tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35672500790110161932024-02-07T23:40:35.533-06:00concert chris"it's not what you are like, but what you like. books, films, music. these things are important." - rob gordonconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-19224514026159534342010-12-21T01:25:00.033-06:002010-12-24T05:49:51.848-06:00my favorite live shows of 2010: kansas city edition<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYRNxcfBlXdGHc4vMHpszJIUaeSlgh5CPSGqcrb4uszIhJ0mUKaSodAIn-zri9Eq7vJ-9dHS3u8bCK547bne4DU7s4OYNDztfUtxa44ZfY2IoyBTkemXxxTcTTafWxzyU9XQr57HT7Tk-/s1600/phoenix+4-21-10+uptown.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiYRNxcfBlXdGHc4vMHpszJIUaeSlgh5CPSGqcrb4uszIhJ0mUKaSodAIn-zri9Eq7vJ-9dHS3u8bCK547bne4DU7s4OYNDztfUtxa44ZfY2IoyBTkemXxxTcTTafWxzyU9XQr57HT7Tk-/s400/phoenix+4-21-10+uptown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554102228389312738" /></a><br />last year in 2009, mid year i was trending well on the number of bands i saw and shows i went to so i set a goal to see 250 bands and happily accomplished it. yes, i track everything and i'm very ocd when it comes to this kind of stuff. i went into 2010 and didn't set any goals, i just wanted to see what happened. the year started off with a bang that ended up really shaping the entire year.<br /><br />it was january 8, 2010 at czar bar on a night when it couldn't have been 5 degrees outside. but inside the venue it was hot as hell. i had no idea what to expect when i went to the first "Mark Lowrey vs. Hip Hop" show. no one knew what to expect, not even the guys on stage.<br /><br />that show opened my eyes up to a lot of things... more hip hop, it showed me a new side of jazz and it started a few pretty good friendships. it was a crazy night and i'm really happy i didn't let some weatherman scare me into my home that night. i owe a huge thanks to the crew on stage that night.<br /><br />that's how it started, with a bang. it's ridden a really big wave all year. this year i was able to see over 515 bands and catch about 275 shows. yeah, sometimes i forgot where my apartment is, fortunately it's near the record bar.<br /><br />the list below recaps in a twitter friendly format my favorite 20 shows of the year in kansas city. i've paired my text with a poster from the band i saw that night. a few of the posters are for the local shows, otherwise i picked the coolest poster available.<br /><br />here goes...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOk-9gqXlpP_e2VcY6hcl5Q0dsyUXQL9fWIYxeFB24tws9J3DDp4Q4quyXHgzTO5ty866ujfktmI1Z4W-KVS0kTiF5auuA5LCZw4LcQPTKalB9POU294XdCq1MgVEsNrmVq_vvAhB9TAY/s1600/20+mountain+goats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOk-9gqXlpP_e2VcY6hcl5Q0dsyUXQL9fWIYxeFB24tws9J3DDp4Q4quyXHgzTO5ty866ujfktmI1Z4W-KVS0kTiF5auuA5LCZw4LcQPTKalB9POU294XdCq1MgVEsNrmVq_vvAhB9TAY/s320/20+mountain+goats.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553290778712348898" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20 10/04/10 Wye Oak/Mountain Goats Bottleneck </span><br />a heavy 1-2 punch of a band I've wanted to see for a long time, then a band that simply caught me with my guard down.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLItoXOocQKM-jKFPtJPq2nDy1vVMlDWqE-pnjhRD5KC9wE-OghRw7GUiZWsalUVl4AGho7oEZdkTkcq-I-bp8sheNpNesbt-95dlJd6ZahHw86PVjG4gjlRrJ2T4aprVaFSv1OpcB1idn/s1600/19+CMF.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 206px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLItoXOocQKM-jKFPtJPq2nDy1vVMlDWqE-pnjhRD5KC9wE-OghRw7GUiZWsalUVl4AGho7oEZdkTkcq-I-bp8sheNpNesbt-95dlJd6ZahHw86PVjG4gjlRrJ2T4aprVaFSv1OpcB1idn/s320/19+CMF.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553290902730382306" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19 9/11/2010 Hearts of Darkness Crossroads Music Fest: Crosstown Station </span><br />it was the anchor to the best crossroads music fest yet, the line stretched down the block and was 1 in, 1 out for 2 hours.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkLs7ltgeE05M7cH8wp6bg6T5jwcnyaCaUWtWHf4PCmrSkifsD5JM5R_RBOIVHJXXYDBTSavpAORvadeWvss8RUWX58BPF4CtN46hwSlUQa3rSJbCApmLVePSBgMYLRNZ-d-VbvJCfQte/s1600/18+POS.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSkLs7ltgeE05M7cH8wp6bg6T5jwcnyaCaUWtWHf4PCmrSkifsD5JM5R_RBOIVHJXXYDBTSavpAORvadeWvss8RUWX58BPF4CtN46hwSlUQa3rSJbCApmLVePSBgMYLRNZ-d-VbvJCfQte/s320/18+POS.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553291044939035410" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18 02/02/10 P.O.S./Dessa/Steddy P Jackpot </span><br />i finally got to "find the beauty in the bass line" and hear some of the smartest hip hop going from doomtree.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4wEMXbkOydI_Tsw7XfQwC8PfGoWxQwjt-jHhvANkJFlWB2-CF34YFxiyakQCn8ARqLUAJVcEF_o-c4ChS9Z3xPlF1JtoCjUokI6aACTiOUGKSOcnZ74NmVJfwcI7WIv0tWhOn4JVMRuV/s1600/17+appleseed+cast+KC.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4wEMXbkOydI_Tsw7XfQwC8PfGoWxQwjt-jHhvANkJFlWB2-CF34YFxiyakQCn8ARqLUAJVcEF_o-c4ChS9Z3xPlF1JtoCjUokI6aACTiOUGKSOcnZ74NmVJfwcI7WIv0tWhOn4JVMRuV/s320/17+appleseed+cast+KC.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553291275419837634" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17 03/21/10 The Appleseed Cast Record Bar </span><br />we left SXSW early enough that morning for me to make it back for this show, 12 hours later I walked in during the first song of the set on their Low Level Tour.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAnFEqsgsN7Jmw7V2hdwYA7oa4uldEG267OrWVrknZY1-4v3hzONU913ZyRRhUwyyxFUBSDrExFC3zZp7iK80Q_B8h7SbG1BOypcLfCGFIJDxMz-MBy17yPa4KGnf3LVdX813GfmmmP3C/s1600/16+rodrigo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBAnFEqsgsN7Jmw7V2hdwYA7oa4uldEG267OrWVrknZY1-4v3hzONU913ZyRRhUwyyxFUBSDrExFC3zZp7iK80Q_B8h7SbG1BOypcLfCGFIJDxMz-MBy17yPa4KGnf3LVdX813GfmmmP3C/s320/16+rodrigo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553291861164366098" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16 05/11/10 Rodrigo y Gabriel Uptown </span><br />two people and their guitars with no words, but plenty of encores.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Lh2oUQmiXn8znVBKJqEAz_YdBeQA09zeI3ISz858LPJSacZxtQ30NgKWNovpNs4PrxewcUtOpGxysDQ-OzdpMXfGXpOMqe4HC16L6KaTCf1d3_DuvjHJMLHPZUl-IEDKGsZHZD7aaEq/s1600/15+frank+turner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Lh2oUQmiXn8znVBKJqEAz_YdBeQA09zeI3ISz858LPJSacZxtQ30NgKWNovpNs4PrxewcUtOpGxysDQ-OzdpMXfGXpOMqe4HC16L6KaTCf1d3_DuvjHJMLHPZUl-IEDKGsZHZD7aaEq/s320/15+frank+turner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553292035887120786" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15 10/18/10 Frank Turner Crosstown <span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span><br />no idea what I was walking into here, but I think I found the illegitimate son of Billy Bragg.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgcJgjhOBdAM7ObnmZog9_ZSEzpJ2w_s-jykf66nm0ilu386kzveP6ro_l02gyoUV9f0bg9sUQmwpztyEF3EXSMqwJSjPb8xoJU6IUmSQWIInidijhRt6ujfn-Ga9Xk3Et1BUozTnV_2Q/s1600/14+tiny+horse+slimm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVgcJgjhOBdAM7ObnmZog9_ZSEzpJ2w_s-jykf66nm0ilu386kzveP6ro_l02gyoUV9f0bg9sUQmwpztyEF3EXSMqwJSjPb8xoJU6IUmSQWIInidijhRt6ujfn-Ga9Xk3Et1BUozTnV_2Q/s320/14+tiny+horse+slimm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553292257457242178" /></a><br />(clearly not a poster, but a great photo from Slimm of Abby, she's a force!)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14 01/18/10 Tiny Horse Record Bar </span><br />it was the first time I'd heard Abby's voice in a long time, that voice could fill the biggest of rooms.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDK_k3UggsJhK7wjiogyIyCRAUwO06lD3fqwNMuQJoYS57snPa_sIKyUQCjAl59Ik2M4q1NU7Xr6vJ-4QOGos6oaOOBVdHtz-hJGBhd8odwa2flj2q2RZHq1ZnKc2w0QEqq-bqogtmL6J/s1600/13+vv+brown.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgDK_k3UggsJhK7wjiogyIyCRAUwO06lD3fqwNMuQJoYS57snPa_sIKyUQCjAl59Ik2M4q1NU7Xr6vJ-4QOGos6oaOOBVdHtz-hJGBhd8odwa2flj2q2RZHq1ZnKc2w0QEqq-bqogtmL6J/s320/13+vv+brown.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553293020880539090" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />13 04/04/10 VV Brown Record Bar</span> <br />one song in and you knew she'd be a star, now I see her on MTV as I'm changing the channels.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yumDY7RyZ6mtjHCkX8xo8SwBBIV5lFvnjWf4gcNtUHC9G35tbkAcbJlqQ-HUN4D2f9sSitTav5CK9z62wtUDG-RoVCefde19fsMLBH75eA8mvmBUpqtfHwq-Jy-ktrkQOO5OsNCKkDDq/s1600/12+np+-+neko.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6yumDY7RyZ6mtjHCkX8xo8SwBBIV5lFvnjWf4gcNtUHC9G35tbkAcbJlqQ-HUN4D2f9sSitTav5CK9z62wtUDG-RoVCefde19fsMLBH75eA8mvmBUpqtfHwq-Jy-ktrkQOO5OsNCKkDDq/s320/12+np+-+neko.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553293205396358770" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12 07/26/10 The Dodos/New Pornographers Liberty Hall </span><br />one band had trombones hooked up to a loop, the other had Neko Case.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixglPBdln4ybtgdcz3qhBoeBkfnOuzxVgwi02E2pnI9fClTaeDYUrjyhrWWdG8tmTdGwFoPHzJ5nwyAaVTbnK8VUE_0v4_zAQkcL5fplCpJEQmi08qVnTPBP11H52cEpDR3SKpZ83fNMBH/s1600/11+apocmeow.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 207px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixglPBdln4ybtgdcz3qhBoeBkfnOuzxVgwi02E2pnI9fClTaeDYUrjyhrWWdG8tmTdGwFoPHzJ5nwyAaVTbnK8VUE_0v4_zAQkcL5fplCpJEQmi08qVnTPBP11H52cEpDR3SKpZ83fNMBH/s320/11+apocmeow.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553293600917959346" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11 11/06/10 Cherokee Rock Rifle Apocalypse Meow III: Riot Room</span><br />already part of one of my favorite days of the year, Apocalypse Meow, CRR swept me away right before what I was drinking did.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9wTwQCMmODAo6Toerah5baDz_Etm5r3o2kwqS2iqQGC-rcBepOi49lgUhaxZdVBlAhOYD0sTocwtKenp0ht3BWv92e5Wt9dMEs9qnqJZXs2RxwGL8wvpgSnlof2-6wCpTZ9v7gBfthu0/s1600/10+gna_poster.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9wTwQCMmODAo6Toerah5baDz_Etm5r3o2kwqS2iqQGC-rcBepOi49lgUhaxZdVBlAhOYD0sTocwtKenp0ht3BWv92e5Wt9dMEs9qnqJZXs2RxwGL8wvpgSnlof2-6wCpTZ9v7gBfthu0/s320/10+gna_poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553293762644471506" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10 10/08/10 Gardening, Not Architecture Riot Room <span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span><br />this delicate singer songwriter nestled into a night of loud and with pretty lights.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCuRGOM3jZxdT6g1hK3Ei3vtvgyqpjwf1T7J_zuL3NOxZOrF6qFZiIdbfLyl4vkhLfYm8c7MTrte1aobZm0fc12Bdtcn-YRzrnM9JXLRbq10zu9UaS0tpOZUsMPh9ypb7F4kHabH99ua9/s1600/09+lucero.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLCuRGOM3jZxdT6g1hK3Ei3vtvgyqpjwf1T7J_zuL3NOxZOrF6qFZiIdbfLyl4vkhLfYm8c7MTrte1aobZm0fc12Bdtcn-YRzrnM9JXLRbq10zu9UaS0tpOZUsMPh9ypb7F4kHabH99ua9/s320/09+lucero.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553294279179079810" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9 12/6/2010 Lucero Bottleneck </span><br />this show was so good i had to come home and edit this list, they played for 2 plus hours with 6 songs in the encore, ben's soul spilled out a little bit.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfq_Z7oYylL6ez0-Dp_P5roc6ofcXbLynHtF08bs6FaJtHEGi9zWnTH4m61wcYuF5GNAQXa3_hCRYbByqG4TCoeDSRzO2bZJx_s-dB_UkMwJKgnGFG7B-2hk4QCRKXDwg0PaMovWLjCDP6/s1600/08+hiphopvlowrey.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfq_Z7oYylL6ez0-Dp_P5roc6ofcXbLynHtF08bs6FaJtHEGi9zWnTH4m61wcYuF5GNAQXa3_hCRYbByqG4TCoeDSRzO2bZJx_s-dB_UkMwJKgnGFG7B-2hk4QCRKXDwg0PaMovWLjCDP6/s320/08+hiphopvlowrey.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553294665705354498" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8 01/08/10 Mark Lowrey vs Hip Hop (round 1) Czar Bar </span><br />this show opened me up to so many things in the local scene, it hardly seems fair that I deserved it.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">(unfortunately, most TOOL posters suck, so none shown.)<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7 06/24/10 Tool Sprint </span><br />Maynard, lights, Maynard, video screens, Maynard, lasers, Maynard, wicked seats.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6jJgTZ3itrL0MmvLwI2ZQ79S1sbPFL4CH8K0kBhtz-BPP7_Lte2R3yP7m_m_uQ1ZIRmpfh-cZo3Ixh2ToartIBOgXpa6jMYWFcCrEMRLzksRCC2Raj3oncM0tSUCKBmadqLCnrdRl7Iw/s1600/06+amcat.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6jJgTZ3itrL0MmvLwI2ZQ79S1sbPFL4CH8K0kBhtz-BPP7_Lte2R3yP7m_m_uQ1ZIRmpfh-cZo3Ixh2ToartIBOgXpa6jMYWFcCrEMRLzksRCC2Raj3oncM0tSUCKBmadqLCnrdRl7Iw/s320/06+amcat.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553294913184630466" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6 01/17/10 American Catastrophe Davey's </span><br />Shaun said they were putting away some of their older songs after the set that night, happy I was there for the send off.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uhaHh63jBu7tQJ9QfPPAukBI5k_4hM7MLsscfgCj18BtgZX0t_VeLMVt6U4VrHzyDgW3qvxdHU3hwmeeHhUyH5WlkMs8WQqHi3jy3I5lEHVqFbiyGm_ugKCOkuYTU06n9RJeJ_mdPktS/s1600/05+russian+circles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uhaHh63jBu7tQJ9QfPPAukBI5k_4hM7MLsscfgCj18BtgZX0t_VeLMVt6U4VrHzyDgW3qvxdHU3hwmeeHhUyH5WlkMs8WQqHi3jy3I5lEHVqFbiyGm_ugKCOkuYTU06n9RJeJ_mdPktS/s320/05+russian+circles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553295141983209682" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5 11/02/10 Russian Circles Riot Room </span><br />the drummer reached inside all of us that night and shook out our souls, so intense.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBGcvgiftKvhzZ_0w4yPmPWUUlTlECft1ApMIcYQNkHfg7t6v0bTJ-oP_sWuyq7SC-bUTxwGpSDAkkPcT2sWTlvgzjOi8gouJDgHbH3kFuuz5YE4IJFCd_6IFsvAnHYRvorHLoISXECrf/s1600/04+sharon+jones.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 236px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLBGcvgiftKvhzZ_0w4yPmPWUUlTlECft1ApMIcYQNkHfg7t6v0bTJ-oP_sWuyq7SC-bUTxwGpSDAkkPcT2sWTlvgzjOi8gouJDgHbH3kFuuz5YE4IJFCd_6IFsvAnHYRvorHLoISXECrf/s320/04+sharon+jones.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553295312319527602" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4 09/21/10 Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings Midland </span><br />that night all of KC's music community gathered amongst a smattering of others to see the new James Brown, in heels.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvgk5me4J1_8I-ufWjkpjAjI_QV0cQzpEzu2qSi-PI63u8SBF-E3ISApoaZl5m7SHA84SICfCKRPxuN0gLn8ccrq2PL31fCrwB7uzWJtnQFTHgm0z-rtSCUd5XqjpoXiJnuHDeRJrw1-C/s1600/03+phoenix.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 224px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvgk5me4J1_8I-ufWjkpjAjI_QV0cQzpEzu2qSi-PI63u8SBF-E3ISApoaZl5m7SHA84SICfCKRPxuN0gLn8ccrq2PL31fCrwB7uzWJtnQFTHgm0z-rtSCUd5XqjpoXiJnuHDeRJrw1-C/s320/03+phoenix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553295480866226626" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3 04/21/10 Roman Numerals/Phoenix Uptown </span><br />for RN getting a stage they deserved due to a volcano in Iceland and watching Steve break a string 3 minutes in... and the light show of the Phoenix.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RQ41dtbovUIu3VY1JH-sQkuULXqhcuFnESRLyk5hZhdfclGFFdLHyi0qYZv3cWS7CH2rfNn8WUraNLLTEUJIF-d74mJ3282Y8Dcvl81seQ_kzNod3CNb0SU3CxbcyqN-j_1TA1typBsL/s1600/02+sufjan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4RQ41dtbovUIu3VY1JH-sQkuULXqhcuFnESRLyk5hZhdfclGFFdLHyi0qYZv3cWS7CH2rfNn8WUraNLLTEUJIF-d74mJ3282Y8Dcvl81seQ_kzNod3CNb0SU3CxbcyqN-j_1TA1typBsL/s320/02+sufjan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553295622721550338" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2 10/17/10 Sufjan Stevens Uptown </span><br />I will never forget the 25 minute journey, the voice and that production.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TJh01kRbMyn5hsVW62kPqqMW2fe2TwJaXZAuNc2vntCfb70J1KRnxz3Xs8xNXgC7U1qyXwZvlKq_aFAQqCvtMAKMU9yxeku2eMev0ADNe2UG10fqBzlKvthPKfV2B7d1B340FEC4yPk8/s1600/01+jonsi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 95px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TJh01kRbMyn5hsVW62kPqqMW2fe2TwJaXZAuNc2vntCfb70J1KRnxz3Xs8xNXgC7U1qyXwZvlKq_aFAQqCvtMAKMU9yxeku2eMev0ADNe2UG10fqBzlKvthPKfV2B7d1B340FEC4yPk8/s320/01+jonsi.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553295796188188482" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1 04/22/10 Jonsi Liberty Hall </span><br />their music, Sigur Ros, is my religion and he may very well be my pope.<br /><br /><br />the one thing i want to pass along about this year, and it's something that everyone in the local music community already knows, EVERY night of the week in kansas city or any metropolitan area there is great music being made. all you have to do is read a little bit, look at a website, follow the right person on twitter or friend the right person on facebook and your eyes can be opened to all sorts of awesome. i know it sounds hallmarky, but it's true. next time you plop down $250 to see bon jovi's hair realize that would get you into 35 shows at local venues in kc and almost all of them can sing better than that guy and a few of them even have better hair that guy... and once again, we come full circle back to mark lowrey.concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-43977426680470404472010-12-20T00:42:00.000-06:002010-12-23T10:30:34.179-06:00my top 20 favorite albums of 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50EU59uor3NmFRDwJrwX3oNWqGHAbr56tkfHYL_G_tnC1voDtOxlG68leO3ff5OU7BxGfexz4z-qCfQI86q7bDo7SOhzPT64vFQbrx5bHFDYrluEG8E5OKAv_8DzDpKCW_Ju06EYns9hn/s1600/titus.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50EU59uor3NmFRDwJrwX3oNWqGHAbr56tkfHYL_G_tnC1voDtOxlG68leO3ff5OU7BxGfexz4z-qCfQI86q7bDo7SOhzPT64vFQbrx5bHFDYrluEG8E5OKAv_8DzDpKCW_Ju06EYns9hn/s400/titus.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553030770312655458" /></a><br />(it was time to dust off this blog for "best of" season)<br /><br />the mandatory plot line of a "best of" post/article/story is to say if it was a good/bad/important/lame year in music. i think it's too hard to cast those stones. i'm a "favorites" kind of guy, more than a "best of" guy. i realize if you're a rock/hip hop/country fan you may want to stab me after browsing my list. if you're an indie/shoe gazer/post rock fan you may want to text me and hang out.<br /><br />don't get me wrong i listened to all the same hip hop albums that everyone else did: kanye (there are 2 great songs there), big boi, the roots and cee lo (congrats on your hit song with a bad word in it, rebel). and you know what, i'd rather listen to <a href="http://www.myspace.com/steddyp">steddy p's</a> album "style like mine" from 2009 before any of them. yep, #kcpride.<br /><br />so here are the fruits of my labor. i plowed through 260 plus albums this year. it was a little less than last year, but that's because i was living in bars all year seeing live shows. i always like to point out, of my top 20, i didn't know 9 of the artists before the year began but they won a spot.<br /><br />here you go...<br /><br><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20 Stars - The Five Ghosts</span><br /><br />more great lilting tales from the Canadian songbird and Broken Social Scene contributor Amy Millan and other band mates.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bBRV_9Li6nE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bBRV_9Li6nE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19 Frightened Rabbit - The Winter Of Mixed Drinks </span><br /><br />whiskey soaked Scots put together another good batch of songs of longing and desperation, someday people will know their name.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SzjERZU3wbY?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SzjERZU3wbY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18 Bettie Serveert - Pharmacy Of Love </span><br /><br />loud chick rock shaken at you from Carol van Dyk, similar in vibe to local scene heros from the '90s, Frogpond but they're Dutch.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gpa8f7kXnyA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gpa8f7kXnyA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17 Lissie - Catching A Tiger</span><br /> <br />midwestern singer songwriter with a really good back line that won me over at SXSW, not your typical coffeehouse girl.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/c4s3dOn0GfQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/c4s3dOn0GfQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16 The Album Leaf - A Chorus of Storytellers</span><br /> <br />Jimmy LaValle's San Diego ambient synth rock returns to my favorite albums list, just like in 2004 it's a solid collection of soundscapes.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/9876935" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15 School of Seven Bells - Disconnect From Desire </span><br /><br />shoegazer electro pop from identical twins from NYC and another dude, not long after their fall Record Bar gig one of the twins left the band.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nWtXttiKBzs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nWtXttiKBzs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14 Horse Feathers - Thistled Spring </span><br /><br />indie chamber folk kids from Portland return to my list after their 2008 album, great arrangements of voices and strings.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QSDpSUB6YjA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QSDpSUB6YjA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13 Cowboy Indian Bear - Each Other All The Time </span><br /><br />local Lawrence indie pop boys on The Record Machine label teamed up to make a great album, with more good to come with the addition of Katlyn Conroy.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/K1SFflgu20U?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/K1SFflgu20U?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12 Arcade Fire - The Suburbs </span><br /><br />"best of" darlings team up for another great album full of memorable songs, if they wanted to they could be as big as U2. <br /><br />(this video is a youtube version, to create your own, which is AWESOME, go here <a href="http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com/">http://www.thewildernessdowntown.com<br /><br />/</a>)<br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w44cdIOor7E?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w44cdIOor7E?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11 Tracy Thorn - Love & Its Opposite </span><br /><br />better known as one half of Everything But The Girl, here standing on her own this Brit pours out painfully beautiful songs.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7aGcocZgjkg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7aGcocZgjkg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10 Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz </span><br /><br />midwest indie folk rocker puts down the lyric book and picks up a Casio, or five and goes experimental and it's surprisingly successful.<br /><br /><embed width="400" height="305" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid401.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp94%2Ftheaudiopervjr%2Fsufjanstevensfallon.mp4"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9 Glasser - Ring </span><br /><br />newcomer Cameron Mesirow put together an album filled with airy-synth beats she calls "post-pop" that plays out almost like one really long track.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mQJHNrsMoFU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mQJHNrsMoFU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8 Mimicking Birds - Mimicking Birds</span><br /> <br />3 guys from Portland that won over Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, got on his label then opened for MM, they're better than MM.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/CKOJZsA4jhs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CKOJZsA4jhs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7 Yeasayer - Odd Blood </span><br /> <br />Brooklyn based quintet pushing out really catchy sythny pop beats with pretty decent lyrics to boot, this has been in heavy rotation for 10 months.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-mpqHi9RFew?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-mpqHi9RFew?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6 Titus Andronicus - The Monitor </span><br /><br />these Jersey boys need to go on a US tour and open for The Hold Steady, they share the same feist, grit and drum beats.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/08fqHr_KGPY?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/08fqHr_KGPY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5 Sleigh Bells - Treats </span><br /><br />it sounds like you ran into the studio, turned every knob and switch to 10 then laid down vocals, it's loud and from just 2 kids from Jersey.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fheYx_ZPU18?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fheYx_ZPU18?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4 The Tallest Man on Earth - The Wild Hunt </span><br /><br />music in its simplest form, a man with a voice you wish Dylan still had with his guitar making music, he's a Swede but I bet he likes Nashville.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fJfhaayOAy0?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fJfhaayOAy0?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3 Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can </span><br /><br />she's the girl next door version of Beth Orton, more approachable, less elusive and not so broken hearted yet, she's only 20.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="305"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JvwWzcLfH-k?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JvwWzcLfH-k?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="305"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2 Gonsi - Go </span><br /><br />remember that Icelandic volcano that disrupted the world in April, Eyjafjallajökull, Jonsi is the voice of that volcano.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16331326" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1 The National - High Violet </span><br /><br />there's something about Matt Berninger's voice and the darker arrangements coming from the two sets of siblings backing him, they're responsible for my #1 album of 2008 and the decade, love them with me.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/11653518" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-88173388502663879032010-05-01T12:34:00.002-05:002010-05-01T12:37:37.476-05:0050ish shows on the radar - MAY concert calendar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_z0IlBg8HmDH2lD76ez313OOpD3CyWVa4eRDDcYUT-_60-Ik3zcAe_87wRxWia3fZvRhyphenhyphen9T11__pS8FqnabHZdToRe_sOM8FqqK3VKhVyK9-_WXSwJdarigIIXt7I1SsJsWCb-0GpHloR/s1600/riot.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_z0IlBg8HmDH2lD76ez313OOpD3CyWVa4eRDDcYUT-_60-Ik3zcAe_87wRxWia3fZvRhyphenhyphen9T11__pS8FqnabHZdToRe_sOM8FqqK3VKhVyK9-_WXSwJdarigIIXt7I1SsJsWCb-0GpHloR/s400/riot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466356881402298242" /></a><br />(from my facebook page) the april calendar sparked some interesting conversations, so let's do it again. here's a look at may. 3 shows i'm <br /><br />really geeked about: may 15 hip hop vs Mark Lowrey at Record Bar, the HUGE 3-day event at Riot Room from 5-20 to 5-22 <br /><br />and then Eluvium on may 28 at the Jackpot. going to be another busy month.<br /><br />5-1 Sonic Spectrum Spring Fling with Hammerlord/The Pedaljets/Sons Of Great Dane at Record Bar<br />5-1 Truckstop Honeymoon at R Bar, the new restaurant in The Bottoms <br />5-1 Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship (NE)/Boo & Boo Too/High Diving Ponies at Replay<br />5-2 Arrington Di Dionyso's /This Is My Condition/The Conquerors at Record Bar<br />5-2 Joshua James/Cody Wyoming/Sara Swenson at Crosstown Station<br />5-3 F***ed Up/Rooftop Vigilantes/Dark Ages at Jackpot<br />5-3 Pearl Jam/Band of Horses at Sprint<br />5-4 The Record Machine Presents Switched On with Max Justus & Motorboater at Czar Bar<br />5-4 Stardeath & White Dwarf / Cloud Dog Jackpot Saloon<br />5-6 Unknown Hinson- Knuckleheads<br />5-7 Belle Whether- Midwestern Music<br />5-7 Kirsten Paludan/Margo May at Record Bar<br />5-7 Gil Mantera’s Party Dream/Harlem/The Rich Boys at Riot Room<br />5-7 Found Footage Festival (David Cross and Others) The Granada<br />5-8 Appleseed Cast/ Colony Collapse/The Caves at The Bottleneck<br />5-8 Vi Tran & The Pacific Americana Band at the Brick<br />5-9 MURS/Sick Jacken/STEDDY P. & DJ MAHF at Jackpot<br />5-10 Goochi Boiz, Bleach Bloodz at Riot Room<br />5-10 Converge/Coalesce/Black Breath/Lewd Acts/Canyons at The Bottleneck<br />5-10 Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek at Midland<br />5-10 Ben Hoppes/Madhappy/Scratch Track at Record Bar<br />5-11 RODRIGO Y GABRIELA at Uptown<br />5-12 Red Elvises Knucklehead's<br />5-12 Neil Hamburger Record Bar... See More<br />5-13 Reverend Horton Heat/Cracker/Split Lip Rayfield at Crossroads KC<br />5-13 It’s True (NE)/Katlyn Conroy & The Wild and Wooly/Karma Vision at Replay<br />5-13 Howard Iceberg/The Scott Moyer Band early show at Riot Room<br />5-14 Cowboy Indian Bear & Noise FM CD RELEASE PARTY at Granada<br />5-14 Soft Reeds/It's True at Czar<br />5-14 Phantogram/The Feverbell/Walking Oceans at Riot Room<br />5-14 Matt Pond PA/Bobby Long at Bottleneck<br />5-14 Roseanne Cash at the Folly<br />5-14 Kip Winger- Lucky Brewgrille<br />5-15 MARK LOWERERY VS. HIP HOP at Record Bar<br />5-15 MO CHAINSAW GRASSACRE: Big Smith/Mountain Sprout/Deadman Flats/and more at Crossroads KC<br />5-15 Nomathmatics at Riot Room<br />5-16 Hooligan Record Swap Meet 10am-7pm at Beaumont<br />5-16 Carrie Rodriguez/Jim Lauderdale at Knuckleheads<br />5-16 Conan at Midland<br />5-16 Drag the River at the RecordBar<br />5-16 Mastodon Liberty Hall<br />5-17 Violent Soho/The Architects/Fists Up! at Riot Room<br />5-18 Grisly Hand/The Magpies at Daveys<br />5-19: The Sexy Accident at the RecordBar... See More<br />5-20 to 5-22 Local Artist Overthrow 2 at Riot Room <br />(5-20 Day 1) - Grisly Hand, Cowboy Indian Bear, Its True, The Caves, Sam Billen, DJ Clockwerk<br />(5-21 Day 2) - Audiovox, Pet Comfort, Sleepy Kitty (Ex Harvey Danger), Thieves, Bleach Bloodz, The Noise FM, Troubador <br /><br />Dali, Night Like A Thief, Tambourine Club, Cloud City, Vehicles, DJ 2Live Cruz<br />(5-22 Day 3) - In The Grove, Waiting For Signal, Heroes & Villains, Be/Non Synthesized, Sons Of Great Dane, Actors & <br /><br />Actresses, Latin, The Model Congress, John McKenna Band, Seafarer, DJ Robert Moore (Sonic Spectrum)<br />5-21 Hidden Pictures/Miss America at Eighth Street Taproom in Lawrence<br />5-21 James Taylor/Carole King at Sprint<br />5-21 Martin Sexton at Crosstown Station<br />5-21 early - Oriole Post/Margo May/The Blackbird Revue at Record Bar<br />5-21 late - Reach/The Floozies/Mouth/Hip Hop Jam Session at Record Bar<br />5-21: Ray Price/Billy Joe Shaver/Dale Watson/Dallas Wayne at Knuckleheads<br />5-24 Free State Revival/Tiny Horse/Andrew Anderson at Record Bar<br />5-24 Nice Nice Replay Lounge<br />5-26 Mary and the Giant/Adam Acuragi/Ben Summers at Record Bar<br />5-27 Brannock Device/Stoll Vaughan/Mother Culture at Record Bar<br />5-27 Molly Gene- Davey's Uptown<br />5-28 Eluvium at Jackpot<br />5-28 Paper Bear/Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship/The Belated/Radio City/High Diving Ponies at Riot Room inside<br />5-28 Mr. History/Zap/Restless Breed at Riot Room outside<br />5-28 Glitch Mob at Conspiracy Room next to the Uptown<br />5-28 Victor Wooten Band/Spoonfed Tribe at Crossroads KC<br />5-30 Maxwell/Jill Scott at Starlight<br />5-31: The Good Foot at the Riot Roomconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-74412571305741632422010-03-28T22:02:00.002-05:002010-03-28T22:11:57.001-05:00sxsw 2010, it was the best week ever.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTParEAUzH-aURgJD95P9IcddscHR9oEyoUQq7tcSvB5-udgdkpN1cA8lDkm4D75Z7lodwY-YzLrQQAPeZlG7hlebn1IzgsJSYjRmnjtCTb8JApdQbNmYsKybzuLjhqtO5VcxbwCvorVy/s1600/rogue+wave.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmTParEAUzH-aURgJD95P9IcddscHR9oEyoUQq7tcSvB5-udgdkpN1cA8lDkm4D75Z7lodwY-YzLrQQAPeZlG7hlebn1IzgsJSYjRmnjtCTb8JApdQbNmYsKybzuLjhqtO5VcxbwCvorVy/s400/rogue+wave.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453887932009056130" /></a><br />here's my sxsw wrap up.<br /><br />it was my 2nd trip to sxsw. last year was my first and we were there for 4 nights. this year we were there for 7 nights. and perhaps more importantly, next year we will be there for 4 nights. 7 nights is WAY too long.<br /><br />the fest was amazing. i managed to catch 76 bands in 23 different venues over the 7 days. not all of those are full sets, but if you've been to sxsw you know how it works, arriving early to see the band you really want to see and discovering new acts along the way as you wait for a set change.<br /><br />by far the coolest thing this year was running into so many kc folks on the streets and hanging with kc folks at the shows. also, a big thanks to my roommates shannon, jimmy and harper (and blake and buchholtz). another big thanks to josh, steve, billy, rhonda, mary, abby, chris, john, sheppa, emily, nic, jake and everyone else i may have forgotten and all the kc bands that made the trek. kc represented in a huge way down there and i know plans have already begun to make next year even bigger.<br /><br />here's a rundown of the shows i caught.<br /><br />sunday<br />McAlister Drive pure volume house<br />Shinobi Ninja pure volume house<br /><br />monday<br />The Good The Bad latitude 30<br />Nat Jenkins latitude 30<br />Chris Shefflett latitude 30<br />Beans on Toast latitude 30<br />Smokey Angle Shades latitude 30<br />Supernovas latitude 30<br />Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. latitude 30<br />Billy Bragg latitude 30 (i got to meet Billy Bragg!)<br /><br />tuesday<br />Johnny Flynn pure volume house<br />Jakob Dylan & Neko pure volume house<br />Shunda K beauty bar inside<br />Shondes beauty bar<br />Pomagranates beauty bar<br /><br />wednesday<br />Brazos (solo lead singer) hilton lobby<br />Basia Bulat galaxy<br />Rural Alberta Advantage emos outside<br />Broken Bells parking garage<br />Mynameisjohnmichael mohawk outside<br />Small Black mohawk outside<br />Anni Rossi mohawk inside<br />Toro y Noi mohawk inside<br />Washed Out mohawk outside<br />Dan Black mohawk outside<br />Besnard Lakes mohawk outside<br />Lucy and the Popsonics vice<br />Zoe Keating central presbyterian<br />Balmorhea central presbyterian<br />Sharon Jones/Dap Kings stubbs<br />Men malverde<br />jj malverde<br />Sleigh Bells malverde<br /><br />thursday<br />Frightened Rabbit hilton lobby<br />Lou Barlow galaxy<br />The Low Anthem galaxy<br />The Middle East galaxy<br />Black Prairie galaxy outside<br />Dum Dum Girls french legation museum<br />Holly Miranda french legation museum<br />The XX french legation museum<br />Sarah Jaffe st david's<br />Miles Kurosky emos outside<br />Rogue Wave emos outside<br />Efterklang buffalo billiards<br />Marina & the Diamonds lamberts<br />Nomathmatics canvas<br /><br />friday<br />John Hiatt hilton lobby<br />Courtyard Hounds hilton lobby<br />Lissie beauty bar<br />Joe Pug beauty bar<br />The Low Anthem beauty bar<br />Ben Nichols beauty bar<br />This Will Destroy You pure volume house<br />The Honey Brothers pure volume house<br />Freelance Whales galaxy outside<br />An Horse galaxy outside<br />Local Natives galaxy outside<br />Fashawn mohawk outside<br />Frankie Rose mohawk inside<br />Grass Widow mohawk inside<br />The Pains of Being Pure at Heart mohawk inside<br /><br />saturday<br />The Middle East convention center<br />Tiny Horse canvas<br />Beautiful Bodies canvas<br />Mother Culture canvas<br />Restless Breed canvas<br />Cowboy Indian Bear canvas<br />Cherry Tee Parade canvas<br />Frightened Rabbit french legation museum (this was my favorite set at sxsw this year)<br />The Sandwitches mohawk inside<br />Turbo Fruits mohawk outside<br />Surfer Blood mohawk outside<br />The Oh Sees mohawk outside<br />The Hood Internet karma lounge<br />Electric President karma lounge<br /><br />-cc<br /><br />poster by Public Domain<br />matt at publicdomaindesign.comconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-86717731360547576322010-01-17T23:49:00.004-06:002010-01-17T23:58:13.181-06:00t-minus two months until sxsw<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-ucwyJRzovAISDRtFc6__Cd-ZdVR8rVUQT37VnAe_UvTLcrEn0gLNXSEQjOEgSy4mWc_Y_NnA1Qu0vGpv0bsssCmcRDcKyEKcQm2pn788ttgdsLVHegvm2ozIMUEmbkgFdpwR5q1zt4A/s1600-h/efter+sxsw.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-ucwyJRzovAISDRtFc6__Cd-ZdVR8rVUQT37VnAe_UvTLcrEn0gLNXSEQjOEgSy4mWc_Y_NnA1Qu0vGpv0bsssCmcRDcKyEKcQm2pn788ttgdsLVHegvm2ozIMUEmbkgFdpwR5q1zt4A/s400/efter+sxsw.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427954750265953362" /></a><br />it's only two months away! here's a few more artists to check out when you're in austin.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="www.myspace.com/olofarnalds ">Ólöf Arnalds</a></span><br /> <br />any friend of Sigur Ros is a friend of mine. she plays a mix of Icelandic folk mixed with coffee house music. good stuff.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br /><a href="www.myspace.com/azureray">Azure Ray</a></span><br /><br />together again! Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor, two great singer songwriters from Omaha are getting their old group back together. should be a beautiful set.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/danielson">Danielson</a><br /><br />on one of the more mysterious labels right now Secretly Canadian Records, this should be an experimental and weird, but good time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="www.myspace.com/katedmonson ">Kat Edmonson</a></span><br /> <br />a good mix of jazz and pop from the girl next door. she's from austin, so it could be a good turnout.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="www.myspace.com/deertick "><br />Deer Tick</a></span><br /><br />good, raspy-voiced indie folk and alt-country type stuff. front man, John McCauley's got one of those voices that can capture you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="www.myspace.com/efterklang ">Efterklang</a></span><br /> <br />they are a danish group that sounds like Sigur Ros at times and Grizzly Bear at others. if these guys get to play in Second Presby Church venue it could be a special night. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/morrelectric">Electric President </a></span><br /><br />if this really happens i'll be so happy. their self-titled album from 2006 was awesome and then they disappeared. it's good mix of folk, pop and electronica; three magic words when used in the same sentence make me really happy. these guys were on the Morr label, every artist on this German label is amazing too. <br /><br />-ccconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-68838488592823028712010-01-09T14:15:00.007-06:002010-01-09T14:24:27.207-06:00once over: "contra" by vampire weekend, release date jan 12<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgekbzr1d5uVOj4HOhQ62m1NY46wBvxg3fIu9DFg-q3Q-G5jxyMFycNSyMM9em2ExieswK5Ss3HvbNxMGOmyhHJ1dala_H1sucBTaSGAFmJBPCR5PTL8FgyGtSxjZOGLB9_Ha0oKBvqEn6X/s1600-h/vampire+weekend+poster.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgekbzr1d5uVOj4HOhQ62m1NY46wBvxg3fIu9DFg-q3Q-G5jxyMFycNSyMM9em2ExieswK5Ss3HvbNxMGOmyhHJ1dala_H1sucBTaSGAFmJBPCR5PTL8FgyGtSxjZOGLB9_Ha0oKBvqEn6X/s400/vampire+weekend+poster.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424836356929328130" /></a><br />i loved the first release from vampire weekend. it was a self-titled release in 2008 from the four students from columbia university. it had a sound that i hadn't heard for a long time. i'd say the closest thing i could relate it to was paul simon during his "graceland" and rhythm of the saints" days. <br /><br />i'm not saying it was a classic like "graceland" is, but who knows in ten years how "vampire weekend" will be viewed.<br /><br />with their new album, "contra", before pushing play i was expecting a repeat. thinking a lot more of the same. happily, it sounds like their sound in the two years since their last release has got deeper. the lyrics are a little tighter. the music's a little more open. some of the songs feel a little synth-ed up and even some dabblings in electronica. i can dig that.<br /><br />if you had a chance to see these guys live at liberty hall in lawrence on 9/11/08 at their amazingly packed and sold out show you know they look like four boys plucked from cul-de-sacs in the neighboring suburbs. nice, and clean shaven, this album feels more skinny jeans and PBR friendly. it's got more of a hipster, indie vibe to it and that's fine. i mean, they did all go to columbia, i think hipster flows through the water fountains on that campus.<br /><br />if the last track of the album, "i think ur a contra" is any indication of the direction of this band, you know the same way a franchise film leaves you hanging knowing there will be a sequel, vamprie weekend's third album will be their best. it's a mix of grizzly bear and the antlers. i know a lot of bands are heading down that road right now, but that road's one of my favorite streets in town.<br /><br />favorite track: "horchata"<br />here's a video from a live show, but overdubbed is the audio from the album. this being the second week of the year, in the bleak of mid-winter so to speak, this song really makes you remember summertime. a feeling we could all use a little of in kansas city right now.<br /><br /><object width="400" height="180"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WUgwPkPqAU4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WUgwPkPqAU4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="180"></embed></object>concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-73776093933992539312010-01-05T06:55:00.010-06:002010-01-04T23:07:28.668-06:00it's only tuesday, but let's talk about the weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuUnO0_2I8Meo9fctFxX5HLWxs9IIbGHnA_xTs_LKSSJyQ0p5S1n58Orqp8xZtelQnMS3LDSZsI_Isr1RKkVL9uu7mhcXw99hUiZgnZtG2fzpjEPuAz1xk5pv4cWNvcPkDlFQSLPYPUiW/s1600-h/ala+Gravityink.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuUnO0_2I8Meo9fctFxX5HLWxs9IIbGHnA_xTs_LKSSJyQ0p5S1n58Orqp8xZtelQnMS3LDSZsI_Isr1RKkVL9uu7mhcXw99hUiZgnZtG2fzpjEPuAz1xk5pv4cWNvcPkDlFQSLPYPUiW/s400/ala+Gravityink.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423099684037141906" /></a><br />this weekend may offer 2 feet of snow and some other polar bear friendly conditions, but you need to crawl out of your cave. there's WAY too much cool stuff happening for you to stay home and watch another "jersey shore" marathon on mtv.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">FRIDAY NIGHT - your agenda</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">what: Mid America Manifesto: Music Poster Design and Printmaker Showcase</span><br />where: 1819 Central Gallery + Event Space<br />when: the gallery opens friday, january 8 at 6:00 pm. it will remain on display until march 4<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=132658249833&index=1">more info here</a>. <br /><br />the gallery will feature concert posters from some of your favorite local and national bands and probably some of the bands you are in. the Alacartoona poster above is by GravityInk who will be at the event.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">what: Michael Byars gets the "Tantrum" treatment at the Westport Coffeehouse Theatre</span><br />when: Friday, January 8 from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=226374234793&index=1">more info here</a>.<br /><br />the good people of the Tantrum improvisational troupe have been looking for a sacrificial lamb to start the new decade with - guess who? our favorite KCUR Morning Edition host, Michael Byars. it should be a good and hilarious time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">what: Brannock Device, Howard Iceberg and Grisly Hand at Davey's Uptown</span><br />when: Friday, January 8 at 9:30 pm<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=154305922367&index=1">more info here</a>.<br /><br />THREE great bands all under one warm roof.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">what: Mark Lowrey vs Hip Hop at Czar Bar</span><br />when: Friday, January 8 at 10 pm<br />what it all means: Lowrey and Brandon Draper will be playing jazz vs the freestyle hip hop stylings of Les Izmore (hearts of darkness), Sephiroth, Vertigone, and Swayzorblades<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">SATURDAY NIGHT - your agenda<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span></span><br /><br /><object width="400" height="180"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3WV_1cEGe2M&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3WV_1cEGe2M&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="180"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">what: <a href="http://www.myspace.com/oldcanes">The Old Canes</a>, The Caves and Cowboy Indian Bear</span> <br />when: Saturday, January 9 at 10 pm<br />what it all means: back in 2004, one of Tim Finn's favorite albums of the year was "Early Morning Hymns" by The Old Canes. in 2009 they re-emerged and are now signed to Saddle Creek. the video above shows the creation of their newest album from 2009, "Feral Harmonic".<br /><br />additionally, it was one of my favorite albums of the year in 2004 and the lead singer, Chris Crisci is the lead singer of my beloved, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theappleseedcast">The Appleseed Cast</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq6UZc8zyvHJBlR1GihHNNfMNQdORZtRzgsnaoq_6PoRVYHnAezgukS8GKgXbhKh5T0d4Z2ux0e5-Z2VTGFHSa57ojNqhCPVJUHlevhMmz4iiQwPShCvGu4YZ-Fu85YwPGeqrXilh8z3B/s1600-h/sheppa+tix.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq6UZc8zyvHJBlR1GihHNNfMNQdORZtRzgsnaoq_6PoRVYHnAezgukS8GKgXbhKh5T0d4Z2ux0e5-Z2VTGFHSa57ojNqhCPVJUHlevhMmz4iiQwPShCvGu4YZ-Fu85YwPGeqrXilh8z3B/s400/sheppa+tix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423116007443300946" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">what: screening of the film, "The Room" and SH3PP@MA+ICS (Nomath/Botnet Hive) at Czar Ba</span>r<br />when: Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 9:05pm - till 3am (yep, now open till 3am)<br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=232066217309&ref=mf">more info here</a>.<br /><br />come for a screening of the cult classic film and stay for beats by SH3PP@MA+ICS (Nomath/Botnet Hive) & IGGYBABY (Botnet Hive).concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-49299171893197741032010-01-01T19:44:00.007-06:002010-01-01T19:57:28.741-06:00my favorite shows of the decade in kansas city - 23 of them<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIdbwrcfwhLDkSqXK6dXqhdQAdHFAzEcboj-VT2anIINKnaFUbjTpWSzhygfj8RIqstI52IgcSDaocgeK9FEZgwbvEsIBU9wpFSCLFR3xNIwBv2S0jsnhvViOSqqvCsTLZ85tar-1fcqY/s1600-h/sigur+ros+rec+bar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 253px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTIdbwrcfwhLDkSqXK6dXqhdQAdHFAzEcboj-VT2anIINKnaFUbjTpWSzhygfj8RIqstI52IgcSDaocgeK9FEZgwbvEsIBU9wpFSCLFR3xNIwBv2S0jsnhvViOSqqvCsTLZ85tar-1fcqY/s400/sigur+ros+rec+bar.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421952569262326706" /></a><br /><br />all these lists, when will they end? well, pretty soon. this list is a list i tried to avoid making. however after reading over all of the lists submitted on tim finn's (one of my favorite people in the world) <a href="http://backtorockville.typepad.com/back_to_rockville/2009/12/shows-of-the-decade.html">back to rockville blog</a> i was motivated.<br /><br />the lists there were heavy on kemper arena and sprint center shows. i've said it a hundred times, your favorite band should never play sprint center, or whatever large box arena in the city you live. if your favorite show can happen in the bottleneck, in a room that can hold 400 people, where the artist walks through the room to get on stage you're guaranteed a more intimate show. and in many cases you can meet the band at the merch table or by their van (notice i didn't say bus).<br /><br />so, with smaller venues in mind, i give you my favorite shows of the decade from kansas city and lawrence in the order they happened.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1/20/00 our lady peace hurricane</span><br />i loved this band. they were at their peak, playing huge rooms but took the night off and played a tiny room and on top of that it was an all acoustic show.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8/4/01 the appleseed cast hurricane</span><br />this show was ground breaking for me. their album "low level owl: volume 1" was about to come out and it was my first time seeing the cast. even now, almost 10 years later i get excited for everyone of their shows. and the best part, they're from right here in kansas city!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11/27/01 u2 kemper</span><br />10 weeks after 9-11 U2 plucked all the heart strings in that building for 2 hours. it really was an amazing show.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3/9/02 nikka costa beaumont </span><br />the crowd was small, but mighty for this funk, jam rock, dance party. unfortunately nikka continues to fly below the radar but she deserves the big stage. book her at bonnaroo before phish and she'd be huge!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4/22/02 sasha and digweed uptown</span><br />out of the way haters. back in the early 2000s kansas city had a small, but loyal electronica scene. small shows happened every weekend in the craziest of rooms. when this show was announced, in that community, it was like the beatles were coming.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11/14/02 aimee mann liberty hall</span><br />aimee's ability to spoon out her soul and feed it to her audience is amazing. that night everything was perfect. she was on tour in support of hew new album, "lost in space" coming off of "bachelor no. 2" and her contributions to the "magnolia" film soundtrack had her at her peak and earning well deserved respect.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9/17/03 rem starlight</span><br />i was with great friends and we had just lost a dear friend a month to the date of that show. michael stipe said her name twice and dedicated "nightswimming" to her. it was amazing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">04/28/04 damien rice liberty hall</span><br />i'd built this show up in my head for six months and it lived up to the hype. he turned liberty hall into a library, so quiet and attentive. damo and lisa hannigan's vocals ripped through that place.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6/18/2005 matisyahu wakarusa</span><br />his heyday has certainly passed, but that night during his 3am set on the campground stage, musically it was like seeing snow for the first time. to see a hasidic jew in full garb, suit, hat, vest, and a profound beard beat boxing it was something else.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">07/08/05 the album leaf jackpot</span><br />it was a show that brought out the uber smug and man were we a happy bunch. most of the time when you love a band you want everyone to know about them. you not knowing about this band is ok with me. i'll keep it for myself. that's how good it was. please come back.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8/23/05 the white stripes starlight</span><br />from the second row, during the second song i said to my buddy, this will be one of the best shows we ever see. and it was. i know bono thinks he's god, but i'd rather believe in jack white.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10/8/05 william elliott whitmore replay</span><br />it was $2 to see this show. $2. think about that. will sat on a stool in the corner of the replay lounge and it was like a friend playing in your living room, but a friend who sounded like a young tom waits.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2/18/06 NIN kemper</span><br />i was a fan of their music but didn't know what to expect. the production was crazy, scrim, huge projector, moving stage structures and perhaps bigger than all that trent reznor's expressed appreciation for his fans standing by him while he went through a crazy period of his life.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2/22/06 sigur ros uptown</span><br />the first time i saw them was five months before this show in minneapolis and it goes down as one of the best shows i've ever seen. this was equally impressive, but better it was in my hometown and i didn't need a hotel room.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5/22/06 imogean heap bottleneck</span><br />i've never seen the bottleneck so full and so hot. the walls were sweating. she was a fast, rising star and filled the stage with her musical trinkets and gadgetry and together the room lived her music. she came back six months later to liberty hall. it was equally impressive and equally full.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10/3/06 mew bottleneck</span><br />i had never heard of them and i'd only listened to them on cd for the first time on the drive from kansas city to the bottleneck. they had a guitar tech at the bottleneck. they brought in extra boards, extra lights, extra crew... madonna could have played they had so much stuff. once they fired it up it was beyond impressive.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">03/31/07 explosions in the sky bottleneck</span><br />i had no idea how anyone knew about this band. then i learned about the tv show "friday night lights" and that the explosions impressively score every episode. then it made sense why the room was so full and so young. those guys filled the room with their musical thrashings for the most receiving of crowds. i was overjoyed to see a young crowd turn out like that to see an "instrumental" band, or a band that has no singer. they would come back later to the granada and do the same thing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11/21/07 john butler trio voodoo</span><br />every once in a while kansas city surprises me. this was one of those nights. it was the night before thanksgiving which is a great night to go to the bars, but i was imagining a terrible night to go see an australian band at a casino that had never played in kansas city before. people showed up in droves! we were all treated to one of the best performances of butler's well known "ocean" that i'd ever heard.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">05/05/08 the swell season uptown</span><br />less than 3 months after giving their acceptance speech for winning an oscar for the film "once" they came through town and filled the uptown with such a great love story. as impressive as the show was, was the sold out crowd that came out for the show. again, kansas city surprised me. their return show in 2009 was also another remarkable night.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">09/05/08 this will destroy you jackpot</span><br />watching their drummer andrew miller is like watching "neo" in "the matrix". no one moves like that. his drumsticks are only sticks for a few seconds before they become shrapnel flying through the air. that kind of intensity pounded the walls of the jackpot all night. i love these guys.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">05/11/09 manchester orchestra record bar<br />06/24/09 phoenix record bar<br />11/09/09 leonard cohen midland</span><br />you can read my thoughts on these shows in an older post <a href="http://concertchris.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-top-20-favorite-shows-of-year-kc-and.html">HERE</a>.<br /><br />2010 to 2019 has some lofty goals. good luck.<br /><br />-ccconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-60041954358137014782009-12-31T09:52:00.004-06:002009-12-31T18:55:49.579-06:0010 things to look forward in 2010 and other bits<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZFI9CrR-f4MBrTAYWVIhLztFbBV9Pc0dKttMIcfX-qheVB1nx83DzmUeLK5mZK59FLQOI1hbzPuyA8ClQAD4vVr_CvfSrkuTKTA8wfioslnnxAImm2DQ8X93UU1j72vqks8NMU0fpNtp/s1600-h/stripes+poster452.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZFI9CrR-f4MBrTAYWVIhLztFbBV9Pc0dKttMIcfX-qheVB1nx83DzmUeLK5mZK59FLQOI1hbzPuyA8ClQAD4vVr_CvfSrkuTKTA8wfioslnnxAImm2DQ8X93UU1j72vqks8NMU0fpNtp/s400/stripes+poster452.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420563545513142258" /></a><br />2009 was great and as we are about to enter 2010 there are a few things to look forward to. musically, of course. let's discuss.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />SXSW 2010 - march 17 - 21</span><br />my first trip in 2009 was the best week of my life. hands down. hoping for a repeat or at least as close to one as i can get this march. there's still time to make plans for you to go.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">THE NATIONAL - new album, date and name TBD</span><br />the album has some HUGE shoes to fill as a follow up to Boxer, that album is on handfuls of "albums of the decade" list, including mine.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">FRIGHTENED RABBIT - new album, march 9, "winter of mixed drinks"</span><br />they already released the first single and i heard it live this summer, it's great. the album's going to be more of the same, which is piles of awesome. hopefully they'll get some more recognition this time in the states.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">THE APPLESEED CAST - new tour playing old songs, february and march</span><br />local heroes (of mine) are getting ready to hit the road in february and will be playing in full TWO of my favorite albums of all time, "low level owl: volume 1 and 2." if this was ten years ago i'd hope that someone with power would be in the room at one of those gigs. these days people of power don't exist, so i'll just wish them a successful tour and hope they sell a ton of merch to pay the bills.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JONSI BIRGISSON (Sigur Ros frontman) - new album, march 23, "go"</span><br />my icelandic hero jonsi is putting out a solo album. not sure how "solo" it will be, but i'm positive it will be remarkable. i'll starting lighting candles in hope of a tour.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">ALBUM LEAF - new album, february 2, "a chorus of storytellers"</span><br />i'm amazed that these guys aren't household names yet. and live, they put on a special show. maybe we'll get a tour too.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">LILITH FAIR festival - summer 2010</span><br />obviously not an album, but a tour, but it should be great. kansas city isn't on their agenda yet, but the line will be well worth the drive.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JJ - new album, march 9, name TBD</span><br />this obscure band shall be obscure no more! properly signed to a label and currently lining up things for a new release. this album will be a sxsw darling and probably make it impossible for me to see them in austin a week after the album is cut.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">JJ to tour with XX - spring 2010</span><br />hipsters get in line! should be a great time. the pairing only happens 7 times. not sure if i'll make it to a show, but the musical smugness in that room makes me happy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">WHITE STRIPES Documentary, march, "great white northern lights"</span><br />jack white was in one of my favorite movies in 2009, "it might get loud". perhaps in 2010 he'll pull a repeat with their tour documentary. they played tiny towns in crazy small corners of the world. the movie should be awesome.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">other bits:</span><br />VAMPIRE WEEKEND - new album, january 12, "contra"<br />ARCADE FIRE - new album, may release, name unknown<br />THE COLBERT REPORT - more musical bookings<br />THE HOLD STEADY - hinted at new album in 2010, not much else known<br />CAT POWER - chan marshall drops some hints of a new album in late 2010<br />FLEET FOXES - heard in an interview, should have something out in fall 2010<br />BAND OF HORSES - new album, date TBD, "night rainbows"<br />PETER GABRIEL - new album, feb. 15, "scratch my back"<br />JOHN BUTLER TRIO - new album, date TBD, "april uprising"concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-11188027879541889322009-12-26T08:43:00.002-06:002010-01-02T00:14:41.343-06:00my top 30 favorite albums of the decade<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVh8GKwWwa32D3OlmvNC-YlajpimsAsK5_R0UCYifJ_JbbkJ04k5CZ1z2puJRms03qddYBprcmA8DQcqStnnu1PnCx741l-rmDSSnMxNKPyP3kTuwQEc2FFAAXj0uRQmKDbkSdLn1e2Ue/s1600-h/decade+art.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVh8GKwWwa32D3OlmvNC-YlajpimsAsK5_R0UCYifJ_JbbkJ04k5CZ1z2puJRms03qddYBprcmA8DQcqStnnu1PnCx741l-rmDSSnMxNKPyP3kTuwQEc2FFAAXj0uRQmKDbkSdLn1e2Ue/s400/decade+art.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415665578446729426" /></a><br />in the previous decade i dabbled in music. this decade i lived in it. i suppose that's the difference between being a fan and an addict.<br /><br />live music, studio albums, a music blog (RIP patchchord and now this thing), trekked all around this country, made lifelong music friends in kansas city and every where else, built up a ridiculous collection of music... so, i'm a little biased here, but i'll call it my favorite decade of music. i know those will argue that the beatles and the early rolling stones era were far superior but i'll stick with the first decade in the 2000s. i imagine myself and most of my music snob peers would have turned our noses to the music coming out of the radio back then and gone out in search of something else. the same way we do now.<br /><br />putting this list together was a ridiculous process. you hide in a dark room holed up with your favorite album of the moment playing on your headphones and try and think back on TEN years. you check play counts on iTunes. you dig through stacks of cds. you flip through some vinyl. you think back to the albums that changed your life. that might sound silly, but if you're reading this blog, you probably "get it", i hope you do.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">all these things in mind, i give to you my favorite 30 albums of the 2000s.</span><br /><br />30 bachelor no.2 <a href="http://www.myspace.com/aimeemann">aimee mann</a> 2000<br />29 one cello x 16: natoma <a href="http://www.myspace.com/zoecello">zoe keating</a> 2006<br />28 our endless numbered days <a href="http://www.myspace.com/ironandwine">iron and wine</a> 2004<br />27 underneath the stars <a href="http://www.myspace.com/katerusby">kate rusby</a> 2004<br />26 wolfgang amadeus phoenix <a href="http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix">phoenix</a> 2009<br />25 the sunset tree <a href="http://www.myspace.com/themountaingoats">the mountain goats</a> 2005<br />24 soviet kitsch <a href="http://www.myspace.com/reginaspektor">regina spektor</a> 2004<br />23 get behind me satan <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thewhitestripes">the white stripes</a> 2005<br />22 silent alarm <a href="http://www.myspace.com/blocparty">bloc party</a> 2005<br />21 guero <a href="http://www.myspace.com/beck">beck</a> 2005<br />20 oh my god charlie darwin <a href="http://www.myspace.com/lowanthem">the low anthem</a> 2009<br />19 hymns for the hopeless <a href="http://www.myspace.com/williamewhitmore">william elliot whitmore</a> 2003<br />18 if you want blood <a href="http://www.myspace.com/markkozelek">mark kozelek</a> 2001<br />17 the earth is not a cold dead place <a href="http://www.myspace.com/explosionsinthesky">explosions in the sky</a> 2003<br />16 give up <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thepostalservice">the postal service</a> 2002<br />15 the midnight organ fight <a href="http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit">frightened rabbit</a> 2008<br />14 carnavas <a href="http://www.myspace.com/silversunpickups">silversun pickups</a> 2007<br />13 details <a href="http://www.myspace.com/imogenheap">frou frou</a> 2002<br />12 kid a <a href="http://www.myspace.com/radiohead">radiohead</a> 2000<br />11 time without consequences <a href="http://www.myspace.com/aleximurdoch">alexi murdoch</a> 2006<br />10 since i left you <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theavalanches">the avalanches</a> 2001<br />i can remember where i was when i first heard this and the first person i called and dropped a "dude, you're not going to believe this album i just picked up" on.<br /><br />9 i’m wide awake, it’s morning <a href="http://www.myspace.com/brighteyes">bright eyes</a> 2005<br />from the lyrics, to the lo-fi production, to the guests, i think it's his opus.<br /><br />8 young mountain <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thiswilldestroyyou">this will destroy you</a> 2006<br />the band name speaks volumes here, this will destroy you! it's not a title as much as it is a warning. brace yourself.<br /><br />7 solace <a href="http://www.myspace.com/xavierrudd">xavier rudd</a> 2004<br />this album is responsible for airfare all around this country. xavier took folky, jam rock and incorporated the didgeridoo into it and gained masses of fans worldwide.<br /><br />6 boys and girls in america <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theholdsteady">the hold steady</a> 2006<br />i was late to this party, and what a crazy, killer party it is. sex, drugs, rock and roll being preached at you from pastor finn.<br /><br />5 the animal years <a href="http://www.myspace.com/joshritter">josh ritter</a> 2006<br />some of the finest songwriting i've ever heard is on this album. paste magazine agreed and named him one of the best, living songwriters.<br /><br />4 low level owl, vol. 1 <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theappleseedcast">the appleseed cast</a> 2001<br />this album pushed me towards a genre of music i never knew about. produced by ed rose, i have him and the cast to thank for turning me onto so many bands.<br /><br />3 boxer <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thenational">the national</a> 2007<br />i hate when people have a song as their cell ringtone, but my ringtone comes from this album. that's as big a compliment as i could ever give a band.<br /><br />2 O <a href="http://www.myspace.com/damienrice">damien rice</a> 2003<br />this album came a long at a crazy time in my life and filled some holes. i've been fortunate to tell him that and thank him for that in person.<br /><br />1 ( ) <a href="http://www.myspace.com/sigurros">sigur rós</a> 2002<br />not everybody gets it, but who wants to be everybody. grab your headphones, fire up the iPod and forget about the world. this album is so good, it hardly feels real.concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-34799346030093568162009-12-18T02:45:00.001-06:002009-12-18T04:25:21.174-06:00my top 20 favorite shows of the year, kc and elsewhere<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYqPWVZ-Ha67nqeFNGaDkgcSimBjDjQ694xIEAHHN2IqU52zUgFip9_njTNCgknJda1O-e9YannuCe1jX-e5b29gXb5AzOE4E35DGcsYOwtJ1vNGMZ8J3BBll1Rp_PVmXoU7qouL59Atw/s1600-h/best+of+live.bmp"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdYqPWVZ-Ha67nqeFNGaDkgcSimBjDjQ694xIEAHHN2IqU52zUgFip9_njTNCgknJda1O-e9YannuCe1jX-e5b29gXb5AzOE4E35DGcsYOwtJ1vNGMZ8J3BBll1Rp_PVmXoU7qouL59Atw/s400/best+of+live.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411440039872993474" /></a><br />Some people go to Florida for vacation. Some people go to Chiefs games. Some people are in book clubs. Well, I hate Florida, the Chiefs are disastrous and I’m not much of a book reader, i like audio books. What I’m getting at is, while they are out doing those things, I’m at a show. <br /><br />This year opened some new doors for me. I made my first trip to SXSW in Austin and will go every year going forward (several of my fave shows were in Austin). I also went to Pitchfork Music Fest in Chicago, yeah, but won’t be going back to that one. My out of town shows were only a fraction of the shows I took in. <br /><br />Yeah, so lots of bands were seen, heard and felt. The year should end with a tally of about 275 bands seen, here’s a list of my favorite 20 favorite shows.<br /><br />20. Lisa Hannigan 3-20 at B.D. Riley’s Austin, TX – SXSW Day Showcase<br />19. Katie Herzig 10-10 at Crosstown Station, KC<br />18. Glasvegas 3-19 at The Mohawk Austin, TX – SXSW Day Showcase<br />17. ACBs with Ces Cru 2-14 at The Record Bar, KC<br />16. An Horse 4-25 at The Record Bar, KC<br />15. Green Day 8-12 at Spring Center, KC<br />14. Flyleaf 8-9 at The Beaumont Club, KC<br />13. Over the Rhine 8-18 at Crosstown Station, KC<br />12. Swell Season 11-30 at The Uptown, KC<br />11. Brandi Carlile 9-14 at The Beaumont Club, KC<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. Passion Pit 9-1 at The Lied Center, Lawrence, KS</span><br /><br />I know this band will never come back to KC after the stage incident, but I really dug their show on KU's campus. Seeing all the 18 year old freshmen discover their new found freedoms a few days before the semester began made the show even more memorable.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. Bela Fleck’s Africa Project 4-2 at The Uptown, KC</span><br /><br />I’ve been a fan of African music since I first heard Paul Simon’s “Graceland”. Bela is a huge fan and traveled around Africa building a band of merry musicians and brought them to America to play for us. Thanks for doing that Bela.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. The Hold Steady 3-20 at The Mohawk Austin, TX – SXSW Showcase</span><br /><br />If you haven’t seen The Hold Steady it’s like spending the night at a friend’s house in high school and waking up on Sunday morning and going to church, and realizing their church is nothing like the church you’ve grown numb too. Preacher Finn, preach on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. The Rural Alberta Adventure 3-19 at Central Presbyterian Church Austin, TX – SXSW Showcase</span><br /><br />The coolest venue in the coolest town at the coolest fest, these 3 kids had no idea what was in store for them. If you pull the spot in front of Grizzly Bear you’ll get a full house. And if you’re a good band, particularly playing in a church as it was, these fans will go forth and spread thy word. Then you’ll get signed to Saddle Creek records. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. This Will Destroy You 3-18 at SOHO Austin, TX – SXSW Showcase</span><br /><br />To quote The Matrix, “I’ve never seen anyone move like that”, when I watch TWDY’s drummer I always remember that line. Wooden shards were flying above his head in this crowded, upstairs bar on Sixth Street. All music fans should see this band.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. Manchester Orchestra 5-11 at The Record Bar, KC</span><br /><br />This was a radio promo show and most of those are lame. Here’s a glaring exception. Andy Hull, MO’s frontman destroyed that room last night with his crazy range and with two full drum sets rattling the windows of the Record Bar for almost 2 hours.<br />Photo by Brittney Bush<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. Frightened Rabbit 7-19 at The Bottom Lounge, Chicago</span><br /><br />In 3 years they’ll be at the Sprint Center (although I hope I’m wrong), so see them sooner than later. It’s a timid name for this Scottish indie rock outfit. Their lyrics will crush you. They’ll be back in the US this spring at SXSW and then a tour.<br /><br />photo by Euan Anderson<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. Phoenix 6-24 at The Record Bar, KC</span><br /><br />This was a Myspace (not-so) Secret Show. The line was the length of the shopping center at The Record Bar. It was about 92 that day and I waited 3 hours to get my bracelet to get in. It would have been worth a 10-hour wait.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">SIDEBAR:<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span><br /><br />My favorite moment of the year came in this Phoenix show. I got to see a band that I really like, in a bar that I love, in the smallest venue on their tour all less than 400 steps from my home. Really. The entire show had built up to this fever pitch that would explode during the song “1901.” Every refrain, as the crowd shouted back at the band, “Fallen, fallen, fallen”, well it was amazing. I know that sounds silly right now, but some of you get it and some of you were there. They stretched out the middle for a few extra chords as they teased us, anticipating the last verse of the song. Somewhere in that moment if felt like the roof was about to rip off the building. Everyone was hot, we’d been waiting all day/night and this was one of the songs the crowd came to see. The studio version of the song is awesome, but this live version was something else.<br /><br />Photo by Todd Zimmer <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimfo/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimfo/</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. The National 7-16 at First Ave Minneapolis, MN</span><br /><br />I hadn’t been this excited to see a band for the 1st time in a long while and they didn’t disappoint. I can’t believe they’re not a household name yet. That night front man Matt Berninger took us all on a crazy trip with his deep baritone voice guiding us. Please come back to KC.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. Leonard Cohen 11-9 at The Midland Theater, KC</span><br /><br />After the first song ended I said to my buddy that “it’s so good it feels fake.” I had no idea how good this show would be. The dude’s 75 but as spry as any indie band kid skipping on and off stage. The production and musicianship on stage was remarkable and the crowd hung on every word. Thanks Mr. Cohen.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UWmY-LVQeuc&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UWmY-LVQeuc&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">“Don’t know if we’ll pass this way again but it is our intention to give you everything we got tonight.” - Leonard Cohen<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span>concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-38504076715593450442009-12-16T23:30:00.001-06:002009-12-16T23:32:39.085-06:00my top 20 favorite albums of 2009, it was a good time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bWbF_54r3GHZcAHfuwWbC3lwDglDjdGBzC6apOf3eiR7-Lfg4wnJj6qE9BB8iuwq_yCg80YBTm0x5-shJiRnMD1sLLYEZJ01qnNqW_CYQd1yG3idUt0pz3kKrOkve2XziemZOhcCfK6t/s1600-h/cd+covers.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 115px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bWbF_54r3GHZcAHfuwWbC3lwDglDjdGBzC6apOf3eiR7-Lfg4wnJj6qE9BB8iuwq_yCg80YBTm0x5-shJiRnMD1sLLYEZJ01qnNqW_CYQd1yG3idUt0pz3kKrOkve2XziemZOhcCfK6t/s400/cd+covers.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411446281985877634" /></a><br />Shoe gazer. Synthy-pop. Chamber-pop. Indie-electronic. Those aren’t sections of you’d find in a record store but those genres fill my iTunes catalog. As a true reflection of that, they fill my top everything this year, in this case my favorite albums.<br /><br />I thought it was a great year for music. I think we’re still seeing a trend to the slow death of big label artists and more small and middle size acts standing up and getting some attention. Here’s to that continuing.<br /><br />(in keeping with parlance of our times, I will attempt to summarize all of these albums in a Twitter friendly amount of characters, ‘cuz really how much time are you going to take to read this.)<br /><br><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">20. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theraa">The Rural Alberta Advantage</a> - Hometowns</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Handsome Furs and Throw Me the Statue</span><br /><br />Great, indie rock folk trio out of Alberta. They put out this album independently, people fell in love with them and then Saddle Creek signed them and re-issued it. The deserve it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">19. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/williamewhitmore">William Elliott Whitmore</a> – Animals in the Dark</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Lucero and Tom Waits</span><br /><br />Dirty, whiskey soaked, throaty, voice of the American Revolution and the steam engine, yeah I said it. Everyone should know him before he disappears back into his horse farm in Iowa.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">18. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theavettbrothers">The Avett Brothers</a> – I and Love and You</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Old Crow Medicine Show and Josh Ritter</span><br /><br />An update on Americana with a bit of hipster wit. Nothing’s wrong with that. It’s got an old-rugged quality to it, like an old beat up, well loved acoustic guitar.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">17. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/lucero">Ben Nichols</a> – The Last Pale Light in the West</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: William Elliott Whitmore and Lucero</span><br /><br />The voice of an angel; a hung-over, dragged through gravel, suckin’ on a Marlboro, traveled cross the desert in a Western movie and then ordered a whiskey at the bar angel.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">16. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/handsomefurs">Handsome Furs</a> – Face Control</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Wolf Parade and The National</span><br /><br />A great album to get lost in, with some pretty smart lyrics upfront and some synthy hooks to back everything up.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">15. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/glasvegas">Glasvegas</a> – Self Titled</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain</span><br /><br />I listened to this album for 3 months, constantly. Thought they’d be the next big thing, can’t figure out why that didn’t happen, but I blame U2.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">14. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/steddyp">Steddy P</a> – Style Like Mine</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Tupac and Mobb Deep</span><br /><br />I listened to more hip hop this year than ever, this really stood out and he’s from KC. The production on this album is top notch and some topical lyrics make for an interesting ride.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">13. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/bellorchestre">Bell Orchestre</a> – As Seen Through Windows</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Arcade Fire</span><br /><br />America’s still learning how to listen to modern instrumental music and by modern I mean not Classical. If only they realized most of the lyrics they heard were crap you’d think they’d embrace it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">12. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/batforlashes">Bat For Lashes</a> – Two Suns</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Neko Case and Imogen Heap</span><br /><br />A voice that has me on my knees with a ring waiting in my hands. Smart lyrics, great beats and she even got some commercial appeal this year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">11. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thepainsofbeingpureatheart">The Pains of Being Pure at Heart</a> – Self Titled</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Camera Obscura and The Antlers</span><br /><br />NYC kids filled with drama and so much shoegazing, it’s perfect. Every verse comes off like a profound moment in each of their young lives, particularly in “Stay Alive”, great track.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">10. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/pollyscattergood">Polly Scattergood</a> – Self Titled</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Regina Spektor and Tori Amos</span><br /><br />There’s enough drama on here to keep an audience of Tori Amos fans on the edge of their seats and then send them streaming to the merch table. Dark hooks and passion soaked lyrics, hopefully she’ll find love in the US soon.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">9. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/metric">Metric</a> – Fantasies</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Stars and Feist</span><br /><br />A great name for an album from the stunning Emily Haines. She does it again, bouncing in and out of some swoopy beats and she’s finally getting some deserved commercial recognition. Nothing wrong with getting paid.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">8. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thexx">The XX</a> – XX</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Phoenix and Grizzly Bear</span><br /><br />Male and female vocals are traded back and forth over a very hipster-friendly vibe as these Brits take you on a foggy, rainy, grey-sky trek.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">7. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/jonsiandalex">Jonsi & Alex</a> – Riceboy Sleeps</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Sigur Ros and Amiina</span><br /><br />Sigur Ros frontman, Jonsi along with his partner Alex and longtime SIgur Ros contributors Amiina team up to make one of the most hauntingly beautiful albums you’ll ever hear. The music sounds like your favorite painting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">6. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/anhorse">An Horse</a> – Rearrange Beds</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Rainer Maria and Frogpond (both RIP)</span><br /><br />This one blindsided me. Saw them open for the Appleseed Cast and it was the perfect pairing. Two Aussie kids hiding behind a silly name making simple indie pop music with femal vocals up front.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZmYjFQDx8AHGpftCB4yfugjTpNAeqgtYJfNh2dfFQJJOoatk_xBK05RTyXnEoj75hEhU2yd085XG7XDV8jcXE00mz2KlIqUtJxqRgUNFX11a6PYF2Xi6MZ9GVlMM0-NJQhACASuqzEJG/s1600-h/top+5+covers.bmp"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 81px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZmYjFQDx8AHGpftCB4yfugjTpNAeqgtYJfNh2dfFQJJOoatk_xBK05RTyXnEoj75hEhU2yd085XG7XDV8jcXE00mz2KlIqUtJxqRgUNFX11a6PYF2Xi6MZ9GVlMM0-NJQhACASuqzEJG/s400/top+5+covers.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411446986199036274" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">5. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/manchesterorchestra">Manchester Orchestra</a> – Mean Everything to Nothing</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Bright Eyes and Silversun Pickups</span><br /><br />Most of these songs start in a veil and then unravel into this fist fight of double drum kits and Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde lyrics. Who uses two drum kits? No one, but maybe more will now. These guys deserve a big stage.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">4. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/passionpitjams">Passion Pit</a> – Manners</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Battles and Avalanches</span><br /><br />I know Kansas City hates this band, but this album surpasses the hype. You can’t be mad forever KC hipsters. One of the best start to finish albums of the year. I bet Aphex Twin even likes this album.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. <a href="http://www.klicktrack.com/sy/releases/jj">JJ</a> – JJ N 2</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Fever Ray and Passion Pit</span><br /><br />JJ is this year’s unicorn. They’re an obscure, by choice, group that every music freak wants to know more about, hear more from and see live. I listened to “From Africa to Malaga” at least 10 times in a row once.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/wearephoenix">Phoenix</a> – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: Mew and Daft Punk</span><br /><br />This will be a “best of 2009” staple or darling. I could pour superlatives all over this thing. It’s all of my favorite things. Check out the track “1901” and tell me you don’t love it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/lowanthem">The Low Anthem</a> – Oh My God Charlie Darwin</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For fans of: The Avett Brothers and Bright Eyes</span><br /><br />This album sounds like the ghosts in abandoned train yard or desolate railroad town got together to play their hearts out before going back into hiding. These three musicians gut their souls and it’s a beautiful thing.concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-78150908397358830672009-12-16T22:02:00.000-06:002009-12-17T00:05:30.402-06:00michael byars and his weekly podcast - check out new tunes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqf-NCYSF96HQjtISbmgd9bYLSxQEvUOe2JLWTd9sd4c47PsVkIWs9U8Cdn6FeZio8WvzpjNNXwHFPWpSuNSB83BW4CEUTETysOWnJGuxi0B77pKjR6oDQq1q60c2WrOERVzdoRxkOSwE/s1600-h/mailbox.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 82px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiqf-NCYSF96HQjtISbmgd9bYLSxQEvUOe2JLWTd9sd4c47PsVkIWs9U8Cdn6FeZio8WvzpjNNXwHFPWpSuNSB83BW4CEUTETysOWnJGuxi0B77pKjR6oDQq1q60c2WrOERVzdoRxkOSwE/s400/mailbox.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416082159799413122" /></a><br />my buddy and fellow music geek has a weekly music podcast. if you're up for some new tunes, check it out. <br /><br />it's always a good listen and spans a good variety of musical genres.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />click <a href="http://www.presentmagazine.com/full_content.php?article_id=2739&full=yes&pbr=1">here</a> to listen!</span>concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-16168291168966654652009-12-15T21:37:00.001-06:002009-12-15T21:39:45.747-06:00the appleseed cast on tour<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYoufqTLENrrc1f5Kd3hef_ktjvr24pYvTkcEBwtypfQhyphenhyphen0TW3oLgBjJshkrBEC-vLNGjNsOjQM43d2Fimu06TLmaPoNDgTLXu5y2zoVL3lxng0FSimdHlode-XwchV9iOVSNHOEM_cNZ/s1600-h/cast.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYoufqTLENrrc1f5Kd3hef_ktjvr24pYvTkcEBwtypfQhyphenhyphen0TW3oLgBjJshkrBEC-vLNGjNsOjQM43d2Fimu06TLmaPoNDgTLXu5y2zoVL3lxng0FSimdHlode-XwchV9iOVSNHOEM_cNZ/s400/cast.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415673490726539762" /></a><br />in late february one of my favorite bands of all time will set out on a national tour. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/theappleseedcast">the appleseed cast</a>. yes, i know they tour all the time. but this time they will be playing in their ENTIRETY the albums Low Level Owl: Volumes 1 and 2. really. what's next another sigur ros tour, a new album from damien rice or maybe for the first time ever mark kozelek will come to kansas city. until those or other miraculous acts happen, mark your calendar to attend.<br /><br />unfortunately, their kansas city date is the saturday of sxsw so it looks like i'm headed up to omaha.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">the full list of tour dates can be found <a href="http://pitchfork.com/artists/118-the-appleseed-cast/">here</a>. </span><br /><br />dates in our region:<br />03-13 Denver, CO - Hi Dive<br />03-15 Omaha, NE - Waiting Room<br />03-16 Minneapolis, MN - Triple Rock<br />03-17 Dekalb, IL - House Cafe<br />03-18 Madison, WI - High Noon<br />03-19 Chicago, IL - Bottom Lounge<br />03-20 St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway<br />03-21 Kansas City, MO - Record Barconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-40147861987651282782009-12-15T07:07:00.000-06:002009-12-15T07:27:25.840-06:00check out these artists after the snow melts this spring<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-rk_J9X3y9-R1l9qoi-y04l7vvPUZGkkEuNlo3VjYfp-SmocR-x3kGOWYuCC_4B-GeXOE0-xk1U_HSdLfRPP-luKwn34qeQhA3_Wi6AF8mfvJvTXvfmr8ZBf5wO8XDoSQE3nIsmUScrp/s1600-h/ani+spring.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY-rk_J9X3y9-R1l9qoi-y04l7vvPUZGkkEuNlo3VjYfp-SmocR-x3kGOWYuCC_4B-GeXOE0-xk1U_HSdLfRPP-luKwn34qeQhA3_Wi6AF8mfvJvTXvfmr8ZBf5wO8XDoSQE3nIsmUScrp/s400/ani+spring.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413882852506518434" /></a><br />with snow on the ground last week, it's easy to already start looking forward to sunnier days. in addition to the sun, march and april bring with it some good shows to kansas city and lawrence. and as you are holed up this winter, you can study their catalog, and be their biggest fan in no time at all. except ani, her catalog of 20 albums or so might take you till next summer.<br /> <br />mark your calendar for these shows:<br />March 7 <a href="http://www.myspace.com/blackjoelewis">Black Joe Lewis</a> at Bottleneck <br />March 27 <a href="http://www.myspace.com/therealkevinsmith">Kevin Smith</a> at The Midland <br />April 8 <a href="http://www.myspace.com/deloreandanz">Delorean</a> and <a href="http://www.myspace.com/miikesnow">Miike Snow</a> at Record Bar <br />April 10 <a href="http://www.myspace.com/musicfromthebigpink">The Big Pink</a> at Bottleneck <br />April 16 <a href="http://www.myspace.com/anidifranco">Ani DiFranco</a> at Beaumont Clubconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-90799662593622380982009-12-13T09:28:00.001-06:002009-12-13T10:23:48.682-06:00lilith fair according to me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwz9fKbJBlb5KBaUtOvmGA-Sxx0FnR47kMhnBpJ80_3YkbQOUgAn75yNRX4qGf_v76NOPUQOXL8jNJw8CZ_76qc3omIW0MHfVxXSRvHwy4sX5rQnqN_Gm8xyXIhc25PVCQKjapivr4VfVL/s1600-h/metric+lilith.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwz9fKbJBlb5KBaUtOvmGA-Sxx0FnR47kMhnBpJ80_3YkbQOUgAn75yNRX4qGf_v76NOPUQOXL8jNJw8CZ_76qc3omIW0MHfVxXSRvHwy4sX5rQnqN_Gm8xyXIhc25PVCQKjapivr4VfVL/s400/metric+lilith.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413878023010707330" /></a><br />sarah mclachlan is back at it this summer with her troop of lovely ladies. they don't have dates announced yet, but it looks like they're skipping kansas city. so, if i could, here's who i would pick to see at <a href="http://www.lilithfair.com/">lilith fair</a> in either chicago or minneapolis.<br /><br />congrats to local band kids, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/vedera">vedera</a> on making the list. it should do great things for their career!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/butterflyboucher">Butterfly Boucher</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/chantalkreviazuk">Chantal Kreviazuk</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/katzenjammerne">Katzenjammer</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/kesha">Ke$ha</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/metric">Metric</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/serenaryder">Serena Ryder</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/taramaclean">Tara MacLean</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/theweepies">The Weepies</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/vitachambers">Vita Chambers</a> <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/ximenagris">Ximena Sarinana</a>concert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-32822958373412902272009-12-11T00:55:00.002-06:002009-12-11T01:04:29.576-06:00my top 10 to check out so far at sxsw in march<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdDeLkm6jMMxXVdR-5ve6cx1vF0OtrSHr-UWRLX09uB6XEpFB8XZsh2qOWalKLsw4Hw_loo5we-T1Y_0lQMWOnt52OlXIbthCfglAS6vZ-y8VSp97Iolg-GVoYt2Et17nvxw5ZZtZW94b/s1600-h/fri+rabbit+sxsw.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdDeLkm6jMMxXVdR-5ve6cx1vF0OtrSHr-UWRLX09uB6XEpFB8XZsh2qOWalKLsw4Hw_loo5we-T1Y_0lQMWOnt52OlXIbthCfglAS6vZ-y8VSp97Iolg-GVoYt2Et17nvxw5ZZtZW94b/s400/fri+rabbit+sxsw.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413870917182538050" /></a><br />sxsw announced <a href="http://sxsw.com/music/shows/bands">200 more bands yesterday</a>. so far they've given us 400 names, so only about 800 more to go. of those first 400, here's who i am excited the most to see so far!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/anhorse">an horse</a> (Brisbane QLD) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/frightenedrabbit">Frightened Rabbit</a> (Selkirk UK-SCOTLAND) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/lowanthem">The Low Anthem</a> (Providence RI) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/anyamarina">Anya Marina</a> (Los Angeles CA) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/pomegranatesart">Pomegranates</a> (Cincinnati OH) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/sherlocksdaughter">Sherlock's Daughter</a> (Sydney NSW) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/jessesykes">Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter</a> (Seattle WA) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/darlins">Those Darlins</a> (Murfreesboro TN) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/wearescientists">We Are Scientists</a> (New York NY) <br /><a href="http://www.myspace.com/zebrainpink">Ze!</a> (Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA) <br /><br />-ccconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-85878524413152731552009-12-03T00:23:00.004-06:002009-12-03T00:52:01.152-06:00ground rules for favorite albums of the year list<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsN8eKYJDBlfYrGS7zk16fe8GIjqvvqvokEL6osa_JFi_NjOKDUe8hlXT2Kf7NpfBVm7OBsAQ1g_E0AtexueQSzHQ5L2rgRwEGyiX54mT5oxFNJOmHhsWHKOeaZX1ZJ1pEe-UXO2cdzqse/s1600-h/decemberists+uptown.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsN8eKYJDBlfYrGS7zk16fe8GIjqvvqvokEL6osa_JFi_NjOKDUe8hlXT2Kf7NpfBVm7OBsAQ1g_E0AtexueQSzHQ5L2rgRwEGyiX54mT5oxFNJOmHhsWHKOeaZX1ZJ1pEe-UXO2cdzqse/s320/decemberists+uptown.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410899082590159058" /></a><br />before we get into my favorite albums of 2009, an explanation of a few things. <br /><br />here's my ranking system.<br /><br />apoligize to me = bad<br />metal b*tch = metal's bad<br />wtf = superbad<br />ok = good<br />wow = really good<br />wow2 = near awesome<br />wow3 = so close<br />holy sh*t = awesome<br /><br />i've used the same ranking system since 2005 with the only change being the addition of "wow3" ranking this year. there were several albums so close to being awesome, it needed it's own category. this system is more descriptive than thumbs ups/downs and who wants to grade an album with numbers. i hate math. and so do you.<br /><br />a look at the numbers, i plowed through 353 albums this year. the goal was 350 but i miscounted initially. aim high. i know that sounds like a lot, but if your hard drive is big enough and you spend as much time in your car as i do, it's not that hard.<br /><br />i only throw this number out there as i'm skeptical of most "best of" lists i see. unless you own a club, are a dj or get paid to write about music, for the most part i don't believe you. sorry.<br /><br />-ccconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3567250079011016193.post-47097950031768064562009-12-01T22:41:00.005-06:002009-12-03T00:54:36.066-06:00music week(s) are coming soon.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_DLWw7R_o9Fe5YKxX30bIDgJ_k4NckBROtx_qr1U2prekj3loahkLS7yRp-bcbNsGaLPADpOnsJeR7hyphenhyphenGoXvHvo1yvKKXvzDy4W0YhRWGMhXQOOdDEHzVk5glL9eRSR-7NpYeYPOQ8jc/s1600-h/phoenix_piano_3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT_DLWw7R_o9Fe5YKxX30bIDgJ_k4NckBROtx_qr1U2prekj3loahkLS7yRp-bcbNsGaLPADpOnsJeR7hyphenhyphenGoXvHvo1yvKKXvzDy4W0YhRWGMhXQOOdDEHzVk5glL9eRSR-7NpYeYPOQ8jc/s320/phoenix_piano_3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410899748794377026" /></a><br />it's that time of the year. when all music freaks act like they know what you should be listening too. or at least that's what they think.<br /><br />well, this music freak is no different. <br /><br />in the coming week(s) i will knock out these lists:<br />- my 20 favorite albums of 2009<br />- my 20 favorite live shows of 2009<br />- my 30 favorite tracks of 2009<br />and strike up a drum roll that probably won't live up to the hype,<br />- my 30 favorite albums of the DECADE, yes this decade is ending.<br /><br />please notice the word FAVORITE appears 4 times there. it never says BEST or anything so profound. this is what i like, and if you are in search of new tunes, you may like it too.<br /><br />i have no idea if this blog will outlive those 4 posts.<br /><br />we'll see.<br /><br />-ccconcert chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17956619169679718471noreply@blogger.com0