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Rest in peace, Chris Cornell.
I’m not sure what I can add to the thousands of words already written on the death of Soundgarden and Audioslave lead singer Chris Cornell. He was one of the best rock singers of my generation, and even sang the Bond theme for the modern version of Casino Royale – “You Know My Name.”
I’ll always remember him for his work on Soundgarden’s masterpiece album Superunknown. The whole record is a stunning piece of work, and Cornell’s voice ranges from screaming metal work to psychedelic wanderings to doom metal growls.
He was open about his drug addictions, and there is already talk that his death might be the result of suicide. I wish him peace and his bandmates and fans strength.
Keep your mind open.
Live – The Black Angels and A Place to Bury Strangers – Chicago, IL – May 11, 2017
I will see The Black Angels or A Place to Bury Strangers at any opportunity, so having them both on the same bill is a win-win and a must-see for me. Seeing them in Chicago’s Thalia Hall was an added bonus because the acoustics there are outstanding and there isn’t a bad place to stand or sit in the joint.
A Place to Bury Strangers were prompt, starting the show at 9:00pm sharp (which seems to be a trend in Chicago venues as of late). They came out as they always do – loud and heavy. They opened with “We’ve Come So Far” from Transfixiation and it was off to the races. The addition of Lia Braswell on drums is a great one, as she practically beat her kit into the floor. Her backing vocals bring a new dimension to many APTBS tracks, and I hope this trend continues on some new material. Guitarist and lead singer Oliver Ackermann was on fire for their whole set.
They ended their set with a wild sequencer / synth / bass / light show that I’d seen them do before in Detroit. They moved into the crowd and were soon casting laser lights and weird, warping synths beats and Dion Lunadon’s growling bass licks throughout the whole hall.
As if that weren’t trippy enough, the Black Angels started their set with this image.
“Take your acid now,” said a friend of mine upon seeing this. The Black Angels opened up with “Currency,” the first single off their new album – Death Song (review coming soon). “Bad Vibrations” (always a favorite) followed, and it again wowed the crowd.
This was the sixth time I’ve seen the Black Angels (and the third I’ve seen APTBS), and this might’ve been the heaviest set I’ve seen by them. My wife (who’s seen them five of the six times with me) noticed this, too. The version of “You On the Run” they played was certainly the heaviest I’d heard. It bordered on stoner metal. Christian Bland’s guitar seemed cranked to 11 in terms of volume and distortion for the entire show. Stephanie Bailey further cemented her prowess as one of the best rock drummers of our time. I say this every time I see the Black Angels live: Stephanie Bailey is their secret weapon. I later realized this was the first show I’d seen in a while in which both bands had powerful drummers.
They played many tracks from the new record. “Half Believing,” “Comanche Moon,” “I Dreamt,” “Medicine,” “Grab As Much As You Can,” and “Death March” all sounded great. They closed with “Young Men Dead,” which made one man behind me so happy that he rushed ahead of me to head-bang and share his one-hitter with the strangers to his left and right.
This made six good shows in a row from the Black Angels and three straight for APTBS in my experience. This tour is selling out across the country, so you’d better get your tickets soon if you want to catch it. I also must give a salute to the two men who make up the Mustachio Light Show. They provided all the wild and stunning visuals during the Black Angels’ set. It’s a great addition to this tour.
Thanks to Oliver Ackermann, Steven Matrick, and Burgers Rana for getting me a press pass to this show. I’ll have an interview with Oliver Ackermann posted soon as well.
Keep your mind open.
[Don’t forget to subscribe to us before you go.]
Kelly Lee Owens adds North America dates to her world tour.
KELLY LEE OWENS ANNOUNCES FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TOUR
AND PRESENTS VIDEO FOR “THROWING LINES”
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
DEBUT ALBUM OUT NOW ON SMALLTOWN SUPERSOUND
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Slow Magic releases new single and summer tour dates.
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Dave Depper releases 3rd single from upcoming solo album.
LISTEN TO DAVE DEPPER’S “YOUR VOICE ON THE RADIO” (FEAT. LAURA GIBSON)
https://soundcloud.com/
EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE OUT JUNE 9TH ON TENDER LOVING EMPIRE
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Rewind Review: MC 900 Foot Jesus – Live in Vienna – A.D. MCMXCII (2015)
MC 900 Foot Jesus (Mark Griffin) was one of the most innovative experimental and hip-hop musicians in the 1990’s. His 1990 album Hell with the Lid Off album shattered conceptions of hip-hop and was a weird, manic masterpiece chronicling madmen, drunks, schizophrenics, and the notion that “Truth is out of style.” He put out a couple more records after that, 1991’s Welcome to My Dream and 1994’s One Step Ahead of the Spider. He retired before releasing a fourth album, citing frustrations with the music industry, but has since come out of retirement and is again playing shows and working on that fourth record.
He’s released, for free, Live in Vienna 1992. It’s a radio station’s recording of a live show there, and it’s outstanding. Griffin and his longtime collaborator, DJ Zero (Patrick Rollins), throw down stunning beats and rhymes of tracks from the first two records.
The album begins with a brief interview with Griffin, in which he says he tries “to put you inside someone’s head who really sees the world in a bizarre way” with his music. This approach is evident throughout all of his songs, which feature bizarre characters and people who believe their worldview is the truth.
“Falling Elevators” opens the set, and the slightly evil bass, beats, and saxophone set the scene right away. “Adventures in Failure” lets DJ Zero cut loose (as does the saxophonist, who sounds like he or she is going for broke), and MC 900 Foot Jesus raps a story about a man so sick of his job and wife that he fakes a kidnapping scheme after he skips work and wrecks his car. DJ Zero scratching the sound of a car screeching to a halt is a stunning lesson to anyone wishing to work the wheels of steel.
“I’m Going Straight to Heaven” again has DJ Zero slinging scratches like a fastball pitcher closing out the ninth inning. Griffin raps through what sounds like a bullhorn microphone. Griffin and his band slow down a bit on “The City Sleeps,” a song about a serial arsonist. There’s more excellent saxophone work throughout it. “Truth Is Out of Style,” Griffin’s first big hit, follows, and DJ Zero’s turntable work is even more impressive on it live. The only blip on the track is when the Austrian recorders cut out a mention of Shirley MacLaine in the lyrics, probably thinking they’d get sued if they didn’t.
The beats on “Killer Inside Me” are killer indeed. MC 900 Foot Jesus raps about a man who pretends to be a simpleton but who is actually a psychopathic killer who strikes after luring his victims into believing he’s harmless. DJ Zero also gets to stretch his scratching muscles more than on the recorded version of the track. He’ll leave you gobsmacked with admiration. “O-Zone” is almost a weird dream with its warped saxophone and droning synths.
The performance ends with “Spaceman,” a suitably trippy song about a bum who gets drunk and high to the point where he sees himself floating away from the Earth. Is he dead? Are aliens kidnapping him? Is he suddenly free of gravity? I don’t know. It’s Griffin’s reality, not ours. Each reality is one’s own truth, and the truth is this live album is worth finding. I got my copy through MC 900 Foot Jesus’ Facebook page, so go there and grab it while you can.
Keep your mind open.
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Columbus Psych Fest reveals 2017 lineup…and it’s all free.
I don’t know if you’ll be in or near Columbus, Ohio on May 19th, but it would be worth your while to check out the Columbus Psych Fest if you are. It’s a free show featuring at least ten bands at the Park Street Saloon.
Many of the bands are from the central Ohio area, and I can highly recommend Brujas Del Sol. I also recently learned that Austin, Texas’ Ancient River will be playing there, and they are guaranteed to warp your minds.
Get there if you can.
Keep your mind open.
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Jake Xerxes Fussell – What in the Natural World
One of the nice things about this blog is that it sometimes takes me to music I probably wouldn’t have discovered without it. One such artist is Jake Xerxes Fussell, whose label sent me a press release about his new album – What in the Natural World. The album cover shows a lone man in rowing a canoe on a glass-smooth river while large circular objects loom around and behind him. They could be hills or cogs in a giant machine, but the result is the same. One man rows away from things bearing down on him, preferring to find his own path and his own was to solace.
“Jump for Joy” starts the album and immediately showcases Fussell’s guitar-picking skills. His voice is both relaxed and sharp at the same time as he sings about making it to the pearly gates (“Step right in, give [St.] Pete some skin, and jump for joy.”) and leaving behind a life of toil.
Fussell asks, “Have You Ever Seen Peaches Growing on a Sweet Potato Vine?” I haven’t, but Fussell seems to have knowledge of such a rarity. His guitar is amped up a bit, and the drums by Nathan Bowles will get your toes tapping whle Fussell sings about an illicit affair with a married woman.
Fussell gets back to his theme of escape from burdens and desire on “Pinnacle Mountain Silver Mine.” It’s the story of a miner, one of many, who seeks a treasure rumored to be in a mountain but has never been found. Fussell climbs rocky hills and crosses raging rivers to work the mine, “but its secret I will never know.” It’s a lovely ode to those who work hard all their lives for little, if any, reward in this world.
“Furniture Man” is one of the saddest and yet prettiest songs on the record. Fussell’s guitar work is a crisp as an origami fold on it as he sings about a man being broke and having everything he owns repossessed on a Sunday morning, including items that evoke memories of his dead wife. All he can do is ask the furniture man to take his time so he can hold onto the memories just a bit longer.
“Bells of Rhymney” is a bit funky, actually, with a nice bass walk by Casey Toll and a bit of country swing in Fussell’s guitar. His vocals get agile on “Billy Button,” as he sings about a man happy to be “bound for the happy land of Canaan.”
“Canyoneers” is a tribute to men who live, work, eat, sleep, and die in canyons and the many would only fly over in a tourist trap helicopter ride that costs nothing after you sit through a timeshare sales pitch. “What’s in a man to make him thirst for the kind life he knows is cursed? He’ll die a lonely a river rat foolhardy canyoneer.”
“St. Brendan’s Isle” brings in some Gaelic flavor as Fussell sings about brave sailors facing rough seas and literal demons trying to drag them to Davey Jones’ locker. Holy saints and angels preserve them until they not only meet St. Brendan, but even travel the world on the back of a giant fish in celebration. Could this celebration be one of realization? Are the sailors long dead and actually experiencing the joy of the afterlife? Judging by the prominent themes on What in the Natural World, the answer is probably “Yes.”
“Lowe Bonnie” closes the album. It’s another excellent display of Fussell’s guitar prowess, and his vocals remind me of Warren Zevon’s as he sings about a man slain by his angry lover who instantly regrets the decision to stab him.
Another man leaves behind a world of toil for something he at least hopes is better. The album’s title has no question mark. It’s a statement. There is nothing in the natural world that can compare with what comes beyond it. There is no toil. There is no suffering. There is joy unlike anything here.
Mr. Fussell wants us (and perhaps himself) to remember this, and he’s crafted one of the best records of the year to help us do it.
Keep your mind open.
Live – Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra – University of Notre Dame – April 27, 2017
My wife let me know about a performance of classic Indian music taking place at the University of Notre Dame for free on April 27th. I love classical Indian music, so I was willing to stay up a bit late even though I had to work early Friday morning to catch this show.
The performers were a pair of brothers named Ritesh and Rajnish Mishra. They’re classically trained and singing duets in classical Indian music isn’t easy since you have to harmonize and be able to improvise at any moment. The brothers put on a nice show, and their enthusiasm was contagious as they laughed and cheered not only each other but also their backing musicians.
Tabla player Hindole Majumdar put down great beats and harmonium player Anirban Chakrabarty created a hypnotic drone and bass. The four men performed for almost two hours with only ten minutes intermission. This was also the third time the Mishra brothers had performed at UND, and they certainly deserved a larger audience than the couple dozen of us who were there.
The ragas they performed were spiritual at first and then playful by the end. They also explained the beat structure of each before performing it. I love that about classical Indian music shows. The performers almost always give you a little music composition lesson at the beginning.
It was a nice way to spend the evening, and the lack of sleep was worth it.
Keep your mind open.
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