Consider the Source Review

What happened on Sunday the 17th was an exceptional example of how Pittsburgh develops a scene. In a crowd of maybe 40 people, I would venture to say that at least half of them were musicians, many from influential bands in the city. This is step one. Step two, which Consider the Source takes care of simply by showing up, is you have to get people's attention.

Many acts attempt step two by creating crazy stage antics, constantly bantering with the audience, or otherwise "performing". But Consider the Source is hardly an "act" "performing". It takes a lot of practice to get as good as these guys. I'm talking like, "Congrats on your baby boy! Here, I bought him a drum kit! Oh, by the way I already have the other bandmates lined up for him. Just give me a call when he can sit up straight." Like someone scouted out these angels at birth... Even bands who sign deals with the devil do not wind up this damned good.

From the first song, the audience was speechless. Muted by the complex, yet engaging, melodies and rhythms that CTS winds through their songs. Filled with poly-rhythmic stops and starts, cohesive melodies, consistant and flowing energy, these guys really know how to transport an audience. Damned good.

New song... "This one's a bit hard" Ah yes, because we all followed what you were doing on the other songs anyways. DAMN, you don't even SEE Gabrial's fingers move while he plays! They are a blur of precision! And then, he is suddenly - as if by electronic magic - playing trumpet, keyboards, you name it! All from the same instrument. Magicians. Damned good. Really f*ing good.

Complex Complex was great as well. God, at any other show I would say they are awesome, and I do honestly respect the fact that they performed alongside CTS. But it's the difference between gods and men. Complex Complex were damn good; CTS played the music of the spheres. It's been well over a week, and I'm still reeling from it.

In terms of feel, Complex Complex is very jammy, more in a Sound Tribe Sector Nine way, with elements of the music. It is dancable, thoughtful music that would lend itself well to a group of people dancing. I found it to get a bit stuffy at times, but the bar had been raised. Seriously, I might have to wait to give these guys a fair review. Though they're damned good too.

Can you believe CC had never experienced hummus?! Well, we're glad ours was first, they enjoyed it enough to say so a few times! yay! Now, had they tried the caponata or the spicy feta, they may never have left Your Inner Vagabond.

So, the show ends, everyone stumbles out in a haze, I eat some fire, we all laugh about it, band gets paid, I get my stuff together... Point being, when I'm at YIV, I'm almost always working. I've been asked to jam with bands before, and have almost always declined (at the Jalsah, it's a bit different, because everyone's "working", and everyone's "playing"). However, after we closed, as I was winding up cables, members of both CC and CTS got up on stage.

If playing along would have assured my certain death, I still couldn't have stopped myself. It felt a bit ackward at first (I'm at YIV, I'm jamming, wait, the bass is too soft, i must turn it up, wait, i'm jamming not running sound!), and I never was turned up all the way through the microphone, but damn. I'm glad I didn't wake up going "I totally should've jammed". I just sang along. It was exciting to be inside the music. Damned fun.

VIDEO and AUDIO recordings of the sets and the jam are coming soon. And they are... yep, damned good!

PS - To all the record exec's out there, you've joined the bandwagon too late. I've decided to sign these guys. Forget not having all the resources just yet, where there's a will there's a way... CTS, welcome to Tarsier!! (wake up, emay, c'mon)

Not in a million years...

... would anyone I've ever known have guessed why my writing has been sparse this week.

Well, I now work for the government!

That's right, kids, your favorite dreadlocked, post-hippy, pyromaniacal, musician and general far-out chick is now employed by The Man. And, if you live in the city of Pittsburgh, well, you fill my paycheck with your own hard earned money. So thanks! ;0)

No, I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm just giving example number one of why this is an important position to me. See, I like most of the people I've come across in this city, and I would feel like a waste of human space if I was taking dollars out of pockets and *not* valuing this new position.

My official title is Recreation Leader, and I am employed by the Special Events department of the City of Pittsburgh's Parks and Recreation division. This means that I will often get to spend my days outside, you might occasionally see me cutting ribbons, counting runners at the point, and planting trees with the mayor; hopefully it also means that I will be applying my degree (art, particularly the focus in video editing, digital imaging, and installation) as well as my skills aquired since graduation (event coordinating, talent buying, booking, etc) and my love for writing to help this city in a quest to become visibly vibrant and culturally exuberant.

Basically, I'm gonna tie-dye the town.

OK... maybe just batik it... I am, as far as I can tell, the only person with locks employed by the city. It's kinda fun. I smile at everyone, and they all smile back, even better! It's actually pretty sweet so far, even though I've mostly been doing office gopher stuff. The echos in the hallways and bathrooms are great for whistling and singing. Score!

More to come, and fear not! Even though I don't have a single day off between now and October (as I'm still working with YIV, and starting the Pittsburgh Rennaisance Festival this weekend), I still plan on seeing lots of shows (like tonight's Armed Aria / Prime 8 show at Garfield Artworks) and writing here often. In fact, as the glutten for punishment that I am, I'm thinking about starting a Song-A-Day blog, where I write, you guessed 'er, a song per day for... a year, probably. I might also reserve my place in the insane asylum.

Life in Balance CD Release

I am lightheaded, quite a bit disoriented and quieted. My thoughts are reeling, but are not speaking to me directly with words. Things make a very different kind of sense. I am woozy, the color has softened and faded from what I look at. I am sleeping on the job, or is it actually a day dream? Everything is vivid, but from a great distance. I am sober, but it certainly does not feel like it. Should I head off to the emergency room immediatly?

Of course not! I am at a Life in Balance concert, and having a damn good time experiencing the lesser-seen side of the spectrum.

The CD release for "Crystal Bowl Meditation" was at Your Inner Vagabond, and they opted to take meditation a bit deeper by offering - in fact calmly insisting - that participants (yes, all of their concerts are participatory, at least cerebrally) take the time during the show to get a good nap.

This "Sleep Concert" is certainly a novel concept. But Steven Scuilli is not a newbie to novel concepts. In this concert alone, he presented three beautifully strange concepts - Rustic Electric music, followed by a nap inside healing bowl resonances, with an electro-dance set after!

Steve is a musician in the purest right - someone who understands communication and communion, and can explain it to you with the language of sympathetic vibrations. "Oscillate, Activate" is among the few phrases he actually speaks during shows like this. With entirely electronic instruments - including a few moog processors and a some subtly analog elements, he creates the sense of the whole universe in the room.

Ami's beautiful crystal bowls add the perfect touch. The deep harmonies they create have a way of shifting the line of thought-sight into simultaneously healing and sentimental places. While she is on stage, Ami emits this serenity that can be felt throughout the room.

Slowpoke, a side project of Steve and Ami's which fuse their electro sound with Apalachian-inspired fiddle from Jan (of Devilish Merry). The group has not been playing together for so long - this was their first public appearance - but there was magic woven between the instruments. From what I've been told, Jan's backround is intirely in Appalacian music. However, the way she wove her bowed notes in with Steve's electronic sounds made it seem like they were simply playing one instrument - the music happened so organically.This is a truly special project.

"I left you once, on the night train" - Trevor Exter

Was told about Trevor Exter by a lovely couple during the NAMU. They were sitting outside Crazy Mocha in Southside Works, and I interrupted their conversation to give them a BL CD. We got to talking for a bit, and did a bit of musician-swapping. I traded this guy for Erik Mongrain. Pretty good trade, after all. I think TE would happen naturally if you added Jason and Wytold together. Maybe not, but it's at least moderately appropriate.

Any over-the-top fantastic musicians out there I should know about?

Complex Complex added to CTS / Infinien show

Wisconsin's ComplexComplex has been added to the awesome lineup this Sunday at Your Inner Vagabond.

Deep Sink the Fangs


As if I really have to mention it again, Consider the Source and iNFiNiEN will be on the bill as well.

Armed Aria - a Dream Band for the Practical

Kick out the jams: Orion, Kent and Kyle of Armed Aria

"I was asleep at my desk, and I woke up with the name on my tongue." Even in a somnambulant state Kyle Grant, lead vocalist for Armed Aria, knew that was the name their band had been looking for. "It's intentional, to be armed. You're ready." Considering what they've been doing over the past year, this is a most apt description.

Armed Aria has been doing more than simply gearing up for their first show. "We've been playing since early in 2007, but we wanted to wait to perform. We wanted to have some recordings so people leaving the show could take something with them." So, instead of simply putting together a demo, perhaps doing some recording on their savings, they built their own studio from scratch.

"Orion basically put it together," guitarist Kent Swanson relates. "He'd say 'we need this', and we'd say 'we're broke'. He'd say 'but we need this', and we'd just figure it out." What seems a hardy feat for a budding band turned into a professional recording-and-practice studio with 32 digital (16 analog) input capacity. "Now, we just press a button, and we're ready to record."

"We play all our practices with headphones on." This might ultimately lead to possibly pesky in-ear monitors, which Kyle says they haven't yet decided upon. However, it has it's less obvious perks. "I can go home, sign onto the FTP site, and listen to what we just played. It makes writing lyrics really easy."

Easy seems a relative term. With a list of influences running the gamut from classic rock icons Led Zeppelin, nordic melodic-metalheads Opeth, prog-rock's idolized Dream Theater, and the genius of the Beatles, Radiohead and Pink Floyd, living up to what they love is quite a difficult task. The guys take it in stride, and while they do have at least one 13-minute anthem in their repertoire already, the music is edgy, easy to engage with and deep enough to swim in.

Armed Aria debuts on August 21st at Garfield Artworks, and yinz bet ch'yer butt I'll be there. Within a few weeks, they will graduate to one of the most prestigious stages in Pittsburgh, with a September 13th demo release at Mr. Smalls Funhouse. "We wanted people to get excited about music in this city." Kent explains, saying that each band on the bill at Smalls will be releasing something that evening. Fountain Infinity (compare to A Perfect Circle), Chux Beta, and Come to Dust will be among those bands. "There's so much going on, but no one seems to know about it. We think this it'll be good to show off a lot of good local bands at once."

It's not until much later in our conversation that they mention the Haunted House attached to the studio. And the wet bar. And the hot tub. And the opthalmist. "The studio's in the same building as Orion's family's business. His dad's an eye-doctor. Every year they have a Halloween party, and eventually they collected so much stuff that they just leave it up all year now."

Though they plan on doing some touring after the EP is released, we hope they stick around Pittsburgh and play for us a while. I propose a live-in-the-studio-haunted-hot-tub bash.

The fun-loving, multi-talented guys aren't bad to look at either:

Kyle Grant (vocals, rhythm guitar), Kent Swanson (lead guitar), Orion Czarnecki (Percussion)

And if you think that photo is sweet, well, just wait til you hear the music! A few rough tracks are available through their myspace, and others will be available at the upcoming shows.

Cardworks Recycles!

I take this moment here to talk about something non-music related. Don't hate me, instead, love me!
When I worked at Cardworks, there were 6 pop machines and no recycling bins. With the help of several associates and a few helpful managers, we began researching to implement a plan of action for how to save these plastic bottles from adding to landfills.

I left the company before it was ever implemented. However, I received an email today:

Please forward to your associates:

As you may have already noticed, we have place 4 Recycle Bins throughout the office. They are located at the time clocks in both Collections and Recoveries, near the water cooler in Customer Service and in the Lunchroom.

The only items that should be placed in these bins are cans and bottles. Thanks

YAAAAAAAAY Go Cardworks!

That is all. Remember, as Ghandi said: "Be the changes you wish to see in the world"

Video of Phat Man Dee & Zafira with the Liquitones

Stumbled across this video. Think it's just fantastic. Featuring Pittsburgh's own Phat Man Dee on vocals, with more of our own dancing: Zafira Dance Company ladies Maria Harmer, Olivia Kissel, and Christine Andrews.



http://www.phatmandee.com
http://www.zafiradance.com

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"Songbird giving yourself away, got nothing to lose" - Keith Caputo

What an interesting time for music. Between active discussions about the future of music (is it in live shows? merchandise? indy labels?), the state of music (it sucks! it's awesome! it's electronic! it's acoustic!), there is no shortage on discourse.

Without analyzing too much about what each individual experience means to the future of music as a whole, I offer these recent anecdotes from several different types of musicians.

The Police: at Post-Gazette Pavillion

Sold out amphitheater-type show outside of Pittsburgh, PA. Note on the venue: PGP has a gravel parking lot, and lawn seats = spikey hay to cover up mud. An hour outside of the city. Really shitty parking lot. Not a place to do much tailgating. Ultimately, Post-Gazette, not a news-worthy venue at all.
Though a lot of these songs were well known to almost the entire audience, the band managed to change all of them slightly, turning years of pop anthems into a delicately intricate set. Nothing shaking, nothing ground-breaking, but good music to jam along to, drink or smoke a bit. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, went home, went to work the next day, just keep on keepin' on.

Radiohead: at Post-Gazette Pavillion

Sold out amphitheater-type show outside of Cleveland, OH. Note on the venue: Blossom is gorgeous. Would happily have watched Radiohead from the parking lot. Inside was just as nice. Trees in the lawn area! A bridge leading to the doors! Very helpful staff members who, after only mild hedging, offered to pay for a tire which we popped in the parking lawn thanks to some litterbugs leaving an excess of glass bottles, which broke (and our parking orchestrator subsequently having us drive over this pile).
The ability for them to captivate a crowd was just brilliant. So much for arena rock being dead: these guys are simply a new take on a new perspective. They may have created the perspective, but they've reinvented it so many times, that perhaps people forget that these guys catered to the outcasts way before the hipsters. Perhaps people just feel more like outcasts in general, living in a world where no news is the only good news and it's hard to find an honest smile on the street...

And, it was hard to go to work the next day. Nearly everyone I knew called off the next day. A few of us girls decided we were going to tour with Radiohead. I think I still might. Nearly everyone talked about leaving their jobs, setting off in a new cultural direction. It was like Phish or the Dead shows. It was beautiful.

Bob Dylan: at New American Music Union

Sold out outdoor day-festival at the South Side Works, in Pittsburgh. Note on the venue: Way to go, AE! This boring parking lot was redesigned for the weekend into an outdoor festival location. I am glad I didn't buy tickets, however, because the lawn on the river was much more cozy than the cement standing-room-only area inside. Why not redevelop this parking lot - which is not even a public lot - into a permanent outdoor venue? It would be beautiful, you could have free shows all the time, people could go shopping before and after the shows, everyone benefits.
It simply sounds like Mr. Dylan doesn't care anymore. He played the songs with little energy. Many people seemed to be there for Gnarles Barkley or the Raconteurs anyway, so it shouldn't have mattered to them. Spoon and the Raconteurs were pleasant surprises as well, very glad to have caught these sets.

Dylan does change up his themes as was mentioned for the Police, but he does it in such a way that completely obscures even his most popular song. "Like a Rolling Stone" was perhaps the only recognizable tune, which he performed as an encore before being rushed into his van and promptly escorted out of the cesspool of southside (is this what they told him about us? or is he just not supposed to have that much fresh air in a day?).
Now, as a life-long fan of Dylan, and someone who can perhaps begin to appreciate where the choices he has made throughout his career stem from, I can see why it would be important to bust a groove to the van right after the show. I can also appreciate that he probably gets sent to him thousand of demo-tapes per month. However, does it really take 3 or 4 cronies to slam a door in my boyfriend's face when he's trying to give you my band's demo tape? That seems excessive.

Keith Caputo of Life of Agony: at Club Cafe

Ill-attended evening club/cafe-type show. Note on the venue: Why does no one go to club cafe anymore? The venue is really a nice stage to perform on, the ticket prices are cheap, and they do a lot of good shows there! It was promoted in the CP, but I don't know how many people read the city paper. I didn't when I was in college, and I'm less inclined to these days. I see way more stuff online, but so little from Pittsburgh. Every musician that's ever come through here says it's a tough town to play in, and every local musician says there's an awesome scene but no way to find out about it. WHAT IS OUR PROBLEM???
Either way, this was my favorite show of the bunch, with the exception of Radiohead which was less of a show and more of a religious experience. It did go to show that rock is just no longer "rock and roll", when the bulk of the young rock stars I know show up at Radiohead, an experimental and melodic noise band for the most part, and not at one of the great cult heroes shows (for 1/6th the cost). There are still bands that do it, but it's just not as interesting to people. When admen can turn selling angst into a business, the alternative kids find new outlets for your frustrations. And the alternative kids of today create the admen's business of tomarrow. It's a fucked system, sure, but, as Keith said, "this is America. Land of the thieves, Home of the Slaves".

Thanks for the experience, Dave. Owe ya one.

And, while searching for that Keith Caputo quotation, I stumbled across a video from Jacob Golden. Beautifully composed song, and touching voice. Check him out:

Things you'll find at the New American Music Union, aside from Dylan et all

this CD!

]
This is a demo version of Between Liberties' demo that you can find all day at the NAMU. And aw, after I finished burning all the discs, I realized the changes I had made to Chad's original design. There are now 4 tracks on a CD titled 3-song demonstration. Oh well, just add it to the pile of "proof she's only human".

Also check out some great college bands, Bob Dylan & Band, the Raconteurs, Gnarles Barkley and the abounding hipster apparel.

Though intending to stay for the entire set last night, I decided it was more important to go home and prepare for tomorrow. Also because the few bands I did catch were mediocre, I wasn't so interested in the Black Keys and I'd seen the Roots before. I was a bit disappointed to miss the Key Party CD release party. Hope it was a blast, y'all! I did, however, stumble upon a Free Ride party, where my friend Karen played in a band that would better have been named the Hot Metal Brass Band. Quell Surprise!

Today's activities begin at 11am and continue until just before 11pm. This flier, which you may see along the streets or in a stack in my hand, was beautifully designed by Chad Hammitt.

and, last one, a cool picture of me spinning fire during Elise's Playground's Wig Ball

Phat Man Dee: Ugly is the new Beautiful, New York Style

Pittsburgh's own Phat Man Dee appeared on the Today Show for being a model for Ugly NY



Yay Man Dee! I think she's beautiful - muah!

Pittsburgh : A Musical Confluence

Here is a sampling of Pittsburgh tonight:

Pittsburgh compilation live release, featuring Donora, Boca Chica at the Brew House

A Dylan Show at the NAMU

A ton of college bands at the NAMU

Cowboy Hillbilly Hippy Folk at Your Inner Vagabond

Buddy Nutt with Bob Log III and other great acts at the 31st Street Pub

and, a political sidenote

From DailyKos.com

"I was a rock, but now I am a crystal"

While Between Liberties was on tour in march, we stumbled across this sweet open stage at TT's in Virginia. The girl singing in this video sang (her project is Electric Jane). The guys are now Fairgrounds. And they all played together. Beautiful sounds, these powerfully sweet and soulful voices. Great, flowing tunes. They looked totally happy to be on stage.

I'm trying to figure out if they're all one project now. Will give an update soon.

Radiohead at Blossom outside of Cleveland, "It brought me to my knees"

Read a concise and collected review at Cleveland.com...

SET LIST: "15 Step," "There There," "Morning Bell," "All I Need," "Pyramid Song," "Nude," "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi," "The Gloaming," "The National Anthem," "A Wolf at the Door," "Faust Arp," "Exit Music (For a Film)," "Jigsaw Falling into Place," "Idioteque," "Climbing Up the Walls," "Bodysnatchers," "How to Disappear Completely"
FIRST ENCORE: "Videotape," "Paranoid Android," "Dollars & Cents," "Reckoner," "Street Spirit (Fade Out)"
SECOND ENCORE: "House Of Cards," "Lucky," "Everything in Its Right Place"

I start this review with the setlist (DUH you are saying, we are here, now, reading this, aren't we?)... So, let me explain this absurdly placed addendum.

Radiohead are Magicians. The type of mind-fucking, poetically-speaking, know-it-all (and show few cards) types that have been notorious for being lynched or burned at the stake throughout history. They get into your brains, under your skin, deep inside your heart. They pet your deepest desires and then smash your ego in with itself.

They flat-out rock.

The first time I saw them, in Boston circa 2001 was perhaps the single best concert I'd ever seen to date. Things I'd never seen at concerts before were happening as if it was part of a master plan.

For instance... The community: While I'd been to a lot of concerts for a teenager, I had yet to see an audience so diverse. Not only were there obviously different tastes in music being represented (from the bondage-pantsed goth kids, to dead-heads and metal-heads), but there was such a variety in age, race, and visible social status. There were people smoking pot, people drinking beer, and people (like myself) who remained sober for the entirety. And we were not simply peacefully coexisting, but communing in a way that only those there could understand. If only we could do this as naturally on the streets...

The respect: This was my first Radiohead show. Most of the people I knew who revered them were junkies or just generally a bit psychotic. I had a respect for the Bends, and for the newer albums that had come out, but... well, I guess I just didn't know then. Well, during Pyramid Song, the crowd became silent. Not nearly silent, as I've seen a few times since, but like "i'm in church, communing with god, and getting high off of the preachers words. amen!". I could hear *everyone* in the venue, and when some guy, probably 40-50 feet behind me, whispered "Dude, I dropped my bowl", there were quite a few chuckles from the, oh maybe 200 of the people who heard this also. Then, back to pin drop silence.

And, as is known to happen at Radiohead shows, the essentially supernatural: During the "Rain down... from a great height" bridge in Paranoid Android, a plane passed overhead. Big whoop? We were so close to the airport that this plane blocked out almost the entire sky. It was inaudible, even at such a soft part in the song. And, it was blinking in time to the percussion. Did a plane-looking UFO simply come to take us all home? It seemed entirely possible at the time.

Listening to a mixwit by the author of the article above. I love moments like the "wooh!" "shut up!" "WOOH!" "SHUT UP!" moments in You and Whose Army? There is no better way than trying to shush someone else's experience to embody your own pet peeve.

I digress. My whole point in putting the setlist first is to say that Radiohead weave a story. They build up their lyrics, which may seem naturally divergent, a bit wacky, and deeply enlightened. The lyrics are merely the backbone for a body of art that includes all the fleshy, ethereal musical layers that make them demi-gods. The halo of light is their stage-show, which is more psychadellicaly there than any I've seen, while using a (relatively) simple light show with live video feed.

What is the story they are weaving? IMHO, it is a dawn-of-the-apolcalyptic evolution of mankind tale of lobbyists, lovers and loners, as told by a centaur from the center of the galaxy who is here on vacation and winds up getting trapped in a zoo and his only way to escape is to call home to his people by joining up with some other inmates set on becoming a big motherf*cking rock stars. He says "get me out of this dodge" while, on occasion, sympathizing with a bunch of kids who are broiled in fear, ecstasy and personal economic crises.

Will the centaur make it home? I'm not sure, but he did predict this whole thing. A voice of reason in an unstable time, he is pointing out our flaws, pushing our substance abuse in our faces, laughing at the spaces between us. What causes a human to feel? Because it certainly can't be these things we think. TV? Things upon things upon things...

What they're after is probably akin to Burning Man in the way that life goes beyond these material stockpiles which own our lives and dictate future experience. It is about letting things go, be them perceptions of how people should act when they are having an experience, or little hand-held devices that never leave our iron claws. Write on the sky, and let the clouds roll away.

What other experiences could you have? There were plenty of young people on psychedelics, smoking pot, drinking. There were also quite a few older folk there doing the same thing. There were just as many people who were straight-sober, perhaps a few like myself that were somewhere in the middle. You could be watching the stage, diving into the light show, absorbing the music, studying the musicians or the melodies. No matter what your preference, you would not be disappointed. Perhaps this is what a group experience should be about.

A group experience. A mobius concept. Something that can be perceived. Something unmangled by your individual perception. The truest experiences are like sharing a bed with god. Things make sense without any one person having to put any thought into them. Tears because of pleasure, tears of utter comprehension. A ride on the wave, a drive on the plains. "All matter can be reduced to a single vibration". To be experienced is to understand this, and, well, experience it.

Here was my connection to this experience (and links to lyrics so you can find yours. Find music clips HERE):
15 Step "It comes to us all / It's as soft as your pillow"
There There "we are accidents / waiting waiting to happen" ... and I'm thinking, what, will this be a "best of" set? not that you could avoid it, given the solid state of all their songs... But I've seen them start the show with TT before. Frustration with the crowd sets in. Everyone is silent and non-moving, like they're waiting for Pyramid Song.
Morning Bell "Everybody wants to be a slave / walking walking walking..." I've taken it in my own hands to dance like the goofass I like to be here.
All I Need "I am a moth who just wants to share your light / I'm just an insect trying to get out of the night / I only stick with you because there are no others / You are all I need"
Pyramid Song "All my lovers were there with me / all my past and futures / and we all went to heaven in a little rowboat / there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt" For a minute, I was here before (again). Thinking of you, thinking of me, thinking...
Nude " You paint yourself white / and feel up with noise / but there'll be something missing"
Weird Fishes / Arpegi " I'll hit the bottom / Hit the bottom and escape"
The Gloaming "Murderers / you murderers / We are not the same as you"
National Anthem "Everyone is so near, it's holding on" Conductor waves, here's where you all start dancing now.
Wolf at the Door " dance you fucker dance you fucker / don't you dare" ("i'm glad someone else is feeling this")
Faust Arp "You've got a head full of feathers / you got melted to butter"
Exit Music (for a film) " Today we escape, we escape." don'tlooseyournerve
Jigsaw Falling Into Place "This place is on a mission... just as you dance, dance, dance"
Idioteque "This is really happening.... Here, I'm alive"
Climbing Up the Walls "I am the eyes in the cupboard" Right before this song started, everyone shifted after dancing to Idioteque. The sea of people parted. I was left with a straight-on view of Thom Yorke and his guitar center stage. No one moved back into this plane of vision. He was in my head.
Bodysnatchers "Has the light gone out for you?" (this - "I've seen it coming" is when I affirmed that Thom can time-travel, as I found out later to be verifiable)

How to Disappear Completely "I walk through the walls, I float down the liffy" Look for the lighthouse, follow the beacon - we arrived by beeline to our friends in a sea of 20,000 people.
Videotape "You are my center / When i spin away"
Paranoid Android "Why don't you remember my name?... The panic, the vomit / God loves his children"
Dollars & Cents "All Over the Clovers" This is, perhaps, when most people get it.
Reckoner "We seperate like ripples on a blank shore"
Street Spirit "Be a world, child, form a circle / before we all go under (immerseyoursoulinlove)" Thom still humbles me, i was singing along at the top of my lungs. No one told me to shush, a subtle affirmation.

House of Cards "No matter how it ends / no matter how it starts" Chad and I were being goofy during this song, making our dino-APU/ABA noises that seemed to freak some people out, but was well worth the laughter of others.
Lucky "Pull me out of the aircrash / pull me out of the wreck / cause i'm your superhero / we are standing on the edge"
Everything In It's Right Place " What, what was that you tried to say? " ... The crowds fade out, the trash is everywhere. People come to start cleaning up, they shut down the doors, they look at the tripping stragglers with a "you don't even get it" look. Who are you? "Have you seen my friends in the green shirts and khaki shorts" / "No, I haven't" / "They're right THERE!" (swings arms around to display three of them).

Radiohead must have had at least 50 full time tour people with them, sounds lights stage techs alone. Someone to pick out the stylish clothes they were wearing. Plus all the management and producers that coordinates such a presentation. Bravo to each and every one of them. So, perhaps it wasn't the best Radiohead set I've seen, but the worst radiohead show I've seen was still one of the best concerts of my life, and the best go well into the realm of Zen.

After the concert, my blotto friends and I sat on the lawn til they kicked us out. Everyone around us seemed to have stayed too, perhaps trying to ward of the XX,000 people who had attended the show. Everyone around us seemed to just sit there, nodding and occasionally verbalizing "yeah. yeah." That was about all we could do too. Many great moments with people, many

Got back to the car (miraculously, considering the mobs and the way a parking lot changes when it's half empty). Spun some fire while listening to Consider the Source. If I prevented a few people from driving while too intoxicated, then I did my job, I suppose. Got a chance to talk with some great people, including Melanie, who says that the three pinnacle bands of our generation are Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and Tool. I think I have to agree with her. Though, despite my love for all three bands, Radiohead may have gotten a head above with me over the years.

Other shows setlists (more for my own record-keeping and the future possibility of making mixtapes to hear these stories again): Suffolk Downs circa 2001; Tweeter Center in Camden, 2003; Blossom 2003; Blossom 2008.

Consider the Source - best thing to do on a sunday

These guys are just flat-out awesome. If you see ONE more YIV show for the rest of the summer, for your own sake, make it this one. I will personally refund anyone who leaves unsatisfied, whatever your musical taste may be. This is the first stop outside of NYC on what will be a monumentally amazing 2-month tour.

Gabriel, a herald in his own right, played a double-neck guitar. But if I hadn't seen it, one may have thought it was a sitar. It also sounded like it may have been Jesus himself playing guitar. These are not compliments I throw out lightly. If he had not looked like an angel on stage, these would not be my chosen words. And the music he was making was even more impressive than his stage presence.

The caliber of musicianship in this three-piece does not decrease by order of appearance in this story. Instead, the three musicians interwove their instrumentation to a degree that was moving. Like shake-the-ground-you-walk-on moving. Like this-is-the-feeling-I-get-when-I'm-on-top-of-the-world moving. I applaud these guys for finding harmony within themselves that extends out in every direction to the corners of the universe.

John keeps the funky bass backbone going through all variants of quick turnarounds and polyrhythmic variations, and is one of the few electric bassists I've seen do a truly kickass bass solo. Like "wow, is that Jimi reincarnated as a bassist or what?" He seemed to be having a really great time on stage too, enough to almost spark a "man, I wish I were singing with these guys" twinge of jealousy.

James has a set full of various percussive elements, and you can hear him play doumbek on "Dumbekistan". Being able to switch off on the pieces of his kit without batting an eye, and still keep the foundation of the rhythm so solidly tight is a truly amazing feat. There is no lack of drummers who are able to do only one or the other, but this will not be a case of that. Instead, he gave me renewed excitement that, given enough dedication and love for an art, anyone can be a (musical/painterly/dancing) DaVinci.

Did I mention that they're also very friendly, humble guys? This is, again I reiterate, something I *never* take for granted.

The fact that Club Cafe wasn't sold out was obviously no measure of their skill. Of the uncountable shows I've seen at Club Cafe, this is one of the two best ever. The other, being very stylistically different, was John Hayes' Midnight Cabaret live. CTS could easily sell out the Peterson Center, give it a few years and 2 more albums. And, while their recorded music is really great, their live shows are even better. How often does that happen??

Honestly, if they're not picked up by a major label on this tour, I will lose all hope for the major players in the music industry. Or perhaps I'll offer to pick them up on my label, though there is simply no way I could do them the justice they deserve at this point in my career. They are Consider the Source, from NYC, after all.

PS - if you want to see me spin or eat fire at the show, just make a request here!

The most destructive element...

...and also the one most ready to be controlled.

Thanks to Johnny Sullivan, I can now eat fire. And it's yummy ;0)

Thanks also to Benzy for introducing me to his ever-amazing friends. I love parties that keep me up until sunrise.

I'm feeling rather thankful... While I'm at it, thanks to Emma for helping me feel like a tourist in my own (beautiful) city. To the Vonderful Vytold for giving us a wonderful reason to celebrate. To Alexandra, for always giving me reason to better myself. To Garvin and Pink-Hat-Burner, for a bit more synchronicity. And to my beloved Chad, for trusting me and encouraging me to do whatever my heart desires.

Love to y'all, I'm off to Radiohead. Check out Bon Iver at the Rex if you are not making it to Blossom.

Janis Ian

Disclaimer: Until Friday, I knew Janis Ian only as a name, one used in conjunction with young, local roots-rocker Cathasaigh, or occasionally brought up in the Calliope Songwriter Circle. She seemed to be a well-respected vocalist and someone who I might be interested in listening to. However, it's not a given that I will be into a chick singer, but I do have a very soft spot for Joni Mitchell (and Alanis Morisette, and Jewell, and that was about it until a few years ago). Still, when a month ago, I spotted a sign for a live appearance at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in South Side, I thought I'd probably want to check it out.

I promptly forgot about it.

Flash forward again, back to Friday. Chad and I brought the car in to get looked at pre-Radiohead-in-Ohio, and decided to go to JBB to look at an article in AdBusters we'd been talking about over lunch. We got carried away in the bookstore, and stayed in the Magazine section alone for several hours. I stood up from where I was reading to pee. What is this crowd I see? Janis Ian is speaking in 5 minutes? Hmm....

Amidst a crowd of old heads in tie-dye, young lesbians, and music lovers, I really didn't look like I just happen to stumble upon this. My reaction didn't prove otherwise either. From the first few sentences, I was in love. She just had this honesty, likely from just writing an autobiography, and an integrity, perhaps from decades of life on the road. It was undeniable. It was visibly magnetic.

I cried as she talked about a performance where she ran off stage while 30 people in a crowd of 2,000 chanted "Nigger Lover" at her 15-year-old self. My god! I cried as she talked about how the promoter of that show told her she had to go back on stage: Not for her career or his bank account, but because if she didn't stand up to these inhumane people, they would have more confidence against the next performer they didn't like, the next thing that scared them.

I cried as she spoke of her mother, "who has been dying by inches for so long". I cried as she recounted a dream she had of her mother when MS finally took her breath, of seeing her mother run across the field, the scent of flowers clinging to her ankles. I cried as she spoke of how she did not know how to verify that this woman was actually passed.

I cried when she said that Jimi Hendrix was a very honest talent, also the most graceful of people.. I cried when she said that, in a time where people were hating her because she had been given, at 15, an opportunity that they had slaved their whole lives for, Jimi had been so kind.

And, I laughed. I laughed at her self-deprecating "I'm totally over Janis Ian" jokes. I laughed when she said she thought autobiographies were dreadfully boring, and that she preferred John Grisham and summer beach reads. I laughed when the wireless microphone gave out, and she confessed that she needed it after all. I laughed because she was funny, she was experienced, she was a bit crazy in the same way that most people I love are. I laughed because she was exciting decades after the spotlight had passed to less honest, less crazy performers.

I bought her CD, of course, and while it's not necessarily my style of preference, I am certainly glad I could experience the woman behind these songs. It sheds a light on how people become the artists they do: in her case, Perhaps I'll give it a good listen and a proper review here eventually, but for now, I will leave by saying Thank You, Janis Ian. Thank you from the bottom of my own performative heart.

"See how it feels when we're water once more"

Thanks to a conversation about Mazzy Star, I was reminded of a recording session with the lovely Amanda Standalone.

One slow night at the Bloomfield Bridge Tavern open stage, John is getting ready to shut down, when in walks a bubbly girl with a funny midwestern accent and a smile the size of lake Michigan. Earlier in the evening, I borrowed John's guitar and had a conversation during this process about how he rarely trusts people to play, but he wanted to hear me, and he could mostly trust me, "just be good to it". These are all sentiments I can relate to, as my guitar is at least a decade older than myself, so when she asked to borrow John's guitar to play a few tunes, I could understand his skepticism. It probably didn't help that she was self-described as buzzed off a few beers and had been walking around Pittsburgh all day (literally - from Regent Square to Bloomfield after god-knows-where).

John, being of the skeptical-of-his-own-skepticism breed, very slowly handed over his guitar. Or was it someone else's guitar? I forget. Either way, as soon as this silly girl from out-of-the-blue got on stage, we were all hooked. She sung a sweetly sad song about her brother off in Iraq, as well as a song about walking all day. If she made a mistake, she would laugh, that kind of "oh, well shit on me, guess I'll keep playing" giant and carefree laugh that can warm even the coldest hearts.

There were a few other chance encounters... the first Globalista Jam, a performance of her "Lady in the Window" for Art All Night the following night, the first-ever recording session at avienani studios a few nights spent hanging out... and then, just as quickly, she was headed back to michigan...

So I'm done reminiscing, and insist that you now go check out her music. Be impressed, unless you can somehow avoid it. I couldn't!

Rob helped with the description: Jolie Holland and Jenn Gooch gave birth to Mazzy Star.
Is this a style of music? If so, call me a fan... Add to the bands in this genre: hope for agoldensummer Any other suggestions? Leave a comment!

If your ears are going to bleed the next day, at least enjoy yourself... Ikonoklast, AgnesWFS

My ears are ringing! God, what a dreadful feeling. I went to bed listening to tiny welders trying to rebuild my eardrums. Really should invest in some earplugs, like a case, and carry them with me everywhere...

Rachel and I discussed this dilemma after the show (very loudly...). Down in Austin, where she now calls home, you can go to a metal show in a small bar, and still have your hearing when you leave! The music was adequatly loud, but because the sound techs are professionals, and understand how to saturate the sound without causing it to stick like napalm in your pores. I've tried to convince many a venue owner that a professional sound person is often more important than the gear, but that regardless, a bad sound can ruin a band.

Is this why Pittsburgh's scene gets a bad rep locally? I mean, it's certainly not for lack of talent in the bands department. However, the promotions department is surely lacking. Ikonoklast was a great band, treked from Phoenix, Arizona by way of Jersey to perform for all of 30 people. Agnes is one of the most talented local bands we've got. If it weren't for Agnes, attendance easily would have dropped into the low 1-digit. Chad designed a beautiful flier for the show and distributed it around town and on the Agnes myspace. That's always been his contribution, with most of the promoters he works with doing the online aspect. It works, but without the other bands or promoter doing their part, well... it's self-explanatory, really. There is no such thing as an easy gig for an up-and-coming band. Period.

So, Ikonoklast! Heavy! This band started their set with one of the most heavy guitar-industrial songs I've ever heard. It only took two songs to get the crowd moving, which is sometimes a feat for a band that is new-to-Pittsburgh. Talented musicians too, particularly the drummer, who was playing a kit along to a backing track - that's pushing a tight-rope walker out on a bridge of floss, or spinning fire... while eating it. Creative and energetic musician amongst company of solid performers.

This genre is really interesting, the metal-meets-industrial sound. It's heavy, loud and in-your-face, but very good to dance to. There were traces of classical elements in the backing track, and the singer was very black-metal. And their bassist had crazylong dreadies, which I felt an immediate lust for. It shouldn't suprise me much anymore, though, as heavy metal hair has diversified a lot since it's inception.

But, seriously... What's up with the band doing one cover (nine inch nails' Wish, one of my favorites), and then the audience demanding other covers? It got to an absurd level, starting off with chants of "Depeche Mode!" and ending with "Brittney Spears". C'mon people, they're obviously not a cover band!

Despite my criticisms of the event, I had a blast. What a wild and energetic AgnesWFS set! Dancedancedancegocrazydancydancy. Rachel taught me a few great new dance moves, including one that I dub the peacock and involves letting your hands flap around your butt. Not your average goth-industrial move, but a hell of a lot of fun to do! Ask me to show it to you next time we run into each other, it will put smiles on both our faces ;0)

Ultimately, it's probably best that most of the people there were die-hard fans (and how good to see the old heads!) Agnes has sounded much better, we don't need to have them loose their much deserved street cred due to a sadistic sound tech.

In related news: Howlers has a stage! Not just a platform with a snake running out of one side, but an honest-to-goodness stage! They opened up the door for loading out the back, added about 2 feet of height, and now have one of the nicest venues in Bloomfield. Go Jo!