My love for Julie Doiron started at an early age, around 16. My boss at the mall clothing store I worked at passed me a cd, “Shotgun + Jaybird plus Julie Randoms” Scribbled across the front with girlish hearts and doodles occupying the rest of the space. We would listen to it quietly, unplugging the company controlled radio and coughing loudly when Julie would yell cuss words. I still have that cd, and although I own almost all Shotgun and Jaybird/Julie albums, there are still quite a few songs only that cd can provide. Before this Biltmore show I had never seen Julie and I must I admit I had high expectations, not in a critical way, in a loving way. I felt like I was watching a good friend preform and had an almost giddy feeling when Julie walked past in the bar. Surprisingly an early 8:00pm show on Saturday night was still sold out and the line to buy tickets was down the street. When the curtain finally lifted to expose the pig-tailed and messy Julie, black Les-Paul in hand and amp cranked to 10, I noticed another familiar face. The keyboardist for the Constantines is now Julies backing band, god damn what a treat that was. Hightlights included Snow In November, Borrowed Mini-Vans, a cover of Ladyhawks “Teenage Love Song”, and Consolation Prize. Not to mention a treat from her newest project Daniel, Fred and Julie featuring Fred of Shotgun and Jaybird, and Daniel of Attack In Black. And then it was over, the crowed briefly parted only to gather around tighter this time for Bowerbirds who took to the stage quite quickly. The mood was soft and Bowerbirds preformed perfectly, accordion and light acoustic guitar bouncing off one another while all four members sang in lovely harmonies. Highlights of this set included Silverclouds, Chimes, a rowdy anti-olympic cheer, a drunken fellow double fisting PBR constantly leaning into me for support and the crowd pleaser of the night, an energetic version of the song Crooked Lust which I loved. And that was it, we where ushered out of the venue to make room for the gang of people lined up the block to see Attack In Black who where scheudled to preform only 45 minutes afterwards. I give this show 4 PBR’s out of 5.
The infamous Montreal music scene. At one time the home of some incredible bands and the creation of a sound that defined and raised Canadian independent music to the standard it sits at today. Then it was sucked in, chewed up, and spit out by the media hype machine. What began as a genuine and beautifully crafted creative expression quickly deteriorated into a very shitty, very contrived initation, masquerading as the real thing.
“Have you heard that new band from Montreal?”
“No, are they good?”
“I haven’t heard them either, but probably. They’re from Montreal!”
“Cool.”
Now, I don’t want to sound bitter. I LOVE Montreal. It is the absolute bee’s knees. To prove it, I’ll let you know about this great band that calls it home. Out of the ashes of the legacy built by bands like Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, and The Unicorns comes Parlovr.
I instantly liked this band from the first time I listened to their self-titled album. Armed with plenty of poppy hooks, twangy guitars, and mildly strained, up-beat vocals this band will make you bob your head. You might even feel like dancing. Yeah, you probably will want to dance, so make sure you are somewhere with lots of pretty boys/girls when you put this on.
Hiccup! – Parlovr
Sever My Ties – Parlovr
So great music is still being made in Montreal, just like in every other major city in the world. While a person’s surroundings are obviously an influence, how good, or not good, a band is should never be judged by what city it comes from.
And anyone who still doesn’t believe that I love Montreal is welcome to fly me out there and I will gladly show them how much fun it is.
As reported two weeks prior , Jay Retard passed away on January 13th 2010. As most people where, I was deeply saddened to discover the loss of someone bursting with so much talent and life. Today the Memphis Commercial Appeal confirmed that Jay Retards death was caused by “cocaine toxicity” and alcohol. To me this did not come as much of a shock, despite the rumors of a possible homicide, an overdose seemed to be the most logical answer to a 29 year old dying in their sleep. I’m still not quite sure if this knowledge makes me feel better or worse, at least I am now able to stop speculating. Jay, we miss you.
Wow! As a lover of all things Frog Eyes I was very very very excited to hear about an upcoming album, and now a song is making it’s way around the Internet! I have always thought that Frog Eyes have only improved with every release, and judging by this track, this album will be no different. It is unmistakably Frog Eyes, and unmistakably amazing. Even from the very first howl, you know the emotion that we all know and love is more than present, and as with Tears of the Valedictorian the production is fantastic. Oh, and its nice and long. The track is called “A Flower in A Glove” and it will be featured on the upcoming LP “Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph”, it is due out on Frog Eyes’ new label Dead Oceans on April 27th, no mention of a preorder, but we shall keep our fingers crossed. Here is a track list for all the nerds.
The screech-in; a tradition that is perpetrated on the Atlantic coast of our very own country. The concept is simple, all you do is take a shot of screech, kiss a cod on the mouth, then say one line or another as designated by one of the locals. If you find yourself in this situation and you notice your thoughts are starting to stray into the “what the hell kind of person makes another person kiss a fish in order to fit in” area, I want you to take a deep breath and calm yourself down. Things could be worse. The maritimers could have had access to the sarcastic fringehead.
In the animal kingdom there are many non-lethal ways of fighting one of your own kind. You could rattle some horns, do some headbutting, a punch to the face, or even slapping necks (yeah, ok, giraffes are weird as hell too). But no. Somewhere along the line the fringehead genes decided its best plan for the future of the species involved expanding faces and pressing mouths. I can’t help but to imagine a scenario of our past where things were only slightly askew and us humans evolved this trait, and at the same time feel an overwhelming sensation of having dodged a bullet.
“I was about to drop a security deposit on that place on Georgia, but then another guy wanted in and he had more face than me so I had to give it up”
- Wolverox
P.S. – Don’t let your spirit get stuck in the sand.
check out this video for old time spoken word artist Gil Scott-Herons new song “Me and The Devil”. Deliciously black and white skeletal skaters take to a dark and contrasted New York streets, set to a strangely infectious beat and the grumblings of Gil. The imagery fits nicely with lyrics like “bury my body, down by the riverside”. (via p4k)
Besides awkward comedy and tasty green fruit, as far as I know not much comes out of New Zealand. Sure Flight Of The Concords really opened up peoples views of a strange music scene, but if your like me you see New Zealand as Australian silly little brother and pay little attention to it (if your reading this from Auckland, I’m sorry). I’m sure we’re all also terribly mistaken and Surf City is a great example of what isolation and the internet can do. Picking up some great inspiration from modern lo-fi garage rock and blending with some classic surf guitar riffing and sometimes surprising indie sensibilities that will catch you quite off guard while your being pummeled by waves of drums, distortion and sea foam. The Surf City EP was released on August 6th ‘07 (holy shit, this was 2 years ahead of it’s time) on Arch Hill Recordings and besides a few blogs and a Pitchfork nod it was under almost everyones radar. Well, not mine! Surf City jumped from below the horizon to the clouds in a matter of hours for me. Every song on this 6 song EP is incredible indie epics, rarely leaving you more than a second to catch your breath or adjust the star struck grin plastered across your face. I feel that maybe these guys started too soon, and where forgotten before this style was so prevalent. However since they’re still a fully active band playing shows all over New Zealand and Australia, a new album is hopefully in the works.If it was summer right nowand I drove, I’d be blasting this from my convertible Camero speakers ripping down the hi-way, probably drunk.
Dan Mcgee cares about three things; the mighty church of the bottle, the distant sent of a lost woman, and the twangy new country sounds of his band Spider Bags. I discussed this band of southern fried troubadours a few months ago and included a few tracks of the album “A Celebration of Hunger” which was Spider Bags first full length album, and after hours of searching I’ve finally acquired Dan McGee & Spider Bags “Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World”. All of the classic elements of Spider Bags that I loved are still there, Dan McGee’s crooning raspy voice, laying out stories drenched in beer and whiskey, tales of lovers posed with the affluence of a hillbilly Poet Laureate “the longer than I stick around the more I forget, life is spent between cigarettes and regret”. Like their earlier albums Spider Bags cooks us up quite a few bangers, fast paced bar brawlers, seen and heard through their own personal beer goggles. However on “Goodbye Cruel World..” we see another side of Dan McGee not so present in just Spider Bags releases. We see his life as a Saturday news paper comic strip. Dan McGee falls for a woman, she forgets/leaves/hurts him, he drinks down his sorrows, he writes a song. Luckily for us, no where on this album do things feel hopeless or even worse, cheesy. McGee is able to keep things light enough to keep us up and alter enough to process his napkin scribblings. All in all “Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World” is a chuck wagon ride through the dusty some times heart broken hills of Raleigh North Carolina where McGee and Spider Bags call home, and I’ve never been happier.
Surprisingly an early 8:00pm show on Saturday night was still sold out and the line to buy tickets was down the street. When the curtain finally lifted to expose the pig-tailed and messy Julie, black Les-Paul in hand and amp cranked to 10, I noticed another familiar face. The keyboardist for the Constantines is now Julies backing band, god damn what a treat that was. Hightlights included Snow In November, Borrowed Mini-Vans, a cover of Ladyhawks “Teenage Love Song”, and Consolation Prize. Not to mention a treat from her newest project Daniel, Fred and Julie featuring Fred of Shotgun and Jaybird, and Daniel of Attack In Black. And then it was over, the crowed briefly parted only to gather around tighter this time for Bowerbirds who took to the stage quite quickly. The mood was soft and Bowerbirds preformed perfectly, accordion and light acoustic guitar bouncing off one another while all four members sang in lovely harmonies. Highlights of this set included Silverclouds, Chimes, a rowdy anti-olympic cheer, a drunken fellow double fisting PBR constantly leaning into me for support and the crowd pleaser of the night, an energetic version of the song Crooked Lust which I loved. And that was it, we where ushered out of the venue to make room for the gang of people lined up the block to see Attack In Black who where scheudled to preform only 45 minutes afterwards. I give this show 4 PBR’s out of 5.
World”. All of the classic elements of Spider Bags that I loved are still there, Dan McGee’s crooning raspy voice, laying out stories drenched in beer and whiskey, tales of lovers posed with the affluence of a hillbilly Poet Laureate “the longer than I stick around the more I forget, life is spent between cigarettes and regret”. Like their earlier albums Spider Bags cooks us up quite a few bangers, fast paced bar brawlers, seen and heard through their own personal beer goggles. However on “Goodbye Cruel World..” we see another side of Dan McGee not so present in just Spider Bags releases. We see his life as a Saturday news paper comic strip. Dan McGee falls for a woman, she forgets/leaves/hurts him, he drinks down his sorrows, he writes a song. Luckily for us, no where on this album do things feel hopeless or even worse, cheesy. McGee is able to keep things light enough to keep us up and alter enough to process his napkin scribblings. All in all “Goodbye Cruel World, Hello Crueler World” is a chuck wagon ride through the dusty some times heart broken hills of Raleigh North Carolina where McGee and Spider Bags call home, and I’ve never been happier.