An interesting thing has come to my attention regarding my band, Birds Without, playing at the Avalon on Saturday.  It was an exciting prospect from the beginning, playing at a venue where I’d actually been to see a band I’d actually heard of before (I saw Love You Long Time, Dave also saw Eisley there, but I missed that one) and having people in the crowd who didn’t ride there with somebody playing that night, but it just got more exciting.  Turns out the show will be taped and available on ComCast’s On Demand Presents Band Wagon LIVE.  This is copy/pasted from the Avalon website:

ComCasts On Demand Presents Band Wagon LIVE. They will be filming live tonight at this show! Come show your local music support tonight on ComCast!

Tickets are ten bucks, doors at 6:30, show at 7:00.  The lineup will be Going Second, Uncomfortable Silence, Birds Without, The Desert, and our friends in Arienette, with whom we’ve played a few times.
I’m really excited to play this show, guys.  We’ve got a few new songs* that we’ve worked out, Dave got a drum kit, so this will be his first show on that instead of the bongos, and we haven’t played in a few weeks, I’m getting the itch (or maybe it’s just this Mountain Dew I had for breakfast).

Anyhow, come out and support us and Arienette and these other fine bands.  You can even do it without going to the Avalon (3605 South State Street)!  You can watch us at home (at least that’s my understanding of how On Demand works, I’m simple in the ways of cable and satellite teevee).

*”New” here meaning new to me.  Ned put a band together so he could play some of his newer, more experimental songs live, and then Dave (Ned’s brother) and Mick (who went to high school with Ned and played bass for him occasionally back then) got Ned interested in all these old songs he wrote in high school.  We’re working on rounding out the set, and even with all this old material, we’ve written one song since the band formed as such.

I was lucky enough to attend Redfest again this year (I missed Jack’s Mannequin last year, but saw Flogging Molly in ‘06) and it was fantastic.  The lineup was Kalai, Brother Ali, and Matisyahu.  I was bummed about missing Matis on the Unity Tour with 311 last summer, so there was no way I was missing this one.  Unfortunate transport issues mean I missed the bulk of Kalai’s set, only realizing towards the end that they closed with a cover of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” so I can’t comment on them.

I did catch all of Brother Ali’s set, though.  Since everybody’s favourite Hasidic Jewish reggae mic master headlined, I guess it’s worth noting that Ali is Muslim.  He’s also white and from Minnesota, if you must know.  I only mention these details because he did, otherwise I’d only feel obligated to tell you that he is ably-tongued and amiable, and that he put on an enjoyable hip hop set and got us pumped for Matisyahu.

Matis, for his part, did not disappoint, but a lot of credit has to go to the backing band.  It didn’t seem like there was any kind of setlist, rather, as my bandmate Dave pointed out, “They just played, and sometimes songs happened.”  Like the opening song: jam for a bit, do some of a new song, jam some more, do a slowed-down verse of “Dispatch the Troops” over whatever the band is playing at the time.  A lot of the show was like that, with portions of other songs showing up when it feels right.  The encore featured a new song, and based on that I’m super excited about the release of Light later this year.

Sorry if this review feels a little weak, I’ve been away for too long.  I’m hoping to be sharper for the next Matisyahu show, Nov 26 at Harry O’s.

So this year’s Twilight Concert Series is shaping up to be absolutely buck wild.  The Knux and the Roots played tonight, and all I have to say is that you need to see the Roots now.  Like, right now. Check out this picture on the right.  See that sousaphone?  That’s not a gimmick.  That’s genuine low end.  The show was incredibly entertaining, mad mic skills, a classic hip hop medley (featuring “Just a Friend”, “Nothin’ But a ‘G’ Thang”, “This is Why I’m Hot,” and a lot more), and an incredible jam on Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” that flowed into Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” into a roaring drum solo by ?uestlove, after which everybody left the stage, then came back for another verse of “Masters.”  The encore jam was likewise amazing, Captain Kirk Douglas laying down some vicious guitar, Owen Biddle putting down some rumbling bass, Black Thought spouting at the speed of sound.  Incredible.  I had to write this while I’m still riding it.  Seriously people.

p.s. New Orleans rappers The Knux were good, too.  But The Roots blew me away.

So I had admitted earlier that I felt a fair amount of trepidation regarding last night’s Stone Temple Pilots show.  I’d read bad things,  I kind of floundered to come up with an ideal setlist, and, in doing so, I came to terms with how I really feel about Stone Temple Pilots.  But in the end I think these things just served to keep my expectations in check, which turned out really well for me.
I already expected them to open with “Big Empty,” having read more than one account of things happening this way, and I was really okay with that.  I thought it was a good way to ease into the show, and Dean’s guitar on that one is well highlighted.  “Wicked Garden” was next, and the first of eight (8) songs from .  Eight.  Including two that I didn’t even recognize (I’ll post a complete setlist once I figure out what they were).  I find this notably odd, especially when compared with the Smashing Pumpkins only playing one song that was even from the Gish era (Of course the Pumpkins had something to promote, STP were just there to play and try to be famous again).
Scott didn’t seem to be under the influence of anything, but I’m a horrible judge.  I just figure he always minces about like that, palm out, twisting in his Beatle boots.  If he muddled the words to anything, it was to songs I don’t know the words to, either (and likely while I was trying to sing along to said songs).  His voice sounded okay, a little nasal on “Big Bang Baby” but that’s his choice.  It was pretty nice, actually, to hear some of those early songs sung with the more distinct voice Scott cultivated later on.  I’d also read complaints of Scott rambling on between songs, and he was fairly talkative early on, mentioning how they didn’t usually make it through SLC when they were touring before, but beyond that not much.  Nothing distracting.
Overall it was a good show.  Worth my $10 discount ticket.  Probably not worth full price, but that’s me.  The breakdown of albums represented was a little telling: 8 from Core (9 if you count playing “Wet My Bed” over the PA as they took a curtain call), 4 from Purple, 3 from Tiny Music…, 2 from No. 4, and 2 from Shangri-la Dee Da, and only one from last Friday’s list (”Too Cool Queenie,” it kind of made my night).  It appears we did it to ourselves, as the STP website has a feature that invites you to build a setlist.  It’s the right way to do a tour like this, and I really wish I’d taken some initiative with that, but alas.  Looks like Vegas on Saturday is going to have a much better set.  I approve.

Alright, kids, here’s the deal. It all comes back to Love You Long Time. This whole indie obsession with the last two decades comes back and is glorified in LYLT. The tight pants, the subtle interest in hip-hop culture, the Teenage Mutant Ninja 80’s References; the whole current wave of hipster throwback all point directly to Love You Long Time.

So here’s the breakdown: MC Oz (vocals, keys, occasional guitar), $ally Kat (keytar, vocals), Chains (bass) and Dr. Liam (drums & sequencer) throw down a fantastic selection of party time hip-hop and feel good synth-pop, then sprinkle it generously with a commanding stage show: lots of dancing (break and otherwise), some freestyling, a big ol’ boombox, riding on shoulders, and frontflip 180s off a stack of speakers. It’s the best feeling party time always, deal?

I had to tell you that. It’s important to know.