Smith Westerns and I Share the Same Weekend Plans

Many magazines are comparing Chicago’s Smith Westerns to other Chicago juggernauts like Fall Out Boy and Smashing Pumpkins, not in sound but as Chicago bands that rise to world domination. In fact, they sound a little more glam-band. Traces of T-Rex can be heard along with John Lennon and it all sounds a bit familiar in a good way.

Oddly enough, the song titled “Imagine Pt. 3,” is one that doesn’t sound like Lennon.  “Still New” brings to mind Mott the Hoople.  There is plenty of “ooohs” and “aaaahs” to keep your head bouncing along.  They throw a good rocker in there with “End of The Night.”  Towards the end of the album you have “Smile” and that is exactly what will be pasted on your face. Seriously, look in the mirror.

Dye It Blonde is out on Fat Possum records (released on 1/18/11).  The record is produced by Chris Coady (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) while recently touring along with MGMT and Florence & The Machine. Smith Westerns are doing everything right. Smith Westerns will play to the hometown crowd at The Empty Bottle on Saturday, 2/26.

In the video below Smith Westerns spend their weekend much in the same way that I do.  There is a trip to Rolling Stones Record Store in Norridge.  Which has a great backwall of deals and incredible selection of bootleg videos. It makes me happy just to have a record store to still physically go to. Then they cross the street to The HIP (Harlem & Irving Plaza) which has many of the stores you need including an airbrush artist.  Then it’s off to the woods with a hot dog, cheese fries, and ME AXE!

Check out my their “Weekend” in the video below by Smith Westerns.

Smith Westerns ‘Weekend’ from Spunk Records on Vimeo.

Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/spool-going-round/2010/12/smith-westerns-weekend-is-just-like-mine.html#ixzz1Bg5D2QJb

Olafur Arnalds: He’s From Iceland, That One

A recording that I am really enjoying during these winter months is that of … And They Have Escaped The Weight Of Darkness (2010) by Olafur Arnalds.

He is an Icelandic musician that is coming to perform in Chicago at Museum of Contemporary Art on January 30, 2011.

Here he is on Icelandic television.  A taste of what to expect.  You will hear “Fok” from Variations Of Static (2008) after the funny talk from the presenter.  For more check here.

Oli Live on TV

10 Bands That Need To Reunite In 2011 (#5-1)

Here is the complete list from 10 to 1 on Bands That Need To Reunite in 2011. Reunion tours are working out pretty well. The Stooges have been successful twice. The Pixies, Gang of Four, Pavement, Buzzcocks, My Bloody Valentine, and Van Halen, are just a few of the reunions we have had in the last couple of years. This seems to be a trend, along with playing classic albums in their entirety. These are good trends. Coachella is always a strong place for these reunions to happen. Fans put bets on who will reunite each year at the California music festival. I say why not Chicago? I am going to throw out my 10 wishes for reunions that need to happen in 2011. The clock is ticking. None of us are getting any younger. You made great music together and it is time to heal those wounds and learn to love each other. LIFE IS TOO SHORT!

(Click on band name for full story)

#5 Sex Pistols

#4 Pink Floyd

#3 Big Audio Dynamite

#2 The Jesus and Mary Chain

#1 The Smiths

10 Bands That Need To Reunite In 2011 (#10-6)

Here is the complete list from 10 to 1 on Bands That Need To Reunite in 2011.  Reunion tours are working out pretty well.   The Stooges have been successful twice.  The Pixies, Gang of Four, Pavement, Buzzcocks, My Bloody Valentine, and Van Halen, are just a few of the reunions we have had in the last couple of years.  This seems to be a trend, along with playing classic albums in their entirety.   These are good trends. Coachella is always a strong place for these reunions to happen.   Fans put bets on who will reunite each year at the California music festival. I say why not Chicago?  I am going to throw out my 10 wishes for reunions that need to happen in 2011.  The clock is ticking.  None of us are getting any younger.   You made great music together and it is time to heal those wounds and learn to love each other.   LIFE IS TOO SHORT!

(Click on the band name for the whole story)

#10 The Smashing Pumpkins

#9 The Beach Boys

#8 Prince and The Revolution

#7 Michael Schenker & UFO

#6 The Jam

Come Back for the Top 5 Bands That Need To Reunite in 2011

Labor Day Weekend a nice time for White Wedding

No, I am not talking about friends getting married. I’m talking about this weekend signaling the end of summer and wondering where the fun is. Where has the fun gone? Does anyone remember laughter? Let’s rock!

Billy Idol is coming to Rockford as part of the On The Waterfront Festival taking place over Labor Day weekend. Billy plays on Sunday, September 5th. OTW (WARNING! If you click on this link you must find the mute button as fast as possible or turn your speakers off. Otherwise you will be subject to the hideous sounds of Hinder.)

I can honestly say that I haven’t thought of Billy Idol in years.  I did see Billy Idol many many years ago at the U.I.C. pavilion. It was a double bill with The Cult.  This was a great show for that time period. I wonder how Billy Idol is cutting it these days. One thing is for sure his music is fun! I don’t want to turn into the blog for old punkers but that obviously is where my mind has been of late.  After missing The Stooges in what has been described to me as a very over packed and hotter-than-hell Riviera Theater, it sounds pretty refreshing to think of sitting on a lawn in Rockford being treated to all the hits of Billy Idol and did I mention they are playing Generation X songs too! Generation X was Billy’s first band and broke out in ’77 with the other proper punks.

From what I can tell on the Billy Idol site, Steve Stevens is still playing guitar with Billy and is one of the very underrated guitar heroes still touring.  Also on Guitar is Billy Morrison who also played for the aforementioned The Cult.

Since you are reading my blog you must enjoy reading really cool music blogs. Try going over to Billy Morrison’s blog , the most recent entry is really thought-provoking. What does a day off mean to you? Check out Morrison’s deep thoughts on this and many others. I have just added a new bookmark for myself.

This is a current set list from the current Billy Idol line up on August 21st, 2010 from setlist.fm.

Edit this setlist | More Billy Idol setlists

I can honestly say that I don’t know that much about Rockford, IL.  Most of the time my concert going experiences are in the city of Chicago. The only show I remember seeing in Rockford in all my years of concert going was INXS with one of the greatest frontmen of all time, Michael Hutchence.  They played at the Coronado Theatre in Rockford back in the day.  Maybe it is time for another trip to the city that brought us one of the best American bands, Cheap Trick (from Rockford), to see another great frontman, Billy Idol.

Are you going to see the British Idol in Rockford? Any better ideas for fun over Labor Day weekend?

The Libertines Reading/Leeds 2010

“If you’ve lost your faith in love or music oh the end won’t be long…” -The Libertines

My faith in love and music is always strong. Sometimes I lose my faith in the internet and then something like this comes along. The Beeb (BBC) did a wonderful service to the music enjoying public by taping The Libertines comeback show at Reading Festival. They are available on youtube, vimeo and other music blogs.  A review of the show can be found here courtesy of the NME .

I was lucky enough to see The Libertines live in about 2004. Pete did not make the trip but it was great with Carl, Gary & John. I loved their debut album and live I didn’t miss Pete at all. It was definitely my album of the year for that year and their concert was my concert of the year in 2004. It is surprising that Pete is not dead the way he treats himself. Pete’s solo stuff (Babyshambles) and Carl’s solo stuff (Dirty Pretty Things) never hit the same high mark as when they are battling back and forth as The Libertines. Pete will probably never be able to tour America with all the drug possession charges that he has.  This is what makes the BBC recording and the internet delivery so wonderful and regains my faith in the www. I can sit here at my desk and see the old lads singing about the good old days.

The Stooges

It was 2007 and I was out in the parking lot unloading groceries from my car. My neighbor comes running over, we never had talked about music before but he had noticed me wearing cool rock and roll t-shirts all the time (today it was The Clash), and said the most beautiful words to me, “Would you like to go see the Stooges with me, I have an extra ticket for tomorrow night.” This was the start of a wonderful friendship. I, of course, offered to drive and pay for a couple rounds, I am a good friend to have.

The next night we were off to the Congress Theater in Chicago. The show was sold out. I didn’t pay for the tickets but they were about $39. I remember the excitement of standing outside the venue. It was completely electric. Everyone knew this was a special event. I wore my Ramones white on black t-shirt. The crowd could just not believe what was about to happen. There were several men, by themselves, my age or a little older. Men who probably had someone to go with to this show had it happened 20 years ago but some music listeners move on. More than 1 of those men, flying solo, came up to me with their pupils the size of silver dollars and said, “I can’t believe we are going to see the Stooges!” I felt the same way. For long time music fans this seemed like something that would never happen. We all made it in and the Stooges ripped it up. Iggy did not stop jumpin’ and humpin’ the whole set. The Ashton brothers were on fire and Mike Watt really is living the dream on stage nightly. When the opening chords from “I wanna be your dog,” rang out there was nothing that could top that level of intensity. Intensity is the greatest gift of a truly gifted band in my humble opinion. All the greats have it. The Stooges were everything we wanted them to be so many years later. I returned the gesture to my neighbor when the Stooges were going to be part of Lollapalloza 2007. Again we were there having our minds blown with a whole new group of people. This was a little weirder as it was in the middle of the afternoon out in the very sunny 100 degree heat. Same set list. Same euphoric feeling with the opening chords of “I wanna be your dog.” Same stage invasion during “No Fun.”

That was 2007, this is 2010. We lost an Ashton along the way. This was a huge loss and it seemed that no more kids just being turned on to them, or old guys in Ramones t-shirts, would get another chance to see the Stooges. Iggy Pop saw it differently and has become quite the smart business man of late. He picked up on the popularity of the Stooges and after not being able to parade the Mach-I version out anymore has turned to the Mach-II version. The Stooges with James Williamson on guitar are returning to Chicago tomorrow night. Now, why I bring business in this at all is because tickets to tomorrow nights show cost $58.30 a piece at Ticketmaster. I agree it will be hard to find a better showman than Iggy. They are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have killer songs which bands try to emulate but never pierce the skin quite the same way. They were around before punk and are still doing it today with Iggy being 63 years old. All these reasons are strongly in favor of you going out for the night to see Iggy & The Stooges. But why so expensive? This would only be a “not miss” show if you were given tickets. I hear a lot of music journalist referring to this show as “can’t miss.” They are definitely on the guest list. In a concert business year that has seen a lot of failure (this show was also moved from the 5000 capacity Aragon Ballroom to the 2500 capacity Riviera Theater) continues to take advantage of the fan.  In fact, I know that fans are not going to see this show because of the ticket price. If the tickets were $25 the would sell twice as many.  I see this happen time and time again. I know the venue and the promoter have something to do with the price and this doesn’t solely fall on the shoulders of the band. I would love to see if this new version will be as intoxicating as the one I saw in 2007.  I would love to see the song “Search and Destroy” which was not played in 2007 and is now being played with Williamson.  I guess what I am trying to say is that I can’t afford $58.30 and I will be out unloading groceries from my car to see if my friend pulls up with an extra ticket all the way up until show time.

I’m on my way…The passing of Michael Been

Michael Been from The Call picture taken from ArtistDirect.com

It was sad to hear of the passing of Michael Been, leader of The Call.  The Call provided a wonderful soundtrack for deep thinkers in the 80′s. He was political and soul-searching in his expressive lyrics. His bass lines however kept you moving and grooving. The Call had a small following and for those of us in the know, they fit in so well with U2, Peter Gabriel, Bruce Cockburn and Robbie Robertson. Great music with a message.

When I first heard that he died, on August 19th at the age of 60, I thought of when I was DJ-ing in Seattle and it was my job to put together the soundtrack for the 4th of July fireworks. The city would blow off the fireworks and I would sit in my windowed studio six floors above the city at my radio station broadcasting an awesome soundtrack for whomever brought a radio with them.  Being the passionate musicologist that I am, I felt it was my duty to find those introspective songs about America. What is America really? The lyrics in Become America, written by Michael Been, was exactly what I was looking for. Michael and I both love our country but it seems to me that we believe that our country could be so much more. It is unfortunate that Michael Been did not live longer to see how much more is possible.

Bad Brains Live!

It is great to see Bad Brains are still playing out live. Tonight they start a short tour with dates along the coast of California. They really are extraordinary. I love the connection between reggae and punk. My favorite band of all time, the Clash, did an excellent job of combing reggae and ska with pop and punk. Dub/Reggae/Ska was what the original punks listened to. Back when punk was breaking it would not be out of place to hear in a punk club music by such artists as: Lee “Scratch” Perry and the Upsetters, Bob Marley, U-Roy and Junior Murvin alongside the Ramones and Sex Pistols.  Perry and Mikey Dread would go on to help produce and jam with the Clash.

I have always loved songs that start out one way and at some point during the song it completely changes and it is as if you are listening to a different song all together. Bad Brains do this very well with starting out reggae and sliding into hardcore. This theme of rhythm changes and songs within songs is something I may have to explore in future posts. Another exploration could also be how without black music we wouldn’t have any good music.

There are no Bad Brains shows in my area but if you are lucky enough to live on the west coast please check them out. I ask the lovely Bad Brains to please come see us in Chicago soon. More info at http://www.badbrains.com

19-Aug-10	USA	Ventura, CA	Ventura Theater
20-Aug-10	USA	Anaheim, CA	House Of Blues
21-Aug-10	USA	Los Angeles, CA	Sunset Junction
22-Aug-10	USA	Solana Beach, CA	Belly Up Tavern
23-Aug-10	USA	Santa Cruz, CA	The Catalyst
24-Aug-10	USA	San Francisco, CA	Slim’s