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King Khan and BBQ Show with Vivian Girls, Jacuzzi Boys and Love City – Johnny Brenda’s (Philadelphia, PA) – Friday, November 28, 2008
I ended up missing the first two bands (Love City and Jacuzzi Boys, respectively), but caught a typically great Vivian Girls set followed by the marvel that is KING KHAN. This time, though, unlike his show at Pitchfork this past summer, he played a show as part of The King Khan and BBQ Show with his friend and former SPACESHITS bandmate MARK SULTAN (aka BBQ). And a show it definitely was, with Khan in Cleopatra garb over bikini briefs (and not much else), BBQ as a genie and ass-kicking, raw garage rock madness being delivered! Luckily, they don’t forget the catchiness along with the rawness and it was nice to see so many dancing (though ultimately way too hot and crowded to stand up front for the whole show, so I retreated to the bar area after about 45 minutes or so).
The dB’s -”Love is for Lovers”
PETER HOLSAPPLE writes a semi-regular blog for the New York Times about songwriting and he wrote a great one recently about this excellent track, the opening song on their third album Like This. You can read the article here.
Rachel Getting Married (R)
Although we had free passes to see the new biopic Milk (starring SEAN PENN as former San Francisco councilman HARVEY MILK), we ended up getting to the theater too late and thus ended up seeing this JONATHAN DEMME film. Not really knowing what to expect with the exception of another cameo by Demme favorite ROBYN HITCHCOCK (he shows up at the end), I was blown away by ANNE HATHAWAY’s acting. She carried the whole film in an absolutely jaw-dropping, tour-de-force performance as a woman who’s been in and out of rehab for 10 years and who emerges just before her sister is getting married. Yeah, I didn’t expect it either from someone most knowing for The Princess Diaries, but there you have it.
Fucked Up – The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)
This one has taken me a while longer to warm-up to than their last full-length (2006’s Hidden World), but ultimately it’s just as epic and rewarding. To paraphrase the old HAROLD MELVIN AND THE BLUE NOTES hit, if you don’t know them by now and your’e a fan of real hardcore punk, you need to check this out ASAP. It’s not a retread, though, as they incorporate a prog/art-rock vibe via much longer than average (especially for hardcore) songs, interweaving parts and cryptic, often nihilistic lyrics.
The Dears- Missiles (Dangerbird)
Like the above entry, I wasn’t as initially taken with this one as I had been with their two previous albums (2006’s Gang of Losers and 2004’s No Cities Left). It’s definitely a grower, though. Yes certain parts remind me a lot of RADIOHEAD (though oddly more like their most recent album In Rainbows), but other songs have sax parts that even remind me of ROXY MUSIC. There’s a stronger ‘70s art-rock vibe here than on previous records, but ultimately the honesty and integrity of MURRAY LIGHTBURN’s approach makes it immediately recognizable as a Dears album.
Suicide – Suicide (Mute)
The 2002 reissue of their incredible debut album from 1977 includes a bonus live disc that captures two totally different performances from the same era. The first six songs on the disc document a well-received performance from CBGBs while the last track (entitled “23 Minutes in Brussels”) includes an infamous gig opening for ELVIS COSTELLO where they can’t make it through their set without being booed and having things thrown at them, thus getting ALAN VEGA to chastise the audience and attempt to shout a version of “Frankie Teardrop” on top of the audience jeers.
Love is All – “Wishing Well” EP (What’s Your Rupture?)
This 7” EP, which comes with some versions of their most recent album A Hundred Things to Keep Me Up at Night, includes the title track (also on the album) as the A-side and the B-side is a cover of FAITH NO MORE’s “Epic”. This is a song which should be instantly recognizable to anyone who watched anywhere near as much MTV as I did in 1990. In any case, Love is All’s reinvention is unusual, but enjoyable and this is well worth seeking out.
Talking Heads – Stardust Ballroom (Los Angeles, CA) – September 23, 1979
No I wasn’t there (I wish, but I was 4 years old at the time), but I recently came across this show here. The sound quality is great and the show features the band at just about their artistic peak, though it would still be a year before they released the incredible Remain in Light.
Dag Nasty – Four on the Floor (Epitaph)
I think that many of you probably know by now that I’m a huge fan of Dag Nasty. However, until recently, I think I’m underrated this album and its 2002 follow-up Minority of One. In particular, I really like the opening track “Still Waiting” and the great cover of the UK SUBS’ “Lie Down and Die”. Overall, I still prefer the two albums that PETER CORTNER sang on (_Wig Out at Denko’s_ and Field Day, respectively), but the version of the band with DAVE SMALLEY on vocals (this is the same lineup that played on Can I Say, their debut album) is a great band, too.
Agent Orange – When You Least Expect It EP (Enigma)
As a kid, I had the original 12” EP and then a few years after that, I picked up the CD version. Although their incredible debut 12” Living in Darkness is not only my favorite album of theirs but also one of my favorite albums of all-time, I’ve always really liked this one as well. Recorded a few years after their debut, they pretty much stuck with the same sound. The highlights include a great cover of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE’s “Somebody to Love” and an original called “It’s Up to Me and You”. The CD includes the songs from a 7” with their version of “Secret Agent Man” and “Out of Limits”.
