He & She have been making a point of seeing more local, live music lately. Radio Radio has made a valiant attempt to shed its previous reputation for providing glowing reviews of bands whose music did not deliver on the promise of the articles. Or maybe RR's booking guy just likes everything. Either way, we've made it a semi-regular destination in the past few months, and we recently ventured out to catch a band that had intrigued He & She because of its particular make-up. Drummer consists of - yep, you guessed it - a collection of drummers from various bands playing other instruments (except for, well, the actual drummer). It was begun by the drummer for the Black Keys, and their debut release was put out on the Keys' label. Sadly, on this particular night at least, this band just wasn't very good. I hadn't read much more than the basics on the band, so I guess I assumed a band comprised of percussionists and calling themselves Drummer would be fairly groove-oriented, especially with the Keys' funky blues-heavy drummer plucking on the bass. Alas, Drummer has settled for the staid sounds of pop-garage bands across the country, and their vocalist's strained and off-key delivery made them sound more garage than pop.
This would have been a sad return to the days of underwhelming music viewed on the advice of overwrought reviews had it not been for the opener. Another band on the Keys' label was along for the Drummer ride, yet they are far superior in every department. Royal Bangs is a rollicking good time, with a lead singer pulling double- and even triple-duty in a variety of ways. In fact, they'd fit the moniker of Drummer better than the act they supported because their sound is heavily percussive. It's also dreamy garage rock made from the heart. As they sweat through their set, their energy continued to elevate the crowd. I'm always pleased to find a gem, and Royal Bangs is definitely one. Their singer's Zach Galifianakis looks and earnest indie-rock vocal stylings lend a nice DIY aesthetic, and then his talents go on to round out a talented crew of musicians.
I even picked up their most recent album, and a few listens prompted me to pick up their first a couple days later. They have an infectious sound; sometimes a little funky and sometimes just rock. And on this particular night, very entertaining. I recommend some youtube and Rhapsody research. But skip the Drummer.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
An Evening of Minor Research
So, for no apparent reason, I decided to take an hour or so last evening to do some basic research. It wasn't terribly scientific, so draw conclusions at your own risk. And frankly, what I found really just reinforced my prior thinking. But let me set the stage.
I got home after work and began the typical channel-flipping exercise to wash away the workday's inanity (and replace it with the media's inanity). After perusing my cable guide for a few minutes, I decided to give Fox News' Glenn Beck a look. Beck's been in the news recently for apparently accusing POTUS Obama of being a racist, as well as just generally being a Fox blowhard. I think I tuned in to see how objective his comments and guests were, as well as the general tone of Fox as compared to other cable news networks. I watched about 40 minutes of this show, which is interspersed with live updates from the Fox News desk anchor, and followed it up with another 25 minutes or so of CNN, which was showing Wolf Blitzer's take on things. Wolf and his panel were focusing entirely on Kennedy's passing, and one panelist in particular carried the love-fest a bit over the top. Yes, CNN's a bit to the left. But that paled in comparison to the antics going on over at Fox with Glenn. At some point his discussion turned to a comment Obama made awhile back in which he referred to a "civilian national security force." I was especially intrigued because I've heard some rumblings on this and I was anxious to get more info, as it's just not garnered much attention. The comment itself appears to be a throw-away line in the middle of a speech he made touting his desire to increase the size and funding of American volunteer/service groups like the Peace Corps, Americorps, and USA Freedom Corps. But he does specifically say "civilian national security force," and that gives me pause. Does Obama want his own security force to rival the military, a la Hitler's Brown shirts? Well, according to Beck's panel, that's precisely what Obama wants. And the commentary and criticism went right into discussing how much this would cost and the implications of having a security force that answered only to the POTUS. Which would have been fine if they'd also taken the time to define Obama's plan and its stated intentions. But they went straight past this and right into speculating entirely. Now I'll be honest, I don't know what Obama's plan on this is. Given the context of the statement, I'm inclined to lean toward it meaning that he wants a strong volunteer/service oriented American populace to tackle issues that our already strained resources cannot handle. But due diligence had me investigating further. And guess what... of the first 10 responses to my Yahoo search, 9 were blatantly right-wing blogs speculating wildly on the potential negative ramifications, and 1 was from FactCheck.org detailing the history of the statement. I saw no sites going into detail on the facts, nor any from Obama clarifying the statement itself.
But these are cable shows. Objectivity is not their stock in trade. Wolf and his panel couldn't stop kissing Kennedy's ass, nor could Glenn and his panel stop speculating on how iron-fisted the Obama regime would utilize this new service corps that would rival the size of the military. Neither of them could... until the commerical breaks. And that's when the stark contrast between these 2 networks really shone through.
CNN broke to commercial far less often while I was watching. I'm not sure how they managed to structure that, or maybe I wasn't paying as close attention. But their commercials were pretty generic consumer stuff, with an abundance of promos for other CNN programming. They seem pretty adamant that we all watch Anderson Cooper. Meh... maybe. But Fox... wow! For 3 straight commercial breaks they made it undoubtedly clear where their allegiances lay. 2 "paid for by" commercials completely lambasting Obama for, first, having a corrupt administration, and then for deceiving the American public on healthcare. In between, we had G. Gordon Liddy - everyone's favorite public burglar and advocate of shooting ATF agents in the head - hawking... wait for it... GOLD. The Fox message seems to be: we hate anything/everything Obama does, and oh yeah, let's buy gold!
Like I said, I didn't really learn anything new or draw any mind-blowing conclusions. It was just a fun exercise while killing time before a truly mind-numbing experience: going to the mall. To be honest, I can't recommend either.
I got home after work and began the typical channel-flipping exercise to wash away the workday's inanity (and replace it with the media's inanity). After perusing my cable guide for a few minutes, I decided to give Fox News' Glenn Beck a look. Beck's been in the news recently for apparently accusing POTUS Obama of being a racist, as well as just generally being a Fox blowhard. I think I tuned in to see how objective his comments and guests were, as well as the general tone of Fox as compared to other cable news networks. I watched about 40 minutes of this show, which is interspersed with live updates from the Fox News desk anchor, and followed it up with another 25 minutes or so of CNN, which was showing Wolf Blitzer's take on things. Wolf and his panel were focusing entirely on Kennedy's passing, and one panelist in particular carried the love-fest a bit over the top. Yes, CNN's a bit to the left. But that paled in comparison to the antics going on over at Fox with Glenn. At some point his discussion turned to a comment Obama made awhile back in which he referred to a "civilian national security force." I was especially intrigued because I've heard some rumblings on this and I was anxious to get more info, as it's just not garnered much attention. The comment itself appears to be a throw-away line in the middle of a speech he made touting his desire to increase the size and funding of American volunteer/service groups like the Peace Corps, Americorps, and USA Freedom Corps. But he does specifically say "civilian national security force," and that gives me pause. Does Obama want his own security force to rival the military, a la Hitler's Brown shirts? Well, according to Beck's panel, that's precisely what Obama wants. And the commentary and criticism went right into discussing how much this would cost and the implications of having a security force that answered only to the POTUS. Which would have been fine if they'd also taken the time to define Obama's plan and its stated intentions. But they went straight past this and right into speculating entirely. Now I'll be honest, I don't know what Obama's plan on this is. Given the context of the statement, I'm inclined to lean toward it meaning that he wants a strong volunteer/service oriented American populace to tackle issues that our already strained resources cannot handle. But due diligence had me investigating further. And guess what... of the first 10 responses to my Yahoo search, 9 were blatantly right-wing blogs speculating wildly on the potential negative ramifications, and 1 was from FactCheck.org detailing the history of the statement. I saw no sites going into detail on the facts, nor any from Obama clarifying the statement itself.
But these are cable shows. Objectivity is not their stock in trade. Wolf and his panel couldn't stop kissing Kennedy's ass, nor could Glenn and his panel stop speculating on how iron-fisted the Obama regime would utilize this new service corps that would rival the size of the military. Neither of them could... until the commerical breaks. And that's when the stark contrast between these 2 networks really shone through.
CNN broke to commercial far less often while I was watching. I'm not sure how they managed to structure that, or maybe I wasn't paying as close attention. But their commercials were pretty generic consumer stuff, with an abundance of promos for other CNN programming. They seem pretty adamant that we all watch Anderson Cooper. Meh... maybe. But Fox... wow! For 3 straight commercial breaks they made it undoubtedly clear where their allegiances lay. 2 "paid for by" commercials completely lambasting Obama for, first, having a corrupt administration, and then for deceiving the American public on healthcare. In between, we had G. Gordon Liddy - everyone's favorite public burglar and advocate of shooting ATF agents in the head - hawking... wait for it... GOLD. The Fox message seems to be: we hate anything/everything Obama does, and oh yeah, let's buy gold!
Like I said, I didn't really learn anything new or draw any mind-blowing conclusions. It was just a fun exercise while killing time before a truly mind-numbing experience: going to the mall. To be honest, I can't recommend either.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
He Said: All Hail the Kings!
He and She embarked on another night on the town Wednesday evening. This time, as ever, was in pursuit of great live music, as well as general merriment. So off we went to the Murat Theatre in downtown Indy to see Kings of Leon, a gritty rock band hailing from Nashville, TN. We had seen them once previously, at Lollapalooza 07, where they were joined onstage by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder for their finale. In the intervening months they have released 2 more albums and amassed a following robust enough to sell out most of their mid-size venue shows so far on this tour. Hot on the release of their latest singles "Crawl" and "Sex on Fire", this show was sure to rock us... and we were not disappointed in the least.
Arriving early enough to enjoy some beers in the lounge, mingle, and people-watch, we grew visibly excited by the minute. We kept time with the opening band, The Whigs, via several CCTVs and speakers, and finally decided to head to our seats just as they were ending. A short break to allow the roadies to check the stage, and then came the Kings. All I can say is WOW! This is good old American rock-n-roll. But the beauty of them - at least at the moment - is they are on the rise, so they are not yet jaded by fame; they had as much fun as the crowd. Every song is full of power and emotion, and every note is played with the same raw energy as the previous. Given that the 3 brothers in the band grew up touring the country playing Pentecostal revivals, it's no surprise that so many of their songs have an almost gospel-sing-along quality. But don't let that fool you, this is straight up ROCK, and they know how to bring it. As Caleb belted out his lead vocals, the crowd matched him with ferocity. At the ballads, lighters flickered and young lovers swayed. At the jams, hair flew and heads bounced. Do you get the scene? Good.
Playing nearly every familiar song they have, as well as a good portion of the new album, their setlist was solid. They thanked the crowd and headed offstage as we all stood for the obligatory applause-until-encore. They returned for 3 more songs, though unfortunately a few sound issues hampered them (apparently a broken guitar string and a blown bass stack). But they dutifully and energetically finished us off with another favorite, giving us plenty for the night.
And because He and She don't like evenings to end before midnight, we trekked down to Chatham Tap for a late pizza and beers. The perfect cap to a great rock show.
Kings of Leon: go see them.. if you can get tix. These guys are hot, and they show no signs of cooling off or even taking a break anytime soon!
Arriving early enough to enjoy some beers in the lounge, mingle, and people-watch, we grew visibly excited by the minute. We kept time with the opening band, The Whigs, via several CCTVs and speakers, and finally decided to head to our seats just as they were ending. A short break to allow the roadies to check the stage, and then came the Kings. All I can say is WOW! This is good old American rock-n-roll. But the beauty of them - at least at the moment - is they are on the rise, so they are not yet jaded by fame; they had as much fun as the crowd. Every song is full of power and emotion, and every note is played with the same raw energy as the previous. Given that the 3 brothers in the band grew up touring the country playing Pentecostal revivals, it's no surprise that so many of their songs have an almost gospel-sing-along quality. But don't let that fool you, this is straight up ROCK, and they know how to bring it. As Caleb belted out his lead vocals, the crowd matched him with ferocity. At the ballads, lighters flickered and young lovers swayed. At the jams, hair flew and heads bounced. Do you get the scene? Good.
Playing nearly every familiar song they have, as well as a good portion of the new album, their setlist was solid. They thanked the crowd and headed offstage as we all stood for the obligatory applause-until-encore. They returned for 3 more songs, though unfortunately a few sound issues hampered them (apparently a broken guitar string and a blown bass stack). But they dutifully and energetically finished us off with another favorite, giving us plenty for the night.
And because He and She don't like evenings to end before midnight, we trekked down to Chatham Tap for a late pizza and beers. The perfect cap to a great rock show.
Kings of Leon: go see them.. if you can get tix. These guys are hot, and they show no signs of cooling off or even taking a break anytime soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)