Del's Digressions

Top Ten Time - Music Longplayers

2011-12-11T21:26:00.001-06:00

My musical taste are wide and yet this list seems to be narrow so maybe they are not as wide as I would like to believe. The top 2 are Iowa bands that deserve the top spots as they put out stellar albums this year. I can't wait for next year and hope to have time to listen to more music. These are the albums that seem to stay in my CD player or mp3 player.

10. Yuck - Yuck What is there not to like about this. It is old style rock music with beautiful melodies and great songs. it takes you back to 70s rock without being dated. It sounds fresh and yet it has a lot going on that brings you back for repeated play.

9. David Lowery - The Palace Guard After 30 years of music in the bands Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker he puts out a solo record that is similar to these bands and yet has a different feel and texture to it. He has some of these songs around for a long time and it is nice to get it all in one package. Not a bad song in the bunch.

8. Bright Eyes - the People's Key While I can do without the spoken parts in this CD the songs are up there with some of their best and it was a nice change of pace from the more country tinged music Conor Oberst had been writing in the other projects he is in.

7. The Nemo Orchestra - It Means Nothing One of my favorite local bands went to the Sonic Factory in Des Moines and put together 6 of their best songs into a stellar debut. Despite all the turmoil going on with the band the 3 main players keep adjusting and making great music. My hope is this year they will get the recognition they deserve.

6. R.E.M. - Collapse Into Now I know my review of this CD wasn't real kind but it is a good CD and one worth picking up. It has a lot of the things everyone loves about R.E.M. but little of the excess some of their later records had.

5. The Smithereens - 2011 They had not put out a proper studio records in nearly 12 years and this one was as good as the record it emulates on the cover, The Smithereens 11. They used the same producer, Don Dixon, for this album and put together a great set of songs. Any fan of this band should have this in their collection and this a good starting point for any new fan.

4. Art Brut - Brilliant Tragic This is a fun band that likes to have a snotty attitude but have the chops to back it up. This is their 2nd CD to be produced by Frank Black and he seems to be taking them in new directions without losing any of the things that make them fun. Eddie Argos wears his nerdiness on his sleeves and he is not afraid to name drop.

3. The Airborne Toxic Event - All At Once They is just their 2nd studio album and this one is as good or maybe even better than their debut. It is mostly the same type of subject as their debut with songs about trying to keep the girl while realizing he is making mistakes that make it hard to stay together. They also have a couple of songs that reach out more globally and talk about the turmoil in the world. This band knows how to put together a pop song that has staying power. All the band members are so musically versed and seem to work well together making their music more complex than standard pop.

2. The Poison Control Center - Stranger Ballet The band has 4 excellent songwriters that know how to make a catchy song. After a year on the road where they played over 250 shows the band is tight. This album is shorter than last years opus, Sad Sour Future, but every bit as good. There is not a song in the bunch that I would skip over.

1. The Envy Corps - It Culls You The Envy Corps say this is the album they wanted to make and I would say they nailed it. This album is not just a bunch of pop songs and they are not instantly accessible but this album seems to get better every time I listen to it. This is one you need to listen to in order and be taken on the journey with them. They do not have a label and produced this by themselves with the help of engineer A.J. Mogis. Luke Pettipoole wrote these songs on a bass guitar and the complex rhythms are a product of this.

There are several artist who released music this year that I have either briefly heard or haven't heard at all that may be as good as these but for me these are the ones I am listening too. http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Nemo-Orchestra/41902468472?sk=info

Top 10 time - TV Shows

2011-12-04T13:07:00.001-06:00

I think I will start my Top 10 list with my Top 10 television shows of 2011. Anybody that knows me knows my number 1 but what are the other 9. Television has become a vast wasteland and yet there are a lot of bright spots and there are several shows that continue to excel when it looks as if they should of been done. Let's concentrate on the bright spots. This list is all dramas as I have not had a sitcom commercial interest me let alone the show since Malcolm In The Middle. Funny that also starred Bryan Cranston.

10. Leverage (TNT) This show is helmed by Timothy Hutton with an excellent supporting cast and great guest stars. Some episodes are better than others but overall it is a show worth catching every week. The writers always have to show us the easy way to get things done and when things go wrong how you improvise and still make the scheme work. Seems as if this would get old but they manage to make it fresh each episode while also developing the characters.

9. CSI (CBS) We can go with the slightly over the top season ending with Laurence Fishburne or the new ones with Ted Danson and the show manages to work and hold your attention every week. I think we will find the common thread with the shows in this list is you start to care about the people and become invested. Great acting and writing doesn't hurt either.

8. Breakout Kings (A&E) This show could of been really bad but once again it is well done because you find yourself invested in the characters and what will they do. Some of the shows have been a little silly but others have been very intense. I can't wait for the 2nd season.

7. Chuck (NBC) What a fun ride this show is. Zachary Levi is perfect in the role of a nerd that becomes more than he thought he would be. He never gets too cocky and when he gets a little sure of himself he is reminded that he is in over his head and luckily he has his friends to save him.

6. Lie To Me (Fox) This Tim Roth led show was always playing around with his decency and whether he would go to the dark side because of things in his childhood. It was always engaging as the team at The Lightman Group tried to read people and figure out things from what they did not say instead of what they said. Saidly this show was cancelled and will not return.

5.Survivor (CBS) Jeff Probst is awesome at getting in people's heads and make them reveal things they should not. I will admit it is easier to get people to talk when you have them isolated and all they do is have time to think, but after 20+ season Probst knows what buttons to push and will push them. They change enough elements of this show to keep it interesting. The show is more about human psychology than greed.

4. The Walking Dead (AMC) The 2nd 1/2 season of this show dragged at times but was always well written and kept you coming back for the next episode. This show is more about human interaction than zombies. Zombies are just the catalyst for their actions. The show picked up as the season went on and ended with a very satisfying conclusion to to some storylines that were left open while opening up new ones and I know I will tune into the 2nd half of the season in February.

3. Boardwalk Empire (HBO) This show about Prohibition and the people that took advantage of it is a Martin Scorcese project that because his name is attached still gets cream of the crop talent to participate despite a limited budget, especially by Scorcese standards. Steve Buscemi is the big name in the show and he is perfect as "Nucky" Thompson. He plays his character as somebody that wants to help people while still being somebody you don't cross and is willing to play the game because he knows the rules better than anyone else. The people that are trying to play the game against him are starting to realize this and trying to adjust but "Nucky" is always a step ahead. This and the next 2 are the cream of the crop because of 3 common elements. The 3 elements are well written shows that are well acted and well directed.

2. The Killing (AMC) this show is based on the hit Danish TV show, Forbrydelsen, which does something unique in the way they look at police detective television. They follow one case and each episode is a day in the case and what happens to everyone involved. This includes the families, police, suspects and the people that are dragged in as Detective Sarah Linden played by Mirielle Enos tries to balance her life and the pressure of the case.

1. Breaking Bad (AMC) We could say Bryan Cranston makes this show work and work well but that would not be fair to the supporting cast and writers. This is a show you have to watch every scene and every bit of dialog closely because there is a reason for everything that happens in this show. It is an idea that should not work as a television show and yet it is so compelling on so many levels. You find yourself caring about these people and yet they are all so flawed which makes them like all of us. The cinematography in this show is sublime, the writing is always thinking ahead and the acting is phenomenal. This show and the killing say more with long periods of silence than a lot of shows do with a half hour of dialog.

These are the shows that are on my DVR along with a few others. Going over the list I see only 4 shows are from the big 4 networks and the rest are from cable channels. Let me know if I am missing something good in the comments.

The Airborne Toxic Event, finally!

2011-11-13T21:40:00.007-06:00

We headed down to Kansas City almost exactly 6 months after the last time we had tried to see The Airborne Toxic Event. When we headed down there 6 months ago to see them my daughter called and said they were headed to the hospital to have my first grandbaby. This time there was nothing that took priority and we made it down there. We arrived at the Beaumont Club a little before 7:00 PM and the line was already about 100-150 people long. We were let in shortly after we arrived and moved towards the front. We were about 3-4 people back slightly to the left of center.
The first band, The Drowning Men, started right at 8:00 and played a 1/2 hour set. They all had sleeve tattoos on their arm and it turns out they were all former San Diego dock workers. Their sound was a driving almost frantic rhythm that reminded me of bands like British Sea Power. While watching them and listening I thought they were British until we looked up some information on them. Some of their songs had a sea chanty feel to them and others were just driving, anthemic type of songs. They played with a lot of passion which fed the crowd. The commonality between these 3 bands was the passion they played with. All 3 of these bands seem to be pouring their heart out on the stage and not going through the motion.
The next band was Mona and they played a 40 minute set. They came out looking like bad boys from the 1950s with their pompadour hair and sideburns. I expected to hear a rockabilly sound but they played straight ahead rock. The lead singer, Nick Brown, was a compelling figure at the center of the stage and hard to take your eyes off of. They had high energy and passion in abundance. The open body Gibson Nick played had a rumbley sound while the other guitarist had a clean sound. When Nick asked the audience before their last song if we were having a good time somebody to the far left said something like leave the stage or get to the next band. Not exactly sure but it was not complimentary and it sent Nick into a scathing diatribe in which he dressed down the fat f**k as he called him. He went on to say how hard they were working and the people over here and the band were going to have a good time. They then went into their last song as he kept looking over at the person who had angered him. They got done with the song and he thanked us and then looked in that persons direction, flipped him off and spat towards him before he left the stage.
Then it was time for the main event. The Airborne Toxic Event had a lot to live up to after the way the 2 bands before them played but they were up to the task. They started with All At Once and then went into 3 slower numbers and when Mikel Jollett started the 3rd, All For A Woman, he promised there would be plenty of rockin' songs to come. The next song was Wishing Well and the energy just increased from there. When they did Something New, Mikel jumped into the crowd and started dancing with several people including my wife. I tried to take pictures but of course I could not make it work and I have no record of it. It was fun and really got us all going. He then went to the top of the speaker stack and held the iron girder and sang the end of the song. When he was done he hung from the girder and planned to jump down but it was a little further than he had figured. He moved out on the girder, swung a couple of times and finally went for it falling in a crouch. They also put a shout out to military veterans as it was Veterans Day. They told all vets to go to a person in the back and the band would pay for a drink. They then went into The Kids Are Ready To Die and Welcome To Your Wedding Day in tribute to the veterans. For the first song of the encore just Mikel and Anna Bulbrook came out and they did, The Graveyard Near The House, for the first time in concert. They then went into Innocence on which they have added a long sung part at the beginning which is just instrumental on the CD. it helps add to the meaning of the song. They left and came out for a 2nd encore and did Happiness Is Overrated and then end it with a long medley which started and ended with Missy but had I'm On Fire (Bruce Springsteen), I Fought The Law (The Crickets) and Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash) along with a bass and drum solo in it. I would say it was well worth the wait and I am glad they retraced their steps and gave us this opportunity.

The Envy Corps new video

2011-10-06T17:07:00.000-05:00

New video from the excellent new CD "It Culls You" by The Envy Corps.

#55 The Envy Corps: Ms. Hospital Corners from Love Drunk on Vimeo.

Psychedelic Furs & Tom Tom Club at People's Court

2011-09-16T11:51:00.000-05:00

On Friday September 9, 2011 one of my favorite groups came through town and they brought the Tom Tom Club with them. I had been listening to some Tom Tom Club live recordings from earlier in the year and while they were enjoyable they were not overwhelming. When the Tom Tom Club hit the stage I realized why the recordings were not overwhelming. This is a band you have to see live and the recordings are souvenirs to remember how much fun it was. The band was having a blast playing for us and it was so contagious that you couldn't help getting caught up in it. You knew the rhythm section was strong seeing how it was the husband and wife team of Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth formerly with the Talking Heads. It was the rest of the band that made it a party. They had a guitarist, a DJ, a keyboard/percussionist and a lady who did it all. She sang, played percussion, guitar and basically did whatever was needed from her including dancing to keep the party atmosphere going. They played over an hour and seemed much shorter. Some of the highlights were Suboceana, I Believe In Miracles, Genius Of Love, Take Me to The River and a killer version of Psycho Killer.
Next up was the Psychedelic Furs. During the summer they had been playing the entire CD Talk Talk Talk and then an assortment of hits afterwards. Well for this tour they had changed their setlist and were playing deeper cuts from their vast collection of songs. It was the ultimate setlist for a Fur geek (I am going to have to claim I am one). The only thing missing was something from the first album but that is nitpicking. It was a great show and Richard Butler was so affable and just seemed to be enjoying himself immensely as he took on the praise sent to him from a full house. I have to say the guitarist, Rich Good, was good but the last time we saw The Furs in 2001 they had Ron Asheton and Richard Fortus (Love Spit Love) on guitar and that was great as the 2 guitarist traded licks throughout the show. Once again the bass player, Tim Butler, prowled the stage and obviously loves being a rock star. He and his brother, Richard are always the constants in the Psychedelic Furs. The thing they added this time was a sax player, Mars Williams, and if you know the Furs music you know they have a lot of songs with sax and other woodwind instruments. Mars added a lot of texture to the songs they had chose. Highlights for me were Like A Stranger, Alice's House, Wrong Train, Sleep Comes Down, All Of This and Nothing, and Only You & I.
These 2 bands show why older bands can still pack places. These were 2 bands getting the most out of their music on the road. I would not say they are reinventing themselves but constantly refining what made them so popular in the first place. Don't cheat yourself and miss this show if you have a chance to see either or both of these bands. This is concert money well spent as you see 2 bands still pouring their heart into their music when they could easily rest on their laurels and go through the motions.

Rocking Summer

2011-07-27T19:53:00.000-05:00

In May I saw the concert calendars filling out and I was so thrilled with the number of national and local acts I had the opportunity to see in the little burg of Des Moines, Iowa. Now this week I get more awesome news plus 3 straight nights this weekend of excellent concerts.
First the news: I found out that The Psychedelic Furs and The Tom Tom Club are going to be at People's Court on the same night and The Airborne Toxic Event are going to be in Kansas City on November 11 at the Beaumont Club. On May 20 my wife and I went down to the Beaumont Club to see The Airborne Toxic Event. We knew it was risky because my daughter was pregnant and had called that morning telling us that things had changed but thought we had at least 24 hours and we would leave the next morning from KC or go back home. We got to the door and they would not accept credit cards. They said there was an ATM down the street and I could get cash there. I went down the street and got cash and my wife says my daughter has called and is in the hospital. My daughter lives in Indy which is 8 hours away. Well we discussed it for about a minute knowing the whole time what we needed to do so we went into the concert. Just kidding. We hopped in the car and drove through the night and met our new granddaughter at 5:00 that morning. Now The Airborne Toxic Event is coming back to KC and the Beaumont Club and giving us a 2nd chance to see them which we are going to take advantage of.
This weekend we get to see some of my wife and I's favorite bands. Friday we get to see Hanwell, Poppa Neptune and The Nemo Orchestra, Saturday is 2 shows by The Poison Control Center and on Sunday Pictures of Then makes their 5th visit of the year to our fair city. Weekends don't get much better than this. Then a little over a week later The Envy Corps opens for Bright Eyes. All I can say is one of Joe Gamble's favorite phrases, "Des Moines, Hell Yeah!"

80/35 Day 2

2011-07-07T20:44:00.001-05:00

After a long fun day 1 at 80/35 we were signed up for cleanup at 9:00 AM so we crawl out of bed and headed downtown. When we arrived no one was downstairs and we got to go to the inner sanctum where all the orders for 80/35 come from. What was up there were 2 worn out ladies trying to get ready for day 2. Nickelle with DMMC got us supplies and drove us to the main stage in a gator to start cleaning up. Instead of being sunny with low humidity like yesterday it was cloudy with high humidity with occasional spits of rain. The area the festival was most concerned about cleaning was in front of the stage where Girl Talk had made a mess with confetti, tp and balloons. Add some empty beer cups, various broken glasses, and other assorted paraphernalia and we had our work cut out for us. We worked on that for about 1 1/2 hours and got it looking respectable. I found a 1 dollar bill and 5 beer tickets (gonna be a good day!). My wife found an Iphone which somebody had to be a little freaked out about (if they remembered the night before).
After that my wife and I went over to the Independence stage and picked up tons of cigarette butts and lots of little trash including broken glass and batteries. On our way back to headquarters we had picked up a couple of beers and were carrying our broom and dustpan along with a beer when we ran into one of the big shots that belongs to the DMMC board. He asked if we were having fun but I don't know how thrilled he was to see us carrying the cleaning stuff and a beer. We saw him later when we had rid ourselves of the tools and he did say that was better.
We started listening to bands at the Independence Stage with Love Songs For Lonely Monsters and I liked the first song and then the next 2 were good but she was singing them differently. The first song was a straight up pop song with a tight arrangement. The next 2 were more punkish and for me it did not work. Left there and watched Bear Hands at the Kum And Go stage and they were pretty good. When they were done the next band was The Giving Tree Band. We had already seen bluegrass done right last night so we headed to the Indepependence stage and watched some of the Uniphonics. Nice New Orleans soul jazz with a little rap thrown in. Back to the K&G stage for Pink Motel. This band was my find of the day. They had 2 female guitarists with a male rhythm section. They were great as they ripped through their set. They had a power pop sound with a hard almost punkish edge which is right in my wheelhouse. Sort of Riot Grrrl but a little more refined. I noticed a lot of times instead of one playing rhythm and the other lead they were playing the same chords. Made for an amplified sound of the lead. Met them afterwards and they were very nice and gracious. Also saw them later walking around taking in the festival which I thought was cool. Stayed for a little of Gold Motel and then headed for the main stage for one of the highlights of the day. Okkervil River was better live than their records and their records are pretty darn good. Will Sheff came out looking like a professor in his suit and glasses while the rest of the band looked ready to rock. Well if Will was teaching us anything it was that smart guys can rock hard. It was an inspired set and the crowd was very enthusiastic. During The Valley I was singing along and the dude behind me said the bass player, Zach Thomas, was looking right at me. If it is true that is pretty cool when there is such a mass of people. Laura Gurgiolio held her own on lead guitar and pedal steel. Pretty cool to see a couple of bands that rock as hard as Pink Mink, Okkervil River, and Titus Andronicus with ladies in important roles.
After Okkervil we hustled over to catch Parlours, speaking of lady rockers. Dana Halferty, the lead singer and songwriter kept apologizing for not being more rocking but it was not necessary as they put on a great show, This is our first time seeing them even though I had heard several of their songs. I will probably follow about anything that Scott Yoshimura is involved in. He plays the bass and backup vocals for Parlours. The rest of the band is tight and even though they have only been together a little over a year they were very together, nothing like spending some serious time on the road to get your band concert ready. They played all the songs from their EP and a couple of new ones. After they were done we went to the K&G stage to check out Handsome Furs. It is Dan Boeckner, lead singer and guitarist from Wolf Parade, and his wife Alexis Perry. She played drum machine and keyboards and he played guitar and keyboards. they had a full sound and were fun to watch. I think I like the CDs better but am glad I got to see them and meet them. Alex Bebout was working the K&G stage and said he got to spend about an 1 1/2 hours hanging out with them before the show. He said they were a cool rock n' roll couple.
We left there and headed back to the Independence stage to catch Scott's other band, The Envy Corps. This is the 3rd time we had seen them this summer and they were as great as they always are. I have never left an Envy Corps show and felt like I was cheated. They started with their new song, Make It Stop, and just kept the energy going mixing old and new songs, Luke Pettipoole, Brandon Darner and Micah Natera were killing it as Scott Yoshimura banged on the drums. Earlier we got a message that the first 10 people that were interested on being on stage for the last song to find their roadie Ben, in the monkey shirt, after the Parlours show. We signed ourselves up and headed up for Wire and Wool. This is one of my favorite Envy Corps songs (OK, they are all my favorites but I know this song well) and it was a blast. I decided not to grab a tambourine as my timing is awful. My wife did and also recorded a lot of it from up there. There is a reason I go to shows and don't play in a band. It was an awesome time and I got a small taste of what it is like to be up there playing for a sea of people. We shook all of their hands and I complimented the wrong guy, that I thought was Matthew Garcia, what a great show Cashes Rivers played last night. Headed for the main stage and saw a couple of people we knew that saw us up on stage and they said how cool is that. We know, it was awesome. Tried to get into Of Montreal but just couldn't after all the excitement and we headed for home to call it a night. Heading out we ran into this kid, Josh that we had seen at the Art Festival stage and also the night before and gave him a ride home. Poor kid was complaining about how he hated Des Moines and couldn't wait to get out of this god forsaken town. Me, I think Des Moines is great and and it is what you make of it. 80/35 was a blast and I cannot wait to help (I do so little compared to a lot of people) make next years event bigger and better! Thank you Amedeo and The DMMC for putting on this event! On to Little Big Fest.

80/35

2011-07-05T18:39:00.000-05:00

Saturday and Sunday were wonderful as my wife and I spent the weekend at the 80/35 fest. The first day we went down and checked into the volunteer area and got our credentials to get into the main stage area. Watched Generationals at the Kum and Go stage. They were very tight and a lot of fun. They had a great pop sound with some awesome guitar work. Definitely going to check into their music. After their set we went and watched Titus Andronicus on the main stage. The first thing I have to say about it is "WOW". Titus tore it up. Hard guitars with balls to the wall backing. The band was made for a festival like this with their big anthems and sing along choruses. Their guitarist, Amy Klein could not stop smiling and just seemed to be having a blast whether she was playing, leading the crowds in a wave, or just watching the crowd enjoy the show. The lead singer, Patrick Stickles, was so intense and seemed to be feeding off the audience but instead of being happy it just seemed to make him more intense. They said this is the first time playing outdoors during the day at a festival. With a show like they put on it will not be the last. The best line came from Patrick when he said "It is hard to be humble when you are on Jumbotron." After hollering, shouting along with the songs and dancing it was tough for the next band to even compare and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes were a good band but way to mellow after the intensity of Titus Andronicus. Watched about 1/2 of Edward Sharpe we went out and checked out the Independence stage and watched some of Christopher The Conquered. They have a soul thing going and do it very well but it isn't for me. Went down where we were to check in and we were a little early so we went to Kum And Go stage where BBU was rapping. They were good but it is just not my thing. All that I remember is something about how we talk in the hood.
Checked in for our volunteer shift and we got gate control at the Independence stage. Got their just in time to see Cashes River. We had seen them before and thought they are talented but didn't grab me. Well this time they were very compelling and we really enjoyed their set. Another CD to put on the buy list. Next up was Poison Control Center. This is an act to watch and one of the few that can match up to Titus Andronicus energy and intensity. The guitarist, Patrick Tape Fleming likes to throw himself everywhere including the crowd and this show was no exception. The rest of the band looks sedentary next to Patrick and they are the farthest thing from sedentary. They did a bunch of new songs including a couple of my favorites (Torpedoes On Tuesday and Church On Mars) and of course they did Magic Circle Symphony with it infamous chorus of "Love Is The Answer, Unless You Have Cancer". They seemed so thrill to be home and playing to a crowd that seemed to know every word.
After PCC were done it was a totally different vibe with Mr. Baber's Neighbors. They still retained a huge crowd at the Independence Stage. Their music is bluegrass in the Flatts and Scruggs style. Pop bluegrass I guess you could call it. They were a lot of fun and had people dancing the whole set.
This is what makes 80/35 so fun and interesting. You find bands and styles you never cared about and find yourself tapping your feet to something you thought you hated. I would say 80/35 is diversity at it's finest. You bring several different styles to the same place and let people enjoy them like a buffet table. I will have a little Indie Rock, with a side of Rap and a little Jam to wash it all down with.
After we saw Mr Baber they started with DJs and no longer needed us to guard things so we checked out a little Girl Talk. The man was having a party on his stage as he worked on his computer doing the ultimate in DJing. He was shooting confetti, TP, and balloons everywhere and all I could think was I signed up for clean up tomorrow morning and I have to pick that up. Wel that story is for blog 2 on 80/35.

Fire on the 4th

2011-07-04T21:38:00.002-05:00

So I was going to do a wrap up of what a great 80/35, 2011 was when all hell broke loose. I was at my in- laws for a 4th of July lunch consisting of the usual fare for this time of year. We had brats, hot dogs, chips, pasta salad, and a little beer. Probably a good thing it was a little beer as things got hairy/scary later on.
So we had lunch and afterwards we were looking through our in laws stuff and helping them price things for a garage sale they are having the next weekend because they are moving into an apartment. We then were sitting on the deck with the family having the usual talks of how unfair the world, business and politics are. We reheated the leftovers and ate some more and then, at about 5:15pm, my youngest daughter (19) has her phone out and we hear this high pitch noise. We figure she is watching a Youtube video and tell her to shut it off. The sound persists and she says it is not her. Somebody thinks it is coming from next door and we are now actively trying to find this sound. I opened the sliding door, as we are on the deck right outside their kitchen and the sound gets louder and my brain finally engages and realizes there is a fire. I look in the kitchen and see nothing, go to the hallway and look in the living room and notice the smoke is thinner there and thicker the other way towards the bedrooms. I go down the hallway towards the smoke (real intelligent seeing how there is large amounts of smoke coming from this direction) and spot the fire in a spare bedroom that has their computers in it. I figure their laptop has caught fire as I see a fire about a foot around and twice that high. Then I notice my father in-law is in the doorway to the garage, which is at the end of the hallway. I shout for him to bring me a hose and he gets one and hands it to me. Meanwhile, my sister in-law is in the area and I was shouting for her to get out. You do not need to be inhaling smoke which I am doing also as I am telling her this. My point being, only one of us needs to suffer. I had the hose, which luckily stretched around the corner and hit the fire. The room was so black with smoke that all I could see was the fire and I would hit it with the hose and get some fresh air. Then, I would go back and hit it again until I thought it was out. I would not recommend that anybody do this as it was totally reactionary, but I did put out the fire and kept the damage minimal. Everybody was OK, except for my 73 year old mother in-law, who tripped trying to get a hose to me. She scraped both of her knees but otherwise was fine. Dang, those Iowa farm girls are tough!
This all happened in about 3 minutes. Five minutes later, the police and sheriff looked at the scene and decided that we did a good job putting out the fire. Then, the Saylor Township fire department showed up and looked at things. They at one point thought maybe an outlet was inverted and caused the fire, but this was not the case. The fan was just bad and had a motor meltdown, which started the fire.
Believe it or not, there is good news in this. Nobody was hurt and the damage was minimal. The carpet has a nice hole and needs replaced, plus there is soot everywhere, but the sub-floor was undamaged and both computers work. The piano caught a little water spray, which my mother in-law wiped off, leaving it largely undamaged. The fire, if you are going to have one, which by the way, I do not recommend you do, could not have been more strategically placed. The fan was in the middle of the room, away from everything else. God put me at the right place at the right time and I was able to help.
The worst part of this is they have the house sold but have not had the contracts signed. Everything is supposed to be closed in 2 weeks. Hopefully they can replace the carpet, get the walls cleaned and the house smelling right in a few days and then this will just be a bad memory and a great story!

Envy Corp at Des Moines Art Festival

2011-06-26T13:06:00.001-05:00

My wife and I headed back downtown for day 2 of excellent music at the Des Moines Art Festival. This time to see The Envy Corps. It had rained most of the morning but the rain had all moved out hours before the show started. The grass was still wet from the rain which forced people to stand. This made for more of a concert atmosphere instead of a band in the park feeling from the night before.
We had seen them about 4 weeks ago at The Principal Charity Golf tournament as they were the concert after the first round of golf. I had commented that they played very few new tunes as they had just finished recording the new CD. This night was different as they played a lot of new songs. They started with 3 new songs with Ms. Hospital Corners probably being my favorite. Then they went into their backlog with 2 from Kid Gloves and 4 from Dwell. Sylvia (The Beekeeper) and Rhinemaidens never seem to fail to get the crowd going and that was the case on this night. The rest of the show was a mixture of old and new with most of the songs being new until the pulled out all the stops with 3 songs, Story Problem, Party Dress and Wire and Wool that had the crowd dancing and some kids even stage dived. They ended up doing 11 new songs. Not sure if all of them are on the new CD but from what I heard I cannot wait to get my copy.

Setlist:

Make It Stop
Ms. Hospital Corners
Give It All Up
Screen Test
Kid Gloves
Pip Pip
Sylvia (The Beekeeper)
Keys To Good Living
Rhinemaidens
Palace On Stilts
In The Summer
Fools Part II
Rooftop
Before The Gold Rush
Exchequer
Fools part I
Age of Consent
Command + Q
Mediterranean Song
Story Problem
Party Dress
Wire And Wool

The Smithereens at the Des Moines Art Festival

2011-06-25T13:27:00.001-05:00

On a perfect summer day after watching one of our favorite bands, Pictures of Then, my wife and I looked for something to eat. We had gyros and then picked up some kettle corn. My wife had been sick the last 2 days but felt better today. We were sitting on the lawn in front of the main stage at the Art Festival when my wife started to fade. She wanted to be a trooper but I could see she was not going to last 2-3 more hours. I rushed her home and rushed back and got there with little time to spare but The Snithereens had not started so all was good and my wife was safe at home able to rest.
Got a couple of beers and positioned myself about 10 feet from the stage slightly left of center. Pat DiNizio, lead singer for The Smithereens was working on trying to perfect the sound and was obviously very frustrated and having trouble with feedback from the monitors. When they finally went on stage to play they started with Rumble, A Link Wray cover to try to work through sound problems. Turned out to be a nice bonus as they rocked the song. They were going to play a couple of bars and ended up playing the whole thing. They then launched into Behind A Wall Of Sleep and Top Of The Pops. Everybody was sitting in the grass and enjoying the show and a few people stood up and moved to the front. The guy next to me kept shouting at them to sit down but I figure they got the spirit let them enjoy. The stage was high enough you could see the band above them and they were having fun. I saw a friend of mine up there and went up to say hi. he was off to the side and I noticed the sound was worse in this position so I went back to my seat on the grass.
The Smithereens were having some feedback issues early in the show and you could see some frustration in their faces and expressions but they kept playing through them and seemed to work the problems out as the show progressed. The new bass player, Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion adds a playful element to the band.
He is a great bass player and was obviously having a lot of fun onstage. He brings a lot of energy to the show and is an able replacement to their original bass player, Mike Mesaro, who retired in 2006 after 26 years. I haven't even mentioned the drummer, Dennis Diken, who was holding everything together plus a few flourishes that showed off his incredible talent. I am sure there are a lot of younger drumeers that could not even begin to keep up with him.
They started Blood And Roses and I could no longer sit and stood up as did several other people. During Blood And Roses the lead guitarist, Jim Babjak, came down from the stage and played in the middle of the crowd. The Thrilla came down also and played. Jim when he was wrapping up Blood And Roses let several people strum his guitar while he played the frets to finish out the song. They then finished the set with A Girl Like You which Pat said wasn't their best song but it was a dance party song. They went into the Youngblood's Get Together and then The Who's Behind Blue Eyes, which they made a singalong, and then back into A Girl Like You. They then wrapped up the night with the Batman Theme as The Thrilla laid on the floor playing his bass at the end .
Managed to get a setlist and afterwards met the band and got quite the thrill when Pat said he had read my review of The Smithereens 2011. I am so glad they came to Des Moines and easily lived up to my expectations of what I expected from them live.

Setlist:

Rumble
Behind The Wall Of Sleep
Top Of The Pops
Miles From Nowhere
Only A Memory
Room Without A View
Keep On Running
Thrilla introduction
House We Used To Live In/ Sparks
Blood And Roses
A Girl Like You/Get Together/Behind Blue Eyes/ A Girl Like You
Batman Theme

Pictures of Then at Des Moines Art Festival

2011-06-25T09:39:00.000-05:00

The weather could not have been more perfect as we headed downtown on a late Friday afternoon to catch one of our favorite bands playing the mainstage at the Des Moines Art Festival.
We saw the band when they were carrying their equipment in and Joe Gamble said Pictures of Then has a 2 hour slot and we don't know enough songs to fill that. His fears were unfounded as they did a great job of mixing old and new songs and still ending with a bang. They started with a new song, Only Child, and then went into their catalog with one of my favorites, The Argument. They kept the vibe going mixing old and new songs. Then Joe Gamble announced they were going to do 5 new songs from their upcoming CD that they had never performed live. The new songs were great but the band was different and serious as they had to concentrate and work hard on the songs as they did not know them as well as the songs they have been playing the last 2 years and longer for some others.They then did a cover of Pink Floyd's Fearless. The next song was When it Stings which always get the crowd rocking and this was no exception. They did a couple more new songs after that and then launched into another killer version of The Big Sell. The breakdown in the middle of this song seems to improve every time I see them and is the perfect song to leave the crowd wanting more.
Another great show by a great band. Personally I cannot wait for the new CD which Joe Call is telling us will probably be early 2012.

Setlist (tentative)

Only Child
The Argument
Wicked Sea
Samson
History of Bones
7th Street
Trip
Broken Knees
Math
Dick Stevens
Shore
No Strings
Is It True
Gozer
Dance Party
Fearless
When It Stings
Reach The Sun
Pearly Gates
Big Sell

A Friday of local music

2011-06-06T21:50:00.002-05:00

This Friday could not of have been a better day of local talent. We got to see the best of local talent in 2 very different settings.
My wife and I went to the Principal Classic and watched a little golf and then about 5:30 what we wanted to see started. This was of course the concert with Canby, Hanwell and The Envy Corps on the lawn at Glen Oaks. The first band to play was The Envy Corps. They must of needed a break from their new material as they did a lot of songs from Dwell and Kid Gloves and just a couple off of the new forthcoming CD. It is interesting how every time we see them the setlist is completely different. The last time we saw them the set was much more aggressive and included a lot of new songs and very few of the older songs where this set included mostly material from Dwell. Highlights of the show were Screentest, Rhinemaidens, Briar Rose, and the closing number Wires And Wool. The band was great and even played a couple of acoustic songs including Rooftop, while they fixed a broken connection. It was a shame how few of the people that were there knew the band or cared that they were playing. Sometimes people do not realize they are in the presence of talent.
The next band was Bright Giant. They were a last minute add and may of wondered why they did it when they saw how few of the people were paying attention to the show. They played a very tight set and sounded excellent. They stick mostly to blues rock with some adventure outside of it but do it better than most. We were happy to see them there because they were at Peoples later that night and we could not go because we were going to Poison Control Center.
Then Scott Yoshimura as Canby went up and played a few Canby songs as the final band, Hanwell set up. I like Scott with just the guitar but I have heard the Canby songs on the Aqui Estamos website and would like to see the entire band play some of these songs.
The last band at The Principal Charity Classic was Hanwell. They are a talented band and have a great frontman in James Petersen. The band is in the midst of recording new material and they played those songs and then threw in a couple of older tracks from Friends in Fair Weather. Before they started playing the older material the band broke down the great divide by having the remaining audience move up closer. They invited us to the grass in the front of the stage making for a much more intimate couple of songs.
We then left Glen Oaks and headed downtown to Vaudeville Mews for the Poison Control Center CD release party.
Got downtown and went into the Mews. We were there just a few minutes before the first band. I don't have anything good or bad to say about either of the bands that opened for PCC but we were there to see the headliner. When PCC came out they were ready to play. They played a great mix of old and new material and kept the energy level high throughout the show. Patrick went into the crowd several times. This is my first time seeing them as their concerts in town and my schedule never seem to jibe. Hoping I get more opportunity to see all these bands this summer.

The Airborne Toxic Event - All At once

2011-05-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

The much anticipated follow up to The Airborne Toxic Event self titled debut was well worth the wait. While we were waiting for this, they did release a CD/DVD of live music that had a few new songs on it. This is their second CD of all new material and I believe a worthy follow up to their debut.
This CD is full of a search for meaning in this wicked world we all live in. There are numerous references to a higher power all covered in the beautiful music they create. There is not a Sometime Around Midnight that immediately grabs you but All At Once has 11 songs worth repeated listening.
The band has obviously benefited from the last 2 years of touring almost constantly. Mikel Jollett is the songwriter and singer. Anna Bulbrook and Steven Chen add flourishes that you don't expect which raises the music above standard fare. Daren Taylor and Noah Harmon are a rhythm section that always brings the song back from the chaos the other 3 are trying to create. The songs are all catharic and powerful. The band members like playing with different styles and make it work as a whole. There are lots of fuzzed out guitar and synth flourishes throughout the CD. As an example of what they do differently than other bands, All For A Woman starts slow and then builds to a powerful crescendo which works into a fuzzed out solo until it ends with a whisper.
The CD starts with the title track All At Once. This song talks of how meaningless life can seem and that we need each other to deal with the quick onslaught of it. It ends hoping that there is a higher being to make sense of it. Numb carries on with this same theme but more specifically, it is about a relationship that has ended; and to deal with it, he just wants to drink until he is numb, hoping this will make it better but realizing that it will only be for the night and he will wake up with the same ache. Changing and All for a Woman are also about how he deals with a relationship that has fallen apart. The next 2 songs, it Doesn't Mean a Thing and The Kids Are Ready To Die, seem to be self reflective and realizing that we live in a sinful world and make the best of it we can. Then they go into a world view on Welcome To Your Wedding Day realizing the world tries to beautify the ugliness we are surrounded with and praying is all we can do. The last 3 songs, Half Of Something Else, Strange Girl and the Graveyard Near The House are a realization that we need somebody else to make it easier to deal with our time on earth; that with someone special by our side we can make it through.
Mikel Jollett is a writer that turned into a musician and has built a great band around him to express his words. He is a smart writer that manages to say a lot and pour a lot of emotions into his words while keeping things concise and to the point. Reading the lyric sheet makes you realize how stirring his words are and when you wrap it in the music, it could easily fall into standard rock songs of lost love. The thing is, it does not because he doesn't have a standard rock band. He has a classically trained musician in Anna Bulbrook and a jazz bassist in Noah Harmon. Steven Chen plays both keyboards and guitar equally well and seems comfortable in any style they play. This allows the music to soar and seem like a standard pop song but go places a regular rock song would not be able to go. The best part is there is always a strong melody to ground the song but with the talented musician they find ways to add sonic textures that are fun to listen to and bring you back to a song. Repeated listening is a must as you hear things you hadn't heard on the previous listen.

The Smithereens 2011

2011-05-03T22:05:00.001-05:00

A new CD by the power pop band The Smithereens is always a reason to celebrate, but when it has been 11 years since their last release of new songs then it is even a better reason to rejoice. That is if what they release lives up to the previous CDs. This one definitely does.

The band sounds incredibly tight and the drums and bass lay down a solid foundation for the 2 guitarist, Jim Babjak and Pat Dinizio to let loose in. The sound is familiar and the themes are familiar and yet the whole CD is fresh. The vocals and the harmonies all sound perfect and give off reminders of 60's style East Coast Doo-wop. This I am sure is because the band has never stopped touring or putting out CDs as they have released 2 CDs of Beatle covers, a note for note remake of The Who's Tommy, and a Christmas CD.
The cover for the CD harkens to their best selling CD, Smithereen 11. You would think this would have 11 songs on it with all the 11 references but it actually has 13. This album is a great update of 60s style power pop while still able to sound new and relevant. You can hear the jangle of a Rickenbacker in some of these songs and the growl of a Fender in other.
The CD starts with Sorry. This song is definitely not an apology as the title suggest. It is someone who has had it with his lady and is tired of the way things are going. "I like to tell you sorry but I won't" Pat growls in the chorus and then it breaks down into a wicked solo and back to more vengeance. This is the type of song you would expect to hear on the radio next to classic Smithereen songs like A Girl Like You and The Blues Before and After. There are a wide range of styles on this CD. It is not a bunch of 4/4 blues rock songs. There is a taste of Nugget style psychedelia on a couple especially on A World of Our Own. It is at this song that this CD seems to take off and soar. Sorry and One Look at You are great pop songs but when they get to the long physchedelic intro of A World Of Our Own the album takes you to another place and carries you for the next 8 songs until Viennese Hangover which is nice as are Turn It Around and What Went Wrong, but those 8 songs in the middle are the kind of songs you look for that take you to a different place. A World Of Our Own is just an epic song that soars on a great riff. Rings On Her Fingers has a great hook. Goodnight Goodbye is almost New York doo wop. Every song on this album has a great hook or something worth listening to. Every song is worth repeated listening. It is just that sometimes you find favorites or in this case several favorites. This might honestly be the best Smithereens CD and there are a lot of solid CDs in their catalog.
Thank you for putting out new material especially when it is this good.

R.E.M. Collapse Into Now

2011-03-31T14:23:00.003-05:00

I want to like Collaspe Into Now by R.E.M. and I want to think it is a return to form. In some ways it is as they let Peter Buck loose and he gets to play some guitar. The trouble is it all sounds like something we have heard before. It is sort of like listening to a cover album. You like it because you know the songs but in the end you would prefer the originals. This is not a cover album but there are echoes of Country Feedback in Blue, So Fast, So Numb in All The Best, and Turn You Inside Out in Discoverer, etc. It seem like when they were at their peak each record sounded unique while still retaining the R.E.M. signature sound. Maybe that set my expectations high and I am expecting something epic and unique every time.
In the end I find this similar to eating leftovers. It is good but seems to be missing something and ultimately it leaves you wanting something different or craving the original dish. Is this a bad album, definitely not, in fact it is very good and well done. The problem I have is do I like it because I recognize it or do I like it for what it is.
Should you get it? If you are an R.E.M. fan you will want it as it is new set of songs. Non R.E.M, fans would be better off picking up Document or Life's Rich Pageant.
It is not a good year for R.E.M. when the best R.E.M. song is by The Decemberist.

The Palace Guards

2011-02-18T21:58:00.004-06:00

David Lowery, the front man and main song writer for Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, has released his first solo album. Musically and sonically it is different than the other 2 entities but the songwriting is similar and that is a plus. David has always had a sardonic and skewed way of looking at things. Something like this is great because it forces us to look at things from other angles and brings a different viewpoint to things without being threatening because it is just a pop song. David likes to write songs from a characters point of view instead of his own. But like all songwriters we know some of him is in there somewhere. This is especially true in songs like "The Palace Guards", "I Sold The Arabs The Moon", "Deep Oblivion" and even "Raise 'em Up On Honey". The thing is if we use these songs to figure him out then we will be led astray.
The new album is a strong group of songs. Some of these have been on YouTube and the internet for 2 to 3 years and it is nice to have them together. It is amazing how this is a complete album with what I am taking is a piecemeal approach to this album. He seems to have done it when he has time between all his other projects, He has the 2 bands, the radio show and now is a University of Georgia professor so there doesn't seem to be a lot of spare time yet this album is well thought out. The song styles cover a broad spectrum from bluesey psychedelia to straight ahead rocker to rockabilly. I am not sure if he rerecorded them with the band he assembled or if the band was available whenever he was ready to lay down tracks. The band is tight and it is obvious they have worked with David Lowery for a while. Most of the songs use the synthesizer as the melody and are similar in texture to "Bicycle Spaniard" off of Cracker's The Golden Age. Not to say the songs sound like this just that they use a synth melody and guitar to fill out the sound. The album seems to reflect a happier and a more at peace with his place in the world David Lowery. The world is still not perfect as he will be happy to point out in songs like "Deep Oblivion", "Big Life", and "Raise 'em Up On Honey" but he has found his way to fit in or at least make it work. " Big Life" talks of things not going the way we want but it is alright because it's a big life so don't sweat the moment as there will be plenty more chances to succeed and fail .The title track "The Palace Guards" I would guess would be most reflective of where David Lowery is at. He is happy with his life and will go to any length to keep it the way he wants it including hiding her passport and putting her on the No Fly List to keep her around. But in the finale of the song he tells how hard he works and rips his heart everyday for her and all he asks for is a kind word, a kind touch. One of my favorites is "Marigolds". A song about going to any length to find something that has meaning if only to you. It has a beautiful melody and some nice guitar work. The album is full of strong songs and the one cover, "Aw, She Left Me" by Mint sounds like David Lowery could of written it. I can see why this song would of caught his ear.
This album is a must have for fans of David Lowery and hopefully some non fans will find this and realize what a talent we have here. There is not a bad song on it.

The Nemo Orchestra at Club 504

2011-02-04T18:55:00.002-06:00

Last night was the 3rd time in a month my wife and I have seen The Nemo Orchestra. This was their first headlining show in Des Moines and they could not have gotten a worse night. It was bitter cold, we had just dug out of a snowstorm, and it was a Thursday night. Not a lot of people were there but the few that were got to see a great show!
The show started a little after 9:00 with Nick Knudsen taking the stage with a harmonica and an acoustic guitar. He played some originals that were basically stories set to music in a singer songwriter style . He played for about 30 minutes and then was joined on stage by half of The Nemo Orchesta, a drummer and a harmonica player, calling themselves Poppa Neptune. Eric strapped on a Telecaster and they started playing some electric blues. The 2 guitarists, Nick and Adam Pettyjohn, were jamming and playing off each other as Lee Eckles and his dad held down the bottom on bass and drums respectively, not to short change the harmonica player who was jamming the whole time. They played a couple of originals, some covers and did a fine job of jamming on the classic Willie Dixon song "Hoochie Coochie Man".
Then it was time for the nights headliner. The Nemo Orchestra came out with Matt Ibbotson strapping on the electric guitar for the first few songs. The band was prepared to rock and get the most out of the excellent sound system at Club 504. They opened with "Somebody's Daughter" and kept rocking and jamming through a few more originals and then slowed it down with "Dollars And Dolls". They then slowed it way down with a ballad and then went into a couple of covers ("El Schorcho" by Weezer was one). They then turned it up and ended it with originals and the final song was a great song called "I Need A Place". This song is fun and the chorus should become the pickup line of the year for the single crowd :Let's go home and see if our bodies fit together". They played for an hour and it flew by as they were on and everyone seemed to enjoy the excellent acoustics of the new club.
Club 504 is a nice large place with a long bar. They seem to be more about the music than the bar and that could make it a tough go as they are then dependent on the popularity of the act to draw a crowd as their beer and liquor selection is rather pedestrian. All beer is bottled and the liquor selection is ordinary. The gal that served us did a great job and made us feel very welcome. We will definitely be back but it will be dependent on the show.
I have to say it was a great night with great music. Hopefully, February 25th at Vaudeville Mews, there will be more people enjoying The Nemo Orchestra's music. It will be a Friday night and is an all ages show. Doors open at 5:30 and The Nemo Orchestra is once again the headliner. Support local music! There is a lot of young talent in this city and they will never go anywhere without your support.

Hanwell

2011-01-14T12:01:00.000-06:00

My better half and I went to The House of Bricks tonight to see the band Hanwell. They have been on hiatus for the last few months and were finally playing a show. They had 2 other bands that opened the night. The first band was The Seeds Of Something and they had a nice rollicking, garage rock sound. They were your typical 4 piece band, 2 guitars, bass, and drums. They were at their best when they were rolling through a tune in a hurry. The band still needs some polish but there is a lot of promise in what I saw. Their lead guitarist seem to have some licks and the songs they wrote were engaging.
The 2nd band was The Nemo Orchestra. They list their genre as "We play whatever comes out". I would say that was an accurate description. They were your typical 4 piece band also but their sound wasn't. They seem to love music and looked to be having a good time playing to the small but encouraging crowd. They played some folk pop, pop rock, power pop, which were all original and a nice cover of Weezer's "El Scorcho".

Dollars And Dolls [HQ]

Hanwell was the last band of the night. They mixed it up with new and old Hanwell songs and threw in a Wilco cover of "Shot In The Arm" for good measure. This was their first show in 6 months plus a new lineup. They must of done some heavy duty rehearsing because they sounded pretty tight. My wife described their sound as big. They had 7 people on the stage and they all seemed to stay on the same page even through some pretty intense musical interludes. Can't wait for the new CD as the new songs were great. Especially enjoyed "Graveyard Trees". Hopefully they will play a little more regularly than the sporadic schedule or should I say no schedule Hanwell has had lately.

I like that all 3 of these bands are writing their own songs and not just aspiring to be bar cover bands. Support local music. You never know what you will find.

Jacket Hangs

2011-01-12T17:08:00.002-06:00

The Blue Aeroplanes are a band that were at their peak in the late 80s, early 90s. They are a band with Gerard Langley as the lead. He plays guitar and essentially reads Beat poetry to the music he and his band create. They came to mind when I was at The Pictures Of Then concert and there was a bearded man who was dancing in the crowd. He was not just bopping to the music in one area but was moving all about wherever there was space and dancing uniquely. I was talking to Joe Gamble of Pictures of Then who noticed the dancer and I asked him if he had ever heard of The Blue Aeroplanes. He said he had not. I told him how they had a band member who was a dancer. That dancer was also listed on all of The Blue Aeroplanes CDs along with the band members as Wotjek Dmochowski, dance. Obviously, his dancing was important enough to The Blue Aeroplanes sound that Gerard made sure Wotjek had a listing on each CD and was prominent in their videos. I suggested to Joe that they should take the bearded dancer and make him a band member. I don't believe he is going to take me up on that but I thought I would post a little Wotjek for you to enjoy.

Maybe it will inspire Pictures of Then to make the bearded dancer part of their band.

Pictures of Then

2011-01-09T19:07:00.000-06:00

On January 8, 2011 my wife and I went to see the Minneapolis Based Pictures of Then. We have seen them several times and have never been let down. This night was no exception. They brought 3 other bands with them that were quite good. The first band was Phantom Tails http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phantom-Tails/102218143151972. They had a late 70s, early 80s synth sound. Sort of PIL meets Depeche Mode. They had a guitar, bass, synthesizer and a drum machine. The singer was very into the tunes and they seemed to be having fun. The next band was 4ontheFloor and they set out 4 Bass kick drums and put the drummer and drum kit in the front along with the rest of the band. The lead singer came out and said all their songs are in 4/4 time and they proceeded to jam. Started with an original song, Workin' Man Zombie,

and never stopped rocking. I would describe their music as a shot in the gut. The lead singer growled his way through a few more blues rockers and then it was time for Me and My Arrow. Me and My Arrow filled the stage with 9 musicians. How they got them all up there and plugged in I have no idea but they did. They had typical band instruments except for a cellist and trumpet that definitely gave it more of an orchestral flair.

I hate to minimize what they sound like because it was unique and quite compelling but if I was to pigeonhole them I would say similar to Arcade Fire. It was not just the cellist but the way they had 5 or more members singing and 2 female voices giving it a majestic sound. They were a treat to watch and I cannot wait for them to come back to Des Moines as I am sure I will be there for that.

The headliners were Pictures of Then. They needed to bring their A game after letting these 3 bands play in front of them, and they did as they started with a new song and then played favorites such as "The Wicked Sea" and "The Arguement" along with more new stuff. They were having a good time and the mood was infectious. They ended the set with "The Big Sell"

and then invited the other musicians to come up and play a cover of Pink Floyd's "Fearless". They played extended jam on both of these songs and then it was closing time and all the fun had to come to an end.

There can't be more gracious guys than the 4 members of Pictures of Then. Looking forward to the next time they come this way. As Joe Gamble said "Des Moines, Hell Yeah!"

I'm back

2011-01-04T21:04:00.001-06:00

Trying to write this blog and keep people up to date about my family and pets. I also am going to report on my adventures into the Des Moines music scene (is there such a thing? I believe the answer to be yes.) and let people know what is new and what was or hopefully will be good.
In fact this weekend we will be at Vaudeville Mews to catch Pictures Of Then. If you like melodic indie pop with an edge these guys are for you. These guys are from Minnesota via Iowa. They will be at the Mews on January 8, 2011. Doors open at 8:00 PM. http://www.facebook.com/picturesofthen
I have also joined the Des Moines Music Coalition and I am looking forward to volunteering and joining committees and being a more active part of what happens here.

My dog Max

2010-01-11T16:08:00.001-06:00

Max is an English Springer Spaniel. He was born at the end of April 2009. He is a smart dog who is constantly bored and always looking for something to do (read this as getting in trouble). We have an 8 year old yellow tabby cat named Bob. The 2 of them are constantly play fighting with each other. Wood was added to th ebottom of the swinging door in the basement to give the cat a safe haven. Bob the cat of course milks this and sits just out of Max's reach and stares at him begging Max to get him. Sometimes Max ignores him and sometimes he whimpers and whines on his side. Max has not realized yet that if he pushes hard enough on the door he will be on Bob's side of the door. I of course hope to keep this a secret from Max as long as I can.

Christmas was interesting this year. We bought a tree and had 18 inches cut off the bottom of the tree making it about a 4' tree. We then put it on an end table and tied it down with telephone cable. Then we decorated the tree with our favorite ornaments thinking it was safe from Max. This was, of course, not the case as Max started messing with the ornaments. We then put 2 3' X 8' sheets of plywood in a triangle around the tree. This actually worked and kept him out of the tree. Finally after a week and nobody painting a scene on it I put up lights to decorate the boards. I won't go into detail but being male and trying to do lights I became quite ugly and was an embarrassment to my family. Finally slogged my way through the lights and made the best of the barrier. Turned out pretty well and made the barrier christmassy.

We have always had pop cans in the kitchen and never had a problem. Obvious where this is going and yes we had a problem. We had let Max tear up the cardboard and the wrapping paper after Christmas and he seemed to have a lot of fun. I am figuring he had fun with the Christmas cardboard because he got a hold of the cardboard container with the pop cans in it and then grabbed a hold of the pop cans. I am guessing the sequence of events because nobody was home when this happened otherwise it would not have happened. He grabbed 4 of the pop cans and punctured them with his teeth and spread them all over our living room. My wife could not have been happier (sarcasm) when she came home and saw the mess. It took her over 3 hours to clean it up. We do not have pictures as she was to upset to take pictures but trust me it was a mess and Max was definitely canine non gratis.

End of decade movie list.

2009-12-30T20:19:00.001-06:00

Another 10 year cycle has passed and movies are still entertaining but not the storytelling adventure they used to be. Directors do not have the artistic control they had in the early 70s. We have lost some talented directors in the past 10 years or so such as Robert Altman, Sydney Pollack, John Frankenheimer, and Stanley Kubrick to mention a few. Having said this, I would say there are movies from this decade worth mentioning. Here is a Top 10 with some honorable mentions.

10. The Proposition: A western that takes place in Australia written by Nick Cave. Well written, well directed and well acted. A sweeping epic that isn't afraid to slow down and make scenes last. This harkens back to the spaghetti western. This is only one of two Guy Pearce movies on my list.

9. Tsotsi: A movie from South Africa that keeps you on the edge of your seat and makes you sympathetic towards someone that steals a baby. Well acted by newcomers.

8: Transiberian: A little known movie with Ben Kingsley playing a corrupt Russian detective and Woody Harrelson playing a wide eyed Iowan in Russia.This movie is slow burning but there is constant tension as it builds to an end you do not see coming. Watching Ben Kingsley, or should I say Sir Ben Kingsley, read the phone book would be enthralling.

7. Gran Torino: Clint Eastwood made a lot of good movies this decade and 1 bad one (Bloodworks). Gran Torino was his tour de force. He played it perfectly and ended it with a bang. Everybody expected a shootout and got a better payoff emotionally as he had no weapon. This was his best acting and directing job of the decade.

6: Kill Bill: Quentin Tarentino is always fun to watch even if all his movies aren't great. This movie is fantastic as he brings elements of all his favorite genre into 1 long movie that was broken into 2 movies by the studio. The first part is a homage to kung fu movies and the second part is spaghetti western (Yes, I am a sucker for a spaghetti westerns). Great job by David Carradine and Michael Madsen. Uma Thurman does a super job of carrying this movie as a woman on a mission. Worth it for the scene where she wills her body to move.

5. City of God: You cannot say enough good things about this movie. This movie is epic and tells a great story of growing up in tough streets and what happens to people with no hope as they try to hold on to some type of principal in their life. A crime saga to rival the best american crime movies such as GoodFellas and Casino. I won't go as far as to compare it to the Godfather I or II.

4. Slumdog Millionaire: OK, I am drawn to movies where people fight their way out of tough situations. This movie watches 3 kids grow up and make tough choices and live with the consequences of those choices. There is also a love story that has challenges but wins out in the end. Well directed, well acted by newcomers, and excellent use of the city of Mumbai. Danny Boyle was the director of the decade with this, Millions, and 28 Days Later.

3: Lord Of The Rings trilogy: Wow what can you say, Peter Jackson's masterpiece. Three movies that are actually better in the extended director's cut. He does the books justice while making a lasting piece of cinema. Peter Jackson may have been chosen director of the decade if not for King Kong

2: Memento: The movie that put Christopher Nolan on the radar. Another Guy Pearce movie. I would put him as my actor of the decade. A movie that throws all film conventions out and ends up as a mesmerizing piece of cinema.

1. No Country For Old Men: The best Coen brothers movie in years and they have made some good movies. This film is a lesson in how to make a movie and set up future scenes. They don't hit you over the head with anything and expect you to follow along. We have become lazy film watchers in these days of the action packed thriller. This movie pays off if you follow it closely as a lot of the details for the scene you are watching were set up in previous scenes. You know what happened by watching the film because of what they did earlier, even though the next time they only show you a small part. This movie has no heroes except for the sheriiff played by Tommy Lee Jones and he does not save the day. Javier Bardem plays the role of his life and Josh Brolin is excellent as the man who gets too greedy and it all goes to hell. Film students should be forced to watch this as this is film art at its finest.

Honorable mentions in no particular order: The Pianist, 28 Days Later, Blood Diamond, Children of Men, Babel, Traffic, Crash, In Bruges, and Mulholland Drive.

There are some movies that may have made the list but I have not seen them yet. This decade provided a lot of big budget thrillers but also brought back the independent film with more director control. Get out and view some movies!

My week in review or what I watched at least

2009-11-21T22:46:00.000-06:00

Television: Survivor is probably as good as it has been in years. If Russell makes it to the end it would be a travesty if he did not have enough votes to win but it wouldn't surprise me that the other players would have some lame excuse not to vote for him because he has outplayed all of them so far. The trouble with that is it puts a large target on his back as the numbers get smaller and makes it harder for him to make the final two.Russell once again found the immunity idol and they made it way too easy for him as he was part of the reward winning tribe that received the clue. Seeing how he had turned over every rock and looked in every crevice to find it without a clue giving him a clue was like putting a neon sign that says here it is. This time for the vote he had 2 Galu tribe members in his pocket. They finally got rid of Laura and Shambo was way too obvious when Laura was not going to get immunity. Shambo is playing decent but I don't think she is clever enough to survive but then again she doesn't seem clever enough to have survived this far. Now that tribal lines are broken down I am expecting a free for all this week. Russell was sure enough of the votes not to play the immunity idol this week so he still has it and seems to be able to tell which way the wind is blowing. It would be a shock if they voted him out with the idol in his pocket.
Sports: Iowa won the last game of their regular season. They beat Minnesota but were not that impressive. They end the season an impressive 10-2. Penn State will have the same record and could compete with Iowa for the at-large BCS bid. Penn State is a team that travels well but there are a lot of Iowans in Arizona so the at-large bid is a toss up. Too bad Iowa played not to lose last week. Doesn't matter now, what is, is what is.
One correction to last weeks blog. If Nebraska lost its last 2 games and Iowa State had won, Iowa State would be tied with Kansas State and Kansas State would have gotten in the Big 12 title game. Nebraska won and they are in the title game now.
Music: Going through my tunes and listening to a lot of different things. Drive-by Truckers new album "The Fine Print" which is a collection of outcast and alternate takes of songs already on previous albums is probably one of the strongest collections of songs like this that I have heard in a while along with Modest Mouse newest album "No Ones First and Your Next". Makes you think that these type of albums should be put out by all bands. Usually the outtakes and B Sides you find out are there for a reason and they put their best material on their albums. I would imagine these 2 collections are exceptions because these 2 bands have strong song writing and in the Drive-by Truckers case there are 3 songwriters and they had a 4th in Jason Isbell and 2-3 of his songs are on this collection. The standout on this has to be " George Jones Talkin' Cell Phone Blues". This song sums up the myth that is George Jones in 4 minutes. This song manages to talk about his hard drinking, his crash into an embankment and even his lawn tractor driving incident and still be a loving tribute to a great country legend. Modest Mouse has just one writer but Isaac Brock is a prolific writer and seems to have a handle on the pop song. His songs are now accessible but still don't sound like anything else. This probably makes old Modest Mouse fans unhappy but somebody like me who loves a pop song that is not ordinary Issac Brock's last 2 Modest Mouse albums are right in my wheelhouse. The standouts for me are "The Whale Song" which starts with an awesome 3 minute prog rock sounding jam and then breaks into a great chant song and "History Sticks To Your Feet" which is about as close as Isaac comes to writing a love song or maybe a hate song although the line, "I had enough of rolling boulders, I want more moss on me", sounds like somebody looking to settle down. A nice fuzzy guitar and fuzzy vocal carry this song.
Two nice collections to hold you over until they both write new songs.