Festival 2008 Recap

We hit the 2nd day of the '08 Virgin Mobile Festival on Sunday, and while not as good as last year (how can you top The Police, Beastie Boys, LCD Soundsystem, Cheap Trick, and even a vacant Amy Winehouse?), it was still a good time. There was a lot more separation between the two headliners, Nine Inch Nails and Kanye West, and the rest of the lineup - seemingly, all of the on-stage energy for the entire day was saved up for the last two acts. There were certainly other solid if unspectacular performances from Stone Temple Pilots, the Black Keys, Bob Dylan, and Moby, but nothing that could touch the aggressiveness of Mr. Reznor or the showmanship of Mr. West. There were a few acts that I had never heard of, or that had heard very little about, that I'll be checking out more, including Andrew Bird and Chromeo.

2008 Rock & Roll HOF Induction

I'm not one for award shows, but I am a fan of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame show because it's so unlike the Oscars or the Grammys. For one, the audience is full of the most random collection of celebrities and music executives - this year there was Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, some SNL cast members, and a random supermodel or two. The performances are also somewhat rough but come off as really genuine, maybe due to the relatively small venue at the Waldorf in NYC, as opposed to the cavernous amphitheaters that contain the bigger awards shows.

But the best part is the unscripted nature of the whole production. You never know what the inductees, or inductors (?) are going to say. And they can say pretty much whatever they want, for as long as they want. We recorded the show on Monday night and watched it last night; it was a good thing that it was recorded because we could zip through some of the inductees that we didn't know or care about and just get to the main acts (Leonard Cohen, Madonna, Mellencamp), because otherwise we would have been sitting there watching for four hours. On MHD they show the whole thing, edited only for bad words, without commercials, including stage change-overs and random backstage footage ("backstage" for some reason consisting of a kitchen/walk-in freezer area of the hotel). I think they edit it down to 2-hours, with ads, when they re-broadcast it on VH1 in a few weeks.

So what about all those crazy speeches and introductions? First of all, you kind of wonder how they come up with some pairings. Back in 2003 Gwen Stefani inducted the Police, and Elton John inducted Elvis Costello. Not the most natural pairings, if you ask me, but kinda fun nonetheless. This year Mr. Cohen was treated to a rambling, disjointed, when-will-it-end monologue by...Lou Reed? Sure, why not. Lou's odd introduction was thrown into even sharper relief by Cohen's brief, funny, touching acceptance speech.

Next up was Justin Timberlake to induct Madonna, a pairing that made a bit more sense to us. Justin started strong, but all the innuendo and lame jokes, not to mention his attempts to work in as many Madonna song titles as possible, became somewhat painful to listen to after a few minutes. Not terrible enough to wonder if Lou was still available, but still not good. Madonna herself had a solid and sincere acceptance speech prepared, nothing controversial or particularly noteworthy. But then...she didn't perform! Huh? Instead fellow Michigan native Iggy Pop performed in her stead (at her request?!?), "treating" the audience to two Madonna covers, the first which I didn't even recognize and the second an awful version of Ray of Light. Ugh.

Billy Joel inducted John Mellencamp, and while he started slow, he really delivered the most entertaining speech of the whole night. The role of sardonic and bitter aging rock/pop musician suits him quite well, plus he was very funny. I especially enjoyed his impression of Randy Newman. Mellencamp's speech was a bit rambling but solid, he seemed almost weary though at the podium. Fortunately, he had plenty of energy once he got on stage to perform three of his hits, although none of the three was Jack and Diane; what's up with that?

The big finale number, in which all inductees perform together, was just OK. They covered a song by the newly-inducted Dave Clark Five, and while Madonna didn't make it on stage, Iggy Pop didn't either, which was fine with us. So it ended up being John "Don't Call Me Cougar!!!" Mellencamp and his band, joined by John Fogerty, Joan Jett (told you this show was weird), plus Billy Joel looking clueless on keyboards - I wonder if anyone remembered to tell the old guy what song they were playing, or at least what key they were in.

The Police Confiscate Rock Band

Today's release of Truth Hits Everbody (an early Police single from Outlandos), brings the total number of Police songs available on Rock Band to five. Awesome. Next month, when Message In A Bottle is available for download, that number will be six, more than any other act in the game! (Metallica's count by the end of March will be five). And the Police songs so far - including one of my favorites, Synchronicity II, are of varying degrees of difficulty, which is nice.

I'm also going to have to take issue with some of the "Tier" difficulty rankings, according to this Wikipedia page. I'm not sure what the source is, but some of these seem way off to me. The Boston song that's included in the game is easier on guitar and bass than Tier 8 (out of 9), while the bass line for the Beastie Boys' Sabotage is really tough - no way it's a Tier 3. Other rankings seem entirely appropriate though; Enter Sandman and Highway Star are both brutal.

The Spree, Live!

On Saturday night, we ventured out to Ram's Head Live (our first time catching a show there) to see the Polyphonic Spree. While the acoustics were hard to judge - with 23 people on stage, the sheer cacophony can be a bit overwhelming - Ram's Head is a cool venue. As for the Spree, well it's seriously a performance that you have to experience. Any description won't do it justice, so I'm just not going to write one. We did wonder if we were seeing the energy level of a typical show, considering that it was the last night of this particular tour (and also founder and lead singer Tim DeLaughter's birthday), so I guess that means that we'll just have to see them some other time, to put that question to rest.

Not a problem at all though; they definitely go on my short list of acts that I've already seen, but that I would go see again and again, whenever opportunity presented [others on the list: the Police, Elvis Costello, Garbage, Harry Connick].

Max Roach

Max Roach passed away yesterday. I only have one of his albums, Deeds Not Words, but it is one of my favorites [it features a tuba on several tracks!!!]. His compositions are much more accessible, IMO, than Tony Williams', another drummer who's often mentioned as one of the greatest of his era.

Police Report for August 4, 2007

Yes, we saw the Police in concert again! This time at the Virgin Music Festival at Pimlico this past weekend. They played almost the exact same set as in PA, minus two songs, but it was still exhilarating, mostly because we were so close to the stage - anywhere from 100 feet back towards the start of the show to 50 feet away when they closed with a single-song second encore of Next To You. I even have some photos, although most are at least a bit blurry and/or grainy; the event organizers stated pretty clearly no cameras with changeable lenses, so that meant no Nikon D50 for us (we still saw a handful of people walking around with DSLRs though, so I guess it wasn't a well-enforced rule); instead, we took our old eBay-purchased Sony, with its 3x zoom. Eh, better than nothing, but it's hard to take a decent photo from even that close, when you have to hold the camera over your head to shoot above the crowd, plus there's the standard digital camera shutter delay to contend with.

We were able to get right up front because the Beastie Boys were on before the Police, and about a third of their fans emptied out - their loss was our gain! We were packed in pretty tight, at the end of a long, hot, humid, dusty day - it was a blast! We were close enough to see the few looks of disgust on Sting's face when they messed up song intros (Sting's fault once, Stewart's another time, although can the drummer ever really be wrong when it comes to timing?), and to read some of the text on Andy's guitar strap - "Oh My God, You Killed Kenny!" - seriously, that's what it was. Otherwise, not a lot of difference from the last show; as Jenny pointed out, unfortunately Andy's kick-ass solo for Walking In Your Foosteps was severely abbreviated, and one of the songs they didn't play that they played in Hershey was one of my favorites, The Bed's Too Big Without You. But I thought Driven To Tears sounded tighter, and I appreciated being able to fully enjoy another favorite, Synchronicity II, without also searching for our seats, as we had to do in PA.

Other bands, bah who cares. But here's a quick rundown anyway:

1. LCD Soundsystem - easily the best act we saw all day, other than the Police. These guys are aggressive, loud, energetic, and maybe a bit crazy.
2. Peter Bjorn and John (PB&J) - rock/pop from Sweden, songs themselves are hit-and-miss in terms of the writing, but another fun performance.
3. Amy Winehouse - great voice, outstanding band, too bad she mailed it in, either due to the heat or b/c she was high, not sure which. Plus, she really needs to eat something.
   
4. Beastie Boys - caught the second half of their set, not my kind of music but they're funny guys and great performers.
5. Cheap Trick - maybe a bit too old for this crowd? Robin Zander can still sing, they were OK on the whole.
6. Danny Tenaglia (DJ) - fun guy, good performer, eschews the 'DJ-as-cooler-than-you-stoic' stage persona.
7. Sasha and John Digweed (DJs) - yawn.

We also saw the billionaire himself, Richard Branson, around mid-day. He really puts together a well-organized festival, and his emphasis on environmentalism and community service isn't just lip service; half the festival ground was filled with various service organization and NGO booths, and every trash-disposal area was staffed by a person who made sure that garbage was sorted correctly [landfill, compost, or recycling].

[Update: I just uploaded a very short video (0:15) of the first few lines of Roxanne. It doesn't sound all that horrendous, a lot better than I thought it would anyway, considering it's a still camera in MPEG movie mode. It's so short because it's on the highest-quality setting, and that's as big as the buffer gets at that setting.]

Police Report for July 20, 2007

I didn't think it possible, but the Police - in concert!!! - actually exceeded my expectations. All 3 of them sounded fantastic. They sounded like they just picked up right where they left off, like the Synchronicity tour was a few months ago and this was just the next leg.

Gordon's (aka Sting's - we're close, so I can call him Gordon) vocals were pretty damn good, even on the high notes (still!). He broke out some kind of pan flute for the beginning of Walking in Your Footsteps, but other than that just stuck with the bass, which had a very heavy sound - I guess that's what's required of their catalog, when the melody is so often in the bass line?

Andy Summers (the guitarist) really shines in concert, much more so than on the studio tracks, because he has so much more latitude. His solos are more elaborate, and he's not just relegated to playing rhythm guitar on ska- or reggae-beat songs.

Stewart Copeland is the Greatest Drummer in the History of Rock. Period. I don't know what else to say. I know Sting writes the songs, but I don't know where the Police would be, how well-defined their sound would be, without Stewart. He was simply awesome. His drum kit was massive, and then he had an additional array of percussion instruments (half of which I couldn't name, but which did include timpani, steel drums, a huge gong, and all sorts of chime and cymbal-type thingees) upon which he also kicked much ass.

Highlights - the quite-enthusiastic crowd reaction to Every Little Thing She Does is Magic (evidently a fan favorite), the percussion work on Wrapped Around Your Finger, and the overall massive arena-rock sound of two of the encore numbers, So Lonely and King of Pain.

I can't believe that we get to see them again in a few weeks. We're not worthy!!

[Edit: Here's a review of the show from the Sun music critic, Rashod Ollison.]

Brian May, Back to School

Apparently the Queen founder, guitarist, and songwriter has dusted off his 30+ year-old doctoral thesis in astrophysics, and could get his PhD next year. Kinda neat. And yet, I wonder how it is that some people get all the brains and the creativity. It hardly seems fair, does it?

Elvis in Philly

Last Saturday, we were up in Philly for the day, and stopped by the Reading Terminal Market (pretty much the same as Lexington Market in Charm City, and smaller versions in town like Cross Street and Broadway markets) and the Mütter Museum before the main reason for our visit, Elvis Costello at the Electric Factory.

Not sure whether it was because it was the last night of the tour, but the band came out with a lot of energy, and didn't take a break until they were seven or eight songs in. They even played through when the drummer broke his bass head after three songs. I caught Costello for the first time three years ago in Vegas, and this show was night-and-day different from that one, in that almost every song was loud and fast. They played one of my favorites, Beyond Belief, and it rocked considerably more than the recorded version. Elvis was as cool as ever, in a black suit, shirt and tie, and dark sunglasses (ah, to be a rock musician!), and his voice has to be one of the more underrated ones in the business - the guy can sing any style, and has a deceptively impressive range. Do I sound like a music critic yet? I hope not.

Surprise guest Allen Toussaint, a fellow HOFer and collaborator on The River in Reverse, sat in for thirty-plus minutes; the guy plays an effortless keyboard, and has a cool voice. For the last song, which capped a two-and-a-half hour show, Elvis segued from Peace, Love and Understanding into the chorus of Bring the Boys Home - a nice touch during an otherwise politically-understated show.

Rock Hall

We caught a bit of this year's induction ceremony for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame a few weeks ago, and this past weekend Jenny and I were perusing the list of inductees and speculating about who else should be in, both now and in the future (recording artists are first eligible 25 years after release of their first recording).

For performers who were definitely influences on rock, but who could probably make it in as performers also, I have to bring up electronic pioneers Kraftwerk (for the second post in a row!), and also surf guitar legend Dick Dale. I'm actually surprised that Dale hasn't already been inducted, and the electronic sound is such a part of rock/pop these days, I'm not sure how you can leave Kraftwerk out. Miles Davis was inducted in 2006, and I would argue that his relationship to rock is relatively tenuous, so I think a case could definitely be made for these two acts. Also, New York Dolls, maybe?

Performers who are already eligible (first record released in...um, let's call it 1981 or earlier), who should be inducted soon? We thought those should definitely include The Cure, and we thought a good case could also be made for both The Cars and Duran Duran. I just thought of another one this morning - Rush. One of my favorite bands growing up, Def Leppard, will probably miss the cut - yeah, they sold a lot of albums, but how influential was their sound? I think it's telling that KISS isn't an inductee, despite being eligible for a number of years. Am I missing anyone? Check the inductee list first; who is and isn't already in can be surprising.

Eligible within the next few years, that are "locks" to get in? Madonna and Metallica come to mind immediately. As for more modern acts, that's a longer list; maybe I'll save that for another post.

Revelations in Music and Fashion

I'm reading this book of Jenny's on the train this week about the history of the DJ, and it mentions Ben Sherman, a clothing designer that I dig, as having been the label of choice in the working class "northern soul" clubs of Northern England back in the sixties. I can see that, although they've come a long way since then, with $90 shirts and the like.

And on the train this morning, I'm listening to Kraftwerk (also a Jenny musical selection - yes, books on DJs, early elctronic music, she's much cooler than me), and I hear a familiar melody while listening to Computerlove. Turns out that it's the melody that Coldplay uses in Talk. Who knew? Not a great song though, IMO, even with the catchy melody.

Quality Sunday Night TV

First, from 5 to 7, the Terps captured an all-to-easy "must-win" against their arch-rivals.

Then, while I was waiting for the evening's main event, I caught a bit of 60 Minutes - just my opinion, and I know it's early, but I have a difficult time picturing an '08 Democratic ticket without Obama somewhere on it. And did anyone else know that Ravi Shankar is Norah Jones' father?!?

Then, the Police opened the Grammys with Roxanne. Awesome. They have a press conference scheduled for 11 PT today; it's assumed that they'll be announcing their 30th anniversary reunion tour! Now, I'm sure there's a ticket price that I wouldn't be willing to pay to see them in concert, but I think I'll wait and see what tickets cost before deciding on that price...

Songwriter Extraordinaire

Anyone who digs great - and usually hilarious - music should check out Jonathan Coulton, a musician who's Thing a Week is currently my favorite podcast. He's got a little something for almost everyone! Here are some examples:

• for the Calscape: acoustic-guitar driven cover of Baby Got Back
• for Jarriel and anyone else who appreciates a good zombie film: Re: Your Brains
  
• for my parents and other old(er) people, and for 1990 TJHS Marching Band members: Beatles/Chicago mashup When I'm 25 or 64
• for Scott and anyone who was captivated by curling during the Olympics: Curl
  
• for Greg, the Wimble, other young dads, and Beach Boys fans: Stroller Town

I have most of his podcasts stored on my home PC, so let me know if you want me to hook you up with songs that might not be available via iTunes anymore. Plus he has a few albums on iTunes, which I've been meaning to purchase (honest!) but haven't gotten around to just yet.

Cashing In the Bracket

One bracket down, one to go! I already wrapped up the pool for our main office in Michigan, the earliest win ever, by anyone's recollection. And I'll win the local office pool as long as LSU doesn't win it all. Neither pool is very big, $75 payout for each, but not a bad return on a $5"investment". I don't like rooting against LSU; they and George Mason are two of the more lovable teams left in the tourney. Actually, if you can excuse UCLA's hideous brand of defensive basketball, all four teams are likable in their own way. LSU has Big Baby, UCLA is Big East basketball amongst the palm trees (well, I think that's kinda neat), Florida has the fabulous inside play of Noah and Horford, and Mason is the local team with five - five! - players from Maryland.

Quick aside about that - this is where the Terps missing on a recruit like Travis Garrison or Sterling Ledbetter hurts twice. They not only get a player who isn't very good or who doesn't improve, but they miss out on local talent that ends up going to a smaller program.

Hey, if you're in the DC area and don't have anything to do this Thursday, head to the Black Cat to see Hard-Fi. Cheap tickets, great music - unfortunately I'll miss it, so somebody please go, and tell me how much it rocked.

FE Exam Revisited, Music Reviews

OK, so I was apparently wrong about bombing the FE Exam, because I passed after all. A source of pride? Not really, more like relief that I don't have to re-take it, and can move on to the PE exam. Yay. Too bad these exams don't actually test your competency as an engineer. How can any multiple-choice format test do that? It's a good way for state licensing boards and the test prep industry to make some money, meanwhile years after the college application process and initial job-seeking, I'm still playing the "it will look good on your resume" game. I've grown to hate that game. However, a PE license will make it much easier to jump to another firm should I want to do that in the future (to shorten my commute, primarily).

I'm also not thrilled that I'll probably end up taking the Civil Engineering test. That test and the Environmental test includes topics such as transportation systems and air pollution that my Biological Resources Engineering program did not include, but the environmental test is 20 questions longer over the same time period, and there are fewer available study materials by far than for the Civil exam. I guess the labels aren't that important, but it still annoys me for some reason.

The White Stripes' Get Behind Me, Satan - two thumbs up. Just what one would expect of this band. They're a blues band as much as a rock band, IMO, and when I hear the Stones or Zeppelin, especially earlier stuff, it's no wonder that the White Stripes sound like such a throwback - those bands we're playing the blues back then, too. The Stripes keep it simple, and it works. Meg's drumming really comes through on this album, too. Sometimes it's like that bass drum is pounding on your skull. In a good way, though.

Coldplay's X&Y - eh, not so great. It's pleasant enough music, but after two solid-if-not-spectacular albums, I expected more than pleasant. There's nothing all that noticeable, new, or catchy here, and too many soft spots.

HFStival 2005

Saturday was quite a busy day for me. I began the day out in Frederick, running in the Mission of Mercy 5K with my dad and sister. Beautiful weather, and a decent race. I got almost the exact same time I had been getting earlier in the week when I ran the 5K course over in Patterson Park - 25:35. Odd, because usually people run a bit faster on race day, perhaps I've hit a bit of a 5K plateau and need to push through it. Anyway, Em finished about 90 seconds after I did, and Barry came in 30 seconds after her. Not too bad overall, especially the old man, who knocked 2+ minutes off of his previous 5K personal best.

After the race, it was back to Baltimore for the 2005 HFStival. The lineup this year was really strong, so after living in this area most of my life and never attending an HFStival, I've been the past two years. Strange. Overall, a good time. This is despite some crappy weather, tons of inconsiderate, punk-ass kids, and a few less-than-stellar performances. Here's the summary, I'll start with the not-so-good:

• Interpol - I'll put them first not because they were particularly bad, because they weren't, but because I've seen them twice before. They were incredible both times, so expectations were high. Yes, they sounded great. But they went on early in the day, around 2:30, and it seemed like they didn't want to be there. They played 6 songs or so, and while this was similar to the set lengths of other acts, their set seemed much shorter. Their bass player smashed his bass (badly - the Who would have laughed at him) before they walked off the stage, so maybe they were angry about something. Message to Interpol: you guys might be big now, but you're not U2 just yet. Adjust your attitude.
• Echo and the Bunnymen - Their lead singer's voice was malfunctioning, so they couldn't even play. He tried a song or two, but that was it. If you haven't been around for a while, it's probably best to take care of your voice before a big live show. Echo didn't get any new fans on Saturday. Also, the Bunnymen were not in costume.
• Good Charlotte - I thought their stage set, which Amy hilariously called the "Hot Topic set", consisting of gargoyles in a graveyard, was a bad sign. I was right. How did these guys ever get a record contract? They stink. Maybe there should be a new label for their type of music, because applying the pop-punk label to these types of bands disparages both Justin Timberlake AND the Ramones. Throw them together with Blink 182, Sum 41, Linkin Park, and you've got Hot Topic Rock. Cheap, trendy, appeals only to teenagers, won't last more than a few years.

Now, on to the acts that didn't suck:

• Garbage - We've seen them twice before, but unlike Interpol, the third time didn't disappoint. They are simply a great rock band, and Shirley Manson is a great performer and terrific live singer. If you like their music, I would recommend a live performance. Even the songs from their new album, which I think is quite unspectacular, sounded great live.
• The New York Dolls - I don't know much about them, other than they were a short-lived but influential punk band from the early 70s (the American answer to the Sex Pistols?), perhaps more influential for their style and appearance than anything else. They sounded damn good! They were clearly having fun up there, playing in front of a larger crowd than I'm sure they've seen in many years. And here's some bizarre music trivia about their lead singer, David Johansen. I knew I recognized him from somewhere, but when the guitarist announced his name mid-way through the set, I finally put it together. This is the same David Johansen who was also known in the 80s as Buster Poindexter, a purveyor of cocktail party songs and cheesy conga line dance numbers. He was almost unrecognizable, he currently looks like he's about 70 years old (he's 55) and a poster child for heroin use - either that or he's really sick.
• The Pietasters - Over at the locals stage, they went on last, and played an abbreviated set due to the appearance of some lightning. They sounded much better than last time I saw them, probably because they weren't drunk (yet). I vowed to never pay to see them as headliners ever again - they're a great band if they're opening for someone, but as the main act they can't keep it together because they're drinking - heavily - before and during their act. On Saturday, they were behaving, and consequently they sounded good.
• Billy Idol - The biggest reason that I was at the HFStival was to see this man perform, and he did NOT disappoint. He and his band just rocked. Simple as that. Definitely the highlight of my evening. He looked and sounded amazing, and knew how to work a crowd better than anyone else there (although Shirley Manson and Chris Martin came close). He reminded us several times that he was, after all, "Billy Fucking Idol". But we didn't need him to tell us that - we knew.
• Coldplay - They came on after a brief lightning delay, and had a surprisingly good live sound. Like Billy Idol, Chris Martin has a very distinct voice that shines through during live performances. He's quite the performer, very animated on stage, he really gets into each song. I'd love to see a show of theirs in the future.
  

As for the other acts that we saw, we caught They Might Be Giants towards the end of their set. They were funny, energetic, nothing really special though. That goes for the last act of the evening as well, the Foo Fighters. They played loud, hit their power chords, and Dave Grohl sounded good. I've never been too impressed with them though. Evidently, neither had Jenny, Amy, or Matt; we left mid-way through their set.

Song Killer

At band practice last night - I play the role of the singer, although maybe vocalist is a better term after this post, unless one has a very liberal definition of "singing" - we tried a cover of the Beatles' Eight Days a Week for the first time. I was unfortunately caught in vocal no-man's land; the octave the song was written in was too high for my rather limited range, but dropping down an octave I sounded like Johnny Cash or Steven Wright singing the Beatles. Something was lost, to say the least. So I toughed it out in the written octave, and it sounded just perfect, not counting the occasional strangled animal sound during a high note. I've never been a Beatles fan, but I couldn't help but think that my abbattoir-soundtrack vocal stylings weren't doing any of the four any justice. The dead Beatles (John, George, Ringo's career) were surely spinning around in their graves.