Last weekend in Los Angeles was VH1’s Rock Honors Weekend celebrating The Who and you could absolutely not escape the promo for this event. 2 of the club events I attended under the umbrella of this occasion were Sunday’s Toms Shoes Benefit @ the Hotel Cafe and Monday’s Steel Panther show at the Key Club. Reviews Below, but first… The WINNER of the AvantTrash/Filter Magazine/VH1 Rock Honors “WHO AM I?” CONTEST!

The Questions: and answers.
1. I can’t hear, I can’t talk, I can’t see. Who am I? “Pinball Wizard” or “Tommy, Can You Hear Me” Were both acceptable answers.

2. No one knows what it’s like to be me. I’m sad. Maybe even bad. Who am I? “Behind Blue Eyes” was the correct answer but a couple people answered Brick or Jumbo, which was a more amazing answer. So I decided to reward the winner for ignoring the rules (I was looking for the song title, not the narrator) and giving the more nerd-tastic answer.

3. I’m not old, I live on the Isle of Man. Kids can’t hurt me but they try, try, try. They ride on my head with furry donkeys. They can’t prevent me from being what I am. Who am I? “Happy Jack”…of course.

The winner of The Who prize pack was David Basile of Valley Springs, NY who says,
“I really enjoy your site, good content, your contests are the best!”

So congrats David! Cheers!

——–

Sunday, July 13th, The Hotel Cafe’s Toms Shoes Benefit, Hollywood, CA

Sunday’s show was nearly a who’s-who (pun accidentally intended) of Hotel Cafe Singer/Songwriter regulars, headlined by the always amazing elder statesman Butch Walker (long ago of The Marvelous 3). Also playing sets were Greg Laswell (who had an album release show the night previous) and Cary Brothers (not siblings, one guy). Honestly I felt a bit aglazed (fuck you spellcheck i made the word up) Sunday and didn’t show up until the last 6 (of 14) performers took the stage. The cause was noble enough: Toms Shoes has a philosophy where for every pair of their shoes they sell, they donate a pair to needy foreign children. Unfortunately the show didn’t have much to stand on. Too much sausage and not enough talented ladies at the end of the night. Butch Walker’s set was full of “new” and “in progress” songs bound for their inevitable obscurity. Walker’s music is too amazing for public consumption (thankfully?), leading many to call him “The best musician you’ve never heard of”. I put “quoteys” around “new” because although they haven’t been released yet (album delayed) I’ve heard some of these songs nearly half a dozen times live (see “Atlanta”). But a good thing about Butch Walker is the way he lets the fans hear his songs evolve between live show and recording. Somehow “Racecars and Goth Rock” from 2004’s Letters sounded better in it’s acoustic “California Gridlock” bootleg form. This trial by fire of sorts has also made some of Butch’s compositions some of the best category-free Rock and Roll of the last 10 years. As per his 1 downer song per album trend I jokingly noted that there would probably be a new song about someone dying and sure enough he sprung one into his set titled something along the lines of “I drove by your house, I saw his car, I thought of you”. I give Butch’s show-and-tell performance a 7/10. It would be unfair to judge the rest, I wasn’t really paying attention.

I didn’t hear any WHO covers that evening.

Monday, July 14th, Steel Panther @ The Key Club, West Hollywood, CA

Big Hair, Spandex, Synchronized Guitar Coreography, Hair Solos, Simulated Oral Sex and Tits. If you’ve never seen the Steel Panther (formerly Metal Shop Metal Skool) show @ the Key Club, then you must truly hate Hair Metal and all things Sunset Strip. Either that or it has somehow remained under your radar despite its continued success. A packed house, every monday? But why? Because it’s hilarious, brilliant, crude, disgusting and shamefully nostalgic. What it boils down to are 4 Hair Metal maestros with Studio Musician cred, playing covers with amazing accuracy and more importantly…enthusiasm. Some Mondays are better than others, but this one was pretty good. I’ve seen better nights and I’ve seen worse. And almost always that has to do with how many of the regular special guests they have joining them during their set. Usually it will be a figure from the glorious 80’s hayday, a slumming pop icon, or in this instance another piece of 80s nostalgia… William Zabka. You know perhaps know him best as “Sweep the leg, Johnny” from The Karate Kid. (or if you are really cool from “Just One of the Guys” or “European Vacation”.) “Billy” as he was addressed by the band, played guitar on a cover of Van Halen’s “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and actually did a pretty good job. Unfortunately David Cassidy’s older brother was also in the house and played drums on the track…causing its calamitous ending to die in a whimper.

Adding to the festivities was a bevy of what looked like Jager shots delivered to the birthday boy, “53 year old bassist” Lexxi Foxxx. If you go, I suggest you get a birds-eye view of the debauchery from the balcony. You will also get an eye full of L.A.’s biggest douches rubbing metal flake Christian Audiger’d shoulders with semi-famous musicians and personalites of L.A.’s Past and Present (but mostly past). Steel Panther doesn’t take the stage until 12:15 so I suggest you head down to the famous Rainbow Bar and Grill for a bite (great food) and few pre-party drinks (cheaper than the Key Club). 2nd to the food and drink is the amazing people-watching; which is so beautiful it is hard to put into words …there will be fringe, feathered and dyed bangs, spandex and cellulite and probably a few guys who have played Jason or Michael Myers (or could if they removed the masks).

The only Who cover performed was “My Generation” with the lyrics replaced with rhymes about well… groupies mostly. There were masks of Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend circulating the crowd, Half of a Daltry made its way to Michael Starr for the final set of rhymes before the finale. Although sometimes the show borders on the bad side of “Girls Gone Wild”… it is just one of those L.A. things that you have to see. 8.3/10

On July 2nd of this year, occasional member of Queens of the Stone Age, Natasha Shneider, succumbed to cancer leaving behind a elegant legacy and some unfortunate financial obligations.

In her honor, QOTSA will be holding a concert at the Music Box @ the Fonda on Saturday, August 16th. Joining them will be an army of Rock and Roll guests including PJ Harvey, Jack Black + Kyle Gass (not billed as Tenacious D), Matt Cameron (Soundgarden), Brody Dalle (The Distillers), Jesse “The Devil” Hughes (Eagles of Death Metal), Billy F. Gibbons (lead beard player from ZZ Top), Chris Goss (QOTSA Producer), and Alain Johannes (Eleven). Natasha’s band, Eleven, included members of what would become the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Tickets are $100 with proceeds going to offset Natasha Schneiders remaining medical and burial costs. Donations are also being accepted through http://www.natashashneider.org.

RECAP:
Queens Of The Stone Age w/Guests
The Music Box @ Fonda - 6126 Hollywood Blvd. - Hollywood, CA
All Ages Show - $100

A bit of housecleaning in this post. But first, a plea for stuff:

The CHICAGO ork poster is world famous by now; and finally they’ve heard my plea. The LOS ANGELES ork poster is out.

For $22 (with a portion donated to charity, for your guilt-free buying needs) you can buy me this poster for my living room….cause I don’t feel like tattooing L.A. or CA on my other arm just yet, and I really want this!

Speaking of local pride: I saw Tilly and the Wall tonight here at the Echoplex and they were great! (i’d seen them opening for Neva Dinova at Knickerbockers in Lincoln before and both shows were so much fun, Tilly i mean, I don’t get Neva Dinova. I think they kinda suck.) But I’m aboslutely in love with their single “Pot Kettle Black” and am thrilled that another Omaha band have finally broken through. And Kianna Alarid is gorgeous and has the voice of a young Belinda Carlisle. And just to namedrop; both Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis from Rilo Kiley were there. I swear I see her around town AT LEAST once a month, for real. (at a Cursive show, at Beauty Bar last week, by a salon in Silverlake…)

We got lots of posts in the works, We got a namedrop on the world famous Splattercast from our friends over at DEADLANTERN.COM, had a massive spike in hits, some graphic updates to the site and will reveal the winner of The Who contest this weekend. More contests to come (cleaning out our closets).

Stay tuned.

Because so many summer movies suck, I’ve been watching them for free on watch-movies.net. I am so glad I didn’t fork over real monies to see turd sandwiches like Zohan, The Love Guru and the Happening… all of which I watched today.

Midway through Zohan I noticed an actor playing a redneck and said to myself, “Is that Dave Fucking Matthews?” I actually said this aloud because I haven’t talked to a real human being in a couple days and I’m a little crazy. But then I checked his IMDB and noticed that he has 2 more upcoming acting gigs. Are there no more actors? I see out of work douchebags all the time here, surely they could use a job.

One of those films is in pre-production right now called The Other Side and among the co-stars of what could be an amazing rock-opera is Maynard James Keenan (of Tool, listed with 6 roles), Alanis Morissette (mentioned on this site last week), Jason Lee, Eddie Izzard and Woody Harrelson. And a couple more douchey scientologists not worth mentioning. Everyone has weird character names that sound like they came out of Harmony Korine films so hopefully next year when it comes out I’ll have something that I can actually see in a theatre. Well I guess I don’t mind if they get rid of these “superstars”. Their movies are shit.

But please, don’t go making films based on YouTube clips just yet.

The Who are being rightly worshipped by VH1 for their annual “Rock Honors” (info @ www.Rock.VH1.com) and a promotional blitz they have hooked me up with the power to reign gifts of Quadrophenic goodness upon you, the AvantTrash faithful. And for you lucky Los Angelenos there will be miles and miles of WHO shennanegins and goings on during the week of the 10-17th that you can partake of including the ceremony itself (which I unfortunately don’t have any tickets to). DETAILS AT THE END OF THIS POST.

AliUptown and I saw these unbelievable legends play a couple years ago in Omaha and we were floored by how amazing and energetic these gents still are. It was post-Entwistle, Zach Starkey was on drums and Simon Townshend on Rhythm Guitar but of course Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend tore the roof off the place like they’ve been doing since they nearly invented the Arena Rock spectacle back in the 60’s. We caught The Stones in the same year and despite their similar *ahem* maturity, the Who defied their ages and played as if they were Live at Leeds. If you get a chance to check out these legends, we suggest you do so.

“WHO AM I?” CONTEST!

Up for grabs thanks to VH1 and Filter Magazine we have THE WHO: VH1 Rock Honors gift pack which includes:

- The Who commemorative flask

- The Who shot glasses

- VH1 Rock Honors custom t-shirt

- set-of-4 The Who guitar picks.

And all you have to do to win it is tell us “Who am I?”. Its simple, I will describe 3 characters from WHO songs in the first person and you just have to guess which song they are from. I’m not making this very hard, any Who fan should know them. Send answers to contest@avanttrash.com and you’ll be entered to win.

1. I can’t hear, I can’t talk, I can’t see. Who am I?

2. No one knows what it’s like to be me. I’m sad. Maybe even bad. Who am I?

Those were easy, but here’s the kicker:

3. I’m not old, I live on the Isle of Man. Kids can’t hurt me but they try, try, try. They ride on my head with furry donkeys. They can’t prevent me from being what I am. Who am I?

Send your answers to contest@avanttrash.com by 11:59am PST on Thur, July 10 and you’ll be registered to win. Then you can go drink like Keith Moon… well, hopefully not.

—–

LOS ANGELES EVENT INFO:

*FYI I will be attending the Steel Panther @ Keyclub and Greg Laswell CD Release show at the Hotel Cafe*

THURSDAY, JULY 10
6pm: Guitar Center Presents Sessions with Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) @ Guitar Center Hollywood
8pm: The Gutter Twins & Ed Harcourt @ The Roxy www.theroxyonsunset.com
8pm: Tribute to Sublime @ Malibu Inn www.malibu-inn.com
9pm: Supreme Being of Leisure @ Viper Room,featuring “Who Am I” mojitos www.viperroom.com
All night: The Who Karaoke Night @ Blue Goose Lounge www.myspace.com/bluegooselounge
All night: Quadrophenia Night @ Seven Grand www.sevengrand.la

MONDAY, JULY 14
Doors TBD: Indie 103.3 presents local bands @ Viper Room www.viperroom.com
8:30: Steel Panther (formerly known as Metal Skool) tribute to The Who @ Key Club www.keyclub.com

Most people I ask these days are at least vaguely familiar with either David Sedaris or his younger sister, Amy. Those who are more fans of David’s work know Amy as his crazy and wildly entertaining sister who tortured their father by wearing half a fat suit home for the holidays, co-wrote plays with him (as The Talent Family), and was his overall accomplice in playing practical jokes on their friends and family.

I knew of Amy before David, from catching her as the amoral ex-con/junkie/prostitute Jerri Blank on Strangers With Candy. I was immediately captivated by the freakshow that is Flatpoint High School, home of the Concrete Donkey. I was also amazed by how pretty Amy Sedaris is without the fatsuit/makeup/schlumpy look. The show is in the format of the beloved after-school special, each episode ending with a lesson learned, often times the wrong one. For example, in an episode about eating disorders, Jerri learns that it’s OK to be anorexic because then people will pay attention to you. In the episode “Who Wants Cake?” (possibly my favorite), after much research and advice-seeking, Jerri discerns that it’s okay to snitch on the suspected retarded girl in class, because “if provoked, she could fly into a rage with the strength of an ape and no remorse, not even a bullet could bring her down”.

Oh lawdy, this show is highly offensive and politically incorrect, which is why I watch it. No one is safe from insult, whether Jerri is writing in her “dirty Jew diary”, or constantly comparing to her Filpino friend, Orlando to a monkey (see below). The writers of SWC (Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, and Amy) relish in the act of Schadenfreude, pleasure felt at someone else’s misfortune-”Laughter through the tears,” in the words of Amy. Here are some of the show’s finer gems:

-”It’s unthinkable, the atrocities that the Native Americans committed against the buffalo. No one is certain what exactly the Native Americans did to the poor creatures, but whatever it was, it caused the buffalo to become so depressed, that when the white men came, the buffalo committed suicide by jumping in front of the white men’s muskets.”

-”Orlando, you can’t be a pilgrim. The pilgrims had snowy white skin to match their pure Christian souls. They didn’t sacrifice coconuts to their monkey gods.”

-”Greeks are just Jews without money!”

-”Let’s go watch some gay porn so we can get our hate back.”

-”You know, I cried when I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. And then I laughed…really hard.”

One of the primary inspirations for the show, and for the main character was a 1970 documentary called “The Trip Back”, which featured a 50-year-old former junkie whore named Florrie Fisher lecturing a group of high school students about the perils of drug use. And yes, any resemblance of Fisher to Jerri Blank is intentional.

The film version premiered at Sundance in 2005, as a sort of ‘prequel’ to the TV show. The plot was sloppy, production was delayed multiple times, and the budget appeared to be teeny-weeny, but most SWC devotees (myself included) still enjoyed it.

This show was grotesquely hilarious and deliciously offensive, and its run was cut way too short. Apparently Comedy Central was disappointed with its less than South Park stellar ratings, even though it quickly built a cult following, whose fans included the likes of Janeane Garofalo, Winona Ryder, and David Cross (who all made guest appearances on the show). It’s a bit like the car crash that you can’t take your eyes off of…if the car was full of handicapped albino dwarfs that also happened to be white supremacists with eating disorders. I now leave you with these wise words…

“Packing a Musket” by Jerri Blank.

When you work from your home and johns call on the phone, you’re a call girl.

When you walk ’til you limp and give a cut to a pimp, you’re a street whore.

When they’re beggin’ you please to get down on your knees near their groinage, excusa me, but you see, don’t you touch where they pee without coinage.

When I straddle and squat, to show you my…

I miss this show.

There is NOTHING hotter than female musicians. Actresses are pretty hot but really they are just paid liars, fakers. And they’re almost all crazy. Maybe they lack a true sense of self so its easier for them to become other people. But musicians create something far more beautiful and universal! Most of actresses beauty comes from makeup, CGI effects and the occasional prosthesis. But a musicians beauty comes from their soul. (deep, I know).

But, whilst young popstar/trainwreck-in-training Britney Spears was physically peaking at the 2000 VMA’s, her pop predecessors were aging themselves to their current perfection. So I present to you, AvantTrash’s 6 Female Musicians that have gotten Hotter with age:

Have you seen Alanis Morrisette lately? The music has still dropped south of the listenable scale but she finally found the right hair color and is more gorgeous at 34 than 21 when Jagged Little Pill came out. (And hopefully has the same theatre habits). What prompted this list is this video from Howard Stern that features the Canuck talking about Ryan Reynolds, Promiscuous Sex and a foray into Lesbianism. (random fact: In the script for Dogma. Her line as God when asked the meaning of life was supposed to be, “One Word… Plastics.” Bonus Points if you get the homage.)

About to go back on the market and 50 in August is Madonna, although totally nuts, an African baby thief, still without vocal talent and a bad imitation of a guitar player is still “one tasty piece of bitch“. Sometimes she gets too buff for her frame, sometimes she looks transparent and I can see her vaney face (they don’t get much sun in England) but I think that Yid Yoga and Kaballah Karate Stuff is doing wonders on that amazing body she’s always had. I would hit it and so would you because at the end of the day she has encyclopedias of SEX in that ever wrinkling dome of hers. But lady, you can fix your teeth. You don’t have to look like the Brits. We have orthodontic technology now and it’s not plastic surgery. Even that Alien-Raper Tom Cruise tried to fix that mouth full of 2×4’s he wraps around David Miscavages little Hubbard. (That was a gross one, even for me, I know.)

Assuming you are old enough or retro-minded enough to remember young Kylie Minogue, awkward and tiny in her “Locomotion” days; you are assuredly pleased at the gorgeous Provacatuer this 40-year-old beauty has become. Something ‘I can’t get out of my head‘ is that side-baring curtain she was sporting in her infamous 2001’s video, looking like a sexy Jedi. Since then she has put out an asstounding amount of records, toured constantly, and even beaten breast cancer. But I can’t for the life of me put my finger in on what makes her so hot?

Former schoolteacher, Jingle Writer and Bad-era Michael Jackson backup singer Sheryl Crow has also kicked breast cancer’s sorry ass recently and came out of it more physically perfect than when she went in. She’s also probably outsold everyone else on the list. I’m willing to forgive her “Soak Up the Sun” and “The First Cut is the Deepest” infringements because her new record is decent protest music and her first 3 records are fucking chronic. At 46-years-old she still sounds the way she did when she broke out with Tuesday Night Music Club in her late 20’s. This photo of her “getting back” at John Mayer is proof that physically she probably hasn’t lost much either. She’s recently adopted a son and seems to live completely on her own terms on a farm outside of Nashville. Not bad for a girl from Missouri.

Despite recent beach photos on trashy blogs that I won’t name, the other Canadian songstress (not so fast Ann Murray) Sarah McLachlan is still at the top of my crush list. Better than Chocolate (in joke). She claims that she never found her true voice or really felt comfortable with her looks until she was nearly 30 (and got that sexy short haircut). The 40-year-old queen of Lilith Fair had me “Fallin” for the video of her writhing around in a bathtub. Her lyrics floor me, She is unbelievably talented as a musician and songwriter, she dedicated a huge deal of time to social causes and world relief, Surfacing is one of the best records ever made and she looks exactly like my co-conspirator AliUptown give or take a few freckles. And apparently her music lifted Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels out of depression.

I was raised around country music. My parents toured the midwest playing supper clubs and honky tonks and for some reason back then they let us kids hang around alcoholics in loud, smokey bars. But during all of that time I never heard of Emmylou Harris until I was a teenager. Even now I’m not terribly familiar with her older work, mostly collaborations with Mark Knopfler and Indie’s such as Bright Eyes that seem to worship at this Silver Fox’s feet. Is she the Steve Martin type who prematurely greyed? Because It seems to work for her. I’m sure she’s had some work done or some good airbrush artists have been on her photos because at 61-years-old is still hot enough to let me put her in this list without seeming like a GILF hunter.

Judge if you will but I propose a 25-year-old MINIMUM on success for women. Maybe then our society will figure out what is really hot and not swallow the load that douchey TMZ/PEREZ/Celebtarded Gossip Magazines are trying to sell them. The country has an extreme case of agism and ideal look dismorphia and I think these chicks are the cure.

Don’t take “chicks” the wrong way. Jesus, so sensitive.

A couple weeks late, I know. But I was describing it to someone and they were like…huh?

THE BPA - ‘TOE JAM’ FEAT. DAVID BYRNE & DIZZEE RASCAL
We love you David Byrne.

Lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits. You know I love ‘em. So…apparently McDonald’s has a Happy Meal toy that wears a red hat similar to Devo’s flower-pot-looking hat in the video for “Whip It”. Obviously, the fast-food chain was ‘inspired’ by the band. Some might say a little too inspired. What clinches it is the toy’s name: New Wave Nigel. Sounds cool, right? Not to bassist Gerald Casale, who informed the Australian Associated press that they are in the midst of a lawsuit. He states that the doll is a “Devo rip-off, and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed, and it’s copyrighted and trademarked.” Ouch.

The Happy Meal figurine is part of an “American Idol” themed set-each doll a different music genre: Disco Dave, Country Clay, Rockin’ Riley, Soulful Selma…you get the idea. The irony was not lost on Casale that a band that satirized mass culture was now being embraced by two of the biggest fixtures of the mainstream: McDonald’s and “American Idol.”

“We don’t like McDonald’s, and we don’t like ‘American Idol,’ so we’re doubly offended.”

See the offending doll for yourself:

Presenting the best white guy with a black guys voice since Adam Levine, Sam Sparro.

His album drops June 24th if you still buy CDs but you might want to snatch up a Vinyl of this because you will be playing it at your dance parties!

This is the kind of album that people will dance to and fall in love with each other. Wear a condom, kids; I don’t want to see a dance-inspired baby boom.

The singles “Black & Gold”(download) and “21st Century Life” will be the ones that suck you in. They’ve been spinning all over L.A. radio for the past month and I didn’t even figure out who it was until last week. This kids voice has an amazing soul quality reminiscent of the 70’s heavies! Hear for yourself…[myspace]. And he’s only 25. Jealous?

The Hump & Grind Rhythm and Synths in “Cottonmouth” will get you sweaty. “Recycle It!” is like an 80s PSA gone mad! “Clingwrap” eats a Parliment groove and throws enough Prince and Michael Jackson synths to choke a 10-year-old. This whole album plays to my vintage Roland Synth fetish in all the right places.

This record is CHRONIC! Apparently Mr.Sparro did a “Secret Show” at the Echo the other night but I missed it because of some minor alcohol poisoning and the accompanying personal guilt. I will be enjoying this album with a maximum of 3 drinks. What have I become… really!?

No shots please.

Video for Black & Gold.

When you are the son of the greatest singer-songwriter of all time, it’s going to be hard shake their shadow. I mean look at this review, already not even talking about him. He’s already doomed.

But Jakob Dylan’s first post-Wallflowers solo record “Seeing Things” holds up pretty well on its own. The most positive merit is the musicianship which is crisp to a maddening level. You can hear the pros that the Dylans tend to surround themselves with; and Jakob’s voice mixes with well. Dylan kept surprisingly less gravel in his voice but instead you hear some of the folkier dareisayit, Springsteen? Yes, this album is classified on iTunes as FOLK. I could be missing the point of the track but “War Is Kind” is almost even a protest song?

A bold move for someone who spent the last 2 records shaking his famous father.

I’ve been spinning this record on occasion for a couple weeks trying to get a solid bead on whether I like it or not and I haven’t thrown it off my balcony yet so I guess it must be passable. I’ve zeroed in on it’s perceived simplicity making it a repeat friendly (background?) record. You will hear ghosts of brilliance in the sparse guitar work of the lead off track “Evil Is Alive And Well” which I believe to be my favorite. The dark side of the simplicity is the lack of emotion behind Dylans vocal lines. Pretty, but without melodrama. I like melodrama with my acoustic. The dark side, as i was saying, is this albums LACK of dark side.

The cleanliness of this album began to bother me halfway through with Adult-Contemporary worthy singles like “Something Good This Way Comes”(in heavy Sirius rotation) and “On Up The Mountain”. At times Seeing Things turns into a record that I’m guessing only parents can understand. I am not, so i do not. Maybe you’ve knocked someone up, in which case I direct you to this solid acoustic record. Should you be looking for something a bit more like the Wallflowers… you’ll have to wait.

The “Thing” I wasn’t “Seeing” on this album is how it was produced by Rick Rubin. Too few cooks in this kitchen.

I give Seeing Things by Jakob Dylan a commendable 7/10 for its simplicity and possible truthfulness… and hope very soon for a rock record.

——

Catch Jakob Dylan currently on tour supporting Seeing Things:
June
27 - Chicago, IL - Metro
28 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
29 - Charleston, WV - Mountain Stage
30 - Lexington, KY - Kentucky Theatre
July
01 - Lexington, KY - Kentucky Theatre
03 - Buffalo, NY - Lafayette Square
04 - Rothbury, MI - Rothbury Festival
05 - Des Moines, IA - Music Coalition
06 - Milwaukee,WI - Summerfest
08 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Taping
10 - Ottawa, ON - Ottawa Bluesfest
13 - Winnipeg,SAS - Winnipeg Folkfest
15 - Los Angeles, CA - Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno
August
02 - Newport, RI - Newport Folkfest
09 - Edmonton,ALB - Edmonton Folk
17 - Lyons, CO - Folks Festival
31 - Seattle, WA - Bumbershoot
September
26 - Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Music Festival- Zilker Park

Omahan Conor Oberst has announced a lengthy solo tour to accompany his impending solo LP due out August 5th.

Why even drop the name Bright Eyes? Bright Eyes is Conor Oberst. No offense to Mike Mogis and Nate Wolcott, they are both very talented but everyone else on stage with Conor is just “you know, those guys in Bright Eyes’ band”. And actually he is still bringing Nate with on this tour, along with Maria Macey Taylor, Taylor Hollingsworth, Nik Freitas, and Rilo Kiley’s Jason Boesel in his band called the Mystic Valley Band. I’m guessing this naming followed a couple days visit with Mescalito.

You can stream 2 of the tracks on ConorOberst.com now. Let me know if you get a pre-release.

So dare I shell out 40 bucks tomorrow morning to see him at the Trubadour August 5th? A CD release show of sorts? Probably not. He seems to loathe his audiences and never fails to play exactly what nobody else wants to here. I’ll wait for a smaller Bright Eyes show.

North American Tour Dates
7/25 Billings, MT Bones Brewing
7/27 Calgary, AB Calgary Folk Festival
7/29 Vancouver, BC Richards on Richards
7/30 Seattle, WA Neumo’s
7/31 Bend, OR Midtown Ballroom

I knew this entire dance in middle school. The chick to Aaliyah’s right is Fatima Robinson, the choreographer. This video made me want to wear green lipstick. Man, I loved MTV then-if for no other reason than all the dancing in videos. That was ten years ago, wowza.

The song is listed as the 387th on the ‘The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born‘. Whatever that means.

So my roommate and I ventured off to the Northwest Side (represent) to eat us some ribs and watch us some bands. The Republic Tigers were the first band of the day, and most people were still wandering into the area, the grills were just starting to fire up, good smells and good sounds were soon to follow. Of course, the second the music started, the sky opened up, and Heaven had a good cry. Sprinkles soon turned to tsunami rainfall within minutes. We sought shelter under the tarp where the makeshift sound booth was, while others stood in the pouring rain, their umbrellas making a laughable attempt to keep them dry. See the wetness?

Considering all the PA speakers were covered in blue tarps, and the weather was on the verge of apocalyptic, the sound quality was impressive. The band themselves rocked on, every now and then edging further and further away from the stage front to avoid the inevitable flooding. After about 15 minutes, it was deemed a lost cause and unfortunately, that was the end of the show.

They definitely have an indie-rock flair, but there’s something delicate amidst the rock. There’s a nice contrast between the soft acoustic sounds, and almost 80s-ish keyboard sounds, and that’s what made them so appealing. They definitely kept the attention of the crowd, which was everyone and anyone. They did come down and take time to meet everyone afterwards, very personable (and attractive) dudes.

I managed to stay mostly dry and have a good time. Although I can’t say much for the ribs (or the 6 dollar funnel cake), the band was definitely worth the trip. I wish they could have finished their set, or better yet, had a later time slot, and therefore a much bigger audience to impress.

*sidenote: In the picture, the two girls in the orange Republic Tigers t-shirts couldn’t have been older than 14, and absolutely gushed over the guys. It was sickeningly adorable. One of them flew into Chicago from Tallahassee to see them, after stumbling across them on XM radio a month prior. Now that’s a fan.

Here’s a quick email interview I did with the Republic Tigers before the show, questions answered by Kenn Jankowski, lead vocals/keys/guitar guy:

Avanttrash: Tell me about your influences in music.

Kenn Jankowski: We have many individual influences. But collectively, I’d say we all really love most of the “headphone” bands, like the Flaming Lips and Blonde Redhead. It’s not enough for bands to have beautiful recordings though. We mainly enjoy the ones that have obvious threads of classical influence within the chord flow and melody.

AT: What is the Kansas City music scene like? How does it differ from what you’ve seen in other cities while touring?

KJ: Massively supportive. If you don’t like our band, but you explain to me what kind of music you do like, I can introduce you to a Kansas City band that meets your demands. I see trends within cities, when we travel - it usually seems like 80% of any given city’s music all sounds similar. Where as, Kansas City has Ssion, In The Pines, Namelessnumberheadman, Deep Thinkers, The Rich Boys, Roman Numerals, Ghosty, Ad Astra Per Aspera, Be/Non, Olympic Size, Paper Cities, Beautiful Bodies, Vedera, Bacon Shoe, and American Catastrophe just to name a few.

AT: How does being from the Midwest influence your sound?

KJ: Occasional twangy pronunciation. That’s about it.

AT: Any old bands? What do you bring from those past experiences to Republic Tigers?

KJ: He who smelt it, dealt it.

AT: What’s next after Ribfest?

KJ: Finishing out the tour with Nada Surf - Indianapolis, Columbus, and Cleveland. Then we go home for a few weeks and play a benefit show in KC on June 28th at Crosstown Station. West coast touring after that. Not really sure beyond.

Moral of the story: Good guys, good music, catch them if they come to your area. Pray for sunshine.

I, being from Nebraska, am a huge fan of The Faint. Luckily they are touring through L.A. doing 2 nights at the Fonda. I just might have to see them both. And after 4 years of waiting …a new record!

Press Release:
A culmination of nearly four years of writing and recording, Omaha quintet, The Faint are preparing to release their fifth album, Fasciinatiion, on August 5 on the band’s own newly-formed label, blank.wav. Working on their own without any time constraints, the songs went through many recorded incarnations before finding their final forms. The result is the best album in the band’s career, a record that is the purest culmination of The Faint’s brilliant musical instincts, ideas and aesthetic, with each member contributing equally to its creation.

In honor of the recent release of Priscilla Ahn’s debut album A Good Day and her recent appearance on Jay Leno. Here is an Email Interview I did with Ms.Ahn a couple weeks ago:

AvantTrash: When i’d seen you last year at a school fundraiser in the back of a store; your set painted a lovely picture of Pennsylvania. How would you describe your upbringing?
Priscilla Ahn: In general, it was pretty quiet. My parents were strict as I got older, so I didn’t go out much and “party”. I spent most of my time at school. I was involved in sports and music and drama, which took up most of my time. When I got home I studied. The older I got, the more I fought with my parents, so I tried to spend most of my time in my bedroom, reading, playing guitar….

AT: What made you pick up the guitar or start writing songs?
PA: My Dad always urged me to do it. But I never had any real interest in it until 9th grade, when a guy I liked played the guitar really well, like James Taylor style. I thought it was the coolest thing, and dug out my mom’s old guitar she had brought with her from S. Korea.

AT: Did you tour? Did you do the coffee house circuit? Any busking or singing for your dinner?
PA: When I first started out I did a lot of coffee houses. I also tried to get gigs anywhere I could. A lot of those places were restaurants and bars. I’d play for like, 3 hours, and make $60. I never liked to “busk”. I was never in a position where i had to, so i figured why should i? it’s exhausting work. But when my family and I were on vacation at the beach, my dad made me sing for change on the boardwalk. I was into the first night, but then…..well, like i said….it’s exhausting. You’re constantly giving energy to a majority of people who didn’t care, and your only real validation that people like you, is their loose change. Although, i have to say, I didn’t do too bad.

AT: And the trip out to L.A.? What prompted it and how was your trip out here?
PA: My first trip out here was with 2 other musicians. Our goal was to write songs on the road. We never wrote anything, but the traveling was unforgettable. And the moment we drove into L.A. I knew it was a place I wanted to be. So….one month later I packed up my car and drove out. It took me 5 days. It was truly an adventure. I was 19, traveling alone across the country, staying in hotels by myself for the first time, blasting Led Zeppelin in my Saturn. It was cool.

AT: I heard you waitressed… where was it and how long did that last?
PA: I waitressed at a restaurant called Cheebo. I was there for a year.

AT: How did you get hooked up with Joey Waronaker?
PA: My manager hooked me up with him. We had coffee and I really liked his personality, and we became friends from there.

AT: How was the Hotel Cafe tour? Who do you think is going to be the next big thing from that group?
PA: The tour was a lot of fun. All good people, singing together, traveling together. It was pretty cool. I have no idea who’s gonna “blow up” next. I’m never really good at guessing those things, cuz the ones you would think are the least likely to, are playing in the grocery store the next day. I can say, though, that I listen to Buddy’s album ALL the time. He gave me an advance copy of it about a year ago (lucky me!) and i think i’ve worn it out.

AT: With all the craziness in the music business, where do you see music going?
PA: Who knows? It seems like it’s going into the hands of whoever wants it, really. Music will always be one of the most popular forms of art and entertainment. It’s just, how people hear it, and how people choose it, that’s changing. I love that music is available wherever you are, and that I can record a song on my laptop and post it to a bunch of people on myspace in a matter of a few hours, or less. Things are just gonna get faster and more efficient…..and smaller probably.

AT: Thanks for your time.
PA: no prob!

—–
How Lovely. So a couple days ago I asked for people to send me emails telling me why they should get Priscilla’s CD and that I’d give them to the best 2 answers. Well the winners were Tonya Howell from Grand Island, NE and Mrs. Beth Miller from Lebabon, PA
Mrs. Miller Wrote:

Priscilla Hartranft Ahn is from Bernville, PA but also descends from Korea.
I was her high school counselor at Tulpehocken High School where she was encouraged to follow her heart and not the expectations of others.
She resisted those enormous conformity pressures and look what has flourished!
I am a proud mama. We are a Tulpehocken Proud village.
That is why I want to win the CD.
Otherwise, I will have to call her mother and pay for one!
(^_*)
Mrs. Beth Miller, retired

Wow! My guidance counselors weren’t that helpful!
Tonya Howell wrote:

Why I should get the CD? Because her song “Rain” has gotten me through these massive amounts rainy days, flooded basements and sewer back-ups on the island that is Grand. I included it on my mix: http://www.mixwit.com/tonya_howell/rain-more-rain-even-more-rain

Yeah that weather stuff is nasty. We don’t have that stuff in L.A. anymore. Congrats to the winners and stay tuned for more contests and a LOT more live reviews!

My first exposure to Priscilla Ahn was through sheer coincidence. Early Last year I was working for a band who happened to be playing a little benefit show in an exotic home interiors store in Eagle Rock. The opener was the featherweight Phoebe Cates (or yes, Winnie Cooper) stand-in Ms.Ahn. With her guitar and handful of toys and gadgets she made the space her own little world. Her songs transported me into to a place that you’d think only she’d been. But what really slayed me was the delicate orchestra coming off of one small person. With the aide of a Boss loop station pedal she made enough music to fill 3 coffee houses. So of course I’d wondered what it would sound like if she actually had a full band behind her.

Flash forward a year to the night of the release of her debut album A Good Day, where Priscilla and her parlor full of band members took the stage of the Hotel Café. The house was packed with a surprisingly high contingency of asian fans (role model?) and some buzz seeking industry and media reps. I joined a photo pit of about 7 packed into the small corner off stage left and prepared to be destroyed with a feather.

Priscillas stage persona is a tiny ball of artisitic elation, at once nervous and as comfortable as if she were singing to herself…which she eventually did (in loops). The room was stuffy but a cool breeze flowed from the opening numbers of Priscillas set with “Wallflowers” and the Dylan/Lennon Harmonica infused “I don’t think so”. She beamed as she announced the albums release and proclaimed that she was going to “play the whole damn thing”. Which she nearly did… minus the albums’ title track. Her co-penned song “Astronaut” stuck out of the middle of her set just as it does on the album with a storytellers jumble of The Ditty Bops meets “Mr. Kite”.

Even the smallest band would feel crowded on the Hotel Café’s Stage, but veterans such as bandleader/producer/mentor Joey Waronker played to perfection and drove songs like “Red Cape” beyond what the very capable Ahn could do solo. As I was debating the merits of her work with a band and solo Ahn broke out her ukulele for “Find My Way Back Home” and proved how absolutely powerful she could be with just 4 strings and no accompaniment.

But what makes a Priscilla Ahn show is the personality transferred through her storytelling. Debatably the most beautiful song in her cadre is “Lullaby” which comes with a wonderful story about small town escapism and unqualified local policemen; sealed with her Joni Mitchell to Delores O’Riordan vocal outro. As the set was winding down she also shared her story of Willie Nelson’s reaction to her cover of “Opportunity to Cry” before launching into the song with folk swing.

The evening was capped with her “Dream” of a new single which builds to a peak with a looped armada of perfectly harmonized siren calls from Ahn. The added layers of Upright Bass, Drums, Keys, Electric Guitar and Two Cellos pushed this showstopper to the brink of spiritual enlightenment.

The assumed Encore and closer was the kazoo soloed “The Boob Song”, an older fixture of her set with more great storytelling and playful teenage introspection. A fun close to a great set, Priscilla Ahn is full of promise and potential. She radiates a joy in creation and performance that you won’t see too often in bitter, navelgazing hipsters on dark stages in Silverlake. Although my shirt was sticking to my back and the Hotel Café had to be its typical high 80s climate, I felt refreshed by this show as if i’d just walked through the rain.

9.4/10

I saw Priscilla Ahn at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood for her CD Release Show tonight. She is still amazing! I will be posting a glowing review and an interview tonight. In case you want a little taste of Priscilla Ahn then set your Chin seeking TiVo tonight (Wed) and catch her performing her single “Dream” to perfection on the Tonight Show.

To celebrate her amazing CD Release, Filter Magazine has hooked me up with 2 copies of A Good Day to give away to 2 lucky AvantTrash readers. All you have to do to get one is to email me at contest[at]avanttrash.com and tell me where Ms.Ahn is from and why you want the record. HINT I’ll pick the 2 best.

Massive amounts of reviews coming soon, its been a busy week.

Two great things together. Kittahs and Theremins. These cats are adorable, is Japan getting an especially cute strain of kitties?

To the uninitiated Leon Theremin was almost as important to electronics as Tesla and Edison. Beyond inventing the Theremin which was the first instrument that you didn’t even touch to play, he also invented a few dozen other gizmos that are now the basis of synthesizers and electronic music. Theremin also created the “Buran” eavesdropping system which recorded conversations in French and American embassies by measuring the window glass vibrations using a low power infrared beam from a distance. But really anyone could have done that right?

And he probably invented untold hundreds of spy-sci while working for the KGB.

kitties via ApartmentTherapy.

I cut the wheat from the chaff for this most recent contest by making it extra hard to anyone who hadn’t field tripped to see Shuttlecocks, Taken in a Royals Game or Rode the Orient Express (RIP) at Worlds of Fun.

The Answers were:
1. Shuttlecocks by Claes Oldenberg at the Nelson-Atkins
2. Truman Sports Complex (or Arrowhead/Kauffman Stadiums)
3. nobodies favorite American Idol winner David Cook
4. Harry S. Truman (not Roosevelt, not Eisenhauer)
BONUS: Cody Critchloe from KC’s mindblowing art punk disaster of ecstacy known as SSION.

The Winner of the Grand Prize of the Dakine Medic Messenger Bag and the Republic Tigers Keep Color CD was Rachel Farha from Mission, KS who says:

“WOW! I never win anything. Makes my morning a little better after my car was smoking and had to be taken to the shop… First saw Ssion opening for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Pretty freakin’ awesome. Thanks AvantTrash for giving the Republic Tigers the props they deserve. You guys rule.”

The First Prize winner of the Autographed Keep Color CD and Republic Tigers t-shirt was Michelle Hudak from Cleveland, OH! who says:

“Thanks so much, the contest was fun! I like a little brain-work with my reading. Your site is great…one of my bookmarked favs! Keep up the excellent work.”

It was good to hear from some Republic Tigers/Ssion fans who were proud of their hometown heroes.

During the course of the contest there were a few messages about how much people loved American Idol and hated David Cook along with some excellent comments from KC residents in close contact with AC/DC (which means goes both ways) with some INTERESTING stories about him. Some dropped the word “poser” and others preferred “douche”. I myself see about 20 minutes of American Idol per season and mostly just catch the traffic as I am a block from the Kodak. But i’ll tell you one thing… honky dreadlocks are a crime.

Thanks to everyone who entered and keep checking back for more contests from AvantTrash!