On Radar: Vampire Weekend

These guys are fun -- They sound kinda like early Joe Jackson covering Diamonds on the Soles Their Shoes.



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Field Trip: No Country For Old Men

We have a front runner for the Scent Weakly movie of the year. I wouldn't quite put it Fargo's class, but it is very good.

I thought the allegorical and symbolic elements of the story resulted in a somewhat comic book-esque super villain who at times overwhelms the movie. But, in the grand scheme of things the problem is trivial. Definitely worth the price of admission.

Field Trip: Iron and Wine

I'm headed out to 4th and B for an Iron and Wine set, I might catch the opener, Califone, as well. Details to follow.

Update 1: Initial reaction. Very pretty, very earnest, very atmospheric, but I probably would have enjoyed the show more if I was stoned.

The Holidays

Since I have nothing, here's a Jim Gaffigan riff on the holidays.

Irvine Branch on Flickr

Yeah!!

Thanksgiving '07

Field Trip: I'm Not There

Carly and Annie are home for Thanksgiving and to celebrate family togetherness we headed to the movies to see the Dylan biopic. Definitely, not the standard movie biography. Very impressionistic and non-linear. It's a bit long and not all the pieces work, but it's worth seeing.

I was pleasantly surprised that Cate Blanchett's performance was not a distraction.

Oh the Kids These Days

I need to start watching South Park again, this is hilarious.

Secret Agent Man

Inspired by the TV show Chuck, David has decided the best method for joining the CIA is working for Best Buy. He begins Friday.

Steve Poltz: Jewel/Mexico/The Office/AI

If you have a few minutes the YouTubes below are entertaining. In them, Steve Poltz tells a great story about traveling in Mexico with Jewel, sings his song - You Were Meant For Me, and shares how The Office and American Idol made him some money.

Update: Hey Steve Poltz fans. You can find the pictures here: Steve Poltz's Mexican Vacation Pics

Something Kinda Cool

Check this out. A super high res picture of The Last Supper. Use the zoom tool for a closer look than you'll ever get in Italy looking at the real thing.

El Accidente

On the way home from work Friday evening a woman drove through a stop sign and t-boned Eth's car. Other than some residual soreness Eth is OK. The car on the other hand ......

The Stage Rush

As a someone who has not attended rock concerts for decades I am learning that there are some new rock concert audience protocols. One tradition that caught me by surprise was the Stage Rush.

At the end of some shows members of the crowd jump on stage in mass and proceed to jump around in a euphoric frenzy. Some bands like the Hold Steady encourage the practice. So, I was a bit disappointed earlier this year when there was no stage rush at the end of the show. However, there was no disappointment last Thursday night as the concert ended with a stage rush frenzy.

Here's a YouTube of THS Philly show's final song and stage rush.

Ancient History

About a million years ago when I attended Shadow Oaks Elementary School there was a two or three week period every spring when a yo yo fad would engulf the school. (There is an excellent Simpson episode on this phenomenon)

I remember having a great deal of difficulty just getting the thing to go up and down a few times in a row. I always blamed my problem with the fact that my yo yo was always some shoddily constructed off brand and not the much coveted Duncan.

Anyway, yo yoing has evolved significantly since my days in Mrs Gravitz's fourth grade class.

Wow!!

I found these pictures here, but beyond that I know absolutely nothing.

Field Trip: The Hold Steady

It was a long day amid a long week at work, so I almost blew this one off. But I came to my senses and caught the math department of John F. Kennedy Middle School kill it again.

The Hold Steady is one of the best bands currently playing small venues. They're definitely on my good enough to pack the van and follow them to Tempe list.

Yet Another Polyphonic Spree Video

Not the best video in the world, but it's from Thursday night's BellyUp show. BTW I was sitting stage left out of the fray.

RA on Letterman 11/1

Apparently, Letterman is a huge RA fan, and it seems some of RA's better performances are on his show.



And here are a couple more RA performed after the telecast. Remember to press the 3D button on your keyboard.

Anybody Want To Try This?

Amazing Cliff Jump Onto Boxes - Watch more free videos

How To Promote and Market Your Band

Chapter 4 Grow Your Market (I haven't written chapters 1 - 3 yet)

First, a quick review of economics 101. Supply and demand. Increasing the supply decreases the cost to the consumer. In the music world, technology has increased the supply of recorded music and the price of recorded music is dropping like Brittney Spears chances of winning a mother of the year award.

The flip side of the supply and demand equation is that as demand increases, prices of goods goes up. In the music world a musicians live show is limited resource. So, it would make sense for musicians to use their recorded music to leverage greater demand for their live shows. So, how come I'm paying less than $20 to go see The Hold Steady?

I think part of the answer lies in the fact that the percentage of people who are able or willing to go to a show on a week night is incredibly small. Apparently, musicians and concert promoters are completely unaware of the fact that almost all people over the age of 21 have a job and that those jobs require you to be at work before noon.

I go to a lot of shows on week nights. I rave about them to my friends and family, but none of my working friends and family are willing to go with me. But, I am an anomaly. I'm willing to go out on week nights to see a great show and pay for it the the next day with the lack of sleep. Everybody I know (and I do mean everybody) has expressed and interest in going with me to a concert. But, when I give them the time frame, doors open at 8:00, the first band will go on at 9:00, the headliner will go on at 10:30 (if there is just one band opening), so you'll be home by 1:00 am. Their eyes glaze over, decline, and ask how do I do it.

So, bands and singer songwriters here's a suggestion. Start your shows EARLIER! Headliner goes on at 8:00 and I'm in bed by 11:00.

In review, earlier shows increases your potential customer base. More customers equals more demand for tickets. More demand means more money for musicians.

An ancillary benefit of having working people attend your concerts is that they actually have money to buy your merchandise (the subject of chapter 5).

Better Angle

This play was all over the intertubes last week, but here's the play that beat mighty Milsap from a better angle.

Field Trip: Polyphonic Spree

I've listened to Polyphonics Spree's music, but I just haven't connected with it. Too much rainbows and puppies and not enough grit and grime. However, their live show, by all accounts, is something special, so I headed up Interstate 5 Thursday night. Destination: the BellyUp.

First of all, the sheer size of PS is impressive. I counted over 20 people squeezed onto the modest BellyUp stage. The band consists of everything from a female choir to a harp payer. As for their show, it's pretty much unexplainable. It's a strange amalgam of a rock concert and a new age revival meeting.

Since words fail me here's a sample of their show.



The PS have a passionate fan base. Part of the fun for me was watching them geek out.

Here's a short vid of PS covering Nirvana's Lithium. If anything the crowd last night was even more enthusiastic.



The PS understand that music is theater. They put on a SHOW. As for a rating, I'm not going to pack up the van, (several PS shows too close together might cause diabetes) but I'll go to their show the next time they're in town.