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Wilco with Jennifer O’Connor – Grand Opera House (Wilmington, DE) – August 10, 2008
You can read my full review here.
Radiohead with Grizzly Bear – Susquehanna Bank Center (Camden, NJ) – August 12, 2008
You can read my full review here.
Be Your Own Pet – Get Awkward (XL)
It’s too bad that this band recently broke up. Now I’m regretting not seeing them the two previous times they came here this year (especially the house show they played back in February) because after all these months, this album is still getting airplay here. Sure the lyrics are juvenile, but they make it work because they absolutely rip. My fiancee described them as a cross between THE AVENGERS and YEAH YEAH YEAHS, with whom they’re frequently compared to. I can’t help but to agree and with a sound like that, how can you go wrong?
Rogue Wave – Out of the Shadow (Sub Pop)
After their superb acoustic show here last week, I pulled their debut album out. It’s a bit like THE SHINS’ similar Oh, Inverted World in that it’s a more stripped-down, almost demo-like affair compared to what each band would do later. Still, this is perfectly fine indie-pop and songs like “Kicking the Heart Out,” “Endless Shovel” and the humorous and catchy “Postage Stamp World” make this a necessity for fans who may have discovered them through last year’s excellent Asleep at Heaven’s Gate and in particular through the Zune commercial that used that album’s “Lake Michigan”.
Robyn Hitchcock – I Often Dream of Trains (Rhino)
He’s playing this album, generally considered his best solo album, from start to finish this fall and in anticipation of that show, I pulled this one out. It’s a fine album, though admittedly I much prefer Hitchcock with a full band, as on his excellent mid to late ‘80s albums with THE EGYPTIANS (I’m particularly fond of 1988’s sublime Globe of Frogs) or even more so on THE SOFT BOYS classic Underwater Moonlight, one of my favorite albums of all-time. Still, one can clearly hear the influence of the quieter, gentler Hitchcock on some of today’s indie-rock and in particular COLIN MELOY and THE DECEMBERISTS.
Isaac Hayes – Hot Buttered Soul (Stax/Fantasy)
In honor of Hayes, who sadly passed away earlier this week, I played this, my favorite recording of his and another all-time favorite of mine. This album not only predated and heavily influenced early ‘70s soul, disco and even rap (PUBLIC ENEMY sampled a piano riff from this record’s second track in their “Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos”), but along with records like THE TEMPTATIONS’ Cloud Nine, it showed that it was possible for soul and r’n’b to move beyond the limits set by single-length compositions and for it to move into the world of albums as well.
Rollins Band – The End of Silence (Imago)
When I was in high school, I was obsessed with all things related to BLACK FLAG and by extension, HENRY ROLLINS and Rollins Band as well. As such, I liked this album back when it was released, but after revisiting the entire Rollins Band catalog up to this record (I hadn’t heard this record in over a decade and a half), I think I like it even more now because I have a more full understanding of what Henry was trying to do here. Sure, all the elements present on previous Rollins Band records are here. Angry, cathartic, mostly shouted vocals lyrics full of alternating self-loathing and quasi-motivational fare? Check. A band that sounds well-versed in ‘70s arena rock but that plays with hardcore intensity? Check. However, the main difference (other than the fact that it was first release for a big label; Imago folded in the mid ‘90s but this album has subsequently been reissued by Hank himself on multiple occasions) is the free jazz element that would show up more explicitly on subsequent albums. I didn’t really get that influence at a younger age, but now I can explicitly hear it. Nevertheless, this album is a unique stew of all of the above elements and is well worth hearing, removed from the post-NIRVANA gold rush that got acts like Rollins signed to begin with and which resulted in the follow-up, 1994’s Weight, going gold.
Rob Dickinson – Live and Rare (self-released)
This is a recently released, tour-only CD that I picked up at his show here a few months back. As such, it features excellent solo versions of both CATHERINE WHEEL material as well as selections from his terrific solo album Fresh Wine for the Horses. It was recorded on his 2006 solo tour.
Bo Diddley – His Best: The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection (Universal)
This is probably the best single-disc collection of the late, great Diddley’s finest and most well-known moments and so if you’re gonna get one disc, you could do much worse than to start here. “Bo Diddley,” “I’m a Man,” “Roadrunner,” “Pills (covered by THE NEW YORK DOLLS on their first album),” “Pretty Thing (THE PRETTY THINGS named themselves after this song),” “Bring it to Jerome” and the fabulously freaky “Who Do You Love?” are all here.
Joe Jackson – San Francisco 1979 (no label)
No this isn’t an official release, but rather a widely bootlegged show from the Look Sharp! tour. This show is from the Old Waldorf in San Francisco on May 14, 1979 and it completely rules. Of course I’m biased since I’m a huge Joe Jackson fan and in particular, I really love his early records with the venerable backing band here. Nevertheless, if you like Joe Jackson and don’t have this, you can find it here. Personally, I’ve definitely heard some cuts from this show, if not the whole thing, but it’s on an old cassette somewhere so I’m super grateful for this.
