Wednesday, February 21

Best Stop Pop

The oohlas came to Reno last Saturday night for an intimate show at the Satellite bar. I was surprised and stoked when I discovered this show was scheduled. I kept having the feeling that the show would fall through (as things at Satellite have sometimes), but it came to fruition. Yay! There were not many people in attendence. The small draw may have been a dissapointment for the band, but it was fine with me. I hate trying to navigate through Satellite when it is packed. There were numerous sound issues during the show. The vocals were very low on both mics, and Ollie could not get her mic set-up right, resulting in her continually being shocked in the lips. Ouch! Despite these technical gliches, I was not dissapointed by the summery pop-goodness that the Oohlas put forth. At one point during the set Ollie said she would give their album a solid two. I bought the CD, and would give it at least a five out of ten. A couple of us purchased some merch after the show, and met the band. All members were very friendly and sincere, and seemed appreciative that we had come to see them. Any time I meet a band that plays Reno I thank them profusely for coming to town because we do not get many quality shows here. I recommend picking-up this album if you enjoy guitar-driven pop music. It'll be a great disc to throw in the player on summer road trips.

Tuesday, February 20

Of Montreal Pics

I still cannot find my setlist from the Of Montreal show, I hope I didn't leave it in the hotel room, boo! Here are a few of my favorite snaps from the show, no flash.

Wednesday, February 14

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

If you don't have this cd, you should go buy it, right now! Seriously, it's great fun, makes you want to dance, makes you appreciate clever lyrics, lovely vocals and great bass lines. Highly recommended!

Also, try and catch them live! I saw them last night and had the best time. Like I said live shows either make or break a band for me. I am definitely a fan of this band now. I've just ordered a few more of their disks from Polyvinyl.

I'll post a few pics and the set list I snagged tomorrow.

Monday, February 12

New To Me ~ Drag The River

I discovered an awesome band this weekend, Drag the River from my home state of Colorado.

Someone on lala was kind enough to send me their cd last week and I threw it on this weekend. I instantly liked it! It's country music at it's finest, just damn fine old-timey shit-kickin' country music!

They are playing in the area several times in the next month, even a show here in Reno ... w- wh- what?!? Yeah, It's Crazy! I may drive to Sacramento to see them the first time though as they are playing with Reno buddies Hellbound Glory at Old Ironsides a venue I have wanted to check out before.
More on Drag the River after I attend a few live shows and delve deeper into their back catalogue.

Wednesday, February 7

OZZFEST 2007...FOR FREE!

GROUNDBREAKING ANNOUNCEMENT PULLS PLUG ON TICKET PRICES

"This will change everybody’s impression of the way touring in the summer in America should be."--Sharon Osbourne

Imagine a day of wall-to-wall hard rock.
Imagine the world's greatest headliner sharing a bill with cutting edge new artists.
Imagine if this brass-knuckled beast was hellbent on coming to your town.
Imagine this earth-pounding event...FOR FREE.

2007 will forever mark the year OZZFEST spiked the concert industry's punch and gave every head-banging American kid a reason to strap on an air guitar with the historic announcement that tickets to the summer’s premiere touring concert festival won't cost fans a dime.

Testing one, two, three...

That's right, OZZY and SHARON OSBOURNE and tour producer LIVE NATION broke the news today at the Concert Industry Consortium in Los Angeles that their 12th annual hard rock spectacular--a 25-date extravaganza launching July 7 in Los Angeles--is pulling the plug on ticket prices and giving the power back to the fans calling this summer’s OZZFEST "FreeFest." The other OZZFEST cities as of now are San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, Kansas City, St Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Hartford, Charlotte, Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Nashville. Note: a final confirmed list of cities and dates is forthcoming.

"For the last few years," says SHARON, "ticket prices have steadily climbed as artists demand more and more money for summer tours. We certainly want everybody to make money, however we also want the kids to be able to afford to come out and have an incredible experience. If we continued with the traditional touring festival model, we would have no choice but to raise ticket prices again this year."

Cited as “one of rock’s biggest juggernauts” in the cover feature of Sunday's New York Times' “Arts and Leisure” section (6/25/06), OZZFEST and Live Nation will turn to sponsors to provide added support for the festival's new incarnation. This summer’s OZZFEST will provide select sponsors with a unique opportunity to engage fans one-on-one utilizing one of music’s best known brands.

"We're reaching the same point we did years ago when kids no longer wanted to pay for overpriced CDs," compares Sharon. "As a result, they found alternative ways of getting music. That’s what’s happening with summer touring in this country, it’s out-pricing itself. We started this and we want to keep it and we want to make it bigger and bigger each year by getting bigger sponsors to be involved with the festival and underwriting the festival. That’s what it’s about."

“For the past 11 years, music fans have made OZZFEST the most successful and enduring rock music festival in the United States,” said Jason Garner, Live Nation President of North American Concerts. “What better way to say ‘Thank You’ to the music fans who have made this possible than inviting them to attend OZZFEST for free.”

To gain entry into the event, fans will go to www.ozzfest.com or www.livenation.com to find links that will direct them to special sponsor sites where tickets can be secured. More details regarding the process are forthcoming.

As OZZFEST’s founder and namesake, OZZY will make his triumphant return to the headlining position on this year's mainstage after surprising fans last year by performing on the down-and-dirty second stage at a handful of dates. Audiences can expect the Prince of Darkness to unveil new songs from his forthcoming studio album, OZZY’s first disc of new material since 2001. While the rest of the in-progress bill is under wraps, Sharon points out, "we have bands committed, but we’re hoping that after today's announcement we’ll have a whole influx of artists who want to be a part of something this ground breaking. We know there aren't any major headlining acts that would tour all summer for nothing, but we're confident we can turn some of the genre's biggest bands on to what we're doing and have them come out to play a date or two. If they're in town and want the rush of performing in front of 20,000 frenzied kids, they're more than welcome to join us. They can sell their t-shirts, CDs and whatever else they've got. They're also welcome to book their own shows in local venues on the day of OZZFEST. I’m not stopping them. People have to be creative and think of alternatives."

Since 1996, OZZFEST has been a virtual breeding ground for rising bands. The festival has been instrumental in igniting the careers of platinum-selling artists like System of a Down, Disturbed, Linkin Park, Incubus, Slipknot, Queens of the Stoneage and Godsmack. Along with supporting bands on the rise including Avenged Sevenfold, Mudvayne, Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage and Lacuna Coli, among others.

OZZFEST was created to keep this genre of music alive by showcasing new talent," states Sharon. "You better believe we’re going to keep perpetuating that by hand-picking compelling new bands that are hungry for OZZFEST's career-making exposure."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It will be interesting to see how this develops, and if they can pull it off. I think it's a brilliant idea. Hopefully it will make some ripples.

Thursday, February 1

New Music Tuesday

69 EYES-Wasting The Dawn
69 EYES-Savage Garden
ALKALINE TRIO-Remains (Deluxe Edition CD/DVD)
ALLEN, LILY-Alright, Still
AUTHORITY ZERO-12:34
AUTUMN DEFENSE (WILCO)-Autumn Defense
BARLOW, LOU (SENTRIDOH)-Mirror The Eye
BEIRUT-Lon Gisland
BEZEL, JAY-Philadelphia Beast: Vol. 2
BRACKEN -We Know About The
Need BRAND NEW HEAVIES-Elephantitis: Remixes
BUSDRIVER-Roadkill Overcoat
CASTRO, TOMMY-Painkiller
CELTIC WOMAN-New Journey
CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH-Some Loud Thunder
CONNICK, HARRY-Oh, My Nola
CONNICK, HARRY-Chanson Du Vieux Carre
DEERHUNTER-Cryptograms
EARLY YEARS-Early Years
EDENBRIDGE-The Grand Design
EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER-Essential Emerson, Lake & Palmer
GARFUNKEL, ART-Some Enchanted Evening
GRANDMASTER MELE MEL-Muscles
HELLA-There's No 666 In Outer Space
HOWE, CATHERINE-What A Beautiful Place
HUGHES, GLENN-Music For The Divine
JONES, NORAH-Not Too Late
KOZ, DAVE-At The Movies
LAMPANELLI, LISA-Dirty Girl
LANDRY, G. (OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW)-Ballad Of Lawless
LAVENDER DIAMOND-Cavalry Of Light
LOVE OF DIAGRAMS-Love Of Diagrams
MADONNA-Confessions Tour (CD/DVD)
MCPHEE, KATHARINE-Katharine Mcphee
NEUROSONIC-Drama Queen
NUTINI, PAOLO-These Streets
PAIN OF SALVATION-Scarsick
PRICE, SEAN-Jesus Price Supastar
RUDD, XAVIER-Food In The Belly
RZA-Afro Samurai Soundtrack
ASCOTT, JILL -Jill Scott Collaborations
SKINNY PUPPY-Mythmaker
SYLVIAN, DAVID/NINE HORSES-Money For All
TIN HAT-Sad Machinery Of Spring
TRISTANIA-Illumination
TRITT, TRAVIS-Very Best Of
WITHERS, ELISABETH-It Can Happen To Anyone
X-CLAN-Return From Mecca
YOUNG LOVE-Too Young To Fight It
YOUTH GROUP-Casino Twilight Dogs
ZAPPA, FRANK-Imaginary Diseases
ZOZOBRA-Harmonic Tremors
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I am interested in Autumn Defense, Beirut, and the Youth Group EP. I have the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album on an MP3 disc but have yet to listen to it. I should probably do that before I go buy more music, right? Nah.

Two of the main CD stores I used to shop at in Reno closed down last year; thus, I am left with the big box stores - I hate it. I know, I know I can order on line, and I do order a lot of music on line. However, there is something really enjoyable about going to get new releases on Tuesdays. The immediate gratification of actually having the CD in hand when I leave, opening it in the car and listening to it on the way home is something I have been doing for years. One of the reasons I have yet to listen to the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is because I cannot look at the artwork. Looking at the art work and reading the lyrics is part of the new music experience for me.

If you see me at Best Buy knock me down. I'll get up, buy my CD, and go listen to it in my car while perusing the liner notes.