[sometimes I'm a dreamer and sometimes my cat sits on my head friendly side first. 
song performed: “Down the Line” from the album Veneer
conan’s reaction: “thank you so much *shakes yukimi hand* thank you so much that was great *shakes josé hand* josé gonzález everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back, stick around. *claps 5 times then bends down to talk to both on stage*”
before you read anything, if you haven’t seen this yet, please for to watch¬
that is josé singing there.
song performed: “Wanderlust” from the album Volta
conan’s reaction: “thank you very much. *bows to björk* thank you so much. that was great. björk everybody. we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back. *5 claps, turns in to talk to björk, she curtseys in return*.”
song performed: “Lover” from the album Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
conan’s reaction: “hey! *shakes bass* thank you so much *shakes rhythm guitar* that was killer *shakes devendra hand* thank you so much. devendra banhart everybody, stick around we’ll be right back, stick around everybody. *shakes guitar and keyboard*”
BTW I have not heard as loud of screaming by fans in a long time - that was someone with a blood curdler! some pipes!
song performed: “Dreamworld” from the album Under the Blacklight
conan’s reaction: “*clapping* that was great *shakes pierre hand* thanks so much *shakes jenny hand* *inaudible*…for doing it, good to see you again *shakes blake hand* that was great. rilo kiley everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back.”
song performed: “In the Colors” from the album Lifeline
conan’s reaction: “ya! *guitar player pulls cord, looks like guitar took dump, conan shakes ben hand* we should have to standaaw*inaudible* thanks so much for doing it, that was great. ben harper and the innocent criminals, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back. *claps twice, shakes hands again, shakes bass hand*” Read the rest of this entry »
song performed: “Lake Michigan” from the album Asleep at Heaven’s Gate
conan’s reaction: “that was really nice. *shakes guitar hand* very nice *shakes lead hand* guys. *shakes bass hand* that was terrific. *shakes drum hand* rogue wave everybody. that was really great. we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back, stick around. *claps six times*”
help I’m having a funny day. the weather channel has a mcdonalds logo on it all the time, so I’m wondering if I’m supposed to wear my big mac for a downpour of mcribs.
I watch Deadliest Catch so I know that Rogue Waves are no laughing matter. They will toss your Cornelius on its tanner crab butt. But these mates from oaktown are harmless, formed after the dotcom bust, or at least freed up to form after dotcom bust. Even though they are bay area material, I have learned them as the O.C. soundtrack band, which in some form is a nod of acknowledgement, but oh god it’s the O. blippin C.!
Tonight’s performance starts out very Fleetwood Mac “Tusk” with pounding drums, but quickly swings into dreamy landscape happy-go-lucky hand clapping (on an echo machine>?). the stage is very dreamy as well, foggy blue, making it difficult to make out the band save side guitar player pat in bright pinkorange shirt and pants. the band is dressed up quite a bit with everyone wearing tone on tone ties with the only distinguishing feature being the small fro on drummer’s head. I can tell just a few phrases in that the band likes playing this song.
the song is played very cleanly, rhythmically, maybe doesn’t end as tight, but is sweet. There are balance issues where the sounded is drowned by guitar, but I don’t know rogue wave too well, maybe that is the intention? the camera pulls back to reveal that we are dressed to coordinate with our instruments.
playing:
oct 15 - wonder ballroom - portland, or
oct 16 - neumos - seattle, wa
song performed: “1973″ from the album All the Lost Souls
conan’s reaction: “hey! that was great *shakes james hand* that was fantastic. james blunt everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back *claps five times and leans in to chat*.”
james plays the piana. he sings tender high and light with vibrato. he wears leather and jeans and is okay getting rained on in expensive threads. he has a week-long shadow. he came out of the blue (founded by linda perry of 4non blondes!) and put the UK on the map twice in the same time (other UK band was of course Coldplay’s X+Y). this is james story. I only wish he owned a saturn cause then i could write about something else. what?
Note tonight’s song title - I think that James was born after 1973, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t birthing pains to sing of. Either that or he is singing about his mom and dad making babies which is odd.
Tonight James is on the piana. he is wearing jeans and a leather jacket. he is singing tender high and looking with his bedroom eyes at the camera. don’t you think that when he is off stage, off camera, hanging with his closest mates the guy eats his boogars and talks like a rude cab driver? I hope so. I do, cause the song, tonight’s song is too clean. “You’re beautiful” same thing too. There’s nothing wrong with tonight’s performance. It is grand piana and keyboard in the front row, with bass drum guitar a row behind. All of the band is dressed up respectably. The performance is tight, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s all too serious.
And then…right before I start to get bored beyond recognition, mr. james gets off his tuff. hops onto the piana, and starts clapping and stomping like he’s rocking out. it’s only for 7 seconds, but it got my attention. Then, back to james, he slides back down the floor hands in pockets, all bashful and tender-high like his normal self. oh james.
song performed: “Hold On” from the album Drastic Fantastic
conan’s reaction: “hey! that was great. thanks *shakes KT hand* so much for coming back. that was great. kt tunstall everbody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back.”
a woo hoo little punk rocker
eh many of you will recognize KT Tunstall as the lady who laid down the opening track of the Devil Wears Prada (”Suddenly I See”) of which I admit having seen. Or maybe you know her from her no-bull approach to being a pop star against, well…pop rising to fame from having her unknown song covered on Amer Idol., a show she admittingly hates (avril lavigne called??). I however will give her the credit of breaking the rather odd “dating my daughter”-like-relationship between apple and john mayer. KT (aka katie, but not really cause it’s KT) was the musical guest at the end of this month’s Apple Keynote announcing possibly the coolest line-up of iPods ever. So good job K. T.
up on conan’s stage I am immediately hit wit this weird flashback visual of seeing tiny liz phair in black vest (over same t-shirt LOVELOVELOVE she wore at the keynote) yielding this gigantic white guitar. KT is scottish. she’s also adopted. she’s also part chinese and has a large LGBT following making her miles more interesting component-wise than say Jewel or even Madonna with her new guitar-yielding antics.
tonight there would be no looping, and her band was also interesting - stand up bass, modelly guitar man also with vest, elvis costello-like drummer (and boyfriend too methinks?) who played drums on a two-bass kick set swinging around maracas the whole time too (wtf?is he ape>?), darryl hall on keys and two american apparel back-up singers.
there is an amazing healthy tan to KT, which is interesting especially since she’s come fresh from cloudy UK. Maybe its the hue of someone who’s not messing around? Her sound is very soulful, a bit gravelly but with no sign of horseness. Plus on this song, she gets to have a fun little bounce to her playing. it’s cute. Let Leno have Mayer, conan’s got KT.
Side note: if any of your caught the keynote, there is an amusing moment when she starts her song that the looping maching does not pick up the tambourine correctly and she has to erase the track causing the song to stop. Her response was a classic “technology eh?”
12 attempts (nominated every year since and including 1996)
finally the horny manatee bit is paying off
congrats to the writers
after britney’s quote-unquote “lousy lazy” performance on the mtv video awards this jewel of a viral video showed up from Britney’s quote-unquote “fan” chris crocker.
which spawned a plethora of responses…
this brilliant one from seth green telling us to leave chris crocker alone.
along with a few other lamer sheet versions like this one with some sheet malfunction
then the texas chainsaw massacre killer, leather face, came back telling us to leave chris crocker and seth green alone
and now everyone is feeling insecure
and don’t forget that the freaks come out at night…uh
