Them Crooked Vultures Live From A Cellphone

Weeeellllllllllll, I wish the quality was better. But we are talking about the newest supergroup that does NOT feature Jack White playing the maracas. This wonderful ensemble features Josh Homme from the Queens Of The Stone Age, Dave Grohl from Nirvana/Foo Fighters, Alain Johannes from QOTSA, and some older gent who goes by the name John Paul Jones and was purportedly in some little regional group called Led Zeppelin. This is from the opening number on their super-secret opening slot for the Arctic Monkeys, whose new release Josh had a hand in producing. From August 26, 2009.

Sorry for the cell phone quality. But this is too interesting to not post:

PLAY: stl Music Festival Returns Sept 16-19

This is a great way to support local and regional music, and check out a lot of up-and-coming bands. Wristbands are only $15, AND you get a free Chipotle burrito and drink. Click here for more info. Me, I'm looking forward to seeing the Life And Times again on Friday at 10:30 at Cicero's. Trust me, they bring it live.

PLAY:stl Music Festival & Conference Lineup

Cicero’s (6691 Delmar Blvd.)

Wednesday, September 16 (kickoff party)
8:30 p.m. GreyMarket Tampa, Fla. indie rock
9:30 p.m. Red Collar Durham, N.C. roots rock
10:30 p.m. Copperview St. Louis, Mo. alternative rock

Thursday, September 17
7:30 p.m. GreyMarket St. Louis, Mo. indie/pop
8:30 p.m. TBD
9:30 p.m. Thom Donovan Tampa, Fla. indie rock
10:30 p.m. The Antlers Brooklyn, N.Y. indie/ambient
11:30 p.m. The Constant St. Louis, Mo. pop/rock

Friday, September 18
7:30 p.m. Old Lights St. Louis, Mo. indie rock
8:30 p.m. Starlume Springfield, Mo. alt/indie
9:30 p.m. The Orbz St. Louis, Mo. wave
10:30 p.m. The Life and Times Kansas City, Mo. indie rock
11:40 p.m. The Makeshift Gentlemen St. Louis, Mo. wave/dance

Saturday, September 19
7:30 p.m. The Winter Sounds Chicago, Ill. indie pop
8:30 p.m. Eikon Nashville, Tenn. indie rock
9:30 p.m. Ellee Ven Los Angeles, Calif. electro-pop
10:30 p.m. Owen Chicago, Ill. singer-songwriter
11:50 p.m. Fresh Heir St. Louis, Mo. rock

Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room (6504 Delmar Blvd.)

Thursday, September 17
7:30 p.m. Cavalry Chicago, Ill. rock
8:30 p.m. Midwest Avengers St. Louis, Mo. rock/hip-hop
9:30 p.m. Luna Halo Nashville, Tenn. indie rock
10:30 p.m. Samantha Crain & the Midnight Shivers Shawnee, Okla. indie folk
11:50 p.m. Wild Tiger St. Louis, Mo. rock

Friday, September 18
7:30 p.m. The Armed Forces Nashville, Tenn. rock/pop
8:30 p.m. Ravenhill St. Louis, Mo. rock
9:30 p.m. My Instant Lunch Augusta, Ga. alternative rock
10:30 p.m. Red Collar Durham, N.C. roots rock
11:30 p.m. The Upright Animals St. Louis, Mo. rock

Saturday, September 19
7:30 p.m. Halo Stereo Nashville, Tenn. rock
8:30 p.m. Option//Control St. Louis, Mo. pop/rock
9:30 p.m. Holding Mercury Chicago, Ill. rock
10:30 p.m. The Effects Nashville, Tenn. rock
11:30 p.m. LucaBrasi St. Louis, Mo. rock

Blueberry Hill’s Elvis Room (6504 Delmar Blvd.)

Thursday, September 17
7:30 p.m. Brothers Lazaroff St. Louis, Mo. Americana/rock
8:30 p.m. Savage Sun St. Louis, Mo. hip-hop
9:30 p.m. Nato Caliph Champaign, Ill. hip-hop
10:30 p.m. Nite Owl St. Louis, Mo. hip-hop
11:30 p.m. Scratch Track Kansas City, Mo. hip-hop

Friday, September 18
7:30 p.m. Mama Rogers St. Louis, Mo. rock/funk
8:30 p.m. Love in October Chicago, Ill. pop
9:30 p.m. The States Brooklyn, N.Y. rock
10:30 p.m. The Moves Chicago, Ill. pop
11:30 p.m. Via Dove St. Louis, Mo. rock/pop

Saturday, September 19
7:30 p.m. Curb Service Champaign, Ill. hip-hop/techno
8:30 p.m. We’re Into Survival Starkville, Miss. punk rock
9:30 p.m. Say It With a Smile Champaign, Ill. alt-pop
10:30 p.m. Odis Dallas, Texas rock
11:30 p.m. Ruby Dog St. Louis, Mo. blues/funk

560 Music Center (560 Trinity)

Thursday, September 17
7:00 p.m. Go Motion Omaha, Neb. wave/indie
8:00 p.m. Starters DJs Chicago, Ill. electronic/DJ
9:00 p.m. The Hood Internet Chicago, Ill. electronic/indie/DJ

Friday, September 18
7:00 p.m. Exercise (Eleven Magazine) St. Louis, Mo. indie rock
8:00 p.m. Say Panther (Eleven Magazine) St. Louis, Mo. indie rock
9:00 p.m. Republic Tigers Kansas City, Mo. indie rock
10:10 p.m. One Lone Car St. Louis, Mo. pop/rock

Saturday, September 19
7:00 p.m. TBA
8:00 p.m. (The Gargoyle) St. Louis, Mo. indie rock
9:00 p.m. Capgun Coup (The Gargoyle) Omaha, Neg. indie/surf/punk
10:00 p.m. TBA

Racanelli’s Cucina (6655 Delmar Blvd.)

Thursday, September 17
7:30 p.m. Brett Daniels St. Louis, Mo. country/acoustic
8:30 p.m. Anni Rossi Chicago, Ill. singer-songwriter
9:30 p.m. The States (acoustic) Brooklyn, N.Y. acoustic rock
10:30 p.m. Dear Future Pinckneyville, Ill. indie rock
11:30 p.m. Superfun Yeah Yeah Rocketship St. Louis, Mo. eclecticFriday, September 18

Friday, September 18
7:30 p.m. Karate Coyote Columbus, Ohio pop-rock
8:30 p.m. Aaron Mansfield St. Louis, Mo. pop
9:30 p.m. Brighton MA Chicago, Ill. rock/indie
10:30 p.m. Illphonics St. Louis, Mo. hip-hop
11:30 p.m. Hazard to Ya Booty St. Louis, Mo. funk/rock

Saturday, September 19
7:30 p.m. Models Need Sleep St. Louis, Mo. singer-songwriter
8:30 p.m. I Like Snaps Vandalia, Ill. indie rock
9:30 p.m. Strix Vega Arcata, Calif. indie/prog
10:30 p.m. Chip Greene Nashville, Tenn. alt/singer-songwriter
11:30 p.m. The Morleys St. Louis, Mo. rock

Chipolte (6318 Delmar Blvd.)

Thursday, September 17
7:15 p.m. Danielle Cales Valparaiso, Ind. acoustic pop
7:55 p.m. Coriz Chicago, Ill. R&B
8:35 p.m. Noëlle Hampton Austin, Texas Americana/folk rock
9:10 p.m. Beth Bombara St. Louis, Mo. singer-songwriter

Friday, September 18
7:15 p.m. Reign Lee Hong Kong rock/songwriter
7:55 p.m. Vijoy Rao St. Louis, Mo. singer-songwriter
8:35 p.m. Van Risseghem Tulsa, Okla. alternative pop
9:10 p.m. Jen ‘n’ Juice St. Louis, Mo. singer-songwriter

Saturday, September 19
7:15 p.m. Matt Hoffer Chicago, Ill. acoustic rock
7:55 p.m. Abi Robins St. Louis, Mo. folk
8:35 p.m. Sean Renner St. Louis, Mo. singer-songwriter
9:10 p.m. Michael Fitzgerald St. Louis, Mo. acoustic rock

Vintage Vinyl (6610 Delmar Blvd.)

Thursday, September 17
7:00 p.m. Star and Micey Memphis, Tenn. pop/rock
8:00 p.m. Corey Saathoff Band St. Louis, Mo. Americana/rock
9:00 p.m. Sheila Shahpari St. Louis, Mo. pop/rock

Friday, September 18
7:00 p.m. Dustin Plegge St. Louis, Mo. pop/acoustic
8:00 p.m. Red Card Royale St. Louis, Mo. rock
9:00 p.m. Brad Fox and the Usual Suspects St. Louis, Mo. rock
10:00 p.m. Vicky Reykavik, Iceland rock

Changes In The So Many Dynamos Camp

Well, this makes me sad.

So Many Dynamos have been having a good year, by all accounts. A new release on a known label. Appearances at KEXP and Daytrotter, to name a few. The hottest (literally. The A/C was broken) release party I've ever been to at the Firebird. Tours, tours and more tours, including opening up for Harvey Danger, among others.

But it is with regret that I tell you that guitar/keyboard/vocalist Ryan Wasoba is leaving the band. How that affects things, is hard to say. But a change in a band that is as tight as SMD has to affect the overall chemistry one way or the other. He is being replaced with Nathan Bernaix from STL band Target Market. You can read more about Ryan's decision here. He has good, personal reasons, and there doesn't seem to be any animosity among band members, so I wish him and the band all the best.

Here's some upcoming dates, I assume with the new member of SMD:
Sep 18 2009 7:00P
Pygmalion Music Festival 2009 @ Blue’s BBQ Urbana, Illinois
Sep 19 2009 12:00P
Bouncefest 2009 - Mills Quad @ Millikin University Decatur, Illinois
Sep 25 2009 8:00P
Beaumont Club (w/ Republic Tigers) Kansas City, Missouri
Sep 26 2009 8:00P
Mojo’s (w/ Republic Tigers) Columbia, Missouri

Guitar Hero Van Halen: Wolfgang, not Michael on bass

Should this not surprise me? And yet it still does. A bit of bile rises up.

OK, Eddie, I get it: Michael betrayed you somehow by playing music with Sammy Hagar after you got a divorce from him and went down the rabbit hole with that horrible VHIII deal with the Extreme guy. But if you're playing all the classics, shouldn't you have the classic bass player? What if you didn't kiss and make up with David Lee Roth when your career seemed to be over? Would this game feature whoever the singer of VH was at the time? Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden? No, no. Too big. Need someone from a smaller band, someone to control. How about the singer from the 80's band Black-n-Blue? Or a tribute band singer that you saw on Youtube?

Can you imagine if they ever did any Journey, Styx or REO Speedwagon songs on GH? oh boy, what a mess that would be. But then again, nobody knows who any of those guys were anymore, I guess.

Ed, you have serious issues, man. Here's the proof. FYI, Wolfie was not even born when these songs came out.

Track list:
* Ain’t Talkin Bout Love
* And The Cradle Will Rock
* Atomic Punk
* Beautiful Girls
* Cathedral (solo)
* Dance The Night Away
* Eruption (solo)
* Everybody Wants Some
* Feel Your Love Tonight
* Hang ‘Em High
* Hear About It Later
* Hot For Teacher
* Ice Cream Man
* I’m The One
* Jamie’s Cryin
* Jump
* Little Guitars
* Loss Of Control
* Mean Street
* Panama
* Pretty Woman
* Romeo Delight
* Running With The Devil
* So This Is Love
* Somebody Get Me A Doctor
* Spanish Fly (solo)
* Unchained
* You Really Got Me

Goodbye Les Paul

He had been hospitalized in February 2006 when he learned he won two Grammys for an album he released after his 90th birthday, “Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played.”

“I feel like a condemned building with a new flagpole on it,” he joked.

As an inventor, Paul helped bring about the rise of rock ‘n’ roll and multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the “tracks” in the finished recording.

With Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records and 11 No. 1 pop hits, including “Vaya Con Dios,” “How High the Moon,” “Nola” and “Lover.” Many of their songs used overdubbing techniques that Paul the inventor had helped develop.

from Yahoo News

I Miss Hum

It's true. I miss them dearly. Seeing them live, that warm super-loud Hum sound, vibrating beer bottles right off the table; the fact that almost every song had the word "she" in it. Come back, come back.

This one starts out very much like Slint, before kickin' it in:

Downward is heavenward is criminally underrated:



And here's the sweet rock sauce live:

Sigh...

Weird Al Takes On The White Stripes

And Charles Nelson Reilly!

All in conjunction with Jibjab. It's a winning combo, especially seeing Al as Jack and Meg. Say what you want about him, but Weird Al has consistently put out fun parodies, and has managed to stay in the public eye with his music for what, over 20 years? Let's see if Katie Perry has that kind of staying power. Oh, and if you go to Jibjab, you can put yourself (or a friend or two) into the video. Cool beans.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

More MP3's Than You Can Shake A Stick At

Do you like checking out new music? I know I do. A great way to do that is to head on over to the Yewknee Summer Mix Series, where different folks submit themed mixes for the summer. There is some great stuff, and some that's not so much, but it's a cool way to check out some tracks that you have been wondering about, or hear something that takes you by surprise.

There's enough there to keep you damn kids busy and off the streets for a while. So get on over there. Hate to break the news, but the end of summer is right around the corner...