Underoath and Thursday, yay!

Well today is more about the concert i went to on Friday which was freaking amazing! I had bought the tickets two months before because i had the money and Underoath always puts on a good show. So finally the day arrived and i headed down to the Knitting Factory to attend. The place had a pretty good turnout actually, even if most of the kids were too young to drink. Sadly it brings out all the little emo kids but oh well, you deal with it to see good bands.

First up was A Skylit Drive who I had never really listened to till this concert. A post-hardcore band with a sing/scream dynamic like Underoath but not quite as polished or charismatic. I enjoyed any song they stated as being "Their new stuff" but honestly didn't have much interest in them. They just sounded a little generic to me and nothing really hooked me, i couldn't even tell you what songs they played. The crowd wasn't too thrilled either and they even got heckled a bit which was really sad. I mean i hate when Boise is represented like that because even a band your not interested in deserves some respect. Somebody even threw something at them after their song and they called the kid out. It was bad and not a very good set for sure.

Next was a wildcard not even on the ticket, the bands name was Animals as Leaders. They are an instrumental rock band that focuses mostly on freaking sweet guitar work. Both guitarists were amazing and even the drummer was doing things i didn't even think were possible. It was hilarious to see the people around me because most of the crowd were stunned and confused. It definitely didn't fit with the other bands but honestly they were so amazing i didn't care. It's the kind of technical guitar work that inspires me to play guitar myself and i was mesmerized. I don't think i would get their album but i would love to watch them live again.

Then it was time for Thursday, the first of the headlines and man did they get the crowd pumped. It's the tenth anniversary of their album "Full Collapse" and they played it in it's entirety. I have to say hearing that album live was actually better then the recording, they really put their all into the songs. I've always liked Thursday but they have been on the backburner but this concert really upped my opinion of their talent. They had a stage presence, they played their songs better then they were on the album, and really go the crowd pumped. An excellent excellent set!

Finally Underoath was on and it was worth the wait. It was the first time i had since them since Aaron Gillespie had left the band and they were mostly intact. I felt something missing on their older songs since Aaron was a big part of their sound but anything new they played showed that the band had found a new groove with it's members. it reminded me of Haste the Day in that way, rising from the ashes of the old into something new and still good. They were definitely on top of most of the songs though, the best set of the night for sure and played most of the songs you would want to hear. I still love watching Underoath play as they have an amazing stage presence and really work to get the crowd involved.

All in all it was a fantastic show and a great cap to a good week that i have. Now i've got Thursday and Underoath in my rotation for music alongside a renewed interest in Kevin Devine and A Perfect Circle. Definitely missed going to concerts and can't wait till summer when more shows start coming.

Oh what a joy it is to be free.

So it's been a lot of singer/songwriters lately for me thanks to Kevin Devine's album Brother's Blood. That turned out to be an excellent purchase and i really want to dive into more of his catalogue. He does a lot with finger picked chords and subtle shift and hammers in his music while also giving deep and though provoking lyrics. Especially the song "All of Everything, Erased", which I immediately set to learning and can play the basic shape of it if not all the little flourishes he adds as he plays. He has a very Death Cab feel to him and it definitely resonates with me.

Like I said i dived into a lot of singer/songerwriters due to that purchase and i forgot how good John Mayer is. His first album is actually pretty smartly written with catchy riffs and some very simple but heartful lyrics. He is a better guitar player then people give him credit for and his voice is strong. I haven't really listened to his other albums but i still gotta give him props as that first album is good stuff and i am willing to admit that.

Of course more Right Away, Great Captain and Manchester Orchestra as I love music from the brain of Andy Hull. He has become one of my favorite musicians with his gift of simple yet powerful songs and very insightful lyrics. His range is amazing and his guitar work is another benchmark i aspire to in my own playing and could see him influencing me from here on out. If you like bands like Brand New, Death Cab for Cutie, and Dashboard Confessional you should give either Right Away, Great Captain or Manchester Orchestra a listen to as it seems like the evolution of such bands.

Luke Pickett also makes his way back into my rotation, someone my brother got me into. He has an amazing voice and when paired with his guitar style brings a lot of emotion to the table. Strong strong hooks in his songs and some of the most poignant lyrics i've heard in a long time. If you didn't know better you would almost think you were listening to a girl but it's just his huge range and no one backing him up. I keep looking around for more of his music and encourage anyone else to do the same.

Also Iron & Wine is a unique and awesome singer/songwriter as well. With a very distinct voice and simple melody style he easily gets into your head. A breathy almost whispery voice gives his words some emotion and have definitely been a compliment to my pensive or contemplative moves. He can also hit you with some very catchy riffs as well and it's a treat when he incorporates the banjo into his more upbeat songs. Another artist to watch as he continually puts out great music.

Those are the ones I think stand out as far as the smattering i've been listening to. Damien Rice, Bob Dylan, Bad Books, and a few others have also been in the rotation. Also picked up the Mass Effect 2 And Enslaved soundtracks as well. I highly recommend both as not only are they fantastic games but are also scored well. I like that video game soundtracks have the same production values as movie soundtracks and evoke the same feelings. A piece of music can easily bring to mind a particular scene, character, or set piece in a game just as it would in a movie. Enslaved in particular is great as it marries Eastern Orchestral work with Wester digital beats in a very interesting way. And that about sums up my music listening for now, we shall see where they wander to next time.

"I think i'll go to Boston...think I'll start a new life"

Well this week i started out by continuing the trend of last week. A lot of old school Green Day for one, I forgot just how good Nimrod is. It was such a great follow up to Dookie and I can listen to it all the way through over and over again. Catchy hooks, actually more mature lyrics on some songs, and that typical Green Day swagger pulls it all together. It's just another reminder of how ridiculous their new rock opera persona is, especially when this is worlds better then anything they have produced recently.

Also still diving into 00's revival of garage rock with The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, Jet, and a little bit of the The Strokes. I still love that crunchy guitar sound with simple power chords and fusing that with Beatles-esque lyrics and simple song structures. It's just a good time with these kinds of bands and that really reels me into their kind of music.

Then i diverged a bit and dove into some Augustana. I don't know what really prompted me to start listening to them but all of a sudden i couldn't stop. Both of their albums are great and they have great songwriting abilities. It's weird because unlike a lot of music that talks about relationships, love, and life in general these have a hopeful edge rather then downturn other artists take. They are still heartfelt, soulful, and really reach into you but you get the sense that they can be overcome and worked though. Also the band puts on a great live show, they have a pretty good presence and definitely sound like their albums. I look forward to further albums from this band and are easily one of my top bands ever.

Also been playing Jimmy Eat World's first album Bleed American. Another album from my youth that stands up today. Really good pop-rock with some very in depth lyrics and a fantastic lead singer. This album is another one I can listen all the way through and enjoy every minute of it. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for decent rock music as it delivers the goods time and time again. Oddly i haven't jumped into their other albums as well, probably due to my penchant of usually preferring a bands debut album.

That pretty much brings me to the close of this week, I just recently discovered Ken Devine's solo stuff and i am starting to dig into that as it's really good acoustic music. I may report more on that next week, we'll see where my listening tastes take me.

Got internet...will write

Missed a week due to not having internet in my place but as you can see that issue has been rectified and now I can blog again. Got two weeks worth of music to talk about now and i've been listening to a lot of it. Probably cause it's so quiet in my new place living by myself so i've been listening to music to keep from going crazy. The big one on the list right has been the Tron: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk cause it's freaking awesome. I don't know how they will use the music in the movie yet but honestly this stuff is so good it doesn't really matter. There are some orchestral songs in the mix and even those are great, it definitely makes me excited for the movie. Daft Punk continues to deliver the beats and be one of the few bands that has me listening to techno and enjoying it.

Also been listening to a lot of garage rock, at least bands that revived the style in the 00's. White Stripes, The Vines, The Hives, Jet, Von Bondies, even a tiny bit of The Strokes though i like very few of their songs. I love that crunchy rock sound that feels like the band is jamming and having fun. It's not about crazy solos, heavy lyrics, or teenage angst it's about simple power chords, songs about being friends and drinking, and just plain good times. An interesting blend of the 70's rock like Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc and the alternative sound of the 90's.

Jumped into some From Autumn to Ashes as well, listened to their album Holding the Wolf by the Ears. It's actually pretty good, not their best but there are some really good songs on it and makes me sad they aren't together anymore. I've always liked From Autumn To Ashes melodic metal style of scream/sing switching. They were more emo them some of their contemporaries but the writing is top notch and good for getting some feelings out.

Also got into some of the back catalogue of Green Day after listening to The 20th Century Breakdown. I still love their old stuff, Dookie and Nimrod are great albums. Definitely one of the big bands of the 90's pop-punk movement. Going through their albums it makes me more disappointed with their new stuff. I feel like they lost their charm with this new rock-opera persona of theirs, like they forgot what made them good. I can't identify as much with their politically charged albums as opposed to albums about wasting time and being a loser.

Lastly been listening to some Richard Cheese cause that guy is hilarious. He definitely has Wierd Al like chops, taking popular songs and turning them into lounge music. If you want good parodies he definitely delivers and it's surprisingly listenable. That's pretty much it these last two weeks, be back next week with more! Now i'm gonna go listen to the new Jimmy Eat World album.

Your nothing special..just a skeleton key.

Well this week hasn't been too terribly exciting, amazon has been having crazy sales on their site and one of them has been five MP3 albums everyday for $1.99 each for that day. Unfortunately I either had the album or just wasn't really that interested in the album even for that price. I did manage to pick up two albums though that peaked my interest. The first one was Weezer's new album Hurley and I have to say it makes me sad. The album is okay, there are some decent songs, but they don't even sound like Weezer anymore. Ever since albums like Maladroit, Rattitude, and now this I just feel like Weezer has become very inaccessible to me. They went to a very strange experimental place that doesn't really suit my taste and makes me avoid their new albums and go back to the old ones like Blue and Green albums. It just seems like Rivers Como has gone of the damn deep end and sadly those that enjoy original Weezer are just left behind.

Another band that suddenly jumped back into rotation is Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. Specifically I've been listening to The Dust of Retreat album as honestly it is their strongest album in my opinion. It's one of those albums where their elements just seem to come together and is actually one of my favorite albums of all time. A lot of songs about lost love, betrayal, and all the feelings that can come between couples with some genuinely thoughtful lyrics. It also reinforces the fact that I tend to like the first album a band puts out, there are many exceptions to this rule but i would say a good 65% of the bands i listen to I tend to like their first album the best.

Got around to listening to another album bought through Amazon's daily MP3 deal Minotaur by The Clientele. They are a indie folkish band that are okay but honestly kind of washed over me and wasn't remembered very well. They aren't a bad band but there is nothing that really stands out about them. Their music just kinda happens, you enjoy it, and then your done. I am satisfied with paying $2.99 for them as i wouldn't have checked them out otherwise. If you need more folk music in your collection you could do worse.

The last music i've really listened to is the other album i picked up during the Black Friday week album sale which was Kaliedoscope Heart by Sara Bareilles. It's a decent sophomore effort though again it's a singer with who I prefer her first album over this second one. The thing about her is I like her voice and she can have pretty catchy songs. In this second album i feel like she went a little more mainstream pop and kinda lost me somewhat, i was more into her jazzy vocals and slow songs than her sugary sweet pop songs. It's not a bad album either though, she can still definitely sing, it's just her lyrics and a direction have gone downhill to me. Oh well $1.99 makes this an easier pill to swallow for sure.

And that is pretty much it for this week, other than that it's mostly been the Screened.com podcast and of course The Giant Bombcast as well. Until Next week...

Change in direction

Woah I realized i haven't written here for quite some time, heck another Warped Tour has come and gone even. I realized i'm not quite cut out to be a reviewer, at least a serious one as I don't have the money nor am I timely enough. I'm going to try to commit to once a week though and update on Sundays. I'm gonna keep this blog about music but now it's gonna more about what i'm listening to and general thoughts. I may still give reviews and such but they will be sporadic and heck might even be for albums that came out quite some time ago.

As far as the music listening goes I've been absorbing a lot of music though mostly it's been a lot of Manchester Orchestra and Right Away, Great Captain. Andy Hull is amazing musician with some very deep and thought-provoking lyrics. I am honestly not sure which band of his I enjoy more but i can say that with both i tend to like their first album better then their subsequent stuff in the end. But their entire catalogue is great stuff and I heartily recommend both bands.

Also been checking out some Evergreen Terrace which I've been meaning to get my hands on for some time now. Definitely an awesome melodic metal band that hits pretty hard. They have some alright solos but it's mostly just the main riffs and scream/sing dynamic that really gets in my head. They have some great hooks and I recommend the album "Wolfbiker" to sink your teeth into and see if you enjoy their style.

Been getting into Amazon's daily MP3 deals and sometimes they release good or new albums for mad cheap and it would be ridiculous not to buy at that price. Picked up the new Underoath album Disambiguation which i gotta say is the weakest album they have made in awhile. It's still them and it has it's moments but it definitely doesn't stick with me as well as They Are Only Chasing Safety and Define the Great Line do. It's the kind of album i recommend to Underoath fans but new kids should try an older album to see if they would like the music.

Another band i've been listening to is 10 years, picked up more of their stuff and remember why i like them so much. It's pretty much if Shinedown was good is the best way i can put it. They have a good old school alternative sound with some pretty deep lyrics that touch on some heady subjects. Worth checking out if you like bands like A Perfect Circle, Shinedown, or Crossfade.

The rest has been a smattering of Barenaked Ladies, The Receiving End of Sirens, Coheed and Cambria, and Soasin. Again rediscovering my love for bands i used to listen to a lot but kinda got lost in my music library and then rediscovered. I think that is all for now, until next week!

Concert Impressions: Warped Tour 09

So once again another Warped Tour has come again, making the 9th one I've been at to date. This year was such a huge departure from the way Warped Tour has been in the past. Obviously rain in August had something to do with that, causing some crazy format changes to keep Warped Tour going. The main stages were moved inside so that the headliners could play without worrying about being rained out, while the smaller stages were moved closer to the building with the exception of the skullcandy booth. Which honestly I think hurt the overall experiencing of Warped Tour, it kinda of lost something with this shuffle. Especially since the acoustics in the Idaho Center are not very good and also with so many people at Warped they were constantly beyond capacity. All in all it was a mess from a set up standpoint...though it had to be done in order to keep the show going.

Still the line up didn't suffer too much and honestly I was surprised how many bands were there I actually wanted to see. Underoath, Chiodos, Bad Religion, Less the Jake, and so many more. Not a lot of huge names, but lots of little bands that it was kinda cool to see without having to worry about missing other bands at the same time. Even discovered a band called The Architects who turned out to be pretty good as well...one thing that I really love about Warped tour, discovering bands like that.

So i started with The Devil Wears Prada inside, one of the many hardcore bands that have dropped into the scene these days. And honestly I was not impressed, they just felt very derivative. Nothing about them really jumped out to me and I felt like I had heard better from other bands. I will give them another chance when I listen to their CD, but my initial impression was that musically they did nothing to set themselves apart from their contemporaries.

I then headed out to the SkullCandy stage to catch the last of a set by The Architects who actually kinda blew me away. They had a very old school punk feel to them that was very reminiscent of when the movement began. Simply guitar chords, a small blistering solo, and strong lyrics about the government and society. I ended up buying their whole catalogue since it was only $30 bucks for all 4 cds. I may review those or just give a second impression on the band after listening to their work.

After that it was back to the main stage to watch Underoath, a hardcore/screamo band that has been getting quite the following. Once again i felt myself really getting into this band, even with their religious background. They definitely had the crowd pumped and were on top of their game as far as the set goes. I really enjoyed them and ended up buying their newest album "Lost in the Sound of Separation".

I quickly hurried outside to the Hurley.com stage to watch Big D and the Kids Table play. Despite being in the rain and mud the crowd was really responding to the band, having a large skanking pit in the middle of a mud. The band definitely knew how to have fun and I still maintain that ska music puts on some of the best shows and brings out a pretty friendly crowd. on a side not the lead singer also looks like Kurt Cobain which was funny, I kept thinking of him as Ska Cobain!

Once again it was back inside as I wanted to check out Chiodos who I had been meaning to see for some time. Let me honestly say they had the second best set of the show, managing a huge crowd that was really into what was going on. The lead singer has a pretty distinctive voice that is always a plus for me, definitely a huge range that I enjoy. The music has a composed feel to it, making them stand out from a lot of metal bands out there. Plus they had more crowd surfers then any other band, even got a wall of death going during one of their songs. Absolutely one of the highlights of the show, i really enjoyed them.

After some downtime since there was a lull where there was no bands I wanted to see, I came back inside for the Bouncing Souls. Now here is a band who has been on the punk scene for quite sometime and they haven't lost any of their talent. The set was dedicated to John Hughes who had died recently and they played a lot of their older stuff. I've always liked watching them on stage, they always seem to have pretty good showmanship.

Then it was outside to go see Black Tide who I had seen before and had really enjoyed. Unfortunately this proved to be the worst set of the show as they had a replacement lead singer who just didn't cut it. One of the great things about Black Tide is that they have a great 80's metal sound with the high vocals and heavy lead guitar. But the lead singer couldn't handle the notes and just ruined it for the band. Without the entire aesthetic they were just another metal band and I left before their set was finished.

Not gonna lie, things get a little hazy here but I do remember eventually seeing Less than Jake, which is another great live band. It's just one of those bands that seems to always have fun when they play and that energy transfers to the crowd. They know how to banter with a crowd, talking just enough to be interesting but not so much that they sacrifice time for their music. I really enjoyed their set.

More downtime then I saw NoFx, who also puts on a hell of a show. Though this year they seemed a little out of it, just didn't hit as hard as it used to. I don't know if it's because they are getting old or they were still feeling whatever made them take a two week hiatus. Either way they were good, but not as good as past years.

There were a few other bands but honestly they aren't really worth mentioning because the best set of the night happened to be the last one of the night. Bad Religion is still one of my favorite live bands to see, they are simply amazing. From showmanship to how together they were with their set. It's one of the few bands that sound just as good as they do on cd, which lets you know it's them and not machines that make that band great. I honestly would have paid the $40 just to see them, they are that good.

And that was Warped tour in a nut shell more or less...there is so much more to say but honestly this article would never end if I did that. While not as good as some years I still say 09 was a success and wasn't disappointed that I went. I hope next year the weather gets it together and we have the true Warped Tour experience, but in any case another year down and another tour under my belt!