a good cause for text-sexing
if you happen to be a telus cell person, on september 29th, they will apparently donate a small amount to charity for each text message you send. this i learnt from my latest bill (blip on telus site).
Archive for September, 2007
conan: the used
song performed: “Pretty Handsome Awkward” from the album Lies for the Liars
conan’s reaction: “*shakes bass hand, shake bert hand turn hug w/shoulder taps* I hope those are rented. alright, the used everybody. we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back. good job *pats bert on back, shakes guitar back, checks on drummer*”
who cares what the band or music is like - this band is about the ending!
last time they were on conan, quinn guitar man smashed his ax into a thousand pieces pushed his monitor speakers onto the ground and then dove into them. (see end of video below)
this time it was equally entertaining - front man bert shouted “conan o’brien” at the top of his lungs and then dove straight into his drummer dan who, it looks like, was injured from the fall -or- was not expecting the fall to say the least. (see end of video below)
might explain why they lost their previous drummer at the end of last year (good luck dan - don’t invest in an expensive kit)
as the jam says “that’s entertainment, that’s entertainment, ah”
playing:
qwest field event center - 9.22 - seattle, wa
swarm 7∞07
congrats to the sala crew (not pictured) for putting on quite a show at sun yat sen. i meant to cruise the other swarm events, but pretty much ended up spending most of my time watching the hovering hoop screens. there was a brief excursion where i sat and watched video on these very bricks that are pictured above. the night ended with timbits.
conan: kenny chesney
i can has self-tan lotionz
song performed: “Never Wanted Nothing More” from the album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates
conan’s reaction: “that was fantastic, thank you so much *shakes kenny hand* kenny chesney everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back, stick around *claps 4 times shake hands again*”
michael bublé on leno…lame. although nice to see boys II men, but not really in this format.
holy boy it is half of knoxville on the stage. I’m counting two basses (wtf?, maybe not) an acoustic (make that three), a banjo, plus and electric guitar. kenny himself always looks like, well a bald billy bob thorton crossed with alfalfa from our gang. Of course the sound is nice, but it’s country, and all I know about this guy is that he wed renee zellweger (wtf mate?), likes boston (wtf?), and likes to take pictures with his shirt off. my brain is about to explode so I’m gonna go.
conan: lyle lovett
song perfomed: “Up In Indiana” from the album It’s Not Big It’s Large
conan’s reaction: “hya! wow! that was sweet! *shakes lyle hand* thank you so much. lyle lovett everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back *shakes trey mandolin hand*”
conan and max - best greetings so far per conan good job
yeah… I’m gonna let you read the title of his newest album and let that soak in a bit (>?<)
it’s a class act tonight - the stage is suited up. the song begins with blank singing harmony which is a tough thing to do. lyle, is looking good at age 59, slim and still with hair and side mouth. he’s accompanied by a luke wilson look-alike on duo guitar backup-vocals, a red-headed mandolin player who looks like a trey anastacio, mr. garretson on violin, and a tall guy on a very annoying looking stand-up bass (which I’m sure is cool, but still is weird looking). techy acoustic basses aren’t on my hit list, plus he was rushing bit (take that).
I think I’ve been through henryville, why? cause I’m a hoosier rosy sunshine. trey comes in the middle to solo and instantly turns into a thoughtful eric clapton look-alike. then solo switches to mr. garretson playin a fiddle gig. later on there is a round of solos with luke wilson doing a nice one, followed by trey anastacio humping his mandolin - it’s getting strange for me. I do like the sincerity with which lyle sings into the mic. the song is very folk country, and that is close to the sweet spot for lyle (5 grammys). it’s a nice little ditty.
playing: ’s all in texas dude, fogitabtit
conan: the chesterfield kings
song performed: “Up and Down” from the album Psychedelic Sunrise
conan’s reaction: “ya! hey! *shakes guitar hand* that was great *shakes andy hand, shrugs shoulders at greg on floor, comes around and shakes greg hand* nicely done *shakes guitar 2 hand* very nice *shakes drum crazy hand* that was killer. that’s how it’s done ladies and gentlemen the chesterfield kings, let’s hear it for them, that’s our show I want to thank all our guests, richard gere, sean williams scott, stay tuned for last call with carson daly, bybah everybody bah bah. *leans back and back and back then talks with andy*”
I think I was first introduced to the chesterfield kings back when they sponsored my “tobacco pappy storytime hour” a half-hour long propaganda radio show aimed at smoking teens and children. these are dudes from the 79’s who are from new york and wrote an album called “let’s go get stoned”. yup.
the song starts off with mike banging the crud out of his drums. what’s that boy thinking? I took one drum lesson from a buddy in high school and the first thing he taught me was “don’t beat the drums so hard”.
then the song goes straight to harmonica front man greg with a “du hast mir” hairdo that is half rammstein half rollercoaster bee hive. the harmonica goes down and lighting reveals a very blue eye shadow and pink lipstick. what do we have here? but the sound, and the movements - it’s the stones! first it’s cute with the pattern scarves, super tapered jeans and pointy boot shoes. but fifteen seconds in and I’m wondering if they learned all their music from the stones. there is a wonderful mic stand above the hand move.
greg’s partner in crime (whom he works and is suing the house of guitar with) is andy, who is more age-appropriately back in the pat benetar meets this is spinal tap look. guitarist paul? looks like the soviet red hamburglar but the truth is - it’s not worth noticing - what is are the awesome guitars they are holding. *drool*
as the song progresses greg gets huger and huger, his extremities reaching the ceiling, then poking the camera guy in the eyeballs. everything is excessive, including an instrumental solo of muracas (of which three huge ones are grabbed that are more the tourist showy kind than functional). in the end greg collapses on the stage and I thought he was dead. these guys are silly.
conan: bad religion
song performed: “New Dark Ages” from the album New Maps of Hell
conan’s reaction: “killer *shakes hetson hand* that was great *shakes greg g hand* thank you so much. bad religion everybody, we’ll take a break, we’ll be right back. *claps twice, shakes jay hand, then brian hand, then points at brooks*”
conan spent last weekend shopping for a mini-van. this blog is d00000mt.
some bands are easy to write about cause they stink like vancouver does during the trash strike, or they’re lightweight. no so with bad religion with many years, many player swaps, and a big root in the modern rock garden. but, I’m not going to try and bake a pie with this here usb-powered coffee-cup warmer. there is probably not a more brilliant song out there that will not instantly make you feel cooler than “21st century (digital boy)” or “infected”, for me and bad religion has turned into this iconic example of how cool it is to be a band led by a bio prof at ucla.
no mr. brett. front man greg, who has a phd in zoology and boatload of social issues knowledge, is still a presence, a bit heavier set with eyes that look tired, but he’s kept some youth. although last time i saw br, he was a bit tighter with stronger forearms…you know, a bit more angsty. there is a wall of guitars with brian and greg h, who shows his music so well. the mic stand was a bit too tall for brian. jay on bass actually dwarfs greg a bit and looks a bit like chris pronger. brooks on drums is a machine, there could be no more calluses on one’s fingers than what he and the other guys have.
one of the highlights of this performance is watching greg point in the direction of the lyrics.
the performance was spot on. good new song for br, excited for another 27 y.
