tigercity

although their name is like the result of a madlib gone horribly wrong, new york band tigercity has quickly monopolized my head-speakers. they were in the city last night and i sample tracks from pretty much everyone who comes through (for completeness and o.c.d.’s sake). they are a glorious cross between lite-f.m. and synth-pop genius. imagine if darryl hall had sex with a cloud and their cloud-child got caught in a breeze and flew though the sunlight over a backyard where the bee-gees were having a barbeque with the french band phoenix. and everyone was drinking bartles & jaymes. that is what these guys sound like. man, i love descriptive writing. it kicks expository writing’s ass.

summer in cincinnati

i spent the weekend in cincinnati listening to people chant “o-h” and others answer “i-o” it was probably the best weekend of the year to be in that city seeing as it was sunny and hot and oktoberfest was in full swing. there is apparently a large german contingent in the greater cincinnati area and its oktoberfest celebration is well known. six blocks are closed right in the middle of the city and booths, stages, and lederhosen are scattered about amid the sea of people. we noticed some people drinking from half gallon jugs while we were watching the accordion band and decided that those were necessary. so we bought glass jugs of beer and drank them in the middle of the street. the dubious legality of that was somewhat offset by the crowds of people and our power to “look normal” while drinking from jugs like hillbillies.

boozetown, usa

i was returning some videotapes yesterday and since the liquor store is right next to the video store, i stopped in to do some browsing. i started in a clear aisle but i wasn’t in the mood for a party-ish liquor. i was looking for something with substance and the flavored vodkas were only mocking me. as is so often the case i wound up in the whisky aisle. i may need to explain to some that when i see whisky i feel compelled to buy it. i can’t remember the last time i’ve walked past a scotch shelf and have not involuntarily reached out my hand. i suppose it is like how some people need to purchase copies of monets or feel compelled to acquire every pez dispenser ever made. anyway, i bought some blanton’s, which is now sitting at home, having made friends with my other bottles. i don’t drink fast enough to keep up with my purchases so my collection is growing. every once in a while, however, the population of boozetown is dealt a mighty blow.

feist live

feist and rogue wave played the carnegie music hall in oakland last night. i had never been before so i was pleasantly surprised by the set up. the hall is classy and well decorated, like a milder version of heinz hall. they had a significant cash bar (including scotch) set up in the lobby area. the performance area was great. it was small enough to be intimate, but roomy enough to accommodate a mid size crowd (two balconies). there was really not a bad seat in the place. rogue wave opened with a forty-five minute set including new stuff from asleep at heaven’s gate. zach’s voice rang out in its unique, mellow way during their warm glow of an act, and the setting of a music hall suited them well. leslie feist got a huge ovation when she emerged onstage for the main act and it was obvious that she could have done two hours of spoken word and everyone in the crowd (but me) would’ve been rapt. but luckily she played her own unique brand of indefinable pop/unpop music, with the help of voice loops and about twelve different instruments. it was very emotional and i was glad to let myself get sucked in. she played most of the tracks from the reminder, some from let it die, and some covers as well. she ended with an especially bluesy version of “let it die”, which was awesome. i’m pretty sure she was with broken social scene when they came to town last, so i think this is the second time i’ve seen her in person. i consider myself lucky.

rogue wave – “like i needed” (thanks to frozenblog)

feist

in honor of leslie feist coming to town tomorrow here is a clip of her performing “1 2 3 4” on letterman august twenty-seventh:



if you have a good eye, you may notice members of mates of state, the new pornographers, grizzly bear, the national, and broken social scene in the background all clad in white and sparkles. this is basically what i dream about on odd numbered days, except feist has less clothing on and i’m playing the trumpet. i’m not sure a chorus with more indie cred has ever been assembled, and they played like school children (not talent-wise but wide-eyed-like and fun).

pyt

the mtv video music awards on sunday night were the most enjoyable in ten years. they experimented with a hostless format and long cuts to a few of the many simultaneous live performances scattered about. aside from their poor choice in music (looking at you, fall out boy, linkin park) the awards show was great. right off the top we got to see a fat middle-aged woman who looked like britney spears move a total of four feet while pretending to sing a generic pop song. justin timberlake’s party looked like the best, although kanye west’s party’s girls looked the hottest/drunkest. normally i don’t like west’s music, but his new single “the good life”(thanks t-sides) samples “p.y.t.”, which i love. in fact, i was just listening to thriller last week and replayed that song over and over. coincidences like that are what cause me to believe in the myth of hip hop.

long week

so much has happened in the last week and also so little has changed. i fought a war with insects in my circuit breaker room. the verdict is still out. i caught some cloud-free sun and watched part of every televised tennis match of the u.s. open. i strained my neck muscle and couldn’t look back. or down. i turned twenty-seven, the pinnacle age of any young man’s life. i feel old and have less hope for the future. it is all downhill. i can now look backwards, and all i see is smiles. perhaps this track from the hood internet will better convey my emotional state right now: stereolab’s “miss modular” vs.edan’s “fumbling over words that rhyme”. i think if i had to be reincarnated, i’d choose to come back as stereolab.