intimacy song that they played?
truthoradair88: ares was especially amazing
truthoradair88: ares
truthoradair88: well i dont know actually
mpops88: the lighting for that was insane. felt like the band was being abducted by a ufo
truthoradair88: halo was sick, but ares, with the location it was in the setlist and how they brought it up an extra notch at the end was perfect
truthoradair88: and with kele coming right next to me in the crowd during the bridge was amazing
mpops88: haha i knew he was gonna come out sometime
truthoradair88: what was your favorite weekend in the city track they played
mpops88: hunting for witches always sells it for me. so much energy. but waiting for the 7.18 was nuts. thats actually when i crowd surfed and did a backflip onto security. the next time i tried that it would end up with me in a headlock from one of those big dudes
truthoradair88: yea he was not having it
mpops88: haha "take it easy bro"
truthoradair88: yea hunting for witches was epic as always
truthoradair88: song for clay was great as well
truthoradair88: i like it more as a mid-set song than an opener
mpops88: i'm never usually too high on that one
mpops88: yeah true
truthoradair88: the "east london" part does it for me every time
mpops88: kele's dance moves during mercury was memorable. had a lot of fun with that one. mer-mer-mer-mercuy's in retrograde
truthoradair88: yea, he was breaking it down during ares too, but mercury was great. especially when he wrapped up the dude in the smoosh shirt who looked like bob mould
mpops88: hahaha
mpops88: the softer tunes were really great. signs, so here we are, and this modern love. perfect
truthoradair88: yea, tml was great as a closer too
truthoradair88: although i gotta say, even more so than letter to my son, where is home got the majority of the audience's "huh?" vote for the night
truthoradair88: i was surprised at how many people just had no clue what it was
mpops88: haha agreed man. where is home gave me a chance to catch my breath, even though i was pretty much wiped up and covered in sweat after the first 3 songs. plus longwave was a good opener and i was pumped for them too
truthoradair88: yea longwave shocked me, but we've had a streak of some amazing openers
mpops88: true, macabees and noisettes in '07, does it offend you yeah in '08, and now longwave
truthoradair88: and just in general.....smoosh, meligrove band, mobius band, a.a. bondy
mpops88: pissed they wouldn't play "there's a fire". haha except they did say "not a good thing to be said in a large crowd"
mpops88: yeah man
mpops88: bloc eletrified philly. hands down. the crowd came ready to dance and the band came ready to jam
truthoradair88: yea, they were just not about that at all
truthoradair88: true, and kele and matt really seemed to enjoy themselves, even as russel and gordon were as stoic as ever
mpops88: true, russel's a robot. no smile. no talking. nothing. damn
mpops88: glad to see gordon again; he brings alot to the group. saw it most in the prayer
truthoradair88: but gordon is a stoicly awesome handsome man
mpops88: haha
mpops88: ok, so if you had one dissapointment, if any, what was it
truthoradair88: yea and ares and positive tension
truthoradair88: that ion square, though on the setlist, was not played
mpops88: ah! i was just thinking that
mpops88: i always get my hopes for a rarite, but i try to be realistic. i think one of mine was not even with the band itself. i think some people in the crowd were real douchebags and some of the chicks didn't know how to act. such a sad sight. you come to a bloc show, expect to get pushed
mpops88: *rarity
truthoradair88: exactly, especially if you are up against the rail
mpops88: alright, so to sum it up, give your favorite moment, and on a scale from 1 to 10, how was the show
truthoradair88: twas an 8.5 just because i have seen better in past years, it comes close to the last time we saw bloc which i would give a nine
mpops88: very nice. yeah last time was a little bit better. better setlist, at least. dude, i'll give the show an 8. and the best part was the beginning of helicopter. i had never seen a crowd so alive. also after helicopter, i had never heard such a loud applaus. i felt like they had to turn down the sound of the entire place. fucking insane.
truthoradair88: and my favorite moment was easily ares
mpops88: very good
mpops88: and its always good to see a good band, good show with multiple buds. just made it better. now i need to wash my sweaty t&e shirt. it is still stanky.
truthoradair88: yea it exploded
mpops88: god bless bloc party
truthoradair88: and that is all that needs to be said
truthoradair88: haha

So there you have it. A great conversation about a great experience. For pictures, check out Jim's Facebook photos here. (Hope that's cool, man, Ha-ha). And thanks to Blog Party, we got the setlist, and we'll use their video, too!:

1. One Month Off
2. Trojan Horse
3. Hunting For Witches
4. Positive Tension
5. Signs
6. Waiting For The 7.18
7. Song For Clay (Disappear Here)
8. Banquet
9. Where Is Home?
10. Letter To My Son
11. Mercury
12. So Here We Are
13. The Prayer

(Encore)
14. Halo
15. Price Of Gasoline
16. Flux
17. Helicopter

(Second Encore)
18. Ares
19. This Modern Love

The lights flashing during "Flux" definitely gave me a seizure.

And finally, I leave you with an image that can sum up the entire evening:

Thank you, and good night.

Watchmen Movie Review

I consider myself a reader: I am a professional writing major, I read poetry and song lyrics obsessively, and I find real beauty in the written word. That said, Watchmen is one of my favorite books ever. This lit nerd loves a comic book, I admit it. For this reason, Watchmen had to be my most anticipated film in a while.

That being said, I hated the movie. I went to a midnight screening when it was released and was so pumped for it. The opening sequence was cinematographically amazing. It gives the heroes' background information in a timely quick manner to the tune of "The Times they are A-Changing." After that, it was all downhill.

Rorshach's character was one of only two characters in the film portrayed well. Jackie Earle Haley played the sociopath hero perfectly, thinly walking the line of love and hate. Billy Crudup's Dr. Manhattan was done to the best of his ability but poor direction and screenwriting killed it. Ozymandias' character and story was changed so much (especially in the ending) that it was ruined. Patrick Wilson hammed it up big time playing Nite Owl II and Malin Ackerman did her best Cameron Diaz clone job as Silk Spectre II.

Song choice in the film was awkward, misplaced, and didn't fit the feel and tone of the movie at all. During the most awkward, long, and worst sex scene I have ever seen on film, Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" soundtracks it to strange effect. "99 Luftballons" and "The Sound Of Silence" awkwardly stand out to laughable effect that makes you wonder if this film was being taken seriously. The comic, one of the deepest things I've ever read, is dumbed down for "ooh" and "aah" visual moments and fight scenes that I see as purely masturbatory on Zack Snyder's end.

In my mind now, with all of that plus the ridiculous changes and plot holes that I won't mention so I don't spoil it for those who want to see it, Zack Snyder now sits in my mind in the same category as Bret Rattner and Michael Bay. Amateurs with $100 million plus budgets who really don't know what they're doing.

Working On A Dream: The NMTM Review

Trust me, this picture needs to be big.

Okay, so this is a pretty "mainstream" thing of me to do, but I believe New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen, The Boss, deserves an album review for his latest release, titled "Working On A Dream". In a nutshell, this record is incredible. It's another one of those "return to form" records from legendary artists that are apparently all the rage right now. There really is not a dull moment on this one; each song is unique and it's really a great mix of hard and soft, fast and slow, moving and suspenseful tunes. And if your lazy like me, you can pretty much stop reading right now, but I leave you this one last thing: Go buy this record. Don't just download it. You need this. You want this in your collection. You desire the sleeve. This is rock 'n' roll and an all over great record. Here's the track list, and with it, I'll comment a sentence or two about each.

1. Outlaw Pete
(The record opens with 8-minute long Western tale of a true bad ass. A shady character keeps his emotions pretty tight. Just a son of a gun who lives a life of crime just because it's a lifestyle.)

2. My Lucky Day
(Bruce has seen a lot of tough stuff in his life, but every now and again, he gets lucky. I saw he's pretty happy now-a-days. This song is triumph of the fortunate day.)

3. Working On A Dream
(The title track. I'm not sure what else The Boss has to prove anymore in his career, maybe to just defy age and limitations. Regardless, very nice bit right here. Performed at the Super Bowl, too.)

4. Queen Of The Supermarket
(Okay, this is a GOOD song. Maybe not lyrically, but it's sharp. Haters beware. This blogger is a fan of the whacked-out ladies that make it into memorable songs.)

5. What Love Can Do
(So good it was played on our show. A Valentine's Day treat for sure. Reminiscent of Magic's "I'll Work For Your Love". Bruce is still proving to people the power of love.)

6. This Life
(A heavy track. One of Bruce's strongest vocals on the entire record. What else can you expect?)

7. Good Eye
(How about just a great Southern track. Bruce's vocals are skewed on this harmonic tune. An ode to BB King and the blues of the deep south.)

8. Tom morrow Never Knows
(The unexpected is something that comes up in a lot of good songwriting; surprisingly, it's easy to talk about being unaware of life's journeys to come. I can see Bruce singing this song to a young person, possibly a kid, who's not sure of where he's being taken to on his life. But hey, kid, no one really knows.)

9. Life Itself
(Pretty rough and tumble. Great guitar work on this piece. If Bruce is "working on a dream", then perhaps "Life Itself" is the moment at which you wake up and realize that your faced with reality once again. A bitter defeat.)

10. Kingdom Of Days
(A great love song. A tribute to timeless romance when your with someone who seems to diminish seconds, minutes, hours, and days. Pivotal lyrics: I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I do, you whispered, "then prove it, then prove it, then prove it, to me baby blue".)

11. Surprise, Surprise
(My personal favorite. Happiest tune on the album. Surprise's can be a lot of fun; and this is a birthday song to anyone to anyone who thought The Boss was too old to make you smile.)

12. The Last Carnival
(Carnies deserve a love story. Bruce knows how hard a true working man can live his life. This song ends the album with a sundown of chorus lines and peace.)

13. Bonus Track: The Wrestler
(Written for Mickey Rourke and the great, great movie that bares the title of the song, this might be the saddest song I have ever heard, let alone Bruce's. If nothing else on this record, you need to listen to "The Wrestler".)

Well that's all I got on this one. Album reviews aren't terrible tough to do, but they are time consuming. Luckily, I have nothing else to do on Sundays, other than to fold laundry and listen to life, one record at a time.

Come on, open your eyes, and let your love shine down!

"So Much More Attractive...In The 1980's"

Ever the R.E.M. fan, I am very pleased to relay this link on our blog. The anniversary edition of 1983's greatest record "Murmur" is out now, with a bonus live show! It's epic, broskies. Get it now!

Pitchfork, damn you for being also accurate and witty: The Review.

Read NMTM. At all times. It's a great inspiration for songwriting.