The Swell Season - Uptown Theater 11/30/09 KCMO

The Swell Season are the folk duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. They made their mark in the music world with the film Once, where they won the academy Award for "Falling Slowly". Prior to that Glen Hansard was the frontman for the Irish band The Frames. The rest of The Frames joined Glen and Markéta on stage for most of the evenings performance.

The show was a really good mix of old and new. They played a few songs of The Frames as well as a Tim Buckley cover. They went from starting as a duo to the full band and then Markéta played a few songs followed by Glen doing a solo session and back to the duo and then full band. They even did a new song I would call There.

There was a pretty full crowd at the Uptown Theater, possibly even sold out. Glen Hansard played well to the crowd. He told good stories and explained the meaning of some of the songs. Toward the end of the show he had the crowd interacting by singing along with a couple of songs. Even as they came out for the Encore, Glen asked the crowd to stay standing for the rest of the show.

Glen really belted out some amazing songs including an unplugged version of "Say It To Me Now" He pulled away from the mic and unplugged the guitar and played it right at the front of the stage. He told a story of a woman he met in Chicago and whose son died in the Towers on 9/11/01. It may have been a story he has told before, but it was a good one.

I didn't realize how young Markéta was, but seeing her from the 3rd row center she really looked every bit her younf age of 21 even though she sings like an experience professional of 40. Her songs were beautiful to hear as she sang and she really complimented Glen as he sang.

The show went on for about 2 hours and was really a fantastic night of music. I really wish they would have recorded the 2009 tour, but for some reason they decided to skip it for this tour. That was one show I would love to hear over and over.

All I can say is go out and see them if you get a chance. Check out their website for details at http://www.theswellseason.com/ as well as pick up their new CD Strict Joy. There is a Deluxe version with a DVD from the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee show from 2007 or 2008 as well as an extra cd with some of the highlights of that live performance.

Go see them, they are brilliant.

Setlist: Fallen From the Sky; Lies; Low Rising; Feeling the Pull; In These Arms; Strict Joy; The Rain; Look Back Now; If You Want Me; Fantasy Man; Say It To Me Now; Leave; What Happens When the Heart Just Stops (F); Buzzin' Fly (Tim Buckley cover); instrumental (Markéta Irglová and Colm Mac Con Iomaire); Alone Apart; Once; When Your Mind's Made Up.

Encore: Falling Slowly; new song ("There"); High Horses; Red Chord/The Parting Glass.

GI Joe: Rise of Cobra - Movie Review

OK - so after fully watching this film over the weekend I have to say that I really enjoyed it for the action, not the acting. Overall the story was somewhat predictable and lame, the actors were also pretty bad. Dennis Quaid makes a better Dad in a world freezing movie or a bike rider, more than General Hawk. He really is the cheese in this role which makes it fun.

Christopher Eccleston plays James McCullen, the creator of a new bio weapon that uses nano technology to eat away at metal as well as other materials and can take down tanks, cities and whatever else it needs to. Eccleston is best know, at least to me as The Doctor in season one of the revamped Doctor Who series.

So know you have the boys who are sent out to take the nano warheads to a military base, which of course will be attacked by the evil bad guys to try to steal the technology. Duke(Channing Tatum) should have stuck to his white boy dance movies as he really sucks as an actor. But since the chicks and guys must dig him, they put him in a leading role of this film. Personally a bad choice in my opinion, but for the LCD it must be perfect. Duke along with Ripchord(Marlon Wayans) end up leaning about the Joe's program as they are saved by a crew of them.

So now you learn a little more about the back story of Duke and the Baroness(Sienna Miller). The Baroness was once Dukes lady and she had a kid brother that was best friends with Duke and Duke swore to protect him in the war. so without saying more you can imagine or probably tell me the rest of the story.

The one good thing about the movie was the action sequences as well as the graphics and CGI overall. The sword fights between Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes are really good. Some of the other action fight scenes were done good as well.

Story and content were very simple for the simple mind I thought. For me it was enjoyable as a simple action adventure movie and I laughed a lot at how predictable it was and how bad the acting was for having some good actors in it.

Wait until it's on HBO or Showtime to watch or get it at the Red Box for $1.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Wilco - 10/06/2009 KCMO Crossroads

It was a chilly October night in Kansas City down in the Crossroads district, which is where they have started to create more of an art space and have a lot of artists lofts and other store fronts. Still not the greatest of places, but looks like it could be on it's way. Crossroads is a venue that sits behind Grinders, a hamburger joint. It must have been an old vacant lot or something, but there's a stage on the south end, a nice grade, so those further back can see the stage well and a lot of beer tents and other vendors. It's outdoors so in October depending on the year can be a bit of a challenge. This night it was about 49 degrees, but with a sold out show they were packed in good to keep some heat in.

Liam Finn was the opening Act and came on promptly at 8pm. He is a two person band from Australia, son of Neil Finn from Crowded House. He uses loops on drums and guitar to get one instrument going and then jumps on the other while one loops. He plays with Eliza Jane Barnes, who plays an electronic drum, cow bell and various other instruments to back as well as sings. They were entertaining, but not exactly my kind of music, at least in the live sense.

Wilco came on shortly after 9pm and started off with The Price is Right theme and jumped into Wilco(the song) as they seem to have been starting many of this tours shows. This is one of the songs off of Wilco(the album) that came out a few months back. I would highly recommend picking it up. It looks like I forgot to review, but there will be one to follow sometime soon if I have time.

Jeff Tweedy made some comments throughout the first couple songs asking if people were cold, but the answer was always no. I think Jeff was as the wind was certainly coming across the stage. Still it didn't stop the band from playing a 2 1/2 hour set filled with songs ranging from all the years.

Some of the highlights to me were Bull Black Nova from the new CD. They really jammed it out during Impossible Germany, it was especially cool with 3 guys playing guitar and jamming together. That's part of what makes them such a fun band to see.

Jeff used the same lines I read in reviews about trying to get everyone to sing Jesus, Etc. He compared us to Minnesota and Iowa, the two previous shows. Bother were indoor and I'm sure sounded louder. Still it was a fun sing-a-long for everyone.

One of my favorite songs was played as usual, but certainly made me happy. That was Handshake Drugs, it's been a favorite of mine for a couple years. They did a great Walken as well as Can't Stand It.

During the first Encore, Liam & EJ came out and played for a couple of songs and then Jeff had asked the crowd to elect a president and vote on what song we wanted to hear. Everyone yelled Kingpin and so he looked at the band and they jammed into it. It was a nice KC version of the tune.

All in all, it was a fun night of music and as always it was a nice place to see a show. But I do hope one of these times I get to see them play at The Uptown. The last 4 times I've seen them have all been outside, so a change to indoor would be nice.

I'm already looking forward to the next time they come to town. Check out their website at http://www.wilcoworld.net/ for tour dates and streams of live shows. Recently they have the 08/2009 Dublin show as well as the 4/2009 Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee. I love throwing them on the computer to get that live experience.

If you get a chance, do see them live as they really are a fun band to see and really have a lot of talent flowing throughout the show from Drums, Keys, Bass and Guitars. Nils really loves to jam out and is really good. Jeff has a great voice and really knows how to put it all together.


Setlist:

01. Price's Right Intro > Wilco
02. I'm Trying to Break Your Heart
03. Bull Black Nova
04. You are My Face
05. One Wing
06. Shot in the arm
07. Radio Cure
08. Impossible Germany
09. At Least That's what she said
10. One by One
11. I'll Fight
12. Handshake Drugs
13. Sonny Feeling
14. Hate it Here
15. Can't stand it
16. Jesus Etc(Sung by the Crowd)
17. Walken
18. I'm the Man Who Love You
Encore: 1
19. Misunderstood
20. I'm Always in Love
21. You Never Know
22. California Stars
23. Kingpin
Encore: 2
24. Late Greats
25. Monday > Outa Mind Outa site
26. Hoodoo
27. I'm a Wheel

Where The Wild Things Are - Movie Review

Where the Wild things are is a children's book that was written by Maurice Sendak back in 1963 that I think just about every kid has had a copy or read in their lives. This adaptation of the book is directed by Spike Jonze and the screen play was written by David Eggers. Jonze has directed two films, Adaptation and Being John Malcovich. He has mostly directed music videos through his career, so this is a big change.

The story obviously has to be adapted from the original 43 page book in order to make a 90 minute movie. The story is about Max(Max Records), who lives with his Mom and his older sister. He gets angry because of the way his sisters friends treat him and that his Mother is ignoring him as she has a date(Mark Ruffalo). So Max lashes out and bites his Mom and runs away and climbs into a boat and sails off to an island. That's where the Wild Things are.

Max comes upon the Wild Things and ends up their king. Carol is the main Wild Thing, voiced by James Gandolfini. He's sort of the leader and a bit angry as Max arrives. The story evolves from there to develop a relationship between Max and all of the Wild Things. The rest of the story is all about what they learn from Max and what he learns from them.

I really liked the way that this was written and directed. They have some fantastic views and landscapes throughout the movie. This was all filmed in Australia near Melbourne. The puppeteer work and the graphics are done really well and the story was just brilliant.

The music was scored by Karen O and The Kids and really plays well to the movie. The songs are simple and fun and fit right in. Karen O is the lead singer of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, she has band members as well as Racontuers guitar and bass players with a few others helping out.

From my perspective I felt that there were some scenes that were a little scary and violent for younger kids as well as some behavior that you hope they don't pick up and learn. Still my 3 1/2 year old daughter really loved the Wild Things and enjoyed the music as well. So for me it's a movie you could take the whole family too as we did.

There are points where the movie is a little slow, but overall it really does keep you wondering what's going to happen next or how are the characters going to behave. It's a fun film with a good story that shows that family is really what it's all about.

I would certainly recommend seeing this movie. It has happy and sad points and it really is just a cool story that I have always loved since I was a kid. I think that Max is a character many can identify with and the story and the imagination of all who created it is brilliant. I think I always wanted to run off to the land of the Wild Things, but the closest I got was the woods across from my families house and The Wild things weren't there.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Pearl Jam - Backspacer Review

Released exclusively through iTunes and Target, Pearl Jam has started a new chapter, by leaving their record label and putting Backspacer out independently. The other cool thing they did is they give you a link to get two free live convert downloads. So be sure to load the CD to iTunes or buy it at iTunes and put it in the player and click on the CD cover and it will bring you up to a web link where you can click on the pictures. Check them all out, but the train in the upper left will link you to choose from 2 of 11 live shows. Hint - if you have multiple email addresses, you can register on each one and get more free live shows! Also on iTunes they give you a free video of The Fixer as well as a 10 minute making of the CD movie that's really neat. I would highly recommend checking both of those out even if you don't own an iPod.

The first few songs really rock you out pretty good in typical Pearl Jam style. I have to say I'm really impressed with the new CD and the style in which they recorded this one. Check out the iTunes video for sure just to get a glimpse it's well worth it.

Gonna See My Friend starts you off with a jamming tune and keeps going through Got Some and The Fixer. All of them have that Pearl Jam feel to them and are just good fun tunes to listen to.

Just Breathe slows it down, but really is an awesome song. It shows the diversity of the band with their ability to change it up. The guitar work is nice as well as the backing musicians that play on it. This one is my favorite on the CD.

Amongst the Wave is another nice song that's a little on the slower side, but makes me think of my days hanging out on the beaches of Southern California. Just the line "riding high amongst the waves" puts me back in my SoCal days and this is sort of a ballad type song in a way, that really finished off pretty strong.

Unknown Thoughts again starts you out with a little guitar and Eddie singing and build up with some piano and drums kicking in along as it rolls. Then Eddie starts getting into it. It really shows his passion in his voice and again is a nice fit to the last couple of songs and gels well.

Now we kick it back to Supersonic that gets the feet thumping and gives you a nice classic jam. Not sure who to compare it to, but it really just keeps going and is a nice tune with some good guitar solos in it.

Slowing it back down a bit with Speed of Sound you get a nice little slow ballady type song. Somewhat Neil Youngish to me, but could also be just a good PJ slow one. Force of Nature makes you think Joe Satriani or guitar wizard is ready to jam one out and then you hear Eddie and it kicks in to a regular PJ standard song. It Has nice guitar work through it and jams out nicely.

The End finishes the Cd off really nice. A good mellow tune with a start of guitar and Eddie and adds some good backing strings along it. You really hear how nice Eddie can sound as he has a symphony style backing. I bet he would do well singing Pearl Jam songs with a symphony in the back, that would be awesome.

I missed Eddie on the solo tour, but that's because no one seems to come to Kansas City much. Once in a while we get lucky. So I hope to sometime hear Eddie solo and even though I have seen Pearl Jam many times in the past 20 years, I would love to see them come to town as well. There are some great 2009 Bootleg shows for sale on their website for $9.99, check them out for sure. Chicago night two is really awesome. Go to http://www.pearljam.com/ and you will see them either in the store or just on the top page.

A really great CD. If I did give out stars on CDs this would get 5 for sure.

Track Listing:

1. Gonna See My Friend
2. Got Some
3. The Fixer
4. Johnny Guitar
5. Just Breathe
6. Amongst The Wave
7. Unthought Known
8. Supersonic
9. Speed Of Sound
10. Force Of Nature
11. The End

Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby

Juliet, Naked Nick Hornby's latest work of fiction tells a brilliant tale of a couple Annie and Duncan who share a love for the musical artist Tucker Crowe, who fell off the face of the earth twenty some years back. Duncan is obsessed with Tucker's music and the moments he had in those years. When they return from a trip to the US to follow Tucker, from the place of birth, the break up with Juliet to the Toilet that is said to be the place that he last was before never being heard from again, a package awaits Duncan. Now Duncan is gone and ignored his mail, so Annie opens the letter to find a copy of Juliet, Naked a demo of the original Juliet songs as well as a couple unreleased. She contemplated waiting for Duncan to listen or does she listen before.

Duncan arrive home to Annie listening and comes to realize that this is a new almost never heard CD of Tucker's music and Annie has violated it by listening to it first. So from there the story takes it's way into what becomes a pretty interesting book in a typical Nick Hornby style.

If you read the cover or the description on the web, you know there's a break and through posts of Annie's Tucker reads them and corresponds and they both learn from this experience.

Overall I really enjoyed the concept of where Nick was going with the book, but for some reason I still feel a little at a loss at the end. I feel that even though he did add closure to the characters, that I really wanted more.

Still it was a fun and relatively easy read. I couldn't put the book down as I wanted to see what was going to happen next and he jumps from the different family situations and the bringing them together. I have a tendency to be a little like Duncan having the blinders on with certain artists and when other criticize, I wonder what the hell are they thinking. Still overall in the end you start to realize the same flaws or thoughts.

As enjoyable as it was to read, I just kept wanting more details, more development of the characters and all that surrounded them. I think I just was wanting a 500 page novel that went on and on and after two nights of reading this 249 page book it was over. Getting to the end of a book can sometimes be an amazing thing and others making you want to scream for more. This one I wanted more and that's because Nick did such a good job bringing the characters together I was waiting for something big to happen and in the end what I wanted wasn't there. Still I loved it and loved how he showed the obsession of one person and the coming together of an unlikely pair. It was certainly in lines with his other works and I would recommend picking it up and having a read.

It will be out in the US September 29th and has already been released in the UK. Here's where to get the UK version: Amazon.co.uk and the US version at: Amazon.com.

Click here to view Nick's website and also find out when he will be out on his book tour. I really would love to see him stop in Kansas City, but I did have the pleasure of meeting him at Book Soup in Los Angeles a few years back on one of his previous reading and signings.

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions - Through the Devil Softly

Not until I read the product description on Amazon.com have I ever heard Hope Sandoval's music referred to as California psychedelic dream pop, but it has a really nice ring to it.

Through the Devil Softly is the second full length CD by Hope & The Warm Inventions since Bavarian Fruit Bread in 2001. I still wonder what Hope has been up to for the past eight years. I know she has done a few things from time to time with different bands, but until recently nothing major.

There are three songs off this CD that are available in a single format. "Blanchard" can be downloaded from iTunes, "Wild Roses" is on an Air France soundtrack and "Trouble" is a free download for those who sign up for Hopes newsletter at http://www.hopesandoval.com/home.shtml or on her myspace page. She also has a Facebook fan page to get information as well. Technology today gets the word out there pretty quick. Hope will be out on tour for the next couple months. Once again as it seems ever band I want to see decides to pass up on Kansas City and go from Denver to Minneapolis or Chicago. So Hope, I hope you decide to fit us in along the way, I would love to see you live.

"Blanchard" is the first song on the CD and it would certainly come across as California psychedelic dream pop to me. A good mellow tune that will lead to what will be a lot more of them along the way. This is a nice song to start the CD off with. "Wild Rose" is just as dark and is one that can be heard on the Air France CD. Another really nice song to hear.

"For the Rest of Your Life" has a haunting sort of glow to it with almost a chanting voice coming from hope. The electric guitar sort of rings out through the song. A beautiful song with a dark side to it.

"Lady Jessica and Sam" keeps the mellowness going with Hope and an acoustic guitar playing. A nice song with good guitar work and Hopes beautiful voice fills your ears. "Sets the Blaze" adds some different instruments and some backing vocals, the violin plays another nice melody finishing off with a windy sort of coldness.

Listening to this CD isn't going to get you to jump out of your chair and dance a jig, but maybe a nice cigar or glass of scotch with this on in the background would be suited fine. I personally like to listen as I work. It gives me a nice calming feeling as I listen through it.

"Thinking Like That" is another Hope plus acoustic with a continuous pattern for the first half and adds a few instruments and a little more sound. sort of makes me feel like I'm halfway between a musical concert and a symphony mix. "There's a Willow" brings back an electric guitar with a classic old style sound to it, kind of that 50's beat of the mellow sort and echoness to it.

"Trouble" gives you the full band sound again with the hauntingness to it. I almost feel like it's going to jump from the mellow tones into a raging California beach sound, but it stays mellow with Hope and gets a little speed and goes right back, very balladry, if that's a word.

"Fall Aside" I think has Hope playing the Glockenspiel at the start, unless it's someone else. My guess is it is Hope. Same vocal tempo as most of the CD. Pretty nice little song, almost makes me want to get up and March around. "Bluebird" makes me feel like something out of Pink Floyd's "The Final Cut". A good song that just keeps moving and still remains in place.

The CD finishes off with "Satellite". As you hear the start you wonder what is going on. It has a sort of a feel like you are listening to a 45rpm from the old days. Different but pretty cools sound. I'm sure that was the effect they were going for.

Overall as I said before, this is one you want to listen to as you are just hanging out and doing stuff. Maybe put it on with some candles going in the low light or maybe listen to at your office so you keep your blood pressure down.

I know Hope likes to play live in a soft lit room with the lights coming from behind. I think that as you listen to her you just imagine what a beautiful person it is up there that you can't see. She really is a beautiful person and has an outstanding voice. This is a CD I would recommend as well as her works with Mazzy Star and the first CD Bavarian Fruit Bread. Also check out "Sometimes Always" with The Jesus and Mary Chain on Stones and Dethroned Hope sounds awesome!

Please pick up the CD and support the Band, it's a brilliant one and a must to have in the collection.

Hope - Please come to Kansas City, I would love to see you perform.



Here's the track listing of the new CD:

Through The Devil Softly

1.Blanchard
2.Wild Roses
3.For The Rest Of Your Life
4.Lady Jessica and Sam
5.Sets The Blaze
6.Thinking Like That
7.There's A Willow
8.Trouble
9.Fall Aside
10.Blue Bird
11.Satellite

Phish - Joy CD Review

After a five year break Phish came back out and toured and now have put out a new studio CD, Joy. This Cd was produced by Steve Lillywhite and many of the songs have already been heard on the tour in live format. I personally have never been a huge fan of Phish's Studio CDs compared to the live material, but still you have to start somewhere.

This is one studio CD that has been growing on me as I've been hearing the tracks on it. There are some catchy tunes that really have a nice beat. "Backwards Down the Number Line" is a good tune to jump right into it. Fun song, a little pop tune, but pretty cool.

I really dig "Ocelot", good song with a good beat. Keeps me just wanting to hear more as I hear it. That goes into "Kill Devil Falls" which again is a good road trip tune. Nice speedy rhythym to it and another good one to hear. "Light" slows it down at the start and sort of goes into a ballad type song.

"Time Turns Elastic" came from Trey's little symphony project that he worked on this past year. It's a longer song about 16 minutes, but a good jam and really fun.

Page sings a few songs on the CD and are both pretty fun, bluesy tunes. "I've Been Around" and "Sugar Shack" are his songs on the CD.

"Twenty Years Later" finishes it off and it keeps you wanting to hear more. How you can fit 10 Phish songs on a CD takes someone like Steve Lillywhite. If it wasn't for him, I bet this would be a 90 minute jam session.

Fun CD that has a couple bonus songs on the iTunes version and if you buy the Deluxe version from the Phish website, you get a full bonus CD and a DVD of highlights from the June 2009 tour dates.

I really enjoy this one and would recommend picking it up for sure.

Track Listing:

1. Backwards Down the Number Line
2. Stealing Time from the Faulty Plan
3. Joy
4. Sugar Shack
5. Ocelot
6. Kill Devil Falls
7. Light
8. I Been Around
9. Time Turns Elastic
10. Twenty Years Later

Blink 182 - Weezer 09/04/2009 Bonner Springs, KS

Friday Night September 4th was the annual 96.5 Buzz Beach Ball at Capital Federal Park, Sandstone Amp, Bonner Springs, KS. The show featured 11 bands, but the main show of the night was Weezer and Blink 182. I arrived just for the set of Weezer and then Blink 182. So my review only consists of the two bands.

It had rained all day and was a bit of a mess out in the grass, but overall by 7:45pm when Weezer came on, everyone was there and ready to go. The place wasn't sold out tonight, probably closer to 17k instead of the 18k needed to sell out. Pretty big crowd for Sandstone. The last show I was there for was Jack Johnson and that was sold out.

Weezer came out all dressed in USMT Track Suits and jammed out Black Sabbath's "Warpigs" and jammed it into "Hash Pipe". They jammed out some good songs and put on a pretty entertaining show playing some of the classics like "Undone: The Sweater Song", "Buddy Holly" and "Beverly Hills". I know they have a new CD coming out, but not sure if any of the songs were from it. They had a fun time and had the crowd dancing and singing for the whole set. They finished it off with "Should I Stay or Should I Go" a Clash tune that I love. They did a good version of the song. Weezer are a bit of a nerdy band, but fun. I thought they put on a really good performance and judging from the reaction of the crowd, I think they were well liked.

Shortly after 9pm Blink 182 was ready to take the stage. Wang Chung was playing on the loudspeaker and then the curtains opened and Blink 182 was out and jamming "Dumpweed" and really got the crowd up on their feet and going. They jumped right into "Feel This" from their self titled CD and then took a break to spew out some typical potty mouth comments about penises and F'ing their moms and all that as usual. If you ever have listened to The Mark, Tom and Travis show unrated cd, you will have heard some pretty bad one liners tossed back and forth between Tom and Mark.

The set continues strong with "Rock Show and into "What's My Age Again?". They started to get a little mellow for a few songs or at least start mellow and then jam in. During the show at times I think either Tom was just off or the sound man was off, not sure which. To me it sounded more like Tom was off at times, just not catching right with Mark during the songs. Still overall they did sound like they were in good form and having fun.

What blew my mind was all the 10-12 year old kids who were allowed to be at the show with all the sex talk and F words flying around. Yes I know they have all heard it before, but still, just doesn't seem right. Especially when they are singing every single song for this band who started a good 20 years ago.

Tom told some silly stories and acted a bit silly through most of the show where Travis just jammed out on the drums and Mark was a little less mouthy as Tom. They played "I Miss You" and "Stay Together for the Kids" with "Down" and "Always" to follow. Jamming in "First Date" and "Man Overboard" were some good highlights to the show.

Later Tom yelled "This is a song about all the guys penises out there" and jumped into "All the Small Things" always a fun song to hear. From there they continues a good mix of songs and really played a nice set. I personally really wanted to hear "
Aliens Exist", but it was not to be tonight.

The set lasted about 90 minutes or a little longer and they played some good songs and talked some really stupid potty humor through the show. Tom kept sitting on the ground during jams and I kept thinking it's because he's out of shape and needs a break. Mark was bouncing all over the stage and seemed like he was in top form and really having a good time out there. That's the one thing I like about Mark and hope to eventually see him with his next side project if it's +44 or something else, I'm sure it will be awesome.

Hopefully Blink will stay together for a while and do another Cd as expected and then maybe the boys will continue their side project. I don't know that Angels and Airwaves has achieved the heightened success that Tom wants, but they are a fun band to hear and +44 is really entertaining.

So not Blink at their best from the old days, but a really good show and a fun time out at Sandstone Amp. Next time I hope they play Crossroads or Uptown, something smaller and more to my liking. We will see if they last after this one.

Blink 182 SetList:
Dumpweed, Feeling This, The Rock Show, What's My Age Again?, Obvious, I Miss You, Stay Together For the Kids, Down, Always, Stockholm Syndrome, First Date, Man Overboard, Going Away To College, Not Now, All The Small Things, Reckless Abandon, Josie, Anthem Part 2. Encore: Carousel, Dammit.

Weezer Setlist:
Warpigs/Hash Pipe, Troublemaker, Undone (The Sweater Song), Surf Wax America, Perfect Situation, I Want You To, Say It Ain't So, My Name Is Jonas, Island in the Sun, Why Bother?, Pork and Beans, Beverly Hills, Buddy Holly, Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Big Head Todd, G Love & Special Sauce with Meese at Beaumont Backyard, KCMO

Friday night was a really nice night to be outside hanging out on 40th and Pennsylvania in Wesport at the Backyard of the Beaumont. Big Head Todd and the Monsters would be headlining a concert sponsored by the 96.5 radio station.

The line-up started with a Colorado based band Meese, followed up by G Love & Special Sauce and then BHTM.

Meese took the stage right at 7:30pm and played a short but good set. I hadn't heard them before, but not bad at all. They have a bit of a pop sound, but a good one. They were entertaining for their short set and are worth seeing for a longer show for sure.

G Love took the stage and played a good set for the crowd of about 1,500. G Love is an interesting guy. He's a white boy from Philly with a bit of funk in his style. G Love had his day a while back and now had but out some new music and is still playing away. He played a lot of classics like "She Got Sauce", "Cold Beverages", "Booty Call", "Whose Got The Weed" and a couple of covers "Why Don't we Do It In The Road" and "Gin and Juice". All fun and about a 75 minute set. Good time and Big Head still to come.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters have been playing for 20 years and are as tight as any band I've seen. They know exactly how to play off each other. Todd, the lead singer plays with a blues swing in his voice, hard to compare him as he plays a little like Johnny Lee Hooker, Stevie Ray and Clapton all together.

Tonight they mixed it up with some new some old. "Broken Hearted Savior" and "Bittersweet" were both done in their classic live styles with some good jams. They played "It's Alright" "Crazy Mary" and "Spanish Highway" as well as many others. The only song in the set I had not heard was a tune about Muhammad Ali that was pretty cool.

Todd always puts on a good show and even after seeing them about every years for the past 20, it's always been awesome!

Good night, good crowd, fun time.

Just a side note - the pictures are from KC Star as they turned out better than mine.

The Damned United - 2009 Movie Review

Directed by Tom Hooper, this is the story of Brian Clough's reign as Leeds United manager for all of 44 days. Michael Sheen plays Brian Clough. The previous manager Don Revie(Colm Meaney) had achieved national success wiuth the ream and was now asked to take the head job as England Manager. So in comes Brian Clough to take over and become the next biggest thing or not. Clough starts his job by taking an Yorkshire Television interview and states that Leeds were cheats and thugs and he's there to change their style of football.

Warning: There are spoilers if you don't know the story and don't want to, stop now.

The story jumps back and forth in time telling the story of Brian's early days with Derby County, working with Peter Taylor(Timothy Spall) to take them from the bottom of the 2nd league to the top of the first division. Clough is a man of many words and doesn't care who he's talking to, he says what he wants. This was all started when Derby selects Leeds in the 1967 FA Cup Draw at home. He gets the place ready to show his first division opponents that he is ready to have them as guests. so what happens, they lose 2-0 and Don Revie walks out snubbing Clough. From that point he was determined to get to first division and beat the pants off Leeds and stick it to Revie.

Flash forward in time and you see that he gets off on the wrong foot with the team right off the start in the Charity Shields match and can't seem to get his team to show any respect for him as a coach. This struggle will end up driving him out the door only 6 weeks after taking the team.

So back to the success he created at Derby. He went behind the chairman's back to aquire players and spend money the club didn't have. He took the team from nothing and made them the champions of first division. Clough did this all with Peter Taylor, who some say was really the brains of the operation. The breaking point was when Leeds was in town for a match and Derby had a mid-week semi-final cup tie with Juventus. The Chairman question why Clogh was playing his best against Leeds and not saving them for the Juve match. Well Leeds took out several key players and Derby went on to lose to Juventus and Clough looked bad to the Chairman and the board. Clough offered up his and Taylors resignation if the board didn't change the chairman. The board accepted and it backfired on Clough. He was now out of a job and screwed Peter Taylor along with him.

The only job offered to Clough was the Brighton & Hove Albion position, which he and Taylor accepted. Taking a chance to bring a 3rd division club to the top. While on holiday before the job started word came out that Revie was now England Manager and someone from Leeds asked Clough to take over. He had a falling out with Taylor and went to do it on his own. This became the start of the down fall, "The Damned United". The players wouldn't listen. His top players were hurt and the captain was suspended for violent conduct. so he had no change. Leeds players were looking for him to scout matched and train them based on the style of each team. Clough thought that if you trained his way it didn't matter who you played. We the team turned on him and only 44 days later he was out.

The story finished it up with Clough getting blindsided with an interview that included Don Revie to be critical of him. The two went at each other with words. Clough basically said he was doomed from the start because they wouldn't listen to him and that Revie was sabotaging him from the start. Revie asked why Clough disliked him so much and he told him about the 1967 FA Cup Snubbing and Revie tried to play it off like he didn't know that he was the manager. All in all they walked off saying nothing more.

The film itself then goes on to show Clough getting on his knees and begging Taylor for forgivness. He accepts and they join forces to take Nottingham Forest to the lead championship as well as two European titles. Clough and Taylor really were a great team. The success they had was amazing. The film ends with a quote "the best manager that England national side never had". Clough passed away in September of 2004, but will always be remembered as on of the best English coaches.

To me giving you the summary is no more that telling you what happened historically at the time. This film was done really well for a period piece done in 2009 portraying the mid-sixties through early seventies. The story may have been embellished a bit, but really for the most part is right on with how it went down. Brian Clough was a successful manager, but had no chance when he took the Leeds position, but he still fought and stuck to his style.

I think the acting was done well for this film, Colm Meaney does a great job being a prick and Michael Sheen is great and being the arrogant non-stop talking version of Clogh who won't let you get a word in. This is a good movie and well worth watching. You really don't have to be a Clough fan or Revie fan, just watch it for the story and the acting, everyone does a good job.

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5

Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 - Goodnight Oslo

Three years ago Robyn formed his latest band The Venus 3 with Peter Buck, Scott McCaughey & Bill Rieflin. This is the follow up to Ole Tarantula that came out 3 years ago. Goognight Oslo is a new collection of Robyn's eccentric sound in music. This CD has a mix of acoustic, electric, horns, harmonica and some good old rock. This is Robyn at his finest in putting a different style to music today.

"What You Is" really is a bluesy style song with some background singing. Really good start to the CD and lyrically a cool tune. Following is "Your Head Here" is a cool a tune with nice rythms and some good vocal changes through it.

"Saturday Groovers" is a nice catchy pop tune with some horns and a really bouncy beat to it. One of the more catchy tunes on the CD. "I'm Falling" is a really nice ballad type song, very beautiful. If I were to pick a song that might get more play than others it would be this one for sure. Sort of some of that early 60's groove added to it, if that makes sense.

"Hurry for the Sky" has a bit of a western style feel like you are sitting in an old saloon hanging out ready for a gun draw or the train to arrive in town. "Sixteen Years" is a really dark song. I don't know historically the significance of the sixteen years, but it really plays to some dark devestating years. Pretty cool tune as dark as it is.

"Up to Our Nex" was from the Jonathan Demme film "Rachel Getting Married". I can't say I've seen the movie, but the song is really cool. There's some horns and simple beat going on with maybe some mandolin in the back. It's a catchy little pop tune. "Intricate Thing" is love between a man and a woman. Very simple catch little acoustic tune with some good harmonies in it.

"TLC" is another one of those simple 50's rock style songs with Robyn singing in a low tone through the start. It sort of has a groovey feeling to it. It gives you a sense of relaxation in a slow melodic way.

"Goodnight Oslo" finishes this CD off with another darker style song. It keeps this beat like it's rolling along and going to catch up to a point and just keeps rolling. It's really a nice finish to the CD.

This CD really has a couple of different styles of Robyn's music from over the years. Robyn seems to continue to get more impressive as he continues his career and tries different styles of music. I've always been a fan of "Eye" and his darker accoustic styles of music, but I love "Globe of Frogs" as well. This is one band I hope to catch if they would ever come to Kansas City. I've seen Robyn before and really love his music and this is a great addition to the collection from all the years.

I would certainly recommend going out and getting this one, it's well worth the money.

Track Listing:
1. What You Is 3:25
2. Your Head Here 3:48
3. Saturday Groovers 2:47
4. I'm Falling 4:34
5. Hurry for the Sky 3:11
6. Sixteen Years 4:23
7. Up To Our Nex 3:46
8. Intricate Thing 3:30
9. TLC 3:46
10. Goodnight Oslo 6:00

The Swell Season - NPR Tiny Desk Concert

The Swell Season stopped by for a NPR Tiny Desk concert this past week and gave a 34 minute treat that included a series of new songs we will be hearing from their new CD out later this year. They performed six new ones and had the audience participate as their background music filling in as they only had a guitar with them in the tiny room.

Here's a link to the show to watch: The Swell Season NPR Tiny Desk Concert it is also available for download in audio only and video formats from the site.

Setlist from the show:
In These Arms
Low Rising
Fantasy Man
Paper Cup
Feeling the PullBack
Broke
When Your Mind's Made Up

The Swell Season are Glen Hansard, from the the Irish band The Frames and Marketa Irglova, who is a classically traind Czech pianist. The two made their name with the Oscar winning song Falling Slowly from the movie Once, which they were both in. The music they put together in the movie is beautiful, the last CD they put out is as well. The new CD Strict Joy will be out October 27th in the US. The track Listing is below:

Strictly Joy - Track List:

1. Low Rising
2. Feeling the Pull
3. In These Arms
4. The Rain
5. Fantasy Man
6. Paper Cup
7. High Horses
8. The Verb
9. I Have Loved You Wrong
10. Love That Conquers
11. Two Tongues
12. Back Broke

The Return of Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions

I've been wondering for a long time if we would see Hope Sandoval putting out a new CD. So while listening to Bavarian Fruit Bread while working out the other day I decided to to a google search and found that Hope and the band are realeasing a new CD Through the Devil Softly on September 29th, 2009.

The first single Blanchard was released recently on iTunes and I had a chance to preview it. I can tell you that I'm quite happy to hear Hope's beautiful voice once again singing in such a dark haunting tone. If Blanchard is any indication of how the rest of the cd will be, it's going to be brilliant. From the days of Mazzy Star through The Warm Inventions the Hope has done some awesome music and I really look forward to hearing the new CD as soon as it's released.

For those who know nothing of Hope, she comes from East Los Angeles and started out signing with the band Opal that then became Mazzy Star back in the late 80's. They put out 3 albums She Hangs Brightly (1990), So Tonight That I Might See (1993), and Among My Swan (1996). Then in 2001 she formed Hope Sandoval and The Warm Inventions which put out Bavarian Fruit Bread and two EPs At The Doorway Again and Suzanne. Now in 2009 we get the opportunity to hear them again with Through The Devil Softly which is being released September 29th.

Hope had collaborated with The Jesus and Mary Chain, Massive Attack, Chemical Brothers, Death In Vegas and several others. She likes to record, but apparently is not a fan of performing live. Still she does perform and I hope she comes to Kansas City later this year.

Check out her official website for news and tour dates at http://www.hopesandoval.com/home.shtml

Here's the track listing of the new CD:

Through The Devil Softly
... September 29, 2009
... Nettwerk Records

1.Blanchard
2.Wild Roses
3.For The Rest Of Your Life
4.Lady Jessica and Sam
5.Sets The Blaze
6.Thinking Like That
7.There's A Willow
8.Trouble
9.Fall Aside
10.Blue Bird
11.Satellite

Fanboys - Movie Review

Fanboys is all about a bunch of really nerdy dudes who want to go to Skywalker Ranch to steal Star Wars Episode One. The movie comes out in six months, but Linus(Christopher Marquette) has a terminal illness and has four months to live. So they decide that they want to get one more adventure in and get Linus to see the movie before he goes. His friends are Eric(Sam Huntington), who works for his father at a used car lot and has been estranged from the group until they meet up at a party on Halloween. His Dad is about to give him full run of the 15 dealerships and he takes off to help his buddies. Hutch (Dan Fogler), is a big nerdy dude who has the van and it's all decked out with Star Wars stuff and Windows (Jay Baruchel) is a tall geeky comic book shop dude who has the plan and connection to get into Skywalker Ranch. Kristen Bell plays Zoe, the female sidekick who is just like one of the boys, but there's more to learn on that. So off they go on the adventure.

It's a pretty funny movie with lots of good Star Wars lines and some good Rush tunes along the road trip. There are a bunch of cameos throughout the movie that include Kevin Smith as a strange dude outside a bathroom. Carrie Fischer play a nurse, Billy Dee Williams, Danny Trejo, Jaime King, Seth Rogan, Danny McBride and Ray Park all make appearances throughout the movie. Let's not forget William Shatner makes an appearance as himself.

I guess there were originally two versions of the movie. One with the cancer plot and the other was more of a vulgar take, but the cancer version is just as good. It pretty much hold the whole thing together.

So without telling you the rest and ruining it all, you should see this film. a bit of crude humor and other stuff that makes it silly, but funny. In the end it pulls together, mends relationships and brings them together.

If you are a Star Wars fan it's a must see. Hell just rent for sure it's worth it.

Rating 3 out of 5

Land of the Lost - 2009 Movie Review

In this remake of the 1974 TV Series Land of the Lost, Paleontologist Rick Marshall, played by Will Ferrell gets kicked out of his science department after having a meltdown defending his theory of timewarps and tachyons. He believes he can travel through time and ends up teaching children in a museum since he has become the laughingstock of the community. Holly Catrell a student studying Marshall's work urges him to build a tachyon amplifier and they go to the caves where all the source of high levels have been found. Will takes them into the caves, an earthquake happens and they end up falling to the Land of the Lost. You know the song and the story.

This version of The Land of the Lost takes a little different approach and makes it more of a silly commedy. I thought it was an interesting version of the show. Leading up I had watched about 4 episodes of the original show and realized how bad it was and how cheesy the effects were. Now take the 2009 version and add some CGI and all the rest with a couple of comedians and it becomes a funny version of the original.

The basis of the story is they need to figure out how to get back to present day Earth and are guided by a Sleestack who claims to want to help them so that he can get there as well. There are lots of silly fart humor scenes and well as some cool dinosaur adventures. Will Ferrell is always funny, but I just don't get Danny McBride. He isn't really funny to me at all. The remake of the Sleestacks is cool and Holly as the obsessed student is a good role.

Overall I would put this in the catagory of a DVD rental. Not really worth seein at the theater and not worth buying on DVD. Just go to NetFlix, Red Box or Blockbuster and rent it or wait for HBO or Showtime to air it.

Rating 2 out of 5

The Beckham Experiment - Grant Wahl - A Review

Would David Beckham's arrival into the MLS change the face of soccer in The United States? That's the question Grant Wahl looks to answer in his new book The Beckham Experiment. Wahl works for Sports Illustrated and has written many cover stories and has now put together his first book. So did The Beckham Experiment work? I think that can be answered as yes and no. Financially David has been good for the MLS, but as a player and for soccer in the US, maybe not so much.

Wahl jumps in from the start and agreement to sign with the LA Galaxy all the way through to his attempt to get out of his contract and move to AC Milan. The book has a lot of insight with interviews from players and former General Manager Alexi Lalas. The most critical interviews come from Lalas and Landon Donovan. The good thing Wahl does is looks at both sides and reports it as he knows. He also has a lot of good insight to how there was such a large discrepency in player salaries and how things were handled financially.

I don't think that David Beckham really appreciates anything about this book as he recently in a press conference and when Wahl asked him a question, his response was to ask if Wahl was planning another unautorized book about him. So for me I took it with an open mind as well since I an a Galaxy Fan and former season ticket holder until I moved to Kansas in 2007. Still I love the team and I really hope that Beckham will deliver this year.

Wahl goes over everything from the original negotiation that came with being captain of the team, to the ousting of Frank Yallop and bringing in his own management team as part of Simon Fuller's 19. All of it didn't go so well as the Galaxy failed to make the playoffs and Ruud was a horrible coach making bad decisions. Now AEG takes control, gets Bruce Arena and things are finally changing.

It's well worth reading just to see all the little things that someone who's used to being treated like royalty has to go through as a common MLS player in a league that owns all the players and controls salaries and all that goes on.

This year, the LA Galaxy are doing well and as Beckham returned he is making an impact right away and fitting right in. Now all he needs to do is ignore the fans and he will be fine.

Personally I don't blame him for wanting to leave the league and go back to Europe in order to play in the 2010 World Cup. The level of play really isn't anywhere near the level of Europe and he needs the experience and time to be competetive. So if he leave this year and doesn't come back, I really wouldn't be surprised.

Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead - Review

This is the second of the final five episodes that David Tennant will be doing as The Doctor. The first was The Next Doctor that will air in the US soon, but Planet of the Dead ended up airing before. There will be an episode in November called The Waters of March and then the Christmas Special will be either be two one hour episodes on two nights or one two hour episode. Then it will be bye bye to David and hello to Matt.

This episode was a pretty interesting one as you have a jewel theif who is stealing a museum piece, played by Michelle Ryan(Bionic Woman), crosses paths with The Doctor on a bus that ends up crossing through a worm hole and lands them on a desert planet called San Helios. There they encounter a couple of different creatures to keep them challenged including the Tritovores, a fly-headed species and a stingray time creatures eating everything in it's path.

So they establish the worm hole is still open and try to figure a way to get back before they either get eaten alive or they let the creatures through to consume Earth.

There's lots of good little one liners and a good supporting cast along the way as well. This is a fun one to see and Michelle Ryan does a good job as the Doctors lates companion Lady Christina dw Souza.

All in all you will enjoy this one and it leave us down to David's last 3 hours as The Doctor and the transition to Matt. So enjoy it's worth the watch.

The Hangover - Movie Review

The Hangover is the latest comedy directed by Todd Phillips who did Road Trip, Old School and Starsky & Hutch. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Justin Bertha and Heather Graham. The is a typical Old School style film with loads of one off silly humor and can be a little raunchy ay times. The basis off the story is Doug(Justin Bartha) goes to Vegas for his bachelor party and all goes to hell and the next morning no one can find him. So they try to buy time with the family in order to recreate the night before and figure out where is Doug.

It's has it's funny moments with Mike Tyson making an appearence and many other little things that they figured out as they all had no memory of the night before. It can be a little crude, but it's pretty funny as well. I think it's one you should take in this summer and be sure to watch the credits after.

Rating: 3 1/2 of 5

Torchwood - Children of Earth Series Review

So if you are in the middle of watching the series on BBC America, don't read this or you will be spoiled.

The third season of Torchwood, the Doctor Who Spin-off, is airing as a five episode series over five straight nights. It actually aired in the UK two weeks back and now this week here in the US.

The surviving members of Torchwood, Captain Jack, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones are all back and continuing their fight. This time they are up against something that is beyond their control and anything they have dealt with before. This Alien form of life is controlling the children and speaking through them. Only later will we find out why and what they want.

They are set up in days and from the start of Day 1 to the end, they certainly establish that there is a big conspiracy going on and there is someone who doesn't want Torchwood to be involved at all.

They are out to kill Jacj and do, but as he is a spot in time, he will never really die. So The Hub gets destoyed and the group is scattered and out trying to figure out what's going on.

It's a pretty amazing series and I really wish it was longer. The Ianto and Jack relationship really doesn't do anything for me except add some cheese factor. When all is said and done it's just soem filler to show that Ianto really cares for him.

We learn a little more about Ianto and his family as well as some of Jack's history and his family as well.

The series is great and I'm not going to give it all away but just say that it was really enjoyable and you really should watch it. If you missed it, it's going to be released on DVD next week, so go and buy it.

Cheers!

Mat Kearney - 07/11/2009 Beaumont Club, Kansas City, MO

I've been trying to see Mat Kearney in concert for a while and every time it doesn't seem to work out or he was the opening act of a tour. Now in support of his new CD City of Black and White, Mat is out on a tour and stopped in KC so I finally got to see him.

I will say that the song selection and the band were great. They were tight together and really were able to feed off each other as they played about a 90 minute set starting with Lifeline from the new CD and mixing it up playing a bit from both along with a few songs like Breathe In and Chicago that were not technically on the two CDs but were available in different forms and rereleases of Nothing Left to Lose.

The one thing that bothered me a little was the volume level and sound mix as it seemed to be heavy on the bass and bass drum and Mat's vocals were a little distorted at times. I think this was more the board guy or maybe it was just my hearing. Still it annoyed me a little, but still was a great show.

Mat played some songs I just lobe like, Nothing Left to Lose, Renaissance, Where We Gonna Go From Here and Girl America. So a grat show a tight set and I only wish there was a SBD copy to be had to hear over and over again.

Great show - great entertainer, get out and see him.

Phish - 06/20/2009 - 06/21/2009 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI

Phish have been away since 2004 and now 5 years after a break and doing Solo work they have embarked on a new tour to be followed up with a new CD at the end of July as well. They started their reunion back in March with three nights at Hampton Coliseum and then kicked off the summer portion at Fenway Park in Boston and wrapped up the first leg at Alpine Valley June 21st.

The first night of the two night adventure was pretty amazing. The boys came out strong with a Punch You In The Eye and continued a rockin' first set with some great tunes including Stash, Bathtub gin, Farmhouse and Run Like an Antelope. A stellar first set to start the weekend off. Trey was right on his game as well as the rest of the band. Mike Gordon was brilliant on bass and Page was great and Fishman as well. I love just watching Trey just stand there casually with a few steps and that big smile all with jamming it out.

Second set was right on the money. Sample in a Jar to Maze was sweet and Makisupa Policeman just had the crowd bouncing all over and tossing light sticks in the thousands. NICU was great as well as Prince Caspian. Fire was a good version, but a little fast for me. Overall a brillian show and Phish was really on for this one.

06/20/2009 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI

SET ONE: Punch You in the Eye (9:17) Runaway Jim (9:32) Stash (12:08) Ya Mar (7:14) Bathtub Gin (13:05) Kill Devil Falls (8:20) Train Song (2:47) Farmhouse (4:55) Sparkle (3:47) Run Like an Antelope (10:25)

SET TWO:Waves (8:23) Sample in a Jar (5:20) Maze (11:37) Makisupa Policeman (5:13) Ghost (11:58) The Lizards (10:31) You Enjoy Myself (12:27) NICU (4:56) Prince Caspian (6:49) Waste (5:32) Fire (5:15)

ENCORE: Character Zero (7:37)

Night Two was a different kind of jam night. The first night had a real good beat and really kept you dancing all the way through. Second night started off cool with all the kids from the boys came out and it was a happy fathers day
wish to all us dads. They jammed it out, some longer and some slower than the night before. still a great show and it was cool to hear a 16 minute version of Time Turns Elastic. A nice mix of songs the second night and a ton more fun.

If you get a chance, catch one of the nights on the second leg of this tour it will be well worth it.
06/21/2009 Alpine Valley, East Troy, WI

SET ONE: Brother (5:42) Wolfman's Brother (9:04) Funky Bitch (5:03) The Divided Sky (15:31) Joy (5:22) Back on the Train (7:41) Taste (8:54) Poor Heart (2:26) The Horse (1:06) Silent In The Morning (4:50) The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday (2:44) Avenu Malkanu (3:13) The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday (1:43) Time Turns Elastic (16:51) SET TWO:Crosseyed and Painless (5:53) Alpine Jam (9:16) Down with Disease (13:18) Bug (8:04) Piper (12:50) Wading in the Velvet Sea (6:15) Boogie On Reggae Woman (5:48) Slave to the Traffic Light (13:54)

ENCORE:Grind (2:33) Frankenstein (5:46)

The Dead Weather - Horehound CD Review

Jack White's latest project The Dead Weather has put out there first and potential last CD depending on what type of project this turns out to be. The CD was recorded at Third Man Studios in Nashvillie and contains several artists Jack has worked with in the past. The Raconteur's were touring with The Kills and he lost his voice and asked The Kills lead singer to step in and help. This of course is Alison Mosshart who is half of the London based band. She sings lead through most of the CD. Jack Lawrence from Raconteurs plays bass and Queen's of the Sone Age member Dean Fertita plays Guitar. Jach White plays Drums some vocals as well.

I'm not sure the exact classification of this bands music. I would say it falls under some sort of Alternative Blues with some added funk and metal sound in it. I had a chance to hear them perform live from the 9:30 Club in Washington DC on NPR's All Songs Considered on 7/14. This was an incredible performance and quite explosive. Check it out at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106385053 they will be keeping it up in the archives to hear. There is a good chance that it will also become a podcast as long as they gain approval from the artists they covered on a couple of songs. The show lasted just an hour, but they played the whole CD plus a couple of covers. It was quite entertaining, do go out and check it out.

Horehound has a really good groove to it with some nice mix of blues and rock throughout the CD. Mosshart has the right voice to mix to this style and really is a nice touch to the three Raconteurs. There are some rough and raw cuts on this and some othes that are really smooth flowing. I think overall the sound is great and fits the make up of the artists playing. Hang You From the Heavens is a really cool cut along with 60 Feet Tall to start it off. I Cut Like a Buffalo has a funky beat and is a bit strange, but not bad. From there you continue with a cool mix of tunes include a pretty cool mix in 3 Birds, a nice little jam rock blues infused mix.

iTunes users who pre-ordered the CD picked up a catchy little tune called Outside as a bonus track.

Overall, really cool mix of tunes and one to certainly pick up if you like the different styles of Jack's past works.

Track Listing:

1. 60 Feet Tall 5:33
2. Hang You From The Heavens 3:36
3. I Cut Like A Buffalo 3:27
4. So Far From Your Weapon 3:40
5. Treat Me Like Your Mother 4:10
6. Rocking Horse 2:59
7. New Pony 3:56
8. Bone House 3:26
9. 3 Birds 3:44
10. No Hassle Night 2:51
11. Will There Be Enough Water? 6:20
12. Outside 2:50 (iTunes Bonus)

07/14/2009 9:30 Club Washington DC Set List:

60 Feet Tall
Bone House
Outside
So Far From Your Weapon
Cut Like a Buffalo
Forever My Queen (Pentagram cover)
Rocking Horse
New Pony (Bob Dylan cover)
No Hassle Night
Will There Be Enough Water
ENCORE:
Treat Me Like Your Mother
Child of a Few Hours
Hang You From The Heavens

Carter Albrecht - Jesus Is Alive...and Living In London CD Review

Carter Albrecht may no no longer be with us, but his music lives on and it shows the passion he had for his gift. I met Carter in 2006 in San Diego and he walked up and just started talking to me like I was a friend of his. I knew he was with Edie Brickell and New Bohemians, but I had never heard anything he had done and had been real impressed with watching play that night. So after that show I picked up some older music of his as well as some solo Bend Studio recordings. I had known that he was planning a solo CD at some point. But then Carter was tragically taken from us in a strange accident. That day a very tallented young man was gone and these are the recordings he left for us.

Each and everyone of these recordings has a little different flavor and at first from hearing his accoustic solo stuff I was really famazed at the difference in the sound and structure of the songs with a full band backing. Every song on the CD is really good and I really do recommend having a listen and picking this up.

You can hear some of the other works of Carter as part of a couple bands, The Limes, Sparrows & Sorta. Check them all out on iTunes or in a record store if they are still in print.

Track Listing:

1. Jesus Light
2. Country Living
3. Rome
4. Rivers Into Rum
5. When You're Younger
6. Jesus Is Alive (And Living in London)
7. Godot
8. Sparrows
9. The Sign

Coraline - Movie Review

Coraline is a story about a young girl who moves into a new apartment and has pretty much been ignored by her parents who are too busy to spend time with her. She discovers a dorway leading to an alternate world that her parents pay attention to her, but they have button eyes and things are all a little more twisted than they seem. Could this alternate world be a paradise, the place to stay forever or is there something to it.

Written and Directed by Henry Selick, the director of A Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, it is a story adapted and co-written by Neil Gaiman. The movie is the first one filmed in stop-motion feature shot in stereoscope 3-D. The features are pretty amazing to see in watching this film. I can't imagine what they had to go through to create the whole thing. I do hope the DVD comes with a full collection of extras showing this stuff. Pretty amazing.

Coraline goes from one world to the next at different times. Everyone from the real world is there, but with a little bit of a twist. Even the cat goes between the worlds and in the weird world he can talk. Wybie is the annying kid that she befriends in the movie. His grandmother owns the apartment building they live in.

There's a lot more to the story, but would rather you see it to understand and enjoy it. I reallly like everything about this movie. It's a bit of a dark story, the colors and graphics of it all are cool. It's well worth seeing. My suggestion is that it's not for young children, but maybe older than 10.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King - Review

This is one that if you are a total fan you will like because it has a lot of the simular qualities of the earlier works of Dave Matthews. I personally have felt it start to grow on me with every listen, but still not convince that it's his best work, but still pretty good.

The best thing about ordering the edition I did from www.davematthewsband.com was the free copy of Live Trax Volume 15 from Alpine Valley in 2008. Lot's of good music to enjoy from that one.

I still say pick it up and have a listen, it's well worth it, but it's nothing different than most of the past stuff we have seen. Enjoy!

Track Listing:

1. Grux
2. Shake Me Like A Monkey
3. Funny The Way It Is
4. Lying In The Hands of God
5. Why I Am
6. Dive In
7. Spaceman
8. Squirm
9. Alligator Pie
10. Seven
11. Time Bomb
12. Baby Blue
13. You & Me

Rhett Miller - Self Titled - New CD Review

Rhett Miller the lead singer of Old 97's has put out a new solo CD on June 9th. He will be out touring with the band and doing an acoustic set this Summmer, so check him out if he comes near you. Go to www.rhettmiller.com for information.

There's a pretty diverse style of music in this CD. Rhett goes from mellow acoustic to some upbeat typical Old 97's style music. It's filled with a really good selection of songs.

I really enjoyed listening to every track on this CD plus the bonus ones received if you downloaded it from iTunes. A must have for the collection.

Track Listing:

1. Nobody Says I Love You Anymore 2:57
2. Like Love 3:27
3. Caroline 2:49
4. I Need To Know Where I Stand 3:12
5. Happy Birthday Don't Die 4:33
6. Bonfire 4:20
7. Haphazardly 3:09
8. If It's Not Love 3:11
9. Another Girlfriend 3:46
10. Refusing Temptation 3:35
11. Lashes 3:27
12. Sometimes 3:30
iTunes Bonus:
13. Caroline(Jon Brion Guitar Freak)
14. Bonfire(Demo)
15. I know It's Wrong(Demo)
16. Hospital Wings(Demo)
17. Government Man(Demo)

Ben Harper and Relentless7 - White Lies for Dark Times

Just released today, the new Ben Harper and Relentless7 CD - White Lies for Dark Times is certainly a step in a different direction for Ben. He is now playing with a band that plays a little harder on the rock side than we usually hear from Ben.

There songs really do mix it up from a really rockin' style to the Stevie Ray Vaughn blues rock and some of the more mellow stuff. I have seen them and heard them live several times over the past month with some shows being broadcast on the internet and radio. The one thing I will say is you really get a different feel of the songs in a studio format and they are crisp & tight! The garage band is back a rockin' it out!

I actually ordered the cd through Ben's site and bought the CD/DVD Deluxe version, but have yet to watch the Danny Clinch Documentary. I will certainly check it out soon. There was a 6 song bonus EP of some live performances that came along with the cd. I have heard some of them from live recordings, but it's a nice bonus to have and again be able to listen to some live remaster works of the band.

Over the years the one thing that has always bugged me about Virgin Records, is that outside of their one live cd, they have not allowed Ben to produce and release copies of live performances like many other bands do today. I really would love to see a lot more live Ben Harper material in a remastered format.

Ben's tour has been mainly playing the songs from the new cd as well as Under Pressure the Queen - David Bowie tune. He has said he won't be going back to the old songs on this tour, but I hope that's not for the future, there's too much good music out there by Ben!

Great CD, I would highly recommend going out and getting it.


Track List:

1. Number with No Name
2. Up to You Now
3. Shimmer and Shine
4. Lay There and Hate Me
5. Why Must You Always Dress in Black
6. Skin Thin
7. Fly One Time
8. Keep It Together (So I Can Fall Apart)
9. Boots Like These
10. Word Suicide, The
11. Faithfully Remain

ACT NOW - Help us to Oppose Unfair Retroactive Taxes on Employee Compensation

Friends:

As you may have read, Congress is considering legislation that will impose a significant additional tax on my family and my colleagues and hurt our nation's economic recovery. I want to encourage you to contact your U.S. Senators' offices by calling 1-877-634-7783, JPMorgan Chase's toll-free line, or sending an e-mail to express your opposition to unfair and excessive taxes that will undermine our economic recovery.

Click here for a one-page document that explains this issue and how to contact your Senators (http://ex.democracydata.com/JPMorgan/200903/Take_Action.pdf).

This legislation is not only fundamentally unfair, but it will undermine recovery efforts as Washington loses focus on the real economic issues. Banks will lose top talent at a time when they need it most, which will threaten their participation in future programs to help the recovery. This legislation will also have a significant and negative impact on our community, including local charities, schools and small businesses.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that imposes a retroactive, 90 percent tax on year-end compensation payments at banks that received TARP funds, even those banks like JPMorgan Chase that have acted responsibly throughout the financial crisis. The Senate is considering similar legislation. While the anger and frustration over bonuses paid by AIG are understandable, it is unfair to paint all financial institutions with the same broad brush.

Here's what you can do:

Contact your Senators' offices in Washington by calling toll-free 1-877-634-7783.
Send an e-mail to your Senators. You can find information about how to locate and contact your Senators' offices website at www.senate.gov.
Thank you for your consideration and help.

David J. Przybylinski
Vice President, Conversion Manager
JPMorgan Retirement Plan Services
Asset & Wealth Management
9300 Ward Parkway
Kansas City, MO 64114

Watchmen - Movie Review

For those who don't know the story or what they are getting into seeing this film. The Watchmen is a very dark movie that takes place in an alternate reality in 1985. The Watchmen started out as a group of vigilantes starting in the 1930's and carried on under the name originally as the Minutement. Decades later they became a stronger and more powerful group including Dr. Manhattan who helped the US crush Vietnam in the the war. In the 1980's Richard Nixon now serving his 3rd term in office decides to outlaw the group. We are in a Cold War with Russia and one of the superhero vigilante's is about to lose his life.

This movie is very dark, violent and filled with a lot of blood and gore throughout. It certainly isn't one for young kids or teenagers either, but it does tell a good story with a good plot. I like films like this and to me it was pretty intense and told a good story. Yes, grim, but good.

Virtually all the actors in this film are unknows outside of maybe Carla Gugiino and Billy Cruddup. The woman who plays Silk Spectre II is the woman from Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle, who is married to Freakshow. She seemed familiar, but would never have known it was her.

Great acting, great special effects, good soundtrack and all a good story. I liked it and would recommend it for sure, especially to those big comic book fans.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - 2-27-2008 Uptown Theater

I was pretty excited that Ryan adams was coming back to Kansas City. I ended up getting a ticket from someone and it was a 3rd row center seat, big score. I had high expectations for this show. It was originally scheduled earlier and cancelled, so I figured that Ryan and the boys would put on a rockin show to make up for the missed one. Could I have evewr been further from reality.

The last few times I have seen Ryan Adams play have been some really amazing shows that went on for 2 1/2 hours playing some great songs and had some sweet jams. What we got this time is an 80 minute show with 16 songs and little interaction with the crowd and very distant in his songs. I could tell pretty early on that this one wasn't going to be like the rest. 30-40 minutes in he said we are taking a break so we can play until curfew. The Joke of the Show by John Graboff came pretty early. So there were a lot of indications that this one was going to be short like the night before.

Don't get me wrong, when they played, they sounded great. I See Monsters is fantastic. Come Pick Me Up was brilliant, Goodnight Rose had a great jam as well as Peaceful Valley. I just wanted more and it wasn't there to be had. Too bad, I really wanted a nice 30 song jam session.

Anyways, with Ryan you never know what you will get because he's an odd duck. If he gets a bad monitor or "Ringing" in his ears, you rest assure that you will not being seeing him for long. If the crowd is off or anything, he will throw a fit and be done with it. I've seen him throw a fit and still play damn near 3 hours. One time he had his head cracked openin San Diego and he jammed all night. So, you never know what you will get, but enjoy what you do. He is pretty awesome!


Ryan Adams & The Cardinals
Uptown Theater
Kansas City, MO
Friday, February 27, 2009

SETLIST:

On stage: 8:42 CST

I See Monsters
Everybody Knows
Fix It
Let it Ride
Two
evening joke w/ Jon Graboff
When The Stars Go Blue
Come Pick Me Up
Born Into A Light

*set break*

Wonderwall
Freeway to the Canyon
Mockingbird
Goodnight Rose
Oh My God, Whatever, Etc. (Graboff on guitar, Ryan vocals only)
Rescue Blues (Graboff on guitar, Ryan to piano midway through song)
Peaceful Valley
Bartering Lines

off stage: "before 10:15"

The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman - Review

Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is a fantastic book for not only young readers, but for adults like myself as well. The story is about a young boy whose family is murdered and he alone survives and wanders into the graveyard and is taken in by some of it's residents. Without a name, the Owens family decides to name him Nobody. Nobody's parent of course are dead if you haven't figured that out yet. The man who killed the family is not done and will one day try to find Nobody and kill him as well. So he is protected and will grow up in the graveyard until he is old enough to go on his own.

You would think with the brutal murder of his family and the premise of the book that this might not be a story for kids. I would say it's just perfect and will give them a well rounded reading. You learn a lot about what Nobody can do in his almost magical world and what happens when he strays to the world outside. It makes you use your imagination and you draw your own images of this place in your head. when this book becomes a movie, I'm not sure if it will hit the vision I have in my head, but something tells me it will.

This is a brilliantly told story and I'm happy to have the opportunity to read it. It was an NPR story that intriged me to go out and get it. I couldn't find it anywhere I went. Barnes and Noble, Target & Walmart all out. I went to Borders and after spending 20 minutes looking everywhere I asked and they had one copy left in an obscure place I never would have looked. So now I have my copy and ready to read. Since reading this book about two months back, I stopped by Barnes and Noble last week and there were at least 50 copies and a display. Not sure if it was Coraline or the awards it's winning, but very happy to see picking up on sales. i believe it spent the last 6 weeks in the top or 2nd spot on the NY Times Best Seller List.

I don't want to give anything away about the story plot other than Bod is living in the graveyard to be protected from the man, Jack, who is still looking for him. all the different ghosts and humans that Bod come across over the course of the book teach him new things and have him questioning and eager to find out more.

You could pick this book up in and not want to put it down. The good thing is that it reads easy and you can finish it in a day or two. The bad thing is that you can finish in a day or two.

I have yet to see or read Coraline, but something tells me it will be a great read and a great film to see.

Pick up The Graveyard Book and enjoy it for yourself and read it to your kids as it's a fun story and enjoyable for the whole family.

Joe Purdy - Last Clock On the Wall - CD Review

I first heard Joe Purdy as he opened up for Edie Brickell & New Bohemians in 2006 at The Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA. I had met him briefly outside and talked to him, but knew nothing of his music. I went in and as he got started playing with one other person, I found his voice and the style of music to be pretty cool. He comes from Arkansas, but has slowly developed a pretty good following in both the US and in the UK as well. He's certainly an accoustic folk style adding all sorts of instruments to the mix. Hard to compare him to anyone as to me it's unique.

Last Clock On the Wall was release on Tuesday and is available at his site for download in MP3 320bps format for $9.99. Check it out at www.joepurdy.com if you want to sample the cd and buy it.

Once again a good mix of instruments to compliment Joe's voice on this one. It starts off with a nice number called "Let Me Sing to You". Good catchy tune with some banjo and violin playing in it. Mellow as always, but a good song. "Brown Suits and Cadillacs" had Joe dominating the start with his soulful voice and keeps it going. The title song "Clock Clock On the Wall" kicks off with a little harmonica and a simple drum beat with a slide guitar. Again, a nice song on the mellow fashion of JP.

His style stays a lot the same throughout the cd but does add different flavor to different songs. "Been Up So Long" Kicks off with a nice piano beat and has Joe singing the typical ballad style he does. as you listen to his different cds, you find a simular style, but all songs really grow on you.

Downloading the CD directly from Joe's site includes a couple of bonus songs "Don't Leave Soon" and "Soldier". Both fall in line with the Acoustic Folk sound of Joes music. Good additions to get for sure.

If you like what you hear sampling Joe's music on his site, I would highly recommend getting "Paris In the Morning" and "Canyon Joe" those are my two favorites of his. Have a listen to Joe Purdy, he will grow on you for sure. Check him out live as well, he puts on a good performance.

Track Listing:

Let Me Sing To You
Brown Suits and Cadillacs
The Last Clock On the Wall
Been Up So Long
Dead End Kids
Dress Is Too Long
Miss Me
Death of a Maiden
School Teachers Blues
Too Young
Don't Leave Soon (Bonus Track)
Soldier (Bonus Track)

The Doctors New Companion?

Could this be the first picture of the Doctor and his Companion

It is rumored that Skins actress Hannay Murray may be the next companion of the Doctor. Tune in to see if it's true or not.

U2 - No Line on the Horizon - CD Review

So we once again have a new U2 CD and it certainly takes a different path like the rest of their CDs have in the pst. They have been quite innovative over the years and it's always refreshing to hear a new one from them.

This one mixes it up from some more rockin type of stuff to the ballad type mellow stuff inbetween. No Line On The Horizon starts us off with a pretty cool song jamming out. Somewhat starting off with a little more of the typical U2 sound from older, but changes it up quickly. It's a nice tune and didn't take long to know I would like it.

Magnificent starts off with that melodic style of some of their music, more electronic style sounding and then the drums kick in and guitar and the rest. Nice upbeat tune that has a lot of the old qualities of a Joshua Tree style and some mix of before stuff.

Moment of Surrender is a ballad type more mellow song fitting in with someof the more recent styles. It's a nice sounds, Bono starts out sort og shouting and brings it back down to a nice soulful sound. It's a little slow over all, but still a good one.

Unknown Caller is another slower song that starts off with some mellow beats and then moves into a little more of a moving song. Bono has some backing on this one and at times makes me feel like I'm listing to one of those English bands from the eighties or something. Still it has a different sound in ways than anything they have done before. Not my favorite on the CD, but not horrible.

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight reminds me of a song by another band, just can't place it at the moment. Good song with Bono being as soulful as he always it. Nice backing and overall a good one.

Get On Your Boots seems to start off like it's going to be this rocking tune, but get's a little weird witht he whole "Sexy Boots" thing. This one will certainly take some getting used to for me. It was the original release from the band and I'm still trying to like it.

Stand Up Comedy is a nice funky little tune with a good beat and keeps it rocking through. For a moment there I thought I was listening to a Filight of the Conchords tune the way they did a little vocal section. But seriously it's a really killer tune and really rocks.

FEZ-Being Born starts off with about 2 minutes of instrumental before getting into the song itself. Has a lot of characteristics of a typical U2 song and it's pretty cool. some piano/keys along with The Edge jamming it out gives it a pretty cool sound. I really like this song overall.

The next song is White as Snow, which starts off with a slow piano playing and then we get some silence then Bono singing with a soft background sound. Pretty mellow tune but really nice with Bono hitting some nice notes through it and again a noce guitar song typical of The Edge. Sweet little ballad song.

Breathe has Bono starting it off with a nice little beat, the song is very typical of the U2 style over the years and is more of that story mode style song. Pretty cool and another neat one.

Cedars of Lebenon starts off with a soft guitar sound and kicks into a mellow Bono singing. Could be one of those songs you see Bono sitting in a pub with a smoke just telling the soft story. The stong stays soft and melodic throughout and is a nice finish to the CD.

Overall pretty cools stuff. I haven't watched the download movie that comes with the deluxe version yet, but may add to the review once I do.

Track Listing:

1. No Line On The Horizon 4:12
2. Magnificent 5:24
3. Moment Of Surrender 7:24
4. Unknown Caller 6:03
5. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight 4:14
6. Get On Your Boots 3:25
7. Stand Up Comedy 3:45
8. FEZ-Being Born 5:17
9. White As Snow 4:41
10. Breathe 5:00
11. Cedars Of Lebanon 4:13