April 2011

This has been a great week of concerts and shows already following Monday's Beats Antique show in Birmingham. It was without a doubt one of the best performances I've seen and heard. I'll write more on the show later today.

Starting with a show on Thursday, April Smith and The Great Picture Show will be in the region. If you can afford the time and the admission - GO! This is a not to be missed performance.

April 14 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft @ Center Stage (Openning for Fritz and the Tantrums)
April 15 - Hoover, AL - Barnes and Noble (Free in-store)
April 16 - Nashville, TN - Grimey's (Free Record Store Day in-store)
April 16 - Huntsville, AL - The Flying Monkey Arts Center

This is still one of Billboard's top artists for the future. Listen and see why.

I've been growing to really like this band. After listening to them while in Colorado this summer (Gold, Girls, Guns) and then hearing them in the Scott Pilgrim vs The World sound track (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jMruFHTwrY - the official full video has embedding disabled).

Gimme Sympathy

More Musical Musings

Upcoming Music and Shows
I frequently highlight bands that are coming out of nowhere. This one isn’t and I’m torn on offering any recommendation. We Are The Fallen is a band with massive but unrealized (wasted) potential. They are essentially Evanescence repackaged with a new lead singer. OK, well maybe... The band is made up of the former (fired/departed/quit) members of Evanescence from the time when the band rode their debut album “Fallen” to superstardom including the band’s co-founder Ben Moody. Carly Smithson (finalist from American Idol) takes on the vocal duties a la Amy Lee. After listening to samples of their debut, there’s more than a subtle bit of déjà vu. The sound, the soaring female vocals, the orchestra rock arrangements and the deeply moody (or Moody) feeling pervaded this release. It is either a throwback or homage to their Evanescence roots. Many of the songs (penned by Moody) seem to lament his lost friendship/relationship with Amy Lee in this CD. While this should lead to some terrific potential material highlighting the conflict, most tracks lack the fire and passion this band is capable of. Carly’s vocal power to rock out a house (as displayed on American Idol) is only lightly tapped here.

Is all this bad? As mentioned, I’m genuinely undecided. I saw Evanescence when they first performed in Hollywood (Universal Amphitheater) in 2003 as part of the Nintendo Fusion Tour. Nothing can compare to the level raw fire and passion they had then. Ego’s had yet to run amuck on so many levels. There is far more potential in this group of musicians for a return to greatness than there is in the band now known as Evanescence. Time will tell.

We Are The Fallen in concert (7/28) at Sammy T’s (Headlined by Saving Abel), $23/28 (at the door).

Last month The Gorillaz Plastic Beach was released. They promptly released two singles to stoke the fires. "Stylo" was the first video from the CD while "Rhinestone Eyes" went out as a radio release. Both songs are great. In previous videos, only the "animated" members of the band were shown. Things have changed in a good way. The LIVE members of the band performing on the single Stylo appeared on the Colbert Report. Check this out.


http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/281883/april-22-2010/gorillaz---stylo

On the 14th of April, April Smith & the Great Picture Show did a livestream recorded concert from the Brooklyn Bowl in New York. The show is nothing short of amazing. If you haven't seen her perform, they will be in Nashville at The Basement (5/28) and in Atlanta at The Earl (5/30). These promise to be awesome shows and well worth the drive.

Singles and slideshows


( Photos [xx behind this cut] )
( Slide show )

After an absolutely incredible show on Tuesday evening at Bandito South (one of the best I've seen in years), I'd hoped to announce the anticipated follow-up show at the Flying Monkey Theatre. Instead I'm disappointed to announce that April Smith will not be making a return appearance on 3/26 on Huntsville due to scheduling issues. At this point I have no follow up date.

My sincere apologies for generating the interest and not being able to deliver.

Home for lunch if anyone's curious why I'm posting anything now..

Music
Many of you know, my musical tastes are very eclectic. One of the bands that has caught my attention, love, lust , whatever is an urban middle eastern influenced group called Beats Antique. There’s not a single vocal bit in any of their records, but instead it consists of instrumental rhythms I could see an urban gypsy belly dancer moving to. This makes sense when you consider that one of the principal composer / arrangers is the legendary dancer Zoe Jakes of the Belly Dance Superstars. The rhythms are melodic by western standards and mix Middle Eastern, techno, circus, classical string, beat box and much more. This stuff is mesmerizing. Check out their stuff at http://beatsantique.com and definitely go see them perform if you get the chance.

BTW, Abney Park and Beats Antique will be performing together in Eugene, Oregon at The Bad Faeries Ball on January 30th at the McDonald Theater. If you’re on the west coast, GO!

Likewise, if you’re in San Francisco on the 5th, The Tim Burton Ball features Abney Park with guest performance by Zoe Jakes if I recall the announcement correctly. This is another cool event and must see show.

There’s another performer that’s growing on me. Emilie Autumn. I bought the deluxe version of “Opheliac” and like it more than I care to admit. It’s angry and lyric and crazy performed by a musician described as brilliant, eccentric and mad. Sounds strangely familiar eh?

Abandoned Site Photography

The holiday crud not only interrupted various model and show shoots, but it also kept me from doing at least one serious abandoned site hunt. I have located several industrial sites on the north and south sides of Huntsville I want to scout out. In Birmingham, there’s entire city blocks downtown I want to explore. Likewise, in and near Chattanooga has several industrial complexes that lay abandoned and beckon me to explore them. The one kink in all these plans is once I take the photos, having the motivation to do anything with them. For the very same reason I haven’t been writing much except when I have time available to write the text, save it, transport it, and then get to post it when I get home hours after writing it. It’s very frustrating to have to write or post this way.

This morning I posted information about the departure of Finn Von Claret from Abney Park. I will note first that I was stunned and saddened by her departure. I wrote as such to her blog. I’d like to clarify two points before they get taken further out of the context they were meant.

To Finn, lass, absolutely NO insult was meant and I sincerely apologize if it was taken as such.

In my posting, I commented that Abney Park seemed to be moving steadily away from a strong female vocal role. This was not in any way, shape or form as an insult to the singing talents of Finn. On the contrary, I wish that Finn had a greater vocal role to compliment Robert’s tremendous vocal skills. In previous recordings to “Lost Horizons” (“Death of a Tragedy” for example), the female vocal component was greater in many songs and offered opportunities for the ladies to strut their range and abilities. Lost Horizons represented (in my opinion) a reduction of that female vocal counterpoint . I sincerely hope that in future recordings and performances, the female “back-up singer and dancer” will be given an increased role to compliment not supersede Robert’s lead vocals. That counterpoint between his strong baritone and the female alto or soprano has been a wonderful means to show off the true and remarkable range of skill of the band.

I also asked in the post that “Is there an undercurrent?” Several folks picked up on that this was a rhetorical I’m referring again to the need for a continued strong female vocal component to the band and how it’s absolutely necessary. Great artists tend to move on to greater things in their own fields of interest. I’ve been pleased to observe in awe Finn’s dance skills outside of AP. Likewise, I’ve seen Magdalene Veen’s talents as a model and performer as well. Like many of the readers here, I adore the music of this band and wish them success. The strength of their new member (temp or otherwise) is a key to maintaining their high standards for great music. Can Najla sing in the female parts or is she only going to dance? Not an insult, but merely a question.