Korgan

Yes indeedy, it was a good show. Personally, I liked it very much, especially since I never got to see the Pumpkins live. It was a new experience, and the guitar playing was pretty great. Like Gabe mentioned though, a whole lot of distortion. You could heard the vocals pretty well and the drums went off without too much of a hitch, (which, made it better to hear Jimmy's fantastic bashin'). Yet, the sound wasn't the best. I hope they improve the Marquee. But it was a good show, and the Marquee is enclosed, so it was an intimate set too.

Yes indeedy, I have seen the new Radiohead cover. I liked it, but it'll take time to earn the same standard of honor beheld by the Kid A and Amnesiac covers. It's cool though, basically it's just a cut-off from a map of the world. The artist, Stanley Donwood, laid those words and statements over the land and geography and then added a bunch of black ink that leads off into the ocean. I guess it's sort of supposed to be a statement on how people's ideals leak into the world like oil from an oil-rig. *shrug*

It's colorful, I'll give it that much.

Zwanified

Nothing rocks the house like Billy Corgan and friends. It had been quite a while since I last saw him with the Pumpkins. It sure was sweet to see him go off on those Corgan-ish solos. The venue, Marquee Theater, is a newly renovated joint that used to cater to mostly country music. I think it's still in the process. It'd better be! There were no acoustic treatment on the walls, which were brick! That made the acoustics very horrible. Whenever they got loud, everything got pretty distorted. Despite that, though, you could still hear the three different guitars intertwining and it still rocked.

Brock, have you seen Radiohead's album cover? The There, There single artwork pretty much came from it. Not bad. I thought it could be better, but, it's probably Yorke's way of making a statement (all the words and such).

Mary Star and the Infinite Sadness

So I heard the finished version of the single "There, There" a little while ago. I lost the link however, but they are playing the track frequently on most British rock stations. If you live in England, chances are you've heard it too. Perhaps I will upload it and put the link up later on, like say...tomorrow? That way you can all hear how fantastic it is. I really hope they go to either Phoenix or California, because like Gabe said, we haven't seen them yet. Personally, that's my life goal. No worries on marriage or kids or owning my own business...my life goal reads: See Radiohead live.

Anyway, let's talk about Zwan for a sec. I've been listening to their CD quite extensively in order to get revved up for the show tonight. The venue holds around 900 people, so it should be fairly intimate. I suppose I should say it would be as intimate as you can get when regarding Billy Corgan, a dude who's usually hanging around large arenas and concerts. Now, like I said, I've been listening to the new CD, Mary, Star of the Sea quite frequently, and I'm trying like no tomorrow to get into it. It's not a bad CD per say...it's just not a particularly interesting one. It has an even flow and a smooth pace, and all of the songs, even the sad ones, are innately happy. No more anger, no more sorrow, no more bitterness, these days, Billy Corgan is a happy fellow. Which, unfortunately, leads me to believe that perhaps something is wrong with me and not the album. Am I so darkened to only find enjoyment in the dark and foreboding tunes of Corgan's older days? Do I really have a hard time relating to such happy music? Nah, it's the record. Still, it should be a good show. Zwan may not be one of my favorite groups, but I'm sure they'll be worth it.

2+2='What You Want'

I was just listening to Radiohead when I read Brock's post on the artwork for the There, There single. In fact, I was almost to that song. Freaky. Yes, I'm listening to the "album-to-be". I like it. Can't wait. I read today at radiohead.org about possible plans for them to tour more extensively in large arenas. Will we actually get to see them finally? Brock and I have yet to see them live. An experience that has been denied to us for far too long.

Zwan tomorrow night. Should be pretty good. How can you go wrong with David Pajo, Matt Sweeney, and Billy Corgan all playing guitar? And then Jimmy on drums? Get out of town!

Off-Kilter

So today a bunch of no-show bums were supposed to give speeches in Communications class, but no one showed. As a result of this here I am blogging with nothing else to do. By nothing I mean nada, I already had lunch, I have zero homework to work on, and I've got nothing to do. Of course, I should mention that the campus is a literal zoo today complete with baloons and people dressed up in foamy carrot outfits. I guess they're having the Wellness Fest or somesuch. Nothing it's right today for some reason, it all seems off-kilter. These carrot mascots are out there are dancing to off beat John Lennon music while students are on the insides of the campus, blowing off class.
I suppose if I want something fun to do I could always go outside and stroll amongst the booths they have set-up around the campus. But then again, I don't really consider signing up for various petitions and "student rights" forms to be excitement.

Oh well, no big deal. I've gotta buy the tickets to Zwan today, but I'll probably end up doing it tonight. So Radiohead showed the cover art to their new single "There, There" last night. Or rather, some fan-sites showed it for them... If you haven't seen it then I direct you to gaze below.

Just cause you feel it, doesn't mean it's there...

Tall Cans in the Air

The Foo Fighters were good. They put on a great show that was intense but, yet, fun-spirited. The Transplants were decent, but a little rough (in performance). It was very cool to see Tim Armstrong, though. I'm a big fan of Tim "Lint" Armstrong. Rancid is working on another album that should hopefully be out soon.

In sad news, the drummer of Modest Mouse, Jeremiah Green, has quit. According to an interview with Isaac Brock at Pitchfork, though, he and Eric Judy plan to continue. Hopefully they'll have an album before the end of the year!

Strong Arm contest

Without a doubt, the Foo Fighters was the best 30-someodd dollars I’ve ever owed Gabe. From start to finish, it was a great show, and Dave Ghrol was honestly a very funny guy. Of course, they played most of their big hits, Everlong and My Hero, but thankfully, they didn’t play each song note by note. Numerous times they played around with the melody of their hit singles, turning 3-minute songs into lengthy jams. However, the Foo Fighters was just part of the reason why it was a great show. I was also looking forward to the Transplants and I enjoyed them quite a bit as well. Beforehand I had never seen Tim Armstrong live, but now I have… in somewhat of a compressed state. As you probably know, the Transplants are more of a side-project to the more infamous band, Rancid. Because of this, Tim played more of a subdued role then he might normally have. Still, the crowd went crazy every time he got close enough to the end of the stage. Both the Transplants and the Foo Fighters put on an energetic show, and both Tim and Dave took time to step off the stage and join the audience…

One big surprise that I didn’t count on was the opening act before the Transplants, the Special Goodness. They weren’t even listed on the ticket, but low and behold, there they were. For those of you who may not know this, the Special Goodness boasts Matt Sharpe, the former bass player for Weezer. I was a bit taken back when I saw them playing, as far as I knew only the Transplants were playing as the opener. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see all of the Special Goodness’ set, but they sounded good. All in all, it was a fun night.

I tell you, this is going to be one packed week, and it seems like the weeks are getting longer and crazier as time goes on. Zwan will be playing later on this week, (Thursday even) and I think I’ll probably go. I’m getting excited for Small Brown Bike to hit Zona though, that will be a good night indeed.

So I’ll probably be in cinema class today, and then I have to work on a paper, so time will be rather thin. However, I’ll check in later if I get a moment to spare. See you!

-Brock

Virus!

I've been slammed at work, trying to eradicate the LovGate virus. Man, oh man it sucks. I'm over my cold but still congested so I haven't been able to redo the vocals on Bankrupt. Soon enough, soon enough. Tonight - Foo Fighters!