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)